Maintenance Budget Survey report

The survey polled superintendents on total maintenance budgets including all labor expenses and excluding capital expenditures.

The 2012 Maintenance Budget Survey Report includes average expenditures for all line items of the maintenance budget for 2010 and 2011 as well as the average amount budgeted for 2012. In total, there are 25 budget line item categories and all data is shown by region and facility type.

To access the report online, you must be a GCSAA Class A, B, C, E, EM or ISM member. Login for access. It is also available for purchase, see below to order.

View the 2012 Maintenance Budget Survey Report

About the survey

The purpose of the Maintenance Budget survey is to establish baselines, trends and allocations of resources as they relate to golf course operational budgets and today’s golf course management.

In February 2012, an online survey was sent to superintendent members of GCSAA in the United States totaling 8,441 members. The final result of completed surveys totaled 2,024 data sets of the distributed 8,441, a response rate of 24%.

Respondents were asked to provide their total maintenance budget including all labor expenses and excluding capital expenditures. The nationwide average maintenance budget for an 18-hole golf course is $696,524. Below, a breakdown of maintenance budget ranges is presented by region.

Largest expenditures

The largest portions of the maintenance budget are summarized in the table below. These six expense categories make up 80% of the total budget at courses nationwide.

Changes in maintenance budget since 2008

Respondents were asked how their maintenance budget has changed since 2008. Below is a table showing the responses by region.