Flash: Tournaments Were At Desert Courses To Sell Real Estate, Not For Architectural Sophistication

Larry Bohannan considers the decline of greater Palm Springs golf events from as many as six a year (remember the Lexus Challenge!?). You'll be shocked, shocked to find out that most of it has to do with selling real estate, something they aren't doing much of there these days.

“Once the real estate cannot justify the expense of the event, then the event tends to move to another location,” Vossler said.

As development of real estate-driven golf courses began to dry up in the desert over the past decade, so did the need for high-profile events to promote the properties.

And this was an astounding number:

The money to produce such events also dried up. Each tournament required millions of dollars a year to produce, including site fees of up to $1.4 million paid by the courses to tournament organizers.