Coachella: "Today nearly one out of every four homes listed for sale is on a golf course."

Probably a coincidence as the rebooted Bob Hope becomes the Humana Challenge, but USA Today's Mike Perrault and Keith Matheny focus on the Coachella Valley in writing that the "unbreakable linkage between golf and real estate" has been broken.

In the nine cities of the Coachella Valley, including Palm Springs, where multiple presidents, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra swung the clubs and lived in golf-centric resorts, today nearly one out of every four homes listed for sale is on a golf course.

"We're entering a new normal," said Pete Halter, chairman of The Halter Companies, an Atlanta firm that advises developers. "We can't think this will be over soon. Things have changed for good."

Among the forces reshaping the relationship between golf and real estate:

•Fewer people play golf, and Baby Boomers don't have the time, money or interest in the game their parents did. The number of golfers in the U.S. has fallen by 13% in the past five years, according to National Golf Foundation statistics. The number of golf rounds played nationwide last year through November was down 3.5% from the previous year, according to the foundation.

Something to note for clubs looking to adjust to the times...

Resort communities are already beginning to offer fewer golf courses, and high-priced courses designed by top golfers or famous architects will become rarer, Goodkin said. Allowing non-residents onto club courses and letting them pay by the round will become more prevalent as a way to control costs within golf communities, he said.

"There will be a lot more focus on soft amenities — education, fitness and health programs — not just playing golf four or five times per week," he said. "Things where there isn't a lot of physical equipment, land and high maintenance associated with it."