In a recent interview with Sirius XM’s PGA Tour Radio, Stephen Johnston, Principal of Global Golf Advisors, a highly specialized consulting firm focused on golf, private club, real estate, and resort businesses, made a statement that shocked me and got me thinking about what might be going wrong with the marketing of the golf industry as a whole.

He said that if he had to guess, 50% of golf courses, both public and private, were in some form of financial distress. That means half of the courses in the US today are not performing to their potential, and losing guests and greens fees each and every day. But why? Why is it that in this seemingly “recovering economy”, so many golf businesses are failing?

There’s no doubt that the private clubs, and the country club that your father or grandfather might have been a part of are long gone.  They’ve nearly all changed; they now focus on the entire family in an effort to make the club a place where everyone from Junior to Mom and even Buster (your family dog) is invited and encouraged to play and relax. (Okay, maybe not the dog, but you get the point.)

But the question is, are clubs properly marketing their experiences as they evolve. I decided to take a look at what some clubs (both public and private) are doing right with marketing — including interactive and PR efforts. Here are my top three:

1. Pinehurst, Pinehurst, NC

The folks at Pinehurst are doing a great job of making the golf enthusiast feel the resort’s rich history, as you walk the same fairways as some of the game’s greats: Woods, Nicholas, Jones, Player, Palmer — the list goes on. Their ad campaign is great,  the site helps bring you into their world like no other I’ve seen, and they are the only one of the three is who is engaging fans the right way on Facebook.

2. Kiawah Island Resort, Kiawah Island, SC

As a Golf Digest Top 25 in the 100 Greatest Golf Courses in the US, Kiawah Island is doing things right on both the operational and maketing fronts. Host course of the 2012 PGA Championship won by global golf superstar Rory McIlroy, Kiawah is a sponsor of PGA Tour Radio on Sirius XM and has executed a robust PR effort this year, gaining the brand a great deal of exposure in 2012.

3. Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Miami, FL

Deemed the “Blue Monster” for its use of water throughout the course design, Doral has seen much news attention in 2012. This is largely due to the fact that Donald Trump bought the resort from Marriott for $150 million with plans laid out to spend another $150-200 million in renovations. The club has already been doing things right when it comes to marketing under Trump, including offering more deals via their website. The Donald has also renamed the “club” portion of the resort “Trump National Doral” to stay consistent with his global private golf brand.  |