Golf is just as popular as ever and if you have the opportunity to buy a large parcel of land, opening your own golf business is a great idea. Once you are up and running, you can turn it into a very profitable business. However, a lot of people steer clear of this option because of the legal challenges involved.
There are a number of legal hurdles you need to overcome if you want to get your golf business off the ground but as long as you are prepared for them, you shouldn’t let that put you off. These are some of the big legal challenges that golf resort businesses must face.
Planning Permission
Firstly, you need to make sure that you can get the right planning permission to build a golf course in the first place, and this can be difficult. Depending on the location of the land, you may need to convince local homeowners of the benefits of your new business. There are also issues to do with sustainability and environmental damage. It is more important than ever for businesses to exercise social responsibility and when converting a large piece of land into a golf course, you will need to address environmental concerns before planning permission is granted. This means making provisions for protecting wildlife and ensuring that local ecosystems are preserved while the work is carried out.
Water Supply Issues
Managing the water in a golf course also brings legal challenges with it. Ensuring that there is enough water to maintain the grass is important, and any changes made to natural water features must be approved too. There are some complicated laws to contend with here, so hiring a specialist water attorney is crucial. It is likely that these issues may be tied into your application for planning, so make sure that you consider them when purchasing the land and making your plans for development.
Insurance
Although golf isn’t the most dangerous sport out there, people can still get injured on your course. It’s crucial that you protect yourself with the right liability insurance so you cannot be sued in the event of an accident. Beyond that, you also need contents insurance to protect anything stored inside the buildings and buildings insurance to protect the properties themselves.
Retail Licenses
In many cases, golf courses will have an on-site shop where people can buy all of their golfing gear. This is a great way to add another source of revenue to your business, but there are extra legal requirements to deal with. There are laws in place to protect the interests of consumers and ensure that you are describing products accurately, displaying prices clearly, and operating a fair returns policy. You will also need the correct licenses to operate a retail store in the first place. It’s important that you are on the right side of retail law, so do your research beforehand and make sure you know what your responsibilities as a business are.
These are the crucial legal issues that you will have to overcome when opening your own golf course business.