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I was wondering if anyone could help me.. Im doing a project for economics on a golf course and I need to know what Market Model a golf course will fall under... here are the 4 markets and their definitions. I appreciate the help......

Pure Competition- a very large number of firms producing a standardized product (price-taker). New firms can enter (or exit) the industry easily. No one firm has an impact on market price or output.

Pure Monopoly- One firm is the sole producer of a unique (differentiated) product and there are no close substitutes (price maker). Entry into the industry is blocked by patents, economies of scale, etc.

Monopolistic Competition- many sellers with a differentiated product, which gives each firm a partial monopoly (based upon elasticity). Product differentiation lends itself to advertising. Entry (or exit) into (from) industry is relatively easy.

Oligopoly- a few sellers with either a standardized or differentiated product. Each firm is affected by the price and output decisions of the other firms (mutual interdependence). Entry into the industry is difficult because of significant obstacles such as licensing boards, zoning, etc.

Bighitter -

I can see you problem with this. I think you can make an argument for all four of the options. A big factor is this would be the location of the golf course.

If the golf course in question was the only golf course in 75 miles, then it would definitely fall under Pure Monopoly. The golf course could set it's price and consumer would be have two choices; Pay the price & play golf or don't pay the price and don't play golf.

I think for the most part, golf courses fall under Monopolistic Competition. Each golf course has its own differentiation traits. For example, 9 holes vs. 18 holes; par three courses vs executive courses vs. full courses. Private courses vs semi private vs public vs municipal. Courses all use different forms of advertising such as twilight specials, weekday specials, discounts off of initation fees, coupon books, etc. Entry into the market is relatively easy. If you have enough land & landscaping skills, you can open a golf course. They are no major zoning regulations (the clubhouse can be a different story, but the course itself does not). There are no government rules regarding creating a course. Being endorsed by certain associations is a benefit, but not necessary.

I think you can make an argument for pure competition because you can enter the market easily and some would argue that the product is standardized (18 holes - par 70 to 72), but I think each golf course has it's own personality therefore is its own unique product, therefore, Monopolistic Competition.

I am interested to hear how this turns out.

I really appreciate the feedback on this. The golf course im talking about is in Colts Neck, NJ. I work there. There are a total of 5 golf courses in surrounding area including 3 private courses,1 county course and 1 semi-private course. Basically the project is the drawing of 6 graphs showing supply and demand,changes in income, changes in prices, short run costs and long run costs. thanks for the help

I think Porter has the right idea...its largely dependent on location and market.

On a trip Virginia a few years ago to visit my wifes family I took my golf clubs. Little did I know there was only one course within 100 miles of her family. That course's market model would be a monopoly based on its market position. Here in southern California the courses generally would fit into the monopolistic competition model as they are largely differentiated based on course design, service, quality, etc. with many players in the market. In some markets golf courses would fit into the oligopoly (places were there are few options and they all fit a relatively basic design and price model).

Rarely will you find a location where courses could be identified as pure competition based on the levels of differentiation available.

In all of the above cases you could argue that courses would or could be segmented by price category, course type (links versus resort course vs. tree-line mature course vs. executive course, etc.), level of services provided (driving range, full service restaurant, etc.). For your project I'd recommend that you focus on monopolistic competition as most golf courses fit that model.

Thank you for the feedback again!