PerformanceTrak News – December 2012 Results
January 31, 2013
Executive Summary (including Year-End Results) December 2012 rounds were down 3.6% and days open were flat compared to December 2011, based on paired data. For each reporting group there were decreases in rounds played this month with the exception of Resorts. Private facilities were down 2.4%, Daily Fee / Semi-Private facilities were down 4.4%, Municipal facilities were down 4.4% and Resort facilities were up 1.8%. December 2012 had 10 weekend days and December 2011 had 9. December results are based on useable responses from 3,339 facilities. 2012 rounds played were up 6.4% and days open were up 6.5%. The increase in days open explains a portion of the rounds played increases. All YTD Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) showed an increase in 2012. For the month of December, all four KPI’s collected and reported by PerformanceTrak were up compared to December 2011 with the exception of golf fee revenue (down 3.1%). The Performance Factor for December 2012 is at 96.4 indicating that rounds played per day open was down for the month. The year-end Performance Factor is 99.9 indicating consistent play on a per day basis for 2012.
YTD December 2012 Rounds Played by Facility Type – Year End Results The PerformanceTrak rounds played comparison report for December 2012 YTD is below with statistics by facility type including average rounds played, same month year-to-year comparison, days open, and days open change. 2012 YTD rounds played remain up for all facility types. The days open increase supports the rounds played increases for each facility type. The favorable weather in 2012 contributed to the supply of available golf which in turn provided golfers with the opportunities to take advantage of playing more. And while the weather was an obvious factor in the rounds played increases, consumers made the choice to participate in golf versus other recreational activities. Additionally, 2012 had the same number of weekend days (105) as 2011. In 2012, the new record warm year, there were 19 record warm states and an additional 26 states were top ten warm. It was also a particularly dry year for the contiguous U.S. (15th driest period recorded) and 2 states were at their record driest (Nebraska and Wyoming). For the year, Washington, Oregon, Louisiana, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Maine were the only states with precipitation that was above-normal. These overall warmer and drier conditions also resulted in the third smallest winter snow cover on record for the nation.
December Weather Summary As an element of the PerformanceTrak newsletter, we are providing supplemental third-party weather information that may indicate significant impacts this year and/or comparisons to last year’s weather. We use this information to view possible relationships regarding rounds played, days open and revenue data points although this weather information is just one part of the benchmarking dynamic and should be viewed accordingly. The Northeast had their 7th warmest December on record and the 9th wettest. Delaware had a record warm December. On seven days throughout the month in this region, storms brought flooding, road closures, power outages, travel delays and accidents. In the Ohio Valley area, although they experienced top ten warm state records there were multiple snow events in parts of the region. Ohio had their 4th wettest December on record. On five days within the month of December, the High Plains area experienced a few blizzards reaching down to northern Kansas. Montana had a particularly warm month overall. Areas of Texas (Houston, Dallas and Austin) experienced numerous power outages due to multiple storms. The wettest areas of the South occurred in Louisiana and southern Mississippi. The Northwest also received an abundance of precipitation setting several top ten records for the year. While localized weather affects golf facilities where they are specifically, the macro level weather trend for 2012 is significant across the country.
For the maps above: The numeric value within an area represents where it falls within the rank from 1 to 118 which covers the historical period of 1895-present (118 years). It is sorted from highest to lowest value (Coldest/Driest to Warmest/Wettest). For example, if the value equals 18 on the 1 to 118 scale, it represents the 18th coldest / driest period on record. A value of 116 would represent the 3rd warmest / wettest.
Month hly State by y State Perrformance – Decemb ber 2012 State-byy-state results s below are fo or monthly rou unds played and a monthly d days open. Allso reported is the Perform mance Factor which ta akes into cons sideration rou unds changes s compared to o the days ope en changes. 22 states had d an increase in rounds played ffor Decemberr 2012. Of the ese, 6 states had h a decreas se in days op pen. Out of the e 26 states w with decreasess in rounds played, 4 of them had d an increase e in days open n (Maryland, Utah, Idaho a and Delaware e). A large porrtion of the middle of the country spanning from m West Virgin nia to Colorad do had an inc crease in roun nds played forr December w with the excep ption of Kansa as and Norrth Dakota. Sttates in the Pacific Northwest, West, So outheast and Northeast all had decreases in rounds minus New Hampsh hire and Rhod de Island. Currrently, based d on the Perfo ormance Facttor, the top 5 states are Wiisconsin, New w Hampshire, Rhode Island, Illinois and Michigan. The bottom m 5 states by Performance e Factor are M Minnesota, Wyyoming, Soutth Dakota, Washing gton and Idah ho.
One of P PerformanceT Trak’s benefitts is to display y not only the e percent chan nge, but also the actual we eighted avera age values forr the curre ent month and the same month m prior ye ear. Finally, th he state-by-sttate map on th he following p page shows a thematic ma ap of these e various perc cent changes.. The map is automated a an nd tied to the state-by-state e percent cha anges, it usess the actual monthlyy percent chan nge values (in n groupings) to t give a quic ck graphical su ummary of re esults across the country.
Rounds Played Percent Change by State Maps – Year End Results This map provides year-end rounds played results for 2012 compared to 2011 with a percent change range. In 2012, 17 states had rounds played increases over 10%. The top 5 states with the largest 2012 rounds played increases are North Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, South Dakota and Pennsylvania. 2012 rounds remain up for every state among those with sufficient responses for reporting with the exception of Oregon (down slightly 0.9%). Louisiana, Florida and Washington all have year-end increases in rounds played with slight decreases in days open since the prior year. These values are based on a sufficient average monthly sample size for the year for the local market, state or section. The * symbol (grey area) indicates there was an insufficient number of responses.
Gross Golf Fee Revenue Percent Change by State – Year End Results This map provides year-end gross golf fee revenue results for 2012 compared to 2011 with a percent change range. In 2012, 19 states had golf fee revenue increases over 10%. This is in line with some of the largest rounds played increases as noted above. Louisiana’s gross golf fee revenue was down 3.2% and their overall volume was virtually flat with 2012 rounds played up 0.5%. The top 5 states with the largest 2012 gross golf fee revenue increases are North Dakota, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Utah. These values are based on a sufficient average monthly sample size for the year for the local market, state or section. The * symbol (grey area) indicates there was an insufficient number of responses.
December and Year-End Revenue Summary This summary is from the data set of rounds and golf fee revenue responses where facilities provided both data points (both rounds played and golf fee revenue). Therefore the sample here for rounds played is different than the overall rounds sample from results presented in prior pages within the newsletter. The data below is for median gross golf fee revenue and revenue per round played. Golf Fee Revenue includes green fees, guest fees, trail fees, cart fees and any pro-rata portion of golf pass/pre-paid greens fees for the period. The YTD data has been included below as well. Note that in the winter months, there often are variances in golf fee revenue per round due to factors such as lower rounds volume along with period-based revenue collection such as season pass revenue.
About PerformanceTrak PGA PerformanceTrak in Cooperation with the NGCOA is the industry’s leading rounds and revenue data collection and benchmarking service. Reports are available for PGA Sections, States and over 70 local markets. NGCOA report packages are also available for local competitive golf markets (CGMs) and for rate sets within CGMs. Reports include data for each metric (e.g. median golf fee revenue), not just the percent change, for rounds played and 4 Key Performance Indicators. A dedicated team at the PGA of America National Office gathers this data monthly to support participation and benchmark reporting across the country and to assist with customer service inquiries. PerformanceTrak has a high standard regarding data quality. Information submitted is reviewed for significant changes and outliers, feedback is gathered from users regarding their specific operations and their local area and any outlier of data is omitted from reporting. PerformanceTrak is a fully online, web-based service with real-time reports available 24/7. Flexibility of data submission is offered to all users when a non-online approach is needed. Contact Us PGA PerformanceTrak Services and Support E-mail: PerformanceTrak@pgahq.com Web site: http://www.PGAPerformanceTrak.com The PGA of America: Nicole Ferguson-Sutherland Phone: (800) 477-6465 Ext. 8574 Email: NFerguson@pgahq.com For Media Inquiries: Randy Stutzman Phone: (800) 477-6465 Ext. 8438 Email: RStutzman@pgahq.com NGCOA: Joe Rice Phone: (800) 933-4262 Ext. 222 E-mail: JRice@ngcoa.org Web sites: www.NGCOA.org/benchmark www.PGAPerformanceTrak.com/NGCOA