THE ROB REPORT
Bump and Run THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC MAY have created the “COVID Bump” that the golf industry dearly needed, but there was always a little voice in the back of people’s minds … worrying about retention. The world shutting down produced one heck of a 2020 in terms of rounds played, even with many golf courses being forced to close for a month or two in the early stages. Club professionals did everything they could—spaced out tee times, went to single-rider carts or created plastic dividers within the carts to allow double occupancy. Contraptions were created to keep the balls from finding the bottom of the cups and bunker rakes/ball washers were removed from the course. Everything worked better than expected and clubs that struggled to fill tee sheets for years were suddenly thriving. But how could the industry sustain this success? People were eventually going to go back to the office and other activities that were completely shut down began to start back up again. Pessimists feared 2021 would see a return to pre-2020 numbers. Thankfully, they were wrong. The National Golf Foundation (NGF) recently released its Graffis Report—a holistic overview of the golf industry for 2021. It compiles many of the game’s key data points on the business of golf and the health of the game: golf participation, engagement, rounds-played, golf course supply and development, golf equipment sales, retail supply, and the game’s reach. The overriding theme of the NGF’s report was “renewed engagement,” whether that’s committed golfers playing more, interested non-golfers giving the game a shot for the first time, or lapsed golfers returning after an extended time away. Among the notable numbers from 2021: • The number of traditional, on-course golfers rose for the fourth straight year to 25.1 million 6
l Club + Resort Business l February 2022
Pessimists feared 2021 would see a return to pre-2020 numbers. They were wrong. • Overall golf participation (on/offcourse combined) increased 2% yearover-year to 37.5 million participants; • The 600,000 gain in golf’s consumer base was evenly split between onand off-course players; • The number of junior golfers has increased by almost 25% over the past three years, to more than 3.1 million; • Women comprise 25% of golfers and people of color 21%, both groups increasing meaningfully over the past five years; and • The number of beginners hit a record high, at more than 3 million. In summary, the increases in play of 2020 continued in 2021, with the total number of rounds played across the United States increasing about 5% over the year prior, and around 20% over recent pre-pandemic years. The good news didn’t end there. The American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) also released numbers that are painting a positive picture about the industry as a whole.
The upswing in all areas of the golf industry since June 2020 is impacting facility decision making, from architects leading master planning and renovations to facility owners and operators adjusting to attract and maintain staff. Those are the top-line results of the latest “Golf Facility Market Trend Watch” report, commissioned by the ASGCA. The online study, conducted and analyzed in late 2021, was distributed to more than 35,000 people, including ASGCA members. Respondents included golf course architects, superintendents, general managers, facility owners/operators, golf professionals and industry leaders. More than 80 percent of ASGCA members have worked on a Master Planning project in the past two years, while practice area improvements and green complex renovations are also prevalent projects, the study concluded. Architects have also never been more optimistic about expected renovation work. Nearly 90 percent expect their work volume to maintain current levels or grow in the next two years, with more than 50 percent anticipating a significant increase.
Rob Thomas • Editor
rthomas@wtwhmedia.com
www.clubandresortbusiness.com
