Dec Perspective: TopGolf outbids itself in LA
Dear Golf Industry Professional:
With all the talk about golf’s evolution from an “activity” (playing on course) to an “experience” (virtual golf & entertainment), I guess one of the upsides of that is our seasonality will be reduced in the winter as golf just goes indoors or people continue to play outdoor entertainment golf under heated bays. With ClubCorp purchasing a controlling interest in BigShots golf and the Drive Shack/American Golf juggernaut plowing ahead in addition to industry-leader TopGolf, the entertainment side of golf is driving most of the industry news these days.
Along those lines, this month we welcome back Harvey Silverman who is pinch-hitting for Jim Dunlap (on injured reserve) and his story regarding TopGolf’s interesting odyssey to land a prime Los Angeles location at a much higher price than initially negotiated but a much more beneficial structuring for the municipality and the community at large. It’s also an interesting case study/lesson in the (at times) “dark arts” of municipal governance and oversight but one that fortunately has a happy ending. For this and the rest of the stories, click below:
December Pellucid Perspective
In addition, the December issue covers the following unique and novel topics which have become the Perspective hallmark:
• Contributing Editor Stuart Lindsay looks at recent changes in the leadership and initiatives at our industry organizations (USGA, World Golf Foundation) and what they may portend for those of us in the industry whose lives revolve around golfer behavior and course operations (as opposed to fans and entertainment).
• Publisher Jim Koppenhaver, always on the lookout for macro economic, political and business trends that may be coming to or impact the golf industry, looks into the larger issues of interest rate direction and velocity as well as potential commodity plays on water (by the Harvard investment trust) as “lookouts” for our industry in ’19 and beyond.
• Plus the monthly Industry Scorecard (the only integrated scorecard of multi-source performance indicators) including the November weather impact results (down big-time) and the October YtD Utilization (down again, rounds fall more than weather). We also chart the monthly timeseries for the year of Golf Playable Hours and Utilization while our Market Focus continues with the profile of Seattle, WA which registers as the 23rd healthiest of the Top 25 US Golf Markets in our annual ranking.
We recognize and thank our continuing sponsors; KemperSports, Troon Golf, Bayer CropScience, EZLinks Golf. For all those service providers and suppliers to the golf industry out there with the latest-and-greatest to offer to the industry thought-leaders who read our monthly publication, might we suggest considering joining our merry little band through our most popular 12-month sponsorship program? (offered at an improved value relative to our entry-level six month sponsorship rate) Twelve-month sponsors also receive all Pellucid industry-standard reports (State of the Industry, Outside the Ropes, Monthly Weather Impact Tracking (Nat’l, Reg’l, Markets), Top 25 US Golf Markets Scorecard and National Golf Consumer Franchise Health Scorecard). Sponsorship provides monthly exposure to approximately 30K industry leaders and followers and associates your brand with Pellucid’s effort to expand intelligent thinking on today’s most challenging industry issues. For more “opportunistic” spenders, we might suggest one of our smaller-bite Ad Partner programs for those who may not be able to make a 6 or 12-month commitment (as short as 3 months are now available) or who may not need a half page or more exposure (quarter pages now available). If you’re interested in knowing more about sponsorship opportunities or are interested in a preview of our ad partner options, contact Editor-in-Chief Jim Dunlap (760-212-3714, jdgolfer@cox.net).
If you know of associates who would benefit from the topics and insights covered in this issue, feel free to forward this email and encourage them to register on the Pellucid website (http://www.pellucidcorp.com/news/elist) to join the conversation, discussion and debate.
We also continue to spread the word on Pellucid’s next generation golf course database, the Internet Golf Course Database (IGDB) with partners Apparation LLC, Never-Search and GolfCourseRanking.com. While no database will ever be 100% accurate, we continue to be surprised at the quantity and range of inconsistencies in course directories out there as well as the fact that most of the major tee time providers and recommendation sites (like GolfAdvisor) are propagating these phantom facilities and errors 5-10 fold for people doing Google searches online. Talk about an “echo chamber”… For more information on our comprehensive database, updated quarterly and refreshed completely every 12 months (all 15K+ US courses), contact jim@pellucidcorp.com.
Thanks to all our sponsors and readers as we conclude this 9th year of the Perspective; we wouldn’t be here without your support and readership. We wish you and yours a happy, relaxing and thankful holiday season: “and I heard him exclaim ere he wrote out of sight. Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”
