November Weather to Give Thanks For (Nationally)
While the year as a whole hasn’t been bountiful, November delivered as Golf Playable Hours (GPH) were up 4% for the month which lifted the Year-to-Date (YtD) figure modestly to -1%. November historically marks a cumulative 97% of annual rounds “in the books” so, we’re going to end the year weather-wise off fractionally vs. ’23. The YtD regional breadth metric maintained level flight at a perfect 1:1 ratio comprised of 13 favorable regions vs. 13 unfavorables and 19 in the neutral zone (+/- 2%). Subscribers to either the Pellucid Publications Membership or the Geographic Weather Impact report get the 45 regional breakdowns, the 61 markets figures, the day-of-week weather impact and the Year-End National GPH forecast figure as well as our full commentary on the results every month.
National Played Rounds for October as published by Golf Datatech were off-the-charts at +12% at the All Facilities level. Looking at rounds exclusively makes one wonder whether that was superior management or an incredible weather tailwind. Comparing back to last month’s GPH results (only +2%), we can chalk October up to a continuing consumer trend and good execution by owner/operators. Combining the two numbers to produce % Utilization shows that, for the month, we gained 5 pts (wow!) which buoyed the YtD gain to +2 pts (solid) or 63%.
A broader description of the November weather and October Utilization can be found at our website in the Featured Itemssection or you can get the full picture by subscribing to either the Pellucid Publications Membership or the Geographic Weather Impact report. Both provide the 45 regional breakdowns, the 61 markets figures, the day-of-week weather impact and the Year-End National GPH forecast figure as well as our full commentary on the results every month.
Another avenue for seeing your weather-adjusted performance is our recently-launched facility comparative performance and local market benchmarking tool, the Golf Market Research Center (GMRC). In light of recent, broad-based rounds and revenue gains, the $500 annual investment is more affordable than ever. Program participants have been able to view graphic, single page monthly trend reports for Rounds and Utilization from ’19-’23 as well as having a 7 measure KPI single page report for any month and YtD period for which they entered data. The GMRC gives you visibility to your Market Profile and, after you enter your Rounds, Golf Revenue and Peak Season GF Rate by month, to immediately see your results through our comparative reports with integrated weather impact. So how do you “get in on the action”? Glad you asked…
- You can email jim@pellucidcorp.com, to subscribe (see below for benefits) and get started by inputting your information through the current month or if you’d like to engage in the 2-wk trial
- If you’d like more information, you have two options:
- Watch the 18 minute GoToWebinar recording of the program overview and a demonstration of the portal and reports (fill in your name and email and it will open the video link; you’re not signing up for anything)
- Review the 2-pg program overview
- Read the recent Outside the Ropes that illustrates, using the GMRC portfolio’s May results, the insights available using real data
Here’s the details on what you get in the current Promo:
- GMRC Market profile (golfers, supply/mix/demand balance, Utilization etc.)
- Monthly trends report (Rounds & Utilization, any month and YtD ’19-’23)
- KPI Scorecard (7 KPIs for month & YtD, single page, Year Ago comparisons)
- Cognilogic (historical facility-specific Golf Playable Hours and Capacity Rounds, normally sold as separate service at $180/yr) and
- Foresight (brand new, facility-level 60-day Capacity Rounds forecast and key weather variables used to produce it, normally sold separately at $360/yr)
- National Golf Consumer Franchise Scorecard (updated with the ’22 survey results) and commentary outlining the change in the size of the golfer base, the demographics (not as much additional diversity as advertised by the industry but expanding) and involvement levels (sold separately for $199)
- We think this package of services including GMRC at $500/yr ($450 for NGCOA members) is a great value and timely for assessing ’23’s performance and beginning your ’24 planning
Final cherry-on-top, GMRC is a product in the NGCOA SmartBuy program so there’s a member benefit (10% discount) for the annual subscription.
