Hello golf stakeholders:
October is now “in the books” and, historically, that represents 89% of the full year rounds so we’re definitely now in the home stretch. Thanks to our historical records and tracking, we can also say that the October Year-to-Date rounds tally for ’23 exceeds the full year figures for ’16-’19 (wow). We also have a “call” on the Year-End rounds number and it’s going to be a nail-biter as to whether we hit a modern-era high in ’23 or miss it by a hair like we did in ’21. Our Pellucid Publications members and our Golf Market Research Center subscribers know those numbers if you’re interested in “being in the know.”
Publisher Jim K. picks up on a recent Wall Street Journal “thought thread” regarding how the current economic cycle is much more “virtuous” to Seniors than younger generations and how that will likely continue to provide a welcome economic malaise buffer to golf’s fortunes in the near and mid-term (but there likely is a reckoning coming). What has long been bemoaned as a “bug” in golf (we don’t look like the general population in distribution by generations) is turning out to be a “feature” for the next 3-5 years in Jim’s opinion.
Contributing Editor Stuart Lindsay continues to track, observe and opine on how the continued emergence of “digital golf” (entertainment venues, simulator cafes, simulator-based instruction programs, TopTracer range and on-premise simulators for golf operators) is playing out and who the winners and losers are likely to be on current trajectory and trends. While we’ve never been bullish (due to a lack of quantitative support) on golfertainment being accretive to actual golf, simulators are a different animal and have more cross-over or incremental facility revenue potential.
See below for the headlines to each of our recurring sections from the regional October weather impact map to Comings & Goings (it’s like Playboy, some read it solely for the commentary, not the figures, ha, ha). We’ve already compiled the October rounds “preview”, courtesy of our GMRC first-responders, and it suggests that rounds returned to the follow-the-weather pattern for the month which would mean steady-as-she-goes in an often volatile shoulder season month. If you want to know those numbers on a regular basis, you can either participate in GMRC (course operators) or sign up for a Publications Membership (everyone else).
INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
2 Seniors provide short-term economic buffer for golf By Jim Koppenhaver
TECH TRENDS
7 Golf’s growing digital footprint; helpful or distraction for operators? By Stuart Lindsay
COMINGS & GOINGS
10 14 Activities, Transactions continue to lead with 7
WEATHER IMPACT
12 Neutral October (a relief) pretty much cements (slightly) up year outcome
BY–THE–NUMBERS
14 September Utilization holds steady, full year stays in “black”
MARKET FOCUS
16 San Francisco, at #3, only has to fear… itself
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 discussion and healthy debate.
We also continue to spread the word on Pellucid’s next-generation golf course database. The Internet Golf Database (IGDB), provided by Apparation LLC, is the industry’s most complete, accurate, accessible and useful golf industry directory. IGDB, along with Pellucid’s proprietary extensions, powers Pellucid’s Golf Local Market Analyzer, the Top 25 US Golf Markets Scorecard and the GMRC. For more information on high-value IGDB subscriptions options, contact Apparation at mike.dickoff@apparationllc.com.
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