February brutal; ’25 opens with 2 consecutive months of double-digit downs
Mother Nature didn’t let up on the golf industry in February as Golf Playable Hours (GPH) registered -25% vs. year ago (following January’s -22% performance). That provided no progress for the Year-to-Date (YtD) figure which now stands at -23% at the two-month mark. The YtD regional breadth metric improved marginally at a 1:3 ratio comprised of 7 favorable regions vs. 18 unfavorables and 1 in the neutral zone (+/- 2%) with the remaining 19 regions out-of-season. 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 January, as published by Golf Datatech, had some good news in that demand didn’t follow the negative weather down double-digits registering -2% at the All Facilities level. Comparing back to last month’s GPH results (-22%), the good news is that this combination of ugly weather and relatively stable demand produced a Utilization gain of 16 pts for the month registering 79%. That’s great news and a much more encouraging perspective than “rounds -2%” (you’re welcome).
A broader description of the February weather and January Utilization can be found at our website in the Featured Items section 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 Golf Datatech 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 ’23-’25 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 ’23-’25)
- 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 (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 and commentary outlining the change in the size of the golfer base, the demographics 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 ’24’s performance and beginning your ’25 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.
