Is TopGolf Accretive to Golf?
Yes & No

The hype machine for Off-Course Golf (I coined this as “golfertainment” in considering the outsize influence of TopGolf-type formats) is moving into hyperdrive illustrated by the NGF’s most recent article headlined, “Off-Course Golf: How Big Can It Get?” While the article makes no attempt to answer the headline question, in fairness, no one really knows, it’s undeniable and quantitatively proven that off-course golf is growing substantially and that fact poses interesting sub-questions of “Who benefits from this growth?” and “Is this growth accretive or dilutive to the existing industry business model?”

Recognizing that this is a big and complex topic and Pellucid’s penchant for wanting to sail in waters where there’s at least some quantitative “wind” to guide the discussion, I’m going to limit the scope of this issue to the following:

• How do we define the 3 distinct subgroups of off-course golf and their differences/similarities in appeal and experience? (driving range exclusives, simulator golfers and golfertainment guests)

• How does off-course golf contribute to the larger picture of “golf exposure” as a gateway to participants and rounds? In Consumer Goods marketing we called this the cycle of awareness/trial/repeat/loyalty; does off-course golf contribute anything to the legacy industry beyond awareness? Does it need to?

• For the primary stakeholders in the legacy golf industry business model (owner/operators, consumer equipment manufacturers, facility equipment manufacturers, turf care products providers etc.) does it help or hurt their future prospects?

For our Executive Summary recipients, you can get the rest of the story one of three ways (all can be previewed and purchased at Pellucid’s website www.pellucidcorp.com.

• Subscribe to the Pellucid Publications Membership for $495/yr. Annual subscribers get access to all Pellucid publications (Outside the Ropes monthly digital newsletter, annual State of the Industry report portfolio (PowerPoint presentation, PDF commentary report, access to Orlando video of presentation), monthly Geographic Weather Impact Tracking (US, 45 regions, 61 markets), Top 25 US Golf Markets Ranking Scorecard (25+ dimensions and ranking for largest 25 markets) and the National Consumer Franchise Health Scorecard (expanded data and tables underlying the SoI’s summary figures)

• Subscribe to OtR, 12 monthly issues for $130/yr with a money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied at any time during your subscription. Subscribers also get access to the historical archive of past issues (50+) via the members-only section of the Pellucid website.

• Purchase single issues (including this one) for $14.95 per issue; click here to view available issues by title and select those of interest to purchase and download