Did COVID provide a rising tide that lifted all boats? Generally, yes. Did all the boats get lifted similar amounts? Obviously (and mathematically), no. Pellucid announces the release of their US Golf Markets Strength Scorecard which scores and ranks every US market (defined as Designated Market Areas or DMAs) based on both strength and size. Highlights are:
- 58 Markets had above average Strength Scores (>110 index vs. all-market average), these definitely “caught the wave” compared to 58 which lagged the average
- These represent a balance of large (Phoenix, AZ et. al.) and small (state sister city Tucson etc.) market types based on market size-equivalized measures (another Pellucid analysis industry first!)
- San Diego (again) reigns supreme while Victoria, TX, Presque Island, ME and Grand Rapids, MI represent “perfectly average” and Albany, GA anchors the list
- The “Top 25 club” for strength includes 7 of our previous Top 25 largest markets (powerful combination of strength and size) while CA wins state honors within that list for most markets with the magic number of 7 as well
We continue to refine Pellucid’s scorecard and ranking methodology and metrics with the following upgrades to the newest release; here’s the summary of “how we did it”:
- Using Pellucid’s industry-leading Golf Local Market Analyzer web application, we extracted information on all 207 DMAs
- For Size scoring & ranking, we used the 3 criteria of golfers, facility-reported annual rounds and holes of golf. They’re just summed, biggest number “wins”
- For Strength scoring & ranking, we used 5 “size-equivalized” metrics
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- The 5-yr Population projected annual change rate (more bodies=more golf)
- The 5-yr Household Income annual change rate (more money=more golf)
- The golfer density relative to supply (Public golfers per 18-hole equivalent (EHE) Public, Regulation-length supply)
- The Play Rate (Facility-reported annual rounds per capita, density of play)
- % Utilization (Avg. EHE annual Played Rounds/Capacity Rounds; how efficiently are golf “factories” running after factoring in weather impact?)
- We then indexed each of those values for each DMA against the All Markets average and then weighted those component values to get the Strength score which is a 100-base index
- We then classified all those index values as either above average (<110 index), average (90-110 index) or below average (<90 index)
In our (humble) opinion, this information on the strength of golf across all US geographies should be part of the reference library of every golf industry stakeholder. This understanding of which markets have continuing post-COVID tailwinds or have trailed the industry updraft can be factored into where to invest or launch, why sales rates differ, course buy/sell/manage decisions etc. Use the button below to subscribe to the Pellucid Publications Membership which contains this report (and our 26 other publications annually). For those who want/need more details or self-serve knowledge about one or more golf markets defined by course draw areas or standard geographies (markets, counties etc.), you can explore further one of two ways:
- Subscribe to the Golf Local Market Analyzer, annual license to run as many analyses on as many variables as your time and curiosity permits or
- Order a Golf Local Market Dynamics report for a single location and up to 3 draw areas (you define, either minutes drivetime or miles radii). Can be either a full commentary report (we provide the data and storyline) or data factbook (just the numbers)
The Golf Markets Scorecard is yet another way that Pellucid helps our clients better understand “the markets of golf” vs. what other entities attempt to portray as “the golf market.”