Golf has been one of the few industries to not only survive, but thrive during the pandemic. In 2020, golf courses experienced historic gains in both numbers of golfers and rounds played. Many of those golfers were new entrants to the game. They were drawn by the opportunity to meet with friends in an outdoor activity that was relatively safe when most other recreational activities were deemed either too risky or were shut down altogether.
And the news is even better for 2021. According to the National Golf Foundation, while ‘official’ year-end data won’t be available until late January, 2021 total rounds will exceed last year’s, likely by 4% to 5%, an increase of between 20-25 million additional rounds nationwide. And there were also related increases in equipment and apparel sales, even with the nagging problems with pandemic-related supply chain issues.
The 2021 increase was somewhat unexpected but easily explained; there were dramatic increases in the rounds played in March through May of 2021 compared to the same months in the previous year because courses were closed along with everything else during those months in 2020.
There are plenty of industry-generated statistics that inform us about what happened to golf, but there is precious little to instruct on what to do going forward. The challenge for the industry is to understand what is happening not only at a macro/national level, but at a micro/local level. National trends and industry-wide programs are useful to a certain extent, but what plays in northern Virginia doesn’t necessarily work in northern California. Savvy operators will move beyond broad strategies and identify specific tactics to obtain and retain rounds.
Bob Foster, Director of Golf Operations for Concert Golf Partners, understands the importance of not taking the windfall growth of golf rounds for granted.
“We continue to sell and grow our memberships in our private clubs, which obviously will allow you to sustain rounds,” said Foster. “We created programs throughout our company such as Wednesday night golf, nine hole men's leagues, Tuesday night or Thursday night leagues, women’s leagues, Junior PGA leagues and more.”
In order to retain the lion’s share of the gains that have been made, operators must focus on implementing core best practices including:
- Getting feedback from the new arrivals. Surveys and polls directed at new golfers will garner critical information about why they came and what they expect from the game in general and from their home course in particular.
- Understand the lifecycle of the individual and the arc of the golfer. Golf can contact people in very different stages of life. Juniors, seniors, working moms and dads, millennials and other demographics need to have programming at their home course that fits their wallets, schedules and preferences.
- Be inclusive. Golf’s reputation has never been better, and diverse audiences that have been introduced to golf via alternative golf experiences like TopGolf are looking to make the leap to green grass experiences. Facilities must provide an atmosphere that ensures that new golfers are made to feel welcome regardless of age, race, gender or level of familiarity with the game.
- Understand your experience and be faithful to it. Whether it’s an upscale private club or a municipal daily fee, operators must have a thorough understanding of the experience at their facility from the moment the golfer arrives to the moment they leave and ensure that golfers have a consistently excellent version of that experience every time they visit.
Circumstance and coincidence have blessed golf with a brief period of exceptional growth. With diligence, creativity and a commitment to embrace all comers, operators can turn it into an extended period of perpetual growth.