We’ve often marveled in this space and others about the resiliency of golfers and the game as a whole, to weather (pun intended) the dark clouds of a souring economy. In fact, as we continue to track consumer behavior and sentiment in our Consumer Optimism Barometer (Formerly the “Back to Normal Barometer), there’s been an impressive disconnect between overall societal malaise and the willingness of people to spend beyond their means. Our attitudinal data certainly seemed to foreshadow TransUnion’s March report that total consumer credit card debt hit a record $930.6 billion at the end of 2022, an +18.5% increase from the year earlier. Average balances rose to $5,805 over that same juncture. We’ve called it revenge spending and COVID liberation, and that sentiment certainly helped to fuel the magnitude and sustainability of golf related spending during the same period, even as competitive discretionary activities continued to open up and fight to return to pre-pandemic service levels.

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