3-Minute Business Insights

Short Game

Mid-Year Update: Golf Course Closures
The downward trend in U.S. golf course closures that began in 2020 has continued into its third year. Where could it go from here?
Topics: Closures, Facilities, Facility Supply, Golf Courses, Golf Facilities
Mid-Year Update: Golf Course Closures
The Evolution of Miniature Golf
It's more than windmills these days. We weigh in on the mini golf movement, Millennials, latent demand and... Winston Churchill?
Topics: Engagement, Golfers, Latent Demand, Mini Golf, Miniature Golf
The Evolution of Miniature Golf
That's a Bit of a Reach...
Almost 1-in-9 Americans are active golfers, whether that’s playing on a golf course, hitting balls at a driving range, or swinging and socializing at golf entertainment venues. More people played golf in some form last year than participated in basketball, baseball, tennis, soccer or skiing.
Topics: Engagement, Golfers, Image Of The Game, Participation, Research
That's a Bit of a Reach...
Is Golf’s Pandemic Dividend Slipping Away?
The latest monthly rounds played report it out and shows a 10% decline in play year-to-date. Is it a sign that golf’s pandemic dividend is eroding?
Topics: Engagement, Facilities, Facility Operations, Golf Courses, Golf Facilities
Is Golf’s Pandemic Dividend Slipping Away?
Golf's Big Investment
For anyone who suggests the relatively limited number of new course openings in recent years speaks to golf's overall health and points to limited investment in the game, the research tells a far different story.
Topics: Economy, Facilities, Facility Operations, Golf Courses, Investment
Golf's Big Investment
Golf Travel 'Ready to Take Off?'
Indications are that the overall travel industry has hit an inflection point and is primed for a big summer. So what about golf travel, a $20 billion business in the U.S.?
Topics: Destinations, Economy, Facilities, Golf Courses, Golf Resorts
Golf Travel 'Ready to Take Off?'
Is Golf Coming Up Short?
Are we really in the midst of a short course movement in golf? Yes. And no...
Topics: Closures, Economy, Facilities, Facility Supply, Golf Courses
Is Golf Coming Up Short?
A Boom in Beginners
Over the past two years, as the coronavirus pandemic has gripped the U.S., the number of beginning golfers has been higher than it was back when Tiger Woods was at his most dominant.
Topics: Beginners, Demand, Engagement, Golfers, Grow The Game
A Boom in Beginners
A Special Message...
Going forward, when Fortnight is delivered to our readership every other Thursday, they’ll be directed to click through to our website to read the complete message (it’s free as always).
Topics: General Interest, NGF, Reports, Research
A Special Message...
The Fight for Municipal Golf
A few high-profile fights for the preservation of municipal golf courses have led some to believe that Muni golf is facing an existential threat. It isn’t. Well, at least in 49 out of 50 states it isn’t.
Topics: Facilities, Facility Supply, General Interest, Golf Courses, Golfers
The Fight for Municipal Golf
Inertia - Where is it taking golf?
Rounds of golf in 2020 were almost unthinkably high – the industry erased 20 years of decline in about six months. Naturally, we all wondered how 2021 would go. Would demand maintain, or regress as people presumably fell back into old routines? Emphatically, it was the former.
Topics: Facilities, Golf Courses, Golfers, Participation, Research
Inertia - Where is it taking golf?
Big Shift for Course Closures in 2021
Over the past year or so we’ve talked about the improving supply/demand balance for golf in the U.S. There are indications of this move toward equilibrium in the year-end 2021 data, including a slight increase in not one, but two facility types.
Topics: Facilities, Facility Operations, Facility Supply, Golf Courses, Municipal Golf
Big Shift for Course Closures in 2021

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