3-Minute Business Insights
The latest monthly numbers show something the golf industry hasn't seen in a while -- a decline in play. How much of an impact did Mother Nature have in February?
February rounds were down 4.7% nationwide compared to a year ago, when play for the month had been up 19% before the pandemic hit the U.S.
NGF's Graffis Report, a overview of an unprecedented year for the golf business in 2020, is now available for NGF members.
Golf's on-course momentum from 2020 carried into 2021. Here's a look at how much play was up nationwide in the first month of the year.
The flood of new faces on U.S. golf courses in 2020 was noteworthy, even if some gains were offset. Who were these new people? And who wanted “in” last year?
After the coronavirus struck in 2020, spring shutdowns gave way to an unprecedented summer and fall in terms of play, golfer introductions and reintroductions, and robust, late-season spending.
October rounds played came in 32% higher than last year, according to Golf Datatech, raising the national year-to-date figure to +10.8%. Several multi-course operators we checked with recently told us that the surge in play continued in November, putting us on track for an annual increase of somewhere around 50 million rounds over 2019. Pretty amazing.
September rounds played continued the summer momentum nationwide.
Closing out the summer of 2020, August rounds played set a new standard for the biggest increase in a peak season month.
Rounds of golf were up almost 20% nationwide in July, helping the industry continue its comeback after losing 20 million spring rounds due to the coronavirus.
As the coronavirus raged on, three out of four golf travelers (76%) say they're willing to drive more than four hours each way for a golf getaway,
With more than half of U.S. golf courses shut down for most of April, national rounds played were down 42% during the month compared to a year ago.
