The Pellucid Perspective - May 2019 - 7

representing the fastest-growing sector in the US golf
population since 2010" [Pellucid's figures don't support this but this has been an NGF talking point the
past 12 months; it's a well-parsed accolade though like
saying a mutual fund is the best among its peers for a
select 3-year period under a full moon and a Republican
President etc.]

*

In summary, Mr. Whan doesn't acknowledge that the female
golfer contingent still trades in the 23-27% of golfers range (despite all the previous claims of female Jr. Golf growth, why aren't
those girls translating into lady golfer gains, at least to 30% of
golfers given that we're frequently reminded that women comprise 51% of the population and make 80%+ of the buying decisions in America???). He clearly has bought into the NGF
line of thinking that fans (which is the gateway drug to golfers), interest (latent demand figures) and engagement (TopGolf
vs. the sport of golf ) are leading indicators of industry health.
Given that there is no historical proven correlation between any
of these producing increased golfers or rounds, this can only be
described as "blind faith."
PGA of America (Suzy Whaley)
* "I am excited about the future of the golf industry!...
While we face many of the same challenges that every
sector of the economy - and every major brand does at
some time...there are reasons for optimism." (I think

this puts us in the same category as retail stores and US
manufacturing because nearly everything else currently
seems to be up as well as spending power and employment is at an all-time low which all should auger well
for recreation and discretionary spending)
"...our participation numbers are up for key categories -beginners, avid golfers and those who experience the game at off-course options. A record-tying
2.6M golfers played for the first time in 2018...These
new golfers are more diverse and younger than the
overall golf population; 31% are women [vs. 25% of
golfers basis Pellucid], 26% are non-Caucasians [vs.
20% basis Pellucid]...47.4M non-golfers say they are
"somewhat" or "very" interested in trying golf, a 6%
increase...The number of women playing golf has
grown approximately 7% over the past six years...36%
of junior golfers are girls compared to 23% of all golfers...Total on course participation increase to 24.2M
[when NGF cites this figure they call it statistically
flat, here it becomes "increased"?]...When factoring in
off-course participation options, such as TopGolf, total
participation climbed to 33.5M in '18 up 4% from
32.1M in '17." (she gets recognition for being the most
prepared to talk quantitatively however, as she noted,
these are all merely support points for "optimism"
rather than any fundamental shift to stability let alone
growth)

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The Pellucid Perspective - May 2019

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