The Pellucid Perspective - May 2022 - 8

INDUSTRY
TRENDS
On the surface, this just looks like they've lifted a page
from the golf, theme park (insert other entertainment/recreational
activity that you can think of) playbook of offering an
all-you-can-eat buffet option for their cause. Of course, the
cynical consumer/analyst in me now wants to know the details
because if it's priced attractively vs. one's interest/frequency
level or it gives some type of significant price discount for each
occasion, then it's worth a look. Alas, it gets worse the more
you look into it. The " deal killer " is revealed when you click
down to the How it Works page (nothing different there, reserve
a bay/show up, pay the prevailing rate and go have some
food/drink while you wait your turn) and the Pricing page
shown below:
movie are predictable and will focus on capturing as many of
the recreational activities and discretionary dollars as possible to
the exclusion of all else. Given that they're owned by Callaway,
if there is any messaging around buying/investing in golf equipment
we know how that will play out as well (it's interesting
however that, in my several experiences, there hasn't been any
communication or attempt on-premise to herald the benefits
of either equipment ownership or the Callaway brand). In a
rare concession to my oracle of Jupiter counterpart, the Topgolf
folks do need to be counted annually and some analysis of
overlap (how many are Topgolf exclusive, duals) conducted and
we'll leave that to them. To position these date-night golfers
however as being the feeder system for the sport of golf played
The pricing page link brought me to the above page on the TOPGOLF website.
The first point outlined in the body copy above is encouraging,
they're going to offer me unlimited play for the summer
and also up to 5 of my guests so now we've got an " instant
party " element to the offer, cool!
The killer though is that
next line in the body copy which slips in the fact that it's allyou-can
for weekdays only and up to 4PM only. Wow, really?
While that's going to be an incredibly attractive offer for the
65+ crowd (not seeing a lot of those in my couple visits, present
company excluded, ha, ha), stay-at-home parents while the
kids are off to school or, increasingly, work-from-home professionals
who enjoy Topgolf as an intraday stress reliever, this is
a non-starter for the core constituency and primary revenue
stream of Topgolf. As a business owner, I get it. Offer a great
deal on your underutilized times and get some upfront cash
for it; where have we seen this movie before?
Extending the movie metaphor, the sequels to the Topgolf
8 The Pellucid PersPecTive
across green grass and contributing meaningfully in some way
to either golf operators or equipment manufacturers is a stretch
of both the facts and the imagination.
So what might be the legacy of Topgolf on the golf operations/consumer
equipment segments as we know them?
In my opinion there could be a couple likely scenarios. They
could successfully co-exist independently as serving different
consumers and different occasions. Topgolf is the " night out "
experience for younger singles, couples etc. and is the bitesized,
skill-optional activity which is golf-centric. Conversion
to green grass play or buying equipment is low and optional
and they pick off a marginal number of our current golfers/
occasions/dollars. Golf as the sport remains appealing to a
slightly older, slightly less diverse population continuing with
our marginal, on-again-off-again player development programs
and meager attempts to build customer relationships
May 2022
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2022

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