The Pellucid Perspective - June 2024 - 6

GOLF CONSUMER
FRANCHISE
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The Pellucid PersPecTive
6 The Pellucid PersPecTive
9
June 2024
going to dampen that effect but what you can see is that
the annual growth rate has peaked but it's plateauing
rather than eroding which is great news
* As to how long will this last, I don't have a good crystal
ball on that. We'll continue to watch for erosion in the
above growth rate which will be the first indicator that
we've peaked in golfer count. As an historical highwater
mark, in the last up cycle for golf participation,
attracting new golfers is in the 25 - 40 Age Group. It is also the
Age that many kids exposed to golf through Junior Programs
return after their detours into high school, college and team
This suggests that we haven't yet hit peak " post-COVID "
in golfer growth and this upward trend likely still has
some legs vs. seeing a retreat in the golfer count
" club " sports. Providing more access to affordable instruction
will only serve to help with faster skill development - we know
that people respond to improvement and will stay involved
when they get better.
It is also clear, however, is that we will have to adjust our
methods for getting these new golfers equipped for staying engaged.
This will entail rethinking " rental programs " and probably
getting familiar with some of these new fintech options
that the Millenials are already embracing.
n
we came up a nose shy of 30M participants in '02 by
our accounting. Even if we can sustain the 2% annual
growth, that would put us 10+ years away from cresting
that previous level (10 years of 2% golfer growth
however would be a nice problem to have, right?)
In summary, a solid (and somewhat surprising for this analyst)
report card for growth in the consumer franchise and play
dynamics for '23. Pellucid is happy to be, once again, the bearer
of good news on this front after all those years reporting the
disappointing " truth " of declines in golfers and rounds. That
said, the analyst in me still seeks to understand
and quantify how golfers and
non-golfers alike told us for nearly 20
years that the key to growing the golfer
base and play was making the sport
shorter duration,
less-expensive and
having a faster path-to-proficiency; yet
they're embracing the sport absent any
of those during this current cycle. I recall
a comment from one of the initial
Golf 20/20 sessions, PGA staffer Ruffin
Beckwith said, " We need to fix the roof
while the sun is shining. " Unfortunately,
back then we weren't fixing any roofs,
we were whistling by graveyards but
we now have the opportunity to either
better understand the new dynamics of
trial and repeat for golf or continue to
ride this wave while we figure out the
answers to the classic three barriers in
case the general population reverts to
that mindset. In the meantime, myself
and Pellucid are enjoying the sunshine
just as much as you are.
PS - in a shameless plug, if you want
the detailed figures and storyline behind
the '23 Golf Consumer Franchise
Health report, there are two paths-topurchase:
*
Become a Pellucid Publications
Member (PPM), available in either
National (industry stakeholders) or
Local (facility owner/operators) versions
- $495 annual, provides all Pellucid
publications (27 reports, combination of
monthly updates and annual reports)
* Subscribe to Outside the Ropes
(OtR), the May issue provides
the scorecards and more detailed
commentary on changes, insights and
implications) - $250 annual, 12 monthly
issues plus access to the historical
archives (last 12 issues) via the member
portal on the Pellucid website
https://www.pellucidcorp.com/reports/pellucid-membership-program https://www.pellucidcorp.com/reports/pellucid-membership-program https://www.pellucidcorp.com/reports/outside-the-ropes-newsletter https://www.kempersports.com/
The Pellucid Perspective - June 2024

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