Golf is BOOMING

General Discussion
#1

I’m sure many of you are playing more golf than ever due to Covid. The surge since May has been pretty incredible. I see it on PG, and every single person I know in the golf industry at various levels is astounded by the rounds played and product sales.

I thought you might find a few of these articles interesting from the National Golf Foundation:

https://www.thengfq.com/2020/09/despite-spring-shutdowns-2020-rounds-outpacing-2019

https://www.thengfq.com/2020/09/opportunity-for-golf/

https://www.thengfq.com/2020/09/this-age-cohort-has-been-especially-engaged-during-pandemic/

Here is an interesting graphic - despite losing 20 million rounds in the spring due to lockdowns, rounds played are now up for the year compared to 2019.

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What are all of you seeing at local courses? Are you playing more than ever?

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#2

Interesting to see it was up in January and February, though maybe it was a mild winter?

I’m interested to see how it changes as things return to “normal”

#3

I’m playing more than recent memory (can’t really beat the high school days when I was working at a golf course and playing 4+ times a week). I mostly play LA city courses and the tee sheets are pretty much full every day. Because of COVID, each tee time has a bit more spacing than they used to and I HOPE the courses have realized that’s more effective than jamming in as many as they can. That said, getting one of the early morning tee times for full groups has become so difficult that some groups apparently paid to have bots built for them that would immediately grab the times once the windows opened.

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#4

Wow, that’s crazy!!!

#5

It was nearly impossible to get a tee time on either of our courses before 2pm under 5 days out the entire summer, has since slowed a little but still plenty of play.

Heard the main teaching pro is booked 6 weeks out.

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#6

My club turns into a ghost town September 1 with NCAAFB but not this year (no attendance or tailgates) and if its a warm winter again as predicted this uptick could continue until mid December.

#7

Gift your pro with a good bottle of bourbon every now and then and getting on seems to magically disappear.

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#8

Our Club extended Summer hours and guest policies through the end of October instead of the usual Labor Day. The tee sheets remain full.

#9

Courses in my area have had a great golfing year with impressive increases in the number of rounds. Both COVID and reasonable summer weather have contributed to that.

What is affecting a number of courses here is the loss of income from wedding receptions, Proms, family celebrations, etc. I hope that they are able to survive these losses because that’s a big part of there income.

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#10

I have not played as much myself this year as the last few years, but thats for non-covid related reasons.

But the courses around Des Moines have been jam packed all year. I can never remember it being this difficult to get a tee time. One of my favorite courses that I usually play a dozen or more times a year I have only been able to get on twice. It is great to see more people playing, but can be a little frustrating at the same time. Maybe I just need to be better about booking more in advance.

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#11

My new sticks my take up to 6 weeks to ship…

Apparently it is the best year for equipment manufacturers on record

#12

I’m at 110 rounds played in 2020 and hoping to get to 130 before the snow flies. A lot more 9 hole rounds coming this fall.

I’ve seen this everywhere I’ve looked. In July I was fortunate enough to play Des Moines Golf & CC, and they had already seen 45,000 rounds on their 2 courses at that point. Most of the public courses in my area have full tee sheets as well! Hopefully this momentum continues as we come out of COVID-19.

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#13

I know the Super of the North Course at DMGCC fairly well. He told me earlier this summer there were talks about having to limit how many times a week members were allowed to paly, not sure if that was ever put in place or not.

The few members I do know there told me tee times would be fully booked in less than 3 minutes each day they were able to book.

I dont belong to a club and just play public courses, but if I were a member there that would really irritate me. Paying that much to be a member and it being that difficult to get tee times, or having a limit of how much you can play? No thanks!

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#14

When the lockdown first went into effect there was only one public course open that was reasonably close. Tee times were available at midnight 2 days before. Most days they were gone in 2-3 minutes, not a few times ALL OF THEM. I have continued to see that increase since March. My private club is busier now than it has been the previous 5 years I have been there.

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#15

Yes, and my usual course is running specials! Perhaps less crowded this month as it’s getting colder!

#16

The member who invited me had to get up at 6 am the day he could make the tee time to get us one. It’s crazy!

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#17

you’re my hero, Jake

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#18

Not all heroes wear capes Jon. Just wish I was seeing more improvement for all my time. My scores are more consistent (less blow-up rounds) but my handicap hasn’t dropped.

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#19

I play with a group that gets one of the first 2-3 tee times every weekend. I don’t play with them every weekend but the spot is available. They always book a week in advance as soon is it’s available.

I had a vendor call this afternoon and ask if I wanted to play this Saturday, said he was hoping for something in the morning. I looked at the tee times at the course he wanted, and the first available time was 1:50 p.m. Will have to adjust my mindset in prep for a 4.5-5 hr afternoon round vs the normal 3:45 morning rounds!

I’m happy for the golf industry as a whole, but it definitely requires a lot more planning!

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#20

My home course in Raleigh has actually decided to turn down new memberships (we’re not private) and there’s a lot of people on a waiting list to get in.

As for tee times, I have to call the pro shop 10 days in advance, and first thing before sunrise, if I want to have any chance of securing a decent tee time. Amazingly, the course itself has stood up really well to the increased play, not an easy feat trying to keep bent grass greens from dying from heat stress during the peak of summer. We have a talented superintendent and staff at Lonnie Poole.

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