Nov OtR: 50M Reasons Golf Should be Thankful for '20

B50M Reasons the Golf Industry Should be Thankful for '20

Volume 19 Issue 11

That's how many incremental rounds Pellucid is projecting for the '20 Calendar Year (CY) over-and-above the '19 level of ~435M annual rounds. If our assumptions play out (with 10 months in the books, the math gets a lot easier), we'll finish the season between 480-490M rounds which would eclipse the last windfall year of '12 which we'll take up for comparison in this issue.

As I go back through history looking for comparative years and high-water marks, there will be some recent-history ('00-'20) records broken while other figures will take us back in time to happier levels of rounds support (like '05). It will be safe to say that while COVID has wreaked havoc globally with lives, economies, businesses, work habits and relationships, the golf industry has been a significant beneficiary of the COVID-constrained world. Here's the flight plan for this month's journey:

How good has '20 been from a Rounds & Utilization standpoint?
How will that rounds bounty translate into Golf-related Revenue (GrR = greens fees, carts, memberships/season passes etc.) gains for the industry nationally? (hint, the number is followed by a B as in billions)
Would national summary tracking of Rounds, GrR and Weather impact help us better understand what is driving industry performance and which types of facilities are benefitting most? (spoiler alert...Yes)

One also can't help but notice that the COVID restrictions on activity have also, temporarily and on a small order-of-magnitude, turned the tables on golf's dichotomy between the golf operations sector (winning!) and the entertainment sector (struggling, as Exhibit A see The Match 3 which will, mercifully, be over by the time you read this). In an industry and an era ('00-'20) that has desperately needed a break, the recreational restrictions and some elements of golf's appeal have significantly floated our boat this year to elevated levels of rounds and revenue. For that we should be thankful. Where we go in '21 depends on several factors, some of which we control like customer relationships, player development etc. and others we don't like when and how the COVID restrictions wind down and the eternal X factor of weather. Let's take a look at how good '20 is going to be and compare it to history and other high-water marks for reference and insights.

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As always, we appreciate your support and partnership on our journey to help intelligent industry stakeholders make better-informed decisions, unbiased by industry dreams, hopes and "spin."

Jim K.