"Talk about fiddling while Rome burns."
Thanks to reader Rich for Steve Pike's rebuttal to PGA of America President Jim Remy's rosey take on rounds played.
As usual, however, the PGA of America doesn’t see – or refuses to see – the real picture. The latest example is the July National Rounds Played Report from Golf Datatech. According to Datatech, rounds played in the U.S. were down 5.1 percent this past July compared to July 2009. For the year through this past July, rounds played were down 3.3 percent compared to the same period in ’09.
Public access play was down 5.2 percent for the month and private course activity was down five percent. Golf Datatech said a total of 3,660 courses are represented in its report.
Make you wonder what kind of excuses the kids from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., will try to spin on this one. Perhaps none. They’re too busy gearing their Sept. 7 appearance on The New Stock Exchange to announce the Captain’s Picks for this year’s Ryder Cup team. Talk about fiddling while Rome burns.
Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 08:26 PM
Reader Comments (21)
Golfs doomed-its all my fault-where is the nearest tall building I can throw myself off,
Get real people!
1) Cost. There just aren't enough decent "cheap" courses for folks to play. Good clubs are expensive. Good balls are expensive (note: I know there are great low-end balls, but I have picked up 6 dozen Pro-V1s that are almost new over the course of the summer here. Mediocre or bad golfers must be paying for them, because a good golfer will rarely zing one into the woods or my backyard.)
2) Time. It takes too long to play 18 holes here in the US. Slow play, poorly designed (for speed of play) courses, etc. have made a 4.5-5 hour round the norm here. That's the best part of a day, and for a family man or woman, that's a huge time suck that they often cannot afford.
3) The Great Recession. When one's earning power decreases in this time of fewer jobs, no raises and higher costs, the first thing to go is discretionary spending. Golf is discretionary spending and it is an expensive sport.
4) The Fading of the Tiger Effect. When Tiger Woods came along, golf became the rage amongst folks who had never paid much attention to it in the past. Many of them were gung ho about learning the game, but then they discovered the frustration of being a beginner at it and how much commitment it took to practice, to play etc. and a good number gave up over time.
I am sure that there is more, and I wonder how much the PGA can do about it. Golf may be returning to "normal" - with its core group of dedicated players. This time, however, there is an oversupply of courses thanks to the boom in building the last 15-20 years.
So, mostly, its time for me. Cost isn't really that big a deal or the recession. If there were good courses around here that would sell me 9 holes, I would play more, especially if I got off early. Where I grew up, you could play the back nine if you teed off before 7:30 or 8 (depending on season). Where I live now (DC area), if you want to play nine, you have to go to dog tract.
Of course the recession is a problem. But, I think its the time that's really killing people.
if money is not your problem, then, you may be surrounded by others in that position, so you are not aware of how bad it is.
But money is a BIG factor, two fold.....one the cost of a round, and 2, the time off not working making money.
The weather (heat down here) is a big deal, as is the rain in other areas.
While time is a situation for you *at this time*, golfers have alwasy been having kids, and some are 2 at all times, so a rotation occurs, and theoreticlly, someone else should be taking your place, while you have time constraints..... but they are not.
And as to the TW 'effect'...I call it the guitar effect....... wannabe golfers find out it aint easy, and , no mas....just like the guitar wannabes that quit the first time their fingers hurt.
All levels (of club) are hurting in rounds played, for all of these reasons......
The economy is the major factor, though.... just get the pro talking .
Have a great holiday weekend!
digsouth
If you read the entire story you woud have seen that the Datatech July survey showed precipitation down in six of the eight regions surveyed so weather could not have been a major factor.
Fact is, the PGA under Joe Steranka's leadership has a pattern of putting out numbers and information that it can't quantify. Steranka's management style always has been "I say it so believe it without question.'' This is no different. It's not that the PGA can't do much about the rounds played figure as much as it is about the PGA, through guys like Remy, trying to get the industry and public to believe what it says when the numbers show otherwise.
Then, have golf prices been rising or falling? And is golf overall a relatively expensive form of recreation that people substitute away from, or a relatively cheap one that people substitute toward?
I guess you could also factor in how the massive decrease in hours worked has translated into more time available for (unemployed) Americans to play golf.
A 3 or 5% drop in rounds played could mean that golf is doing better than we all should expect, or it could mean that golf is doing worse.
*A 3 or 5% drop in rounds played could mean that golf is doing better than we all should expect, or it could mean that golf is doing worse. *
Well, glad we got that cleared up. ;)
You in politics?
digsouth.
great post. Time spent golfing is moving up. Times are good in the golf world!! Love it!
Mike Hill...
perhaps the weather comment was focused on the heat, not the rain. I was out playing in the 100 degree heat in humid GA that month, and let me tell you the courses were not crowded. It was HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Live in GA too and ca attest to the heat. Datatech, I believe, includes temps and precipitation averages for the month. Golf is a game that is played outdoors and is at the mercy of the weather, yet the so-called leaders of the industry always make weather and excuse. Maybe it's time they adjust their budgets and growth plans accordingly.
The PGA can influence lesson prices i suppose but the cost of golf and its accessability is hardly the PGA's fault.All the golfing bodies need to be getting together on this.
VW-I have just offered a free beer to every person who beats 3 1/2 hrs in my pro day next month.I'll let you know if it works!
Duffers yet!
all you need to play soccer is a ball and 2 people. It is a fun game to play, and a dumb game to watch, We have yet to see how the generation of the organized will fare vs the ones of my youth, ie: little leaguers, but I can safely assume that some of that brain damage from hiting an effing ball with your head will surface in some form, and a plethora of books will emerge by the time these ball bouncing kids reach their late 30's.
As to tennis: fun, cheap, free. I say good for the kids. good social game , too. Meet chicks, say silly things. Good.
Frisbee golf? now there is one the 'young adults' won't let the kids play around here....we have several free city courses, and I have never seen anyone who had not reached puberty by several yeas out playing.
Swimming? Another great youth activity, but that is another story. Back to the real sport of youth, meeting girls...the pool thing works real well.
digsouth
I think you are on the right track but the bottom line is Steranka and the PGA are never going to do anything that costs them money. The main objective of the PGA is to get somebody else to pay for something and if it succeeds, take credit; if it fails, blame the other party and walk away.
Not sure if your country clubs would go for this-but you never know!