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2/14/2005
- NGF: Golf Rounds Played Were Up in 2004
SportsNewsSource Posted: 2/14/2005
Source: National Golf Foundation
Rounds played finished in positive territory in 2004 for
the first time in three years, as reported by the National
Golf Foundation and the National Golf Course Owners Association.
While the gains were slight (0.7% nationally), they represent
a welcome relief to the declines of the prior two years.
“As usual, results vary remarkably by region,”
says Joe Beditz, president and CEO of NGF,” with
some areas experiencing a five percent decline and others
increasing by as much as nine percent. Variations across
regions, due in large part to weather patterns, show a
continuing tendency to balance themselves out.”
“The
numbers reflect what we’ve heard from many of our
members,” adds Mike Hughes, executive director of
NGCOA. “Overall golf spending is rising a bit as
the overall economy continues to improve.”
Private
club rounds were flat for the year while public courses
had slight increases. Premium public courses had the best
showing with nearly a two percent gain, followed by value
public with about a one percent increase.
The
Florida hurricanes left the Gulf Coast region in the lurch
(down nearly five percent) but an otherwise strong season
enabled the Central/South Florida region to finish the
year up about one percent. The Mid Atlantic region posted
the highest gain for the year (nine percent) primarily
because the region’s rounds were down 13 percent
in 2003 due to record levels of precipitation.
The
report is based on information reported by a panel of
nearly 2,600 golf facilities across the U.S. Response
rates to monthly surveys vary from 60 to 70 percent. The
report is one of a series of quarterly reports, supported
and endorsed by a coalition of the industry’s leading
associations. For the full fourth quarter report, visit
www.ngf.org
or www.ngcoa.org.
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