In the late 1990s, golf experienced booming levels of participation following Tiger Woods’ 1996 PGA debut and electrifying performances in the years that followed. The industry blossomed with the population, peaking at 30 million golfers in 2003. The housing collapse in 2006 and subsequent economic downturn shuttered the industry; the number of rounds played dropped for 13 consecutive years. News headlines declared that American golf was dying, if not dead, sending private clubs into an existential crisis.
Alas, this article does not eulogize golf. Just as the COVID-19 pandemic popularized puzzles and sour dough bread, golf has had a resurgence during the pandemic. As restrictions loosened in spring of 2020 as the virus became better understood, socially distanced golf courses were a safe space for golfers experiencing schedule flexibility with work-from-home. Newcomers came into the game, existing golfers played more, and those who once played but left for a while returned.
The pandemic fortified golf’s most important elements and catapulted the sport out of a period of stagnant growth. Suddenly, a game played in four-and-a-half-hour increments was attractive. The game could serve as an outlet and a distraction from a world fraught with risk, and an opportunity for social connection arguably impossible to foster via Zoom. Golf has thrived by nearly all metrics. According to a report put together by the National Golf Foundation, golfers played 502 million rounds in 2020, the most since 2007. Research firm U.S. Golf Datatech reported a 14% increase in rounds played, the largest increase since the company began tracking in 1998.
SCARCITY, THE RESULT OF HISTORIC ENTHUSIASM
With an explosion in popularity came the task for golf operators of sustaining happy golfers. However, clubs andprofessionals struggled this year to provide services and products with supply lines slowed and staffing difficult.
At the height of golf’s popularity, demand is exponentially outpacing supply. Supply chain issues are plaguing the industry. Between work stoppages, labor shortages, shipping backlogs, soaring demand and catastrophic weather events, many industries have been struggling to get their hands on the products—and even the raw materials—they need to keep running.
Golf clubs as well as items like grips are in increasingly short supply as supply chain holds around the world continue to make it challenging to source new products. Acushnet, Titleist’s parent company, now turns customer orders around in an average of seven weeks, compared to the two business days it took before.
“It’s a confluence of factors that we have to navigate: Items we need to purchase are out of stock at most companies; merchandise is not coming in on time, shipping costs are all very inflated,” said Paul G. Tessier, PGA Golf Professional at Bald Peak Colony Club in New Hampshire. “It’s all about managing members’ expectations … It’s a whole new set of problems we didn’t anticipate just a year ago. But you must remember, it’s all because of historic enthusiasm for the sport, which is a good thing.”
GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE SHORTAGES
Private clubs are facing shortages out on the course as well. Back-ordered equipment repair parts have been a major headache for clubs whose grounds crews are used to keeping to a tight schedule. Labor prices and shortages have also spurred superintendents to find ways to do more with less.
“The one area where superintendents will need to trim is in the number of labor hours spent on the course” says Steve Gano, a GCSAA Class A superintendent and vice president of operations for International Golf Maintenance Inc. “The cost per hour has increased dramatically. Superintendents in turn will need to alter their routines, use new routes and purchase new equipment, which can help them do the job in less time.”
Far and away the most severe shortage, though, is grass seed. The reasons are many and complex but with supply low and demand high, the price of grass seed has skyrocketed. Price will vary by type, but many varieties have doubled in price.
When the line item for a club’s grass seed already runs six-figures—that’s a huge problem.
Gano foresees the grass seed shortage being a problem in 2022 as well. Some forecast longer than that. Fortunately, clubs have some strategies that can use to mitigate the problem. The use of colorants in a process called “painting” is increasingly popular and has two added benefits: a more vibrant-looking course in winter and improved playing conditions during overseed transitions. Another option is to experiment. Some courses are buying the best seed they can get but in much smaller quantities that they use very deliberately. Others are delaying overseeding, which actually allows them to use less to achieve the same effect.
SUSTAINING POPULARITY: COMPETING FOR LEISURE TIME
As businesses settle back into a more familiar rhythm, the golf industry endeavors to sustain unprecedented popularity of golf as competing leisure time interests come back online.
Nevertheless, the surge in equipment sales and in numbers of players joining private clubs could be indicative of high levels of commitment. Golf professionals are taking lessons learned from the surge in participation to widen the pool of potential devotees.
One trend is to offer more variety in options that transcend the traditional golf experience. For example, the proliferation of par-3 courses or six-hole and nine-hole facilities, as well as massive putting complexes facilitate informal play. Many clubs have undertaken efforts to eliminate barriers to entry, such as loosening formal dress codes, easing rules of play and offering shortened rounds.
Critical to note is that a boost for the sport also comes from younger, more casual players. According to the National Golf Foundation, more than 30 percent of beginning players in 2020 were over the age of 40. This demographic compelled clubs to adopt a faster, more casual and technologically advanced operation model. Private clubs are increasingly embracing off-course facilities, such as simulators. Imaginative new ideas promise to sustain the growth and vitality of the business and the game of golf.