Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 06-17-08 special agenda — reading text

rn a cn cn N cn N, l a) V•-• Qi c o o Q} 0 0 0 0 0 a_,v o o M C' c i C E E m 00 d7 a 00 T- J i V Q Q U) U) 4 - y, Page 55 of 59 HOW HEALTHY IS OUR GAME? By Matthew Rudy Amid recent reports that golf is losing players, facilities, and equipment sales, we commissioned some fresh research. Illustrations by John Cuneo The prognosis is not all bad, but there's still work to be done BUSINESSWEEK I GOLF DIGEST I MAY 26, 2008 Page 56 of 59 072 and the industry consortium Golf 20/ 20 are less than comprehensive or cover only a period up to 2005. So, in spring 20o8 Golf Digest and BusinessWeek commissioned Longitudes Group, an Omaha -based research and marketing company, to take the current tempera- ture of the golf industry by exhaustively analyzing market supply trends and geo - demographic data. The resulting picture of the indus- try—a mix of Longitudes' research and the existing surveys and economic data —is a complicated one. Interest in the game among sports fans and kids has never been greater. But a combina4 Lion of a weak economy, the rise in air- fares caused by soaring fuel costs, and fiercer competition for consumers' tinW and entertainment dollars has crunched mazgias at resorts, mid -range country clubs, small retail stores, and daily- fee courses, a The most - cited participation sur- veys show a game that' s at best treading water and might be dipping under. Tha THE OVERALL GOLF ECONOMY -- INCLUDING EQUIPMENT N49m4.$pox4ng Gods Assns 2004 survey,Shaws g - od Is player pool shrank SALES AND GOLF TOURISM -- HAS NEVER BEEN LARGER 7. 3% frOM 2003 to 2oo7,, The National Golf .Faauadatimll, latest report shotvs rounds playadare down 3. 5 % for the first Hank Haney is most famous for his prominent role as Tiger quarter of Zoos and basieallyflat since 2oo54 It also shows the Woods' teacher, but long before he started working with the number of core golfers has declined. world' s No. 1 player —and charging $500 for an hour lesson — Longitudes' research includes information from its data- Haney was a shrewd golf businessman. base of 6 million golfers, analysis of golf- facility supply and Starting with a ranch he bought from World War II hero demand, and interviews with hundreds of private -club and and movie star Audie Murphy in 1991, Haney expanded that thousands of public - course managers nationwide. The group McKinney (Tex.) range into seven practice facilities and three studied the relationship between the supply of public courses golf courses across the state. in the 27 largest markets across the country and the green fees Seventeen years later, despite a struggling economy, the at those courses, and compared the changes in fees over the most famous athlete in the world is a professional golfer (and a last five years with changes in the Consumer Price Index. loo million Nike Golf endorsee), PGA Tour purses are at all - Results show that course operators are facing problems time highs, the largest equipment manufacturers are reporting more complicated than just a reduced flow of customers. record sales, and industry groups are noting that the overall Courses' peak fees have gone up at the same rate as in#latidh, golf "economy" —including equipment sales, golf tourism, and but off -peak rates - -which account for a majority of the rounds golf course real estate development —has never been larger. played — increased 33% more than the CPI.` In ' other words, But many people affiliated with the golf industry aren' t cel- prices have risen even in the face of flat or reduced demand. ebrating. A series of studies shows that rounds played are flat " That doesn' t bode well for attracting new and younger golfers or declining. Television ratings for PGA Tour events have pla- 4n a weak economy. " Energy costs are going up, and the cost of teaued. Traditional hot spots for vacation golf activity such as fertilizer has doubled in the last two years," says Longitudes Myrtle Beach and northern Michigan have seen a raft of course President Sara Killeen. " Course operators had to raise rates or closure—either from a lack of play or because of the tough go under —and the number of daily -fee courses has dropped business credit climate. Even Haney' s flagship golf ranch be- 2. 55b in five years. They' re feeling it from all sides. The suc- came a more enticing business proposition as a real estate play cessful ones are working very hard on their business 365 days a than it was as a driving range, and he sold to developers. year and managing the details very astutely:' So is the patient sick or healthy? But like a teacher assessing a tour player' s round more by Many of the recent participation surveys undertaken by the how the ball is hit than by the number on the scorecard, some National Golf Foundation, the National Sporting Goods Assn., 4- industry insiders say the negative participation trends and SUSINESSWEEK I GOLF DIGEST I MAY 26, 2008 Page 57 of 59 074 Cobra, and Pinnacle, moved $1. 4 billion in equipment, a 707b increase over the year before. Callaway reported record first -quarter net sales of $366. 5 million, a9. 5% increase over the $334. 6 million in sales for the same period last year. Fewer players might have played fewer rounds, but $500 FT -i drivers and $46 dozen -ball boxes of ProVis were still being sold. The biggest change has come in how players are buying that equipment, says Leigh Bader, who has been in the equip- ment- retail business since the early