At the nationwide level, April 2009 golf rounds were down -1.6% and days open were nearly flat at -0.4% compared to April 2008, according to
PerformanceTrak. The number of weekend days in April 2009 were the same as in April 2008. YTD rounds played are down -0.5% with YTD days open up 1.2%. Based on 2008 calendar year statistics, approximately 24% of total annual rounds are played in January, February, March, and April.
While overall rounds played were slightly down for April 2009, there were clear differences in results by facility type. For example, same-store rounds played at private facilities were flat at 0.1%, while same-store rounds played at resort facilities were down -8.0%. This supports a theme that avid private golfers are maintaining their rounds at local facilities while destination resorts are being affected by economic concerns.
Useable same-store golf fee revenue responses were submitted by 1,068 facilities. Median gross golf fee revenue was down -4.8% nationally. All other gross revenues (merchandise revenue, food and beverage revenue, and total revenue) were also down in April 2009 compared to April 2008. For golf fee revenue, this indicates that with rounds slightly down, effective rates dropped resulting in gross revenues being down. Overall, YTD gross revenues were also down; however, similar to rounds played, there are differences in results by facility type.
The Performance Factor for April 2009 was 98.7 indicating rounds played per day open were down in April 2009 compared to April 2008. The YTD Performance Factor of 98.3 also indicated rounds played per day open were down for the year through April 2009.
