Longitudes Group announced the release of its 2005 Market Trend Report on USA Off-Course Golf retail. The research tracks the growth and contraction of the off course retail market analyzing the last year’s state-by-state changes both in the number of doors and total square feet.

The 2005 report provides a complete assessment of average square footage growth and contraction for the industry by categorizing store segments based on size from Big Box down to Boutiques. In the overall off-course retail segment, the trend shows the large format retailers are aggressively opening stores across the country, putting some smaller stores “out of business”.

Key findings include:

  • 8.7 Million square feet is the estimated retail space dedicated to the off-course channel today in the US marketplace
  • Square footage in the channel nationwide grew this year by 4.5%, while the number of new doors expanded by only 1%
  • Big Box stores over >10,000 square feet represent 11% of the doors, but nearly 40% of the square feet in the market.

Significant regional differences were uncovered with a number of states indicating that there may be new opportunities for off-course retail expansion. Each state represented a unique mix of supply and demand variables indicating any number of influences that can impact the success of a location and local/regional market dynamics.

Sara Killeen of Longitudes Group said, “The research indicates that local variables such as the public/private golf culture, the number of avid golfers, golf participation rates and the cost of commercial space influence average store size and the number of stores that are serving the golf population.” Killeen also stated that a thorough 5, 10 and 15 mile market analysis would be key to identifying the impact of these variables, along with measuring local rounds played, the strength of on-course retail and chain sporting goods to determine a location's viability.

The retail research was conducted by Longitudes Group, LLC, first in 2004, and replicated in 2005 by contacting over 1,800 retail locations categorized in various databases as off-course golf retail.