According to the National Golf Foundation, rounds played dropped 0.8% in August from the same period in 2005, based on same-store sales. The year-to-date percentage change, which has gradually given back gains posted earlier in the year, now stands at an improvement of 1.4%.

The year started off strong with the first quarter ending up 10% and April up as well with an 8% gain for the month. However, each successive month through the summer saw a decrease, with May down 3.2%, June down 0.7%, and July down 2%.

For the most part, regional results for the month hovered around the same level as last year’s August, with the South Central region, down 3.4%, and the Southeast, up 1.8%, marking the low and high results, respectively.

For the year-to-date period, the Southeast was again the top performer, with rounds played increasing 5.2%. The Gulf Coast, despite a slight dip this month, remains up 3.9% for the YTD period, while the Southwest, which was down 0.4% for the month, has experienced the worst fall off against last year’s YTD, down 1.4%.