The Golf Datatech National Golf Rounds Played Report showed that in January, golf rounds played varied vastly between regions, with participation in the East North Central, New England, Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions decreasing and participation drastically increasing in the Pacific, Mountain, West North Central and South Central regions.
According to the report, national golf rounds played in the U.S. were up 8.6% in January 2009 vs. January 2008, bringing the year-to-date total to an increase of 8.6% from last years overall results.
The New England region reported the largest decline in rounds played with a 95.9% drop from last years January rounds, while the West North Central region saw a whopping 78.7% increase in rounds played.
Other results included: Pacific (+27.1%), Mountain (+11.3%), East North Central (-50.3%), Mid-Atlantic (-69.9%), South Atlantic (-4.2%) and South Central (+23.1%).
For December, the report showed rounds played were down 6.8%. That concluded a year-to-date total decrease of 1.8% from 2007.
Cold-weather month rounds played numbers dont typically offer a very accurate representation of the golf market, but as warmer weather arrives along with the beginning of golf season, survey results will become more indicative of the ramifications of the economy on the golf industry.
