In an open letter to members, National Golf Foundation (NGF) President and CEO Joe Beditz said that golfers are definitely “scratching their itch to play.” Referencing a survey completed over this past weekend, shown below, Beditz indicated that 86 percent of core golfers reported that they’ve teed it up in the past couple of weeks. “I can’t say if that’s high because it’s not how we’ve traditionally collected this data,” explained Beditz, “but it seems an encouraging sign.” He also said that the monthly NGF national study of golf participation is showing a spike in the proportion of golfers who are beginners which supports what they are hearing from operators.
Beditz went on to say that increased interest in golf is also evident in Google search results. Golf’s search popularity in the month of May reportedly reached a new peak level compared to the previous four years.
On the supply side, NGF found 98 percent of courses open for play, up slightly from the prior week. NGF also found that 85 percent of off-course retailers and 75 percent of on-course shops are now open for business. Beditz said the increase in availability may have something to do with the modest rise in golfer-reported visits to off-course golf retail with 16 percent now saying that they’ve played recently (up from 12 percent a week ago). Golf entertainment venues are also coming back, he said, with 28 percent open for business as of June 1.
Lead photo courtesy Emerald Isle Golf Course, Chart courtesy NGF
