The Pellucid Perspective - May 2012 - (Page 6)

OPINION The Great Contrarian? Or maybe just golf’s best optometrist By Stuart Lindsay couple weeks ago, I went out to Boston to try and help unprepared for the pushback he would get while trying to treat some golf course owners figure out some potential ways so many patients suffering from the ills of using research based of combating discounting in the New England market. on eyesight that made virtually everything appear rosy. One of the people I met at the meeting I recognized as a freBy the time I finally met Jim in 2001, there were already quent correspondent with Jim Koppenhaver of Pellucid. He af- many in the industry saying that all he was doing was prescribfectionately referred to Jim as the “great contrarian.” ing polarized lenses. The president of one major golf association My first exposure to Jim was unknowingly in 1997 – I used pulled him aside and told him to quit expounding on the negato buy demographic data from National Decision Systems tives of oversupply. Another CEO derisively referred to him as (Equifax) and my account executive offered me a “new golf re- the “oracle of Buffalo Grove.” Many others have remarked to port” that was now available due to their acquisition of a market me that they are really “closet” Pellucid supporters, implying research company called Spectra. The report was full of difficult that being openly appreciative is something negative. prose, but it certainly contained more data and a wider perspecMost of you know that I am not un-biased – I’ve worked tive than anything I had seen for golf marwith Jim for over 10 years, but I can asket research purposes up to that point. For sure you that Jim has never wavered in his Most of you know that desire to simply produce the best research those of you who don’t know, I started my career doing research for a Fortune 500 possible. I have also used data from the I am not un-biased – company like Jim did at Kraft and first NGF and other industry sources and have I’ve worked with Jim looked at golf in the late 1970s. found value in that research, even if I had Enough other people must have apprefor over 10 years, but to make allowances for changes in methciated Jim’s work, and he was ultimately odology in order to try and get answers I can assure you that asked to do some research for the original for my clients. The fact that some of Jim’s Golf 20/20 Conference. If I understand Jim has never wavered research has contradicted the findings of the history correctly, there was then some other research in the industry does not in his desire to simply make him a simply a contrarian – in many talk about Jim working with NGF and/ or developing a new research entity, but cases, his work has improved the research produce the best he and NGF CEO Joe Beditz couldn’t available in the industry, not only from research possible. agree on the terms for such a collaboraPellucid, but other research entities. tion. Unlike Louie and Rick at the end of Casablanca, it was not the start of a beauExample #1 – Prior to Pellucid, rounds tiful friendship; Jim subsequently founded played estimates were based on consumer Pellucid to offer independent research and insight to the golf survey data. They are now based on facility reported demand industry. which is a much more accurate measure. Pellucid is a real word – it means to present things in a clear light. I know that Jim learned the word from one of his old Example #2 – At one point, the survey data panel used to English professors and he used it to name his company in part measure golf participation got to be such a small sample that because he thought it was difficult for the NGF to be the pri- state-by-state participation was transitioned to regional particimary source of most golf research and function as a trade or- pation by the NGF. This data was less granular and led to many ganization at the same time. However, I do know that Jim was inaccuracies in feasibility studies we have reviewed over the years. During that period, Pellucid fielded its own survey panel that was large enough to provide state-by-state participation Editor’s note: The author of this article, Stuart Lindsay of Edgehill and by definition was offering a better analysis on golf particiGolf Advisors, is a long-time research partner and collaborator of pation. In the end, Pellucid started using survey data provided our publisher, Pellucid Corp. founder Jim Koppenhaver. We freely by the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) that has admit the inherent bias in Stuart’s characterizations of Jim and Pel- used a consistent methodology since the early 1980s, giving us lucid’s contributions to the industry, but we take the position that even better data to evaluate the trends in golf participation over bias doesn’t necessarily render an opinion untrue, particularly if it’s a longer time period for better consistency. The NGF followed backed by well-researched facts. suit and started using data from the Sporting Goods Manufac- A 6 The Pellucid PersPecTive May 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - May 2012

The Pellucid Perspective - May 2012
Table of Contents
New wave of third-party tee time providers surfacing
The Great Contrarian
Endangered species on your course? En garde!
Pace yourself!
Major golf communities changing hands
April weather impact: Yeah baby!
Petroleum industry keeping Houston golf up to speed
KemperSports launches new private club division
Tough times lead Tucson muni’s to consider privatization
Hits and misses for Get Golf Ready special on CBS

The Pellucid Perspective - May 2012