The Pellucid Perspective - February 2021 - 7

it's too easy; then we should get concerned. I'll take the over as
to when a focus group will give us those results.
Gambling and golf are inextricably linked. In 1387, a city in
Holland banned the playing of " Kolf " on the basis that gambling
was prohibited within the city limits. While James II banned
golf as a distraction from archery training necessary for defense
of the Kingdom, James IV not only reversed the ban but " there
are clear entries in the treasurer accounts at least between 1502
and 1506 that show expenses for golf clubbis and ballis for the
king. In addition to that, the same books indicated that the king
has lost three French crowns in a golf bet " . Golfexpert.com.
Jon Last's Sports and Leisure Research Group's 2017 Omnibus Survey told us that over 70% of his respondents gamble -
with well over 90% of the amounts being " modest " wagers under
$100. Personally, it's amazing and ironic how my golf group's $2$4 Nassau's can make wealthy doctors, lawyers, accountants and
corporate CEOs utter unprintable and creative expletives after
missing a 3 foot putt that could have saved a $2 press.
Conversely, how would I feel if I had placed a bet on Jordan
Spieth this weekend and been undone by a Sasha Baron Cohen
impersonator making noise in his backswing? If you don't think
we will see more bad behavior now that betting is legal and virtual, you might be in the market for the London Bridge in Lake
Havasu a couple hours from TPC Scottsdale. I may like the
fun that modest wagers add to my own golf experience; but big

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bets on PGA Tour performances where one fan can impact the
outcome might have some gamblers jumping instead of buying.
Just as with any distance decisions; only time and additional
research will determine the success of adding gambling to arsenal of weapons used to get people engaged with the game of
golf. The PGA of America and the PGA Tour are betting on a
positive result. Let's hope we aren't invoking the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson, the shame of Pete Rose or the memories of
point shaving scandals too numerous to mention.
Nowhere will additional and better research be more necessary than to track the surge in golf interest in 2020 and our
efforts to sustain that interest going forward. As someone who
has spent decades doing golf industry market research; I have
had to try and make sense of unbalanced surveys, anecdotal
empirical evidence, inconsistent methodologies and poor participation that litter the landscape of material we use to guide
us to what we hope are good business decisions. While Pellucid
has helped with the introduction of some standardized methodologies for weather, customer identification and demographic
analytics, and we now could have better and faster access to
Point of Sale data on many platforms; much of that capability
goes unused and/or is not shared with impartial reporting entities. The demise of the PGA's Performance Track and decreased
reporting to Golf Datatech are noteworthy examples.
Good market research does three things - it measures past

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The Pellucid Perspective - February 2021

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