The Pellucid Perspective - August 2022 - 4

INDUSTRY
BAROMETER
all TV sports viewership; the article also detailed the age of the
audience and the PGA Tour rationalizations of why fans with
a median age of 65 are valuable. While PGA Tour TV ratings
are generally closely guarded; we would suggest SBJ did not
go back far enough. I went back and found ratings from 2006,
2007 and 2008 and the results were even more interesting than
those in the SBJ article.
" When asked about TV golf, legendary producer David Hill,
who consults with LIV, simply says, " The audience is dying. "
" So far this year, however, all four rounds for events across
those three networks have averaged 781,000 viewers, an audience
that is down 14% from the previous season. " Sports Business
Journal, August 8, 2022.
If you look at the numbers from 2006-2008, you can barely
find an event that averaged less than 1,000,000 viewers per day.
With ratings in the toilet, how has golf managed to show the
strength we have seen over the last 3 years? As we said earlier,
it's got to be more than just our pandemic bonus. And with our
research showing we are attracting younger people who apparently
aren't watching golf on TV, what is fueling our growth?
Let's talk about how " golf interest " is presented today. If I
click on a golf course website, my other internet searches are
all of a sudden showing me Nick Faldo's secrets of success and
how Butch Harmon is going to fix my slice - both of which
make me think abut golf. This also stimulates content from
courses using " re-marketing " strategies to try to get me to try
their place. In short, social media and the explosion of internet
advertising, especially for younger generations; is more likely a
greater contributor to golf's resurgence than any relationship
4 The Pellucid PersPecTive
to Golf TV viewership.
Golf course owners and operators are also contributing to
the online promulgation of golf interest. While we may see
much room for improving the CRM methods used by courses;
they have greatly expanded the use of email and the concurrent
social media sharing that greatly expands the reach of those
communications.
We have also pointed out previously that the development
and promotion of fitting and instructional programs is playing
a part in golf's resurgence. As we have detailed in our research
into the composition and buying habits of " new " and " veteran "
golfers during 2020 and 2021; participation in fitting programs
and both online and in-person instruction is more evident in
the younger golfers we are attracting and retaining.
This brings us to the demographic makeup of our new and
existing golfer base and the explosion in the number of " high
income households " ($100K+) in the US. We started noticing
this in our 2015 Study for the Southwest Florida Water
Management District of over 400 golf courses. Initially, we
thought it was a function of relatively wealthy retirees migrating
to Florida; but it turned out that the growth of high income
households was evidenced at a national level as well. Caution:
While true at a national level, there are local variations - Dallas,
Detroit and Duluth are not all created equal.
As you can see in the chart above, income households below
$85K are declining while the $85K+ households have increased
exponentially. More importantly, that high growth rate is projected
to continue through 2026. Our research also indicates
that while our " new " golfers are younger, they continue to come
August 2022
The Pellucid Perspective - August 2022

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