The Pellucid Perspective - December 2022 - 5

impacted. More importantly, the programs such as Klarna and
Afterpay involve " soft checks " that do not impact their credit
score. Longer term Affirm and Synchrony do require real credit
checks, but the interest rates can be lower than those on credit
card balances when the retailer is promoting sales through interest
" buy downs " .
If we pay attention, we know that the Millenial shoppers are
clues as to why our retention improved. Both online and in
person instructional programs are more available. Most of our
GMRC participants have stepped up the availability and promotion
of low cost clinics. Many of them are tracking the results
and creating relationships through regular communication with
the clinic participants. What we know " for sure " is that golfers
who see improvement are more likely to stay and actually move
up the engagement ladder.
If we want to answer the question of when participation hits
attracting new golfers is in the 25 - 40 Age Group. It is also the
Age that many kids exposed to golf through Junior Programs
return after their detours into high school, college and team
the " new " and existing golfers in that age range are increasing
frequency and spending that has been traditionally " true " ; but,
with fewer golfers, their impact on rounds demand will be magnified
going forward. To mitigate this impending impact, it is
imperative that we retain this age group.
This further underscores the importance of paying attention
looking for installment payment opportunities and are using
these new fintech options. The challenge is looking for ways
to accommodate these smart, informed shoppers as we try to
attract and retain them as golfers. Most major manufacturers
have " rental club " programs that provide additional discounts
from wholesale. We can use that in two
ways - first to provide discounted rentals
for golf course use (paid greens fees)
to those that have completed an introductory
clinic. Second, the rental clubs
can be offered with good discounts at
the end of the season to recover the
cost to buy them. John Deere has had
a similar profitable and self-liquidating
program for its compact diesel tractors
for years.
In its promotional material for Welcome2Golf,
the NGF refers us to the
ski industry and the fact that virtually
We are encouraged that
the golf industry is
Overall golf course
the wall, we need to expand the approach many are taking with
part of their customer base (clinic and lesson students) to their
full customer franchise. Whether it will be a recession or price
resistance, or both, it really doesn't matter.
The NGF and Pellucid annual updates
provide some guidance - but it is largely
after the fact. By monitoring your customer
counts and retention monthly, you
will identify and adjust on a more timely
basis. You will most likely need outside
IT and analytics solutions for this; but
here is why you should be prepared to
make the investment.
We have a collection of positive results
and trends over the past 3 years.
Even with adverse weather, rounds demand
has returned to 2001 levels. Course
Utilization is the highest it has been in
30 years and has increased in each of the
last 3 years. Overall golf course revenues
recognizing the historical
data that tells us the
most fertile ground for
attracting new golfers is in
the 25-40 Age Group.
revenues have shown
a sharp increase due
to rate increases and
improved utilization.
every one of the 470 ski areas in the US
offers introductory clinics for all age
levels. As a former ski instructor, I can
tell you that these clinics are designed
to be as affordable as possible. As Pellucid
outlined in our detailed comparison
of Skiing, Tennis and Golf several
years ago; it's important to note that
" 70% of all new skis sold annually go to
rental enterprises " . (July, 2014 Pellucid
Perspective and July, 2014 Outside the
Ropes for those of you with Pellucid
Memberships).
We are encouraged that the golf inhave
shown a sharp increase due to rate
increases and improved utilization. Net
Course closures since 2006 have significantly
reduced overall golf course capacity
by about 16%.
While we have addressed and corrected
our demand issues and have a more
balanced capacity structure; unfortunately,
there is one more elephant in the room
we have not fixed - we still have over 3
million fewer golfers between 40 and 60
than we did 20 years ago. The studies we
did this year indicated we were able to attract
an estimated 500,000 new golfers in
that age group. It's encouraging that both
dustry is recognizing the historical data
that tells us the most fertile ground for
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5
to all your customer counts. While it is great that we are enjoying
high utilization and an ability to successfully raise prices;
any complacency on player retention will both hinder your ability
to discover any developing price resistance and maintain the
future health of rounds demand. We do know " for sure " that
player retention will be the parachute you're going to need. n
" club " sports. Providing more access to affordable instruction
will only serve to help with faster skill development - we know
that people respond to improvement and will stay involved
when they get better.
It is also clear, however, is that we will have to adjust our
methods for getting these new golfers equipped for staying engaged.
This will entail rethinking " rental programs " and probably
getting familiar with some of these new fintech options
that the Millenials are already embracing.
n
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The Pellucid Perspective - December 2022

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