Golfweek reports that the number of rounds of golf fell again in October.
The number of rounds played in the U.S. dropped 6.5 percent in October and contributed to a 3.8 percent decline for the year-to-date total.
Year-over-year, monthly declines have been prevalent in 2011, which is projected to post an annual decline. That would mark the fifth consecutive year the number of rounds played has fallen. In the past decade, the rounds-played total has decreased from 518 million to 475 million.
October’s declines were led by less play at private facilities, which reported an 8.8 percent drop in rounds played. Year-to-date, private facilities were down 4.3 percent. By comparison, public-access courses showed a 5.9 percent drop in October, and they were down 3.6 percent for the first 10 months of the year compared with the same period in 2010.
I predict a lot more courses closing in the next couple of years. But I think its no more than a market correction. We overbuilt in Tiger’s heyday and things now are returning to normal.
Discover more from GolfBlogger Golf Blog
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I will not feel sorry for the golf course’s while they are still listening to these so called experts telling them not to lower their cost. Here in the chicagoland area I have seen only very small discounts and somtimes laughable gimmicks to try to get people to play this past summer.
Your market correction is only a small slice of the pie. people are getting poorer, read todays headline on the MSN web page. you are really going to see people cutting back on spending and as far as the youth there’s no jobs and when there are how much do you think they pay?
I think the courses that will disappear will be the ones that are trying still to get 80 to 150 dollars around.