Kevin Kleps of Crain’s Cleveland Business posted an in-depth article to that publication’s website on Sunday about the state of the game of golf in Northeast Ohio, entitled “Is the Sun Setting on Northeast Ohio’s Golf Industry?”.
While the opinions expressed by some are very strong, some of the story’s content is unsettling just on the facts alone:
Just last week, PGA PerformanceTrak, which tracks golf facility revenue and other key numbers for every state, released a report that showed rounds played at Northeast Ohio courses from January to June this year are down 8.3% from the like period of 2013.
and
PGA PerformanceTrak’s most recent report showed that the cold-then-rainy first half of 2014 resulted in a 4.3% drop in days Northeast Ohio golf courses were open for play. And those numbers are in comparison to a first half of 2013 that wasn’t exactly picturesque.
This is in addition to some national failings recently in the game like the layoff of 500+ PGA Pros at Dick’s Sporting Goods, a huge Q1 loss by Golf Galaxy, the ending of the print version of Golf World magazine, and more.
The story also cites anecdotal evidence from local course operators, with some owners and promoters noting the worst while others offer views that are slightly more optimistic. It’s worth a read…
