Vital Signs, june 13, 2014

     Golf participation in the United States continues to fall, to distressingly low numbers last seen a quarter-century ago. More than 1 million golfers said good-bye to the game last year, according to Pellucid Corporation, and today our nation counts fewer than 23 million players. Pellucid reports that the U.S. golf participation rate is now 8 percent, about what it was in the late 1980s. “Despite the increasing frequency and intensity of industry association cheerleaders’ attempts to ‘wish’ an increase in the consumer base into existence,” Pellucid writes, “unfortunately the facts show both a decline in the consumer base and an accelerated rate of decline compared to the previous year.” To add insult to injury, Pellucid says last year’s decline in play was driven by a bread-and-butter demographic, men aged between 25 and 54.

     We’re Number One! In 2013, the United States was the world’s fastest-growing golf-travel destination, according to the International Association of Golf Tour Operators. “In 2012 we saw the resurgence of the USA as a powerful force in outbound golf tourism, recovering from the economic crises ahead of its European counterparts, and this was followed up quite clearly last year, with sales to golf destinations throughout the USA growing faster than any others around the world,” the group’s chief executive said. The IAGTO provided no solid evidence to back up its rankings, but it said that we finished ahead of Portugal, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Scotland, Morocco, Ireland, Spain, and Vietnam.

     An estimated 640,000 of the adult women in the United Kingdom are “very interested in taking up golf this summer,” according to a forthcoming survey by Syngenta. In addition, the data says that 3.8 million women aged 19 to 64 are “somewhat or [a] little interested” in giving the game a try. The question now is, Can the owners and operators of the U.K.’s golf venues find them?

     Half of the golf clubs in Australia are under “financial duress,” according to a study by Golf Australia and Golf Management Australia, and they must connect with women, families, and especially young people if they expect to survive. “Many clubs are under increasing financial pressure and experiencing challenging times,” concludes the 2013 National Golf Participation Report, which compiled data from 1,583 properties. According to the report, club membership in Australia peaked in 1998, with roughly 500,000 golfers. Today, the nation’s clubs count just 398,804 members, a decline of more than 20 percent. The clubs have lost 6.7 percent of their members since 2010, the study has determined, largely because participation among young people -- those between 15 and 34 -- has waned. Some of the clouds hovering over Australia’s golf industry may have a silver lining, however. Last year, 42 percent of the nation’s clubs increased the size of their membership, and 18 percent posted increases of 10 percent or more.

     Here are five noteworthy statistics about golf in Australia from the 2013 National Golf Participation Report: 1) Golf participation levels in Australia have fallen by 11 percent since 2000 and currently sit at 6.7 percent of the population. Last year, an estimated 1.18 million adults (apparently defined as those aged 15 and older) played at least one round of golf. 2) The average club in Australia has 250 members, but more than half (51 percent) have fewer than 100 and nearly two-thirds (64 percent) have fewer than 200. 3) Australia’s golf clubs rang up nearly 25 million rounds in 2013. (Note: This number doesn’t include public play.) 4) Of the nation’s 398,804 club members, 60 percent are at least 55 years old. 5) Last year, the nation’s clubs lost 1.6 percent of their members.

     $20 million: That’s the size of the economic divot created by the departure of Rochester, New York’s annual LPGA event. A local elected official believes that the loss of the tournament, known of late as the Wegmans LPGA Championship, will leave “a void in the community.” Starting next year, the tournament will be played on the other side of the state, in Westchester.