Golf Course Trades has run my second article in a series of updates regarding the golf industry’s resurgence against the Coronavirus. These articles are published also here, at Golf News Net, and as links at the GSCAA website. We have all joined forces to bring you the latest news in the fastest amount of time and give you a glimpse of golf’s recovery around the country. From the piece:
““I’ve never seen so many people on the golf course, and all our board members from across the country are saying the same thing,” stated GCSAA president John Fulling, Jr. “Not only are new people taking to the game in droves – it’s one of the only things we could do in this pandemic – but I think finally a larger portion of them with stay with the game.”
That’s huge. Golf has always been both the number one sport in America taken up by novices, but also the number one sport given up.
Apparently new memberships in golf clubs are actually keeping close to the number of memberships given up by non-equity club members, but we’ll need more time to see if that holds going forward.
“Some clubs are losing some members, and yes the hit to food and beverage at private clubs, especially smaller ones, can be substantial – $300,000 to 500,000 per year in some cases, began Fulling, Jr. “But the upturn in other areas like takeout and other new revenue streams is doing a good job of helping clubs hold steady.”
How many courses have we lost thus far, if any, do to the downturn? Fulling has not heard of any yet, and neither has Your Author.
“What I can say is we thought this was an absolute disaster, but golf turned out to be the public’s perfect outlet instead. It natural has Covid-19 protections built in, and the restrictions are easily adaptable by clubs. Best of all, we have not heard of any clubs saying they are having problems with course conditions deteriorating. Maintenance crews are now at full capacity.“”
