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Opening Shot

Retrospective

Two decades adds up to a long time to do any one thing,
so excuse me as I take a bow in honor of my baby’s
anniversary Any of you who own a small business
realize the sacrifice and sweat that goes into operating
one I feel incredibly blessed to be doing what I love
and now want to take this moment to look back on the
past 20 years and find out together how things have
changed
The brand new Virginia National Golf Course that
graced The Golf Guide’s first cover in 1999 closed years
ago as have many others that were among favorites
for golfers in the mid-Atlantic Golf experienced a
tremendous golf boom at the time, and it felt like a new
golf course opened every other week. The ill effects of
“too much of a good thing” led to many golf courses
going bust before they could host their first golf tournament.
In 1999 a gallon of gas cost an average of $1 22, while in 2017, it evened out at $2 49
The charge for a postage stamp rose from 33 to the current 46 cents. The standard
price of a car climbed from $21K to $33,500 In a world where increased fees for
almost everything seems normal, the cost for a typical round of golf on a weekend
has remained virtually unchanged and now stands at $46 for green fees and a cart
The most dramatic change in golf since 1999 may surprise you. The number of
golfers last year was reported to be around 26 million in the United States compared
to 28 8 million when The Golf Guide first hit newsstands. The high watermark for
golf participation occurred in 2005 when the National Golf Foundation (NGF)
reported 30 million golfers played the game during the peak of what’s commonly
referred to as the “Tiger Effect.”
Now, the GOOD news Over the past couple of years,
the number of beginner golfers continues to grow at a
rapid rate, seeing double digit percentage hikes Much
of this gain can be attributed to the number of people
just looking into taking up the game. The NGF reports
estimates of aspiring golfers have escalated for more than
five years straight. Total “core” or “committed” golfers
also run on the upside. The biggest growth that helps the
game of golf has happened in the number of people who
have never played on a real golf course but have teed it
up on driving ranges or at entertainment complexes like
Topgolf. That number now sits at more than eight million
people, which puts total golf participation at around 32
million. So, finally we see a consistent uptick in the sport.
We obviously still face many obstacles, but who knows
where the next 20 years will take us If it’s anything like
the last 20, prepare for a wild ride

2 GOLFGUIDEINC.COM WINTER 2018 3