Golf Datatech has reported that rounds in the U.S. in 2017 were down 2.7 percent compared to the previous year. But Colorado went against the tide.

The CGA recently completed compiling the 2017 Public Golf Course Rounds and Revenue Survey. A higher-than-normal number of facilities — 82, including Par-3s — have reported exact figures for both 2016 and ’17, which makes the results reliable.

And the outcome was encouraging from the perspective of the golf industry in the Centennial State. Using the numbers provided by those 82 courses, rounds increased 3.3 percent compared to 2016.

And green-fee revenue was up 6.7 percent in 2017, compared to the year prior, according to the 72 facilities that reported figures for both of the most recent two years.

“It would be a concern to me if rounds were up 6 percent and (green-fee) revenue only up 3, but the way it was is a perfect combination because that means the asset (courses) is not taking a beating by having” a significant increase in rounds but a far more modest green-fee revenue gain, said Ed Mate, longtime executive director of the CGA. “Three percent increase in rounds and 6 percent in revenue — double the revenue increase compared to rounds — is kind of a perfect, healthy trend.”

The comparison of Golf Datatech round numbers to those gathered in the Colorado Public Golf Course Survey is not completely apples to apples because the Datatech figures include private facilities as well. But that organization’s overall numbers for Colorado — an increase of 3 percent — are remarkably close to those of the Colorado Public Course Rounds and Revenue Survey.

According to the Golf Datatech figures, only three states or combination of states fared better than Colorado in percentage of rounds increase from 2016 to ’17: New Mexico (5.5 percent), Tennessee (5.1 percent) and Kansas/Nebraska (3.1 percent).

“The weather is a good thing, but the economy has been on the rebound so I think that’s why revenue is up” in the Colorado public rounds survey, said Eddie Ainsworth, executive director for the Colorado PGA. “The economy is doing well, so golf is doing well. And last year, the weather was good. Those are all positives.”

Adding to that, the public rounds figures from the Colorado Rounds and Revenue Survey have increased three of the last four years, with the lone exception being 2016, when the numbers were down nominally (0.8 percent) compared to 2015. Rounds increased 3.6 percent from 2013 to ’14, and 1.2 percent from ’14 to ’15. In the previous four-year period (2010-13), rounds decreased from the prior season in three of the four calendar years.

“As long as the weather cooperates, I think rounds should continue to increase,” Ainsworth said. “All the things that everybody is doing to grow the game — all the efforts to make golf more inclusive, what we’re doing with junior golf and trying to get more families out at the golf course, private clubs becoming more family entertainment centers to get the entire family involved — I think everybody’s efforts are paying some dividends.”

Regionally within Colorado, public courses in the Denver metro area fared better than average regarding rounds, with a 4.7 percent increase from 2016. The Colorado Springs Region was up 8.9 percent, while the North Region was down 1.8 percent.

Each of those regions saw jumps in green-fee revenue — 8.7 percent in Denver metro, 3.7 percent in Colorado Springs and 3.5 percent in the Northern Region.

“First of all, I think (the results of the survey are) positive,” Mate said. “You should never take that for granted. It’s the first time in several years we’ve seen that positive a result with both rounds and revenue. My standard stock answer is weather, weather, weather. It’s about inventory of days for golf — that, I know, was favorable, particularly at the tail end of the season. We just played an awful lot of golf.

“I think you’ve seen some courses do some catch-up with green fees. As a whole, there’s been enough elasticity of pricing that courses have been able to implement increases, and that’s really healthy.”

Mate particularly likes to hear when rounds and revenue numbers have gone up three of the last four years.

“You start to look at it over a three- to five-year period and then you say it’s a trend, which is good,” he said. “Weather tends to even out over that period of time. You have to recognize that we’re an outdoor industry. We are at the whim of Mother Nature. It’s not like restaurants. We’re much more susceptible to that than others — skiing the same way. So yes, I think it’s a very positive trend.”

Though Colorado public course operators share their statistics on the condition that data from individual facilities aren’t divulged publicly, trends and averages from the survey can be reported.
 

It all depends on the data utilized, and the types of courses included in surveys.

For instance, Golf Datatech earlier this year in its “National Golf Rounds Played Report”, noted that rounds played in Colorado in 2016 were up 6.5 percent from 2015.

That’s pretty impressive — one of the highest figures for a given state or group of states, according to Golf Datatech. In fact, Colorado’s percentage increase was surpassed only by those of Georgia (10.8%); Indiana (9.8%); Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont (7.5% combined); and Oklahoma (6.8%). Nationwide, Golf Datatech reported that rounds played increased 0.6 percent from 2015 to ’16.

According to the golfdatatech.com website, “Golf Datatech’s report is designed to statistically measure golf participation by tracking rounds played from a representative base of courses throughout the country. … All golf courses in the U.S. are invited to participate in the report.”

However, the CGA collects data of its own — aimed at only public courses, unlike Golf Datatech — and its results are markedly different. Based upon 70 public courses that responded to the survey and that reported specific figures for both 2015 and 2016, the Colorado Public Golf Course Rounds and Revenue Survey indicated that rounds in 2016 were down 0.8 percent compared to 2015.

So what does CGA executive director Ed Mate make of it all?

“As usual, it’s a derivative of weather,” he said. “It was a great fall (in 2016). I don’t think (less than) 1 percent is a material change. It was definitely trending way below that, but the strong finish to the year brought it back up closer to what would be considered average.

“The credibility of the numbers is mixed. It’s like any stats: You hope there’s enough good data in there. Some courses don’t respond (to the surveys), and some of it is guesstimates.”

Regionally in the Rounds and Revenue Survey, metro Denver courses were down an average of 1.5 percent in rounds played in 2016, while North Region courses were up 2.1 percent, and Colorado Springs and Pueblo courses together were up 4.6 percent. In each case, that’s for courses reporting figures for both of the past two years.

“There was a slight dip for some facilities, but there are plenty that saw an increase,” Colorado PGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth noted in an email. “With such a slight percentage drop overall you can definitely attribute this to the weather we experienced. Our (Colorado PGA) tournaments were down quite a bit last year and it was 100 percent weather-based. Having said this, I believe our PGA professionals have done an outstanding job in stabilizing the game of golf of the past several years and with great weather in 2017 we will see rounds increase considerably.”

In both 2014 and ’15, rounds at Colorado public courses were up compared to the previous years, according to the CGA’s Rounds and Revenue Survey. They increased 3.6 percent from 2013 to ’14, and 1.2 percent from ’14 to ’15. Prior to that, rounds decreased from the previous season in three of the four years from 2010 through 2013.

Though Colorado public course operators share their statistics on the condition that data from individual facilities aren’t divulged publicly, trends and averages from the survey can be reported.

As for green-fee revenue, it was down slightly on average last year — 0.2 percent for the facilities that reported figures in both 2015 and ’16.
 

In Colorado that translates into, it may not being doing great, but it’s a little better than it was.

At least that’s what the Colorado Public Golf Course Rounds and Revenue Survey has revealed the last couple of years.

The 2015 data for the survey was recently compiled by the CGA, and one of the most notable takeaways was that for the first time since the Great Recession, the number of public-course rounds played in Colorado increased in back-to-back years.

After a 3.6 percent increase from 2013 to ’14, there was a 1.2 percent jump from 2014 to ’15. Those upticks are small, but they’re certainly better than the trend previously, when rounds decreased from the previous season in three of the four years from 2010 through 2013.

“I wouldn’t look at (relatively) flat as a negative; I’d look at flat as a positive in a down economy,” said Eddie Ainsworth, executive director of the Colorado PGA. “I’m not just trying to paint a rosy picture. I literally believe that. If we’re flat and we’re currently in the economy we’re in, that’s a good thing.”

And the results in Colorado largely mirrored the nationwide data in 2015. The National Golf Federation announced earlier this month that total U.S. rounds increased 1.8 percent last year compared to 2014.

Of course, weather variations year to year play a big role in the number of rounds played. CGA executive director Ed Mate, for one, would like at some point to be able to work a weather component into such surveys so they’d be more meaningful.

“This (Public Course Rounds and Revenue Survey) continues to be a pretty good barometer of what’s happening,” Mate said. “But (I’d like to see) somebody just lay weather on top of this so we can compare inventory of (playable) days. I think the industry has a long way to go to do this better both locally and nationally so we have our fingers on the pulse.”

In the most recent Colorado Rounds and Revenue Survey, 65 public courses — par-3 facilities included — reported specific figures for both 2014 and ’15. And the 18-hole equivalent rounds for those 65 reporting courses showed an increase from about 1.762 million in 2014 to 1.783 million in 2015.

Though Colorado public course operators share their statistics on the condition that data from individual facilities aren’t divulged publicly, trends and averages from the survey can be reported.

As for green-fee revenue, it also increased, on average, from 2014 to ’15. The norm of the jump was almost 3 percent this time around for courses that reported figures from both years.

“When you look at where we are in golf, the way we’ve positioned ourselves with what’s happening in golf, I really think our future is bright,” Ainsworth said. “I think we’re positioning ourselves with junior golf programs, with more associations working together and different things like that, so I’m optimistic.”
 

Of course, little can be done about the weather, but that doesn’t make it any easier to take when it prevents rounds of golf from being played.

That comes to mind each year when the CGA compiles its public golf course rounds and revenue survey for the state. The data provide an interesting snapshot of the game of golf in Colorado, but it’s clear weather plays a very large role in each year’s results.

The numbers for 2012 and 2013 tell the tale better than most.

In 2012, good weather resulted in more than the typical number of playable days for golfers, and the result was a 7.8 percent increase in rounds compared to 2011.

Last year, however, wasn’t nearly as conducive for a big season, rounds-wise. April and May were unusually wet, and the mid-September rain and flooding certainly didn’t help matters, especially at the courses that sustained the most damage.

With that in mind, the statistics from the 2013 rounds and revenue survey — which were released last week at the Public Course Operators meeting — were largely predictable. With almost 70 public courses providing specific figures for both 2012 and ’13, the number of “18-hole equivalent” rounds dropped about 8.7 percent at those facilities last year compared to 2012.

“2012 was an incredibly good weather year,” noted CGA executive director Ed Mate. “Good spring, good fall, and rounds were up. Last year, we had a not-so-good spring” and rounds were down.

In coming surveys, the CGA hopes to incorporate some “playable days” weather data into the rounds and revenue report, so the year-to-year numbers become more meaningful on an apples-to-apples basis.

“It’s all really weather-based,” said Eddie Ainsworth, executive director for the Colorado PGA. “The rounds are pretty flat if you look at (playable) weather days. It’ll be interesting when you overlay the weather report. But golf now is just pretty flat.”

While an 8.7 percent drop in rounds took a toll on the bottom line, course operators made up for some of that financial loss because green-fee revenue increased about 84 cents per 18-hole round in 2013, according to the survey.

Though the number of rounds dropped substantially last year, that’s obviously just on an average basis. There were some Colorado courses that actually had more play in 2013 than ’12. Specifically, seven courses that reported figures for both years fall into that category. And though operators share their statistics on the condition that individual facilities aren’t named publicly, one Denver metro-area course saw a jump in rounds of almost 23 percent in 2013.