Between baby boomers and junior programs , relief's in sight for the golf industry

The golf business measured by numbers of players, rounds played, and equipment sold could be generously described as flat. Why the slowdown in the game’s growth and where is it headed?

First of all, the good news… “Baby Boomers” and junior golf programs. Just ask the Social Security System if you want to know how many people are turning 62 years of age (the first opportunity to collect benefits) and you will find that it is happening next year, and there are a lot of them and plenty more coming. That means retirement and more leisure time for golf for a huge group. Golf could be their major leisure activity.

Add to that possibility the emerging junior interest and you have cause for optimism. The First Tee, an instructional program aimed at offering youth a chance to learn the game, now has 202 sites and is aiming at offering golf in the public schools with the goal of reaching 3 1/2 million youngsters in 10 years. It is only one example of many programs aimed at the younger population.

That’s the good news. So what’s not to celebrate at the moment? Declining interest, in my view, centers around four challenges.

1. The increase in the cost of playing golf. Building longer courses to combat the increased length that TOUR PLAYERS hit the ball means more money for land, equipment and staff to maintain it, time to play it (meaning fewer starting spaces available for a green fee), and taxes to own it.

2. The time it takes to play is not only a factor for public facilities (higher green fees) but a huge barrier at the private and resort courses as well. In our fast moving world where the demands on everyone in business have increased means there isn’t as much discretionary leisure even for those wishing to play.

3. The competition from other youth activities impacts not only the kids who are potential future players but it also impacts their parents as well. When you have two children who are in youth sports (baseball, softball, soccer, etc.) and they are playing 90 games a year on a traveling team with mom and dad attending the games rather than out playing golf, you have some real competition.

4. The game of golf is not easy, and when you play it poorly you get discouraged from continuing. Too many courses have been built recently that seem to be trying to get in the Top 100 Most Difficult in America. Getting “beat up” every time you play one of them is not fun. My interpretation of a game requires that it have some element of enjoyability, in other words fun.

So hang in there while we get over this bump-in-the-road until we work harder on making the game more enjoyable for people, whether they be the “Boomers,” “the kids,” or both.