Page 16 - 2025 GBC spring English

life to include a number of unique
experiences.” Two thirds agree that
“Making time to enjoy leisure
activities is more important to me
now than it was six months ago.”
Pile onto this, Merrill Lynch
analysis that shows that we are at
the start of a twenty-year cycle that
will see the largest inter-
generational wealth transfer in
history--some $84 trillion-- and
there is another positive short-term
indicator for leisure spending.
There are two obvious
resulting questions. The first is
whether or not there will be a
bursting of that spending bubble,
and that is a difficult one to answer.
In fact, in our pulsing of golf course
facility owners, that uncertainty
continues to be reflected in a more
tempered expectation for revenue
growth, particularly at a time when
many courses are filled to capacity
and rates have been pushed
upward over each of the past three
16
Golf Business Canada
years. The perception that we may
be pushing rates towards a ceiling,
has become increasingly more acute.
The second question goes back
to the hyper-local observation that
I posed earlier. We concur with
many economists who equate
current economic conditions to
what is defined as a “K” shaped
recovery. If one were to think of
consumer spending as the right
side of the letter K, we observe part
of the market moving upward with
the other going in the opposite
direction.
Golf typically benefits from
such conditions, overall, because
the upper part of the K skews
disproportionately to wealthier
citizens. Those facilities that cater to
a less affluent customer base face a
more precarious situation, as this
segment of the market continues to
struggle more with their day-to-day
expenses. Case in point, we saw
75% of Americans agree that it was
challenging to feed a typical family,
in late Summer of 2024. One also
has to recognize that facility rate
and revenue growth are bene-
ficiaries of a reduced supply of
competing facilities relative to
where we were less than a decade
ago.
WHAT ARE GOLFERS THINKING
ABOUT THE GAME IN EARLY
2025?
Additional insight on the year
ahead can be gleaned from a study
that we conducted with U.S. and
Canadian golfers at the end of last
year. One finding of note supports
the above-mentioned trend that
has seen golf become more
accepting of various experiences
that deviate from the traditional
offering. More than two thirds of
Canadian golfers agree that 9-hole
rounds have become a more
attractive option of late. This is
consistent with the earlier
observations about time flexibility
as well as a greater receptivity by
the industry to meet players on
their own terms. Concurrently 64%
of Canadian golfers plan to play
more 9-hole rounds in 2025. More
than half expect to visit an
alternative golf facility in the year
ahead. This bodes well for trend
data that we have observed among
facility owners that show a growing
incidence of gamified ranges and
screen golf alternatives. However,
it is worth noting that in qualitative
interviews conducted with U.S.
golf facility owners as part of the
U.S. NGCOA’s annual golf business
pulse study, there is building
sentiment among many, that we
may be approaching a saturation
point for these derivative amenities.
Participation may also be in
lockstep with equipment purchase
expectations. An equal 40% of
American and Canadian golfers
strongly agree that game
improvement is more of a priority
than it was a year ago, with a full
two thirds of golfers in both
markets agreeing that there is some
great new equipment coming to
market that they are really
interested in. Yet, concurrently
only 39% of both Canadian and
American golfers strongly agree
that buying the right new
equipment can help them to
immediately improve their game.
Nearly four in ten Americans
indicate that they won’t buy new
equipment without first having a
custom fitting. Just 28% of
Canadian golfers indicate the same.
Whether that translates into
increased lesson volume is also in
question. Just a third of Canadian
golfers consider themselves as
more likely to take lessons than a
year ago. 40% of Americans are in
the same camp.
There are other attitudes about
golf where perspectives vary
between U.S. and Canadian golfers.
Half of Americans believe that
there are more new players entering
the game, while only 36% of
Canadian golfers concur. Similarly,
a majority of those in the U.S.