Page 18 - GBC Winter 2020 ENG

Thank you to all
the sponsors
who helped with financial donations for the 2019 Economic Impact Study, including:
GOLD SPONSORS
Golf Canada
National Golf Course Owners Association
Canada
Canadian Society of Club Managers Canadian Golf Superintendents Association Professional Golfers’ Association of Canada Golf Town Canada Inc.
SILVER SPONSORS
The Toro Company Ping Canada Alberta Golf
Golf Quebec
BC Golf
Golf Ontario
Cabot
CCMC
ClubLink Corporation
GolfBC Holdings
Club Car LLC
Mackenzie Tour - PGA TOUR Canada
BRONZE SPONSORS
Wasserman Canada
Golf Saskatchewan
Golf Manitoba
Golf Nova Scotia
Nicholas Landry
New Brunswick Golf
GGA Partners
Alberta Golf Superintendents Association Atlantic Golf Superintendents Association Club Procure (Foodbuy.ca)
TaylorMade Golf Canada entegra Procurement Services Signature Risk Partners Copetown Woods Golf Club The Vancouver Golf Club GolfPEI
Golf Newfoundland/Labrador Morgan Creek Golf Course Savannah Golf Links Lethbridge Country Club
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Golf Business Canada
These Economic Impact Studies also legitimize our industry. As already noted, golf is not just a great game but it is a highly developed business sector as well. However, the public perception tends to hang onto the outdated image of golf being simply an elitist game. This reality is still evident in much of the mainstream media coverage.
Politically, that same perception causes governments to avoid golf because elite activities are not vote- friendly. These Economic Impact Studies demonstrate how golf is indeed a vital industry that ought to be taken seriously, and that leads to good outcomes for every individual business within our industry.
AND THEN THERE IS COVID-19!
Nobody wishes a pandemic on anyone. However, the golf industry has realized an incredible uptick in demand this golf season. It must be noted that the release of this Economic Impact Study does not include any data from after the onset of COVID-19. All data points arestrictlycalendaryear2019inputs.
Thatisbothgoodandbadnews. To whatever extent 2020 has become an anomaly year, those factors have not distorted our ability to evaluate golf’s perfor- mance in a “normalized” period.
It would, however, have been quite a boost to the financial results if 2020 had been included. NGCOA Canada’s monthly Rounds Played Reports, for example, are tracking to end the year between 15% and 20% better than 2019. And that includes overcoming the delayed start to the season, which dictated that year-to-date results at the end of May were trailing 2019 by 25.9% and the 5-year average by 38.0%!
Although food and beverage revenues did take a serious hit, retail merchandise sales are breaking records. The overall GDP for golf would most certainly have netted out to significantly higher GDP than the $18.2 billion for 2019.
It remains to be seen how much of the 2020 increased demand for golf will be retained once the pandemic passes, or when that point in time will even arrive. But most in the golf industry seem to be optimistic that a significant amount of those additional golfers, rounds played, retail and overall revenues will stick, plus the recovering food and beverage and event business, meaning that future Economic Impact Studies may well be destined to “Show Us The Money” like we haven’t seen in a couple of decades!
Golf Business Canada
To review the 2019 Economic Impact Study, please visit www. ngcoa.ca or www.canadagolfs.ca