Golf Participation is Soaring! Electronically, That Is.

The NGF recently released a study saying that 56 million people in the U.S. play video game golf, 45.5 million of whom are non-golfers.  That’s an amazing stat in my opinion.

First, I’m surprised that 39% of actual golfers (26.1mm) are also golf gamers (10.2mm).  Given the perception of the golf industry, I find that data interesting in a good way.

More importantly, the fact that 39mm people who have "never played golf" are hitting the links on their big screen shows that a lot of people are interested in playing the game.  Unfortunately it's just not in the way that we as an industry want or need.  Concepts like the Chicken Stick and games like Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf are moving the needle by making the experience remarkebly real-life in the comfort and convenience of one's family room.

Visit a TGA Premier Junior Golf Class and you'll hear almost all of our elementary and middle school students say that they’ve played golf before – miniature or “putt putt” golf, that is.  Almost all of the hands go down when students are asked if they’ve ever been on a golf course or to a driving range.

Then consider that TV ratings have skyrocketed in the last 10 years.  Thursday's record-breaking Ryder Cup viewership is the latest example of this.  More people are watching the game now than ever before.  

For me, all of this adds up to an important message – people are interested in the game of golf.  A lot of people are interested.  And that interest is growing.  This makes me optimistic.

But that interest isn’t translating into rounds at the golf course where participation is down 13% over the last five years.  People say that time and cost are the hurdles keeping them away.

For golf entrepreneurs, I believe that figuring out this dilemma is the biggest opportunity in the industry.  It is also the most important conundrum facing the health of the game.  Perhaps we’ll simply follow the cycle of the economy.  But I think it requires a fundamental shift in how we think about the game. 

I believe that the 18 hole round will always be the backbone of golf.  But perhaps, as an industry, we need to look at an 18 hole round as one way, not the only way, to enjoy the game.  The 46 million non-golfing gamers are telling us we should.  We as an industry need to embrace this, innovate around it and find ways to monetize the opportunities.

Concepts like TopGolf, AlmostGolf and Off Course Network are already trying to do this.  There are others as well.  But the door is wide open for someone or something to come in and revolutionize the way golf is played and enjoyed.  Are you going to be the one breaking through that door?  If so, how?

Core Golfers & Technology

The National Golf Foundation recently released a report called “Core Golfers & Technology – Engagement with the Digital World, Including Social Media.”  I wanted to pass along some of the key findings along with my thoughts about their implications for golf entrepreneurs.

The data focuses on “Core” golfers, which accounts for 14.8 million of the 26.1 million total golfers in the United States.  “Core” golfers play 8+ rounds per year and are a critical market for most companies in the golf industry to capture. 

Here are the highlights:

Internet / App Use:	% or #
Researched Golf Equipment Online	84% (30% purchased)
Downloaded Golf Related App	2.4 million, or almost 20%
Would prefer high tech device in app form over dedicated device	4.3 million, or 29%
Regularly read blogs/reviews about golf brands, courses or travel	4.6 million, or 31%
Use Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter	71% (compared to 56% of nt’l pop)

All numbers from this chart are increasing significantly by the year.  For example, mobile app downloads for golf-related items are double in 2011 what they were in 2010 across several categories, including apps to: receive industry news, engage with specific brands, book tee times, track scores/handicap and measure distances.

Turning now to marketing and brand engagement, core golfers had this to say about how they prefer to connect and interact with brands:

Communication Preference – Email vs. Social Media:	2010	2011
Email	94%	93%
Social Network Service	6%	7%

Likelihood to Increase Loyalty & Expenditure:	2010	2011
Email	36%	51%
Social Media Service	15%	25%

Email remains consumer’s overwhelming preference for engaging with golf brands but the gap is closing while both communication venues are increasingly important for building loyalty.

Here’s what I think it means:

The takeaways from this data will vary depending on your niche in the industry, but I think there are a couple of overarching themes for all of us:

1.    Golfers are increasingly using the Internet for golf research and purchases so you need to be there with an engaging website that includes blogs, reviews and other relevant information.

2.    A strong email marketing campaign (and thus a large and growing email database) is essential for communicating with customers.

3.    An active and relevant social media campaign is less important right now than email marketing but this gap is closing so it’s time to get on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others with a well-planned strategy.

4.    If a mobile application is relevant to your business in any way, develop and deploy it.

Good luck and happy entrepreneuring!

Why the U.S. Hibernation?

The U.S. Open begins today and you’ll be hard-pressed to watch coverage without hearing about how the U.S. is getting dusted these days by international players.  Here’s the landscape:

·         The top three ranked players in the world are Europeans (Donald, Westwood and Kaymer, in that order).

·         Europe possesses the Ryder Cup and has won 4 of the last 5 meetings.

·         Europeans hold the U.S. Open Trophy and the Wanamaker Trophy (PGA Championship) with Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer, respectively. 

Adding salt to the wound is the fact that South Africa, a country 1/6 the size of America with 49 million people, holds the other two major trophies – The Open’s Claret Jug with Louis Oosthuizen and The Master’s Trophy with Charl Schwartzel.

Is there a sensible explanation for international dominance and U.S. hibernation on professional golf’s largest stages?  I decided to explore.

Theory 1: People are picking up golf at a greater rate overseas than in the states.

Year	U.S.	Europe
1985-90	8.1%	6.1%
1990-95	-2.0%	9.2%
1995-00	3.3%	5.5%
2000-05	0.8%	5.7%
2005-10	-2.6%	1.6%

Europe has been growing in overall golfers at a greater clip than the U.S. since 1985 but they’ve generally followed the same pattern.

Additionally, the number of golfers in Europe’s largest golf market, the UK and Ireland, actually decreased 4% last year.  This is the same market where five of the top ten golfers in the world reside. 

Thus, I don’t think growth/decline in golf participation is the culprit.

Theory Two: There are more overall golfers and/or a larger percentage of the population is playing golf overseas.

Country/Region	Total Players	% of Population
U.S.	26,100,000	8.5%
Europe	4,436,085	0.7%
South Africa	147,960	0.3%

This data suggests that the U.S. should dominate professional golf.  We have 5.9x more golfers than Europe and 176x more than South Africa!

Theory Three: We have less junior golfers who can be developed for competition at a young age.

The top 5 ranking European countries in terms of the percentage of overall golfers who are juniors are:

1.    Turkey (51%)

2.    Latvia (28%)

3.    Romania (24%)

4.    Greece (21%)

5.    Czech Republic (15%)

i.e. Not the U.K., Ireland, Germany and Spain where Europe’s top pros come from. 

Additionally, with 2.7 million kids playing golf in America, more than 50% of Europe’s 4.3 million total players would need to be juniors in order to outpace the U.S.  As shown above, that is not the case.

(Side note – if, in 15-20 years, we see young stars tearing up the PGA Tour from Turkey and the rest of Eastern Europe, you heard it here first.)

Theory 4: The quality of junior competition in the U.S. is inferior to Europe and others.

This is subjective and cannot be proved or disproved with data.  The folks at the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) and U.S. Kids Golf would likely point out that top teenage golfers from around the world travel to the U.S. to compete … not vice versa.  Same with collegiate golf – top International players come to ASU, USC, Oklahoma St., Georgia, etc.  So, I doubt this is the culprit.

Theory 5: It is happenstance and we’ll see a return to equilibrium shortly.

My findings are that disparities in overall participation, growth in participation, youth participation and competitive preparation are not the causes for Europe’s recent dominance in professional golf. 

Thus, in conclusion, my lack of a conclusion leads me to believe that it’s happenstance – a perfect storm resulting from Tiger’s implosion, Phil’s struggles and the incubation period of America’s young guns like Rickie Fowler as they evolve from good to great.

Maybe equilibrium will start its process this week.  As a result of this analysis, my fantasy squad is loaded solely with Americans.

On a serious note, I look at this data as an entrepreneur and see two things:

1.    The golf industry is seemingly ripe for innovation to turn around the declining participation numbers.

2.    The international golf market is starting to blossom in places like Turkey, Eastern Europe, South Africa and elsewhere (i.e. China) and there will be some big winners who capture this growth.  Hopefully it’s you and me.

Have a great U.S. Open week and Happy Entrepreneuring. 

(All data about golf in the U.S. courtesy of http://www.ngf.org/ and data about golf in Europe and Africa courtesy of http://www.kpmg.com/ ... along with personal computations.)