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 From the News Desk...December rounds crash under cold tempsThose who track trends in the golf industry do not always see eye to eye about weather's role in influencing rounds played, but there appears to be a meeting of the minds regarding the impact of weather on December’s participation rate. Unusually cold temperatures throughout the country, especially in the South, helped drive down rounds by 14.7 percent compared with December 2008, according to the National Golf Rounds Played Report. Rounds played were down by 31 percent in the south-central United States, including 44 percent in Mississippi and Louisiana, 39 percent in Alabama and 27 percent in Texas. The picture was much better in the Southeast, with rounds down by 39 percent in North Carolina, 35 percent in Georgia, 27 percent in Florida and a staggering 53 percent in Delaware and Maryland. The National Rounds Played Report is a collaborative effort of Golf Datatech, National Golf Foundation, PGA of America and the National Golf Course Owners Association that samples thousands of courses nationwide. Weather definitely played a factor in December, according to another industry tracker, Pellucid Corp. According to the Chicago-based firm, a function of available golf supply that it calls “golf playable hours” slipped nationwide by 10 percent in December. That includes a 3 percent loss throughout much of the South, which was cold and wet in December. Just a few examples: Average December temperatures in San Antonio and Houston were 6-7 degrees colder than historic trends. In Atlanta, the average daily high in December was 49 degrees, nearly 5 degrees colder than normal, according to the National Weather Service. Likewise, precipitation amounts were up a total of 131 percent throughout the Southeast, according to Weather Trends International, which tracks weather data for Golf Datatech. Another weather-tracking firm, Oklahoma-based Weather Bank, determines golf playable hours for Pellucid through current weather data collected from 1,700 weather stations nationwide as well as 10 years of historic trends. Other areas with significant decreases in rounds played in December included much of the Midwest and Plains, where rounds were down by as much as 49 percent in Nebraska, 31 percent in Missouri and 29 percent in Ohio. Deviating from that trend was Illinois, where rounds were up by 34 percent. Temperatures in the Chicago area held close to historic norms with average highs of 32 and lows of 20, yet play in the metropolitan area was up 162 percent for the month. Michigan also saw an increase in rounds played of 41 percent. With December’s mixed report, rounds played for the year were relatively flat, dipping slightly at 0.6 percent compared with 2008. |
In other news... Study examines spring pre-stress fertility programs Research finds no correlation between biostimulant applications before spring core cultivation and recovery. Posted: 09/02/2010 Read more » Aquatrols, TurfNet present Water Week The series of five Webinars is aimed at helping superintendents manage water and soils more efficiently. Posted: 09/01/2010 Read more » News and people briefs Registration opens soon for Irrigation Show, Briggs & Stratton elects new chairman, FMC taps new director for professional solutions division Posted: 09/01/2010 Read more » GCSAA selects firm in search for new CEO Kansas City-based company will open search process for Mark Woodward's successor in October. Posted: 08/31/2010 Read more » Water foul! Research shows that droppings from non-migratory geese on turf can result in nitrogen runoff into adjacent bodies of water. Posted: 08/26/2010 Read more » Complete news index » |
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