Fourteenth century poet Geoffrey Chaucer is credited with coining some version of the phrase "all good things must come to an end."
For the past five years, the number of golfers in the game and rounds played have steadily increased, but an underlying question is how long this Covid-fueled resurgence will last.
That was a topic for discussion during the annual state of the golf industry report presented jointly by Pellucid Golf and Edgehill Golf Advisors during the recent PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.
"Cycles go up and down," said Pellucid founder Jim Koppenhaver.
None of the key indicators are going down, at least not yet. Among the takeaways from last year are a 3 percent increase in the number of golfers, most of whom are women, and a record number of rounds played.
We don't need big ideas. Simple stuff will do. Just get a club in someone's hands.
Continued growth in the number of golfers playing the game and the rounds they are playing was a little unexpected, said Koppenhaver, because there is no real concerted effort to grow the game on a national level, and no one really knows what is driving the increase in interest.
"We're seeing growth continue, and it surprises me," Koppenhaver said. "It's not going to last forever."
The report contradicts what golfers and non-golfers alike say are the most common barriers to playing the game: It's too difficult, it takes too long to play and it is expensive.
"I can tell you that's not true," Koppenhaver said of the supposed barriers to the game. "Because we didn't break any of those."
Indeed, the game is still as hard as ever, still takes too long to play and green fees and the price of clubs and balls continue to go up, not down.
According to the report, there were 23.4 million golfers in the market last year. Those figures include 4.3 million players who left the game, a number that was offset by a gain of 4.9 million new players, for a net gain of 600,000 new golfers, 400,000 of whom are women.
The market retained a total of 18.5 million players. Retaining more of the 4.3 million who walked away should be a focus of owners and operators. Koppenhaver believes tools to help people play better is a key to retention..
"Player development is important," he said. "If people get better faster, they will play more and stick with the game."
According to the report, a record 532 million rounds were played in 2024, which, Koppenhaver said, is 10 percent above the supply-demand equilibrium and the first time the 530 million round mark was eclipsed. Koppenhaver defines supply-demand equilibrium as an average of about 40,000 rounds per 18-hole equivalent.
The report also revealed a net loss of 50 more golf courses (EHE) last year. A total of 25 new courses went into the ground while 75 closed.
We're seeing growth continue, and it surprises me. It's not going to last forever.
The supply of golf courses nationwide has been contracting every year since 2006, and has reached a net loss of 2,115 properties (EHE) in the past 19 years, dropping from 14,848 18-hole equivalents in 2006 to 12,733 last year.
The 530-million-plus rounds level of play could support adding another 1,000 golf courses (in 18-hole equivalents), Koppenhaver said.
"You can't find the land at the right price," Koppenhaver said, "to put in the right facility."
Not surprisingly, the greatest gains in attracting and retaining golfers were among those in the $75,000-and-up age group. Perhaps the best news coming out of the report was that the game made significant increases among younger players. Those in the 7-17 and 18-34 age groups accounted for the largest gains, with the golfer population in both segments growing by 10 percent. There was a 3.4 percent gain in those ages 35-54. The number of golfers in the 55-64 and 65 and up age groups, which traditionally have carried the game, were down by 7 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
"We don't need big ideas. Simple stuff will do," Koppenhaver said. "Just get a club in someone's hands."