Golf Stats & Online Golf Resources
As for the number of golfers in the U.S., the Sporting Goods Manufacturers
Association (SGMA; www.sgma.com) estimates
there are about 27.3 million. The National Golf Foundation (NGF;
www.ngf.org) tracks golf-related statistics
as well. And it breaks the number of golfers down more specifically: 49% are
between 18 and 39 years old; 33% are over 50; 22% are female; 5% are African
Americans; 4% are Asian Americans; and 4% are Hispanic.
Not all these people are nuts, but there are those who take their obsession
into the next stratosphere. Consider this: tickets for the last day of this
year's Masters are selling for about $4,000 a piece. (That price was found
at press time as listed on www.stubhub.com,
but as the event nears, the price is likely to go up and the tickets will
disappear.)
According to the SGMA $2.49 billion dollars was spent on golf equipment in
2004, and it's projected that U.S. golfers will spend over $2.5 billion in
2005. Approximately 49% is spent on clubs; 30% is spent on balls and the
remaining 21% is sent on accessories. The NGF reports that golf expenditures
for 2004, when greens fees are thrown in, top out at $24.3 billion.
The number of rounds played in 2004 was up (0.7% over 2003) for the first
time in three years. And 29% of golf-course managers cite, one of the
reasons for the increase in rounds played was an increase in advertising and
marketing by golf courses. If you aren't getting part of that revenue you
need to visit your local courses - today.
There are lots of places for you to sell golf products. If you look at pro
shops alone, there are 15,827 courses in the U.S. Of those, 11,501 are
public courses, the rest are private clubs. To find courses and related golf
businesses, check out the Business Search Directory at the NGF Web site.
When you look at the sheer potential of the golf market and the massive
amount of cash it generates, imagine how some of the players would feel to
get something without paying for it.
Online Golf Resources
National Golf Foundation - the industry leader in providing relevant
information and insights on the business of golf;
www.ngf.org
Professional Golfers Association of America - The PGA of America is a
not-for-profit organization that promotes the game of golf while continuing
to enhance the standards of the profession;
www.pga.com
Golfweek magazine - Golfweek is a magazine for avid golfers with up-to-date
results on all the professional tours, the collegiate and amateur games,
profiles of players on the way up (and down), statistics, rankings and
complete coverage of the golf industry;
www.golfweek.com
Golf Digest magazine - The #1 golf publication publishes 12 times a year.
Includes instructional tips and techniques; exclusive instruction from the
game's hottest pros; and reviews of top equipment;
www.golfdigest.com
Powers Golf - site for golf course managers and golf events managers;
www.powersgolf.com
World Golf - scroll down and click on the "golf link" and you'll find
hundreds of online resources in 42 different categories;
www.worldgolf.com
Golf Help - a search engine for golf-only Web sites;
www.golfhelp.com
Golf Test USA - articles, reviews and ratings on all golf related products;
www.golftestusa.com
Google - for access to over 5,000 sites;
directory.google.com/Top/Sports/Golf/
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