ABOUT THE WIRE View Today's Issue Contact Us Submit a Press Release Syndicate Our Content Advertise in The Wire Subscribe to The Wire Access the Archive Golf Press Association

Pellucid's 2002 Golf Participation Perspective Now Available Contact James Koppenhaver 847-808-7651 JIMK@PELLUCIDCORP.COM Pellucid Corp., an emerging golf industry information and insight provider, has completed their 2002 analysis of golf participation shedding some interesting light on participation's role in the current industry stagnation. The 33-chart analysis is built off consecutive annual consumer surveys fielded in 2001 and 2002 across a balanced sample totaling 130,000 US households. Pellucid founder Jim Koppenhaver states that, "The report highlights the fact that participation declines are a key factor in the industry's inability to increase rounds demand. Given historical reports that participation has been flat for the past several years, this either signifies a change in that trend to declining participation or it is possible that the historical reports chose to interpret previous slight declines as flat." Pellucid's analysis is subdivided into two sections covering the areas of Participation/Frequency/Play Rates and Attraction/Attrition Rates & Ratios. In the analysis, Pellucid creates new measures that simplify the relationships between participation vs. frequency (Population Play Rates) and lost golfers vs. new golfers (Attrition/Attraction Ratio). The full report quantifies the numbers behind 7 key findings which include: The participation rate declined more than population growth resulting in a decline in golfers A commensurate increase in frequency (rounds per golfer per year) offset the participation declines resulting in a negligible increase in Play Rates vs. '01 The female segment drove the modest Play Rate gains on declining participation but increasing frequency An attrition rate of roughly 11% of golfers (or roughly 1 out of 10 golfers left the game in 2002) drove the unfavorable attrition/attraction ratio of 1.4:1 The high attrition rate is driven by females and juniors, with both segments having rates 2x and 3x the overall rate respectively Koppenhaver adds, "Consistent with previous Pellucid analyses, we found a mixture of support for and contradiction of conventional industry wisdom in compiling this participation perspective. One interesting example would be Pellucid's estimation of the Jr. Golfer base (defined as 0-17, 1+ rounds past 12 months) at 2.6MM vs. a recently-released industry study placing that number at 6.1MM?" Pellucid's 2002 Golf Participation Perspective is ready for delivery as a PowerPoint electronic file available within 24 hours of ordering and payment. Target clients include key industry stakeholders across equipment manufacturers, facility owner/operators, lenders, developers and service providers (appraisers, consultants, architects etc.) who need a concise, unbiased perspective on the macro changes in the golfer base. Those interested in a sample of the report and pricing information can register at Pellucid's website (www.pellucidcorp.com/html/home/inquire.aspx, choose Golf Participation and Rounds Growth Goals). Koppenhaver concludes, "The Golf Participation Perspective is the latest example of Pellucid delivering on its namesake promise of diffusing light evenly in all directions, making crystal clear and easily understood."