'Golf was safe': Golf courses become popular destinations during pandemic

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Christmas holidays were ho-ho-horrible for a lot of people in the golf business. The irony of the situation is that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the game of golf may be enjoying the kind of resurgence not seen since a kid named Tiger Woods burst onto the scene and started prowling the links in the mid 1990s. "We were kind of a yo-yo because we were way down in one area but way up in another. I think it was that way at a lot of courses," said Steve Radcliffe, PGA Professional and general manager of Pike Run Golf Club near Ottawa. "First off, we had a lot of outings and all of our graduation parties canceled. That hurt. Then, people started to feel more comfortable, so the outings started going again and a lot of people started playing golf, which was great. In my 23 years here, I think I saw as much played golf last year, as far as players on the course, since the year Philips (LG.Philips Display) closed (2002). "At the same time, we lost class reunions, 50th wedding anniversary parties, and finally when Christmas time came we lost all of that too, 17 Christmas parties altogether. "Like a big yo-yo. In the big scheme of things, we were right there, though." BY THE NUMBERS: Even before "pandemic" became a household word, analysts had been charting a gradual decline in the sport of golf. According to the National Golf Foundation: The number of core American golfers, meaning those playing eight or more rounds per year, had been falling by an average of 3-to-4.5 percent every year since 2006. Since 2007, the number of golf courses being built in the United States was a fraction of the number of golf courses that had closed. The extreme was in 2013, when, according to the NGF, 14 new 18-hole golf courses were built, while 157 that year closed their doors. From 2010 to 2012, the number of core golfers was dropping by an average of around 400,000 per year, with the biggest dropoff being players 35 years old or younger. Aware of the situation, golf courses had adapted. Many renovated their club houses, creating banquet facilities that, coupled with the scenic background of the course, made them popular year-round venues for everything from weddings to graduations to reunions, even Christmas parties. Golf outings, another source of revenue for golf courses, had also become extremely popular. Then came the pandemic, though, and an ensuing shutdown of everything from major industry to small businesses to schools, churches, restaurants and bars. Golf courses were not exempt. According to the NGF, when pandemic worries were at their peak in March and April, roughly 40 percent of golf courses were even open. NGF also estimated that in March and April of 2020, there were 20 million fewer rounds of golf played than over the same period a year before. Things were about to change, though. Understanding a need for recreational opportunities and realizing golf offered an activity where social distancing could be easily achieved, courses were allowed to open their doors. Flood gates may been a better term. "Under the COVID rules, golf was safe," said Chadwick Bain, Chief Operating Officer of the Findlay Country Club. "People are outside, they could distance appropriately, they could take their own cart if they wanted or they could walk. When they were in close contact or going through the club house they could wear a mask. Overall, it was very, very safe." With so many things shut down, the golf course became a viable destination. "We had an incredible year last year, and I think it was the same with most facilities," Bain said. "One reason I think why golf was so popular was, well look at the competition. Travel, kids sporting events, other sporting events …. Those things were all on pause, or canceled, because of COVID-19, so there was less competition for our members and guests recreational time. "People did not go on vacation as much, so they had more time to do more at their club or their local golf course. They were looking for recreational activities as individuals, but also as a family. We saw a lot of family golf, which is great. That's another positive that came out of it." Radcliffe agreed "We saw a lot of new people, and a lot of people who hadn't played in years," he said. "I think a lot of that was because they weren't going away for, say, weekend trips to baseball games, or Cedar Point or long vacations. They were staying around home, and with so many things shut down golf became the thing to do. When I talk to other professionals around the area, it was like that all over." While the social gatherings of a golf course may have taken a hit, the foot traffic through the door was steady. And the guys walking through that door weren't alone. "We saw a lot of families," Radcliffe said. "Dad was coming to the golf course and because for the longest times the kids didn't have summer soccer or they didn't have baseball, dad was bringing the kids with him and introducing them to golf, and that's great for the future. "In golf, that younger generation has been missing for some time. They get so busy with everything else. Last year, I think, allowed people an opportunity to maybe step back and look at doing things differently." The lean months of March and April were followed by some boon periods for golf extending through October and into November. In an article by NGF President and CEO Joe Beditz, rounds of golf played in October of 2020 were 32 percent higher than the previous year, boosting the yearly increase in play to almost 11 percent over 2019. It was the game's biggest one-year jump, according to Beditz, since Woods triggered an unprecedented involvement in the game beginning in 1997. BREAKING NEW GROUND: Floyd Little was still in high school when he started cleaning clubs in the bag room of the Fort Dix golf course and he's been around the game ever since. "I was at a nine-hole course in France for a year," Little recalled. "Went to Germany for three years, spent two summers and two winters at the PGA National in West Palm Beach (Fla.), seven years at Firestone (Country Club), 14 years at Cambridge Country Club, 31 years here." Little was asked if in all of his travels and all of his years around the game, had he ever seen anything like the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. "No," he said, "and I hope to never see anything like it again. "It was just crazy. I don't know how else to stay it." Where Little saw the most effect of the pandemic was an area that is often the lifeblood of a golf course: its membership. "We have quite a few members," said Little, owner of both the Bluffton and Hidden Creek Golf Clubs. "Those members can play both courses. I would say a lot of them may have had more free time (because of COVID restrictions), but last year some members just did not play and some played very little." Little said outings were also down last season, but with vaccinations, masks and a continued emphasis on social distancing, he's again seeing some familiar faces, masked or not. "This year I see a lot of them (members) out here already," he said. "Some are still cautious and worried; others not so much. "This year it seems like it's up the individual, more or less.' SEEING IS BELIEVING: Andrew Clouse heads up what some call the Clouse House, a three golf course alignment that includes Hillcrest in Findlay and Loudon Meadows and the Fostoria Country Club in Fostoria. Like all proprietors, Clouse follows the periodicals to keep up on trends in the game. Over his many years in the business, though, he's developed a simpler more direct method of determining the health of the game. "Nowhere will you find this in Golf Digest," Clouse said. "But two things I found that will give you the pulse of golf are how full the dumpsters are and how many women are out on the course. "If you have to call the garbage man and say, 'Hey, you need to come out and dump this thing, you know, maybe twice a week instead of once,' you know you've had a lot of golfers on the course. "We noticed not only more young players and couples coming out, but more groups of ladies, too. Some were just picking up the game, some were returning to it. Seeing so many women out there is great, because I really think golf courses in the past have under-served women's golf." Clouse saw an uptick in other areas as well. "Friday nights at most golf courses tend to be their slowest nights, because people had so many other things to do," Clouse said. "We saw a big increase on Friday's, and it was mostly couples. With people coming back to golf in record numbers, Friday play became like a weekend day for us." Clouse admitted that, like all courses, charity fundraisers and large outings sponsored by corporations were down significantly. The flip side was that it opened the courses up in other ways. "The majority of our outings were canceled because people did not want to be hanging around in crowds and big groups," he said. "So now we had room for regular play at our rack rate. Instead of a lot of rounds of golf at a reduced rate of an outing, we were able to sell golf at our rack rate to a lot of people. "We were definitely blessed. It was a bumper crop for us as I'm sure it was at a lot of courses." PAR FOR THE COURSE: While the social extensions of a golf course may have taken a hit 2020, the game itself did not. Clouse might have a reason why. "Golf is kind of like the pizza of sporting events," he said. "People don't say, 'Hey, let's go get some burgers.' But they will say, 'Hey, let's go get a pizza, have a few beers, catch up on things …. "It's the same thing with golf: 'Hey let's get together and do something, how about some golf?' It's one-on-one time, out in the open air, a couple of hours of just playing the game, communicating face to face instead of back and forth on a cell phone. "That's why it's great, and even with all that went on with COVID and everything, I think that's why people love it."