“This golf ball rollback is a hot-button topic across the professional tours and among the amateur golf community, especially among better players who rely on distance as key part of their game,” said John Krzynowek, a founding partner of Golf Datatech. “For this reason, we expedited this Serious Golfer Survey to put a stake in the ground so we can assess how perceptions and opinions shift on this issue over time.”

The survey was conducted of 1,250 “serious golfers” (an opt-in group identified by company). The group was asked a series of multiple choice and open-ended questions regarding the MLR. While the opinions are predictably varied, those opposed outnumber those in favor by more than two to one.

The results are below:

Opinions on the Proposed Rule:

• 52 per cent don’t like the proposed rule.
• 23 per cent are in favor of the proposed rule.
• 13 per cent don’t know enough yet to have an opinion.
• 12 per cent don’t care.

Among those who DO NOT SUPPORT the Model Local Rule:

• 72 per cent indicate they “like knowing that everyone plays by the same rules”.
• 55 per cent don’t think it is necessary.
• 43 per cent believe it “complicates” the rules.
• 7 per cent indicate they play “high level competition” and the proposed rule complicates things for them.

Open End Feedback among those who DO NOT SUPPORT the Model Local Rule includes:

• It penalises elite players for being elite.
• Many like to play the same equipment as the elite players to see how they are the same/different.
• Some feel the ball is being held accountable, when the focus should be on clubs.
• There is an undercurrent of golfers who are concerned that the expense of designing and making two different balls will ultimately have to be borne by the consumer, and golf ball prices will rise as a result.

Among those who SUPPORT the Model Local Rule:

• 85 per cent don’t want to see the classic courses made obsolete.
• 45 per cent believe technological improvements are ruining the game.
• 39 per cent feel tour pros hit the ball “too far”.
• 26 per cent don’t hit it like a tour pro, so they don’t really care what the elite players use.

Open End Feedback among those who SUPPORT the Model Local Rule:

• A shorter ball will bring more skill back to the game for elite players.
• Concern that bigger/longer golf courses require more resources to maintain (capital, water, fertiliser, etc), and ultimately will create a sustainability case against the sport.

Respondents were also asked what impact the proposed new rule will have on their personal enjoyment of the game, and results were as follows:

• 79 per cent indicated it will not have any effect on their own enjoyment.
• 17 per cent said it might make the game less enjoyable.
• 4 per cent believe it might make the game more enjoyable.
• 1 per cent indicated they will no longer enjoy the game.

The survey did not include questions regarding interest in the professional game, however Krzynowek noted this is merely the beginning of their data collection. “What is certain is that this topic is not going away, and we will continue to analyse the issue in the weeks ahead,” he said.

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By E. Michael Johnson
For those wondering if golf would remain the “hot” sport as we entered fall and temperatures dropped, a recent report from industry research firm Golf Datatech shows the answer is a resounding “yes.”

According to Datatech rounds played were up a remarkable 25.5 percent compared to last September. For the year, rounds continue to rise, up 8.7 percent year to date over last year.

September’s numbers set a new high for the year and continued a staggering run of participation in the game. It was the largest increase year over year in 2020 and marked the fifth straight month that the numbers of rounds played increased compared to 2019. Rounds in May were up 6.2 percent, in June, 13.9 percent, in July, 19.7 percent and in August, 20.6 percent.

All of this seems implausible in the era of COVID-19, which left the industry staring at a grim year when April’s numbers came out, revealing a 42.2 percent decrease in play, bringing the year-to-date rounds played total to a depressing minus 15.6 percent.

The report showed every state in the continental U.S. having an increase in rounds of at least 2 percent (Hawaii was significantly down as many courses remained closed). Each of the eight regions of the country tracked by Golf Datatech saw at least a 15-percent increase, led by the West North Central region that saw rounds surge by 36.6 percent compared to a year ago.

In recent years rounds played have been marginally up or down, often the result of how much good or poor weather parts of the country were experiencing. In the five years prior to this one, rounds played were up 1.8 percent in 2015; up 0.6 percent in 2016; down 2.7 percent in 2017; down 4.8 percent in 2018 and up 1.5 percent last year. However even poor weather in the southern region where precipitation was up more than 100 percent did not deter rounds in September.

Al Seib

The rounds played news comes after the recent news from Datatech that the golf retail sector reported its highest third quarter sales numbers since the firm began tracking sales some 20 years ago. In terms of units, wood sales were up 45 percent; irons 47 percent; wedges 54 percent; putters 51 percent and balls 19 percent.

Along with numbers, anecdotal evidence from retailers, course owners and equipment manufacturers indicate an expectancy that golf is still a ways from colling off as the hot sport.

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