Golf Courses Take a Hit as Rain Keeps Golfers Indoors

Professional golfers were not the only group that was severely impacted by rainfall in June; casual golfers were kept inside across much of the Northeast where rainfall was up 12% compared to last year.  Weather is the most influential determiner of golf rounds played and it did not cooperate with courses across the country in June.  Weather Trends International and Golf Datatech released the June 2009 Golf Weather report and it showed that rounds played were down -3.3% in June, but up +0.2% YTD in 2009, for the country as a whole.  June is typically the prime month for courses in the Northeast and Mid-West, but this year those areas were hit hard with drenching rains and cooler than normal conditions leading to a decrease in the number of rounds played. 

New York City observed 20 days of measurable rainfall during the month, and 3 of these days impacted the US Open Golf Championship which took place on Long Island.  Although much of the eastern half of the country saw negative conditions, Dennis O’Donnell of Weather Trends International points out that “the temperature profile could not have been more perfect in the west. Warm weather in the Northwest and cooler weather in the Southwest (in June) really optimizes the amount of time golfers can play on their local courses”.     The warm weather drove the number of rounds played up in Portland and Seattle where play increased by 7.2% and 4.7% respectfully.   

In the Mid-West, scattered rain highlighted the importance of location specific weather information.  Chicago had the wettest June in 15 years and rounds played suffered posting a -11.1% drop.  Just 90 miles away, Milwaukee was 56% drier than last year and golfers responded by playing +10.3% more rounds.  A similar outcome can be seen between Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio.  "These kinds of weather anomalies in not-too-distant cities makes it important for golf course operators to know the weather patterns of their exact market, not just the regions," said O'Donnell. 

For more information Contact Dennis O’Donnell (dodonnell@wxtrends.com) or Tom Stine (stinegolf@aol.com) or visit http://www.wxtrends.com

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