News
NGCOA launches research project
6/25/2005
The National Golf Course Owners Association is the latest industry group to jump into the research business. The Charleston, S.C.-based trade group recently teamed up with Golf Datatech LLC to conduct a pilot research program, gathering data on course operations in three cities. The initiative is expected to be rolled out nationally later this year. Mike Tinkey, deputy executive director of the NGCOA, said the group wants to gather statistics on such things as rounds played, revenues, revenues per available tee time and revenues per utilized tee time. The plan is to break out this data based on the the types of courses, prices courses charge, and geographic region. Course operators then could compare their properties' performance to competing facilities. If this initiative sounds familiar, it's because the PGA of America recently launched a similar research project. Tinkey said the NGCOA and PGA held extensive talks about working together, but couldn't reach an agreement. "Our goal is that the whole industry will come together behind a single research report," he said. Tinkey suggested that the NGCOA's project would benefit from the fact that it is collecting data directly from course owners, while the PGA has requested monthly reports from 8,200 members, some of whom might not have access to course data or the authority to share it. Golf Datatech was brought on to collect the data because "the owners felt it would have more credibility coming from a third party," Tinkey said. The Kissimmee, Fla., research firm has been conducting the pilot program in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Tinkey said the NGCOA has more than 50 member course in Las Vegas, and more than 100 in the other two cities, providing the "critical mass to jumpstart the program."
