News

Last Update :8/19/2019

Aug Perspective, Are Merchant Fees Barter 2.0?

 
Dear Golf Industry Professional:
 
The dog days of summer are now upon us and hopefully that bodes well for weather and demand in this current month. This month's Perspective is headlined by Contributing Editor Stuart Lindsay who attempts to keep up with the myriad changes in players and business models in the internet tee times/tee sheet/PoS space. One new twist is what I'm calling Barter 2.0; the introduction of paying for your tee sheet/PoS system by using the provider's merchant account partner vs. giving up tee times as "payment." The other rumor we've heard (but don't address here because it's just a rumor) is that one of the major players is proposing to go to a $1 per round for every round booked through the booking engine which I guess would be Non-Barter 2.0? To get Stuart's take on the players, business models and his handicapping of the odds, click on the link below:
 
In addition, the August issue covers the following topics with equal parts of information and entertainment:
 
  • Contributing Writer Harvey Silverman chronicles a success story in Brevard County, FL where the municipality took the "graceful exit" from the golf business, handing over the reins to the two muni courses to Golf Brevard, a 501(c)3. It's a new model to watch as more municipalities are wanting to limit their exposure to the revenue/expense vagaries of running courses in these challenging times and yet want a buyer committed to keeping the space green and golfing 
  • On the same topic of municipal golf's cross-currents, Publisher Jim Koppenhaver analyzes the NGF's recent "talking point" that municipal golf has reached a high-water mark in the industry as measured by number of courses. This is the result of munis being "net buyers" of failed private-financed golf courses and Jim opines that it's too early to tell whether this cycle represents "vitality" in the muni model or "stupidity" longer-term
  • Plus the monthly Industry Scorecard (the only integrated scorecard of multi-source performance indicators) including the July weather impact results and the June YtD Utilization. We also chart the monthly timeseries for the year of Golf Playable Hours and Utilization while our Market Focus continues working down through our updated Top 25 scorecard with the 4th healthiest major US golf market, Phoenix AZ. Rounding out the issue, our Comings & Goings section catalogues, classifies and comments on 11 activities during the past month that range from the ridiculous to the inevitable, check it out
 
We recognize and thank our continuing sponsors; KemperSports, Troon Golf and EZLinks Golf. For all those service providers and suppliers to the golf industry out there with the latest-and-greatest to offer to the industry thought-leaders who read our monthly publication, might we suggest considering joining our merry little band through our most popular 12-month sponsorship program? (offered at an improved value relative to our entry-level six month sponsorship rate) Twelve-month sponsors also receive all Pellucid industry-standard reports (State of the Industry, Outside the Ropes, Monthly Weather Impact Tracking (Nat'l, Reg'l, Markets), Top 25 US Golf Markets Scorecard and National Golf Consumer Franchise Health Scorecard). Sponsorship provides monthly exposure to approximately 30K industry leaders and followers and associates your brand with Pellucid’s effort to expand intelligent thinking on today's most challenging industry issues. For more "opportunistic" spenders, we might suggest one of our smaller-bite Ad Partner programs for those who may not be able to make a 6 or 12-month commitment (as short as 3 months are now available) or who may not need a half page or more exposure (quarter pages now available). If you're interested in knowing more about sponsorship opportunities or are interested in a preview of our ad partner options, contact Publisher Jim Koppenhaver (847.808.7651, jim@pellucidcorp.com).
 
If you know of associates who would benefit from the topics and insights covered in this issue, feel free to forward this email and encourage them to register on the Pellucid website (http://www.pellucidcorp.com/news/elist) to join the conversation, discussion and debate.
 
We also continue to spread the word on Pellucid's next-generation golf course database, the Internet Golf Course Database (IGDB) with partners Apparation LLC, Never-Search and GolfCourseRanking.com which now offers annual subscriptions for <$5 (that's a compelling value!). IGDB now powers Pellucid's Golf Local Market Analyzer and has added functionality to our project work like being able to tally and profile course closures within key US markets over time. While no database will ever be 100% accurate, we continue to be surprised at the quantity and range of inconsistencies in course directories out there as well as the fact that most of the major tee time providers and recommendation sites (like GolfAdvisor) are propagating these phantom facilities and errors 5-10 fold for people doing Google searches online. Talk about an "echo chamber"... For more information on our comprehensive database, updated quarterly and refreshed completely every 9 months (all 15K+ US courses), email support@theigdb.com.
 
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Buffalo Grove, IL 60089


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