The Baby Boomer generation will be a minority of the work force in 5 years. Most will be in retirement. Retired Boomers are already changing the environment of the retired population. And that change is expected to affect golf courses as well.
Some have predicted a large influx of golf rounds because of the sheer number of Boomers. A recent study published by the National Golf Foundation offers some reason to temper those hopes.
Boomers still cause an increase in golf rounds over the next several years, the NGF study predicts a 5-15% growth. That is good news. The study points out a few factors that retard further growth.
Financial security–
Boomers lack confidence they can maintain their lifestyle through their retirement years. The recession destroyed their savings, crushed their home value, and devastated their retirement plans. Additionally, Boomers can count on a longer lifespan. Money concerns top the list of Boomers considering retirement. Many have determined they cannot retire.
Golf participation–
Boomers comprise about 33% of all current golfers. Participation is about the same as the previous generations. Boomers will maintain rounds older folks will be dropping off. In fact they will double the number of golfers in retirement.
But behind the Boomers golf participation is dropping or is very low. In the 35-49 year old group play is down significantly since the recession. The 18-34 year olds has very low play rates.
Coincidentally, both of those groups are struggling with their careers. The younger folks are finding hard to even start their desired career. How much of this will be fixed when economic conditions are better is unclear. With little deposable income, golf is not an attractive past time for these folks. For the future, the NGF states the industry must focus on increasing the number of players and increasing the number of rounds they play.
The next several years will see an increase in rounds played as the Boomers move into retirement. 5-15% is a good number, but the Boomers will not create the golf boom many predicted a few years ago.
