How much Myrtle Beach golf rounds increased in 2021 and why there’s excitement for 2022
The coronavirus pandemic continued to be a boon for golf in 2021, and the Myrtle Beach market was a beneficiary of the game’s resurgence, particularly from the summer on.
Propelled by perhaps the best second half to a year in two decades, the number of rounds played on the Grand Strand’s public courses increased approximately 19 percent compared to 2020, leading to a green fee revenue increase of approximately 46 percent.
It is believed to be the most rounds played in at least 18 years in the market, which stretches from Georgetown, S.C., to Boliva, N.C., and more than 30 courses have closed over those years. The numbers break down to an average of approximately 38,300 rounds per course last year.
With advanced tee time bookings well ahead of last year, course operators are optimistic for an even more successful year in 2022.
The numbers are according to rounds played on the 62 Grand Strand courses that are currently members of the Golf Tourism Solutions technology and marketing agency that promotes the market, which is one of the world’s premier golf destinations with more than 80 courses, including more than 70 public layouts.
Rounds and revenue also increased significantly in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic 2019.
“The courses need it, we all need it. It’s been a lot of tough years,” said Parker Smith, president of Golf Trek, one of the Grand Strand’s largest golf package providers.
The numbers breakdown
Because the numbers take into account only current GTS courses, they do not include rounds at courses that closed in 2021 or dropped their GTS membership.
Farmstead Golf Links and The Witch Golf Links both closed late in 2021. Century Golf Partners’ five courses in the market — three at Legends Resort, Heritage Club and Oyster Bay Golf Links — Whispering Pines, Brunswick Plantation, Indigo Creek, Beachwood Golf Club and Carolina National are no longer part of GTS.
There were 2.374 million rounds played on those 62 courses in 2021, according to GTS, which was up from 1.993 million in 2020 and 2.128 million in 2019.
Revenue from the rounds increased from $71.7 million in 2020 to $104.3 million in 2021.
2021 got off to a moderate start.
A COVID surge and travel-related government restrictions contributed to play and revenue being either down or only minimally up in February, March, April and May 2021 compared to those months in 2019.
But rounds and revenue increased double-digit percentage points in each of the last eight months of 2021 compared to both 2020 and 2019, with the lone exception being a 7 percent rounds increase in November 2021 compared to 2020.
“I wouldn’t call last year a good year, because the pandemic was still greatly impacting us during our peak season, which was the spring,” said Claude Pardue, president of DG Golf Management, which owns and operates The Wizard and Man O’War courses and previously owned The Witch. “But I would call the last seven months of the year really good. We had a really good fall.”
Golf’s resurgence started in 2020
COVID led to golf nationally enjoying a resurgence after a couple stagnant/declining decades, and rounds in the Myrtle Beach market in 2020 outpaced those in 2019 in six of the final seven months of the year.
Many states, including North Carolina and South Carolina, kept golf courses open while many other indoor activities were closed due to the coronavirus, leading more people to golf courses more frequently.
Yet rounds on the Grand Strand were down 7.8 percent and revenue was down 20 percent for the entire year in 2020 compared to 2019, according to GTS, because of the loss of traveling golfers and package play, particularly in the normally lucrative spring season when many states were on lockdown due to COVID’s emergence.
“Coming out of COVID it was crazy. Golf has been nuts,” Smith said. “I think in the 2021 spring the market missed a little bit with people still being COVID fearful. Typically, April for the 17 years I’ve been doing it is always the busiest month of traveling package golf, and we actually had more golfers play on a package basis in October for the first time ever. People were just ready to get out. It was a really, really good fall.”
Surging national play, retail statistics
Through November, total rounds of golf in the U.S. were up 5.6% over 2020, according to a report by Golf Datatech in partnership with the National Golf Foundation, and that is after rounds played in the U.S. were up nearly 14 percent in 2020 compared to 2019.
Play in 2021 was projected through November to surpass 2020’s total by approximately 20 million to 25 million rounds, and this past December saw mild temperatures in many parts of the country, particularly the mid-Atlantic.
The 2020 increase came in spite of debilitating COVID impacts that spring. The industry lost an estimated 20 million rounds due to coronavirus-related course shutdowns in March and April, when more than half of the 16,000-plus courses in the country were temporarily closed, according to the NGF.
Rounds increased in 2020 compared to 2019 in each of the final eight months of the year, according to Golf Datatech, to total more than 502 million rounds for the year for an increase of 61 million rounds over 2019.
The only larger increase in rounds played in a year on record was in 1997, when a 21-year-old Tiger Woods won the Masters by 12 strokes and the number of rounds jumped by 63 million compared to 1996.
Golf equipment sales have followed suit. Retail sales of balls and equipment were up nearly 35% through November vs. 2020, according to Golf Datatech.
Total sales of clubs and balls in 2020 surpassed 2019’s numbers at $2.9 billion despite a 31% dip in March and April of 2020. The increase was fueled by the biggest July on record contributing to the second highest quarter ever.
“There’s just a lot of interest in golf now,” Smith said. “I think COVID introduced a lot of people back to it.”
2022 looking like a banner year
Projections for 2022 in Myrtle Beach are even more encouraging than 2021’s statistics.
According to GTS, rounds already booked at the agency’s 62 courses for the remainder of the year as of Jan. 1 are up 20 percent for a projected revenue increase of approximately 31 percent at an average of $5 more per round. Nearly 400,000 rounds were reserved as of New Year’s Day.
“That indicates there’s a lot of pent-up demand still to come to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and play a round of golf,” said Tracy Conner, GTS president of technology and Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association executive director.
Smith said he has been booking spring packages since August and has had by far the most advanced spring rounds booked in his 17 years in business.
“It’s super strong. We’ve had a lot of advanced bookings, more than ever,” Smith said. “I think they probably missed last spring’s trip, for those who didn’t do it, so they were like, ‘Man, we’ve got to get this down.’ We’ve had crazy growth for advanced bookings from August through November. Like more than 100 percent compared to last year, which was a COVID year but it was still strong.
“Now because the prices change — because as they fill up they raise the rate — the earlier you book the better the price is.”
Course profits have been boosted in recent years by dynamic pricing that fluctuates by day and time of day to take advantage of more coveted tee times and increased demand.
Increased operating costs for course owners and managers have cut into their profits, however. The golf industry has experienced much of the inflation and rising costs of products and delivery that other U.S. industries are facing nearly two years into the pandemic.
“Just for winter grass this year, the cost of grass is up 53 percent,” Smith said. “Everything is more expensive. The average golfer doesn’t think of that. But we’re still positioned pretty well as a good destination with a combination of everything.”
What may benefit spring golf is the return of more Canadians in the form of both weekly vacationers and longer-term snowbirds. The Canadian government adopted border restrictions last winter and spring that made it difficult for Canadians to leave.
GTS is currently marketing heavily in Canada to entice golfers to return, and nonstop Porter Air flights from Toronto to Myrtle Beach have been reinstated beginning March 9.
“That was a huge hit for us, certainly the snowbird traffic and then Canadian travel in general,” said GTS CEO Bill Golden, who said there are additional conversations with airlines to add flights from Canada to Myrtle Beach. “As a destination in general we need to get back and market as heavily if not invest more dollars than we ever have to encourage that traffic to come back. It’s a significant piece of business for us.”
2022 is more than promising for the Myrtle Beach golf industry.
“I actually think the future of the golf business is real exciting in our segment of the business,” Pardue said. “I’m excited about where we can go.”
Myrtle Beach golf rounds 2017-2021
Totals are rounds played on GTS’ current 62 courses
| Year | Rounds | % change from previous year |
| 2017 | 2,153,969 | N/A |
| 2018 | 2,064,146 | -4.2% |
| 2019 | 2,128,063 | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 1,993,045 | -6.3% |
| 2021 | 2,374,188 | +19.1% |
Rounds by month in 2021
Totals are rounds played on GTS’ current 62 courses
| Month | Rounds | % change from 2020 | % change from 2019 |
| January | 100,454 | -20% | +2% |
| February | 107,725 | -27% | -28% |
| March | 244,538 | +22% | -3% |
| April | 281,155 | +141% | +4% |
| May | 256,183 | +42% | +5% |
| June | 203,925 | +10% | +26% |
| July | 207,204 | +17% | +23% |
| August | 177,493 | +15% | +10% |
| September | 215,548 | +15% | +41% |
| October | 270,008 | +11% | +16% |
| November | 176,092 | +7% | +21% |
| December | 133,863 | +23% | +47% |
| Total | 2,374,188 | +19% | +12% |
* Statistics according to Golf Tourism Solutions
This story was originally published January 21, 2022 at 6:55 AM.
