Rain soaking golf courses in 2011: Whatever happened to ...?

Whatever happened to rain dampening the use of Northeast Ohio golf courses last year? Ohio golfers remained soaked.

Ohio easily led the nation in most dropped rounds in 2011 through November, compared with the same period in 2010.

Golfers played 19,867 rounds in the Buckeye state through November, compared with 22,663 rounds through the same period in 2010, said Randy Stutzman, a spokesman for the PGA of America in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

That's a drop of 12.3 percent.

No other state recorded a double-digit drop in rounds played. Kentucky was the second lowest at 9.9 percent, followed by Connecticut, 9.6 percent; and New Jersey and Pennsylvania, both at 9.2 percent.

Stutzman said the nation as a whole played 2.3 percent fewer rounds last year compared to the same time frame in 2010.

Record rainfall was the main reason Ohio led the nation for most dropped rounds from 2010 to last year.

"This is the worst year for playing golf in Ohio that I can ever remember," said David Griffith, tournament director for the Northern Ohio Section of the PGA. "We had so many issues to deal with...frost, rain, fog, storms, and when the weather was good, golf course conditions generally remained bad.

"We had the wettest spring ever, followed by heat and humidity in the summer because of all the spring rain, and that was followed by a rainy fall," he said. "For us, it was horrible. I think November was the only good month we had for golf."

Griffith's last statement regarding November was not disputed by area course owners and club professionals. In fact, Judd Stephenson, the head pro at Avon Oaks Country Club, said 106 golfers came out to play at the private course the day after Thanksgiving.

"Whatever happened to . . .?" is a weekly series updating some of the most newsworthy and interesting local stories covered in The Plain Dealer. Have a suggestion on a story we should update? Send it to John C. Kuehner at jkuehner@plaind.com.

"That was an astounding number considering how late in the year it was," said Stephenson. "For me, I can't wait for 2012 since 2011 was such a bad year for golf in our area and the state as a whole. That is, of course, assuming 2012 won't be as bad as (last) year was."

Stutzman said Ohio is not likely to lose its No. 1 position for more dropped rounds of golf when the final statistics for 2011 are compiled at the end of January, since cold weather normally decreases rounds of golf played in the northern states the final two months.

Despite leading the nation with the most dropped rounds, Stutzman said other states fared worse in lost golf revenue, which includes green fees, guest fees at private clubs and cart fees.

Wyoming recorded a 73.1 percent drop in revenues. Following Wyoming was New York, 54.9 percent drop; New Hampshire, 41.8 percent drop; Massachusetts, 41 percent, and Kansas, 22.5 percent.

These states have fewer public courses and charge higher green fees.

Ohio recorded a 21.4 percent drop in revenues, which was fifth.

Last year, Cleveland set a record 65.32 inches of precipitation, breaking the old record of 53.83 inches set in 1990, said Martin Thompson of the National Weather Service.

"If you're looking for a reason why golf was so down in our area this year, those numbers tell it all," Griffith added.

Source: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/01/rain_soaking_golf_courses_in_2.html

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