But do me the favorite. I got that swing. Do wan doua doua doua doua doua do wa dou wan do yeah.
Ella Fitzgerald speaking of swing, speaking of makes me think a little bit about golf. You probably if you think about the game or the sport, you'll bring up the PGA Men's Tour and you would be right. Yet, thanks to the pandemic, tim more women are engaging in golf.
Okay, check this out. The National Golf Foundation reported last year that one of the most notable aspects of the pandemic driven rise in participation over the past three years has been the influx of women and girls. The organization noted that there are about six point four million female golfers, up from five point six million in twenty nineteen, with the female golfer pool jumping fifteen percent, Carol, compared to a two percent lift among male golfers.
I have some nieces and a sister in law that you can add to that list.
There.
This brings us to the Women's US Open, currently underway at the Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania. Round two today, we welcome back Jill Spiegel. She's president of the PGA Tour superstore. She joins us in Atlanta. Jill, great to have you here with us on this Friday. I grew up watching a lot of golf, my dad, my four brothers, they were all in I never learned to play, which really upsets me.
It's that you can look to you, Carol.
I know, I know, and I do think about it.
I just need like four hours on a Friday, get out.
There on the links right after I finished this three hour show.
You got it?
Hey, Jill, what are you seeing when it comes to women engaging as a player, as a fan, and you know, individuals who are interested in golf related merchandising.
Yeah, well, you guys quoted a couple of the stats in your opening, and it's really fun to watch. You know, twenty six percent of all golfers or women, and sixty percent a lot of new people came into the game, and sixty percent of new golfers that came into the game over the last few years have been women. So we we anticipate that twenty six percent climbing over thirty here in the new future. And what's really exciting as well, is, you know, over forty percent of eighteen and under golfers
or girls, which is great. So that trend is going to continue, and it's really exciting to see not only in women's golf, but in women's sports in general. You know, if you look back just a couple of months ago, with the craziness around Caitlin Clark and how that's translated into the WMBA, it's it's really exciting. And the women's purse this weekend at the US Open is almost it's twelve million dollars, almost double was just three years ago.
You know, Viewership is much much higher on the LPGA and twelve you know, the media consumption is twelve million viewers a week versus just what was just four million a few years ago, so it's really fun to watch. We are very supportive of the female customer in our stores. In several of our locations we lead with women's apparel, and our resort locations we actually saw more women's apparel than men's apparel. So it's always been an important business
for us. But we're continuing to really focus on it and continue to grow it. And you know, if it's twenty six percent of the business, we want it to be thirty five forty percent. Of ownership.
I want to take a step back. Why do you think more women, more girls in particular, are engaged. What is it particularly? Is there a player? Is it like, what's going on?
Well, you do have that, I mean you have you know, you have Nelly Korda, which has been amazing to watch this year. I know she's having a tough weekend, but you know she's won six of our last seven tournaments. And I think, you know, I think COVID was really good to the golf industry in general, and I think it attracted more women at the time. You know, people people, you know, adults who are working from home, had more flexibility. And we're getting out on the course and you're seeing
the demographs changing a lot, which is nice. You know, it used to be middle aged white men, and you're you're seeing not only are you seeing more women, but you're seeing more people of color and a lot more youth. So I think, you know, it's it feels more accessible, more fun. It's you know, I think golf can be very intimidating you if you're new to it, and I think some of those barriers are getting broken down, and I think it's a little more casual than it was.
I'm wondering about how much that growth from the COVID era has continued. I think of I'm a cyclist, and I think the cycling industry got a huge boon during COVID, but it is just getting crushed right now because how many bikes do people really need? I won't answer that question, because I need any always one more is the answer to that question.
How many bikes? Do you have?
Too many bikes? What I will say, though, is some sports are not seeing that bump continue. What can you tell us about golf?
Well, it's a really good question, and you know we you quote us some stats from the NGNGF, and we look at it closely too. And twenty twenty three, you know, twenty twenty and twenty twenty one were record years, and the last four years, rounds of golf have been at an all time high, with twenty three at a peak, over five hundred and thirty million people, rounds of golf were played and participation was almost twenty seven million. In twenty twenty four. Rounds of golf are up over twenty
twenty three. So we were all holding our breath.
You know.
Our business doubled during COVID, which is tremendous, and we were thinking, you know, you know, when is the air going to come out of this balloon, and it really hasn't happened. The industry has never been healthier. And what's exciting to see too is not only are people playing golf on the golf course, more people are actually playing off course golf. And when I talk about golf course,
what I mean is simulate our golf. They're either going into a five iron or a top golf and ten percent of those people are converting to green grass golf. So it's the growth continues in your right. There's a lot of sports that saw a huge spike during COVID and they're regressing down. In golf, recreational golf has never never been happier, you know, healthier. One in nine people are playing golf. And the beauty of it is all ages can play, all abilities can play, and you can
play together regardless of your skill level. So that's how the game is up.
Is there any correlation if you play a lot of minuature golf that.
You actually been cutting the short game golf are hitting.
Of course, you're putting your you're putting will be very good, and you know, but it's you know, people who used to go to top golf, and top golf has been very good for our sport, yea. You know, they'd go to top golf and it was food and beverage and entertainment and then they'd go home. But now now it's you know, people are sparking an interest and we're seeing in our business. You know, the technology business is really
really healthy, and the simulator business is healthy. And you know, there's a launch of a of an interactive league this starting this January with professional golfers called TGL and it's you're going to see that that you know, twenty four of the top players on tour playing simulator golf down
in Florida on Monday nights. So there's a former surgeence of different ways you can take in the sport and simulator golf doesn't take four hours, and you know, you can play it in a couple hours or an hour. Even so it's it's opening it up for and making it more welcoming, you know, without the time commitment.
What's just thirty seconds? What's the line you can draw from the popularity of top golf to people actually going out and playing golf more.
The line, well, I think people are more comfortable. They get a taste of it, they know that it's fun, and I'm like, I'm going to give it a try. So it's you know, we like I said, we never saw that conversion before. And for ten percent people, ten percent of you know, fun golfer's going out and actually taking up the sport. That's gonna that's gonna be a lot more people coming into the game and growing the game really interesting.
Well, listen, good luck with the tournament and everything this weekend. Really great to get some time, have a great weekend. Jill Spiegels, she's president of the PGA Tour superstore joining us from Atlanta to know it first play some golf, I know. So I think I regret not having learned with my dad. I know it's never made, but he was. My understanding is he was a great teacher, So I can't do that.
That's true.
All right, you're watching Blueberg