Dismal few months for rounds thanks to wet weather

January and February were both dismal months for rounds, thanks to unusual weather across the country. It is the worst weather at the start of the year in at least four years, Pellucid reported. 

"We're still forecasting a total year at the national level within two percent 0f 2009, so hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate with our catch-up plan," said Jim Koppenhaver, President of Pellucid, in a statement. "The challenge for the counter-seasonal markets however is that this is their time to make hay and there's not much harvesting available."

Koppenhaver said markets like Phoenix and Orlando will have a harder time recovering than markets like Texas and California.

Rounds played at U.S. golf courses in January fell nearly 20 percent compared to rounds played last January, as reported by Golf Datatech and PGA Performance Trak.

Public access golf courses were down 18.1 percent this month while private golf courses plunged 20.4 percent, according to the January 2010 National Golf Rounds Played Report.

The West North Central region was hit the hardest with a whopping 75.3 percent decline in average golf play. Cities like Denver (-76.7 percent) and Chicago (-60 percent) also faced less play due to unfavorable weather.

In spite of the falling national average, the New England and Mid Atlantic regions skyrocketed this month. New York increased 133.7 percent while Massachusetts and Rhode Island shot up 333.6 percent.

The number of days open for golf courses was nearly 150 less than last year (-14.1 percent) and the median golf fee revenue slipped 18.4% percent, as reported by the PGA Performance Trak survey.