2009 Jamestown Park Golf Course SurveyResults

25 August 2009By

R. E. Pifer, Ph.D.Meaningful Analytics

Background

• The Jamestown Park Golf Course (JPGC) is a well-known landmark in Guilford and surrounding counties– Play initiated on the course in 1975– Besides providing opportunity for healthy outdoors

enjoyment, it and the associated Park facilities add to the prominence and property values of the Town

• Many JPGC facilities are dated and a rejuvenation is being considered– To help with the planning, a survey of golfers was conducted

• Information was collected from April 15 to May 31, 2009• 174 golfers who play at JPGC responded to the survey

• This document summarizes results from the survey

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Executive Summary

• All survey participants play at Jamestown• Many details were discovered …

– About the players, and– About features they would like to have at the course

• The majority of players consider a round of golf at JPGC to be a “Good” value

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Methodology

• Data was collected by both paper questionnaires that were collected at the Park and online surveys – A “sweepstakes” was held to encourage participation

• The prize was fee and cart with lunch for a group of 4• To collect the prize if chosen, each golfer had to list his/her

name and contact information at the end of a completed questionnaire

• Each person was asked to make only one entry

– The recording of names served as a check that prevented anyone from over-representing his or her opinion by submitting multiple surveys

– All participants had to play at least occasionally at JPGC

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Methodology (Cont’d)

• Information is presented on the basis of a number of perspectives– The simple total group of 174 JPGC golfers – each person’s survey counts

as “one vote”– A “weighted” total group, where each completed survey represents the

number of rounds of play at JPGC – each person’s survey is counted more or less depending on the amount of play at JPGC • Other things being equal, responses from people playing “daily” were given 7

times more weight than responses from people who play “weekly”• Other things being equal, responses from people who only play at JPGC (10 out

of every 10 rounds) are weighted 10 times more than those who play just 1 round at JPGC out of every 10 they play

– Actual Frequent JPGC Players• These 10 golfers are more frequent players at JPGC than the 164 others• Among those completing the survey, they account for 40% of the JPCG rounds

played– Potential Frequent JPGC Players

• There are 75 such players who play daily or weekly but fewer than 5 out of 10 rounds at JPGC

• Among those completing the survey, they account for 25% of the JPCG rounds played

• If they played just one more round at JPGC out of the 10 they play, JPGC would have almost a 10% increase in rounds played

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Methodology (Cont’d)• Except for the pricing section and a few other places,

information is conveyed as percentages– Example: Consider the method by which surveys were returned

• 69.3% of 174 people completed the survey via email

• However, when these people are “weighted” according to rounds played at JPGC, we observe that the majority (51.2%) returned the survey in person at the golf course– This and the fact that the majority (57.1%) of the “Actual Frequent Players”

returned their surveys at JPGC makes sense because these people are there a lot

• In some places median (middle value) and mean (simple average) values are presented

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

Questionnaire completion medium In person 30.7 51.2 57.1 18.2

Email/online 69.3 48.8 42.9 81.8

Frequent Players

Results – Who Are JPGC Golfers?

• Those completing the survey are almost all men

• They tend to be moderately older, age 51 to 65

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

1. Gender Male 93.7 95.7 100.0 93.3

Female 6.3 4.3 0.0 6.7

Frequent Players

Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75 2. Age 20-35 13.6 12.0 0.0 8.1

36-50 29.0 29.8 33.3 21.651-65 42.6 33.1 33.3 60.865+ 14.8 25.0 33.3 9.5

Frequent Players

Results – How Skilled Are They?

• Survey participants are fairly skilled at golf– The majority have a handicap of between 10 and 19– Frequent JPGC golfers are even more skilled, with the

majority (50%) of them having a handicap of between 0 and 9

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

3. Handicap 0-9 19.4 38.4 50.0 17.810-19 51.8 47.5 40.0 63.020-30 22.4 10.2 10.0 15.131+ 6.5 3.9 0.0 4.1

Frequent Players

Results – How often do they play?

• The majority of JPGC golfers play weekly– Actual “Frequent” players play daily

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

4. Frequency of play Daily 6.3 43.8 80.0 4.0

Weekly 63.8 51.1 20.0 96.0Monthly 24.1 4.8 0.0 0.0A few times a year 5.7 0.3 0.0 0.0

Frequent Players

Results – How often do they play? (Cont’d)• The majority of golfers play more than half of their rounds

at other courses– Among “Total” respondents only about 4 out of 10, or 40%, of their play is

at JPGC– Among frequent players we find the following:

• About 30%, or 3 out of 10 rounds, of “Potential Frequent Players” play is at JPGC• About 70% of “Actual Frequent Players” play is at JPGC

– Figures for the “Weighted Total” are higher because weights were constructed in part based on responses to this question in order to highlight play done at JPGC

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

5. Times played at JPGC out of 10 1 12.6 3.3 0.0 22.7

2 17.2 4.6 0.0 24.03 13.2 7.0 10.0 17.34 16.7 12.1 0.0 36.05 13.2 18.7 20.0 0.06 6.9 13.2 20.0 0.07 5.7 11.1 10.0 0.08 6.9 12.4 10.0 0.09 4.0 6.9 0.0 0.0

10 3.4 10.7 30.0 0.0Median 4.0 6.0 6.5 3.0

Mean 4.3 6.0 7.0 2.7

Frequent Players

Results – Most And Least Favorite Holes

• The favorite holes of most are #11 and #15– More Actual Frequent Players like #7 most

• #3 seems to be the least favorite hole

Weighted Weighted Total Total Actual Potential Total Total Actual Potential

Sample Size 174 174 10 75 174 174 10 75

Hole1 3.8 1.2 0.0 6.9 3.8 2.1 0.0 4.22 8.8 16.4 20.0 11.1 6.3 3.6 0.0 2.83 3.1 5.8 20.0 4.2 34.2 42.6 50.0 35.24 4.4 3.5 0.0 2.8 3.8 1.6 0.0 2.85 5.0 2.5 0.0 5.6 1.9 1.3 0.0 1.46 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.2 6.5 10.0 1.47 6.9 12.7 30.0 4.2 3.8 6.2 10.0 7.08 5.6 5.7 10.0 9.7 1.3 0.8 0.0 2.89 3.8 1.2 0.0 2.8 3.2 1.3 0.0 4.2

10 3.8 2.0 0.0 5.6 9.5 4.5 0.0 12.711 16.9 15.5 10.0 13.9 7.0 5.1 0.0 4.212 5.6 4.0 0.0 5.6 3.8 1.1 0.0 4.213 4.4 1.9 0.0 6.9 3.8 12.2 10.0 1.414 8.8 6.8 0.0 1.4 4.4 5.2 10.0 5.615 13.1 17.3 10.0 13.9 1.3 0.7 0.0 2.816 3.1 1.6 0.0 1.4 1.3 0.7 0.0 2.817 1.9 1.5 0.0 2.8 3.2 0.8 0.0 2.818 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.4 3.6 10.0 1.419 0.6 0.4 0.0 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Frequent Players

6. Favorite Hole 7. Least Favorite Hole

Frequent Players

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Results – Green Speed Preference

• Most like a “medium fast” green speed– However, more Actual Frequent Players tend to like a

“fast” green speed– Nevertheless, “medium fast” seems to be the ideal

choice

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

8. Preferred green speed Slow 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0

Medium 30.7 28.9 30.0 29.4Medium fast 52.8 42.7 20.0 54.4Fast 16.0 28.3 50.0 16.2

Frequent Players

Results – Preferred Design Of Greens

• The vast majority of JPGC players like to have a variety of different green shapes on which to play

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

9. Preferred green design Flat & round 6.5 3.0 0.0 4.1Multiple levels 20.0 15.5 10.0 19.2Mounds & slopes 8.2 10.7 10.0 8.2One directional slopes 1.2 1.2 10.0 0.0Different shapes 64.1 69.7 70.0 68.5

Frequent Players

Results – Preferred Type Of Bunkers

• Splash bunkers with powder sand are preferred by most

• Least preferred are deep bunkers with coarse sand

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

10. Preferred bunker type Splash w powder sand 42.4 43.9 50.0 40.5

Splash w coarse sand 21.2 22.6 20.0 27.0Deep w powder sand 14.7 12.0 10.0 13.5Deep w coarse sand 2.4 6.5 10.0 2.7All of the above 19.4 15.0 10.0 16.2

Frequent Players

Results – Preferred Grass Height

• A slight majority tend to like the fairways mowed tight– Potential Frequent Players seem to like them mowed

higher

• Considerable majorities prefer to have the rough mowed 1 ½ inches high

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

11. Preferred fairway grass height Mowed tight 53.0 51.7 60.0 47.9

Mowed higher 47.0 48.3 40.0 52.1

12. Preferred rough grass height 1.5 in high 66.5 65.5 60.0 66.2

2.5 in high 33.5 34.5 40.0 33.8

Frequent Players

Results – Pin Placement

• Almost all want to have variety in pin placements, with the choice of “6 easy, 6 medium, 6 hard” overwhelmingly being selected most often

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

13. Preferred pin placement 6 easy, 6 med, 6 hard 92.3 94.7 100.0 94.5

All easy 4.2 3.1 0.0 2.7All hard 3.6 2.2 0.0 2.7

Frequent Players

Results – Weekend Start Preferences

• Strong majorities favor weekend starts from both #1 and #10

• When seasonally feasible, most favor a 7:00 AM weekend start

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

14. Weekend tee start preference From both #1 & #10 68.1 78.4 80.0 69.4

Just one 31.9 21.6 20.0 30.6

Frequent Players

Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

15. Weekend tee time start preference 7:00 AM 64.8 63.0 60.0 58.8

8:00 AM 35.2 37.0 40.0 41.2

Frequent Players

Results – Value For The Money At JPGC

• The majority of players consider a round of golf at JPGC to be a “Good” value– Except among Potential Frequent Players, more claim

that JPGC’s prices are “Excellent” than who say they are “Average”

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

16. Value for the price of a round Excellent 27.3 34.1 50.0 20.0

Good 47.1 51.6 50.0 53.3Average 25.6 14.4 0.0 26.7

Frequent Players

Results – JPGC Pricing

• Current weekend prices for cart and play are about right – The median (middle value) price considered fair to both

the player and JPGC employees is $35, same as is currently charged

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N Median Mean N Median Mean N Median Mean N Median Mean

Price so low would question quality 144 $25 $23 144 $25 $22 8 $20 $19 67 $25 $24Price fair for you and JPGC employees 158 $35 $33 158 $35 $33 9 $35 $32 71 $35 $33Price so high would consider not playing 152 $42 $43 152 $45 $43 8 $45 $44 68 $40 $43

Total Weighted Total Frequent Players Potential Frequent Players

Results – Driving Range Evaluation

• The majority of players feel the driving range is at least “somewhat” important– The majority of Actual Frequent Players think it is “very” important

• Most people in all groups rate JPGC’s driving range as “good”

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

18. Importance of driving range Very 38.8 55.8 77.8 39.2

Somewhat 45.9 35.8 22.2 47.3Not at all 15.3 8.4 0.0 13.5

19. JPGC driving range vs. others Excellent 6.1 11.8 11.1 4.3

Good 54.0 52.3 44.4 53.6Fair 30.7 29.7 33.3 31.9Poor 9.2 6.2 11.1 10.1

Frequent Players

Results – Food And Beverage Cart Services

• Food service ratings range from “good” to “excellent” as do beverage cart ratings– Actual Frequent Players rate both services higher than

do others

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

20. Food service rating Excellent 32.3 59.5 75.0 20.3

Good 54.8 34.8 25.0 68.8Fair 10.3 4.9 0.0 9.4Poor 2.6 0.7 0.0 1.6

21. Beverage cart service rating Excellent 16.3 36.3 50.0 15.5

Good 49.6 38.0 25.0 53.4Fair 17.7 9.4 0.0 20.7Poor 16.3 16.3 25.0 10.3

Frequent Players

Results – Involvement With JPGC

• Few are members of the Jamestown Golf Association

• The majority of Actual Frequent Players have a Loyalty Card, but fewer Potential Frequent Players do– Encouragement of all to present their Loyalty Card prior

to playing might increase numbers who have them– This in turn might increase play

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Weighted Total Total Actual PotentialSample Size 174 174 10 75

22. Jamestown Golf Association member Yes 23.0 30.8 22.2 17.6

No 77.0 69.2 77.8 82.4

23. Loyalty Card membership Yes 54.0 65.5 66.7 52.9

No 46.0 34.5 33.3 47.1

Frequent Players