2009 Jamestown Park Golf Course Survey Results

1. 2009 Jamestown Park Golf Course SurveyResults 25 August 2009 By R. E. Pifer, Ph.D. Meaningful Analytics

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Results – Who Are JPGC Golfers? • Those completing the survey are almost all men • They tend to be moderately older, age 51 to 65

8. 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

9. Results – How often do they play? • The majority of JPGC golfers play weekly • Actual “Frequent” players play daily

10. 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

11. 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 11

12. 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

13. Results – Preferred Design Of Greens • The vast majority of JPGC players like to have a variety of different green shapes on which to play

14. Results – Preferred Type Of Bunkers • Splash bunkers with powder sand are preferred by most • Least preferred are deep bunkers with coarse sand

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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”

19. 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

20. 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”

21. 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

22. 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