NGF: "Market Correction of Supply/Demand Imbalance Continue"

You have to chuckle at that header from the NGF, former proponents of the open-a-course-a-day-to keep up with demand.

NGF tracked 46 18-hole equivalent golf course openings in 2010 vs. 107 closures, for a net negative of 61, the fifth consecutive year that closures have outpaced openings. The total net loss of 220 18-hole courses from 2006-2010 represent roughly 1.5% of the total supply. The 2010 net loss of 61 courses in 2010 represents less than one half of one percent of total supply. Considering the severity of the recession, one could argue that golf has held its ground reasonably well.

These are some of the details emerging from NGF's Golf Facilities in the U.S. report, 2011 edition, which will be released in early February:

There were openings in 29 states.

Of the 46 openings, more than 60% were daily fee

There are currently more than 80 U.S. golf course projects under construction (excluding renovations)

Really? I guess that counts things like this.

States with the most openings in 2010 were Pennsylvania, Illinois, Florida, North Carolina and Texas

The region with the most courses currently under construction is the South Atlantic with 16.5 courses.

The total facility count at the end of 2010 stood at 15,890, 167 less than the all-time high of 16,057 in 2004. And the current number of 18-hole equivalents is 14,904.5, which is less than the number of facilities due to the large number of stand-alone 9-holers (4,382).