Golf’s evolution has been under way for some years now, long before more recent changes spurred by the pandemic, and two milestones hit this year are significant.

In the wake of Hurricane Ian’s landfall in Southwest Florida, the golf industry in the game’s most heavily supplied state will show some short and longer-term scar tissue, as will the people employed at courses and golf-related businesses.

The peak-season, summer months of June, July and August are disproportionately important for the golf industry — a make-or-break period for most golf facilities. This summer, the industry climbed out of the hole that Mother Nature dug early in the year.

There are interesting and noteworthy distinctions between age groups when it comes to behaviors, needs and motivations related to golf. So what do we do with this information?

More than one in seven U.S. golf facilities are now being managed by an MCO, or multi-course operator. It’s a market penetration that’s risen 18% in the past decade-plus.

Each time a recession looms, the question arises, “Is Golf Recession Proof?” Perhaps a more important question, however, is what can golf do to prepare for the next inevitable recession?