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The Grand Strand has always been a popular destination for golfers, but over the past few years this area has seen a decline in the number of rounds that it is hosting. In 2006 the number of rounds played on the Grand Strand declined approximately 3 percent when compared to the numbers of 2005. While this may not seem like a lot, this 3 percent is based off of millions of rounds of golf.
In 2006 the total number of rounds played on the Grand Strand totaled 3.86 million. And the three percent decline from 2005 to 2006 was not the first time that this happened. A similar decline also took place from 2004 to 2005. From 1997 to 2004, more than 4 million rounds were played in this area each year. So as you can see there has been quite the decline over the last two years alone.
Ironically, the average rounds per golf course increased by more than 6 percent. This was due in most part to the fact that 11 courses on the Grand Strand closed since the end of 2005.
Industry professionals feel that a contributing factor to this decline was the loss of more than 100,000 seats on commercial flights into the Myrtle Beach area. Luckily, they are expecting these seats to be picked up by other airlines in the years to come.
All in all, the Grand Strand is hopeful that things will pick up to more than 4 million rounds per year in the near future. Golf is one of the main attractions to the area, and it helps to bring in millions of dollars of revenue to both the city and the golf courses in the area.
