With the arrival of Thanksgiving Week, golf season around much of the country is winding down -- or at least slowing down -- so it’s a good time to take a look at what kind of a year the industry is having.

A few days ago, I posted an item reporting the good news that rounds played through the first three quarters of 2011 were up about 9 percent nationwide over the same period in 2011. That info came from the National Golf Foundation's State of the Golf Industry Update, which also takes a look at several other aspects of the industry.  Here are some more details from that report:

Golf Course Operations: Logically, golf courses operators have benefitted most directly from the jump in rounds played. PGA PerformanceTrak reports golf fee revenues up nearly 9 percent at member facilities, and these facilities report similar gains in food, beverage and merchandise revenues. However, the report noted, the weather, local competition and the state of local economies drive individual course performance, and stressed that courses are battling harder than ever for business.

Golf Course Development: U.S. golf course openings remain at historic lows and that won't change for the foreseeable future, said the NGF. Course closures will be about the same as last yea, and the NGF believes this gradual reduction of the number of courses open for play is expected to continue into at least the near future.

The good news is that golf course transaction activity has increased in 2012 as distressed properties are being purchased by opportunistic entrepreneurs, many of whom continue to operate them as golf courses rather than re-develop them. Some of the factors preventing course owners from turning their courses into housing developments or finding other uses for them are the lack of available credit, low commercial space occupancy rates and large amount of houses already on the market.

Outside the United States, golf course development continues to grow. The NGF says it has identified more than 150 new course openings in the last two years, and is aware of more than 300 new courses currently under construction in 85 countries around the world.

Golf Equipment: Sales of golf equipment continue to trend upward after bottoming out in 2009, says the NGF. Wholesale golf club sales are up more than 8 percent in 2012 (in both units and dollars). While still below pre-recession levels, the report adds, this evidence of recovery is encouraging.

Interestingly, however, the sale of golf balls has yet to recover, even despite this year’s 9 percent increase in rounds played. In fact, the total dozens of ball shipped this year has actually dropped over the last year, though the dollar amount paid for those balls has risen over last year.

I’m not exactly sure where in the guidelines of golf etiquette this falls, but Ian Poulter and Adam Scott appeared to be engaging in a bit of good-natured ribbing during Saturday’s third round of the Australian Masters. Instead of trash-talking, though, they exchanged the kind of hand gestures we used to make as kids.

Poulter made several big putts on the front nine, and a Getty Images photographer caught him making his "nane-nane-boo-boo" gesture to Scott after one of those putts. Scott drained a 15-footer for birdie on the 18th hole to pull back within a shot of Poulter and, as you can see in the right-hand photo, flashed his five-finger salute back at Poulter with a big grin on his face.

Poulter and Scott are the two biggest names in the field, and are running 1-2 after 54 holes in Melbourne – that we know. What remains unclear, though, is exactly what was going on between them.

My theory is this: During their pre-tournament press conferences, several prominent players were asked about their thoughts on the possible ban of long putters. Scott, one of the long putters’ biggest advocates, of course defended them. Poulter, who uses a regulation-length flat stick, said unequivocably that they should be banned.

So my guess is that, since both players flashed their signs after making big putts, the duel of the digits was their way of supporting their position on putters.