GOLF: The Business and the Game

3 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD RE-EXAMINE YOUR GOLF COURSE MARKETPLACE

By Michael A Kahn, Golfmak, Inc. Golf Course Business Consultant, Member of GCBC.

If your golf course or country club is doing better than it was five years ago you don’t need to read any further. For most of you, I believe a market update is the most important exercise you will undertake for the future of your golf course or country club. Make no mistake: The market you served ten years ago has changed. Have you adjusted to it? Nope!

I call it, “Asleep at the wheel!”   

So what has changed?

1.      Participation in golf in general has flattened – I say, “Declined!” in the past dozen years (read an article I published on my web site in 2000: http://www.golfmak.com/ball.htm – particularly the last paragraph in the article). For instance, in Sarasota, Florida over 90-holes of golf closed for good in a matter of a couple of years. But rounds at the remaining courses did not increase. Whoa! In 2012 we lost 154 golf courses nationwide. Remember, they were adding over 300 courses a year in the 90’s.

2.      The club’s grill room looks like a senior citizens lunch room. Twenty years ago the average member’s age was 55, now it’s 75. Are you ready for when they’re 85? I recently dealt with a private club that became suddenly financially desperate. They realized too late that the average age of the membership was over 70. No future! Every time they had to assess the membership to pay for capital emergencies more would simply resign (the ‘green banana’ syndrome).

3.      One private country club suddenly found out their 99.9% all white neighborhood had become over 30% non-white. The new local population had a much lower golf participation rate – less than one percent (national average hovers around 10% - National Golf Foundation, Jupiter, Florida). Mathematically, the reduction in participation by the new demographic more or less matched the drop in membership at the club. I call it, “Asleep at the wheel!” 

  

If the three reasons above don’t drive your decision to re-examine your marketplace, I predict your golf course is doomed.

I understand and appreciate the power of marketing. However, I learned over 50-years ago not to waste time and money chasing a customer who has no interest in my product (golf).

   

So, what should you try to learn, and what do you do with it?

You need to know your current loyal customers. They tell you they like to play your golf course for one reason or another. Look for commonalities like ages, skill levels, busiest tee time hours of the day, favorite grill room items, etc. When you have a profile of your main customer base you either need to change the profile – especially if they are all over 70, or if they are younger, go to the market to find more people like the ones you already have. That’s why you need an updated market analysis. Then you can decide on your next move.

I have colleagues who specialize in a golf course market analysis. The cost is not much more than a weekend ad campaign, but it can be a map to a gold mine for your golf course.

Want to discuss this article? Call me: 941-739-3990, or write: mike@golfmak.com. It’s a free consultation.