How golf can thrive in the future

The question asked is, how can we secure the game for the future?
We have to learn put the well being of the game ahead of personal interests.
The course upon which the game is played may have to be altered to attract a new golfers, but the rules should remain the same.

Jack Nicklaus was far ahead of the curve on this one, when he promoted a faster version of the game of golf on "reduced distance" (executive length) courses several years ago. He invisioned a more practical golf course by "scaling" the course and the balls length down to a more sustainable size allowing for quicker 2-3 hour, 18 hole rounds. The problem at the time was that the golf ball he developed was not very satisfactory and turned people off. I tried it, and it was cheap, quick and fun to play, but the ball needed improvement. Jacks concept still has a lot of potential and could create another way to draw new and older people to the game.

This also could be an opportunity to change many of the existing marginal full-sized golf courses around the country over to this shorter format. With a little design adjustment you could have a totally new course at realitively little expense and keep the owners and course designers busy with new business.

Being a "baby boomer" which is getting old I can tell you it was integrity, nature, and relationships that made me choose golf for a lifetime. Nothing has changed, the Gen Xers are not different. These are the values that make golf attractive. I think we are in for a major shake down. There are just too many golf courses now. Mainly thanks to the NGA and others who made ridiculous prediction on the "Future of the Game". Also, the mentality of perfect conditions "the Augusta Syndrone" is also to blame. Here is the solution. GO BACK TO 1960 CONDITIONS. Play the course as it lies. When I went to Ireland and Scotland the conditions where pretty rough and we had a great time. That's why they used to play match play. "Rub of the green" and all that good stuff. It was unpredictable and dare I say "UNFAIR". Course's in Florida are now moving in that direction out of neccesity as I see it. Putting there money in the greens, a little on the tees, mowing rough and bunker maintenance is lacking and O my God there are actually weeds. You go to Ireland and you love the weeds! Here is a suggestion for you. Take a 18 hole course, make one 9 for practice and family/senior golf. 9 holes for active golfers. Bite the bullet, cut the maintenance cost, and relax.
Your not going to get rich anymore.
I have made a small fortune in the golf business I think I know, the only problem is that I started with a Large fortune. Also, hire golf pro's that play golf and can talk it, play it and pass on the great game. We have to many shop clerks out there now. Best of Luck to all you operators.

The problem that golf is facing now and in the foreseeable future is that it is competing for people’s ever decreasing recreation time against a much bigger landscape. And people are more aware of their options than ever through the internet.

I can speak specifically about the Gen Xers, for whom recreation time and family time are increasingly one and the same. Dual income households are the norm and not the exception, especially in households with income levels the largest target market for golf. Having both parents working makes it that much more challenging for one of them to sneak off to the golf course every weekend for 5-6 hours. In order to increase the appeal to Gen X families, I suggest the following:

1. The game needs to be faster, perhaps by spreading out tee times and offering more range of skill levels from different tees. Or maybe we can find a way to track your handicap without playing a full 18 at a time.
2. The game needs to be more family-oriented. An earlier comment about bringing a child along for free is a good start, as is a trend toward adding par-3 (kids) tees to a course. Beyond that, I think we need to be creative about new ways to get the whole family on the course at the same time. Without developing young players now, it will be difficult to sustain the game in the future.
3. The game needs to be more affordable. In many places, there’s a deep discount for juniors (i.e. under 18) to play, but what does one do when they’re just out of college and can’t afford a $70 round of golf? I found playing a decent course most challenging to afford while I was in my 20’s, which is a shame because it was when I had the most time. The struggle here is that many of the old courses cost so much to maintain that it’s difficult to stay cash flow positive while doing so.

I could go on and on about golf, country clubs and how to appeal to the next generation of members. If you want to read more about my thoughts on the subject, I invite you to read my article at http://kuodiedrich.com/nextgeneration.htm.
-Mark

It is common for the word "anonymous" to appear in most discussion forum comment boxes.

Jack:

Your comments are right on point. The golf industry does indeed need to engage in this type of discussion, and your voice is one of only a few calling for that on a regular basis. You are to be commended for making the effort. Unfortunately, even those who offer posts in this forum do so anonymously, for some strange reason. That, alone, says something about the nature and substance of communication in the golf industry.

For the most part, I see the industry fighting over the remaining scraps of a shrinking market, to use your description of the situation. Unless and until there is a widespread change in commitment to operational excellence, at all levels of the market, the fallout will likely continue. We’ve all experienced, or at least heard stories about the lack of customer focus in many facilities. No amount of marketing strategy, viral technology, or branding will offset a poor first-hand experience, and when that happens, a customer is lost. To publish marketing promises that create expectations which, ultimately, go unmet is like layering sweet frosting on a stale and tasteless cake. One bite and you’re sorry you didn’t resist the temptation. And, you will not be going back for more any time soon.

When you consider that everyone who walks into a golf facility has already been challenged by the game’s cost of entry, learning curve to proficiency, and time commitment to actually participate, shouldn’t operators make the customer experience THE first priority, above all others? As you state in your comments above, “Our old ways of doing business will not get them on the course anytime soon.”

The golf industry does face a critical point in its history. For golf to thrive in the future operators will need to recognize this as an operations management problem, not a marketing problem.