Still fit and fun to print

You’re holding something you want. How do we know this?

Like any quality industry brand, we back claims with research.

Earlier this year, we conducted our annual Ad Effectiveness Study. We commissioned New Jersey-based Signet Research, the same company we use for our popular Turf Reports and Numbers to Know surveys, to poll an industry audience on content-consumption habits.

Professional research conducted by a reputable third-party entity requires a significant investment. Our parent company, GIE Media, believes in making these investments to properly serve markets.

As part of the survey, we asked audiences to indicate their preferred ways to receive industry information. Print magazines topped the list at 71 percent, followed by digital magazines at 63 percent.

And it’s not just listed subscribers who relish consuming print magazines. Sixty-one percent of our subscribers share printed magazines with two or more people at their respective courses. We call this the pass-around effect.

The above numbers represent some of the science involved in understanding an audience. We won’t inundate you with the digital metrics we crunch — we know you’re too busy tracking growing degree days, moisture levels and clipping volumes to delve into digital media data.

There’s also an art to understanding audiences. Fortunately, we receive the resources to visit many of you as part of our commitment to thoroughly cover this dynamic and growing industry. Guess what our observant eyes frequently notice atop desk and table piles? Seeing current and past issues of Golf Course Industry around maintenance facilities, pro shops, clubhouses and locker rooms induces proud grins.

When you tell us how much you enjoy receiving printed magazines, we smile and humbly respond, “Thanks for reading.” When you urge us to continue printing 12 issues per year, we smile and humbly respond, “Thanks for reading.”

A printed magazine is our version of a striped fairway or tightly manicured approach. We take immense pride in producing what you’re holding. We refer to the final stage of print production as a walk through. Our entire team gathers in a conference room. We clutch printouts and inspect proofs like you scrutinize greens during a sultry summer afternoon. The occasion usually ends with the publisher + editor-in-chief giving a fiery speech about why monthly walk throughs should never be taken for granted.

We’re among the fortunate few. Media is a rough, tumble and rapidly evolving business. The number of United States-based golf publications producing 12 print issues in 2025 can be counted on less than two hands. Support from the industry’s leading brands (see page 73 for this month’s partners) and committed ownership allows us to satisfy the print demand residing in this market. Editors and writers representing consumer golf media brands far older and larger than us don’t receive 12 opportunities to bond with talented coworkers over physical page proofs. We’re incredibly grateful for the unyielding reader, corporate and internal support.

We’ve countered publishing trends by growing our print product in recent years, with page counts increasing by 13 percent since 2018, a year when just 62 percent of golf courses, according to our Numbers to Know report, were profitable or broke even (compared to 88 percent in 2024). Last month, we sent you the largest September issue in our 19-year history as Golf Course Industry. This month, we’ve matched our October 2024 output, the largest fall folio in our history. Substantial folios represent a sign of vitality in our business.

But vitality can be fleeting. We’re serving the right market at the ideal time. Instead of having to trim as golf expands, we’re printing 12 times per year while adding digital features such as web-exclusive profiles, short videos on our popular social media feeds, webinars and showcases, and trivia contests and columns in our Fast & Firm newsletter. Our digital products complement what you’re holding. We’re a diversified multimedia brand in a cluttered contentsphere.

The demand for quality content as golf maintenance professionals seek solutions to handle enormous golf demand is vast. We enthusiastically accept the responsibility of producing thoughtful print content to satisfy the demand.

We’re humbled you want us to consistently reach your mailboxes.

Enough about us. You have 75 other pages inside this issue to read about this amazing industry.