Everybody in the golf industry is well aware of the need to grow the game. Many have wondered how golf is going to grow when the economy is heading toward a recession. The World Golf Foundation is obviously aware of these concerns, and it’s taking the lead to do something about it. The WGF will launch a new player development program, called Get Golf Ready in 5 Days, in February.
The new initiative was unveiled last week at the eighth Golf 20/20 forum themed “A course for action.” The forum – which attracted 250 attendees, the most since the forum’s inception – was shorter and more focused than in years past.
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The golf industry can take advantage to two positive trends right now, according to Roy Spence, chairman and CEO of GSD&M Idea City, a marketing firm that’s involved in the Get Golf Ready in 5 Days initiative. One is that 40 million people in the U.S. belong to a fitness club – an increase from 20 million in 1990. No. 2, people want to spend time with family and friends outdoors doing something active.
“The industry needs to position golf as an active sport, not a game,” Spence says.
Get Golf Ready, which will piggyback on the PGA of America’s Play Golf America initiative, targets adults and aims to teach them the rules and etiquette of the game as well as how to swing the various golf clubs used to play the game. The cost per new player will be $99, which may vary at some facilities.
More specifically, goals of the two-phase program (2009-2010 and 2012-2013) are to:
- Have 5,000 facilities participate in the program;
- Develop 700,000 new golfers;
- Generate 5.7 million rounds; and
- Increase spending on equipment and apparel to $700 million.
“This program isn’t promising people they will be great golfers, rather that they’ll be ready to play golf in five days,” Spence says.
Get Golf Ready in 5 Days, the name of which could be tweaked between now and February when it’s launched, is a national brand that’s supported by all segments of the industry. It’s expected to first roll out with operators who manage multiple courses. Play Golf America and Link Up 2 Golf, along with the Welcome Tennis Center program that aimed to increase the number of tennis players, are examples of player development programs that inspired Get Golf Ready in 5 Days, says Cindy Davis, chair of Golf 20/20’s player development committee and president of Nike Golf. The new program also is a natural connection to the many junior golf programs that exist, including The First Tee.
The objectives of the new program, which emphasizes learning first and playing second, are to:
- Deliver a consistent experience;
- Make the program enticing;
- Provide a “next step” upon graduating from the program; and
- Educate participants about golf’s values.
The program is designed to lead people to play golf gradually, say two or three holes at first, not an 18-hole round right off the bat. This will help determine if these new players have a desire to learn more about golf. It also will aim to address the changing demographics of the country and target and welcome women, blacks, Hispanics, the physically handicapped and military veterans.
Potential targets for the program include the 70 percent of employees at private clubs – 190,000 people – who don’t play golf, according to Jim Singerling CEO of the CMAA.
“We need to get them out there on the course and need to overcome those barriers,” Singerling says, adding the CMAA could have its own initiative that ties back to the Get Golf Ready program.
Execution
The WGF plans to hire a director – most likely by year’s end – to run the program, which will be held accountable through statistics such as the number of sites hosting the program, the number of golfers in the program and the number of rounds new players are playing.
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Marketing efforts include a national ad campaign that will start in the second or third year of the program. The group has to finalize the details of the promotional materials, but it has planned TV spots, print ads and taking the message out of the golf space and promoting it in stores near sporting apparel, says Page Thompson, chair of the Golf 20/20 communications committee and president of the Golf Channel. The program’s Web site, Getgolfready.com, will feature many industry links, examples of best practices and success stories.
For the program to work, the industry needs to think globally but act locally, says David Pillsbury, president of PGA Tour Golf Course Properties and executive VP of PGA Tour Championship Management.
“Player development is challenging because you have to think long term,” Pillsbury says. “You’re creating new customers, which takes time. The key to the program is execution.”
Teaching new players will be an important component and may include compensation for golf pros who teach new students. The program has been inserted into the PGA of America’s and LPGA’s training and instruction programs. Facilities who administer the program will use rental clubs and range balls for teaching and student use.
“When I was at American Golf, it paid the golf pro for the first 10 times each student came back to play after learning,” Pillsbury says. “People at each facility need to sustain the program.”
Forum attendees shared a variety of ideas for execution and retention.
A best-practices message is needed to explain how to execute the program, says John Easterbrook, executive VP of operation for Troon Golf.
For the initiative to be effective, organizers might need to provide economic incentives for existing golfers to help mentor the new golfers after they’re done with the five-day program.
One way to address retention is to set up five lessons at a nearby club so that after completing the Get Golf Ready program, new players can be steered to improve their skills to become more comfortable with the game.
Another idea to help retain new golfers is to reduce the rate on rounds and equipment for the people who complete the program. Encourage them to purchase a range card that will allow them the opportunity to get used to swinging golf clubs.
“We just can’t just sit at our facilities and wait for customers and new players,” Pillsbury says. “We need to go out to the community. When I was at American Golf, we required the pro to spend 25 percent of his time away from the facility to farm new golfers.”
Funding the program
Joe Barrow, chair of the Golf 20/20 research committee, executive VP of the WGF and CEO of The First Tee, says the WGF will hold host program sites accountable. To start, each site will get a $1,000 stipend, money raised by the WGF as a result of reaching out to 700 to 1,000 companies on the consumer and business side of the golf industry. The goal is to raise between $4 million and $7 million. Twenty-three companies have made commitments already. There are eight different levels of support ranging from $1,000 to $100,000.
“We want a three-year commitment from companies for support,” Barrow says. “We have $2 million in commitments so far. We want to close the fund-raising soon so we can execute the program. We’re letting golf slip away from the pedestal it should be on. Your job is to sell everyone on this program. We need to get this done. It’s important and critical.”
The Golf Channel, for example, is supporting the program financially. Thompson recommends companies in the golf industry pay the $99 for their employees who don’t play golf to get them into the program. Club Car has done something similar to help grow the game.
Barrow will focus on measuring the success of the program, which includes tracking numbers and using secret shoppers, because the WGF needs to be able to say where the program succeeded and where it didn’t because the WGF is a steward of the industry’s money.
“It’s an important time for the industry,” says Joe Steranka, chair of the Golf 20/20 executive committee and CEO of the PGA of America. “We have a lot of work to do in 2009.” GCI
