Golf-course development is on the rise nationally, but the time Americans devote to the sport is not what it used to be, fueling a tug-of-war for players among rival facilities.
A pro player and golf industry businessman for 40 years, Dick Smith is owner of a new consulting firm designed to help golf courses stand out from the competition. Called The Golf Group, Smith's company takes a holistic approach to solving problems faced by the modern golf course owner -- a dwindling number of frequent players, too much competition, and high development and maintenance costs.
Today there are more golf holes than golfers, jokes Smith, 62, a past president of the 25,000-member Professional Golf Association, and a former regional PGA champion. To be more precise, there are 27.8 million American golfers over age 18, according to the National Golf Foundation in Jupiter, Fla.
"In the old days, you opened up, you mowed the grass and you waited for people to come,' said Smith, a resident of Monroe for 28 years. "Today your facility has to be attractive and you have to go out and work diligently to get golfers. You need to give them a good experience so they will want to come back.'
Golfers spent $24.3 billion for equipment purchases and greens fees in 2002, according to the National Golf Foundation. In 2003, golfers ages 18 and up played 494.9 million rounds of golf, a decline of 23.2 million rounds in only two years. During those same two years, 210 more golf facilities opened, boosting the national total to 15,899.
So far, this year's statistics for rounds of golf played look improved, but the gray clouds over the industry have not lifted yet, said Jim Kass, director of research at the National Golf Foundation.
"Attraction and retention -- it's a big issue,' according to Kass, who said golfers want lush greens and good service. "We've all been to the lowly municipal course with the grumpy person at the counter. That is something that we need to address so we can build retention.'
Smith thinks The Golf Group can help the industry overcome typical golfer gripes by breathing new life into tired old facilities, building efficient new ones, and offering programs to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. The Golf Group is targeting its services to courses from New York to Washington, D.C., home to between 1,200 and 1,500 golf courses. The group brings professional long-term planning to golf clubs, many of them run by members with no facility management or operations experience -- a prescription for wasteful and shortsighted spending, Smith thinks. "Many golf clubs, it's surprising to learn, do things piecemeal. We have an overall plan. It's efficient, cost-effective and produces better benefits for members,' said Smith.
The Golf Group has assembled golf experts of every imaginable ilk. There are golf lawyers, clubhouse architects, turf managers, and golf marketing consultants. In particular, Smith's partners include clubhouse designers ClubSource Inc. of Savannah, Ga.; architectural firm Chambers of Baltimore; real estate consulting company Golf Property Analysts of Harrisburg, Pa; marketing company Donovan Advertising and Marketing Services of Lititz, Pa.; and law firm Saul Ewing of Philadelphia.
Born and raised in Baltimore, Smith was only 10 when he began to tag along after his father on a Baltimore public golf course. From age 14, Smith knew that golf would be his life, if not in pro play, then in business. Smith brings years of experience into golf operations, including four as director of golf at Bethpage State Park in New York, site of the 2002 U. S. Open. He also spent more than two years developing Galloway National Golf Club near Atlantic City, a course designed by renowned course designer Tom Fazio.
Today, Smith is director of golf at both White Oaks Golf Course in Newfield, and RiverWinds Golf Club in West Deptford. The RiverWinds course overlooks the Delaware River and the Philadelphia skyline.
Smith brings vision to the future of golf, but hopes that some things will remain the same, such as the reason to pursue the sport. "What motivates people to play golf is friends and family,' he said.
Because of this, Smith would like to see the game become more affordable and accessible. The nation's median cost for an 18-hole weekend round of golf is $36 for a municipal course, and $40 for a daily-fee course, according to the National Golf Foundation.
In the years ahead, Smith expects to see smaller golf courses, perhaps ones with only five to nine holes. Golf would become quicker to play, and facilities would be less expensive to build and maintain.
"Today, there are many more things to do, and more ways to use your discretionary money,' Smith said. "The average golfer doesn't play as much golf. More golfers are playing fewer rounds.'
Smith thinks a faster, more affordable game would draw what the industry needs -- new players, including youngsters, senior citizens and time-crunched working people.
"I think we have to get back to more basic, fundamental golf courses,' said Smith. "It just makes sense to me.'
Source: Courier-Post (Cherry Hill, NJ..)
