Greetings to those already in Orlando, heading to Orlando or avoiding Orlando like the plague and sitting at home or in your office right now. Whatever your status (and like it or not), the 600-pound gorilla of industry gatherings is here and, as always, I have a few thoughts on this year’s event:
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The numbers for the show will no doubt be impressive - perhaps as many as 25,000 total attendees for the various education conferences and the trade show. But, it’s often forgotten that only about 5,500 superintendents and assistants are actually in attendance. So, if you don’t include a couple of thousand owners, club managers and miscellaneous industry types in the equation, that’s probably fewer than 5,000 courses represented. That’s not bad – about one-third of all courses – but it means that about two-thirds of all courses won’t be represented. I'm guessing here, but I’d say that about half of all courses NEVER send a representative to the show or have only done so sporadically through the years. The point is that the show is huge, but it doesn’t – and never will – represent the complete industry.
For those who are attending, that extremely relaxed red-headed guy you see wandering around the event with a contented smile on his face will be Steve Mona. When I talked with him last month, he was obviously excited about his new opportunity and ready to head to Florida to get started with the World Golf Foundation. Steve will probably be even more visible than ever at this show since he won’t be locked up in nearly as many meetings with leadership, allied groups or major exhibitors. On the other hand, I would expect that there will be a few much less visible attendees at the show…some or all of the finalists who are in the running to replace Steve. The GCSAA board is obviously keeping a very tight lid on the progress of the search, but I’m betting there may be one or two finalists who are already known within the industry but several more who come from outside the golf/turf business. So, if you bump into a complete stranger with a “guest” badge who asks you a lot of dumb questions about the industry or the show, you may be chatting with the next c.e.o. of GCSAA.
This will be an extremely hectic conference – even more so than usual – for a couple of reasons. First, because of the earlier date, my sense is that the event kind of snuck up on a lot of folks, particularly exhibitors. It’s damned difficult to transition from the longer-than-usual holidays we just had right into a show of this magnitude and I’m guessing the show set-up on Wednesday will be something of a madhouse.
Look for dark circles under the eyes of the golf car manufacturers and others who just finished up exhibiting at the PGA Merchandise show in exactly the same convention center 10 days ago. It’s not fun to spend that much time on the road anyplace, but I have to think that Orlando starts to grind on you after a while if you’re essentially there for three weeks.
Last, but not least, look for the trade show to be a ghost town on Saturday. Historically, many attendees either bolt Orlando on Friday or hook up with their families to head to Disney or other attractions. With the Super Bowl following on Sunday, the exodus will probably be even more massive as everyone heads home early to get ready for parties. The good news for exhibitors? Plenty of time to go sample scotch, wine and steaks over at the club managers section. Enjoy!
As always, the folks from Golf Course Industry will be pounding concrete at the event gathering stories and keeping in touch with the business. But, if you want to track us down or pick up a copy of the latest issue, cruise by Booth #1402. See you there!
Pat Jones is president of Flagstick LLC.