The latest numbers published in Golf Business Magazine show a marked decline in play, off over 10 percent, YTD in some areas. What can be done to grow the game?
1. Make the game faster
People today are busy, far busier than our parents were twenty years ago. The majority of working age people would play far more golf if they could do it in four hours or less. I believe play would rocket if it could be done in three hours! And really there is no excuse, if they can walk 18 in under three and a half hours in Scotland, why can’t we do it in three with a golf cart. I know almost all of my most enjoyable rounds are two hours something! Commit to speed up play, guarantee a four hour or less round, YOU will GET More Business!
2. Make it easier
For casual golf the lost ball and OB rule should be changed to drop a ball where last seen and add a penalty shot! Scores would drop and speed of play increase, making the game more fun on two counts. Make it a LOCAL RULE at your club then everyone will adopt it while playing!
3. Make golf more social
The more friends people have who play golf the more they play. That’s why it’s very important for you to introduce new members or players to people and groups with whom they are most likely to bond by age, ethnicity, handicap or whatever method you determine makes them a good fit. The more people a single player bonds with at your club, the more chance he will stay a member or frequent your course more often. BE a social director and watch your income soar.
4. Encourage youngsters at every opportunity.
If you are daily fee club, let youngsters play free with an adult. At a private club let youngsters bring FREE or heavily discounted guests. Also run group programs in the summer, offer free clinics do whatever you can do to introduce youngsters to the game; they ARE your future.
5. Relax some of the stuffy rules.
Start with the archaic dress codes, there is NO logical reason in the world why people should not be allowed to play golf in jeans! Nor is there any logical reason why jeans should be banned from the clubhouse. Cut off jeans fine, jeans with holes in ‘em fine, T-shirts with offensive slogans OK but come on--what makes a pair of $180 designer jeans so offensive. Someone please tell me? I know golf stands for tradition and standards but come on what’s the difference between a pair of jeans and a pair of Dockers cotton twirl slacks? I am not saying let anything go, but get with the times and you will attract more people!
6. Help people get better
According to NGF research only 13 percent of golfers ever take a lesson. Small wonder they get frustrated with the game.
Pay a PGA professional to stand out on the tee and give lessons, even if only one day a week. Offer periodic free clinics on a variety of skills. Build a 15-minute lesson into your green fee or video tape everyone’s swing on the first tee and offer comments when they come in. Anything you can do to help people enjoy the game more will have a pay off!
7. Interact with members and players more often
Use your website, newsletter, e-mail, audio CD, DVD’s, books, discussion board and blog to make a connection with your customers that does NOT end when they leave the club premises. The more often you can stay in touch in a meaningful way with your customers the more likely they are to return more often.
Case in point: Garland Resort has to date distributed over 30,000 of their audio book Great Golf Stories for Your Drive Home-12 excellent stories with ads for the resort intertwined between stories. Now if there are 30,000 out there, how many people do you think might have heard the CD? If players only played it once and there are 4 in the car on a trip, that’s 120,000 people. With pass around, replays and new friends in the car, it’s easy to image 500,000 people have enjoyed the stories and developed a positive connection with the resort even though they many be a hundred miles away.
The author is president and c.e.o. of Legendary Marketing. Call 800-827-1663 or visit www.lmgmc.com for more information.
