During a “Remodeling University” session presented by the American Society of Golf Architects, these four questions were provided as guidelines that directors and managers of any course should ask themselves periodically, to determine if major course renovations are in order:
• Is our golf course supporting or drawing the maximum number of rounds or memberships, or are those down because of poor playing conditions?
• Can we compete with other golf courses in our area in terms of green fees and the quality of golfers playing our course?
• What is our golf course’s reputation among area golfers?
• Is the general golfing experience a positive one, or would improvements to the golf course make it better? If the answers to any of these questions are something less than positive, golf course management should then begin to drill down to identify the sources of the problems. Generally it will be found that deficiencies exist in the club in one or more of areas (listed in decreasing order of importance):
• Economic problems–These become evident when it is difficult to raise dues or attract new members. Usually, existing clubs find that new clubs have emerged to offer potential members a better choice. Other local clubs may have also upgraded to where the public perceives better value. Often these problems go unnoticed for several years, especially if a substantial renovation was completed seven to 10 years previously. Clubs tend to come out of renovations feelings they are “set for life” and fail to recognize that other courses are once again catching up. Sometimes courses must also be renovated to better meet the needs of a target market, especially as the demographic profile of an area changes (for example, more seniors moving into the area).
• Maintenance problems–These usually fall into one or more of these categories: – Deteriorating greens – Desire for USGA greens – Need for larger tee surfaces – Need to eliminate difficult-to-maintain bunkers – Need for new irrigation system – Drainage problems – Flooding problems – Cart path extensions
• Design problems. These may be either real or perceived and are usually rooted in one of these causes: – A desire to update the design of the course – A desire to make the course more or less difficult – Consideration for, or actual hosting of, regional or national tournaments – Rebunkerings to accommodate longer tee shots – The need to revise individual “unfair” holes – The need to restore a course for the sake of historical accuracy
• Aesthetic problems. These are typically created through inadequate landscaping, improper planting by well-meaning but misguided committees, or other in-house improvements that simply were not carried out well. A majority of renovations, the presenting architects noted, come when a club makes its second major attempt at improvements, as it often takes mistakes “in the name of saving money” to prompt a call for professional help.
Thinking Out of the Tee Box
A panel discussion on “Current Issues in Golf” and how the game can be grown yielded these ideas:
• Don’t be so quick to conclude you don’t want any part of the “NASCAR” crowd at your course; it’s an important feeder for long-term growth. “Other than real bluebloods, most people started out with the game slugging it out on a daily-fee course,” reminds Stephen Mona of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. “Try to separate how people look from how they act,” adds Michael Hughes of the National Golf Course Owners Assn. “You need to believe it’s inherently true that enjoyment of golf will have a civilizing influence over time, and that most if not all of the people who start out in tank tops will eventually start wearing shirts with collars. The tricky thing for many people who operate a golf course is that there is a hard-core segment you can’t afford to turn away”
• In many ways, the best golf is league golf: It’s prepaid, organized, limited to nine holes and “weather-resistant” (it’s much easier to get the word out to an entire league to stay away from the course and reschedule for a better day). Golf course owners and managers can achieve a lot of their goals for growth by being league creators, rather than waiting for league business to come to them. Look at the holes you need to fill on your schedules, then look around for groups that might be good candidates to fill those holes; they are not that hard to find, says Hughes. “Every church and civic group has someone looking to organize activities; find out who those key people are and go make a deal,” he suggests. “You don’t need to bring 10 leagues to your course to have a significant bump in your activity, just one or two. Create a ‘golf league in a box’ that you can take to groups and say, ‘Here it is, this thing’s wired, just show up.’ And remember that this is a great way to line up people for your golf pro to teach the game to as well.”
See and Be Seen: The Five-Minute Payoff
In a presentation to Golf Industry Show attendees on the core competencies of an effective club general manager, Joe Perdue—a former club GM who is now an Associate Professor in the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Hospitality Management program, and an academic advisor to the Club Managers Association of America—made these points about the importance of visibility: “Visibility—or more actually, the lack of it—is one of the top five things that will get you fired as a GM,” said Perdue. “It’s not something you like to think about as part of a job that’s already very demanding, but it’s something you always have to remind yourself is important. If a member’s spending $50,000 on their daughter’s wedding reception, they want to see the General Manager show up and say hello—it gives them a much better level of comfort to know you’re there. True, the Food & Beverage Director may not want to see you there and will just think you’re in the way, but it’s still something you have to do.” Visibility also means “trying to be out on the golf course every Saturday morning for at least the first five minutes when the first members are teeing off,” Perdue said. “ It means walking through the men’s grill at least once a day, and it means showing up to greet the women at their events and when they tell you it’s too hot or too cold, going over to put your hand on the thermostat, even though you never change anything.” Perdue also stressed the importance of trying to walk all parts of the club—“not just the clubhouse”—for a visual inspection on a daily basis. This is a critical duty, he said, whether members see you or not; but chances are good it’s a practice that will also only serve to earn you more “notice” among people who matter. For new GMs, Perdue offered this list of additional priorities, beyond making visibility and regular inspections a daily practice:
• Get to know your staff quickly
• Have well-organized staff meetings
• Start to communicate with key Board members early and often
• Become familiar with upcoming events
• Learn club traditions
• Don’t rush to implement change
And all GMs should follow these rules when working with their club Boards, Perdue said:
• Never surprise or embarass Board members
• Provide immediate response
• Anticipate needs
• Be honest
• Do not assume
• Do not underestimate
• Use the Board’s expertise to the best purposes of the Club, and yourself
A Disturbing Trend
In a session on “Trends in Contemporary Golf Course Architecture,” Mark McCumber, a former PGA Tour player and now a course architect, didn’t mince any words in lamenting how changes in the pro game have filtered down to affect courses and players at all levels. Here are some of his strongest comments:
• “It used to be that the leading driver on the Tour always lost his exemption; now it’s the other way around. Of last year’s Top 10 money winners, only one was in the top 120 of driving accuracy. And of the 10 straightest drivers, four lost their exemptions and only two finished higher than 80th on the money list. “Just like tennis, golf has made the complete swing to a power game. With equipment that’s literally designed by rocket scientists, it’s become a game that’s too close to the old joke, ‘Swing hard in case you hit it.’ But we shouldn’t take the skill out of golf just so we can play to ‘the new power.’ You don’t need 250-yard par threes to make them challenging.
• “Most average golfers can’t generate the club speed needed to take full advantage of the new technology, but we still have to build courses to suit the elite few who can. But how can you design a 7,600-yard golf course that the average player, who pays dues, can play?
• “On today’s bigger courses, bunkers really mean nothing, they aren’t even in play. All hazards have to have much larger dimensions. It’s really changed the nature of course architecture. It also means more property has to be acquired, on the order of 20% greater land use per new course. And in our litigious society, safety considerations also dictate that you can’t build smaller even if you want to, just because most players don’t play long. You have to protect everyone against the few who can.
• “Existing courses that are boxed in and can’t buy neighboring courses are also at greater risk.
• “Advances in turf grass and conditioning have also gone too far. The standard is what everyone now sees on high-definition TV; it makes us feel that every member wants and needs those conditions. “Golf was designed to be played on the ground, not in the air. The great classic courses don’t have a lot of hazards and boundaries. No one seems to mind how St. Andrews is ‘ laid out.’ “The nature of today’s courses also relates directly to the decline in rounds played. It takes much longer to play, and not just because people are losing more balls. This doesn’t help attract new people or help others stay with the game. “We need to build and maintain courses so they’re friendly to all levels. Great courses don’t have to be designed and built to be brutally hard. They can be manicured hard, when needed. But how many real championships are held on most courses? “And what’s wrong with scores going down?”
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