There are lessons here that can be applied to any club or golf course that wants to do something similar—and you should, if you’re serious about attracting younger players to the game.
In the August issue of C&RB, I wrote in this space about what I thought was the best idea in golf that I had seen in ten years (“A Brilliant Solution”). My club, Birchwood Farms Golf & Country Club in Harbor Springs, Mich., had taken one of its three nine-hole courses and designated it as an executive course.
The club built new tee boxes that turned the course into almost a par-3, but then the stroke of genius came in: for four days a week, the course was designated exclusively for either older players who wanted to have a shorter game, or, most importantly, a way for parents (and grandparents) to get their children to play without feeling the pressure of regular golfers behind them, wanting to play through.
Now that it is the end of the golf season, it’s worth assessing how well the solution worked. Birchwood Farms will offer the same schedule again next year, so that alone says it was a success. While there were some problems (which I’ve listed below, because they have been noted and fixed), there are also lessons here that can be applied to any club or golf course that wants to do something similar—and you should, if you’re serious about attracting younger players to the game.
1. Communication is everything. It is essential that everyone on the club’s management team who is involved with golf knows the rules and understands the purpose of the new executive-course schedule, so there is no misunderstanding among the members, or anger when the course is not available to regular, lower-handicap players. Birchwood Farms initially had some communication issues among the golf staff, but these were quickly remedied.
2. Make sure the members know and appreciate the purpose of the initiative. For this to work, the members have to be enthusiastically in favor of the idea. Of course, the change wouldn’t occur in the first place if the members weren’t in favor of it. But once it’s in place, they have to understand that 1) it might inconvenience them a little on the days when the course is designated for executive or family play, and 2) when they make the turn, they can’t (or shouldn’t) bulldoze their way onto the course just because that’s the one they want to play that day. Very few of the golf staff want to get in an argument over this, so it is up to the members to honor the spirit of the idea.
3. Plan events around the course so members can get in the spirit of the initiative. Tournaments that are fully promoted to the members are a good way to have them enjoy the new course and get behind this great idea.
4. Extend the tee-time intervals. By definition, this concept will yield slower play. Instead of the usual 8 to 10 minutes between tee times, make it 15 to 20 minutes. Everyone will enjoy it more.
A personal anecdote is the best proof of the concept. I have four grandchildren, ages 6, 7, 8, and 9. They’ve always loved going to the club for swimming and meals, but golf never occurred to them. Now, when they visit, the first question they ask is, “When can we go golfing?” This can only happen if their time on the course is stress-free and fun.
Kudos to the Birchwood Farms staff, golf committee, and members for what is still the best idea in golf that I have seen in ten years.
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