Is The Golf Industry Ready To Build On Its Unexpected Boost?

Former PGA of America President Ted Bishop isn’t sure as a course operator and in part one of his look offers some super thoughts.

From his Morning Read piece quoting Barney Adams:

Adams added: “The question now becomes, How can the industry keep these people? Frankly, I don’t know. I think cheapening the game with gimmicks is short-sighted and will not work. Whatever can be done to establish the purity and essence of golf will keep a significant percentage. When the bars open, normalcy returns. Industry people need to be extremely vigilant and see what works.”

As a golf professional and an operator, I need help in figuring out how to capitalize on this unprecedented surge in golf, and right now the industry is not providing it.

Your local golf pro is on the front line. In my conversations with many around the country, the sentiment is the same: 2020 was a bizarre year. It caught everyone off guard. COVID-19 protocols forced operations to change on the fly. Tee-time pressure and course access became huge challenges at public and private facilities. Outings, weddings, parties and large gatherings were lost, leaving courses to replace those revenues with membership sales, green/guest fees and golf car rentals. Golf became a business built on volume in 2020, and no one saw that coming.

While the volume idea sounds amazing given declines in play, Bishop goes on to touch on the issues that raises for courses and those built to survive on a variety of revenue sources. Check out the piece and part two when it arrives.