Club Management - May/June 2008 - (Page 20)

Cover Story Growing the Game Golf industry leaders lay groundwork for the future By Jill Andreu ©Dreamstime.com A 20 • CLUB MANAGEMENT Augusta National’s famed azaleas don’t bloom with those beautiful hues just in time for the Master’s because behindthe-scenes work was left to an amateur grounds crew. Getting anything to grow and prosper takes time, dedication and the right people in charge. Because of changes in member demographics and society in general, now more than ever the game of golf needs a winning team to sustain its growth. BMI Golf Management, held March 30-April 4, brought together that team. CMAA’s Jim Singerling, Hannes Combest of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, Paul Metzler of the PGA, Golf 20/20’s Rufﬁ n Beckwith and the World Golf Foundation’s Steve Mona discussed plans to grow the game before a crowd of club managers at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida. “With collaboration, sometimes you do things in words, but not in actions,” Singerling said. “I’ve never experienced the level of collaboration of competing entities – if there is such a thing – as there is within our industry today. We’re all sharing ideas. “There is less of the territorial ‘that’s my area’ than ever.” Each industry leader spoke about his or her organization’s membership, goals and vision – visions that intertwined to some degree, giving rise to the group’s collaboration. Although professional golf popularity stands at an all-time high, actual participation numbers are level, according to research presented by Metzler. Beckwith acknowledged three primary challenges facing the golf industry today: difﬁculty of the game, cost and time. “Time is our biggest issue,” Beckwith said. “Eighteen holes takes a lot of time. It’s up to general managers at the grassroots level. It’s up to you to market nine holes as a viable option. We have to make it more marketable and get people to be creative in how they build it into their curriculum.” GCSAA’s interest in the industry’s future is obvious, but more vested with a primary focus on educating its members. “We used to be a turf organization that happened to be in golf, but now we’re a golf association that happens to be in turf,” Combest said. “The superintendent must be a business professional and be able to manage a wide range of personnel and a sizeable budget.” Combest said GCSAA researched the future of the profession and also found player time to be an obstacle. “We started looking at society in general and found people are juggling things on their PDAs and are constantly busy,” Combest said. “Moms are working more, fathers are more involved in the kids’ lives, and that’s affecting golf.” It’s time for the game to evolve “We need to get away from the idea that golf is an elitist sport and only for successful, wealthy people,” Singerling said. http://c63Dreamstime.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Club Management - May/June 2008

Club Management - May/June 2008 Contents President’s Message Accounting & Financial Management Board Governance Wine Society Quenches Thirst for Knowledge, Camaraderie Building & Facilities Management Tennis Pro Education Increases Your Bottom Line Cover Story: BMI Golf Management Golf/Sports & Recreation Management Human & Professional Resources Relationship Building in the Internet Era The Ultimate Cellar Raid Products and Services Marketplace External & Government Influences HFTP Insight: HITEC 2008 Features Latest in Club Technology New Directions Global Outreach Advertiser Index/Advertisers.com Club Wrap

Club Management - May/June 2008

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