Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2011 - 46

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InsidetheMGA
Golfers need to step up to help grow the game.
By Tom Ryan
There has never
been
a better
time to be a golfer.
With so many
tee times available,
you can play
almost anywhere,
anytime,
at almost
any price.
And, if you've
ever considered joining a private club,
many are offering memberships at initiation
fees that may never be seen again.
But what's good for the goose is not necessarily
good for the gander. The last several
years have been extremely challenging
for both public and private courses. The
economy, along with an overbuilt environment,
has made owning and operating a
golf course a difficult business proposition.
die programs change or are eliminated
completely. Golfers have embraced the
golf cart, and unfortunately, fewer golf
clubs see the need for supporting a caddie
program. And while there have been many
well intentioned programs introducing
adults to the game, these programs just
haven't created the numbers of long term,
avid golfers as hoped.
Junior programs are currently our best
development option, but the impact of
these programs on rounds, revenues and
spending won't be felt in the short term.
In order to survive in this economic enWe
avid golfers need to introduce
the game to colleagues,
friends and family members.
Now, the National Golf Foundation
forecasts that the number of golfers will
increase one percent a year between now
and 2020-hardly robust growth. The report
also predicts that the number of golf
courses will decrease by nearly 1,000 in the
same period, unusual news for an industry
conditioned for growth during most of
its 110-year history.
While difficult to accept for golf courses
hard-pressed to fill available tee times,
" thinning the herd " may be the first step
toward building a healthier industry.
One thing is certain. The breeding
ground for so many new golfers a generation
ago is virtually gone. Caddie programs
were literally a pipeline of natural
growth that introduced tens of thousands
of kids to the game every year. Sadly, this
'natural resource' is disappearing, as cad44
MINNESOTAGOLFER
Directory 2011
vironment, you will see operators focusing
on why golfers play their course and
developing initiatives and incentives to
retain their business. Stakeholders must
exploit what makes golf relevant to today's
busy, dual-income households. The trick
lies in focusing on programs
related to family and friends
and stressing relaxation, recreation
and relationships-
the social reasons why we
love golf.
A well-respected consultant
said recently that it's not golf industry
initiatives, but individual effort that is
needed to spread the message.
In other words, we, as avid golfers, need
to step up and introduce the game to colleagues,
friends and family members. We
need to encourage friends and family who
play to play more. And we need to spend
more time ourselves at the golf course.
Golf is a game for a lifetime. Its roots
and traditions run as deep as the passion
of its core participants. The social, recreational
and environmental benefits of golf
are just too great to be lost-the game will
survive. But, to help ensure the game's
long-term health, we each have to commit
to take on the personal responsibility of
carrying the torch and passing on our passion
for the game to someone new.
See you on the course.
MGANews
Updates on people, places
and events from the MGA
and its Allied Associations
Girls' Golf Gets
Financial Boost
Executives with the Minnesota
Beverage Association presented Minnesota
Women's Golf Association
president Joan Archer (below, middle)
and MWGA Foundation director Sheila
Doren with a $5,000 contribution to
the MWGA's scholarship program on
December 8 at Edinburgh USA. Archer,
the outgoing MBA president, is a longtime
advocate for girls' and women's
golf. The funds will support the MWGA
scholarship program, which provides
educational and golf advancement for
high-school-aged girls.
Rounds Report
A mild month of October pushed golf
rounds in Minnesota up by nearly 128
percent over the same period in 2009.
Temperatures for the upper Midwest
were up by 9.7 percent, while precipitation
was down 78.7 percent-a
formula that accounted for the explosion
in new rounds. October's favorable
weather also helped Minnesota rebound,
as November rounds were drastically
down (-35.6 percent). Overall, Minnesota
rounds ended the year just slightly
below par (down 0.2 percent).
National
Magazine Rankings
When Minnesota courses are named in
the golf rankings of national publications,
the quality of the golf in our great
state is confirmed. The MGA doesn't ofwww.mngolf.org
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2011

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