Month: April 2020

The New Normal?

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This article continues a series of communications from GGA Partners to help private club leaders address challenges confronting their businesses and their employees as a result of the global health crisis. Today, Henry DeLozier discusses steps to take in advance of reopening and ramping up operations.

We may not know what our world will look like after the current crisis subsides and our clubs reopen, but we should be preparing for it nonetheless.

When asked what steps they are taking to prepare their business for the post-coronavirus environment, many small- and medium-sized business owners and managers say they’re taking a “wait-and-see” approach. That attitude may be understandable, with conditions and health and safety guidelines changing by the day, but it’s not advisable.

The more effective strategy is the one that many other businesses are taking to navigate the crisis in creative and productive ways. Their leaders may not know what the future holds, but they’re getting ready to adapt to whatever is necessary to succeed.

As clubs begin to ramp up into a post-virus world, private club leaders, in concert with key operational managers, well-informed members and designated board members, are following four important guidelines:

1. Updating the club’s financial plan.

The business interruption and financial impacts will be profound and may even threaten the club’s existence. The board must reset the club’s financial plan by evaluating the current in-flow of dues revenue and the realistic projection of pending banquet and catering activity. Refer to the club’s historic reference points for revenue as the key component in ramping up successfully. Balance revenue projections with the probable attrition rate caused by members who will leave the club for health and financial reasons.

Plan to restart programs and services in a phased manner that focuses on the most popular and engaging programs in the eyes of your members. It’s important to remember that members may have different priorities in a post-recession world. Knowing what those are through surveys and focus groups is far more advisable than assuming the old normal is also the new normal. Keep in mind that the club may not be able to restart at a level and pace that meets members’ expectations without what may be significant investments.

In a financial sense, the club may be starting over. This can be good for clubs overloaded with expensive debt since it gives them incentive to renegotiate their debt structure. Interest rates are at historic lows and will remain that way for some time. This makes it a good time to restructure the club’s financial plan to remove historic flaws, such as membership-optional communities and outdated governance practices.

2. Strengthening the team.

Every club in your area is affected differently by the pandemic. Some will retain staff with little change. Others will be forced to reduce operations, programs and staff. Some of your own employees will decide not to return or may be unavailable. Be prepared and recruit aggressively to fill and strengthen key positions on your team. It’s also a good time to review and update personnel records, roles and benefits.

3. Introducing new social programs.

As leaders hit the reset button, remember that private clubs enjoy an emotional relationship with their members far more than a transactional one. When evaluating and creating programs, consider the following:

Members will want to see one another and be seen. There will be a great opportunity for friends to be reunited and reminded that their club is a safe haven for their families and friends.

Look at events that are either successive – where one event sets the stage for the next – or part of a series of similar events. Give members the sense of ongoing relationships rather than one-off types of events. (Example: “around-the-world” theme parties featuring different destinations members traveled to without leaving the comfort of the West Bay Club in south Florida, executed by Brian Schultz, the club’s former manager.)

4. Host member information exchanges.

As members anticipate their clubs reopening, they will have lots of questions, which can be boiled down to “What’s changed – and what hasn’t?” Get ahead of the onslaught of questions by anticipating as many as you can and communicating the answers widely through email, newsletters and social media.

We may not know what the new normal will look and feel like until it arrives. Meanwhile, we know members will be anxious to return to their clubs and to take advantage of all it offers them. Taking the steps outlined above will help get your club ready.

Webinar: Member Surveys in Uncertain Times

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This webinar continues a series of communications from GGA Partners to help private club leaders address challenges confronting their businesses and their employees as a result of the global health crisis. Whether your club is operational or waiting to return to business as usual, now is a crucial time to keep members engaged.

Leverage Surveys to Engage Members During COVID-19

Last week, MemberInsight – a Jonas Club Software company, and the industry-leading member survey platform – together with GGA Partners co-hosted a webinar to discuss the power of member surveys in the time of COVID-19 and how clubs, regardless of their survey platform of choice, can better utilize members surveys during this difficult time.

“Many clubs send member surveys as a regular part of conducting business.” Said Trevor Coughlan, Vice President of Marketing at Jonas Club Software. “The problem is, many clubs only send them annually, and they think about surveying in a linear fashion – capital & long term planning. I believe surveys relevant to the moment and the action taken as a result of them have the opportunity to invigorate the way members feel about a club and its staff. There is no better time for clubs to be stepping into action than now which is why we are proud to make our platform available at no charge for three months.”

“In the current environment staying connected with members is a real challenge, but it’s more important than ever,” explained Michael Gregory, a Partner at GGA Partners. “Surveys are a tool all clubs can be using to stay engaged with their members, to capture important feedback, and to provide a level of comfort to members knowing their club is working hard to come out of this stronger and more capable of meeting their needs, wants and expectations.”

Webinar Playback

The webinar presented the MemberInsight feature set, the science behind survey based communications, and specific examples of surveys clubs can put into action as they remain committed to serving their members.

If you’d like to share the webinar recording with a colleague or watch it again please view the video below.

 

Survey Templates

GGA Partners has provided 5 complimentary survey templates. Download the templates below and use them to give your members a voice during these unprecedented circumstances so you can start taking action on member feedback.

MemberInsight is the optimal platform to start using these templates and gathering member feedback. The company recently announced that their survey functionality is being made available to clubs at no charge for three months.

If you would like to sign up for three free months and no setup fees*, fill out this MemberInsight form or contact Michael Gregory at GGA Partners.

Guiding Principles for Financial Stewardship (Part 1)

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This article continues a series of communications from GGA Partners to help private club leaders address challenges confronting their businesses and their employees as a result of the global health crisis. Today, in the first of two articles discussing financial stewardship, founding partner Stephen Johnston outlines the guiding principles for being a prudent financial steward.

Despite the opinions of pundits and experts parading before our television screens, no one can accurately predict how long this pandemic will last or its economic impact. By the same token, it’s impossible to anticipate every challenge club leaders will face in the days ahead. But we can say with certainty that long-term financial stability is an issue confronting every club leader. Those who evaluate the challenge and develop a strategy with both short-term and long-term plans give their clubs the greatest opportunity for success.

From our perspective, actions in these uncertain times should follow these guiding principles:

1. Fairness. Prior to a final decision, step back and ask yourself if the anticipated action is fair for all parties, starting with members and the employees. This crisis will pass, and people will remember how they were treated.

2. Transparency. Do not take anything for granted, especially when it comes to sharing information with employees and communicating with membership. It is important for members to understand and appreciate the conscientious approach and the lengths taken to ensure the viability of their club. Video conferencing and electronic pulse surveys make timely communications and opinion convenient and efficient.

3. Value. It is important for members to understand the club carefully considers the value members receive for their fees, dues and other financial support of the club. The value for money proposition for each club and each member is different; “we’re doing what other clubs are doing” discounts this uniqueness.

4. Ownership. Ensuring members maintain their club participation and pride of ownership during challenging times is critical. Maintaining a sense of ownership in the club will help members appreciate the difficult decisions being made in the face of unprecedented circumstances.

5. Right Things Right. Make sure each critical action or decision is conscientiously considered and prudently implemented. By considering the long-term economic and social consequences of your decisions, leaders often realize that efficiency and cost savings are not automatically the top priority.

6. Think Long-Term. Short-term planning and tactics are the priority. But before executing, assess how the short-term actions affect the long-term plan and vision for the club. Always measure the impact any action will have on cash preservation, club value, member and employee satisfaction. Adjustments to the short-term plan may be necessary to reduce the impact on your long-range strategic plan.

7. Preparedness. It’s easy to say we should be prepared for the worst, but it’s impossible to anticipate every calamity. What we can do is make sure all the club’s business information and resources are readily available. This generally means putting in that extra hour or two each week to stay organized. As we prepare for reopening and the new normal, develop a reopening plan and adjust this daily based on new information which comes available.

8. Listening. We are a firm believer in the importance of empowering the general manager to make critical business decisions. We’re equally committed to the idea that managers need to listen to the ideas, challenges and concerns of their board members, department heads, members and industry and government leaders. Their input and feedback are essential in making informed decisions.

Financial stewardship matters most in times of crisis. Even the most prudent financial stewards cannot anticipate every obstacle they will confront. But experienced, poised, and attentive leaders will follow proven guiding principles to protect the club’s members, brand and overall financial health. In our next article, we will explore specific tactics for developing a financial plan to ensure short-term success and long-term sustainability.

Crystal Ball Thoughts on the Shape of the Next Normal

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This article continues a series of communications from GGA Partners to help private club leaders address challenges confronting their businesses and their employees as a result of the global health crisis. Today, Henry DeLozier highlights GGA Partners’ crystal ball thoughts on what the post-crisis environment will look like for club and leisure businesses.

Gordon Gecko wasn’t the good guy in the Faustian tale Wall Street and, yet, the character played in the 1987 movie by Michael Douglas left behind some memorable advice, “The most valuable commodity I know of is information.”

In early April, GGA Partners gathered its team of trusted advisors and thought leaders for the express purpose of developing strategic tenets to guide GGA clients across the globe. Following are glimpses of impacts for private clubs and club leaders:

Expect Longevity

Murray Blair and Fred Laughlin, directors at GGA Partners, observe that the effects of the epidemic will be lasting and may be sortable now into certain phases:

Pre-Vaccine – Until a reliable vaccine is developed, tested, and made available for widespread usage, conditions for most clubs will change only slightly from current circumstances. Baseline operational methods will change significantly as partial- and full-closures are showing operators and members new – more attractive, in some cases – methods which satisfy members’ concerns for caution and dining at their clubs. Many clubs are finding that demand for dining options at the club is growing as so many previously competitive restaurants are closed.

Operating costs will vary widely. Housekeeping budgets will increase substantially as members want to experience highly obvious signs of the club’s emphasis on sanitary conditions, cleanliness, and personal safety for members and staff. Labor costs will vary widely based upon local supply/demand balance as many workers will be less mobile than before.

Post-Vaccine – After a vaccine has been found and put into use, members will renew their active usage of their clubs differently. Bennett DeLozier observed that club members who previously were nonchalant on matters of strategic planning at the club will demand that their club have a clearly stated and broadly understood game plan. Many members who are responding GGA attitudinal surveys observe that there was no expectation of a health pandemic and, yet, believe “The club should have had a disaster preparedness plan.” Strategic planning, which was previously an indicator of the best leadership in clubs, will be important to most private clubs more so in the future.

Continued & Reinvigorated Family-First Focus

Barb Ralph, one of GGA’s most tenured team members, opined that members will seek more family-oriented facilities, programs and services. The notion of “clanning”, first suggested by futurist Faith Popcorn in her 1996 book, Clicking: 7 Trends That Drive Your Business–And Your Life, documents Barb’s thinking on the importance that causes many to want to keep those dear to them in a safe haven – like their club.

A New Normal

Linda Dillenbeck, a director for the GGA Partners Club Communications Practice, looks beyond the pandemic to underscore the critical importance of effective and trusted member communications from the club to its stakeholders: members – their families and friends, employees, neighbors, suppliers, and vendors.

Linda suggests that in a time when new standards are being established, the necessity of effective communications from clubs to their members will be a difference-maker to the clubs’ future economic durability. “Club’s with a proactive communications approach will be at a distinct advantage throughout and after the coronavirus epidemic,” according to Dillenbeck.

Shifting Operational Needs

Speaking from the perspective of the millennial generation, Alison Corner, Ben Hopkinson, Andrew Johnson, Mingye Li, and Andrew Milne agree that clubs will change significantly and – in some ways – toward operational needs and priorities previously reported through GGA Partners’ millennial research installments.

To summarize the ideas from these brilliant young minds, clubs will shift dramatically into (a) high-gear focused on membership recruitment and retention; (b) new activities, like musical events and performance art; and (c) new membership types, categories, rights, and privileges.

Martin Tzankov, a GGA manager, expects the new normal to bring a focus to financial durability to clubs. Martin notes the importance for club leaders to mind the strategic priority of balance sheet management and the financial health of their clubs.

Many club leaders forget the four cornerstones of board service: leadership, governance, strategy, and finance. Looking ahead, the clubs that perform best after the coronavirus pandemic will be those holding the best information. Perhaps Gecko was right.

Webinar 4/23: Leverage Surveys to Engage Members During COVID-19

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MEMBERINSIGHT ANNOUNCES NO CHARGE FOR THREE MONTHS

JOINS GGA PARTNERS FOR A WEBINAR FOCUSING ON HOW TO LEVERAGE SURVEYS TO ENGAGE MEMBERS DURING COVID-19

Markham, ON Canada – MemberInsight, a Jonas Club Software company, and the industry-leading member survey platform, announces today that their survey functionality is being made available to clubs at no charge for three months. Together, MemberInsight and GGA Partners, the leading consulting firm to many of the world’s most successful clubs and communities, will also co-host a webinar to discuss the power of member surveys in the time of COVID-19.

“Many clubs send member surveys as a regular part of conducting business.” Said Trevor Coughlan, Vice President of Marketing at Jonas Club Software. “The problem is, many clubs only send them annually, and they think about surveying in a linear fashion – capital & long term planning. I believe surveys relevant to the moment and the action taken as a result of them have the opportunity to invigorate the way members feel about a club and its staff. There is no better time for clubs to be stepping into action than now which is why we are proud to make our platform available at no charge for three months.”

In addition to the special offer, MemberInsight and GGA Partners are co-hosting a one time webinar focusing on how clubs, regardless of their survey platform of choice, can better utilize members surveys during this difficult time. The webinar will be co-hosted by Trevor Kluke and Matt Cooper of Jonas Club Software, and Michael Gregory and Ben Hopkinson of GGA Partners and will take place on Thursday April 23, at 14:00 ET.

“In the current environment staying connected with members is a real challenge, but it’s more important than ever,” explained Michael Gregory, a Partner at GGA Partners. “Surveys are a tool all clubs can be using to stay engaged with their members, to capture important feedback, and to provide a level of comfort to members knowing their club is working hard to come out of this stronger and more capable of meeting their needs, wants and expectations.”

The presentation will cover the MemberInsight feature set, the science behind survey based communications, and specific examples of surveys clubs can put into action as they remain committed to serving their members.

Clubs can take advantage of three months of MemberInsight at no charge by visiting:
https://memberinsight.clubhouseonline-e3.net/Special_Offer

The webinar will be held on Thursday April 23, 2020 at 14:00 ET.

Those interested in attending the MemberInsight and GGA Partners co-hosted webinar can register here:
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1880267544344608526

About Jonas Club Software – www.jonasclub.com

Jonas Club Software helps clubs thrive by focusing on the creation of exceptional experiences. These experiences are delivered through industry leading services, integrated applications, innovative technology, and long term partnerships with the clubs we serve.
Over 2,300 clubs in more than 20 countries, with memberships ranging from 20 to 20,000, utilize Jonas Club Software technology. With applications ranging from Accounting to Retail Point of Sale, Tee Time Management, Court & Class Booking, Dining Reservations, websites and Mobile Apps, Jonas Club Software is the standout choice for clubs driven to offer exceptional member experiences.

For more details visit www.jonasclub.com

Media Contact:
Trevor Coughlan
Vice President, Marketing
Jonas Club Software
Trevor.Coughlan@jonasclub.com
1-888-789-9073

The Change Study: Preparedness (UK/IE Report)

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The first of three survey reports in the GGA Partners change research initiative, these survey findings focus on what we refer to as the “Preparedness for Change” at clubs throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. To discuss these findings and learn more about the research initiative, contact Rob Hill Partner, EMEA. 

The Management of Change in Golf and Private Clubs

As the global economy hurtles forward in complex and surprising ways, private clubs must adapt to survive. The wider world of golf is also facing dilemmas, as its market shrinks. But while innovation and disruption are the key elements driving broad economic change, private clubs cling to tradition and honour-established customs.

What is the best approach to reconciling these divergent tendencies? How can clubs preserve their identities while adapting to a changing world? How can club leaders drive the change that is needed for their clubs to thrive in the future? Where do private clubs fit within golf’s shifting cultural and financial environment?

Managers and members who are planning and navigating a path forward for their clubs need reliable data to make informed decisions. And while GGA Partners has provided reliable and actionable insights to clubs since its founding, we believe that club leaders need more than data. They need an ally to illuminate the issues. They covet a reliable voice to provide unbiased guidance based on evidence rather than anecdote.

The Change Study

That is why GGA initiated this research project to help us all understand the landscape for change in the golf, private club and leisure industries. We want to quantify the extent and character of the appetite for change and determine how barriers to change impede implementation. We want to identify any common characteristics present in effective change management, along with ascertaining the best methods for cementing innovations and measuring change over time.

The aim of this research is to provide club and business leaders with the insights and tools they need to successfully navigate the changes which we believe all clubs and organizations are sure to face in the months and years ahead.

Key Insights from the Preparedness Study

A summary of the key findings in this first report, of three, include:

Change Landscape

  • Half (50%) of clubs have witnessed significant or dramatic change between 2015 – 2020. The most common ‘types’ of change are structural, cultural and process related.
  • Technology and Communication have experienced the most significant change over the past five years. Nearly one-in-five clubs indicated ‘dramatic/radical’ change in Governance.

Change Preparedness in Clubs

  • One-in-three (34%) club leaders believe their club is very/extremely effective at handling change.  Clubs who recently went through dramatic change were more likely to consider ‘change management’ a top business priority.
  • Clubs that empower their General Manager to be the primary influencer of change (rather than Board/Committee) are generally more prepared, proactive and effective at handling change.
  • Just 13% of clubs consider their club’s change management capability as Leading.
  • Clubs are disinclined to be proactive in planning for change (hindered by fiscal and cultural conservatism), and most likely to be inspired to urgency by financial imperatives.

Overcoming Barriers to Change

  • Leveraging data to provide evidence, then communicating the need for change, are necessary methods to overcome barriers.
  • Financial metrics and member feedback (through a member survey) are the two key areas of data / intelligence that are relied upon to inform decision making.

Change Forecast

  • Clubs are not changing quickly enough in order to thrive in the future – 65% of club leaders indicate a need for ‘significant’ or ‘dramatic/radical’ change over the next five-years.
  • The top areas of change expected over the next five years are culture and financial. 85% of respondents believe they will require at least ‘moderate’ change to their facility/amenity profile.

Coping with the COVID-19 Crisis

  • Clubs with a greater reliance on data/intelligence to inform their decision-making indicate a stronger preparedness in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.
  • The expected impact of the crisis on clubs will be dominated by: (1) Strain on financial capabilities and membership levels causing deferment of capital investment; (2) Cash flow management and restructuring of the cost model, balance sheet and an ‘emergency reserve’; and (3) Reduction of staff and a leaner operation to focus on ‘essential’ services.

Subscribe to access the full Change Study Preparedness report.

Smart Moves by Smart Leaders

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This article continues a series of communications from GGA Partners to help private club leaders address challenges confronting their businesses and their employees as a result of the global health crisis. Today, Henry DeLozier offers several examples of the right things to do if you are a crisis leader.

Excellent leadership is a mixture of many important ingredients and information – access to it and knowing how to use it – is critical to the mixture. Smart leaders are using time during the novel coronavirus outbreak to sort through many sources of information to choose the most relevant and insightful information sources available to them.

During this pandemic, leadership qualities are being revealed in no uncertain terms. Those who have reliable information and can explain circumstances succinctly, consistently, and timely are viewed as “crisis leaders”. At GGA Partners, we consider someone to be a “crisis leader” when they are able to do the right things right.

Following are several examples of the right things to do, if you are a crisis leader:

Understand the significance of trustworthy leadership.

Achieving trustworthiness requires having reliable and current information, maintaining an on-going dialogue with those relying on you, and being truthful in your dealings. If the news is bad, trusted leaders are able to convey the combination of truthful expectations or projections in an empathetic manner.

After England suffered the fall of Dunkirk, Winston Churchill described “a colossal military failure” when reporting to the House of Commons at Parliament. He did not mince words and aligned accountability – his own – with the authority given him. People trust those who can step up in tough times.

Manage information aggressively.

Keep your stakeholder groups of members, employees, suppliers, and extended business partners – like bankers and insurance carriers – well-informed. It is essential to be inclusive, informative, and accurate. Do not make any incorrect statements.

Club leaders serve many stakeholder groups which often have different needs and priorities. Evaluate your stakeholder groups and refine communications which decisively and clearly address the expectations and needs of each group.

Express optimism.

US President John Kennedy focused his countrymen on a goal of putting a man on the moon in May, 1961, when he told the US Congress, “This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” At the time, this was not a popular idea as 58% of American’s polled were opposed to the idea. And yet, in July of 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins fulfilled the slain President’s goal.

Churchill’s ability to deliver dreadful news, like the fall of Dunkirk and Singapore, was supported by his bull-doggedness in telling the British people that they would “never surrender” as he pointed out that Britain’s far-flung empire and the New World powers would come to the rescue, as they did. Bitter truth was supported by an optimistic outcome.

Be present.

Maintain regular – if even predictable – contact with your stakeholder groups. Address their concerns in the context of updated information. See that your information updates are available using multiple media – such as email, social media, direct mail, and conference calls – and be willing to repeat certain key bits of information for the sake of emphasis.

Communicate your plans – and act on them.

Your members want information, to be sure. Even more importantly, they want confidence that their club is in steady hands. They want to see evidence – action more so than talk – that the club is taking measured steps and addressing the key strategic issues without distraction with petty short-term matters. This capability requires a reliable game plan.

In her 2018 book entitled Leadership in Turbulent Times Pulitzer Prize winning historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin, cites several specific lessons that can be drawn from Franklin Roosevelt’s first term in leading America from the depths of the Great Depression. First and foremost, indicate that there is a center-point of leadership and direction. Roosevelt made clear his understanding that he was chosen to lead. Then, came the Hundred Days and the New Deal…so there was a plan. Now, as for Roosevelt, planning must be very dynamic and agile.

 

Sound leadership is a matter of thoughtful and comprehensive planning. The clubs that will prosper after these difficult times are the clubs with a plan that is comprehensive in nature and not drafted in piece-meal fashion.

Four Pillars of Effective Communication

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This article continues a series of communications from GGA Partners to help private club leaders address challenges confronting their businesses and their employees as a result of the global health crisis. Today, Andrew Whitelaw, General Manager at Portmarnock Golf Club in Dublin, Ireland, highlights four pillars of effective communications.

Build your messaging around credibility, reliability, connection and clarity.

Everyone agrees that communication is the vital ingredient to managing successfully through crisis. In addition to keeping stakeholders informed during uncertain times, effective communication builds trust in our leaders and in their decision-making process.

And since everything communicates – not only traditional channels such as email and newsletters, but also the condition of facilities and the attitude of staff – leaders need clear guidelines when forming their communications strategy.

Our crisis communication plans are built around four pillars:

1. Credibility.

Every communication, no matter how minor in scope or message, must be believable. Credibility is earned over time, one interaction at a time, but can be lost in a moment if the message does not ring true.

Facts are the starting point for credibility. Club leaders are the experts in club matters but should rely on true subject-matter experts – medical, healthcare and government experts and officials – and fact-based information when providing updates and guidance.

2. Reliability.

Can members and employees rely on their club’s leaders to give them the information they need? And can they count on them to deliver that information in a timely manner – as soon as possible and as soon as it has been verified?

Does the leadership team tell members and employees what they can expect in the way of communications – what will be communicated, when they can expect to see the next communication and what types of information will not be communicated, including anything that cannot be completely verified?

Maybe most importantly, do the club’s leaders have a track record for “walking the talk” and doing what they said they were going to do?

3. Connection.

In the midst of crisis, when six feet of social distancing often equates to long-range social separation, people yearn for human connections. We see evidence of that in the social media posts from our friends and colleagues that show family members playing board games and friends enjoying happy hour while connected through video chat apps.

The communications lesson is simple: stay connected and make it personal.

Beyond the initial wave of communications that focus on decisions regarding operations and the availability of facilities, we flex our communications outreach to include online cooking classes, podcasts and video golf lessons. In addition to helping to fill a social void and demonstrating creativity, these kinds of communications demonstrate the club’s attention to members’ and employees’ health and wellbeing, even when they’re not at the club.

4. Clarity.

There’s no room for ambiguity in crisis communications. This is a time for plain language, delivered simply and without frills. The goal of providing the information that members and staff need to make their own well-informed decisions should override any attempts at eloquence.

A good test to ensure clarity is to read the message out loud, first to yourself and then to a member or staff person, before it goes out. If you stumble over a phrase or someone asks you to reread a sentence, you know it’s time to go back and simplify.

The most serious crises never come with a warning. Suddenly and unexpectedly, they arrive at your door. It’s your job as a leader to sort through the information available, make decisions quickly and deliberately and communicate with members and employees. Incorporating equal amounts of credibility, reliability, connection and clarity into your communications will enhance your reputation as a leader while providing the information your stakeholders need.

Club Leadership for Tough Times

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This webinar continues a series of communications from GGA Partners to help private club leaders address challenges confronting their businesses and their employees as a result of the global health crisis. 

In case you missed it, this webinar – hosted by the National Club Association (NCA) in early April – explores the ways effective club leaders are responding to challenges and evolving circumstances posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

In it, Henry DeLozier, Partner, and Patrick DeLozier, Director, feature as experts on crisis response and facilitate discussion about how the board and management at one of the world’s best clubs are dealing with today’s pressing issues.

Nicholas Sidorakis, GM at Southern Hills Country Club, and Bryan Johnson, Southern Hills Board President, explain how they are navigating the everyday challenges of the current health crisis while focusing on the future well-being of Southern Hills Country Club.

View or listen to the webinar (54 min)

View or download presentation slides (.PDF)

A special thank you to Henry Wallmeyer, Joe Trauger, John Good, and Cindy Vizza at the National Club Association for the opportunity to participate.

 

Breaking Down Muni Misconceptions

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The profile of the typical municipal course golfer isn’t flattering: outfit from Goodwill, handicap (if he has one) well into double figures and frugal to a fault, especially when it comes to green fees.

To use a term made popular by former vice president Joe Biden, conventional wisdom is a “bunch of malarkey” — at least the part that paints the muni golfer willing to play any available goat track as long as it’s cheap.

“Loyal muni golfers will surprise you,” says Derek Johnston, a fellow partner at Global Golf Advisors Partners, who oversaw a research project our firm conducted for the city and county of Los Angeles. “Our research showed that municipal golfers can be not only extremely proud of the courses they play, but also extremely loyal.”

The common thinking among public course administrators and operators is that keeping prices low is the key to golfer satisfaction, loyalty and engagement. However, the GGA Partners study of several thousand L.A.-area municipal course golfers revealed that most are not as price-conscious as their reputation suggests. In fact, most say they would pay a higher green fee if certain important criteria are achieved.

The first of those criteria is course conditioning. Specifically, golfers referenced improved putting surfaces — more consistent roll and green speed — and teeing areas. Whether their home course was one of the premier muni courses within the city and county system or one of the more modest, these golfers cited golf course conditions as a top priority and worthy of a few more bucks.

But what do they consider “higher prices?” Seventy percent of those surveyed said they would be willing to pay a 5 percent to 15 percent higher green fee for improved course conditions.

“For most of these courses, a 10 percent increase on average in green fee revenue is significant, given the high volume of rounds played,” Johnston says. “Revenue growth of this proportion recommends serious consideration for investing the resources required to produce improved playing surfaces.”

The second surprising finding from GGA Partners’ research in Los Angeles was the importance golfers placed on pace of play in relation to the value they received for their green fee. Fifty-five percent of muni course golfers expressed a willingness to pay more per round for improved pace of play. “Teaming with USGA analysts, who conducted on-site golfer tests, we learned that pace of play and the sense of ‘getting one’s money’s worth’ were closely aligned,” Johnston says.

GGA Partners’ research of L.A.-area muni golf courses identified solutions that are available to administrators and operators of muni courses nationwide. While some of these findings fly in the face of conventional wisdom, they bring focus to several important demographic facts that should be considered when putting together a strategic plan and again during the budgeting process.

  • Muni golfers are a mixed socioeconomic bag. Many muni course players are not “belongers” and have little interest in joining a private club. In many cases, they are part of an increasingly mobile workforce and are reluctant to establish roots within a club community because they don’t want financial obligations limiting or influencing their next career move.
  • Muni golfers are not necessarily “cheap” and unwilling to pay for an enjoyable round of golf. In fact, many are like most golfers in that they will pay more for aspects of their round that they feel provide value and enjoyment.
  • Capacity for more golf rounds exists at many muni courses, which gives avid golfers opportunities to play more rounds in less-congested conditions.
  • The fastest growing segments of new golfers – women and kids – have easy access with very little friction, as in no joining fees or monthly dues, when playing at muni golf courses.

The potential for increased revenues when pace of play and course conditions are improved is a business model that deserves careful evaluation in most markets today. We certainly know that golf course superintendents at most municipal facilities could provide improved conditions given an increase in their agronomy and maintenance budgets. But what is the potential in your market for increased participation incremental green fees? The best way to know the answer to that question is to ask your golfers. Their answers might be a pleasant surprise.

This article with authored by Henry DeLozier for Golf Course Industry magazine.

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