Tag: family

Practice Areas and the Pandemic

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If you’re thinking about adding or enhancing a practice area at your course, here are some things to keep in mind. This article was authored by Henry DeLozier for Golf Course Industry magazine.

Searching for a silver lining to a pandemic is mostly a fool’s errand. But many golf courses fortunate enough to stay open during the last five months have found something for which to be thankful: Thousands of golfers and would-be golfers are discovering (and rediscovering) a love for the game.

In many places, their affection is being stoked by short-game practice areas that are introducing new players to golf and giving more experienced players a place to hone their games, all the while boosting incremental revenues.

Bradley Klein, a veteran golf travel, history and architecture journalist and Golf Course Industry columnist, observes that the role of short-game practice areas is evolving. “Time constraints were the initial impetus, but that’s changed of late.” He says the trend is toward “more fun, family-friendly” areas that also provide practice opportunities for serious golfers. “They also constitute efficient use of land.”

What’s more, in this era of social distancing, short game areas are a safe space for youngsters to learn the game while socializing and exercising, according to Jan Bel Jan, president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. She believes the trend will continue to gain momentum. “Short game improvement areas provide benefits to seasoned golfers, promote a welcoming introduction to golf for adult beginners and help courses remain competitive with other area facilities,” she says.

Pinehurst Resort injected new credibility for areas dedicated to the short game and demonstrated its revenue potential when it opened The Cradle — nine holes, all par threes, measuring 789 yards and covering 10 acres — in September 2017. In the last three years, The Cradle has hosted more than 100,000 rounds while becoming one of Pinehurst’s most popular courses.

If you’re thinking about adding or enhancing a practice area at your course, here are some things to keep in mind.

Know your customer.

New practice, training and game-improvement facilities require planning, which starts with understanding the type of player you want to attract. What skill levels will you prioritize? What will be the hours of operation? How will you price access? Member surveys and information exchange sessions with golfers will help you better understand your target audience’s needs and expectations.

Don’t get sloppy.

“Serious design, with interesting greens contours and variety of tee shots” are keys to effective planning, Klein says. “It has to be run like a real golf course and not like a sloppy afterthought.”

Make it fun.

Jim Wyffels, director of operations at Spirit Hollow Golf Club in Burlington, Iowa, is an innovative thinker when it comes to making golf fun. Spirit Hollow’s Shankopotamus Golf Academy, which features TopTracer technologies, was designed with two goals in mind, Wyffels says. “The first was to create an additional amenity for our stay-and-play guests in the evening and during inclement weather. The second was to create a new revenue stream in the evening and during winter months that would target our local market. Our plan was to create a fun, game-like family atmosphere where all age groups and skill levels, including non-golfers, could be entertained.”

Keep your superintendent in the loop.

How will the golf course superintendent maintain the short-game area? Engage the superintendent to ensure design characteristics that can be efficiently and cost-effectively maintained. Concerns such as adequate turning radii, slopes that can be consistently cut and safely navigated by staff, and shapes that match existing terrain on the adjacent golf course are planning priorities. Bel Jan advises planners to be mindful of optimizing drainage, building putting surfaces to established standards and minimizing shade impacts to enable turf recovery.

COVID-19 really has no upside; it has wreaked havoc in unprecedented ways. But if a crisis of its proportions has encouraged more people to take to the course, and prompted golf managers and leaders to think more innovatively about amenities like short courses and practice areas, then it has left something of value in its wake.

Walking in the Customer’s Shoes

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This article is written and produced by Sue Shapcott, PhD. Sue is the founder of Change Golf Instruction, a golf coaching business that partners with public golf courses, and Sports Query, a consulting business that assists sports organizations incorporate social science into their policies and practices. Sue is based in Madison, WI.

Club staff, including managers and coaching professionals can, over time, become immunized to the customer experience and the various touch points that form it. Guest writer, Sue Shapcott, reveals how clubs should take the time to understand this experience – and why it’s crucial when it comes to attracting women, minorities and families.

Without knowing it, club staff can be reinforcing an experience that is off-putting and unwelcoming to prospective members and (current) minority groups.

In a male-dominated sport such as golf, gender stereotypes play a significant role in shaping and affirming people’s views of a club – particularly women.

Think about it: walking in to see a large group of men congregated at the bar, being greeted with a wall of products for men in the golf shop, clubhouse walls adorned with pictures of men in quintessential golfing attire. All of these cues serve to induce stereotype threat. Stereotype threat, by definition, is the demotivation someone may feel when they identify with a negatively stereotyped social group. The traditional golf environment, unfortunately, is likely to induce stereotype threat in women, children and minorities because it underscores who is, and who isn’t a typical golfer.

As well as inducing stereotype threat, the golf club environment will also impact the sense of belonging women and minority groups experience in traditional golf clubs. Conforming to a club’s traditions means accepting this ecosystem which may feel unfair, unbalanced, and ‘just the way it is (and has always been)’.

But importantly for clubs seeking new members, these groups are making a choice based on their experience at that club. Is this somewhere they visualize spending time (with their family)? Do they want to spend time here? Does it have the potential to become a core part of their life or lifestyle?

If they feel forced to conform, and conforming means signing up to an experience that will not enhance their lifestyle, then, simply put, they will not.

Why does it matter?

Removing stereotype threat experienced by women and minority golfers can be a difficult challenge for many clubs out there. It can mean unpicking a culture which, understandably, takes time.

But allowing the cycle to continue will restrict growth and diversity in your current membership base, as well as your prospective target markets – especially at a time when we know younger generations value family time together. So much so they will base purchasing decisions on how these will enhance their collective lifestyle.

Where to start

Shifting the culture starts by seeing the world through the eyes of women and minority groups.

Accompany existing and prospective members on a customer walkthrough and all of a sudden, things will become more apparent. You’ll quickly see what and why things need to change. For example, does your leadership team look like the face of golf’s past, or future? Does the club have photos that celebrate both men and women players?

Unite all the club staff around this process. Educate them on the prevalence of stereotypes, and their effect. You can then arm staff with the knowledge they need to neutralize the environment. Tackling the issue in unison will ensure that staff are conscious and aware, and there are no gaps in the club’s approach.

What areas can you expect to confront and overcome stereotype threat typically experienced by women and minority golfers? Here are some areas which are common, yet often overlooked:

Marketing – if you market to the spouses of existing members what images and/or videos are you choosing to include? What is that telling them about the club? Chances are, you could be confirming stereotypes without realizing it. It’s not about provisioning certain types of images and videos ‘because it’s the right thing to do’. It’s about doing it because clubs need to understand their influence and not inadvertently confirm certain stereotypes – especially when it will harm their goals in the long run.

Coaching – coaches should make it clear to women that they have a high expectation of their ability and performance (dispelling the stereotype that women are somehow not as strong in their ability).

Clubhouse – a contemporary environment which suits the needs of all members is what clubs should strive for. Remove unnecessary imagery which serves to reaffirm certain stereotypes and make it a place where all profiles of member can enjoy, relax and spend time.

Golf Shop – being greeted by rows of hardware, mainly for men, can be a daunting experience – especially so for women new to the game. Make service your priority, and dispel any fears minority groups may have by handing them the knowledge they need to make informed purchasing decisions.

On the course – tees labelled by gender are extremely commonplace, yet are a constant reminder that women don’t hit the ball as far and that this somehow makes their ability inferior. By changing your tees to difficulty-based rather than gender-based creates more of a level playing field and removes the gender factor and associated stereotype threat.

A rallying call

Change at clubs is always difficult when there’s a threat of alienating a certain group – in this case the core membership. But this is where it’s important to take a step back and assess the fork in the road in which we find ourselves:

Road A: We do the same thing. Members age, member numbers recede, and the cycle of stereotype threat experienced by women and minorities continue.

Road B: We open up, we see our club differently, we remove stereotype threats and create an environment a more diverse range of prospects want to be a part of.

As a stakeholder in this industry, I know which future I would rather be a part of.

 

Connect with Sue Shapcott

The Power of Women

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Women are widely regarded as connectors, more likely to invite family members and friends to join them in activities and pursuits than their male counterparts. With that in mind, GGA’s Linda Dillenbeck explores ways in which clubs can increase their appeal to women and unlock new customers in the process.

You have probably read articles encouraging clubs to increase their efforts to attract women and families as a strategy to improve long-term private club sustainability.  Most articles focus on amenities clubs may choose to add or expand, such as adding swimming pools, more casual dining options, or even introducing other sports, such as tennis.

Although the amenity package offered will certainly be a part of a prospect’s decision-making process, equally important, if not more so, is the atmosphere and ambiance a prospect will experience while visiting the club.

Make perception reflect reality

Let’s start with a simple sobering fact; your perception of your club is probably not most people’s reality. To gain a clear picture of how your club is perceived by women and families, you first need to understand what’s important to them and the type of experience they expect.

Conducting a walk-through with different profiles of female and family customers can provide invaluable insights. It’s something all club leaders should be encouraged to do.

To supplement individual club efforts, and help operational teams understand and improve methods of providing a welcoming experience to women and families, I interviewed a number of private club members and club professionals across North America, with some interesting feedback.

“Women are more social then men,” commented Teresa S. “They want to find a connection beyond business or golf, and really get to know someone. If those opportunities are provided through club events, women will bring their family and friends to share in the experience,” she added.

The vast majority of women play golf to have fun and socialize, rather than to post a score. As Kathy G. outlined: “Staff should encourage women and families to play the game as they wish, as long as it doesn’t impede others.”

Comments from several women players related to tee sheet access and were summarized by what Tiffany N. shared.  “The times ladies are allowed to play, typically on Tuesday or Wednesday morning, are not conducive to those of us who have careers. Until private clubs open up their tee sheets, it will be difficult to attract more play for business and pleasure,” she said.

“I always find it interesting when I approach the first tee and meet the starter,” stated Paula F. “They think they are being helpful by telling me where the forward tees are located. They make that statement based on gender, not skill. My advice to any course operator is to instruct their starters to remember this thought: ‘If you wouldn’t say it to a male golfer, don’t say it to a female golfer’.”

Create fun and relaxing events

Keeping two thoughts in mind – women value social experiences and enjoy connecting with family and friends while having fun – will help staff understand the elements your club should focus upon when planning events. To help you get started, here are some examples of events designed to gather women, their families and friends at the club.

  • Schedule ‘Play as you Wish’ days, inviting members to bring family and friends to play golf using formats such as alternate shot, best ball, or middle of the fairway tees that won’t impede play, but will be less intimidating for those who are not avid players.
  • Create ‘Share the Game with a Friend’ days which are crafted to be informative and fun. Instructors can provide basic tips, along with their Top 5 Ways to Feel Comfortable on the Course (positioning this as ‘Course Etiquette’ is not a good idea). Follow the range time with the opportunity to play three holes after which everyone can gather for fun, food, and have the opportunity to ‘ask the pros’ questions that arise from their experience.
  • Hosted events, conducive to family and friends that don’t involve golf, but focus on entertainment and enjoying time spent with each other. For example, a pumpkin-decorating contest with the club providing the pumpkins and tools, an annual gingerbread house-decorating event for the holidays, or a charitable giving day where members bring items (to which the club adds more) and come together with other members, families, friends and staff to assemble care packages for the local shelter.

Know your audience

Women I know do not believe they deserve special treatment because of their gender. Rather, they simply want to have the opportunity to share experiences with friends and family in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, where the goal is having fun and creating some lasting memories of time spent together.

When you provide a relaxed and friendly club atmosphere as a stage, where women can accomplish this goal, they will be your most loyal recruiters, spreading positive word-of-mouth advertising and peer-to-peer reviews across their social networks, encouraging family and friends to connect through your club.

The Family Opinion

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Member surveys are not as clear cut as simply gauging satisfaction or opinion of members. GGA’s Andrew Milne explains how, by reaching out to include spouses or family in club surveys, you can gain invaluable insights on how your club is viewed in the context of modern family life.

Renewing a club membership used to be a straightforward matter. The member receives dues notification, pays a subscription, and club life continues. But as much as club managers may want that to be the case, increasingly, it simply is not.

The perfect storm of increased time, family and economic pressures for members means leisure outings are more heavily scrutinized and, occasionally, result in the end of membership and/or the club’s prominence in an individual’s day-to-day life.

Rather than having these decisions debated behind closed doors, with no prior knowledge that they even exist, clubs do have a vital tool at their disposal, in extending a bespoke member survey to spouses and family members.

Branching out

GGA spouse and family member surveys were introduced nearly a decade ago and what we have learned during that time unambiguously supports their role in helping club leaders develop a product and service that is relevant to the whole family.

Among the headline findings collated from across North America, we found:

  1. Clubs typically underestimate utilization by spouses and families. The introduction of spouse and family surveys helped clubs better understand utilization patterns in order to:
    • Realize greater operational efficiencies
    • Develop better informed events calendars
    • Target specific groups of spouses and families with relevant information
  1. Significant variances in capital project support. Spousal and family member support can vary up to +/- 15% when compared to primary member support. Combine this with their increased involvement in the membership purchase decision, and the importance of building a plan which appeals to all comes into sharp focus.
  2. Restrictions to access are a key concern. When contemplating any membership alterations which involve increased time and/or amenity restrictions, input from all member categories will help to arrive at more reasonable, rational and accepted changes and mitigate any negative impact to satisfaction levels.

A club for the entire family

Identifying the importance of both spouses and families is one thing, making changes to the club operation to increase their satisfaction levels (alongside those of primary members) is another.

Do the benefits outweigh the time and resource investment?

If it’s about an underlying connection, then yes. More interaction with spouses and family members will inevitably put the club more front-and-center in their minds, and help clarify its attributes and future role among these individuals.

There are more reasons to engage this audience too:

  • It improves buy-in for future decisions (as supported by survey findings). For example, if family members indicate their dissatisfaction with the current junior leagues at the club and provide insight on how they wish to see them improve, they are more likely to participate after the club implements an updated junior league program.
  • Spouses and family members will feel valued, and appreciate their opinions are being solicited, captured, and considered with care.
  • With the increasing influence of spouses and families on lifestyle and recreation choices, engaging them can help shape the future relevance and strategy for the club and drive overall membership sales.
  • A key challenge for clubs around the world is finding and engaging young prospects to grow the membership pipeline within the club. Collecting feedback from family members can identify the key drivers for this demographic and help position the club to best appeal to this group.

Moving out of the comfort zone

It may seem counter-intuitive to develop a future vision for your club formed from the views of those who may appear not to spend a great deal of time there.

However, across the world we are witnessing clubs making moves towards developing amenities and services which appeal to the entire family and encourage them to spend more time there. These are the clubs already profiting from family and spousal survey insights, building out the core of their membership to now include spouses and family members, and simultaneously becoming a more appealing destination to prospects.

Taking the first steps are difficult, but by seeking a wider base of opinions you might be surprised by what you learn and the future opportunities that arise.

Is Your Club Relevant?

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If your club is relevant, it is closely connected to members’ lifestyles and appropriate to their wants and needs. But how do you determine if your club really is relevant? GGA’s Ben Hopkinson offers three points of guidance to help you self-evaluate and a handful of tactics to deploy in response.

Longevity requires relevance.

Survival in the modern club economy hinges on your club’s ability to remain relevant, both to existing members and prospective ones.

While building relevance is often the easy part, sustaining it is trickier. If left unmonitored, relevance diminishes as the years pass and the club’s value proposition suffers alongside member retention and satisfaction.

What does it mean to be relevant?

A relevant club is closely connected to members’ lifestyles and appropriate to their wants and needs; it’s the ability of a club to instill the notion that, by being or becoming a member, it will enhance their own and/or their family’s lifestyle.

It’s a simple equation. The more relevant you are, or become, the better placed your club is to achieve high levels of member satisfaction, retention, and recruitment.

But how can you understand and become more relevant? Here’s some pointers:

1. Gain a deep understanding of your market and membership

Who are your members really?

The first step to becoming more relevant is knowing your members fully and dispassionately. A thorough understanding of your membership’s demographic, psychographic, and emotional characteristics allows for a tailored Club experience.

This means knowing the answers to questions such as: Where do members live? Where do they work?  Do they belong to other local clubs or have vacation homes? Do they have children or grandchildren? What are their ages? How do they use the club?

Tracking utilization of each facility and space at your club allows you to understand the importance (and appropriateness) of each of them, helping to drive the strategy towards becoming more relevant.

Where does your club stand in the marketplace?

Get to know your potential market i.e. your members of tomorrow by sourcing demographic, psychographic, and participation data to quantify the number of candidates that match your member profile. Your market research should help you understand:

  • Relative to your competitors, how are you positioned in terms of cost to join, payment plans, and annual cost to belong?
  • What features and programming are your competitors offering that you don’t? And vice versa.
  • How do your attrition rates and sales compare with industry targets or, if available, those of competitors?

This exercise allows you to understand your club in the context of the marketplace better and helps establish your competitive advantages and points of differentiation. Leveraging that knowledge, you can enhance or develop your club’s strategy around demand and where it has room to grow.

2. Focus on enhancing individuals’ lives (and the lives of their families)

While understanding your members and marketplace should be your primary starting point on the road to relevance, this is a snapshot of the successful shifts in the approach of clubs across North America in a bid to enhance what they offer:

One-of-a-kind experiences

Members have an appetite for experiences they can cherish and share with their families and friends, so offering tailored, unique and memorable opportunities can not only help build relevance, but the emotional connection members have with your club. Examples might include: tickets to the special events such as the PGA Championship, concierge-type experiences that only your club can facilitate, or access to speakers they would not be able to get in front of otherwise.

Intentional member networks

Offering clubs-within-the-club are very important in today’s environment because building communities and networks drives engagement and connection within the club.

Think about a robust speaker series, associating your club with other clubs or professional organizations in exclusive relationships, creating a wine club or travel groups.

Some clubs have developed virtual membership clubs with their speaker series or programming where members can pay a small monthly fee to participate remotely. It promotes continued engagement and also drives a new revenue stream with no impact to your facilities.

Diverse wellness programming

Physical health, in the form of fitness and wellness, remains highly relevant. The decision to add fitness is a leading trend that clubs are considering, particularly in seasonal and winter climates to keep members connected year-round.

Beyond adding a fitness facility, newer trends in wellness programming that are highly relevant include group exercise classes, off-site activities and excursions, ‘socializing’ fitness activities into events, and increasing the variety of fitness offerings and their frequency of change.

Your club’s wellness programming should not be limited to physical training. Mental exercise is just as critical as physical exercise in keeping one’s brain fit and healthy, introducing more wellness programming around brain health is relevant to your club’s longer-tenured members and can connect them with what are often construed as ‘young people’ activities.

Amenities that support year-round use and lifestyle

The ultimate goal is to make your club the third most important or relevant place in members’ lives, next to home and work. Amenities that best support year-round use and lifestyle benefits go beyond traditional sports to focus on the clubhouse and socialization aspects of membership.

The top amenities that our clients are considering include:

  • Contemporary bar/sports lounge
  • Multiple dining experiences
  • Health and wellness facility
  • Indoor golf teaching area with a bar and HD simulators
  • Outdoor casual dining with fire pits
  • Tennis/pickleball courts
  • Outdoor pool featuring a modern children’s area and adult area with outdoor bar
  • Babysitting/children’s play areas

3. Measure, evaluate and act

Member feedback is key.

Soliciting member feedback tightens the connection between the club (as an organization) and its members (as individuals). Capturing member feedback generates actionable insights to improve all aspects of the club experience, while also helping to isolate which are most critical to their wants and needs.

Relevance can be measured in many ways and the best indicators to watch are attrition levels and the demand to join your club. Constant member feedback is needed to be proactive and instill a culture of measuring, evaluating and acting.

 

The relevant club of tomorrow

Think about relevance on a spectrum. One that changes through different actions or developments.

For instance, introducing new family amenities shifts and broadens the spectrum more towards a younger demographic of members and prospective members.

Similarly, the introduction of mental health training shifts and broadens the spectrum more towards an elder demographic.

In any case, the objective should be to find your club’s sweet spot on this spectrum. As we already know higher relevance = higher levels of member satisfaction, retention and recruitment, so find and occupy a position which is relevant to as many stakeholders as possible. This, ultimately, will be your club’s gateway to longevity.

For help and advice on making your club more relevant to existing and prospective members,
connect with Ben Hopkinson.

The Club for Millennials

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On the back of GGA’s largest piece of millennial research to date, Michael Gregory answers your questions, revealing how the findings paint a clear picture of who clubs need to target in order to build the next generation of members and customers.

For 3 years GGA and Nextgengolf have analyzed the behavior and attitudes of golfing millennials. Armed with the findings of this research, GGA have engaged with clubs and resorts on how to connect with this audience. Unfortunately, for many clubs, this generation still proves elusive. However, with the latest round of research now complete, we have the clearest ever picture of the untapped potential of millennials.

Below is a selection of questions that have been posed to me in recent months from managers and board members across North America. The answers may help you dispel millennial myths, consider your club’s actions in appealing to this generation, and, in some small way, future-proof the core of your membership.

What do you know now that you didn’t know before about millennials?

This centers around 3 areas: the trigger point for deciding to join a private club, the influence of family in decision-making, and interest in non-golf amenities.

Trigger point: 72% of millennials move to private club membership as the result of a new job or promotion, making way for more disposable income and leisure dollars.

We already know millennials are a highly cost-conscious group. However, an event relating to their work status which sees them earning more is the most powerful trigger point or motivation for them to decide to join a private club. When does this happen? Last year’s research indicated the ‘sweet spot’ for joining a private club was 33 years of age, and this remains the case.

Family: findings suggest a millennial audience is highly influenced by benefits for the whole family and gaining spousal approval when joining.

Millennials increasingly assess the value of club membership not just in individual terms, but in how their loved ones will benefit too. If club membership becomes a gateway to spending more time with those close to them, this will be key to influencing their decision to join.

Non-golf amenities: interest in non-golf amenities is on the increase, with 76% of respondents stating a desire for fitness pursuits and 71% looking for pool facilities.

This increased desire for non-golfing amenities is significant. More and more, millennials are viewing the value proposition offered by private club membership as a lifestyle choice. They may well have gym or health club memberships elsewhere, but if a private club offers those facilities too along with its numerous other attributes, it is more effectively positioned to win out in the millennial mind.

Do I need to create a millennial membership or reduce the cost of membership to appeal to this group?

2019’s findings reaffirm the issue of cost for millennials. Both dues and initiation fees continue to be barriers, and it is a reality that clubs will need to compete on price to appeal to this group (how much depends on the club’s location and market position).

But there’s also a bigger picture at play. While price is (and likely always will be) important, the best performing clubs are focused on creating an experience that enhances millennials lifestyles and develops a sense of emotional connection and belonging. An experience that also enhances the lifestyles of their family strengthens this connection, elevates the value proposition and paves the way for greater price elasticity.

Are there clubs out there who are successful in attracting and retaining millennial members? What can I learn from them?

Most definitely. We’re witnessing clubs roll out a number of effective initiatives to attract and integrate millennial members.

My advice?

  • Welcome millennials into the governance structure. They want a voice and the overall membership benefits from fresh, younger ideas at the committee level.
  • Encourage them to get involved with events. Some older members may be reluctant at first, but, actually, most will love the injection of youth into events.
  • Find ways to get the family involved, even if you only offer golf. Socialization is key, as is spousal approval. Need some inspiration?
    • Offer periodic child care (for a fee) so couples can enjoy time together at the club
    • Host live music outdoors where young couples can socialize
    • Increase service levels when spouses are on property (call them by name, remember their drink, be ready for them)

Any interesting developments or emerging trends from this year’s findings?

We know that millennials are a time-strapped generation. Between work and family life they don’t have a great deal of time left to dedicate to leisure interests. It’s for that reason, in recent years, we’ve witnessed the convergence of leisure and family, with more and more clubs becoming family-friendly and a place for families to spend time together.

Now, we’re starting to see work come into the equation, which is no great surprise as 74% of respondents stated work commitments prevent them from playing more. Clubs are capitalizing on the trend by creating an environment that makes the transition from work to golf and club easier. This could involve investing in modern business facilities with shared workstations, calling booths and private meeting rooms to accommodate their needs.

As there appears to be no letup in time pressures on this generation, we’d expect to see an increasingly closer union between work, family and leisure time.

 

Is your club in need of a shift in focus to appeal to a wider and younger audience of prospective members?

Connect with Michael Gregory to see how GGA’s expertise and insights
in this area can help your club.

Useful links:

Millennial Golf Industry Survey 2019
The Truth About Millennial Golfers 2018
The Truth About Millennial Golfers 2017

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