Tag: membership

Will Women Save Golf?

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Golf has a tendency to exist in a vacuum, one where blinders we sometimes wear with pride make us inattentive to happenings outside the confines of our green fairways. But looking away from one of the most important issues of the day could have calamitous consequences.

2018 may well go down in modern history as the year of the woman and the fight courageous women waged for respect and opportunity. What started as a backlash against a Hollywood movie mogul by women trapped by his influence has spread to other parts of society and is now part of the daily dialogue. It should also be part of the conversations we’re having in golf.

Leading up to the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, Erna Solberg, the prime minister of Norway, and Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, wrote that “time is up for discrimination and abuse against women. The time has come for women to thrive.”

They went on to say that “giving women and girls the opportunity to succeed is not only the right thing to do, but can also transform societies and economies.” If that opportunity has transformative global potential, just think what it could do for golf.

More women in leadership roles – on boards, as general managers, as department heads, as executive directors of allied associations – would do wonders for golf. I continue to be dismayed when I see panels composed of middle-aged white men at industry events. What perspectives are we missing that could inform better decision-making? What experiences are we not aware of that could help us fix problems on and off the course? What nuances are we tone deaf to that would make the game, our courses and our facilities more engaging?

We’ll never know until women have the opportunity to demonstrate their leadership abilities. And we won’t know the consequences of those omissions until participation and diversity have dwindled even further. Dare we risk that? Golf’s good-old-boys club took us so far. It’s also one of the reasons momentum has stalled.

There is urgency because, as we have seen dramatic evidence of already this year, women are not content to wait for change to come to them. But are the mostly male leaders of golf and its mostly private clubs prepared to examine their own practices and begin to open the right doors?

Introspection starts close to home. Boards can mandate women fill a minimum number of seats around the table. They can also require that job searches include women (and minorities). General managers can make educational and career-experience opportunities available to women so when management positions become available women and men are competing on a level playing field. Clubs can take the necessary steps to help women stay active in the workplace while raising a family. And without question, clubs can compensate women and men on an equal basis for jobs with similar requirements and responsibility.

Enlightened perspectives should also be customer facing for obvious reasons:

  • Women are driving the global economy – the women’s market is growing at a faster growth rate than men.
  • Women are responsible for $20 trillion U.S. dollars in annual consumer spending.
  • Women have a high level of commitment and loyalty.
  • Women share positive experiences.

But (news flash!) there are considerable barriers that women must overcome to gain the respect and opportunity most men are granted with few questions. Almost 90 percent of countries have one or more gender-based legal restrictions holding back women. Fortunately, those legal restrictions do not exist in the United States. But we all know that there are other barriers that can be onerous and restrictive, and we don’t have to look outside our own organizations to see them. Clubs ignore those hurdles and discriminatory practices at their own peril.

We must realize that recognizing and rewarding women’s potential is critical to the future of golf and golf clubs. We may be swimming against the tide of tradition in some cases, but the best practice seems simply to make the most of everybody’s talents.

The tide has shifted, the momentum has changed. Today’s conversation focuses on broad social change led by women and – yes – men who are speaking out against outdated views that hold all of us back. Helping women make the most of their potential is a job for all of us, and it’s time to get started.

GGA’s Henry DeLozier penned this article for Golf Course Industry.

GGA Education Events Isolate Themes & Challenges Facing Club Leaders

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Golf club executives have come together on both sides of the Atlantic as GGA continues its program of insight-led educational Symposiums, that deliver insights, research and current trends influencing golf club business success.

Against the backdrop of Loch Lomond Golf Club in Scotland and Scarboro Golf & Country Club in Canada, senior figures in the club industry discussed the challenges, issues and successes of the past year and forecasted opportunities and possible difficulties for the next 12 months.

Managing Partner of GGA’s EMEA Practice, Rob Hill, who directed the European Symposium in Scotland, said: “Our Symposiums foster a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration among club leaders, many of whom are tackling the same challenges and are eager to learn from each other’s successes. This, backed by GGA’s key findings and research, provides a foundation of confidence and focus for the year ahead.”

The Scotland and Canada Symposiums touched on a vast array of topics ranging from far-reaching global trends to granular, market-specific issues managers are typically experiencing, including strategic thinking, business intelligence, member satisfaction, capital expenditures, membership growth, governance and manager-led panel discussion.

Key Takeaways:

The Symposiums isolated a number of key themes and challenges club managers are set to face in the year ahead:

  • Strategic thinking is a challenge everywhere, particularly among club Boards. Challenges in defining strategy, remaining strategic at the Board level, and qualifying the elements of a strategic plan are widespread.
  • Business intelligence resources are in high demand. Many clubs indicated that they do not have all the data they need to make strategic assessments and key business decisions, particularly as they relate to local-market understanding, member satisfaction, club utilization habits, and evaluating club finances.
  • Member Satisfaction is paramount. Club managers believe that understanding members’ satisfaction, current habits, and future preferences is essential to a happy club environment. Empirically and anecdotally, there was strong correlation between overall member satisfaction and evaluations of a club’s social atmosphere, food and beverage operation, and clubhouse quality/condition.
  • Millennials and Generation X are top of mind. While tactics for recruitment and sentiments for the viability of these audiences varied significantly among regions and participating managers, it is evident that understanding the future generation of club members is a hot topic for club managers and a concern for some.
  • Governance is both a source of strength and adversity. Clubs are constantly facing challenges to govern effectively and implement governing infrastructure which supports the organization’s strategic vision. At clubs where governance is characterized by strategic thinking, written policy, and efficient, purposeful deliberation, success often follows.
  • Clubs are considering the following key initiatives for 2018:
    • Strategic Plan implementation: implementing/executing golf course masterplans, facilities masterplans, determining club brands, or evaluating club relevance to current/future members.
    • Governance reviews: reviewing governance practices, ensuring governance models are more ‘business’ appropriate, implementing Board Policy Manuals, and operating with greater transparency and more communication.
    • Membership changes: evaluating membership categories, measuring member utilization, focusing on maintaining existing members, and assessing approaches to attract Millennials/Generation X.
    • Financial monitoring: increasing the measurement of goals and financial performance through business intelligence/satisfaction surveys/employee surveys, assessing costs and benefits of process improvements through technology/robotics, and monitoring labor costs.
    • Environmental assessments: gauging the cost and potential impacts of processes focused on sustainability, ecology, and environmental stewardship.
    • Capital replenishment: conducting capital reserve studies, building capital reserves, exploring new methods of capital funding, gaining member support for CapEx through digital communications (i.e. video information rather than Town Hall meetings; estimating vote projections through online surveys; electronic voting for easier capture and analysis), and improving the monitoring capital maintenance requirements.

Rob added: “While these learnings represent only macro-level, shared sentiments among participating European and North American club managers, they point toward an auspicious outlook for the 2018 golf season, one defined by a focus on data-driven decision-making and informed strategy.”

Symposiums provide an opportunity to connect with club managers and to share the latest and fullest extent of GGA’s wealth of industry knowledge observed through client assignments and extensive market analysis. Partner Henry DeLozier, said: “At GGA we believe that one must share knowledge so that all may benefit. None of us owns knowledge.”

New Study Reveals The Truth About Millennial Golfers

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• 75% of avid Millennial golfers will consider joining a private club in the future
• Age 33 is the ‘sweet spot’ when avid Millennials are most likely to join a club
• Flexibility, customization and non-golfer amenities among key solutions for clubs

Three-quarters of avid Millennial golfers will consider joining a private club in the future – with age 33 being the most likely age to join – but they are less minded to pay entrance fees, preferring flexible pay-for-use membership options.

These are the findings of a newly updated study, ‘The Truth About Millennial Golfers,’ published by GGA in collaboration with Millennial golfer organization Nextgengolf.

The survey of 2,275 active, avid golfers aged primarily 18-25 across the United States found that nearly half (48%) would consider joining a private club in the next 3-10 years.

The most influential factors in the decision to join a private club are recommendations from friends, family or colleagues (83%), a positive experience attending a tournament or wedding at the club (64%) and attending a reception or cocktail party to promote membership (25%).

However, the cost of membership combined with a fear of commitment and lack of utilization are among the most significant barriers to join a private club, the survey found.

Of those surveyed, 43% said they would prefer to pay more annually rather than an entrance fee, with 51% saying they would prefer a flexible membership combining a low social fee granting them full access to the club with golf on a pay-per-use basis.

The report highlights how private clubs can adapt and develop their offering to meet the needs of the next generation of members. Specifically, avid Millennial golfers see socializing and non-golf amenities such as fitness (71%), access for the entire family (65%) and a pool (62%) as important influencing factors in their decisions to join a private club.

Launching the report at the CMAA 91st World Conference in San Francisco, GGA Senior Manager Michael Gregory said: “To date there has been relatively little research into this group of golfers, yet they are the next generation of private club members and clubs need to factor this into today’s strategic planning and decision making.

“While it is reassuring that 75% of avid Millennial golfers are prepared to consider private club membership in the future, the reality is that they have different wants, needs and expectations. Clubs need to think about greater flexibility and customization in membership, targeting Millennials earlier when aspirations to join a club are higher and before family commitments kick in, plus the need for socializing and non-golf amenities.

“Otherwise, over the next ten years, private clubs vying for this target market will feel greater pressure to lower entrance fees and replace this cost with an annual capital fee.”

Matt Weinberger, COO and Co-Founder of Nextgengolf, said: “Our mission is to support, enable and provide opportunities for college students and golfers in their 20’s and 30’s – keeping them in the game and making golf more relevant.

“We hope this research provides valuable insights about Millennial golfers, the challenges they face and the opportunities for private clubs to help support the long-term sustainability of the game and the industry as a whole.”

The Truth About Millennial Golfers is available to download free of charge HERE.

Press Release – 9th March 2018.

Is Your Club Truly Member-Centric?

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In 2017, Toymaker LEGO announced that revenues had hit a record high, rising 6 per cent to DKr37.9bn (stg£4.4bn) – the highest ever annual level recorded in its 85-year history. Profits were also higher, with operating profit up 1.7 per cent to DKr12.4bn and net profit up 2.2 per cent to DKr9.4bn.

LEGO is a remarkable success story considering that, almost 15 years ago, the company was on the brink of bankruptcy. Though it was a transformational strategy, led by CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, which sparked the unprecedented turnaround in fortunes, significant emphasis was placed on the contribution that customer insights played in the turnaround.

“We never take customers’ enthusiasm for granted. We reward them by showing that we listen to and care about their feedback. I also tell customers that they fulfil another vital role: They are an avenue to the truth. And in today’s world, a CEO needs every avenue to the truth that he or she can find.”

 From my experience, the majority of club leaders stress the importance of understanding their members in order to stay relevant in today’s fast-changing external environment. So why is it that so few clubs seek to systematically listen to their members and as a result, are constantly reacting to change rather than planning for it? Why is it they are reluctant to travel this “avenue to the truth”?

To be truly member-centric, club boards must use member insights in major strategic decisions and core processes, not just member-facing ones.

Our analysis indicates that, actually, this is rarely the case. A recent global survey, undertaken by GGA, examined several hundred clubs to find which conducted annual member research. The reported benchmark range for clubs who do conduct annual member research was found to be between 10%-20%, with the norm being just 15%-16%.

Member insights provide an essential window into the change that lies ahead through their perceptions, needs, preferences, behaviours and attitudes. Gathering, tracking and applying such insights can empower a club to lead rather than react. It allows them to match strategy and implementation to their environment, and to prepare for change rather than responding to it.

In his book Good to Great (2001), management guru Jim C. Collins cites 5 elements of member-centric associations;

  1. Culture. A documented, shared understanding among all staff, embraced and touted by leadership, which defines expectations on how the association interacts with members.
  2. Metrics – Tracking, measuring and responding to data that defines success through the eyes of its members and for the organization. One of the 7 Measures of Success pillars is being data-driven.
  3. Knowledge – Belief and practices on collecting, sharing and responding to the challenges, needs and expectations of members.
  4. Technology – Planning, managing and leveraging tools (e.g., database, social media) to collect, share, and deliver information to all stakeholders in a timely manner.
  5. Segmentation – Developing profiles of and understanding specific groups, or segments, of members to deliver on their expectations and to increase retention rates.

How does your club score in relation to these member-centric qualifications? Think back on recent “leadership” or “planning” meetings you attended at your club. In how many instances did member insights, measured evidence, inform a final decision?

In the oft-quoted words of Wayne Gretzky, leaders will find deep and relevant member insights will guide a club in “skating to where the puck is going, not to where it’s been.”

Rob Hill is a Partner at GGA’s EMEA Office, based outside Dublin, Ireland.

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