Trending
- Heritage Golf Group bolsters portfolio with three more acquisitions in Florida, Ohio and Virginia
- Thoughts on staffing
- GreatLIFE Golf acquires its first clubs since 2022 merger
- Development of the Year: Call for Entries for 2024 Competition
- Tall ones, small ones: celebrate them all
- How to create and manage sustainability plan blueprints for golf operations
- 2024: Going forward
- Bobby Jones Links to manage Northern Kentucky’s Traditions Golf Club
NEVER MEANT TO BE
Golf as a game is the best. Golf as an industry is a business, a business that must be worked each and every day. As a very young man I was lucky, the industry found me and I have never left. Back then, during the mid-70’s, the golf business was a very small industry. Although we know golf as the greatest game, it was a niche sport. There were around 11 million golfers. The brands were from small to large, but just about all of them were privately held. Back then there was a lot of unemployment throughout several industries, but with strong unions, people out of work played golf, during those down times. Yes, it was a very different era.
Somewhere as we left the 80’s and drifted towards the Tiger era, the industry become large. It attracted companies both on and off Wall Street. We somehow became a vast business with 20 plus million golfers (playing one round per year or more), with new golf courses (and housing developments) in every community in this country. The feel of the business became much different. Instead of golf people running golf companies, we had steel people, fragrance people, snack people and more. Everyone now looked at golf as a numbers game much larger than 18. People were now attempting to turn a niche sport into very different business. Instead of buying our professional equipment from the golf professional at the pro shop, we could now go to super stores, sporting goods stores, and big box stores. It seemed that most parts of golf became oversized……almost supersized.
Please know this blog post is to tell you that the game is OK….it is truly alright. It is still that niche sport, and just because some people could not make money in this business, does not make it a declining game. People will always be attraced to golf: men, women, and juniors. There are thousands of high school teams, college teams, and a bizillion kids who want to play with mom and dad. Alright, we will not have 50 million golfers playing anytime soon. It was never going to happen, it was never meant to be. Relax and think about how you are going to fill your tee sheet and serve your golfers better than anyone else. Here are 5 good thoughts on golf:
Jack Dillon writes the highfives blog. Jack is a professional speaker, golf shop expert, and student of building a better industry for women. Contact Jack at 407-973-6136 or at highfivres81@yahoo.com. Thank you.
Jack Dillon
Related Posts
How to create and manage sustainability plan blueprints for golf operations
Just as a detailed and thorough blueprint is critical for turning a building plan into sturdy reality, your facility’s sustainability success hinges on creating and
Chairman Yoon: South Korea’s sports maestro
Yoon Se-young discovered the meaning of life through golf. He began playing golf as a kid in the fields near his home and fell in love with the challenge, friendship and peace of mind that it brought to his life. He found golf to be “a delightful sport” unmatched by any other.
USGA: Let’s talk about teeing options
After a round of golf, most golfers remember a great green or cool bunkers, but we don’t often reflect on the teeing options and how
Heritage Golf Group bolsters portfolio with three more acquisitions in Florida, Ohio and Virginia
Heritage Golf Group continues to live up to its reputation as one of the country’s fastest-growing owners and operators of golf and country clubs by
Thoughts on staffing
Work always seemed like a fundamental thing growing up. We needed money to acquire both the necessities as well as the nicer things in life
GreatLIFE Golf acquires its first clubs since 2022 merger
GreatLIFE Golf acquired two clubs at the beginning of 2024, Sapona Golf & Swim Club in Lexington, North Carolina, and Country Club of Mount Dora