Changing the game

The game of women’s basketball has been changed. It has grown in a very real way thanks to the passion, talent, and eye-popping skills of one player, Caitlin Clark. Over the past season, especially during the recent NCAA Women’s Tournament, Clark brought millions of new eyeballs, many now fans, to women’s basketball. She became must-see TV. It was amazing to watch (and I did.) One person with passion and focus changed a team and a sport. The game has been lifted, able to see new heights and new, real opportunities as other outstanding athletes push the game higher and higher. It has been a fun, exciting past few months for those who witnessed talent at its best.

As you move into warmer weather, more rounds, and an interesting economy, what will you and your club be doing that is different, maybe even game-changing? What are you thinking about as clubs across the land hope for another year of game-changing rounds? With the oxygen of COVID-19 now far in the past, it is time to take the assets delivered and find a new, more secure place for your club in this game changed by a virus four years ago. How will you up your game this season? What ideas do you and your team have that can excite your players to visit more, play more, and even bring a carload of interest with them? Although you may not be able to hit a 3-pointer, I am betting there are assets in your midst that can grow the business, accelerate interest, and change your game for the future. Here are my three thoughts:

Find and use your advantages: Whether it is location, the course layout, the community, conditions, your team, or the service provided by that team, shout about it, use it, and market it to the rafters. Every business has advantages over its competition. Maybe it is your leadership team, the food, possibly a dessert? Rediscover all of your advantages, talk about them with your team, and build programs to drive those things you do better than anyone else in your world. Differentiation can be the way. Communicate the message often to your team, and then expand the conversation to the widest net.

Find your talent: Caitlin Clark did not need to be discovered. Her game only needed the light of a television camera to push it, and an entire sport, forward. There may be members of your team right there, on your weekly schedule, that can do more. They are talented, possibly looking for a way to tell you they want to do more. They may be quiet, going about their job by simply doing their job. Here is where you and your managers should spend the time to locate the talent yet to be discovered. It can happen through conversation, trial, and a push forward … into the light. When simply given the opportunity, some people rise in meaningful ways. Undiscovered, both they and the club suffer. Spend the time this Spring to locate the talent that may be lurking just a few yards away. They may be too quiet to ask, to push. It is important to be sure they get into a role where they become their best selves, and where they maximize their skills for the team.

Try stuff: When we don’t know, we have to give it a go. Bring the team together to come up with ideas to try. Ideas that can be fun, different, able to create excitement, and enthusiasm: a better experience for golfers. Try and try and try until you come upon those new experiences that bring the conversation (and the revenue) to a new level. Trial and error are underrated. Trial and error, throwing things up against the wall, is a way to create a new path, a fun, new twist to your story. If you want to refresh the local game, find your advantages, uncover talent, and then try lots of things that help your golfers discover new reasons to come, to play, and to spend. Caitlin Clark changed an entire sport by using her advantages. By uncovering those advantages that already exist within your community, you can unlock assets to grow your business for years to come.

The sport of women’s basketball has a new vision. It has new fans and therefore an amazing opportunity where the marketing community, television, and future stars all see only green lights ahead. By spending the time to uncover hidden assets, you may provide a myriad of reasons for staff members to stay, for golfers to play, and for the calendar to become filled with events to interest and excite those who love to play. Look left, look right … advantages just might be everywhere when you see things in a whole new light.

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Jack Dillon writes the In My Opinion posts. He is a long-time golf expert, operator, buyer, sales leader, author, speaker, and consultant. Jack can help you and your team find and accelerate your advantages. Go to www.youdontknowjackd.com to learn how Jack or his associates can change the game for your business. Sign up there for a Zoom meeting to learn more. You can also reach Jack at 407-973-6136. Jack lives in Orlando.