“The Secret Words for Growth”……………

Welcome to the High Fives!

Groucho Marx, of the iconic Marx brothers, had a television show in the early 60’s titled; “You Bet Your Life.”  During each show he introduced a secret word to the audience.  Although there are no secrets to growing our game, I can tell you about some important words I learned in 2008.  When my friend, Mike and I were developing; “Golf for the Fun of it!”, a successful player development program, we learned that as industry veterans, we had acquired too many assumptions which inhibited our ability to build a great program.  We discovered over the first year of development and rollout, that we truly did not know how new players felt about the actual parts of learning golf.  We then went to school, in order to find out what men and women needed as they entered the game.

Here are the words we discovered, and how they impact the experience and results for new golfers;

• Comfort; This is, we learned, the #1 issue for new golfers.  Make each new golfer feels comfortable around the clubhouse, bag drop, restaurant and the golf cart.  Know you are building a lifelong, appreciating asset
• Fun; This theme needs to be front and center from the very first experience!  Place fun at the top of the pyramid and keep it there throughout
• Inspire; You and your team are the golf experts, and that is exactly how you are being viewed by each new golfer.  We believe it is essential to become a passionate Golf Ambassador from day one
• Mystery; To most new golfers, the game is almost a total mystery.  Break down the game to its smallest parts and be patient with every question you receive
• Passion; Make certain the team brings their passion to work every day.

As new people visit or call to inquire about the game, look to create a ladder program and place instruction at the end.  It is important to build the other parts first, in order to create the proper foundation for each player.  Make the actual instruction the final 20%.

Never assume they know………..