Page 44 - GBC Spring 2020 ENG

The Parting Shot
Make 2020 your best year yet!
I hope everyone is healthy and energised for the 2020 golf season. I love attending the Golf Business Canada Conference & Trade Show in November and collecting ideas to improve my business. I glean enthusiasm from my fellow course owners and operators and begin to formulate my plan for the coming season. What are your plans for 2020? How are you going to make your business better?
I am the third generation of my family to operate my golf course. We have years of history behind us. Mistakes have been made, victories capitalized on. We could rest on our laurels and decide that we have figured out this business, but we would not have survived 57 years with that attitude. Refreshing, reinventing, and looking through a new lens are a constant process in a successful evolving business.
“The most dangerous phrase in the language is ‘we’ve always done it this way.’ ” - Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, US Navy.
When you are having success, it is very easy to become complacent. The season passes will sell, the tournaments will book, and you tick along with a steady predictable
pace. But things change, economies struggle, industries that employ your core customers are fighting to stay afloat, and golf becomes further and further down the list of household spending. The weather reeks havoc on the summer, with more rainy days than sun. This is when the innovators are separate from the stagnant. How can you reinvent your business to grow your bottom line? Are you willing to do what it takes?
For those of us who have hibernating courses over the winter, we are afforded some time to reflect on the previous season and strategize for the next one. What worked and what didn’t? Where is your greatest growth potential? This is the time to map out what the coming season should look like and protect us from doing things the ‘way we have always done them’. On that note, here are some of our plans for 2020.
A clubhouse makeover is on the list. Nothing expensive, but adding new pictures on the wall with a common theme. That theme will be reflected in our new streamlined menu. I am looking for affordable live entertainment options for our beautiful patio that is often underutilized. We will be exhibiting
in a non-golf consumer show to seek a pocket of customers that we may otherwise not be speaking to. We will have an interactive booth so attendees can meet us and visit with less emphasis on the selling of product. We have a plan to promote our New Golfer Workshop even more, possibly with its own webpage and social media. We are adding two more “drop in” leagues as they are gaining popularity. We are also updating our website and social media to keep with the fresh theme.
Having the courage to check your ego and see where you can do better is never easy, but it is necessary. Every time I write the number 2020, I am going to make an effort to think, this is the year of reinvention and clear vision.
All the best to you and in the 2020 season.
Sincerely,
Lesley McMahon
Owner, Balmoral Golf Course, AB President, NGCOA Canada lesley@balmoralgolf.ca
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Golf Business Canada
Message From The NGCOA Canada President – Lesley McMahon