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Message From The Publisher • Jeff Calderwood
The First Tee
Happy 2017! It is also Happy 25th Anniversary to the National Golf Course Owners Asso- ciation Canada, in addition to Canada’s 150th and the NHL’s 100th. So, it promises to be an exciting year!
Our 25th Anniversary does prompt some reflection on how the golf industry has evolved over those years. A lot has changed. Golf course owners and operators are certainly managing within a different marketplace that is now calling for “The Golf Facility of the Future.”
Rock On For The Next 25 Years
The feature story in this edition of Golf Business Canada, by Jon Last, frames those new realities and directs our focus towards truly understanding the various market segments that make up your best customers. And then delivering on the total experience that each is looking for.
His career in market research, which includes very deep studies on golf, allows Last to make recommendations that are backed up by data and documented trends, not solely intuition. His insights bust a few myths, clarify some truths, and express an underlying optimism that the future is bright, if well managed.
As we look forward, an under- standing of where we have come from is also helpful and the NGCOA Canada’s 25 years are a significant part of that story.
From an initial vision of the need for a national trade association to represent the business side of Canadian golf, emerged a critical leadership position in today’s market. The entire golf industry benefits, especially those who make the modest investment in their NGCOA Canada membership dues.
In the beginning there was no money, no staff, no members, no member benefits, and no brand credibility. There was just a vision, first proposed by golf course owner Mark Seabrook. Others shared in the vision, including myself, and the Association launched.
Fast-forward to today, and the NGCOA Canada delivers hundreds of valuable business services and events each year. The majority of golf courses have opted to become members, and the business voice of the golf course operator is now well represented with governments, media, golfers, suppliers, allied associations and related stakeholders.
I would suggest that the need for a strong Association is probably greater at this time than ever before. In a fast changing world, golf course operators need continuous access to the kind of content that this magazine provides, and our Golf Business Canada Conference & Trade Show, and our 30 regional business meetings per year, and our 120 e-newsletters, and our various market research.
In a competitive market, our numerous marketing programs help drive revenues while our Golfmax Purchasing Program saves each member an average of $4,000 per year, with many saving tens of thousands. With ever-increasing government
6 Golf Business Canada
Tom Cochrane and Jeff Calderwood before Tom’s performance at the 2016 Golf Business Canada Conference & Trade Show.