Page 22 - GBC Eng.summer2020

2. The New “Normal”
The collective wisdom of John- ston’s team is that golf facilities, and the people who own and oper- ate them, must evolve their opera- tional practices and capabilities.
a. Family First. Barb Ralph, one of GGA’s most experienced team members, opined that members will seek more family-oriented facilities, programs and services. The notion of “clanning”, first suggested by futurist Faith Popcorn in her 1996 book, Clicking - 17 Trends That Drive Your Business--And Your Life, documents Barb’s thinking on the importance that causes many to want to keep those dear to them in a safe haven.
b. Stakeholder Communications. Linda Dillenbeck, a director for GGA’s Club Communications Practice, looks beyond the pandemic to underscore the crit- ical importance of effective and trusted member communica- tions from the golf course to its stakeholders – regular golfers, members - their families and friends – employees, neighbours, suppliers and vendors. Linda suggests that in a time when
new standards are being established, the necessity of effective commu- nications from clubs to their members will be a difference-maker to your future economic durability.
Daily-fee golf courses are “clans” unto themselves. Golfers will gravitate to a small group of people who share similar interests and activities. Golf course owners and operators will benefit by creating small, friendly, and informal groups of golfers at their courses. Thus, golf course owners and operators must develop tools – such as ready access for email addresses and cell phone coordinates to maintain ongoing communications with their golfers. For daily-fee golfers, receiving directed messages from the golf course owner or operator near them increases the authority of your course’s brand and adds authenticity to your relationship with them.
c. Shaping the Future. Speaking from the perspective of the millennial generation, Alison Corner, Ben Hopkinson, Andrew Johnson, Mingye Li and Andrew Milne from GGA, agree that golf courses and private clubs will change significantly and – in some ways – toward opera- tional needs and priorities.
To summarize the ideas from these brilliant young minds, clubs will shift dramatically into (a) high gear focused on membership recruit- ment and retention; (b) new activities, like musical events and perfor- mance art; and (c) new membership types, categories, rights, and priv- ileges.
Martin Tzankov, a GGA manager, expects the new normal to bring a focus to financial durability to clubs. Martin notes the importance for golf course owners and operators to mind the strategic priority of balance sheet management and the financial health of their clubs.
NGCOA CANADA GUIDANCE AND RESOURCES
Golf course owners and operators benefit from guidance from the NGCOA Canada, which is easily accessible for operators in the COVID-19 Updates section at: www.ngcoa.ca.
Golf Business Canada
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Golf Business Canada
Note: All photos on pages 16, 18, 19 & 22 were provided by British Columbia golf courses in April 2020 where golf was currently operational at the time of publication.