Page 8 - GBC Magazine Winter ENG 2023

Message From The CEO, NGCOA Canada • Jeff Calderwood
The First Tee
Success... weather or not the climate changes!
It has always been common to have conversations about the golf industry that started with the weather. Golf is intrinsically dependent upon it, much more so than most other businesses. But this year was truly ‘next level’ in terms of severity, variety, and frequency.
Our cover story in this issue of Golf Business Canada addresses those 2023 realities head on. As you will read, the unusual weather was literally coast-to- coast, with different versions of extreme weather events impacting different golf courses.
Mark Twain famously said that, “Climate is what we expect, and weather is what we get”. This cover story does prompt further consideration of new climate norms that Canadian golf course operators may need to expect from now on, and strategies to manage through those severe weather challenges when we do get them.
On the positive side, NGCOA Canada’s Rounds Played Reports, Revenue Tracker, and Weather Impact Index confirm that Canadian golf courses generally overcame the various weather headwinds in 2023.
Nationally, rounds are tracking to finish somewhere around 3% up over 2022, which itself was a great golf season for most. Revenues are destined to do even better, up about 9% year- over-year. Both of those metrics are outperforming the weather index and that is a great sign for our post-Covid trending.
The skeptics had certainly predicted a faster and deeper decline from golf’s Covid-driven peak. Notably, hundreds of Canadian golf course operators that we surveyed prior to the start of the season clearly indicated that they were generally not among those skeptics. Their forecasts were actually very similar to the results we are now talking about, despite the unexpected weather that would follow.
As you would expect, there are some regional disparities within these overall national results. Western Canada significantly outperformed Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. Alberta led the charge with the largest increases in both rounds and revenues, while the eastern provinces were all flat or down in rounds.
To be fair, regional weather anomalies sometimes boosted certain results. Hotter and dryer conditions out west certainly presented challenges for superintendents, however aligned very nicely with golfer preferences, prompting more play. Similarly, eastern Canada’s somewhat weak golf weather clearly hurt rounds played, but on days when the weather behaved, most courses still reported tee sheets near capacity.
Other great Golf Business Canada content in this edition includes a valuable focus on video alarm security systems, a guide to Canadian cybersecurity controls, and a wonderful profile of Canada’s oldest golf course.
Enjoy the read, and I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Golf Business Canada Conference & Trade Show in Montreal, November 28-30...Don’t miss it!
Jeff Calderwood, CEO NGCOA Canada jcalderwood@ngcoa.ca
8 Golf Business Canada