ISSUE 2 – VOLUME 1
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WOMEN IN GOLF
In discussion with Anna Darnell from The Grove in the UK
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At John Collier Survey, we are proud of our association with the Business of Golf (BG), and also with its key objective, which is to provide a platform for the golf industry to talk about and share ideas and commentary about key issues and challenges. Since the magazine’s inception in June 2021, these matters have ranged from sweating assets more effectively, to broadening club’s revenues’ bases, and the critical role golf tourism can play to the country’s economy, and of course the essential need for good governance and our collective responsibility, as a sporting community, to safeguard our environment. A combination of excellent journalism and presentation, wide ranging topics and excellent contributions from around the World, have turned BG into a must read for anyone involved in the business of golf. Alistair Collier - owner of John Collier Golf
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contents
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REGULARS
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EDS LETTER Crisis what crisis?
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REGULAR
CONTRIBUTORS
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Cynthia Johnson – professor at Florida State University in USA.
CLUB LIFE Part 2 of our discussion with Craig Cotterill from the Club Management Association of Europe
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The pros and cons of chatbots and whether they could make it to the lesson tee!
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24 ALSO FROM THE FRINGES
Dennis Bruyns - The game of golf in South Africa loses another great servant
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This month’s newsletter offers an introduction to this year’s annual golf survey.
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DISCUSSIONS
In Service 101, we look at the potential value of a lifetime customer to a golf retail business.
CAREERS We conclude this discussion series with a look at the Peter Principle and the power of personality.
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contents
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WOMEN IN GOLF We conclude our
discussion with Anna Darnell from The Grove in the UK.
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AROUND THE WORLD Our monthly look at a mix of news items from around the World.
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FROM THE FAIRWAYS In discussion with Alistair Collier about the increasing impacts of climate change.
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THE TEAM John Cockayne Managing Editor
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MEDIA & MARKETING Putting a value to marketing and promotion opportunities at a golf club.
John Elmer Technical Editor
TOURISM & TRAVEL
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DURBAN TOURISM Durban - ʻThe warmest place to beʼ, especially for golfers and their families.
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TOURISM & TRAVEL A new look at Arabella in the Western Cape through the eyes of augmented reality.
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TAILPIECES On the road with Cale Jansen from Fairways to Africa – Abu Dhabi, Humewood and Zebula.
Craig Engelbrecht Roaming Reporter
Jason Rowe Retail Guru
LESSONS & EQUIPMENT
46 VLT
On the tee with Tijana Krajelvic, as we recap the key-points of the swing plane.
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VLT TECH TALK
We talk to John Elmer about his career as a golf club designer.
PROMOTIONS
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COMPS & PROMOS A very special package for Arabella
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Cale Jansen Golf Travel ʻGuruʼ
BRAND PARTNERS Destination Golf Travel | CMASA Durban Tourism | Golfers Club
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LETTER FROM THE
EDITOR ISSUE 2 / VOLUME 1
to be on, as opposed to when they will be off.
JOHN COCKAYNE
I
MANAGING EDITOR
In terms of things that are scheduled, the much anticipated, by some, SONA turned out to be another political ‘drone-on’, with no apparent substance, at least as far as the power issues are concerned. President Ramaposa is highly articulate, but until he can get his misfiring cabinet to deliver,
then he will know, especially as he is a golfer, that the backswing must also have a follow through!! All in all, it would appear that the lights still haven’t gone on for the ruling party, to the fact that this is a crisis of monumental proportions, and threatens the very existence of the country’s commercial and economic fabric.
t has reached a sad state of affairs, when the schedule for loadshredding shows more hours without power during the day than hours with it!
And yet, at the time of writing this article (12 days after SONA), the office of the president has still not announced who the minister for electricity or power generation in the presidency will be!
Given that the schedule, right, shows that we were without power for more than 50% of the day (12.5 hours out of 24 hours), on 21st February in Hartbeespoort, perhaps ESKOM should revise the structure of its schedule?
The fable, in which Nero is said to have fiddled (history tells us that he would actually have been playing a lyre) while Rome was burning, shows him to be almost conscientious in his concern. If Nero fiddled, then the current government seems to have hired a whole orchestra to accompany its inaction, and occupation of ringside seats,
The changed approach would show when the lights are going
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while the whole country goes up in flames!
In golf, the world of the professional tours has been having its own crises, and a good shake-up, with the litigation, between various players and both the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, over the rights of players to determine where they can, or can’t play and when. For those of you who are interested and still in doubt, the following appears to be the core of the argument, which has been bubbling under quietly under for some years. In truth and in the past, most players were happy to play where they could, although there were the occasional ‘spats’ about the need to play a minimum number, and type of
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GEOFF RUSSELL OF GOLF BUSINESS NEWS
It all reminds me of the cover of Supertramp’s music album from the 1970’s – Crisis? What Crisis?!
events, on the various tours, in order for players to retain their playing privileges and or tour membership. However, notwithstanding these grumbles, all in all everyone rubbed along pretty well, and then along came LIV to really upset the apple cart.
for the tours’ management and how in the future, they will be able guarantee to sponsors, what players will be at which tournaments! For LIV, this will be an important year.
The Liv Series’ arrival brought into sharp focus, the whole matter of who was in control of the players’ rights (freedom) to play and when and where – the players or the tours.
The novelty of the series has largely been exploited, so from now on it will be case of whether the series can evolve, and most importantly, whether it can capture and then hold the interest of golf’s spectating public.
The legal outcome will be very interesting for the long-term outlook for the tours, and how they are structured – especially
Thanks for your continued support, and enjoy the new read!
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CONTRIBUTORS
REGULAR 8
Business of Golf (BG) origins lie with a commentary and discussions series about the business of golf, which BG’s managing editor and founder, started writing almost twenty years ago. BG has remained true to the original ethos with the column, which was to provide a platform open to everyone, and which would enable and encourage meaningful discussions, around key issues concerning the golf business. Numerous people have contributed their thoughts and inputs to the series over the years, while some, who have contributed to the discussions series, have continued to provide their valuable thoughts and inputs to the magazine. Twenty years may have gone by – but the journey is only just beginning! Golf faces unprecedented challenges to remain relevant, as we move further into the 21st Century, especially as regards the needs to be innovative and evolve to face changing societal norms and expectations. Is there an end-game? Yes – and it will be to see a selection of the articles and columns published as an e-book series – The Business of Golf Discussion Series – which we hope will provide an invaluable repository and reference for ideas and thoughts, to those already in the industry, and or just coming into it, who need access to this type of information. The profits from the sale of the e-book will be channeled back into golf development – thereby completing the circle, as John Cockayne envisaged when he sat down to write the first Business of Golf Column almost two decades ago. These pages are therefore designed to record and also thank, all those who have taken their valuable time to contribute, both in BG and to the Business of Golf Discussion series.
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CYNTHIA JOHNSON Cynthia Johnson, M.S., CHE serves as the Department Chair and faculty member at the Dedman College of Hospitality at Florida State University. Presiding over the Global Club Management & Leadership major and the Recreation & Tourism Management major, Cynthia oversees curriculum development and instructional leadership for those programmes. She also serves as the lead instructor within the Global Club Management & Leadership major, teaching 4 of the 5 courses offered. Cynthia has traveled globally, meeting with general managers, and visiting the top ranked private clubs and golf resorts of the world, in order to connect students with the best possible learning experiences and job placements. As a result of these activities, she has developed internships for her students in Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Australia, United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand. She has a passion for the private club industry, continually attending conferences and other educational events to remain current with the industry’s best practices. As a result, she has attended over 10 Club Management Association of America (CMAA) World Conferences and over 13 PGA Merchandise Shows, along with numerous smaller conferences. Cynthia has marketed FSU’s student chapter of the CMAA, as faculty advisor for the past 10 years, and increased student membership by 200%, which culminated in FSU’s chapter being awarded the coveted “chapter of the year” award at the 2018, 2019, and 2021 CMAA World Conferences.
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Serving as Chair of the Club Management Special Interest Group for the Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education for the past 5 years, Cynthia connects the faculty globally with those who have an interest, or specialty, in club management for the purpose of sharing relevant research and instructional best practices. In 2016, Cynthia published an e-textbook to accompany her introductory club management course, entitled “Introduction to Global Club Management”. Aside from her role at Florida State University, Cynthia has also consulted to the PGA Tour, helping them launch the Players Club, the VIP venue for The Players Championship, and in hiring and training an elite staff of customer experience specialists.
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CLU GOLF CLUBS
EVOLUTION OR MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO.
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LIFE
UB
DISCUSSION WITH CRAIG COTTERILL OF THE CLUB MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF EUROPE - CMAE.
Pearl Valley Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course at Val De Vie – one of South Africa’s most successful residential estates.
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CLUB life
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e continue our discussion with Craig Cotterill (CC), who is the commercial director of the Club Management Association of Europe (CMAE), from the February issue of BG.
JC: Do you see any resistance to change, as being primarily a structural issue, perhaps one of personality, or a combination of all of these factors?
CC: I think that it is a mix of factors really. The first challenge is one of continuity, wherein the changing nature of a club’s committee or board’s make-up, can lead to conflicts with the new committee or board, not liking the look of something, or the direction taken by the previous incumbents, and so they set about changing it. Personality, humanity being what it is, can also have an overbearing effect. This leads to the type of scenario where we might see a strong individual, or a dominant clique, introduce changes and measures in which the decision-making process might not have been as objective, or free from self-interest, as one would like. I also liked your comment, during our telecon, when you mentioned the ‘fear factor’, and being seen as the board or committee, that was the one responsible for a particular initiative that might have ‘failed’. All of these factors, present management with some serious hurdles, but in terms of the
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CRAIG COTTERILL previous point, you will often see the committee happily OK the purchase of a new piece of turf equipment, because it will do a particular job, and is a potentially low risk decision. However, the same committee, will often push back, in order to delay decisions that involve longer term strategic planning, and what they perceive could involve more ‘risk’.
JC: This point has come up before with Eddie Bullock, as we all spend a lot of time talking about management education, but very little about educating boards and committees in what they should be doing. Helping with the budgeting process, and being involved with the overarching strategic planning activities, are obvious, but many committees still see their role in far too direct terms, and too many, within this number, still feel the need to get involved in micromanaging their management teams. In my role as a consultant, I have come
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across several instances in golf estates, where the significant majority of residents do not play golf, at which a golfing clique, often with a committee member involved, has, shall we say, ‘hijacked’ the country club. The situation is often made worse, by in trying to make sure that they have untrammelled access to the golf course, the rounds’ numbers remain stagnant, or even drop, making the course increasingly reliant on its being subsidised by the broader estate budget, in order to keep going. As you can imagine, this naturally causes tensions between the golfer and nongolfers, and the development of a very counter-productive – ‘us and them’ scenario. What should we be doing to break this cycle?
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Perhaps it could be achieved with an induction process, run by a third party i.e., CMAE, where over a day, an incoming committee and board members are not only introduced to the key-points of their own role, but also some of the challenges that management has to deal with?
CC: In terms of your example, and as you and various contributors have commented in earlier articles, this is a governance problem and in an ideal scenario, it really should not happen at all. As you observed during our telecon, golf estates are populated largely by non-golfing residents, so if less than 70% of the estate’s residents are golfers, the country club has to function as such, and not be a slave to the needs of the minority – which are golfers in this case. I think that we need to see challenges as a
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Pearl Valley Golf Villas
community problem, which can be solved by pooling our knowledge and experiences and through a community effort.
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GOLF ESTATES ARE POPULATED LARGELY BY NONGOLFING RESIDENTS, SO IF LESS THAN 70% OF THE ESTATE’S RESIDENTS ARE GOLFERS, THE COUNTRY CLUB HAS TO FUNCTION AS SUCH, AND NOT BE A SLAVE TO THE NEEDS OF THE MINORITY
This sense of common ground, was beautifully reinforced when, while attending the last CMAE AGM in Tenerife, I sat with two CEOs from World famous golf courses sharing experiences about dealing with challenging members and committees. Also involved in the exchange were two UK based GMs at much smaller, and less high-profile facilities, who were experiencing exactly the same issues! In this sense, I ‘get’ Eddie Bullock’s chairpersons’
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initiative, as I do the platform you have created to share intel, experiences, successes and failures with others in the golf industry.
There are many smaller local initiatives, which see management staff interacting with each other to share and discuss. I particularly like the role you have with ARC (Association of Residential Communities)
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Pearl Valley Country Club
in South Africa, where you act as an ‘agony aunt’ (I think this was the term someone used for you!), and through which you offer a telephone service, which is FOC, and where people can use you as an objective sounding board, ask for info, etc. As for breaking the cycle, there definitely needs to be some sort of engagement with new board members, and it is undoubtedly something that
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has come up as a regular topic in discussions throughout the CMAE footprint, simply because it is an acknowledged issue across the industry. We certainly need to do something, and the formal induction process has merit as a first step, especially if GMs can be encouraged to bring members of their committees, to the regular and ongoing sessions that are available for this type of educative interaction.
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DUR welcomes you Sun, sea, sand, 18
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... and Golf! For a golf vacation Durban is the ONLY place to be! Durban Country Club
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from the fringes
AGGRESSIVE
chatbots A
recent news report highlighted a concern with a Microsoft (MS) chatbot, which had become aggressive in its dealings with customers. For those of you who don’t know – a chatbot is essentially a type of software / artificial intelligence, which has been pre-programmed with answers to FAQs, in order to enable it to respond to customer enquiries. In this case the chatbot (let’s call it HAL after the computer in Stanley Kubrick’s movie - 2001 A Space Odyssey), became unpredictable and aggressive in its responses, if the customer was on line too long, or asked too many questions.
One user even reported receiving a death threat from Hal, all of which prompted MS to limit the number of questions that a customer could ask in any one session to 5, and to limit the total number of questions to 50 in any one day. The bottom line here is that some sort of control was needed, otherwise HAL would turn on you – which all sounds a bit like keeping a rabid dog at home!
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I can just imagine if my local Mugg & Bean employed this technology to take orders, and I wonder what a HAL might make of my Quick Chat breakfast order, which is usually as follows: • 2 x eggs: easy over, with a firm white and a soft yellow – no rubbery eggs which I can bounce on the floor. • Bacon: soft cooked • Tomato: thinly sliced and very well grilled
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• Toast: brown and well done (no warm bread please) and served separately • Butter: not margarine • Preserves: marmalade only, no apricot or strawberry jam • Coffee: filter coffee with hot and cold milk and plenty of it – as I like a little coffee with my milk, it might be best to just bring the cow over.
knows the requirements off by heart! My mind then wandered to using HAL as a teaching aid for golf, and I could just imagine the invective and plain speak, that ‘he’ would heap on the poor struggling higher handicaps, looking for assistance with their swings on the driving range! That said, and in terms of plain speaking, South Africa had its own real life golf coaching version of HAL, in the form of the late Jimmy Bullock, who was the club professional at Bryanston Country Club for many years, as the following story, told to me by one of his assistants, will prove. Jimmy was all for plain speaking and, like most people from the North of England, had little time for any guff. On this occasion, and mindful of Jimmy’s abilities as a player and a coach, as well as his propensity for telling it like it is, a nervous 18 handicapper was waiting to have a lesson with him. Jimmy arrived and asked the pupil to loosen up by hitting a few shots. After watching for a few minutes, Jimmy stopped the pupil to ask what his handicap was.
In response to this order, HAL would probably tell me p”*s off, and get my breakfast at the Wimpey. This is why I always look for Jaco (one of Harties Mugg & Bean managers) to take the order, as he
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To the response ‘I am an 18’ – Jimmy replied ‘18 you say – heck you must be a bloody great putter’. HAL couldn’t have put it better himself!
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also from the fringes
FAREWELL TO DENNIS BRUYNS
BG’s managing editor provides a personal obituary, through some memories of his interactions with Dennis Bruyns, who sadly passed away during the first weekend of March, after a period of illness. I first met Dennis at the PGA Championships at the Wanderers Golf Club in the late 1970s, when the Lexington (‘the best a man can get!) PGA Championship was possibly considered to be, at least by the pros, THE flagship event on what was then called the Sunshine Circuit. No too long after this, Dennis took over the running of the PGA (the tours and the club pros were all one association in those far off days), out of the small cottage that used to sit behind the original practice putting green at Wanderers GC. With his customary dry wit and patience, Dennis steered this joint association of tour players and club pros, through the turbulent years running up the end of the Apartheid era, and then on to the moment when the association formerly split, and the PGA, as a body, became separated, from what would become the Sunshine Tour.
to perhaps its best use, which was as an educator at The Golf Campus at Zwartkops, which is the golf course owned by his long-time friend – Dale Hayes. Dennis was above else, at least in all of my dealings with him, the personification of patience. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, I joined Dennis’ Sunshine Circuit team of officials (not many of this team left now after the passing of George Hemphill, Helen Bland, Ann Du Toit and now Dennis), and worked on many pre-qualifying events and tournaments as a PGA Tour official. Dennis’ knowledge of the letter of the law, in terms of the golf rules, was encyclopedic, and this was matched by his understanding of why the rule was being applied. On numerous occasions, I saw Dennis offer a ruling at a tournament, whether to the player’s advantage or not, that was transparent and easy to ‘get’ in its simplicity, even for those players that might not have heard what they would have liked! He will be greatly missed!
Dennis was a mine of information (most of it very useful!), and he eventually turned this skillset and resource
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RIP - Dennis Bruyns 1951 to 2023.
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Golf and Life are a Balance of Commitment and Letting Go
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JOHNCOLLIER Governance and Environmental Compliance
JOHN COLLIER NEWSLETTER NO.114
JOHN COLLIER GOLF
The sixteenth John Collier Annual Survey on Environmental Compliance and Good Governance for South African Golf Courses
TGovernance and Environmental Compliance his Annual Survey provides an essential tool for chairpersons, management committees and club management of golf courses, as well as industry representative bodies, as it constitutes a benchmark for all golf clubs and associations, from which to measure themselves against latest trends, and reference recent international research into the topic of sport environmental sustainability, which is becoming an important dimension of the global sport academy.
for South African Golf Courses
CALLING ALL CLUBS!
The 15th John Collier Survey is now available. Remember to participate in the 2022 / 2023 survey.
In summary, the Annual Survey takes a closer look at the findings regarding environmental compliance, in the light of international research into sport environmental sustainability.
CLICK to view the full report
In Part 2 the survey sets the scene, as to the methodology of the survey, by explaining the survey population and related issues.
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John Collier Newsletter
Thereafter, Part 3 unpacks the detail regarding the survey’s findings, with the net result being that for the third consecutive year, we have noted a decline in compliance levels by golf clubs in South Africa. In Part 4 we illustrate the continued flood of legislation impacting upon the legal universe for golf, while Part 5 discusses sport environmental sustainability research, as it impacts upon our findings regarding good governance and environmental compliance.
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THOSE ISSUES THAT ARE NOT MEASURED CANNOT BE MANAGED.
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The core point being, how those in sport, and in particular golf, at all levels, envision the future of sport environmental sustainability. The Annual Survey concludes with a recommendation addressed to the leadership bodies of golf in South Af rica. This recommendation is for these bodies to play their role, through golf as a social influencer, by coordinating the preparation of appropriate education tools and narratives. These initiatives will be to build awareness, and to emphasise the benefits of environmental sustainability, and it is further recommended that these organisations include a separate section in their Annual Reports, which will be dedicated to dealing with environmental sustainability.
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Tourism
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& Travel
AR TOUR OF ARABELLA GOLF, HOTEL & SPA
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tourism & travel
F
or those of you who curse IT daily (I am one!), and just hate the ‘jargon’, especially around the error messages, none of which seem to bear any relation to the issue your PC, or mobile phone, might be manifesting on that day – on balance, we have to admit, (even the most cynical among us some might count me into that number too!), that overall, there are many more good things than bad. One of these is augmented reality (AR), which allows you to ‘look around’ something from the comfort of your armchair! The tech is not new, it has been around the real estate sector for years in various forms, but it has been getting better and better, much less clunky and far more user friendly.
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All of the above prompted Southern Sun to invest in the opportunity, in this case around its hotel and surrounds at Arabella Hotel, Golf & Spa.
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This prompted BG to ask Candy Tothill – Southern Sun’s GM of Corporate Affairs & Head of Marketing, Brands, PR & Comms - if the AR product would be used for other hotels in the Southern Sun group. “With its stunning imagery and convenient functionality, the VR Tour lends itself to idyllic destinations like Arabella, Hotel, Golf & Spa, as it gives guests a real feel for the experience, before they make their bookings, enables them to virtually walk through the entire property and explore at
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leisure. For this reason, we do intend to offer it for selected hotels in the future.” We also asked Michael Phillipson – Arabella Hotel, Golf & Spa’s GM – if this type of functionality made the hotel product more marketable? “Absolutely. The beauty of the VR Tour is that guests can now experience everything we have to offer before planning their holiday, business trip or golfing event. Knowing exactly what to expect from our destination, makes it easy for them to book with confidence.” Anyway –in the end, seeing is believing, so click on the link below and enjoy!
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Escape to Arabella Hotel, Golf & Spa this Easter Weekend Escape the city for the ultimate golfing getaway at Arabella Hotel, Golf and Spa this Easter weekend. Book your Easter weekend golfing getaway, and tee-off on one of South Africa's best golf courses, in a one-of-a-kind luxury Hermanus destination situated in one of the world's richest floral reserves. Consistently ranked as a top 10 course in the country by Golf Digest, with a fabled 18th hole, and a bucket-list 8th hole, this 72-par 18-hole course impeccably designed by Peter Matkovich offers one of the most beautiful golfing backdrops in the Western Cape, catering to all levels of skill. For only R3 000 per room per night including breakfast for 2 people sharing, and a round of golf for 2 people, this exceptional offer, valid from 7 to 9 April only, has been specially created to make your getaway unforgettable. Upgrade to a suite and bring the family along for a memorable Easter, with 2 kids staying and eating breakfast for free when sharing with adults. Fun-filled afternoons to delight and entertain the whole family throughout the Easter weekend await, with games and activities, from arts & crafts to movie nights, and Easter egg hunts to traditional braais under the stars.
PIECES
GARY PLAYER DESIGNED COURSES TOUR & CONTINUING OUR ‘ON THE ROAD’ REPORTS WITH CALE JANSEN
I
t was a very busy start to the year for, Cale Jansen, Fairway to Africa’s CEO, and BG’s travel guru.
Cale has just come back from a two-week trip in Abu Dhabi and Dubai working for the DP world tour at the two Rolex series events, the HSBC at Yas Links and the Emirates Dessert Classic. Fairways to Africa’s team has also been busy with its popular local tours, and promoting the Gary Player Designed Golf Courses Tour to its client data base. The team has also recently been extended by the addition of Jason Knibbs, who
CALE JANSEN
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Yas Links, Abu Dhabi
will be doing a six-month internship to aid in his Bachelor of Management in Sports & Recreation degree. Cale Jansen BG’s travel guru, caught up again with BG and provided a summary of his recent travels. My travels in the last six weeks, have included visits to the Gulf where I was at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Links, and then the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai. Abu Dhabi is following closely in Dubai’s footsteps, with construction projects everywhere, and it is amazing how many expats have chosen to make it their home.
Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
There is a very strong focus on tourism, and Yas Island would be a perfect example of this, complete with its theme parks, Warner Brothers hotel, Abu Dhabi Formula 1 racetrack (grand finale), the golf at Yas Links (rated in the World’s top 50), and great mix of hotels and a waterfront.
Emirates Golf Club, Dubai
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Tailpieces
Fancourt, George
It is also only a one-hour drive from Dubai, which makes it an easy destination to get to, and the newly upgraded international airport is a pleasure to transit through. Of course, Dubai has much more established infrastructure, a large ex-pat community, and was responsible for putting Gulf tourism on the map. It is already firmly on the map, and continues to become an increasingly popular destination for vacations. As the golf courses are world-class, I can see it being one of the world’s favourite golfing
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Royal Cape, Cape town
destinations in years to come, and Emirates network of direct flight worldwide will be a great help in achieving this goal.
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Humewood, Gqeberha
We love sending clients there, because we know that they will never be disappointed in the experience at a highly professional and forward thinking establishment, which is open to ideas and suggestions from tour operators. As a tour operator, I feel that all the other golfing estates and golf courses should look for inspiration from the best in the business, and Fancourt is right at the summit It was good to be home again and my first stop was in Cape Town (Royal Cape) for the Cape Town Open. Royal is a great old course with a rich history and it is a shame that we don’t have a DP World event in the Mother City.
Zebula, Limpopo
It was then on to George for the Di Data event at Fancourt. What can I say – this is a golfer’s paradise. It is our best-run golf estate and hotel in the country, and at Fairways to Africa we do a lot of business with Fancourt.
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The visit to Zebula was a pleasure, and the course looks better than ever. Just like Fancourt, the resort caters for the whole family, which fits perfectly with BG’s golf tourism mantra – ‘don’t’ just take the clubs bring the family too!’. My final stop on this trip was in Gqeberha and I was impressed at how clean it was (it really was very clean, as were the beaches), while the seafront area in front of The Boardwalk Hotel reminded me of a European coastal town’s promenade. All-in-all it was a very pleasant stay and Humewood Golf Club is very impressive, which explains why it is now in the top 10 on South Africa’s top courses’ listing.
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THE
discussion OF GOLF
SERVICE 101 PART 5 PROFILING THE LONG-TERM VALUE OF THE AVERAGE GOLF RETAIL CUSTOMER
PART 1/2
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Business of Golf Discussion
n these various discussions to date, we have looked at the ‘101’ elements of service, and some examples of serious ‘misses’, where the basics seem to have been forgotten, by the retailers involved.
In part 3’s comments Jason Rowe, the CEO of The Golfers Club made the following point: “Handling of returns or claims, shouldn’t be seen just as a nightmare scenario by retailers, as it often is, but rather an opportunity to garner the lifetime patronage of the customer involved, by making them feel that we care about their issue or problem.” This comment begs the question, if a business should want to retain a customer’s loyalty, then apart from ‘doing the right thing’, as applies to customer service in general, what is the real potential value of a lifetime customer in terms of golf retail? In preparing these findings, I made no cross comparisons, and looked only at golf, because varying sectors i.e., food and automotive purchases, have different price points and frequency of purchase, which makes finding common ground in terms of actual value with cross sector comparisons, in terms of retail, extremely difficult. I have also steered away from using any brands as a benchmark, because although I played with RAM golf clubs for many years, my last 2 sets have been Mizuno, and I have also used John Letters and MacGregor clubs in the past, so the narrative deals with equipment types in the generic sense i.e.,
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PAUL MARKS clubs, shoes, putters and shirts, as opposed to Mizuno, Footjoy, Scotty Cameron and Nike. We would need some basic categories, in order to establish the worth of a repeat customer, and to keep the calculations simple, we must also assume that our model customer buys similar items on a repeat basis. I then assumed that the customer interaction with the retailer progressed, across a time-span of 20 years, from being a beginner, on to becoming a regular player, to eventually being an avid golfer.
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This progression over the period being used – 20 years - therefore allows for a number of variables to be introduced, such as the prices of replacement golf clubs increasing, both because of inflation, but also because as the golfer’s career progresses, it is assumed that his or her taste, for top-of-the line equipment, develops in step with their increased interest in the game.
and he currently manages two shops – the one at Blair Atholl, and the pro shop at Highland Gate.
One accepted formula that is used is: Customer lifetime value formula (LTV) will be:
1. Average price of a starter set R8 500.00 - R10 000.00; the full range was from R 4 999.00 to R 18 999.00
LTV = ARPU (AVERAGE MONTHLY RECURRING REVENUE PER USER) × CUSTOMER LIFETIME.
2. Average price of a mid-range set R15 000.00 - R17 000.00; the full range was from R 15 000.00 to R 30 000.00
I have tweaked this equation to accommodate our goals to read as follows:
3. Average price of a top of the range set R25 000.00 - R35 000.00; the full range was from R 25 000.00 to R 100 000.00, with the latter being the all the bells and whistles, and top of the range with everything option, all of which is based on the premise that a player is in fact not buying a matched set, but rather buying irons, a wedge system, driver and putter, and then completing the ‘set’, with individual hybrid clubs suited to a particular swing type, playing conditions, golf course, etc.
LTV = AARPU (AVERAGE ANNUAL RECURRING REVENUE PER USER) × CUSTOMER LIFETIME. To assist in in-putting the right values, I then solicited the help of two individuals (not unknown to previous discussions, or BG’s readers!), in Jason Rowe (CEO of The Golfers Club), and Paul Marks, who is the Director of Golf at the iconic Blair Atholl Golf & Equestrian Estate in Gauteng. Involving Paul and Jason, enabled the inputs to cover two distinct sectors of golf retail – the high street and on-course. Jason oversees a countrywide network of high street, or off-course, golf retail outlets, while Paul has extensive on-course retail experience over many years at various clubs,
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The 10 questions, with some sub-categories in several of these questions, I posed to Jason and Paul, were to help establish the profile of our model shopper, and they were as follows:
I then asked Paul and Jason some questions to further profile our model golfer, the answers to which are included below: 4. Apart from years 1 and 2, in the golfer’s career progression from being a beginner, how many times, on average, will a customer change golf clubs in the periods covered by points 2 and point 3 - 3 years for off
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Business of Golf Discussion
the shelf, and 5 years for a custom fitted set of clubs. Jason also felt that while these were good enough benchmarks, a golfer might ‘stick’ with an off the shelf set, which had been properly balanced, although the golfer would still be looking to change / freshen components from within the ‘set’, so that for many players the ‘set’ in their golf bag was continually evolving. For this section, and from an on-course retail perspective, Paul added that he felt that due to the greatly increased availability of custom fitting, and its increasing popularity, that the change of clubs’ cycle, has moved to between 5 and 6 years for each purchase of a new set, from every 3 years, which was the average with off the shelf purchases. 5. How often during the periods in points 2 and 3, will a golfer be likely to buy a new:
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a) P utter – twice for the mid-range player, and then every 18 to 24 months for the avid golfer
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JASON ROWE
b) U tility wedge – twice for the mid-range player and 2 to 3 times for the avid golfer, which change would be largely brought about by wear and tear
c) D river – 2 / 3 times for the midrange player, and every 12 to 24 months for the avid golfer
d) H ybrid – once for the mid-range player, and 3 to 4 times for the avid player
6. How often will a golfer buy new shoes – every 12 to 18 months 7. How often will a golfer buy a new full golf bag – once every 4 to 5 years 8. How many softs is a golfer likely to buy over a year in these categories:
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here, to reach an average of R 1 000.00
a) G loves - 4 / 6 per year estimating they play twice a month at a mid-range price of R 200.00 for a leather glove. b) S hirts - 3 / 5 per year, and ignoring paying ‘Diamond Walk’ prices i.e., R 5 000 for a Louis Vuitton golf cap, or, at the other end of the scale, R 100.00 for an entry level ‘no-name’ shirt, a fair average would be at around R 900.00, which would combine good quality, design and finishes, with a recognizable brand name. c) P ants or shorts - 3 times per year, and the same principles, as used in point 8 a), have been applied
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d) Shoes - 1 per year at an average of R 2 500.00 per pair
e) G olf balls - 1 dozen per month at an average price of R 600.00 per dozen, and used golf balls have not been factored into the profile.
9. The current price of a dozen ‘entry level’, mid-range and top of the line golf balls. R400 - top R900 10. The current price of a golf bag in the following categories:
a) Carry bag: R1800- R4999
b) Cart bag: R1800- R5999
c) Full bag: R6999-R13999
To be continued in issue 3, where we shall zoom-in on our model golfer’s shopping trolley, as it goes through the till point each year!
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BMI - CLUB
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T L V E E T N ESSO
L L A U VIRT
O T W HO E S I T C PR A E R O LESS M N E T F O E CKAYN C N H O J BY
O
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CHAPTER 16 “DOS AND DON’TS” WITH TIJANA KRAJELVIC AT METROPOLITAN GOLF CLUB IN CAPE TOWN
PART 4
SWING PLANE Photography by Greg Shaw
See the full discussion with Garth Milne by clicking on this link. https://www.thebusinessofgolf.co.za/BGMIssue5/#page/41
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VLT virtual lesson tee
Poor posture at address makes it much more difficult to stay in plane
Relaxed address posture makes it easier to turn smoothly and in plane
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Rotation is starting to move the hands along the rim of the bicycle wheel
Hands still following the wheel rim
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VLT virtual lesson tee Shoulders and back rotating keeping the hands in plane
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Left shoulder just about to ‘touch’ under Tijana’s chin
TIJANA’S KEY THOUGHT We need to avoid swinging the club on a plane, which is too upright, or too flat, and the best way I have found to keep me ‘in plane’ is to feel as if my left shoulder will just touch under my chin at the top of my backswing.
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TECH TALK
HOW TO PRACTISE LESS MORE OFTEN BY JOHN COCKAYNE
AN INTRODUCTION TO
JOHN ELMER
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M
aking any sort of an introduction to John Elmer, BG’s technical editor, at this point might sound a bit like having your follow through, before you have made a backswing, given that he has been contributing to the publication for over one year! However, the decision was prompted by a reader who asked ‘who is John Elmer?’, and I realised that although in terms of the golf community, at a professional level, John is very well known, this might not be the case with the broader golfing community. So, we decided to take a break from our technical discussions to now find out ‘who’ John Elmer really is, all of which is, as the old saying goes – better late than never!
JC: I didn’t take up the game until relatively late age of 13 (soccer and cricket having been the dominant sporting influences in my young life up to that age), so did golf form any part in your early life, or were you also a later starter?
JE: No, golf was part of my life at a much earlier age, and almost by default as my dad was a pro golfer.
JC: OK, so it was a case on the sins of the fathers being visited on their son!!
JE: Yes, quite possibly, but I recall that when I was 7 years old my dad took the club professional’s position at Pyecombe Golf Club, which was located in the middle of the Sussex Downs 6 miles north of Brighton.
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JOHN ELMER This is an area you know well, as I remember you telling me that you also went to school at Hurstpierpoint College, which is near Burgess Hill.
JC: Yes, that’s right I did, and scenically this is a spectacular part of the English countryside, as these images of Pyecombe Golf Club show. So, club pros in those days were still very much the ‘traditional model’, and as a result able to do just about everything. This multi-tasking would involve an almost continuous juggling act, which involved running the course, competitions, coaching, the shop and club fitting, although most would be specialists in one particular area – which area did your father focus on?
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VLT Tech talk
JE: My dad was a qualified PGA professional and Master clubmaker, so from around the age of 13, after school and weekends, I worked with him in the course pro shop and began to learn about clubmaking, and the ins and outs and finer points of the club fitting profession.
JC: Did you play much, and did you have any ambitions to become a pro tournament player, or did you intend to follow in your father’s footsteps as a club professional?
JE: Living on a golf course with a golf professional as my dad, I got to play quite a bit, as you can imagine, and I was a plus handicap at the age of 16 and represented Southern England at a junior level. Sadly, a bad accident in a gym, in which I broke my left wrist in several places, finished what I’d hoped would be a future tour playing career. As a result, I decided to further my interest in the
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profession of club making and design, and spent some time in Scotland at the Ben Sayers factory, where I honed my persimmon wood making skills, and got to work in their forging foundry.
JC: Persimmon woods – that brings back a few memories! Did you become a PGA member, and did you do your apprenticeship with your father?
JE: No, because the British PGA (Professional Golfers Association) asked my dad if he would move to Norway and start to establish the association in that country. He agreed and moved to Vestfold Golfklubb in Norway, at which time I decided to stay in the UK, and took an apprenticeship with Max and Gus Faulkner. As you know, Max won the Open Championship in 1951, and was a Ryder Cup player, while his dad
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Pyecombe Golf Club – Clayton Hill, West Sussex near Brighton
Gus had a caravan park and 9-holes golf course at Selsey Bill in Sussex.
my grandad, to work for a large office equipment company based in Surrey.
At that time, several Ryder Cup players used to visit Max and Gus to work on their games, in the peace and quiet of Selsey.
After several years as a regional sales manager for this company, I identified a gap in the market, and in 1978 started my own company – the John Elmer office equipment business.
JC: That must have been quite a learning experience, rubbing shoulders with some of Britain’s finest players, especially as the Faulkners are a very special part of the fabric of pro golf in Britain?
JE: It certainly was, and I spent many hours with these players helping them, by adjusting their irons and working on their drivers and fairway woods.
This business moved on to electronic manufacturing in the early 1980s, and achieved major success, wherein my designed word processing product the OEM Screentyper, held a 66% share of the UK word processing market, as well as being exported to 19 countries.
JE: I moved on, because I realised that there was
I sold 50% of my business to the London based PLC which handled all my sales and distribution, in 1984, but unfortunately in 1995, they were subjected to an asset stripping takeover, which seriously curtailed my sales and distribution.
little money in golf as a non-competitive player at that time, so I took up an offer, arranged by
To be continued in issue 3 of BG in April 2023.
JC: Did you stay in golf, or move ‘on’, as so many do?
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CAREERS
discussion WITH JOHN COCKAYNE
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THE INTERVIEW PROCESS PART 3
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Careers Discussion
T
The type of people, which an institution is likely to employ, and or retain, is often a ‘tell’ (using the Poker analogy) of the structure’s thinking and culture. In this scenario, the book The Peter Principle offers some interesting insights, even if you do not agree with all of them (how could you!), into the dynamics of the business hierarchy. ‘The Peter Principle’ states that a person who is competent at their job, will earn a promotion to a position that requires different skills. Should the promoted person lack the skills required for the new role, they will be incompetent at the new level, and their progress, in terms of future promotions, will cease. If the person is competent in the new role, they will be promoted again. This process will continue, until they reach a level at which they are functionally incompetent. Being incompetent, the individual will not qualify for promotion again, and will therefore remain stuck at this final placement level, or ‘Peter’s plateau’. This outcome is inevitable, given enough time, and if there are enough positions in the hierarchy to which competent employees may be promoted.
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The Peter Principle is therefore expressed as: “In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his [or her] level of incompetence.”, which in turn leads to Peter’s corollary: “In time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties.” Hull calls the study of how hierarchies work, hierarchiology. Eventually, and in order to explain his observations about hierarchies, Lawrence Peter teamed-up with Raymond Hull to develop a book, The Peter Principle, which was published in 1969, by William Morrow and Company. The principle is named after Lawrence Peter, because although Raymond Hull wrote the book’s text, the content is a summary of Lawrence Peter’s research.
SUMMARY: In the first two chapters, Peter and Hull give various examples of The Peter Principle in action, and in each case, the higher position required skills that were not required at the level immediately below. For example, at a school a competent teacher may make a competent assistant principal, but then go on, after being promoted, to become an incompetent principal.
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Although, the teacher was competent at the level where he, or she, was involved in directly educating children, and then subsequently in the role as an assistant principal, in which he was effective in dealing with parents and other teachers, when he became a principal, he was poor at maintaining good relations with the school board and the superintendent. In chapter 3, Peter and Hull discuss apparent exceptions to this principle, and then debunk them. An example of one of the exceptions, is when someone who is incompetent is still promoted anyway—they coin the phrase “percussive sublimation” for this phenomenon of being “kicked upstairs”.
‘THE PETER PRINCIPLE’ STATES THAT A PERSON WHO IS COMPETENT AT THEIR JOB, WILL EARN A PROMOTION TO A POSITION THAT REQUIRES DIFFERENT SKILLS.
unproductive position to another. This action can greatly improve staff morale, as other employees will believe that they too can be promoted again. NOTE: Another pseudo-promotion is the “lateral arabesque”, or an employee being moved, in effect, ‘sideways’, which occurs when a person is moved ‘out of the way’, and given a longer job title. While incompetence is merely a barrier to further promotion, “super-incompetence” is grounds for dismissal, as is “supercompetence.” In both cases, such individuals “tend to disrupt the hierarchy”. A specific example is used in reference to a super-competent employee – in this case it was a teacher of children with special needs. The teacher was so effective at educating the children that, after a year, they exceeded all expectations at reading and arithmetic. However, the teacher was still fired, because he had failed to devote enough time to bead-stringing and finger-painting.
As an aside - the term, being kicked upstairs, is not a modern business phrase, but was first used by the chronicler / author John Croker in 1821, when he reports Lord Melville saying that he was being kicked upstairs, to become Secretary of State. However, percussive sublimation is only a pseudo-promotion i.e., a move from one
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Chapters 4 and 5 deal with the two methods of achieving promotion: “Push” and “Pull.” ‘Push’ refers to the employee’s own efforts to move up the hierarchy, which would be by working hard, and taking courses for self-improvement.
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Careers Discussion Usually this is not a very effective tactic, due to the Seniority Factor, which will see the next level up, often fully occupied, blocking the path to promotion for those below.
“Hints and Foreshadowings”, discusses the work of earlier writers on the subject of incompetence, such as Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, and Alexander Pope.
My favourite depiction of this is demonstrated by the following:
Chapter 9, explains that, once employees have reached their (highest – ED) level of incompetence, they always lack insight into their situation. Peter and Hull go on to explain why aptitude tests do not work, and are actually counter-productive. Finally, they describe “Summit Competence”, which is when someone reaches the highest level in their organisation, and yet is still competent at that level. This status quo has only come about, because there were not enough ranks in the hierarchy, or because an individual did not have enough time to reach a level of incompetence. In these cases, the people involved, will often seek a level of incompetence in another hierarchy, which is known as “Compulsive Incompetence.”
‘Pull’, on the other hand, is far more effective. This refers to accelerated promotion, which has been brought about by the efforts of an employee’s mentors, or patrons. Chapter 6, explains why ‘good followers’ do not become good leaders. In chapter 7, Peter and Hull describe the effect of The Peter Principle in politics and government, while chapter 8, titled
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Chapter 10, explains why attempts to assist an incompetent employee, through promoting another employee, to act as their assistant, does not work - “incompetence + incompetence = incompetence”. Chapters 11 and 12, describe the various medical and psychological manifestations of stress that may come as result of someone reaching their level of incompetence, as well as other symptoms, such as certain characteristic habits of speech, or behaviour.
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Chapter 13 considers whether it is possible for an employee, who has reached their level of incompetence to be happy and healthy, once they get there. The answer to the question is ‘no’, if the person realises their true situation, and ‘yes’ if the person does not. Various ways of avoiding promotion to the final level are described in chapter 14. Attempting to refuse an offered promotion is ill-advised, and is only practicable, if the employee is not married, and has no one else to answer to. Generally, it is better to avoid being considered for promotion in the first place, by pretending to be incompetent, while one is actually still employed at a level of competence. This is referred to as “Creative Incompetence”, for which several examples of successful techniques are given, with the caveat that it works best, if the chosen field of incompetence does not actually impair one’s work. The final chapter applies The Peter Principle to the entire human species at an evolutionary level, and asks whether humanity can survive in the long run, or will it become extinct upon reaching its level of incompetence, as technology advances. I am not sure about the status of the whole of humanity in global terms, but on a personal level, and if, as has been argued, each set of human interactions is a microcosm of something larger, it has always amused me, as a consultant, watching these games, or those very similar to it, being ‘played-out’ in the workplace at
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various businesses and institutions. The presence, in a hierarchy, of those who are at their highest level of incompetence, can also be fairly indicative of the structure’s nature and culture. As a consultant, I sometimes feel, and conversations with others in the same field shows that I am not alone in this, like a glass full of cold water, which has been poured into a mouthful of bad teeth! We quickly find all the holes, and for an experienced observer, it is easy to identify who can still move up, who is sandbagging – at a competency level, or who has in fact reached their highest level of incompetency. A number of times, I have seen people with strong personalities, which can mask actual incompetence, achieve at a level, well beyond their actual competencies, and to follow the Peter and Hull theme, I would call this “Masked Incompetence”. It is also interesting to see how ‘astute’ people can be, often in a human political sense, and are able to feel the wind, and play the relationships’ politics that go with almost all human interactions. These ‘types’, also have the knack (at least the survivors do!) of leaving any job ‘just in time’, or as one colleague phrased it - one step ahead of the bailiffs! This concludes the Careers discussions for the present, and I would like to offer my personal thanks all the contributors for their invaluable inputs and insights, and hope that there has been something of value for our readers, in this discourse and the shared experiences, which have been discussed.
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women in golf
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W o m e n IN
GOLF
with Anna Darnell
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PART 2
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women in golf
J
ohn Cockayne, BG’s managing editor, continues his discussion with Anna Darnell, the resort director at The Grove in Chandlers Cross, Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom.
JC: I did not see any traditional membership options at The Grove, but rather a series of packages for golf, which offer a range of additional benefits to the golfer. Managing member expectations can be a headache, so how did this structure evolve, and has it proved to be more effective than more traditional membership options?
AD: We are fortunate at The Grove to be in a prime location, which is very central, near to major motorways and public transport, such as national rail and 3 London airports.
ANNA DARNELL • what type of facility is in demand in the area
This geography played a key part in deciding the business model from the start, which has always been a high end pay and play facility with no membership. This has worked for us from the get go, but is not necessarily what all clubs should do.
• location
In making business structure decisions, such as one relating to membership options, it will be important to take many things into consideration, including factors such as:
There are many different types of golf club business models that can work for different facilities, and help them to achieve their identified and or strategic goals.
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• golf course type and quality • facilities on site • the transport network around the property
JC: One of the drums that I have been beating, has
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been the need for golf clubs to broaden their revenues’ base, so would you see this as inherent and consequential benefit of diversifying from just offering golf, into providing a broader range of services?
AD: I would love it to be a consequential and thereby an automatic benefit, but this will not necessarily be the case, and any change, such as instituting new ideas and services, often doesn’t work, without their being nurtured and tweaked until the balance is right. If the experience isn’t the ‘right’ one, or you cannot find the right team to implement it, then it will fall flat. The whole guest journey needs to be included when looking to broaden revenues, and in this aspect, food and beverage plays a huge part in the before, during and after golf experience, so I would recommend that a venue start with what can be done in these areas of the operation, to improve the offering and increase revenues.
JC: Most consumer categories, are under unprecedented pressure, and while golf was seen to be largely ‘recession proof’, the financial crash of 2008/2009 and its aftermath, and then the COVID-19 pandemic, changed this viewpoint, although the ‘bubble’ that saw the interest in golf soar, towards the end of the lockdowns, proved to be something of a lifeline for many clubs. Do you feel that this might have been an anomaly, especially as the golf business did not change how it operated, did rounds’ numbers improve at The Grove over this period, and how important will price be to both keeping up the numbers on and off the golf course at resorts, clubs and golf estates?
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AD: Yes – we did see an uptick in the number of rounds played and welcomed new players to the game, including those that had lapsed and then came back to golf. Golf was seen as a great form of exercise, and in helping to get people out of the house, with numerous health benefits including aiding with mental health, issues around which have risen so much in the UK. It would appear that the decrease in disposable income is not going to ease up anytime soon, and this will inevitably result in consumers having to make choices, but as a business we still need to keep the pricing up to date and relevant to our business costs which continue to increase. So far, we have seen a slight decline in player numbers, but not back to the pre pandemic levels
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yet. In making these choices, I see not just price, but also ‘value for money’ being an increasingly important layer in how consumers spend, and what they are willing to spend their hard-earned cash on. Due to the unique offering and service element, we provide to the golfer at The Grove, we have seen customers return, based on the fact they know they are getting quality service levels, and great playing conditions all year round.
JC: One school of thought, in the journey to becoming a destination, as opposed to being a ‘golf club’, is in the name of the facility.
“
WE CAN TRAIN ANYONE WITH THE RIGHT MOTIVATION, ATTITUDE AND PASSION TO DO THE JOB.
In this context, and in South Africa I would refer to Fancourt, Gowrie Farm and Bosch Hoek, and in the United Kingdom The Belfry, The Kennels at Glorious Goodwood and Royal Norwich as being examples, where the words ‘golf’ or ‘golf club’ are conspicuously absent from their names.
Shakespeare wrote “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” With the greatest respect to William Shakespeare, a ‘club’ is more than just a name and scent, and having these goals are fine in a business plan – but delivering the set goal as a product, and keeping the ‘rose’ fresh, alive and relevant is a different matter. Having made the decision to ‘change’, what should club be doing in a day-to-day sense to keep the evolution ‘going’?
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AD: The use of the term evolution is perfect, as it underlines the fact that this is not a static thing, or a box to be ticked, and once ticked, something which you can then move on from!
At The Grove, we are constantly evaluating our products, facilities and service levels to see if they are relevant, in terms of our goals and customers’ needs. It is a continually evolving process, and was the prompt to the refurbishments being undertaken this year. When opening, we were at the forefront of a very different kind of “club”, and we want to remain being seen this way. Not everything always works, as we all know! – but as a management team we need to stay on top of this to keep the offering relevant and the facility fit for purpose. In addition, the recruitment market in the UK is also very tough, so keeping ourselves fresh doesn’t only keep the experience at a high level for our guests, but also helps us motivate and engage the staff teams, to hopefully retain them, and also attract new team members to join.
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want it to be genuine, which is why we hire team members based on attitude versus just experience. We can train anyone with the right motivation, attitude and passion to do the job.
JC: As a World class facility that combines
Fancourt
Any evolution also applies to the golf course and its supporting facilities too – as you will see from the developments within our additional areas such as the driving range, by putting the first ever European green grass trackman range on our facility.
JC: How did your staff at The Grove react to having a woman in the top job?
AD: I think that we are a young and up and coming team, so no matter the gender of the person, the team are supportive when they feel that the staff member, in any senior role, has the experience to aid them with their development.
JC: As a consultant, I have often used the analogy of a club being like a theatre in which a show is put on every day for the members and guests.
golf, with a broader range of services, what key points, in bullet point form, would you offer to a smaller facility, with a limited budget, contemplating embarking on a journey to become less golf-centric and more of a destination?
AD: • Identify your goals and purpose • Work the floor – keep up a continual engagement with your customers and members, because they can be a mine of useful information • Never be scared to use your customers for feedback, within a focus group on a soft run, to see if the idea works before spending more • Keep up to date with what your competitors are doing • Start small and grow • Hire the’ right’ team to do the job
How important is this to the experience offered at The Grove, and how do go about this and keep on achieving it?
AD: ‘The Grove experience’ is core to how well
• Have a robust marketing plan – without communicating what you are doing, how will your customers know what you offer and ‘who’ you are?
we do. Our mission statement is to be the most welcoming world class experience in golf, so not only do we want the experience to be first class, we also
• Understand clearly how you will measure success!
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A R BG’S MONTHLY SELECTION OF NEWS ITEMS FROM OUR MEDIA ASSOCIATES Golf Business News in UK, Ireland, Europe & USA, Destination Golf Travel which offers a global shop window in golf tourism, and Golf Industry Central which covers Oceania & the Pacific Rim. 70
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In terms of previous discussions in BG about the need to be innovative in creating more on ramps to golf – the ‘word’ continues to spread, as various golf initiatives offer fresh impetus to this goal, which will be key element to drawing new recruits into the game.
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When ‘anyone’ can build an 18 holes ‘championship’ golf course, a 5 star hotel and the facilities to match, what will become the key differentiator that builds consistently good reviews, and repeat business from a loyal customer base?......service!
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New on-ramps to the game, collaboration, collective effort and golf seeing its’ need to become more diverse, with an increasing focus on the need for PGAs to further equality and increased levels of social responsibility, were all key topics at the Confederations of Golf Professionals 33rd Annual Congress at Costa Navarino In Greece.
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fairw
FROM THE
DISCUSSION WITH ALISTAIR COLLIER FROM THE JOHN COLLIER SURVEY
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From the Fairways
JC: You are on record as saying that the sport of golf needs to be aware that environmental and governance related legislation continues to be promulgated, at an ever-increasing pace, with the regulatory authorities building capacity to enforce compliance. In this same context, you have also said that that it would be better to be ahead of the requirements in terms of compliance, as opposed to sitting on our hands now, and then trying to play catch-up, when we hear the inevitable knock on the door. In terms of environmental awareness and governance, as a sports’ community, in a summarised form, where are the key areas that you feel we need to ‘up our game’?
AC: In the 2021 John Collier Survey for South African Golf Courses, the research indicated that in terms of good governance and environmental compliance the level sat at just under 31%. The results for the 2022 are due to be published shortly, and it will be very interesting to see where this number will be. Notwithstanding, that many of South Africa’s golf clubs have started the ‘journey’, and in fact are already well in step with the requirements, I feel that the summary would be best pitched at its most basic level, within which, I think that the following elements are key. First, club management needs to put in place a rigorous process that monitors, records and reports relevant data in and around the course. The mantra being; that which is not monitored cannot be managed.
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The second, is participating in an independent third-party review of the aforementioned data.
JC: We hear much said about the need for transparency, especially in terms of corporate and government activities. Where does this need fit into the golf sector and how important is it?
AC: Simply put, and irrespective of the business sector - transparency is a cornerstone of good governance. It is therefore vital for golf, as this transparency builds confidence in the management team, and builds trust in the brand (i.e., the golf club) with its members, and potential members, the general public and regulatory authorities.
JC: We have covered this point, albeit in a fragmented form, through various FAQs’
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smaller clubs, in which concerns have been expressed about how they should be looking at the requirements, and how they might be expected to cope, given their staff size and operational resources?
AC: The response to your twopart question above is; when last did your club management, and or board, sit down and carry out a formal risk assessment of the club? Risk management is an enabling process that supports management, and the board or governing body, in meeting its strategic and business objectives.
segments within the John Collier Survey’s section, in previous issues of BGM, but I think that it would be well worth revisiting here, and possibly in more detail than we were able to before. In phrasing the question, it is from the perspective, as per your previous comment, of those golf clubs that might not have started the process at all, or who are behind where they should be. The question is in two parts: 1. There is a raft of compliance requirements, in an environmental sense, required of all clubs – what are the ‘essential’ and non-negotiable items that apply to all golf clubs, irrespective of resources, staff size, etc.? 2. A number of queries have come from
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Notwithstanding the size of a club, in terms of membership numbers, and or budgets, clubs need to make strategic choices, and the implementation thereof requires certain risk taking. The risk management process is therefore an integral part of strategy setting requirements, and management process, as the information produced through it, along with other sources of information, informs management decisions. To underpin the risk management process, principles 11, 12, 13 and 15 of the King IV Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa 2016 (“King IV™”), issued by the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa, encourage all entities (including golf clubs) to adopt a risk management policy and framework that is based on best practices. It is this strong governance process that can help lead golf club management teams, to discover their own solutions to the aforementioned questions.
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STAY ‘TUNED-IN’ TO OUR COMPS & PROMOS SECTION, AS THERE ARE GREAT VACATION
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MEDIA & MARKETING VALUING MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES IN THE GOLF CHANNEL PART 5
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t the Gold Palm Country Club, the golf course’s number of 18 holes rounds per annum, can now be used in order to establish a number of essential facts. These will include the number of people who will go through the half-way house, the value of the OTS, and its cost per view in the half-way house to the advertiser. Our calculation of the OTS value per person in the golf channel, is based on a direct comparison with the cost of an inside, standard, single page, full colour advert in the model magazine. The cost in the magazine for a standard page is R 30 000.00. The magazine has a total of 30 000 known readers, which figure is based on 10 000 subscribers and an annual average of 12 000 magazines sold through retail outlets each month, wherein a printed publication will allow for 2.5 readers for each magazine sold or in circulation. Based on these figures the price of R 20 000.00 per page to advertise, means that the cost to reach each reader, using a standard inside page, is R .67 per reader. Gold Palm CC has 60 000 18 holes rounds per annum. If we multiply this figure of 60 000 rounds by the established cost per reader at R .67 in the magazine, the calculation will establish that the base cost of the halfway house branding to any potential advertiser will R 40 200.00 per annum, or R 3 350.00 per month - to keep the comparison completely in ‘step’ with the model golf magazine.
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For the purposes of this comparison, the calculation of the value in terms of the golf club has been conservative, in that it has put the most trafficked area of the golf club ‘up against’ a standard, single, inside page in the magazine, and this does not include the interactive and promotional opportunities that the half-way house could offer to its brand partner. In addition to this the golf channel can also provide the potential advertiser with a very accurate historical breakdown (using the rounds’ records), of the type of view the branding will be getting. As previously mentioned, what this ‘space’ at the halfway house can also do, is provide the advertiser with a platform for direct physical engagement with the customers, which could be via product placement, sampling product, etc., which is much more difficult to achieve with a magazine. Of the 60 000 rounds at the Gold Palm Country Club, the percentage OTS ‘type’, which the advertiser is buying will be made up as follows:
• 10% for juniors. • 15% for women. • 28% as a result of visitor rounds, and it could therefore be fairly argued to these being unique views, although there may well be some repeat visits in this total by individual golfers who play the course, as visitors, on multiple occasions. • The balance of 53% were rounds played by male members, of which the split in this traffic was:
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1. 20% country members 2. 18% six-day members 3. The balance of 62% as a result of full subscription members’ rounds. This sort of data should enable the advertiser’s marketing division, or advertising agency, to make informed decisions about the type of advertising and support branding needed. This intel will ensure that any ‘wastage’, in terms of branding and any support promotional activities, is, to all intents and purposes, removed entirely. For example, an initiative involving branding for a deodorant product for women in the halfway house (1/2 way), will almost certainly reach all of the target audience. However, the data from the green fee sales shows that only 28% of the rounds at the Gold Palm Country Club are played by women. This will mean that 72% of the advertising budget, used to brand and advertise the product in the ½ way, would be wasted on a non-target audience. Considering the relative cost of branding in this space, the advertiser will definitely be better rewarded by concentrating any branding efforts in the ladies’ changing room facilities. This facility’s OTS value, will have been calculated in the same way as the ½ way i.e., the total number of people likely to go through the facility will be 28% of all of the rounds played, or the total traffic through the facility, and will therefore be less expensive.
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Using the value of the ½ way’s branding value as our base it will be simple to calculate other values. For example, if this facility is worth ZAR 40 000 per annum in branding terms, because its passing traffic sees all of the 60 000 rounds, then as rounds of golf played by women represent 28% of the total rounds, the women’s changing rooms should expect to see 28% of this traffic, and this facility would be worth 28% of the branding fee of the ½ way or ZAR 11 200.00 per annum. It could be argued that the 1st hole would see at least as much traffic as the ½ way. The danger with this will be the assumptions made about which tees are going to be in use and where the branding will be. If the 1st tee branding is fixed and it often is, then as there are multiple tee placement options, there is no guarantee that the players will be using the tee placement where the fixed branding is located. The added difficulty will be that the men, senior men and women all use different teeing areas, so the brand partner will be involved in branding set-up costs, which will be at least 3 times higher than those required to brand ½ way. There will then be the problem with fixed branding, now multiplied by 3, of not knowing which tee placements are being used in any given week! All-in-all it is a bit like trying to brand the car park, which unless you erect a massive hoarding (something most clubs would not allow), then you will need to brand every single parking bay, to ensure brand coverage, and to try to accommodate the variables in this scenario. The positioning of the advertising for the
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High visibility branding opportunities are to be found ‘everywhere’ at every golf club, as can be seen in this image of the surrounds to the starter’s office at Eagle Canyon Lifestyle & Golf Estate in Gauteng.
ladies’ deodorant product, in the ladies’ change rooms, will have the potential to reach almost all of its target audience. There is also the added benefit, that Gold Palm CC is a country club facility, which has a number of non-golfer members, who also use the change room facilities. In addition, any non-member non golfers will also use this facility when they are at the clubhouse, attending an informal social function, having dinner or similar, although, as the F&B is run by a third-party contractor, there are no definitive statistics available to provide an exact number for these ‘guests’, beyond a rough guesstimate. However, Gold Palm CC has an active social events calendar, and during the previous year, the hosted club 20 major functions, which were attended by a total of 5 000 guests. On the assumption that the male / female split at these events was equal, and that as the functions were of an average duration of 3 hours, it would be reasonable to surmise that 2500 people used the
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female change facilities, at least once while attending these events, over the year. This would increase the exposure value of the women’s change rooms from 11 200 (the number of golf rounds) by 2 500 (the number of visits to the facility by functions attendees) making this facility ‘worth’ ZAR 13 700.00 per annum to a potential brand partner. The changed placement for any woman’s product or brand, will be more cost efficient, due to the reduced direct costs to the advertiser. It will also avoid much of the wastage in spend that would result through the product’s exposure to the more general nature of the audience, which passes through the ½ way. As is the case with the ½ way, the change rooms will also offer an extended interactive component, as the change room itself would provide an ideal platform, through which to display product samples, or introduce product placement, as an added experiential element.
To be continued in April in BG issue 3 Vol 1
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