Now: What’s next? – Golf Inc Magazine

We say it over and over and over: the game is hot. It remains hot. It took off with a booster beginning in June 2020. It continues to move in the express lane, giving those serving the industry a healthy place to do what they do. Last year was another strong year for results. With fewer 18-hole courses than a generation ago, rounds, revenue, and rate were all up. While some continue to push forward, looking to extract every last ounce of growth, others are nervous, waiting for the golden egg to crack, evaporating the energy of the past 3+ years. In my opinion, there is one obvious thought about this amazing period in the game’s history. No one expected the results, the growth, and the opportunities that continue. If we turn back the calendar to this date four years ago, the concern was the future, meaning that next day. A worldwide virus was attacking, a global pandemic in a modern world. It was a scary time. It felt like life itself was in jeopardy for all. For golf and the people serving the game, that stress began to melt away just a few months later. It was the beginning of a strange, but most amazing time!

What’s next now? Although I have used a variation of this title before, it was never about growing on top of record numbers, when more men, women, and juniors than ever are swinging a golf club. The game is in a new place, an interesting place, where the future has yet to be written. When I don’t have answers, when I see only questions, I go back. I go back to the basics. I go back to the mission, and the goals of the endeavor. For the club operator, I have three thoughts about growing the future. In this In My Opinion post, I will lay out three ideas to think about in looking to create your own secure, healthy future:

Build a quality education program with the long view in mind: By taking ownership of developing your people, you take ownership of the future. Over and over again we hear about the struggles with talent. Where do you find good people? How can you keep the best people? How can you afford to pay people in this post-COVID period? Building a team that is happy and engaged begins with recruiting. Always be recruiting. Whenever you find talent, invite them to see what you are building. Invite them to take ownership of both your future and their own. Create an education/development program that is first-rate. A development plan that never ends and that rewards ongoing success. Great basics begin with talent. Hit every point:…