Changing the game – Golf Inc Magazine

The game of women’s basketball has been changed. It has grown in a very real way thanks to the passion, talent, and eye-popping skills of one player, Caitlin Clark. Over the past season, especially during the recent NCAA Women’s Tournament, Clark brought millions of new eyeballs, many now fans, to women’s basketball. She became must-see TV. It was amazing to watch (and I did.) One person with passion and focus changed a team and a sport. The game has been lifted, able to see new heights and new, real opportunities as other outstanding athletes push the game higher and higher. It has been a fun, exciting past few months for those who witnessed talent at its best.

As you move into warmer weather, more rounds, and an interesting economy, what will you and your club be doing that is different, maybe even game-changing? What are you thinking about as clubs across the land hope for another year of game-changing rounds? With the oxygen of COVID-19 now far in the past, it is time to take the assets delivered and find a new, more secure place for your club in this game changed by a virus four years ago. How will you up your game this season? What ideas do you and your team have that can excite your players to visit more, play more, and even bring a carload of interest with them? Although you may not be able to hit a 3-pointer, I am betting there are assets in your midst that can grow the business, accelerate interest, and change your game for the future. Here are my three thoughts:

Find and use your advantages: Whether it is location, the course layout, the community, conditions, your team, or the service provided by that team, shout about it, use it, and market it to the rafters. Every business has advantages over its competition. Maybe it is your leadership team, the food, possibly a dessert? Rediscover all of your advantages, talk about them with your team, and build programs to drive those things you do better than anyone else in your world. Differentiation can be the way. Communicate the message often to your team, and then expand the conversation to the widest net.

Find your talent: Caitlin Clark did not need to be discovered. Her game only needed the light of a television camera to push it, and an entire sport, forward. There may be members of your team right there, on your weekly schedule, that can do more. They are talented, possibly looking for a way to tell you they want to do more. They may be quiet, going about their job by simply doing their…