We sat down with Cathy Harbin, owner of Pine Ridge Golf Course in Paris, Texas, at the Golf Inc. Summit in September and got some insight into the mind of a golf course owner. She told us about the trends owners should be paying attention to, big operational trends, the advice she’d give first-time owners and more.
Full transcript below (lightly edited for clarity):
What trends in the golf industry do you think course owners need to pay the most attention to right now?
Right now is a very good time in the golf industry. We have a lot of abundance going on. I think the biggest trend that we need to keep an eye on is what happens if this doesn’t sustain itself. And one thing I always say to all golf course owners is, “Let’s not fall asleep at the wheel. Let’s stay focused on growing the game. Let’s stay focused on bringing new business to our facilities.” Even though some golf courses are very busy, there’s always an opportunity to keep introducing people to the game, whether it’s through golf technology, screen golf, or something. But my biggest advice right now, and the thing that I worry about the most, is that we’re getting comfortable, and I don’t want us to fall asleep while things are happening around us that may affect us in the future. So I want to be planning ahead.
What operational change has had the biggest impact on your bottom line at Pine Ridge in the past few years?
For me, I was an early adopter to golf entertainment technology. In 2020, I put in 12 covered bays with Toptracer technology, and that has been by far the single biggest impact on our golf course revenue for sure. But also, the demographic [it] has brought out with the different age groups and the families. And because of the proximity from these covered tees with technology to the first tee, which is literally five yards over here, we’ve seen a lot of transition from that golf technology, entertainment, enjoyment to taking onto the golf course. So by far, the biggest impact that we’ve made is adding technology.
How has community involvement helped enhance your facility?
At Pine Ridge Golf Course, we like to think that we are an extension of the community and we do a lot of things that are very centered around community involvement. We do Friday night concerts, so we bring families out, communities out, for things like that. We do United Way fundraising, 5K. We do a lot of things that bring the…
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