Bob Taylor BSc (Hons), MIEEM, MBPR, Head of Ecology & Environment at the STRI, looks at the changing face of golf business and makes a strong case for biodiversity as the way forward
W
hat does the next ten years hold within the golfing industry? This was the question discussed in Peter
Larters (BIGGA Midland and North West) regional seminars held in the spring of 2010, and to which STRI contributed. We have all seen the industry realign with the modernisation of the game and, one thing is sure, golf will continue to evolve as differing external pressures and influences bear down on it. As in nature, it is all about adaptation and the survival of the fittest. Natural selection allows those best fitted to succeed, whilst others become extinct.
In business (and each golf club is a business working independently and in competition with each other), it is essential to recognise change and adapt to it. Those that fail will struggle to survive long term. A suitable business analogy would be that a golf club is a large fish operating in a relatively small sea, and there are many other similar sized fish in the sea all competing for the same resources. As the other fish grow then the sea will effectively diminish, meaning that only the better able and better adapted will survive. Golf clubs are working under the constraints of increasing competition, arising through the more innovative clubs moving forward as new ideas and
enhanced services help provide a more rounded product offering. Competition can manifest itself in several different guises. A major and very recent competitive pressure, on top of changing environmental legislation and developing technologies in golf, has been the global recession. This has brought with it quite severe selection pressures and is, perhaps, a first indication of the need to adapt, and adapt quickly. In nature, species that cannot adapt quickly soon become replaced by those that can. Adaptation in this sense would mean looking closely at the course and recognising areas where improvements could be made to ensure visitor and member retention.
STRI is by no means exempt here; faced with the recession we have had to seize the opportunity to bring about new innovative solutions which, it is hoped, will bring real long term benefit to the golfing industry. Such innovation, backed by research, also enables our business to remain at the forefront of golf. Take, for example, the new
programme set up to allow individual golf clubs to assess the quality of the putting and playing surfaces and, for the first time, to quantitatively track the improvements being made. Such innovations are taking the guesswork and the emotion out of golf course management.
The case for Biodiversity
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156