INDUSTRYANALYSIS
Why are we as an industry so quick to see the dark side?
In a new regular series, Eddie Reid, the TGI Golf Partnership’s managing director, puts the golfing world to rights. This month Eddie addresses the industry’s institutionalised pessimism
T
here’s a drum that I’ve been banging for some time now in the hope that people might start listening and perhaps joining
me with the drumsticks – that drum is positivity. Over the last month we have seen yet more
great news for the sport that we all love, with attendance figures for the Open Championship up despite the atrocious weather, new initiatives to grow the game and the on-course retail sector performing extremely well against the market as a whole. However, there is still a measure of pessimism in some quarters with people seemingly still stuck in the recession years and seeing nothing but doom and gloom. Something I feel we need to have as an
industry is real time information rather than relying on data that has been gathered over the last three years and having that lag as we wait for all the information to come to fruition. Things have changed a lot in that time.
There is still a
tendency to shy away from these good news stories and continue to believe that everything is gloomy
When the recession first hit we saw a degree of panic as golf clubs looked to reign in their spending and cut costs. Unfortunately, and inexplicably, it was the PGA Professionals and
24 SGBGOLF
their retainers that were scrutinised most by club committees. However, things have
changed dramatically and today we are seeing the Pro become a major part of the golf club infrastructure as they begin to see the vast benefits having a golf professional involved in the running of the club. Many of the Pros I
speak to on a daily basis are talking about increased participation at clubs, with full junior coaching camps, lesson bookings and increased footfall in the shops. In many cases golf pros’ retainers are being reviewed and increased as golf clubs see the value in how a high quality golf pro can enhance the golf club offering. We’ve seen many Pros moving into positions
such as Director of Golf and having a big say in the running of the club. However, there is still a tendency to shy away
from these good news stories and continue to believe that everything is gloomy. Almost an element of us looking backwards rather than looking forward. Don’t get me wrong, I know there are still
clubs and companies in difficulty and we must do our utmost to assist them, but let’s not continue to focus on the bad news and start shouting about the good things that are happening. The golfer has never had it so good, this is the
most cost effective time to play or take up golf. Memberships are relatively inexpensive; equipment is competitively priced with a vast
array of technology to help them choose products. With launch monitors, swing studios, putter
and golf ball fitting, choosing products has never been so interesting and fun. Going into a modern Pro Shop is now an amazing experience and one we should be proud of. With new initiatives such as the PGA’s #ThisGirlGolfs as well as the youngsters Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth battling it out at the top, golf is rapidly becoming ‘cool’ again to the younger generation. How can we play our part in influencing youngsters if we’re not convinced ourselves? So let’s start ‘bigging’ up our industry and
focussing on what is going well rather than the difficulties. The good times are coming back; you just need to see them.
For more information on the TGI Golf Partnership visit
www.tgigolf.com or
www.tgigolflog.com. You can also follow @TGI_Golf on Twitter or TGI Golf Partnership on Facebook.
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