Golf Lessons

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal had a special report on golf, no doubt due to the upcoming Masters and advertising from FedEx with a golf tie-in.  The lead article, How Golf Went Off Course, examined recent efforts to increase the number of golfers, and revealed a number of lessons for associations looking for ways to grow membership.

For although golf recruited three million new players in recent years, an equal number abandoned the game. 

Consider the obstacles.  New golfers do not have much fun.  Until you master the grip and gain a consistent swing, golf is misery—a nice walk ruined.  And, then, there’s the amount of time it take to play golf, much less get good at it.  A round of golf shoots a day.  In a time-starved, instant-gratification world, golf would appear to be doomed. 

Some advocate dual standards to loosen up the rules on equipment, allowing technology to give novices the ability to make a decent drive, and have more fun.  Others advocate playing just six holes, to reduce the time commitment. But how do you improve without playing?

To grow your association, do you have to lower standards, sacrifice integrity and abandon time-honored traditions? Ski resorts adapted, carving out a place for skiboarders, and bolstering sagging profits from a shrinking population of downhill purists.  Baseball lives on due to softball leagues, T-ball, and television.  Is golf next?

According to the Journal story, more than 28 million Americans now play golf, half of whom play at least eight rounds a year and are considered ‘core golfers.’  Given that only one-fourth of golfers account for two-thirds of all sales, can’t growth also come from increasing the number of rounds played by those other 14 million people?

My husband Bill played golf in high school, but never more than a round or two a year for the last thirty years. Now that he is retired, he plays at least three times a week.  In eighteen months, he has dropped his score to the low 80s and I can guarantee that he is having fun.  Yesterday, he shot a 78.  Today, he won’t, but the hunt is on.

Bill is proof that golf will grow.  That’s right! It’s demographics.  Boomers are retiring, they have money, and they intend to live forever by staying active.

For associations, it is not a question of growing or not growing, it is a question of how we grow. Beyond the stats, it’s how we grow people—strengthening the resolve of the most recent recruits to achieve mastery, and strengthening the involvement of passive members lurking in the wings.

Comments

[Lisa Junker]

My father-in-law is golfing daily now in retirement, and it's amazing what it's done for his health and energy. So I definitely see what you see with regard to golf and the baby boomers!

But I especially love your point about growth. Whenever I have seen the question of "Should we grow?" discussed at associations, it has always hinged on "Should we add more members?" or "Should we pursue more members in a new market niche?" I love the idea of focusing instead on helping members grow in their own abilities and engagement.