Paul Armitage left the club not so long time ago as the general manager of the Golf National. His successor is Philippe Pilato. He has been at Golf National for 25 years, almost since the day it opened.…
One would think that 2020 was a terrible year for almost all golf clubs. As I look at US statistics, then I see a boom in play that started in the summer continued through the end of the…
Thanks to Troon and Honours Golf, I can discover now a private golf club in Gadsden, Alabama: Gadsden Country Club. Honours Golf, the Birmingham, Alabama-based division of Troon has been selected to manage Gadsden Country Club. Honours Golf will…
Last time I asked Chris Duffy CMDip about the challenges of golf club committees & boards. His article was so popular among golf club managers that I thought to interview him this time. Since his article, Chris Duffy…
My latest interview with Klaus-Peter Schneider, the co-Founder of Snyder Golf confirmed my assumptions that golf is struggling with its image and perceptions. The game of golf is still associated with exclusionary/snob, being slow, difficult to play...just a…
In November, we talked about the new name of Billy Casper Golf (founded in 1989), Indigo Golf Partners (with nearly 7,000 employees; more than 160 golf courses, country clubs, and resorts in 29 states). In January 2019, the…
We can all agree that the COVID-19 crisis made us understand the importance of relationships, care, understanding, and empathy. A Salesforce research found: 71% of customers believe businesses that have shown more care and empathy in 2020 have gained…
As you know I am a great supporter of female golf participation and female golf tournaments. Do you remember when I wrote about the love.golf program (sponsored by Syngenta) a few years ago? This time I found another…
I see the coronavirus has triggered changes in sports sponsorship as well. The organizers of the Race to Dubai (of course other golf tournaments too), but also its sponsors like Rolex have to face and embrace the changes…
In the first part of this interview series I asked 3 leading golf clubs' leaders about digital transformation and pricing trends in golf clubs: Javier Reviriego – CEO/General Manager – Real Club ValderramaDavid Ashington – Director of Sales & Hospitality – Monte…
If we think about it more, we can easily realize how challenging it is to meet the needs of luxury golf tourists / travelers. Before I would detail the ambitious £25m investment of Dundonald Links to revamp their…
In my previous post last December I wrote about the importance of developing memorable moments for our golf club/resort's guests and members. Then I said: We must avoid flat/”mostly forgettable” experiences and create moments that matter to our customers. „Defining…
Probably you have already heard that luxury hotels are starting to offer private jet concierge service to their guests. Four Seasons (in cooperation with NetJets) for instance, launched its private jet service in 2015. You will find also…
There are four main sports technology trends that have a significant impact on the golf industry in 2020: Smart equipment is gaining momentum (see PING's & Cobra Golf's cooperation with Arccos Golf) - golfers also want to track…
Last week I heard from Jerry Kilby CCM (former CEO of the Club Managers Association of Europe) that he is relaunching his own consultancy company, Kanda Golf. That's why I thought to ask him how he sees the…
Golf club managers have already been thinking and trying a lot about how to sell more tee time and increase the revenue from it. Just think, for instance, of dynamic pricing or even yield management. Some of them…
Just like many other sports events, the European Tour is very interested in resuming the 2020 season and continue as business as usual. The global value of the sports industry was estimated to be $471bn in 2018. The…
It is no secret that private clubs, like many businesses, are experiencing some significant degree of financial pain, and most likely will be for the foreseeable future. While there is no playbook for how clubs should conduct business…
I am very pleased that more and more golf club leaders are willing to contribute to my article series about how golf clubs are managing the coronavirus crisis around the world. This time, I will bring you further…
Throughout 128 years of our club’s history, committee meetings had taken place in the clubhouse, a council building or gathered round a hotel boardroom. On three occasions last month, that tradition was broken as several members of our…