1 May 2014

UNDERSTANDING FLEET FINANCE

By Marc Gelbke The last piece of my series “puzzle” on golf cart fleets is to cover what may be the most important part, and that is fleet finance. What is fleet finance? It is to determine whether or not the cost of the fleet you have in mind is suitable for your facility, and will strongly depend on how much revenue you expect the carts to bring in, as well as the expenses involved in setting them up and operating the program. Another aspect is, of course, how much profit you would like to make with your fleet program. As a general rule, fleet size, rental rates, and cart per rounds should generate income that averages about $1,900 per cart annually. To calculate your number for your facility, you need to forecast golf cart revenue, expense, and profit. Factors you need to take into account when forecasting revenues are cart rental fee charged, cart rounds, number of carts, the trade-in value (if properly serviced it can be 25%-40%), and other income (private or member carts). For the expense side, you need to account for operating expenses (cost of gas or electricity, cost of parts for repairs and labor), acquisition cost – which is two-fold and includes the interest on the purchase loan and/or your leasing charges, and other costs such as storage, cart paths, etc. On average and to figure hard numbers, you can use the rule of thumb of $3 per round for operating expenses. Your next step is going to be to determine your estimated gross revenue (EGR), and the factors you need to determine your EGR are number of carts in your rental fleet, number of rounds per cart, and your rental fee. For example: 57 carts x 185 rounds per cart = 10,545 rounds annually X $17 rental fee = $179,265 gross revenue; 10,545 total rounds X $3 = $31,635 operating expense; $179,265 revenue – $31,635 expense = $147,630 net operating income (NOI); $147,630 NOI – 25% trade-in value ($29,526) = $118,104 estimated annual profit. In closing, as you can see from the example above, managing your cart fleet is an important and vital part of every golf course operation that operates carts, and you as manager should be involved in your fleet program to make sure carts are being maintained properly and serviced on a regular basis to maintain the highest trade-in value possible, which will strengthen your bottom line and keep your golfers and guests happy.
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RORY MCILROY’S PUTTING ROUTINE
16 Apr 2014

RORY MCILROY’S PUTTING ROUTINE

Pre-shot routines are important, but in professional golf they are mandatory. You can use the pre-shot routine to help with nerves, calm you down after a bad shot, or keep a good round going. Many top players and amateurs alike have a pre-shot putting routine. They look at the putt from a few different angles, take a few practice strokes, and then stare at the hole and pull the trigger. After working with Dave Stockton, Rory McIlroy started a new routine with no practice strokes. Say what?! How could one of the top players in the world not take practice strokes? In Stockton’s camp, they believe that if you are a good-enough athlete, then you should be able to toss a ball to someone 20 feet away without a practice motion. To his point, in most sports you don’t have a chance to take a practice or rehearsal motion. A football quarterback doesn’t stop the play to take a practice throw, nor does a major league pitcher take a few practice windups prior to the pitch. These athletes look and react, plain and simple. By embracing this philosophy, you take the “thinking” out of the action and rely on your natural athleticism. Rory has now made his pre-shot putting routine simpler, just look and react. Could your students make their routine simpler? If they are struggling with too many thoughts, or too long of a process, possibly have them try Rory’s routine: look and react.
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Among The Azaleas
8 Apr 2014

Among The Azaleas

By: Arlen Bento, WGCA contributing writer So, I am going to the Masters. You know, the little tournament in Georgia started by Bobby Jones at the Augusta National Golf Club. Have you heard of it? Pretty big stuff; you get an awesome green jacket if you win! Now, why I am going and how I am going are two very interesting things. First, I am going because of my golf coaching. I am very fortunate to coach at a great high school that has a lot of great connections to golf. I have been able, with the help of great players and families, to build a very good golf program in the last nine years with many great players, many great accomplishments, and more to come. As a team over the last few years, we have been rewarded with a personal visit with Arnold Palmer after winning our second state district title. After our third district title, Mr. Palmer took a liking to our program and was able to donate our team uniforms for our 2012 season. Our players were even invited to participate in a great charity event where my senior players we able to caddie for Mr. Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Lee Trevino. In the summer of 2013 as we started to plan for our fourth state district and a legitimate run at our first state Florida high school championship, an incentive was put into place to motivate the team: Win the district, advance to the regional and play in the state tournament, and go to the Masters. No small feat in Florida…from our region, if you get to the state, you win the state. Very tough golf in our area. Well needless to say, guess what? We win the district, finish tied for first at the regional, and make it to our first state championship. And, now we get to go to the Masters. Now, let’s talk about how we are going. Well, we are traveling with our five players from the state team and our girl’s individual state champion – and myself – for a weekend at the Masters. We leave on the Friday of the tournament from our local jetway via private plane. We arrive at Augusta, where we will be transported to our accommodations on property at Augusta National Golf Club. On Friday night, we have a dinner planned, then a quiet evening on the grounds to get ready to watch the weekend at the Masters. Can you imagine! Saturday and Sunday at the Masters, up close and personal, plus staying on property, walking from your private home to the event. For any golfer, this would as good as it gets, maybe better. I really hope we have good weather and I really hope that I can learn from being at this type of event, taking in the feel of golf and what it takes to get players to bring their games to the next level. As a golf coach, I am always talking about the little things, the one putt, that one chip, that one bunker shot that takes a player to the next level. Well, this April we are going to be looking at the next level, maybe the ultimate level, the level that we all dream about, the level that transcends golf and sport. My only hope is that someday, one of my players makes the field at the Masters, and that would be my ultimate experience in golf. For now, we are working at a first state title, I think the motivation of the Masters helped! Master Teaching Professional Arlen Bento Jr. is a golf coach, golf sales business owner, golf product developer, and golf writer living in Jensen Beach, Florida. He is a former professional tournament player and is a national award-winning head golf professional at the PGA Country Club at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, FL. He can be reached via face book at www.facebook.com/arlenbentojr or on his blog http://arlenbentojr.blogspot.com/ or on his business website www.abjgolfsales.com.
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8 Apr 2014

ELECTRIC VERSUS GASOLINE-POWERED GOLF CARTS

By Marc Gelbke In my previous editorials, we’ve covered and discussed the importance of a golf cart fleet, and last month we covered how to determine an appropriate golf cart fleet size for your facility. To continue along this all-too-important topic for managers, we will be going over what you should consider when it comes to comparing between electric and gasoline-powered golf carts, and which one to choose for your facility. Today, roughly 56 percent of golf carts in use are electric and 44 percent are gas-powered. My personal opinion is that both types, if maintained properly, will perform well and satisfy your customers. In terms of leasing and interest rates, both are going to be the same in most cases, so deciding one type over the other can be a difficult choice you have to make, and can come down to personal preference and maybe on the type of cart that has traditionally been used at your facility in the past. Some differences in the type of carts to take into consideration are that electric carts are quieter and don’t emit fumes. Electric carts are also simpler from a mechanical standpoint, but don’t provide nearly as much power as gas carts, which can be an important decision-maker when managing a facility that is very hilly. Gas-powered carts are extremely reliable, and, as mentioned before, have a higher range of power than electric carts. They also don’t require special electric hookups and battery-charging equipment, and are lighter than electric carts and are less likely to damage your course. In relation to operating costs, they are hard to compare and can depend on a variety of factors such as condition of the cart, characteristics of the course, and local differences in cost of electricity and gasoline. When taking the cost of batteries into account, electric carts can be slightly more expensive to operate on a per-round basis; however, gas carts can cost more to maintain. Both types have pros and cons and should be weighed in relation to your specific location, budget available, needs, and preferences of the facility’s members and guests. As you can see, it is important for managers to be informed, knowledgeable and confident in their decision, especially when mangers have to make recommendations to facility owners.
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TIME TO STOP TALKING AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT SLOW PLAY ON TOUR
8 Apr 2014

TIME TO STOP TALKING AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT SLOW PLAY ON TOUR

Seems like every time I read something about professional golf these days, the subject of slow play comes up. I was watching the Valspar Championship a couple of weeks ago, and the commentators dragged on and on about how long it was taking the last group to finish up. At the Valero Open, several discussions ensued about one of the contenders taking 15 to 20 practice swings before each shot. Can you really blame someone playing for millions or trying to win his first tournament for wanting to be absolutely ready before taking a swing? Of course not, especially if no one is going to do anything about it. If, as I read, it is such a concern, then do something. “It’s complicated,” is often the response. “It is hard to monitor all the players in the field and they play in pairs or threesomes, and why should faster players be subject to penalties when playing with a slow player?” is often the excuse. I say nonsense. I was sitting on the 16th green at Valspar, and on the giant screen leaderboard as each player would hit, I got their location and yardage to the green. Before each putt the distance was posted and percentage the player made from that distance. They were even compared to the rest of the field. A person follows each group entering such data continuously. How hard would it be to take the technology a bit further? For example, say each golfer was told they had to play a shot within a certain time limit. The group monitor could make an entry before a player’s turn to hit and record how long it takes him to play the shot. Too many bad times and the player gets hit with a penalty. I believe it could be done. There are probably many ways to speed up play. But, as I said in the beginning, either do something about it or keep quiet!
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