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3 Jan 2014 admin

WHAT MAKES A GOLF COURSE GREAT?

By Marc Gelbke, Contributing Writer, US Golf Managers Association As golf course managers, we have to ask ourselves, “What makes a golf course great?” You can ask around, and some will no doubt say it is the location of the course, the layout, the condition, etc. While there is no question that these are important, in my opinion, the main reason a golf facility is great and has golfers come back is YOU AND THE STAFF. Time and time again, you hear from golfers and guests that they would come back because of how the staff makes them feel. You can have the best-kept secret, most beautiful facility, but if you don’t have a staff that sincerely cares about the players, members, guests and facility, they will inevitably find fault. Service and profits will increase and decrease according to the level of service provided. As a manager, the three most important words you can hear from your customer are, ”I’ll be back!” “I’ll be back” means satisfied customers; satisfied customers mean increased profits and a successful facility with staff that cares. Remember, I always used to teach my staff one important aspect of our business, and that is that I can spend a lot of money on merchandise to stock the golf shop, uniforms for all to wear, and a ton in maintenance to make our course look great, but the one thing that is FREE and makes us the most profits is “customer service.” We can overcome many obstacles in our day-to-day duties of running a golf course when we provide excellent service to our customers and treat them with respect, courtesy, and professionalism. One way to achieve excellent customer service is to create regular scheduled supervisor and staff meetings. Short, well-orchestrated meetings allow you to visit your vision and goals as manager, and allow you to bring forth issues that need attention and corrections. These meetings are an excellent time to role-play situations that have occurred on the property, and to remind each other of the commitment to service excellence, despite challenges that we all face from time to time. You can also use this time to provide positive feedback for a job well done. So, the next time you ask yourself, “Is my golf course great?”, you may look at it from a different perspective.

Practice your strengths

By: Gregg Steinberg, WGCA contributing writer The duel at Sherwood Country Club was reminiscent of the tale of David and Goliath. Compared to the monumental Tiger Woods, the stature and resume of Zach Johnson was quite diminutive. But that had no bearing on the end result. After an amazing hole-out from the drop area to tie Tiger in regulation play, Johnson went on to win the playoff and the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge. Like David and his mighty foe, Johnson could never keep up with Tiger’s power game. In 2013, Johnson ranked 153rd on the PGA TOUR in driving distance at 278.8 yards per drive. However, Johnson ranked 19th in scoring average (70.10). The secret to Johnson’s success in golf is not the power game. Rather Johnson focuses on his strengths. His golfing power comes from his wedge game and putting prowess. Psychologists now propose that we should focus on our strengths, and decrease our motivation toward the improvement of our weaknesses. When you work on your strengths, you are energized and happy. Practicing your weakness can drain you, and in most cases, be joyless. If Johnson focused on getting longer off the tee, he may have ruined his unique swing. Instead, he focuses on what got him to the PGA TOUR and then made it sing loudly! Do you worry about your weaknesses in golf? Are you always looking for that extra 10 yards off the tee? Is the long bomb your entire focus when you practice? Instead of working on the 300-yard drive, keep on practicing your strengths. Get great at certain key elements in your golf game, like Johnson has, and you too will begin to see the long term benefits to your scores.

IS IT TIME TO ALLOW YARDAGE MEASURING DEVICES ON THE PGA TOUR?

They are everywhere these days and they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. GPS yardage devices are common among the crowd I play with, and it has helped speed up the overall time of our weekly round. No more hunting for the nearest sprinkler head or pacing off from the 150 post; just push a button or read a meter, then select a club. Our high school golf association allows devices in matches and tournaments as long at they give distance only. It has definitely sped up play, in my opinion. In a time when just about everyone in the golf industry is lamenting slow play, maybe it is time to relax the rules against such devices. The USGA and PGA Tour do not allow yardage devices in any of their championships. On contemplation, I fail to understand their reasoning. After all, players can use yardage books that give every detail of a hole with distance to hazards, bunkers, greens, or pins. How many times have we seen golfer and caddie behind the ball going over their notes incessantly before their 10 to 15 practice swings? The rule makers have allowed innovation in equipment and balls throughout history to make the game easier. Why not just go another step and allow caddies to carry GPS devices? It would eliminate the need for pencils and paper and save a few trees in the process. They might play faster, too!

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