Golf Industry Trends | State of Golf Management | Case Studies

Cost Containment, Growth, Lender Owned, Member Owned, Operations, Private, Privately Owned, Public, Publicly Owned

Golf Course Owners:
Why Today’s “Land Grab” is Your Chance to Win in Tomorrow’s Economic Downturn

Article published Dec. 11, 2018
by John A. Brown Jr. – Principal, KPI Golf Management | john@kpigolf.com

The economy has been frothy for a long time now. Baby Boomers are retiring and playing a ton of golf…but neither will last forever.

This article is aimed at helping golf courses in tight markets to win market share while you still can, offset your senior players as they begin aging out of the system, and survive the next wave of golf course closings.

December 11, 2018/by John Brown

Case Studies, Cost Containment, Growth, Lender Owned, Member Owned, Operations, Private, Privately Owned, Public, Publicly Owned

How Golf Courses are Leveraging Cheaper Remote Consulting for Success

Country clubs face an ever-evolving landscape of challenges and opportunities in their pursuit of providing exceptional experiences to members and ensuring financial sustainability. One key area where country clubs can benefit significantly is golf course agronomy, which plays a pivotal role in member satisfaction and overall profitability.

October 5, 2023/by Casey Bourque

Growth, Member Owned, Operations, Private, Privately Owned

Top 3 Reasons Why Private Golf Courses are Struggling in 2023

Private golf clubs have long been a symbol of exclusivity and luxury in the world of golf. However, as we enter 2023, these once-thriving institutions are facing significant challenges. In this article, we will explore the top three reasons why private golf clubs are struggling in 2023 and what they can do to adapt and thrive in an evolving golf landscape.

September 5, 2023/by Casey Bourque

Growth, Private, Public

How to make the most of your prospect lists

People see through your cryptic sales pitches and you’re going to piss them off. That’s how you trash your database.

May 7, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Cost Containment, Growth, Operations, Privately Owned

2019 Golf Inc. Innovation Summit Flyer

Here’s a compilation of data and performance metrics discussed at the Golf Inc. Innovation Summit. KPI Principal & Founder was selected as a keynote presenter.

Click to view or download

March 30, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Podcast

Interview with Blue Sky GM: How Real-Time Performance Data Brings Huge Impact to Golf Operations

In this episode, we’re interviewing David Mayo, the General Manager at Blue Sky Golf Club in Jacksonville, Florida. The club is managed by Hampton Golf, a company that KPI Golf is closely collaborating with on data-driven solutions to help country clubs compete.

March 24, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Cost Containment, Operations, Podcast, Privately Owned, Public, Publicly Owned

A Data-Backed Discussion on Golf Inclusion & Participation with Stuart Lindsay

Stuart Lindsay has been in technology and data-driven marketing research since the early ’80’s. He’s one of the golf industry’s foremost thought leaders on industry trends, localized marketing research, weather impact statistics, and fact-based decision-making for club operators.

Today, we’re digging deep into where the golf business has been and where it’s heading…and most importantly, what club owners can do about it.

March 12, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Cost Containment, Member Owned, Podcast, Private, Privately Owned, Public

Buying Power and Cost Containment for Stand-Alone Golf Courses

So, lot’s of clubs can’t (or won’t) shell out 6-figures for a full service management contract – for good reason in many cases…

But in a lot of markets, it’s becoming harder and harder for stand-alone clubs to compete in terms of economies of scale and buying power…

So what can the “little guys” do to contain costs?

March 12, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Growth, Member Owned, Podcast, Privately Owned, Publicly Owned

Golf Course Owners Forum – How to Market and Sell Golf

In today’s Golf Course Owner and Operator’s Forum, we’re discussing how to market your golf facility.

I’m leading a discussion on strategies that golf courses typically fail to consider. Golf is what we call a “Considered” buying process. The time it takes to usher someone along the customer lifecycle from stranger to loyal customer is often considerable – 2 to 6 months or more.

March 6, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Cost Containment, Growth, Lender Owned, Member Owned, Operations, Podcast, Private, Privately Owned, Public, Publicly Owned

Welcoming the Golf Industry into the Modern Age – Using Data on a Daily Basis to Win

Data in the golf industry is completely fragmented. There are more than 20 major point of sale systems (think cash registers with accounting software)…and they don’t speak the same language.

There’s really no system of aggregating and using big customer data in the golf business…until now.

March 5, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Podcast

Giving Without Expectation – Business Strategy with Legs

At the core, KPI Golf is built around the principle that golf courses serve as the epicenter of the communities in which they reside. The local living environment goes the way of your country club – jobs, recreation, real estate values, quality of life.

This is a story of how we have chosen to model our company – giving without expectation of anything in return.

March 4, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Growth, Podcast, Public

A Case Study: Free Golf Lessons in Orlando

We’re working with a couple different golf courses right now to deploy a test run of free golf lessons as a marketing instrument. The program is part of KPI Golf Management’s push to get golf courses reconsidering the relationship golf instructors have at their facilities.

February 28, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Podcast

John Brown Shares His 85/50 Golf Course Membership Sales Strategy

The private club model is changing. In the past, exclusivity and privacy was highly touted. Nowadays, younger generations don’t look nearly as favorably on these kinds of policies and clubs in general – of course there are elite exceptions.

Most golf courses are working harder and harder to attract and retain membership.
Read more

February 20, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Podcast

Why Golf? Because You’re One Day Away from the Keys to the Castle

If you’re 20 or 30-something and you don’t know how to play golf, you’re making a huge career mistake. All the old dudes running companies are retiring and play more golf than any other part of the population right now. It’s not going to last forever though. Read more

February 19, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Lender Owned, Podcast, Publicly Owned

Why a 90-Page Request for Proposal is Probably Bad for Business

KPI Golf responded to 2 requests for proposal today – one of which was a whopping 90 pages long!

So, you can probably imagine the work that went into composing a 90-page RFP. I won’t mention which golf club it was, but they spent a whole lot of time, energy and money on conducting market research, surveys, competitive analysis, and outlining much of the club’s recent history. Read more

February 13, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Cost Containment, Podcast

Golf Course Owners: How to Get Vendors Competing for Your Business

John Brown is talking with one particular golf course owner about operating expenses on our Club Operator’s Forum. This is a 6-week program where we discuss golf industry trends, and share insights on how club owners can compete and make life better for themselves.

It’s common practice to stick with vendors for long periods of time, especially if you feel like they’re “taking care of you”.

February 6, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Growth, Member Owned, Podcast, Private, Privately Owned, Public, Publicly Owned

Exactly How Free Golf Lessons Are Helping Golf Courses Win vs. Slumping Demand

January 30, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Lender Owned, Member Owned, Podcast, Private, Privately Owned, Public, Publicly Owned

Options for Underperforming Golf Courses

John Brown discusses the options that struggling and underperforming golf courses have. The first big misconception is that professional advice and exploratory conversations only come with hard sales pitches for club management contracts. This isn’t the case at all.

The logic first step to take is to pick up the phone and call a consulting or golf management company. KPI Golf offers free phone consultations, investing hours in learning about the club’s challenges and assessing best fit.

January 15, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Podcast, Private, Privately Owned, Public

The Good, Bad and the Ugly of Golf Course Ownership

John bought his first golf course at the age of 23. Ever since, he’s been involved with owning and operating golf facilities of all kinds around the country. In this podcast episode, he discusses the great things about club ownership as well as the downside that comes with it.

Either way, in his 5th decade in the business, John’s always got interesting things to say and value to bring. Read more

January 12, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Case Studies, Cost Containment, Private, Privately Owned

81 Hole Golf Community Operational Gains of $2.5 Million in Year 1

aerial view of golf community operational gains of $2.5M

Case Study

Facility: 81 Hole Private Golf Community with 4 Clubhouses, Marina, and 1,200 Members
Location: Southeastern United States
Ownership: Private Ownership/Developer
Focus: Containing Costs and Return to Profitability
About: This is a very successful well established golf community with associated real estate, marina and many other components. Their $23 Million operating budget has gotten away from them leading to an annual loss of $1.5 Million.

January 10, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Member Owned, Operations, Podcast, Private, Public

Country Club Pitfalls: Golf Management Deals Too Good to Be True

Country clubs bringing in outside management do so in one of two major ways:

1. They recognize they need help and expertise to help them move forward optimally.

2. A firm offers to inject some capital over time in exchange for ownership stake in the club (equity vs. non-equity). Read more

January 8, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Podcast

Golf Courses Turning to Tumbleweeds

Visiting my parents in Southwest Florida this week. Their golf community lost their golf course a couple years back and it’s super sad to see.

All the residents came here for social golf, sunshine and fun…now they have to take their games on the road.

I talked with a group of them about strategies for underperforming clubs and how things could have been different. Read more

January 2, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Podcast

John Brown on Humility, Mistakes & Data-Driven Decisions

There is no solution that allows for anything other than constant oversight and management. This is because conditions, economies, market positions, competition, and consumer preferences are always changing.

The only way to compete is to evolve with the times. Golf courses are quickly finding that they are not different.

January 1, 2019/by Casey Bourque

Growth, Podcast, Private, Public

Ways Deploying Trust Can Bring Revenue to Your Golf Club

When I go to Germany every summer, the days are very long. The sun rises around 4:00 am and sets around 10:30 pm. Golf courses over there have come up with a very creative (and simple) solution for bringing in revenue during those odd hours of the day when nobody is working.

December 25, 2018/by Casey Bourque

Podcast

Keynote: Golf Course Marketing for Club Owners

We’ve been living in a thriving economy filled with a huge wave of avid senior golfers for the past 5-10 years. That’s not going to last forever. Golf course owners need to aggressively push for winning market share in their local competitive set…or they’ll lose when things shift. We’re talking strategy and tactics for winning in the next downturn.

December 20, 2018/by Casey Bourque

Cost Containment, Growth, Podcast, Private, Privately Owned

The Big-Time Advantages of Local Synergies Between Golf Courses – Clustering

His new company, KPI Golf Management, will seek third-party management contracts, consulting work and leasing, mostly with private clubs. Read more

December 14, 2018/by Casey Bourque

Podcast

KPI Golf’s John Brown Shares Survival Advice for Underperforming Golf Clubs

KPI Golf’s Casey Bourque and John Brown discuss the golf marketplace and how underperforming golf clubs can compete. The truth is that golf participation is down and common sentiment is that there are still more golf courses that need to come off the market to bring supply & demand equilibrium.

December 11, 2018/by Casey Bourque

Podcast

The Business Case for Free Golf Lessons | Keynote at Golf Academy of America

Facility: Private Full Service Country Club on a Barrier Island
Location: Southeastern United States
Ownership: Member Owned
Focus: Financial Turnaround & Cost Containment
About: Club offers 18 holes of top-end golf, beaches, pools, tennis, fine and casual dining, property ownership, equestrian, and other amenities in a secluded private island environment. Despite a roster of over 900 club members, this facility was bleeding money. The annual operating budget of $20 million was sinking this extraordinary place slowly but surely.

October 16, 2018/by Casey Bourque