Are You on The Slippery Slope to Failure?

Most golf courses fail and most management companies fail to rescue distressed golf courses because they lean on traditional golf course management models and practices that place them directly atop the dreaded, slippery slope to financial instability and ultimately, closure or land-repurposement.

At Paradigm Golf Group, an incentive-based golf course management and ownership company, we have identified the key reasons why most golf courses fail and we’ve developed the Paradigm Playbook which refocuses resources and techniques away from traditional, unsuccessful efforts that serve merely to prolong the inevitable.

We recognize, of course, that some courses suffer closure due to factors completely outside their control like a poorly structured deal, unsustainable water costs, inclement weather, and location. These are usually failures in the due-diligence processes, or structural issues, not improper management. But far too often, a management company will focus on these as the ultimate cause of their inability to turn a club around, using them as excuses, rather than changing their management styles to meet the needs of an ever-changing golf environment.

The Dreaded Slippery Slope Management, Myths, Marketing and Morons

Let’s look at the Dreaded Slippery Slope and identify opportunities to hop off the downward slide and start climbing back into the light of success. Not every PGA professional, golf course manager or ownership group can or will adopt these successful and proven techniques, but that’s what we’re here for. We’ll be happy to step in and help and we only get paid if you succeed.

Management

Probably the biggest reason most golf course management companies fail to bail out the bilge of a sinking ship is an inability to change their management tools and techniques, focusing on old practices, policies and procedures rather than on the most important piece of their business...THE GOLFER!

Most golf courses manage the way they do because that’s the way it has always been done. Rain-check policies, cart return time policies, strict enforcement of 5-some policies even when there’s nobody on the course, dress code enforcement based on a tradition many new golfers don’t respect and find pointless.

A failure to understand that the golfer is the life-blood of any daily fee golf course and needs to be treated as such only leads to the slow death of declining revenues. So, most managers will manage their budgets by cutting expenses rather than looking for ways to grow their revenues. Rather than hire new, friendly, outgoing staff and incentivizing them to do great work and boost the bottom line, they cut staff in order of seniority and are left with the cranky old guy who’s working for free golf and would rather have fewer players because it makes his job easier.

The slippery slope will grab hold of that course and it’s only a matter of time...At Paradigm, we understand that the golfer and the green fee are the key to our success, not traditions, and policies that stifle an upbeat, friendly atmosphere. The golfer has changed. The way a golfer gets their information has changed dramatically. The other entertainment options for golf, while on pause for COVID will return and we will all fight for their entertainment dollar.

So, hire friendly people. You can’t train friendly. Look, your staff doesn’t need to know a nine-iron from a lawn mower, so long as they know how to create a fun, upbeat environment that puts the customer in the lime-light makes them want to come back. Incentivize your staff by offering them commissions and other opportunities to make more than their hourly wage by doing things that help you reach your revenue goals like selling player cards. This makes for happy employees and happy golfers.

What do happy golfers do? They tell someone else about their experience. They talk about the cool contest they won, or the music on the carts, or the really fun experience they had. And how do they tell their friends? Social media, text, email. How are you communicating with your golfers (we’ll talk more in the marketing section)

What we do at Paradigm is create an upbeat, friendly atmosphere. We are not too concerned about rate-integrity and dress codes. We understand and respect the game and its heritage, but we will not let that get in the way of achieving success for ourselves and for our clients who bring us on as management partners. We’ve seen the result of an inability or an unwillingness to accept that you’re on the slippery slope. We can give you traction and we will build our agreement based on your success.

Marketing

We asked our resident PGA Professional and all-around great guy, Jason Davis, how much the PGA Program taught about marketing. His response--”Almost none.”

“How about sales?’ We asked. He just laughed. “We learned about merchandising, managing a cart fleet, creating a budget and catering to members more than anything else.”

That’s not to say that those things are not important. But you need your managers to manage your image and your message. Your digital footprint goes way beyond email blasts and blah-blah Facebook Posts.

And you need your management team as well as your front-line staff to be your best salespeople. Train them, incentivize them, and let them help you grow your business.

We’re not afraid to give away our secrets here, because we know that most managers don’t have the skill set or the desire to do these things. It’s not their fault. It’s hard to build a golf course brand and a true following of dedicated customers. That’s what we’re here for:

10 Simple Sales and marketing Techniques Drawn From the Paradigm Playbook to Get You Off the Slippery Slope:

The upbeat and welcoming atmosphere may begin on the phone. We answer the phone with an upbeat message and ask the caller’s name…”It’s another beautiful day at (golf course) Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”
Your upbeat and welcoming atmosphere will likely begin on your website. Create an engaging site with content that entertains and engages. Websites should sell your products and services. In today’s world, often the currency that leads to cash, is a player’s attention. Keep them engaged.
Your goal is to create fun.
Use old reviews to re-acquire lost customers. One old customer who is wowed by their experience and your commitment, will lead to many more.
Create relationships via social media and via face-to-face interactions.
Adapt your messaging away from the traditional avenues and target your audience with messages they want to hear.
Build a brand your players can associate with and relate to. Build a culture customers want to be a part of.
Create an “Operational Influencer.” Who is the face of your operation?
Pricing - most operators believe that dynamic pricing is having three or four set rates throughout the day. Not so! Incorporate real, dynamic pricing.
Stop trying to price your course on what YOU think it’s worth and price it on what the MARKET says it’s worth. Check your ego.

Myths

Young people aren’t into golf! Not true. They’re just not into golf the way you present it to them. Meet them where they are and you’ll find success. Everyone can have a profitable operation if they are willing to shift the vibe to drive the bottom line!

We have dozens of ways to help drive younger player participation. We go so far as to produce our own music videos and YouTube Channels!

Morons

Don’t build or agree to manage a course where the environmental challenges cannot be overcome! Some courses just cannot be saved, check your ego and take ‘em off of life support.

Stop designing golf courses that are so hard that 95% of the playing public cannot play them. Build your course so that a good player can shoot a great score and a beginner can play without losing two-dozen golf balls. They’ll both have great stories to tell!

Cutting staff and services is not a good way to meet budget. Find tools and techniques for maximizing the profit-centers you have. Decreasing maintenance and staff only leads to poor conditions and crappy customer experience.

There you have it. The dreaded Slippery Slope and how to avoid it. Paradigm Golf Group, has provided the traction to stop the slide and turn million-dollar-losers into successful, profitable and upbeat clubs. Palm Beach National in Florida, which is definitely not the nicest course in Florida, is now ranked #4 in the nation as a favorite place to play by GolfAdvisor!

If you’ve been to Palm Beach National, you know the reason for the ranking is not because the golf course is among the top four in the country. The reason for the rating is the golfers’ amazing experience generated by following the Paradigm Playbook.

A Professional Golf Club Manager You Can Count On

A golf club is certainly a unique business. On the one hand, there is a steady stream of customers to be targeted, and it is an activity that is appealing to individuals from all ages and demographic groups. On the other hand, it is a complex enterprise that requires a great deal of planning and foresight in order to generate profits on a consistent basis. Proper upkeep of the fairways and greens is a major part of it, but so is the scheduling of staff, advertising to get your customers, and many other components that are interwoven together. If one chain in that link breaks, the entire club could suffer. A golf club manager can help ensure that this does not happen, and at Paradigm, this is the service that we pride ourselves on offering.

Services That We Can Provide You With

You understand the golf business or you would not be in this line of work. There are times, however, when even the most seasoned of professionals can be weighed down under an avalanche of different areas that are all required in order to be remotely successful. The proper running of a golf course has so many different moving pieces, from business to landscape management and everything in between. An individual experienced in one area might be deficient in another. Paradigm Golf Group can provide you with a golf course manager that can analyze your existing club and determine areas where you might benefit from any bit of improvement. You obviously have vision and goals which we will understand and further match up with current industry standards in order to generate a plan that will elevate your club in stature and profitability.

Choose a Management Team with Experience on Their Side

Paradigm Golf Group has been in business for over 20 years, and we have established a reputation for developing and managing golf courses throughout the United States. We are effective at what we do precisely because we care about the success of the courses we manage. In essence, your success becomes our success, and this is something we are immensely proud of.

Again, we do not set out to tell you how to your run your business. Your club is your business, but as a golf club manager we can use our experience to truly benefit your bottom line. We pledge to listen to you and get a feel for your entire operation before making even one recommendation. In the end, we can be as involved or uninvolved in the actual implementation of any changes. That is entirely up to you, but we would be honored to become your golf club manager and partner with you in your success for years to come.

Should You Be Promoting or Discounting Your Rounds of Golf?

What’s the difference between promotion and discount?

Promotions are short term, well thought out offers that use value, benefit statements and sizzle along with financial savings to promote your products and services. Promotions create immediate demand and long-term product branding.

Discounting is simply reducing price, and possibly devaluing your product in hopes to make up revenues through increased sales volume. Unfortunately, this practice often leads to long-term price deterioration which is nearly impossible to recover, no matter how good your packaging, let alone your products.

Like packaging, promotion is part precision and part art-form. You must have a keen awareness of your margins, your market, your place in the market and the perceived value of your products and services, all of which you learn through Pricing and Packaging section of The P-Cubed Play. We’ll also learn the what, when and where to launch your new promotions to maximize the positive revenue impact.

By implementing the strategies above, our clients have increased their sales by millions of dollars. The same can happen with you. Let us help you build the perfect P3 for your company.

Yielding Rates. Dynamic Pricing, A lot of big words but no real strategy.

Yielding Rates. Dynamic Pricing, Demand-Based Initiatives… A lot of big words but no real strategy, especially in the Golf Business.

I’m guilty. I’ve used those fancy words above, and I am sure I will again. Unfortunately, just dabbling in these practices with no real strategy on how combine or blend Pricing, Packaging and Promotions will lead you to minimal success.

However, a Customer Focused Pricing, Promotions and Packaging Strategy (P-Cubed) will increase rounds, Average Green Fee and Customer Loyalty.

Pricing

For many years we have worked on various techniques to yield correctly and we’ve focused on hotels and airline pricing models. Although it was a great learning experience, there were some snags in just duplicating what they did to make yiled management effective in the golf business. For instance we found the following inconsistencies:

The buying patterns for golfers are unique. With the increase in tee time inventory in the United States, golf is more impulsive than travel and more local in reach.
Having tee time inventory available in intervals of 8 to 10 minutes all day long, in contrast to the much more limited inventory within the airline and hotel industries, creates much more complex inventory variables for golf courses. Factor in daylight and weather, and the complexity only increases.
Golf experiences vary dramatically from course to course. Quality, difficulty, location, aesthetics and amenities all contribute or detract from the customer experience. Although some airlines are better than others, after you choose where you want to go and when you want to go there, the choices are limited. Hotel inventories are more similar to golf than airline inventories, but it is much easier to have your team differentiate your course from your competition.

So who determines what your product is worth?

Answer: the market, of course! Many owners and managers price their products and services based on what they feel it is worth. In actuality, you should ask for the highest price that your customer is comfortable, willing and able to pay at any given time (of course good salesmanship goes a long way here as well). Good record keeping and an acute awareness of trends will inform price too. Does this mean you need to discount? Not necessarily. In many cases you are not charging enough and you could be leaving major revenue on the table!

When coming to grips with the differences listed above, we took a less global approach and started looking into the following two factors:

Historical Data- When is the highest demand? What was the rate and who is playing at these times? Hint: Your most utilized times may not be from 9am to 11am on Saturday AND it may not just be because of rate. Review your source reports (and if you don’t keep track of where your customers are coming from, start now). Don’t just rely on the basic report that comes from POS, ask your team, your customers, review how many days the tee time was booked etc…
Customer Expectations- In many markets there is a great diversity of customers – Resort/Vacation, Seasonal/Snowbird, Local/Regular. These groups have different expectations. This doesn’t make any of them cheap, poor or less valuable, just different. The challenging part, and where the real expertise comes in, is identifying the different buying patterns within each separate group.

Three Types of Golf Course Managers/Leaders, Which one are you? What type do you have managing your property?

Golf Course Managers

Three Types of Golf Course Managers/Leaders, Which one are you? What type do you have managing your property?

There are three types of managers/leaders/coaches:

Duds
Difference Makers
Needle Movers

What’s the difference in the three types of Golf Course Managers?

Duds

We have all seen them, worked for them or maybe even were one at one time in our past. In most cases, they have one of the two following characteristics. The first is the manager that is just lazy, not- engaged and not interested. They come in late, leave early and avoid all decision making, team management and passion for helping the property succeed. The second is the manager that is at the property 70 hours a week, overwhelmed, stressed out and focuses on all the wrong things. They are not connected to the team, our guests and the day to day operation. This manager gets stuck in the cursory duties and because of a lack of leadership and direction, they take on trivial tasks that someone could have completed. Both of these lead to poor results, terrible team morale and lack of fun at the club.

Difference Makers

These are the managers/leaders/coaches that look at the property and always strive to make it better along with how to make the experience more enjoyable for their guests and create an excellent work environment for their team. The details are important, are administratively strong and set clear expectations. They think, strategize, implement and stay accountable in making a positive difference on a day-to-day basis. They take objective observations of their operation and guest experience then strive to make improvements rather than make excuses or push blame. Simply, they make a difference…

Needle Movers

These are the managers/leaders/coaches that make drastic improvements in the sales and service efforts of their clubs. They view themselves as Sales & Service Specialists and Superior Strategists. They take the lead on making every guest’s experience as memorable as possible. Their philosophy is simple: Every Guest, Every Time. They focus not on what they want, but what the customer is looking for. They design, develop and build play products based on their customers buying patterns, they train, empower, set high expectations for their team, and they create a fun and competitive work environment by keeping score and never show anything but a positive, optimistic and forward thinking mindset. No matter where the property they manage is located or how bad the economy may be, the service improves, a competitive edge is created and sales/profit go up…the Needle Moves…

As you can see, our goal is to build and have Difference Makers and Needle Movers. In today’s marketplace, there is no room for Duds.

KEY: If you are more of a Difference Maker, hire more Needle Movers to support your talents. Vice-Versa if you are more of a Needle Mover. Can you be both, absolutely, but it takes time, focus, awareness, and commitment.

Golf Now Business Features The Paradigm Approach

Check out the article that Golf Now Business wrote about Paradigm Golf Group. They interviewed Joe D and Mikey D to gain insight on how the Paradigm approach is unique and profitable. Click Here to read the entire article

Paradigm Golf Group breaks with convention to deliver uncommon results

Written By: Golf Now

Golf loves its traditions. Honoring them, staying true to them is, in large measure, why the game has endured for hundreds of years. That’s not to say the game dogmatically resists change. Just look at equipment. NASA-like feats of engineering with club heads, shafts and, especially, the golf ball have the game’s better practitioners achieving eye-popping distances, while some traditionalists decry the results.

On the business side of golf, there are management companies that are similarly challenging the status quo. Paradigm Golf Group is one of them…Click Here to read the entire article