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:

  1. 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?”
  2. 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.
  3. Your goal is to create fun.
  4. 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.
  5. Create relationships via social media and via face-to-face interactions.
  6. Adapt your messaging away from the traditional avenues and target your audience with messages they want to hear.
  7. Build a brand your players can associate with and relate to.  Build a culture customers want to be a part of.
  8. Create an “Operational Influencer.”  Who is the face of your operation?
  9. Pricing - most operators believe that dynamic pricing is having three or four set rates throughout the day. Not so!  Incorporate real, dynamic pricing.
  10. 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.

It’s Golf! We’re Not Saving Lives.

Let’s be real, if you play golf or have been around golf courses for any period of time, you’ve had this thought; “why is everyone so serious? Lighten up! You’re not saving lives!” 

Traditionally, golf courses generate that kind of environment because they have tended to focus on upholding rich traditions, decorum, and the integrity of the game at the expense of creating a fun and friendly customer experience.  That’s not to say that decorum and tradition and integrity don’t have their place in the golf business, but it’s the 21st century. Most recreational golfers these days want to have fun and be entertained, and leave stress behind. 

The common approach and business model of golf course management centers around maintaining stiff and outdated rules and policies. In our opinion, this was the leading cause of the decreased participation and difficulty attracting new golfers in the pre-COVID era. Golf course managers are stuck in their way of doing things because that is “the way we have always done them,” or they manage based on creating the atmosphere they experience and expect in the finest clubs. Both are sure ways to failure, not only in the golf business but any business.

So let’s dig in.  Let’s look at what we do differently at Paradigm Golf Group that has helped us transform dozens of struggling courses into successful, fun and upbeat operations.  

Golf courses and golf course managers need to lighten up and not take themselves so seriously. With nearly 20 years of experience owning, leasing, managing, and consulting for golf courses all over the country, we have developed The Paradigm Way. Our customer-focused, zany, and maybe even goofy approach to golf course management and golf marketing may seem irreverent, but it works and it’s a hell of a lot more fun!

The Golf Biz Four Pillars: 

Golf Management, Golf Marketing, Golf Management Myths and Golf Morons.

Golf Course Management

We already said it - “Lighten up!  We’re Not Saving Lives.”  It may seem simple, but one of the first things you and your staff need to do is be nice. Hire happy people!  Hire fun people!  Golfers golf at your golf course because they want to have fun and lose themselves for four hours. They come back to your golf course, or don’t,  because of the experience you provide for them. 

We turn up the music all over the golf course operation and offer blue-tooth speakers on our golf carts.  We have a food truck at the turn with an outdoor bar. There could be corn-hole, or ping pong basketball and contests -- we make the entire golf course experience different and golfers love it, and they keep coming back.

No matter what amenities you have at your golf operation, your number one goal is to make it fun for your guests. Make them smile. Make them the coolest people on the planet. We all know golf ain’t all that cool...even Rickie Fowler is only marginally cool, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make your golfers feel cool and important.

It’s a simple thing - Make ‘em smile.

Golf Course Marketing

Stop throwing your money at newspaper ads and get with the times.  You can’t stand out in the newspaper.  You just can’t.  Hell, most people stopped getting the newspaper delivered years ago.

Instead, get into the digital spaces and do something different.  At Paradigm, we have generated some of the most creative and innovative marketing EVER to hit the golf industry and it is incredibly successful.

What’s our goal? - Making people smile.  Well, that and generating rounds and revenue and raving fans.  We use creative videos, music videos, contests and zany trick shots to create content traditional golf course marketers have never considered.

But by creating fun, upbeat and zany content, we also create FOLLOWERS and FANS.  It all contributes to the overarching, fun and friendly experience you’ll find at all our clubs.  And it works.  We’ve turned around some real losers and made them flourish.

Myths

Look, you don’t need to be a great golfer to be a great golf course manager. In fact, we often deliberately hire outside the industry to avoid bringing someone in who has been indoctrinated into the traditional, stuffy world of clubhouse management.  Hire happy, smart, nice people.  It’s not rocket science.

Morons

Well, I’m just gonna say it and see what happens.  Take advantage of the marketing reach of third party aggregates.  You may personally feel that GolfNow is the bane of the golf world, but golfers love it and golfers use it.  If you refuse to use GolfNow out of some personal bias or misdirected criticism of some organization or another, you’re not effectively running your operation.  

You cannot run a successful operation without embracing the fact that golfers don’t want to call you or search the web to find you. I use GolfNow. I look at Golf Advisor. My friends all use it and we’re all in the industry.  It is where millennials shop for everything.  Nuff said.

People come to your course because they want to leave work stress, world stress and all stress behind.  They want to have fun and be entertained.  You are in a battle for their entertainment dollars.  Make it fun!  Lighten up!  Turn up the music.

You’re not saving lives.

We are the Premier Golf Course Management Company in the Area

Golf has been one of the most popular leisure activities around the world for all age groups for quite some time now. It is a game as well as a social event that draws together people from various walks of life for enjoyable, low impact physical activity. Golf is a sport that the novice and the highly experienced alike enjoy in equal measure. Because of these reasons, a well-managed golf course can be exceptionally profitable, even in today’s difficult economic climate. The key, however, is management. Paradigm Golf Group is a golf course management company that can work with you to ensure that your club is achieving the best results that you desire.

Profit or Loss – It Is Truly up to You

Running a golf course is not a simple endeavor. There are many complex variables that one must consider in order to be profitable. If done correctly, however, history has revealed that such courses will enjoy a steady stream of golfers as well as major profits on a regular basis. With courses poorly managed, however, all you will likely be looking at are vacant greens and an empty bank account. To avoid this, consider choosing Paradigm as your golf course management company. We work with you by coming alongside you, in order to generate the customer base and the revenue that your particular course is suited for. We can help guide you in terms of managing expenses, staff scheduling, promotions and marketing, as well as the proper technique to maintain the course effectively in such a manner that will attract golfers of all levels from across the region.

Develop a Unique Plan that Works for Your Club

In the end, your club is your baby. You need to take care of it because you can see the vision and you have the passion. If so, then we can certainly help you take this venture to the next level. We partner with you, and although we are not there to dictate how to run your club that you so obviously have poured your heart and soul into, we will be there to support you and help with wise decision choices. What we are also here to do, is to listen to you and see how your course is currently functioning, and then draw upon our experience to advise you how to operate more efficiently in order to become even more profitable in the future.

The approach that Paradigm Golf Group takes towards golf course management is different than what you will find at many other firms. We work hard to review your complete history and to genuinely get a feel for the unique goals and objectives that you have. In addition, we learn about the surrounding area in an effort to determine how you can best serve the needs of golfers in your community. Not all courses are equal, so we manage by developing a tailor-made plan set to your specific and unique situation.

Golf Now To Use or Not to Use?

To Use or Not to Use? For that is the question…Part One

Seems to be the hottest topic in the Golf Business, to use Golf Now or not to use them… Having various complexities and moving parts I decided to break up in several posts. I am starting with my thoughts on whether you should use it or not. My experience comes as a golf course owner, manager and consultant perspective. The goal is not to persuade you but share another point of view, one that has led to seven digit revenue growth in some of the most competitive markets in very difficult financial times.

Let’s start with when you should not use Golf Now-

So when should you use Golf Now-

Based on the criteria above, we have elected to not only use Golf Now but Master It. To use it as one of our strategies in growing revenue and customer base.   In addition to the reasons listed, the biggest factor we decided to master Golf Now is this- CONSUMERS LOVE IT!!

Part Two on Whether to Use or Not Use Golf Now will be focused on why the Consumers love it and How to leverage Golf Now to build YOUR properties profitability, customer loyalty, short term success and long-term sustainability.

Yes, I have read all the reasons why golf courses do not want to use it and most are about the one or two low demand trade times get sold at prices they don’t like, understood.  But what about the other 180 tee times that need to be filled everyday?

My recommendation, if you are going to use Golf Now, master it. Make it a priority to understand it and utilize all of its programs. This combined with your other sales and service strategies you can and will dominate your competition. If you don’t need it or like it, stop taking all the time and energy to hate on it and invest that time to fill your golf course without it, it’s your course, your choice…

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