Municipal Golf Should Embrace Competitors

In southern California, a group of like-minded municipal golf managers from various courses in close proximity, get together every few months to talk "strategy." This may seem odd because most would consider them competitors, but for the Municipal Golf Caucus, there is only upside.

Like a philanthropic think-tank, each member brings their own ideas and objectives to the table with a single purpose in mind; to make golf in their area more successful. The leader of this caucus, Craig Kessler, the Director of Governmental Affairs for the Southern California Golf Association, advocates for public golf like few others. Here are a couple of links to articles by Mr. Kessler on the importance of Public Golf Advocacy.

Aside from their willingness to share ideas, the entire group gets to learn from each other essentially firsthand, but with little risk to their own operations. Many of the group's initiatives revolve around marketing, special events, new programming, and the like.

With the golf market as competitive as it is out there, especially for municipalities trying to keep their operations afloat, it's quite interesting to see this willingness to collaborate. Is a Municipal Golf Caucus something your operation could benefit from? It's worth exploring at the very least!

Here's what you should know:

-Someone needs to take the initiative and spearhead the group.
-Dialog between courses is a must, even if its just two courses.
-Consistency matters, so meeting regularly 3-4 times a year is crucial for success.
-Engagement with pertinent non-golfing experts is important for fresh perspectives.

Timing is Everything

We realize that more often than not, everything comes down to timing, so when you're ready for us, we'll be ready for you and your golf course!

Please remember, we present webinars at no charge to administrators who oversee facilities looking to improve. If that's of interest to you, please tell us about your golf course byclicking here.

Sincerely,

Andy Staples, ASGCA