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From the
Editor
L
egendary marketer Mike Veeck has generated millions of dollars for
various professional baseball organizations by developing fun-filled
game-day promotions that create buzz and appeal to customers young and
old. His strategies have run the gamut—ranging from innovative to downright
crazy—but as he explained during his keynote address at the NGCOA
Annual Conference, they were all grounded in a great idea (see page 11). That
statement really resonated with me when Veeck made it because, ironically
enough, I was scheduled to lead a session later that day
dubbed “Simply the Best: Golf Business Ideas of the Year.”
Ultimately, ideas are why this magazine exists. Each
month, Golf Business strives to present an array of ideas
that have helped golf course owners run more efficient,
profitable businesses. At the end of the year, literally
hundreds of real-world solutions have appeared within
the pages of the magazine.
With so much useful information, we felt we were being
a little remiss by not doing more to highlight some
of the more creative ones. So we went back through each
issue of Golf Business from the past 12 months and identified
five of the most unique ideas in three categories:
Revenue generators—Ideas or innovations that have
produced significant, measurable and sustainable income
gains for a facility operator.
Cost cutters—Strategies or approaches that have lowered operating
costs for an owner without sacrificing quality of the experience or product.
Customer creators—Programs or solutions that have helped an operator
attract new customers or retain current ones.
Afterwards, we sent these finalists to a panel of judges who read the stories
and voted on the ones they felt were the best. The three ideas that received the
most votes were named the Golf Business Ideas of the Year for 2012.
Much like the promotions that Veeck has employed at his ballparks, this
year’s Ideas of the Year—Whitey O’Malley’s “Family Fun Nights” at Saddleback
Golf Club in Firestone, Colorado (incidentally, an idea he “borrowed” from Allison
George at Toad Valley Golf Course in Pleasant Hill, Iowa); Nathan Crace’s
conversion of gas-burning maintenance vehicles to propane power at The Refuge
in Magee, Mississippi; and Steve Graybill’s construction of a nine-hole short
course in the middle of a cornfield at Foxchase Golf Club in Stevens, Pennsylvania—demonstrate
that ideas come in all shapes and sizes: big, small, inexpensive,
expensive, easy to implement or hard. But what these winners also show is that
good ideas are the cornerstone of the magazine and Annual Conference, as well as
the association as a whole. And, more importantly, they’re worth sharing.
So if you have an idea that you’ve implemented at your course, I encourage
to share it. Who knows—next year it might be you that’s honored as one of
the Golf Business Ideas of the Year.
national golf course
owners association
291 Seven Farms Dr., 2nd Floor,
Charleston, SC 29492
phone (843) 881-9956
fax (843) 881-9958
www.ngcoa.org
ngcoa Executive Board
Linda Rogers, President, Juday Creek Golf Course, Granger, IN
Matt Galvin, Vice President, RDC Golf Group, Inc., Monroe Township, NJ
Rock Lucas, Secretary, Charwood Country Club, West Columbia, SC
Frank Romano, Treasurer, Scenic View Country Club, Slinger, WI
Michael K. Hughes, Chief Executive Officer
Bill Aragona, Immediate Past President, Boulder Creek Golf & CC,
Boulder Creek, CA
ngcoa board of directors
Kathy Aznavorian, Fox Hills Golf & Banquet Center, Plymouth, MI
Bill Brown, Mont Cascades Golf Club, Cantley QC, Canada
Dan Clark, Willow Creek Golf Course, Des Moines, IA
Dana Garmany, Troon Golf, Scottsdale, Arizona
Michael Hatch, Acumen Golf, Chesterfield, VA
Peter Hill, Billy Casper Golf, Vienna, VA
Jim Hinckley, Century Golf Partners, LP, Addison, TX
Jeff Hoag, Scott Lake Country Club, Comstock Park, MI
Todd Ingraham, Bunker Hill Golf Course, Medina, OH
Walter Lankau, Jr., Stow Acres Country Club, Stow, MA
Dick Schulz, The Oaks Course, Covington, GA
Ralph Stading, Lewis River Golf, Woodland, WA
Bill Stine, Golf Enterprises, Kissimmee, FL
Dick Stuntz, The Oaks, Lawrence, KS
Marcel Welling, BurgGolf Holdings, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
national advisory board
Claye Atcheson, Marriott Golf
Joe Beditz, CEO and President, National Golf Foundation
David Fay, Former Executive Director, United States Golf Association
Doug Howe, Century Golf Partners, LP
Frank Jemsek, Cog Hill Golf Club
Rees Jones, Rees Jones Incorporated
Steve Melnyk, ABC Sports, Riverside Management Company
Stephen F. Mona, CAE, CEO, World Golf Foundation
David Pillsbury, COO, PGA Tour Golf Course Properties
Gary Schaal, Past President, PGA of America
William H. Sherman, Sherman Golf Associates
ngcoa staff
Mike Hughes, Chief Executive Officer
Mike Tinkey, Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Trudy Eyrich, Controller
Thomas Smith, Network/Web Administrator
Brittany Hedrick, Accounting-Office Administrator
Susan Butler, Business Development Coordinator
Rutledge Baker, Account Manager, Partner Relations
Anne Lyndrup, Director of Player Development, Director of
Trade Show & Conference
Scotti Corley, CMP, Meeting and Events Manager
Steven Rudnicki, Associate Director of Marketing Communications
Joe Rice, Director of Membership
Barbara Searle, Associate Director of Membership
Nancy Downie, Regional Membership Manager
Ryan Johnson, Membership Acquisition Manager
Ronnie Musselwhite, Editor-in-Chief, Golf Business
Dave Alexander, Art Director, Golf Business
Clinton Hall, Designer
Kelly MacPherson, Account Manager, Golf Business