Will You Get Involved With Golf Canada?

The Royal Canadian Golf Association, known hereafter to the public as Golf Canada, has called a press conference for Thursday at Glen Abbey in Oakville, Ont., to launch a rebranding that we’ve all known about for quite some time.

The RCGA is hoping the media will deliver a splash by informing readers and listeners about the specifics of a program that were already discussed in the most recent issue of its association magazine – you guessed it – Golf Canada, which came through mail slots about a week before the presser.

This week, the RCGA will expect the media to deliver this recycled news with a good-for-the-game attitude that ignores the fact that it has already put this news out there, with the obligatory happy face stamped all over the story.

It’s little wonder why the media is staggering these days with all this homogenization and recycled news. This media blitz to the public will be a one-time shot and we’ll see if it does anything to cure what ails the RCGA, which is bleeding financially.

Part of the reason for its financial challenge is that the RCGA has, in general, failed to relate to the majority of golfers in this country over the years, but sees the need to do that now.

Another big reason for the RCGA needing money is that the proceeds from the Canadian Open that once funded the association’s amateur programs are now being reinvested back into that PGA Tour event, forcing the RCGA to find new revenue streams for its other programs.

So, the RCGA is now selling online Golf Canada memberships and there are various levels for $29.95, $54.95 and $500 per year, including benefits from various corporate sponsors.

Funds are needed to support the national team and other programs, but whether the magazine subscriptions, Aeroplan points and discounts on travel and insurance is enough to entice golfers to join remains to be seen.

Once the media coverage dies a few days after Thursday’s presser, the RCGA will count on the golf industry and specifically, golf facilities, to keep the program in the faces of their members/customers, either through the use of buyer incentive programs or through the sale of merchandise with the snappy Golf Canada logo.

That logo, by the way, has drawn the fire of some women, who point out correctly that the RCGA is supposed to represent both genders after amalgamation a few years ago, so why do they have a silhouette that is obviously a dude in front of a maple leaf?

So, we’ll all be called upon to do our part. I do plan to be at the Abbey on Thursday for the press conference because, above all, it is a story that affects the golf industry, even if the RCGA’s own magazine trumped the very media outlets it expects to write about the program.

This week’s GNN Poll asks you about the Golf Canada program.

Does your golf facility plan to participate in the Golf Canada rebranding program this year?

 

Be sure to cast your vote on the GNN home page and feel free to leave a comment below.

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