New NGCOA President Favours Service Over Discounting
January 4, 2011 by Ian Hutchinson
A chat with Don MacKay, friendly proprietor of Muskoka Highlands in Bracebridge, Ont., and new president of the National Golf Course Owners Association, usually takes some time, but is never a waste of time with his interesting ideas and observations.
Just before the holidays, I had the opportunity to engage in one of those lengthy chats with McKay and he remained true to form as we discussed some of the issues ahead for the golf industry over the next couple of years.
“If you talk to an owner, it’s `How do I get more people paying more money to play on my golf course?’” said MacKay.
“That’s the owner’s dilemma right now is discounting and third party discounting, third party resellers,” he added.
The question now is how far do you take discounting with a public that feeds off such things as coupon books and when does it become common practice? That’s what makes it a disturbing trend for at least some golf course owners.
“All that stuff’s got everybody on edge,” he said. “Some people are embracing the third party approach to business. They’re using it to where they see it’s to their advantage and others are concerned about it because it is promoting a heavy discount on a rate, albeit they’re not discounting all the rates like that.
“There is a worry that if the industry heads down that path too much that we’re just going to keep eroding our price structure to the point where, although we’re getting by now, it’s going to get fatal is we keep our prices dropping at that rate,” said MacKay.
“The challenge is how do we get people to play without discounting as much and how do we make that work?”
The answer is with the people who stand across the counter, according to MacKay. Golf has been notorious for not listening to its customers, but the times demand that the industry starts opening its ears.
“I think we’ve got to learn some lessons from what the golfers are telling us,” said MacKay.
“My experience here – and I can only speak for Muskoka Highlands specifically, but it certainly translates across other properties – and that is that the golfer is no longer just a credit card walking through the door. The golfer is somebody who wants to feel like they’re at home,” he said.
“Member or not, they’re a member for a day and that goes beyond washing their clubs and shining their shoes and stuff like that,” said MacKay.
The industry has changed over the past 10 to 15 years, with more competitors coming into the market as a result of the overbuilding of courses that went on over that time period. With supply outpacing demand, service and friendly staff go a long way towards success.
“I think over the past 10 years, it’s eroded a bit, but up until about 2000, 2001, we were busy,” he said. “The overbuild has softened that flow or constricted that flow to each of our courses.”
As a result of that competitive market place, service becomes a greater aspect to the golf experience, so taking the time to chat isn’t lost time, but an opportunity to bring somebody back if they’re made to feel at home.
As MacKay point out, he’s more likely to hire a golf professional who is concerned with service in the shop and one who is approachable and friendly than one who is more interested in his game.
“I don’t want to rush people through to the first tee. We want to talk to them, we want to find out a bit about them. We don’t just want to do research, but we want to engage them, so they feel that they’re more than just a credit card that’s sitting on the counter to pay for the round,” he said.
“They’re valued customers. They’re not a transaction and I think we’re learning that. I think the emphasis on service and front lone service is huge and I think that’s got to grow and combine that with a bit more research on what the golfer’s thinking and a bit more research on what’s working for clubs, an idea exchange.”
An idea exchange and a pooling of resources is something that MacKay is becoming involved with in Muskoka. He’ll chat about that in the next installment.
Ian Hutchinson is a veteran Canadian golf writer, whose history in the game includes an extensive background with Canadian golf trade publications. A golf columnist with Sun Media, Hutch is also a regular contributor to publications and websites in Canada and the United States.
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Strangely enough, Don McKay is a leader in the industry. It’s hard to imagine that proprietors of a business need to be told that their most important asset is their customer. I’ve taken a lot of ‘heat’ over an article I wrote about courses being “user unfriendly” and now we have the President of NGCOA telling us that he thinks the route to more profits is “treating the customer better”!
I’m familiar with Don’s course. It’s a beauty! The holes are fun to play! The conditions are excellent and playable. NOTE Greens ‘run’ at about 10 and rough is cut at about 2 1/2 to 3″. In being consistent, he does have one hole that is unnecessarily difficult; #10. It’s 230 yards over a pond, guarded by long fescue, to a green design that is unsuitable for the length of shot. The clubhouse is attractive, functional and not an excessive financial burden. Above all, when you visit them, Don’s warm friendly smile and handshake are there to greet you. He is a hands-on operator and he’s good at it!
Hopefully, Don will organize several outings for his fellow Association Members at Muskoka Highlands where they can come and see what being in the Golf Business is all about!
Michael Schurman
CPGA Master Professional/Life Member
Service vs Discounts:
Shake your head! Both are relevant, especially in today’s economy. Fine example: Here in Florida we got to play a course in Cape Coral back in December called Palmetto Pines for a rate of $40.00 plus tax. The rate increased to $50.00 plus tax on January 1st. Effective January 14th, the rate increased to $66.00 plus tax. Even though this was a private course for 42 years and this is the 1st year they allowed public play, guess who is not playing the course at the current fee. Indeed it has great amenities, driving range, clubs cleaned and a fine clubhouse the cost to for my wife and I to play is prohibitive considering we can play other courses, such as the Fort Myers Golf and Country Club for $52.50 or Majestic in Lehigh for $42.50 plus tax, which we play every Saturday. Golf courses don’t comprehend that it’s simply to their advantage to establish reasonable green fees in order to increase play and subsequently a higher profit. Personally, if I managed a golf course I’d rather see people on every tee block morning to late evening at $35.00 – $40.00 per round as compared to a dozen golfers all day long at a rate of $60.00 or higher. I think if you do the math my approach would make everybody happy.
Lee Avram