Co-Op Efforts Are Becoming A Necessity

With its $59.95 green fee, Muskoka Highlands in Bracebridge, Ont., offers an affordable day on a golf course renowned for its greens and friendly atmosphere in the heart of cottage country north of Toronto.

Yet, its owner Don MacKay, the new president of the National Golf Course Owners Association, lives in the real world.

“I put my hand up and say that Muskoka Highlands is probably not going to bring anybody to Bracebridge from Toronto to Hamilton. I don’t think anybody is going to get in the car, drive up to play for the day and then drive home again,” said MacKay.

“I would love to think that it might be so, but I’m realistic in realizing probably not,” he added.

His golf course can, however, be a complement to some of the big names around his area, which has undergone incredible growth in the number of golf courses over the past two decades. Instead of expecting day visitors, why not emphasize golf in a cooperative tourism effort aimed at longer stays in the area?

“We’ve got lots of great courses that don’t have the public advertising that some of the bigger courses can have up here that link people with Muskoka,” said MacKay.

“Certainly, in Muskoka, we’re realizing the tent is way bigger than the bodies in it, so we’ve got to go and get more people to fill our tent, so to speak,” he added.

“Now, you’re going to see a cooperative effort amongst the courses, trying to co-market to get Muskoka up on the radar,” said MacKay, adding that such an effort goes beyond shared resources/finances.

“Naturally, we’re going to talk about ideas that work. The more we sit at the table together to talk about marketing, other stuff is just going to naturally come up. We’re business people – that’s what happens,” he said.

Such a cooperative marketing effort is not an original concept, but it’s one that MacKay sees picking up steam across the country due to saturation and competition with not only other golf courses, but other entertainment forms, as well.

If golf courses in one specific area can work together to emphasize everything a region has to offer, then all types of golf operations stand to benefit, he believes.

“There are different styles that appeal to different folks. There’s a certain portion of society that loves to be lavished and praised and fawned over. Everybody enjoys that experience from time to time – the Ritz experience – but I think people are realistic,” said MacKay

“That comes at a price and if they just want to play the game and they just want to go to the tee, then I think that’s where our image fits in – we’re just a golf course,” he said.

Just a golf course that prides itself on conditioning, friendliness and service, but one that can complement some of the higher end courses that exist in the area. A visitor may one day pay a higher green fee, then move to a $60 course the next.

“It makes it a very affordable stay if they dollar average down the round. If they want to play Muskoka Bay or Taboo or Bigwin, that’s great,” said MacKay. “There are about six golf courses in Muskoka that are under $100 for 18 holes that are public.”

MacKay says there are a lot more influences from inside and outside golf that make such cooperative efforts necessary, which is why he believes they will become more commonplace as time goes on.

“Being a single course in a small town, you maybe don’t have to worry about that, but now, with the high mobility and all the social platforms that are our there, you have all these engines feeding information to people. I don’t think you can compete as one course anymore,” he said.

Those social platforms he refers to will be the topic of our next discussion with the new president of the NGCOA.

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