Running a golf club can be a daunting task with no prior business experience. However, there are ways that even you could successfully run a golf club. There are many facets to a golf course other than the golf side of things that people may not think about. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of running a golf club.
Pros
Meet New People – You will be exposed to many different people over the course of running a golf club. From people you meet on the course to the people who help you create a successful business, you will never be short of friends.
Free Golf and Food – What’s better than free golf and food? Of course, be careful with this one because it can eat (no pun intended) into your profits.
Host Tournaments – Everyone likes to show off and you can too with your new beautiful course. Tournaments are a great way to generate revenue for the course from concessions to merchandise. Hosting a tournament can also help you generate more rounds per year because spectators will get to see your course for the first time.
Easy to Find Help – No matter how it feels to own and run a golf course, you are not alone. There are so many companies that are devoted to helping people run golf courses successfully. If you feel that running a course is too big of a task, than you can hire a management company to run the business side of things. If you are a private club, then you can ask your membership to run the club.
Cons (And How to Overcome Them)
Lose Money Fast – It is extremely easy to lose money fast when running a golf club. Ultimately, the success of a golf club depends on how many people come out to play everyday. Being able to market your club to the masses is probably the most important piece of advice anyone can give you. You can also lose money quickly if you decide to change the path of your club. If you have a private course and want to turn it public, your members may not like that idea and will leave the club.
You can combat this problem by coming up with unique ways to market your golf club. It might cost some money to come up with ideas and get them into the public, but in the long run it will help you. Hosting tournaments will also allow you to bring in other types of revenue such as, food and beverage and merchandise.
Time Consuming – Running a golf club is very time consuming. Probably more so than other professions because golf is an all day long sport. Tee times can start as early as 6:00 a.m. and play can go on until about 7:15 p.m. during the summer months, not to mention the hours that you will want to keep the bar open after rounds. You have to be prepared to devote all of your time to this venture.
To help you out, make sure you have a solid team in place that knows what their job is. If your staff is responsible enough to look out for the club, then you should be fine.
Responsibility for Others – Most golf courses are adjacent to private property, roads and public areas. Golf courses have a lot to look after besides themselves because the nature of the sport. As an owner of a golf club you have to make sure that you take the necessary precautions to rid yourself of the liabilities. It is very common for golfers to break windows of homes and cars nearby, and most courses will have signs that notify golfers about the liabilities of this happening.
Always make sure to contact local officials in the community and county to learn the required rules about liabilities and issues of that nature. This will help you to make the best decisions for your club.
Difficult to Keep Everyone Happy – There are so many people involved with making a golf club work that it is tough to keep everyone satisfied. The two main categories of people are employees and customers. They are both equally important and will have an equal impact as to how successful the club is.
You can easily get an idea of the happiness levels by sending out surveys asking customers what they think can be done to improve the overall experience. Surveys for your staff is also recommended as they can let you know what needs to be changed in the workplace.