Coachella Valley Golf Industry Summit shares area’s good news

January 18, 2016

By Matt McKay

The Coachella Valley Golf Industry Summit took place Monday at the PGA West Private Clubhouse, and there was only one conclusion to be drawn from the presentation: The state of the Coachella Valley Golf Industry is strong.

Based on the reports of three different panels addressing three different golf-related topics, the valley golf industry’s biggest shortcoming is, it hasn’t been loud enough when publicly proclaiming how well it’s doing. When it comes to the game’s impact on local water, land and turf conservation, social systems, the economy in the valley and California at large, the news is overwhelmingly good, and all left with the message: “Go forth and spread the word.”

Some of the top names in the game in Southern California, and specifically, the Coachella Valley, gathered for the summit to seek enlightenment and updates on specific components of the game, including “Water Use and Management,” the “Massive Economic and Charitable Impacts of Golf” and “What’s Right With Golf.” The moderators included Southern California PGA CEO Tom Addis, Golf Course Superintendent’s Association Southwest Regional Representative Jeff Jensen and Craig Kessler (pictured), director of governmental affairs for the SCGA.

Panelists included SCGA Executive Director Kevin Heaney, LPGA winner Nicole Castrale and TurfStar CEO Joseph Guerra (What’s Right With Golf); Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Scott White, Ironwood CC General Manager Josh Tanner and Marc Connerly, executive director of the California Golf Course Owners’ Association (The Massive Economic and Charitable Impacts of Golf); and USGA Greens Section West Region Director Pat Gross, Coachella Valley Water District Board President John Powell and Rancho La Quinta Director of Golf Course Operations Stu Rowland (Water Use and Management: Challenges and Solutions).

The dignitaries were joined by a gallery of approximately 200 local business leaders, club committee members, media and California Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia, all participating in the joint effort.

Kessler, Gross, Powell and Roland broke down the good news: the water situation is not only stable in the Coachella Valley, aquifer levels have actually improved over the last year, according to Powell. Rowland said area golf courses are aggressively trimming water use through creative measures, such as more efficient sprinkler heads and turf reduction programs. Kessler described fielding requests from national media whose biggest concern was the drought’s effect on Palm Desert as a tourist destination. Kessler responded by saying Palm Desert is in a perpetual drought, and its’ water sources - primarily the desert’s vast, deep aquifer - are different than areas of the state that can only replenish through precipitation.

He also pointed out the Coachella Valley has a long history of water conservation because of its obvious importance to a landscape that would otherwise be bone-dry and barren. Not a single farm or community could have evolved in the valley without mastering the latest and most-efficient water delivery and conservation systems.

“So something else important to come out of this meeting at least as it relates to the water issue, is just how sustainable and solid it is (here). A part of it is mother nature, and other parts of it are human nature and planning. So we’re really in a good position. I think golfers really need to understand that long-term, this golf Mecca, which is a a little over a quarter of Southern California’s golf stock, is alive, well, and ready to grow.”

Jensen, Connerly, Tanner, and White put forth examples and figures to support valley golf’s financial impact during their discussion. White, a confessed data junkie, said there were just under 11,500 golf-related jobs in the valley, and for every dollar spent on golf in the valley, another .55 is spent elsewhere. He also said the bureau is constantly working on bringing more airlines into Palm Springs International Airport, with more non-stop routes from more cities and countries.

Tanner pointed out the various valley-based events with national focus, including the CareerBuilder Challenge PGA TOUR event in La Quinta, the ANA Inspiration, the LPGA Tour’s first major each year in Rancho Mirage, the Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals, and the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells. All give the area exposure, be it on television or in person. The initial exposure often times turns into a second home, a club membership, and eventually, a retirement home in the valley. Connerly touted the valley’s weather, particularly between December and February, when the valley is one of the few places in the country with ideal golf weather.

When Addis asked Castrale, Heaney and Guerra “What’s Right With Golf?” each had good news to share. Heaney described how the individual golf entities, which in good times might be prepared to handle their problems by themselves, are now all prepared to collaborate to move everyone’s golf industry component forward. He also described how modern golf courses must become all things to all people. They can’t just offer the game of golf, they have to be all things to all people at all times.

“I get to talk to a lot of my colleagues around the country, what are their issues, are they having the same challenges we’re having,” Heaney said. “The themes are the same, there might be some nuances here and there. But what we’re all finding now is, the industry is all pulling together. When things were going well, people had the tendency to say, I’ll just do my thing, you do your thing. Now we’re all doing it together.”

Castrale spoke of the phenomenal growth of LPGA/USGA Girls Golf, which started in 2010 and now has over 50,000 participants, and the need for role models for little girls just getting started in the game. Guerra ended the workshop by reiterating the days’ themes, collaboration and communication. He closed by emphasizing the game’s benefits to kids, offering them social and recreational tools to last their lifetimes. “It probably keeps us alive,” he said.



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thevaporz

Handicap Index: 13.5
Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Need to check out the courses in that area.