A Checklist for the New NGCOA CEO
So I read a great article the other day from Jason Calacanis (http://calacanis.com/2015/06/17/what-i-would-do-if-i-were-ceo-of-twitter-a-seven-part-plan/) that outlined what the unannounced CEO of Twitter should do when he or she takes the job. This got me thinking about the NGCOA, their recent trials and tribulations, and what the new CEO could do to help steer that organization back on course. No announcements have been made by the NGCOA on who the final candidates are (or even what they're looking for in a candidate), but I think there are some major challenges ahead. Here’s my checklist of what the new CEO should focus on when they arrive in Charleston…
1. Re-establish the Value Proposition of the Association – You have to begin at the beginning. Go back to the basic mission statement of the association and decide what you want to be, and more importantly what you stand for. In my opinion, the organization isn't going to “enhance the lives of course golf owners by making their business more profitable” by sitting on the sidelines. The recent trend towards education instead of action needs to be corrected. It is extremely difficult to educate 10,000 different owners, and the current plight of golf course owners suggest that education should take a back seat to advocacy. Concrete actions that benefit the membership at large should be the priority. So what will redefine the value proposition of the NGCOA? It’s easy…the members will tell you! Listen to your members and potential members about what they want, and the issues and causes they want you to take up. The Greek philosopher Epicteus (thanks Google) said “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” I think the NGCOA should let that math guide the process when it comes to reestablishing their value proposition.
2. Change the Financial Under-Pinning of the Association – Another difficult one (I didn’t say these were going to be easy), but the NGCOA leadership needs to look at the forest through the trees. It’s tough to make big decisions and lead the large equity-controller of the golf industry unless you've got enough gunpowder in the barrel. To me, it all starts with growing membership numbers. I mean INSANELY growing membership numbers. The goal should be to have a 95% success rate with United States golf courses. Find out who the owners are, sell them on why they should be an NGCOA member (see Item #1), and get them into an NGCOA relationship. The focus needs to be on internal execution within the walls (and people) at the NGCOA to transform into a course-sales-first mentality. If the NGCOA asks first, “Is it good for the golf courses?” and then takes action on behalf of the owners, people will gravitate to the organization and want to be a part of it. There is always strength in numbers and that mantra is especially true for the NGCOA. In this case however, there is also financial security in numbers. Knowing that you have a solid foundation of owner support, and owner financial support, to operate in the future will be key to long-term success. (Another idea to help change the financial base of the NGCOA is to possibly implement a “golf tax” but we'll shelve that idea for a future blog.)
3. Create a TV-Rights Based Event That Benefits the Association – This is a subset of the point above, but something that deserves a shot due to the long-term ramifications. As Jim Koppenhaver outlined in the Pellucid article “Best of Times/Worst of Times,” the organizations that have TV event money are flush, and those that don't are on the outside looking in. I know this will be tricky because the PGA Tour owns TV broadcasting rights to their players, but tricky does not equal impossible. Is it feasible to bring back the now-cancelled Skins Game? Could you add a celebrity component, Tour star/LPGA star/celebrity in a 3-person alternate shot? Are there other ways to create a golf tournament “out of thin air” that has sponsorship/TV value and benefits the NGCOA? To me, it’s worth a shot to find something that can bridge the financial/TV divide and get the NGCOA on the better side of the coin.
4. Bring all States Into the Fold – This one is so obvious I almost feel bad listing it. The new CEO must make it a priority to get all states (or clusters of states) under the NGCOA tent, leaving no state behind. To truly be a national association and speak for all golf courses, everyone must be accounted for. For those states thinking about leaving, find out what their concerns are (two ears versus one mouth) and deliver what they need. Do they want individual course autonomy to decide whether to pay national dues? Fine, give it to them. Remember the first task was to reestablish the value proposition and give members so much value as part of the national group, they would be crazy not to join. Having states leave the national organization doesn’t advance the cause. The goal is to have chapters in every state (or clusters) and have them all represented at the National Conference. Anything short of that goal is unacceptable.
5. Get a Grip on the Third-Party Technology Issue – Yes I have a financial interest in third-party distribution with Golf Pipeline, so take everything with a big grain of salt. But this fact remains, since 2007 the general membership and the most vocal on the NGCOA List Serv have been clamoring for decisive action in the third-party tee time space. Nothing the NGCOA has done with their Best Practices and new “Guidelines” have solved the issues that owners are experiencing. So make decisive action happen. The NGCOA may not get consensus among the owners as to what the best course of ACTION might be, but there are clear steps the NGCOA can take to get off of the sidelines and into the arena. Again, find out what concerns members the most and do your best to provide solutions to their problems. To sit on the sidelines while the owners struggle and ask for help is not the mark of an effective association. And for those thinking this is all a ploy to get Golf Pipeline into some sort of NGCOA “deal”, in my opinion partnering with a company or multiple companies isn't necessarily the course of action I would recommend.
6. Take the Lead on Grow-the-Game Initiatives – The recent collaboration with the PGA of America and getting them to endorse the new Third-Party Guidelines is a good start on what should be the next item on your mutual agenda…growing the game. We are way overdue for something like “Get Golf Ready 2.0”. To borrow a skiing analogy, if Get Golf Ready is the bunny hill, what is being done to move golfers up the mountain and eventually return to the resort? Ever since the initial push in 2010, I've been thinking to myself “now what”? The PGA and the NGCOA need to work on this next phase together. The NGCOA should lead the effort at all of their facilities and the PGA members should make sure implementation is followed through. The last key element of Get Golf Ready 2.0 should be financial tracking through the tee sheet and POS system at the course. This is paramount! If the industry can show positive results and the financial outcome of getting golfers from the bunny slopes to skiing on their own, we can help stop the decline in golfers playing the sport. The ideal model is something that engages the entrepreneurial blood of the PGA Professional (http://blog.golfpipeline.com/post/108183488304/the-death-of-the-pga-golf-professional) and incentivizes them finacially while the owner/facility gets revenue and the industry-at-large benefits from new golfers. It seems simple right? Then let’s go implement it!
7. Partner With TopGolf in a Major Way – There is no greater force in exposing people to golf than TopGolf. Approximately 60-70% of Top Golf players do not consider themselves golfers. Their age and demographic mix is right in the wheelhouse of people we “should” be attracting to the game. It’s time to get involved with that business, support their venture, help it grow as fast and as wide as possible, and turn TopGolfers into golfer golfers. This initiative will be a separate initiative than Get Golf Ready, our new Get Golf Ready 2.0, and any other program currently available in the industry. All of the factors that appeal to TopGolf customers (fun, music, atmosphere, social, speed of play) must all be incorporated into the transition program, and the courses where they begin their transition must welcome them with open arms. Instead of 20 TopGolf facilities with no conversion programs in place, the goal should be to have 100 facilities in place by 2022, and use their millennial reach to increase golf round participation among TopGolf clients in each market.
8. Change the NGCOA Conference to a TED Format – This is something that I have covered before (http://blog.golfpipeline.com/post/113792424794/more-questions-than-answers-from-the-golf-industry), but the NGCOA Conference at the Golf Industry Show could use some tweaking. The conference portion should capitalize on the creative and energetic owners who are bringing innovative solutions to the industry. The educational component should cover a wide-range of topics, but focus on the issues that are most prevalent to their owners (another chance to listen to owner feedback). Videos of each presentation should be made available to NGCOA members which will continue to make the NGCOA the industry’s primary resource for valuable educational content. And while we’re updating the conference, the “Day at the Facility” branching out to non-traditional facilities would be a good tweak as well.
The NGCOA is the organization with the most to lose as golf’s deck of cards continues to get reshuffled. The PGA Tour, their leadership in Ponte Vedre, and the Tour stars will continue to thrive and fly private jets from tournament to tournament. The PGA of America has the PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, and Grand Slam of Golf to fall back on if golf participation continues to slide. And the USGA can do a Scrooge McDuck swim in ONE BILLION DOLLARS thanks to Fox and their new TV deal. But the golf course owner? Their butt is on the line, and they don’t have the luxury of a cushy fallback. The owners are the ones who have the declining revenues, stretched payrolls, and threat of bankruptcy. They operate their business with fire, and they need a CEO who has that same sort of fire…the fire of desperation and relentless pursuit that this particular business NEEDS to succeed.
To succeed and be viable in the future, the NGCOA must lead, whether they like it or not. It might be comfortable to just ‘go with the flow’ and do what they've always done, but then you'll get what you've always gotten. I hope the new CEO is a man or woman of action, and one who doesn't back down from a fight. It’s going to be a tough job and I hope they are up to the task…the industry needs them to be.