An exerpt from the recent interview with Ian Dalzell . . .
10. How is the golf service business different in the United States than Northern Ireland?
There is no doubt about it – the golf business in the US is a SERVICE business, whereas in Northern Ireland and other parts of Britain it is all about the business of GOLF. The best way to describe it is to give an example of the average day of a golfer in each country and I hope you will understand my tongue is firmly in my cheek as I try to enhance this example to get my point across. The Ireland golfer arrives at the club, parks his own car, goes to the locker room and gets his own bag out of the locker, puts on his shoes that maybe haven’t seen polish for a while (no locker room attendants in Ireland), slings his bag on his shoulder, pops his head in the shop to say hello to the pro and let him know he is going out to play and off he goes. When he finishes his round he cleans his own clubs and shoes, puts them back in the locker and heads upstairs for a cold pint with his foursome. All in all he only came into contact with the Golf Pro and a bartender . . . seems pretty simple really. American golfer, once successfully navigating his way through the gate with guard house, pulls up at the bag drop, where he is greeted by an Outside Services Associate with an earpiece who has already been informed of his arrival by the Guardhouse employee. He steps out of his car, which is then promptly parked by the Outside Services Associate and his clubs are placed on a cart, which may or may not have his name on it. He heads to the locker room where the attendant greets him and tends to his needs for the day. From there the American golfer heads to the Grille to get a cold Gatorade and maybe half a sandwich from the waitress. Next up is the range where balls have been set up for his convenience, and after a 30-minute warm up he heads to the tee with his trusted caddie. After 4-holes a beverage carts appears to quench the thirst of the golfer, greeted and tended to by the Beverage Cart attendant. She will visit on up to 4 occasions during the round, so a cold drink is never too far away. After the round, the American golfer has his clubs cleaned by the caddie and placed in the car by the bag drop staff. He heads to the locker room where he meets the afternoon shift locker room attendant who promptly cleans off his shoes and invites him to take a hot shower or steam. After that the visit to the Grille for a cold drink is a must, and as he leaves the staff will bring his car to the front door and wave him off. All in all the American golfer may have come into contact with service personnel at least (12) times during his day, which is why SERVICE is what drives American golf. In Europe the focus is squarely on the golf. A huge difference in cultures.
11. Given the state of private golf in America, are there some ‘less is more’ principles from the United Kingdom that we should adopt on this side of the Atlantic?
Well, that’s kind of a loaded question, but yes, I would think many private clubs in the US could learn from the British model. As you look at the structure of clubs in the US, there are so many “trimmings” included in an effort to keep up with the Jones’s. Valet parking, elaborate refreshment stations, Pro V1 balls on the driving range, custom bag tags and custom-labeled bottle water – you get the idea. Several of these “extras” are not really necessary and could be trimmed without sacrificing the “golf experience”. Now onto the maintenance – call it the Augusta syndrome or whatever you want, but fast greens cost money, and we are all guilty I think if wanting faster, firmer greens. I recently played 6 Open Championship courses in Scotland and I’m not sure that any of the greens were more than about 9 on the stimpmeter. It did not deter from my enjoyment of the round at all, but the problem is that golfers today with play the “comparison card” and frequently compare the speed of “our” greens to the speed of “their greens”. It makes it very difficult for course owners and operators to slow things down and reduce the frequency of double cutting, rolling or use of growth regulators when the next door neighbor is doing all of those things. I just don’t see it changing any time soon, because now more than ever clubs need to separate themselves from the competition. The other area of maintenance that to me has gotten out of hand is the roughs or perimeters of the course. Clubs have wall to wall cut roughs, and that is labor intensive and is costs valuable dollars to keep it alive, spray it, and groom it. The comparable courses in Britain do not spend this money on their roughs – the name gives it away and should dictate how it plays. Lastly, the bunkering – smoothing, daily raking, checking depth of sand etc etc. Bunkers should probably be raked out once to twice a week and the rest of the time the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the player to treat the golf course with respect. The PGA Tour players have spoiled it for everyone as they yell “get in the bunker” because they know they will have a perfect lie. Now that’s not what I call a hazard!"
The point is . . . each country has it's own way of doing things. In computer speak, Scotland is 1.0, Ireland 1.1, England, 1.2, maybe American golf is Golf 1.4 .
Australia is 1.3.
Where is Japan?
Brazil?
Would the non-golf-business golfer like to see simpler golf again? Probably. But it's a speculative business model here in America and with accountants involved in managing a business, there will be nasty, non-puritan decisions made for the game and its playing fields.
Melvin, I applaud you fighting the Quixotic battle and I'd say that you've made the sale ! but doubt that anybody wants a radio that only plays one song in their new car.
Love over gold ! Onward Rocinante'