Golf business is booming. Here are 5 things RI public courses need to do to keep it that way

Posted by Admin August 7, 2024 Golf

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COVID was the best thing that happened to the golf business in Rhode Island. For avid golfers, it wasn’t as great.

Pre-COVID the golf industry was a different place. Some private courses struggled to find members, even offering tee times to non-members, and public courses did whatever possible to try to fill tee sheets. If you wanted to play — especially last minute — you didn’t have a hard time finding somewhere to go at a time that was convenient for you.

When golf became just about the only thing the government allowed people to do, the sport found unprecedented growth. More people started playing, which, in turn, led to more people paying attention to golf. Content creation on social media became massive business, introducing a younger demographic to the sport.

While attitudes about the sport have changed — the stuffy, stuck-up sport has become more friendly and accepting — how courses are managed hasn’t.

More: It’s been a summer of golf for the Journal’s Eric Rueb. Catch up on the courses he’s visited

Public golf is a nightmare throughout the state. If you’re looking to play during primetime — Fridays and weekends — good luck. A four-hour round anywhere is as likely as liberals and conservatives being both rational and peaceful on social media.

Before we get to solutions, it’s important to remember these golf courses are a business. Maintaining a course isn’t cheap and all it takes is one bad week of weather to throw off a balance sheet.

That said, courses that are able to provide an experience for players will earn repeat business, including when the industry numbers inevitably dip. Courses that continue to do things the old way will earn a reputation that will follow them for a while.

So what are these solutions? Can’t say I have all the answers, but after working around the industry for nearly 30 years, here are five things Rhode Island public courses need to do to be better.

More: Here are 5 of the best public golf courses in Rhode Island

Don’t let players die on your course

In the decades leading to COVID, water coolers were available at just about every single golf course in the state. You could walk 18 holes on a hot summer day and know you would be able to refill a water bottle every four holes or so.

Removing them during COVID made sense (or at least did during the time). Now, not so much.

As someone who tries to walk every time I play, I show up prepared — one 44 ounce Yeti, one 32 ounce Nalgene bottle and a Vitamin Water Zero (lemonade, the only good flavor) for the turn. Some days it’s barely enough but carrying the extra weight isn’t easy.

Let’s get back to the way things were. Give players two refill stations — somewhere around the fourth or fifth holes and somewhere near 13 or 14. Fill a cooler with ice, pour hose water over it, call it a day.

It’s the little things that matter and making sure you customers don’t suffer heat stroke certainly qualifies.

The range is a part of the experience, not an added feature

I’ve finally reached the demographic where “out-of-the-car par” isn’t possible because my body just won’t let me swing a club like that anymore.

Not every public course has a range, but for the ones that do, why on Earth are you charging players to hit balls?

The days of value golf is over, so asking people to pay more on top of already too-high greens fees is a trash move. Most people who want to hit balls before they play aren’t going through the bag; they want enough swings to loosen the shoulders, back and hips. Plus, nobody wants to waste good shots on the range.

Lump the cost into the players’ green fee. It’s simple enough to manage. Players who check in 30 minutes before their tee time can be given a token or code to go hit balls. If they show up inside that window, tough luck.

This is a little thing players notice. It also inspires players to show up to use the range on days they’re not playing, allowing courses more revenue than the extra $5 they’re trying to grease them out of on playing days.

Actually care about pace of play

Slow play is the bane of most golfer’s existence. Between the retired old guys who think the world revolves around them, to newbie golfer who doesn’t get that picking up is a better option than grinding out a 10, to the drunk 20-somethings that think everyone on the course wants to listen to Morgan Wallen, courses get backed up in a hurry.

The solution isn’t hard. Have specific time goals posted on your course or website — and then find someone to enforce them.

This person can’t be soft. This is a red-hat wearing, cigar-chomping retiree who’s seen a thing or two in their life and doesn’t cower from confrontation. They have to show patience and explain what the problem is, what the solution is and what will happen when it doesn’t get fixed — and then do just that when things don’t get better.

Rangers are integral to a course’s success, but I’ve yet to meet one — at least in Rhode Island — who lays down the law. Maybe that’s because I’m not a problem golfer. But I’ve seen plenty of golf courses with guys willing to talk the talk who won’t walk the walk.

Playing fast isn’t difficult. No honors on the tee box (except when someone makes a birdie, obviously) and always play ready golf. Don’t wait idly in a cart while your partner hits — drive to your ball and get ready to hit. Read greens while someone else is putting. Stop filling out scorecards after the hole — do it while someone’s hitting on the next tee.

There isn’t a public course in Rhode Island that should take more than four hours to play. If it does, the finger should be pointed at the players.

But courses that aren’t actively having players skip holes or kicking them off mid-round are also to blame. Every golfer knows which courses are run the worst — and if I asked people to email me which one was the top pace-of-play offender, it’s not a tough guess who would get 90 percent of the vote.

Stop squeezing the tee sheet

This would also help the above-listed problem, but trying to jam as many tee times as possible into a day ruins everyone’s experience, especially when you’re not policing the course.

There isn’t a public course in Rhode Island that’s capable of handling a full tee sheet at 10 minute intervals and giving players an enjoyable day.

Most private courses can. Primetime slots are generally filled with players who understand how to play fast and playing on familiar grounds certainly helps with pace.

The wide variety of ability makes it impossible on a public course.

If you’re looking for a magic number, it’s 12 minutes apart. Your average golf hole should take no more than 12-14 minutes to play. That number will fluctuate throughout a round, but it will all average out in the end if you’re doing things right.

Spacing groups 12 minutes apart generally prevents backups — and when they do occur, it’s not hard to find and fix the problem. At 10-minute intervals, you’d better run your course like a military operation and it’s clear, by the pace-of-play problem throughout the state, that nobody does. Anything less than that is asking for trouble — and always finds it.

While 12-minute intervals may take away a tee time or two from the day as a whole, it also guarantees players who signed up for a 2:24 tee time will tee off at that time and not 15 minutes later. Doing that is stealing time from your customers and that’s not going to help business long term.

Fix the little things

◘In 2024 there’s no reason why you don’t have all your tee times visible online.

◘At the same time, if a player calls to book a specific tee time — “saw a spot available for Thursday at 9:34, I’d like to take it” — don’t tell them they can only do that online.

◘Single players are not pariahs. I know being alone doesn’t guarantee I’ll play that way. Just make sure the groups in front of me know to let me pass.

◘Make sure every group understands that even if they’re on pace, if there’s an open hole in front of them and people waiting behind them, it’s time to let people through.

◘Off of this, at check-in explain to groups that playing through doesn’t mean “completely stop playing and watch.” Playing through is easy — two groups essentially tee off. All players go to their balls. Passing group plays on from there. Works best on par 3s.

◘Easy pace-of-play fix: allow beverage service only before a group is about to play a shot. That way an order can be placed, players can tee off/hit approaches/putt while drinks are being prepared, then payment can be made and everyone can move on. Never serve a group immediately after they’re done playing a shot.

◘Give players a reason to come back. Right now, it’s not necessary because there are more golfers than tee times. It won’t always be that way and you’ll want to make sure players remember why they should pick your course instead of why they shouldn’t.