Everyone says they’re growing the game. Here’s a framework for actually doing it:

It’s been two weeks since the PGA Show and the feedback from folks around the industry has been generally positive.  It should be.  TaylorMade kicked things off in grand fashion with some provocative statements and the introduction of HackGolf.  From there, everyone I encountered seemed to have a good understanding and acceptance of the challenges we're facing and an upbeat disposition about our ability to overcome them.

The Show for us (TGA) was excellent.  We’re starting, slowly but surely, to see the industry embrace our model and impact.  The Southern California PGA’s acquisition of two of our franchises has played a big role in that.

The Show for me personally was also very good.  In addition to my TGA commitments, I had the pleasure of meeting several readers of this blog and learning about some of the awesome things this community is working on.

Since leaving Orlando, however, I’ve found myself with this nagging and growing discomfort about the Show’s central theme – the concept of “growing the game.”

What bothered me this year was how loosely this phrase was being thrown around.  Countless people were wearing pins on their badges that proclaimed: “I’m growing the game.”  Everyone from equipment companies to PGA Professionals to industry associations to teaching aid companies to basically everyone else was touting how they grow golf. 

They’re not wrong.  What’s the definition of “growing the game” anyway?  Is it making golf easier?  More enjoyable?  Faster?  Cheaper?  More accessible?  Yes yes and yes.  By this vague description, basically everyone in the industry is in some way shape or form trying to “grow the game.”  That’s a good thing from a 100k foot level.

My issue is that the phrase is becoming shallow.  It’s used more in self-aggrandizing ways than in meaningful ones.

What does “growing the game” actually mean?  Is it our goal as an industry to increase the number of overall players?  Overall rounds?  Annual spending?   Enjoyment?  TV viewership?  What?  In the tennis industry, they measure success by ball sales.  What's that metric (or metrics) for golf?

And that’s where my discomfort resides.  When everyone believes they’re growing the game through countless different ways without a clear overarching strategy or collective objectives, we’re accomplishing everything but accomplishing nothing.

It’s important to note that the lens I view the golf industry through is almost entirely influenced by player development.  I have a deep personal relationship with the concept of “growing the game” as my entire career has been dedicated to bringing new players into the sport.  Within this context, here’s how I’d create an industry-wide framework and strategy for growing golf:

Step 1 – Identify the three categories of players:

Group 1 – Core golfers

Group 2 – Occasional golfers

Group 3 – Non-golfers

Note that I do not differentiate between lapsed golfers and those who have never played the sport as BCG and Golf 2.0 do.  My view is that, either way, the reasons why they stopped playing or never started are very similar.

Step 2 – Define what “growing the game” means in each category:

Core golfers – increased annual spending

Occasional golfers – increased rounds and memberships

Non-golfers – increased overall participation

Step 3 – Identify the key drivers of Step 2 goals:

Core golfers – equipment/apparel, lessons, training aids, tournaments, travel

Occasional golfers – time, cost, course availability

Non-golfers – knowledge, availability, time, cost, difficulty

Step 4 – Identify strategies for each driver (only some of many listed below):

Core golfers – equipment/apparel advancements, cost-effective lesson packages, regional tournaments and social outings

Occasional golfers – increase pace of play, decrease costs, define/promote other ways to play and enjoy “golf”

Non-golfers – target youth and millennials, embrace alternate forms of “golf,” create simple and cost-effective introductory programs

Step 5 – Partner with key stakeholders for each driver (only some of many listed below):

Core golfers – TMAG/Callaway/etc., PGA of America, PGA Professionals

Occasional golfers – Tee it Forward, TopGolf, TMAG’s 15” cup, PGA Junior League Golf, Speedgolf, more customizable holes/courses

Non-golfers – Get Golf Ready, TGA, FootGolf

Conclusion:

Not only would a concise and straight-forward outline like this give the industry a framework within which to operate, but it would help identify for all stakeholders where their value proposition lies compared to others and what their focus should be.  Imagine the collaboration, idea-sharing, acceptance, resource-sharing, etc. that could come from this.  How great would it be for the dialogue to shift from buttons that state “I’m growing the game” to real conversations where someone could say - “I’m growing the game by focusing on group 2 with the incorporation of Speedgolf during twilight hours.” - and everyone involved understood what was just said and how it aligned with their own strategies?

I understand that the common counter-argument to my view is “golf is a niche sport and we should accept that” but I disagree.  That, to me, is a deferral of responsibility for declining participation.  Every day I see people pick up a club for the first time and have an amazing experience who aren’t part of the “niche.”  That is why I believe golf has tremendous room to grow through both traditional and non-traditional ways.  But we need to start with a plan.  And there needs to be objectives we all buy into.

Thank you for reading this far along in my post and taking the time to hear my thoughts on how we should frame the conversation and craft the strategy to accomplish “growing the game.”  I welcome your thoughts and feedback.

Have a great weekend and Happy Entrepreneuring… 

Return & Ridicule - My Mercurial Relationship with the PGA Show

This week is the golf industry’s annual pilgrimage to Orlando for the PGA Show and I’m hitting the double-digit mark for years attending at 10.  I’m looking forward to seeing old friends, meeting new ones and checking out the latest and greatest.

One of the things I noticed last year was an overall sense that folks were opening up.   There wasn’t the feigned confidence of the mid 2000s.  There wasn’t as much of the territorial isolationism of the early 2010s.  The overall vibe seemed to be “this has sucked for a long time so let’s recognize that and focus on making it better.” 

Take a deep breathe of that fresh air, folks.  Feels good.  Let’s keep it going.

Writing this from the plane, I find myself reflecting on the mercurial relationship I’ve had over the years with the PGA Show.  I used to cringe on the flight over as I prepared for a week’s worth of frustrating conversations.  I’m not great at small talk and I’ve historically struggled with managing the traditionalist culture of the golf industry. 

We receive our fair share of criticism at TGA.  People disagree philosophically with our for-profit model.  They think golf should be taught solely at a golf course.  They disagree with our decision to employ coaches who aren’t PGA Professionals.   They believe we’re glorified babysitters since we teach kids under the age of 10.  They dismiss us solely for being in the same vague realm as The First Tee.  And so on.

We have responses to all of this, of course.  You can check out our website for our positions on these subjects.

What has frustrated me about the PGA Show was the feeling that I spent a week answering these questions and defending my company.  We’ve introduced hundreds of thousands of kids to golf, created hundreds of jobs, provided business ownership opportunities to dozens of entrepreneurs, and yet I still felt like a punching bag.

But these past few years, the feeling has been different.  I’ve learned something important.  The concept of return and ridicule.

I realized that not only are naysayers and critics part of life for an entrepreneur, but they’re things that should make us smile.

Yes, smile.  Why?  Because skepticism is a sign of one of two things:

The first is that you may just have a weak concept.  In which case, be thankful for the honest feedback.

The second is that, if you’ve had some early wins, you’re likely making people uncomfortable.  People have a lot riding on the norm – job, identity, etc. – and your innovation is threatening that sense of security.  When people feel uneasy, they push back.  Bad for them, good for you.

One of the things I enjoy most about the PGA Show is the countless amount of entrepreneurs who arrive hoping to strike gold.  For many, with the investment a booth requires, they’ve put all of their company’s young eggs in this show’s basket.  I have tremendous respect for the magnitude of these three days for them.

For my partner Josh and I, we’re going to meet with a bunch of PGA Sections and try to recreate with them what we’re doing with the SCPGA.  We’re also going to meet with leaders from the PGA and other industry associations.  And I’ll spend some time looking for products we can incorporate into our programs across the country.

We’ll undoubtedly have some interactions this week with questions/criticisms like the ones I described above.  Assuming they aren’t too frequent, I’ll smile at the uneasiness I’m causing.  Because that’s what entrepreneurship is all about. 

And, hopefully, there will be an equal amount of conversations about how our concept is a key solution to a nagging and challenging problem.  I’ll smile then too, because that’s also what entrepreneurship is all about.

For all the entrepreneurs descending on Orlando this week, I wish you all the best and encourage you to embrace the feedback.  Learn from it.  Win with it.

Have a great week, everyone.  Happy entrepreneuring…

Who’s Really an Entrepreneur? You? Me? A Franchisee?

Happy New Year to the Golf Entrepreneur community.  I hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday season.

Over the past few months I’ve found myself in numerous conversations around the central theme/question of – “Is someone who owns a franchise really an entrepreneur?”

I’ve heard several schools of thought with the most common response being “no” under the pretense that “entrepreneurship is about having that big idea and then doing something great with it, whereas franchisees get the idea and everything else they need handed to them.”

What strikes me about this sentiment is how it highlights for me in a highly personal way the differing perceptions and opinions about what “entrepreneurship” is.  Many folks fall within the camp of believing it is “idea” based, which makes sense because all new companies and products start with a central idea.

However, I offer a different perspective, one that defines entrepreneurship as “execution-based with risk.”

Let me tell a story that highlights what I mean.  I co-founded a company called GLinks in 2010 after winning a business plan competition and some seed capital.  My partner Joshua Jacobs created the original idea for GLinks, and it was to host events for singles at the golf course where they switched partners each hole in a modified speed-dating format.  I liked this idea because it captured the inherent socialization of golf – the concept that you can learn more about a person in four hours on a golf course than in four years in an office.  I brought the idea into a business school program, put it through the feasibility funnel and developed a formal business plan. 

The end result for GLinks was “a social golf network for young professionals who want to play golf, meet other like-minded people and learn a valuable business asset.”  This final concept included elements of Josh’s original idea while also incorporating my own ideas plus the ideas of many strangers that we learned through market testing.  As a result, the landing point for the “idea” of GLinks cannot be claimed by any one individual as it was a living, breathing thing with countless contributors.  Just as TGA started as an overnight camp for teenagers and is now a school-based program predominately for kids under the age of 10. 

This is why the definition of entrepreneurship as an “idea” doesn’t sit well with me.

When I talk about entrepreneurship being “execution-based with risk,” the first part refers to the ability to succeed in a highly unstable environment over a long period of time.  The second refers to having significant personal risk tied to the outcome. 

Let me expand by reverting back to the GLinks example.  Josh and I made the tough decision a few months ago to close down GLinks after two years of stagnation.  The reality is that we didn’t execute at a high level over a period of time.  There are valid reasons for this but we also made a lot of mistakes along the way.  The bottom line is that we didn’t accomplish what we set out to do and that’s a humbling thing.  Were we entrepreneurs?  Absolutely, we took an idea, risked our personal capital and launched a company.  But in this case we failed because we missed the “execution” part.  And that’s okay.

The question is – was I any more of an “entrepreneur” with my GLinks experience than one of our TGA franchisees who has risked their capital – often including home equity, 401k’s, savings accounts, etc. – to start and succeed with their franchised business?  Absolutely not.

We as the franchisor may provide the idea and business tools, but a sales/marketing strategy (and everything else in a franchisor’s “operations manual”) is meaningless if not executed at a high level.  We provide a lot of things, but we don’t (and can’t) provide the grit it takes to wake up every day determined to successfully navigate the roller-coaster of worrying about cash flow, overcoming naysayers, hitting sales targets, leading a team and everything else a franchisee is responsible for.  Because if they don’t accomplish these things, they may not have the funds to make their next mortgage payment. 

That’s entrepreneurialism, and it’s “execution-based with risk.”

I’d like to leave you with this article that discusses similar themes and features several folks in the golf industry, including myself and one of our new franchisees and Master Developers up in Canada, Joe Barnes.

I wish you all the best in 2014 and hope it’s a year of big dreams, big accomplishments and lots of happy entrepreneuring…

Celebrating Milestones is Critically Important. Here's Why:

I've been on Cloud 9 this week. The feeling started on Sunday when we threw a golf and tennis party in Los Angeles to celebrate TGA's 10-year birthday. In the time since, I've had one of the most productive work weeks I can remember. It reminded me how important it is to celebrate milestones - not only to recognize and motivate staff, increase morale, generate PR and so forth - but also to rejuvenate ourselves, the entrepreneurs and owners.

I generally have a hard time celebrating work-related things. It's one of my weaknesses as a manager. The reasons are partly my INTP personality and partly that my job is to think (and worry) about things 2-5 steps down the road so others don't have to.

But having around 150 TGA students, parents, partners and friends come out to celebrate our 10 year birthday on a warm Southern California afternoon when there were hundreds of other things to do reminded me how important these moments are. Yes, from a dollars and cents perspective, we hopefully gained and retained some customers. But we also charged nothing and covered all expenses, so who knows. The important thing is that we created a sense of community, a sense of family.

We had a student and his dad from one of our first six school programs in 2003 come out to celebrate with us. The kid who was half my size when I coached him through years worth of enrichment programs and camps was suddenly taller than me. Crazy. We didn't recruit him to the party, he just showed up to say thanks. He told us that TGA was his launching point for playing golf at one of the premier high schools in LA and how he's hoping to get a golf scholarship to an Ivy League school when he starts applying to college next year. That's priceless.

It's maybe ironic to mention the word "entrepreneur" and "10 year birthday" in the same sentence but it is very real for me and all of us at TGA. In my experience, entrepreneurship is much more a marathon than a race. Making it 10 years at TGA means nothing if we're not 10x what we are today at our 20 year birthday. And that's the beauty/frustration of it all - company-building takes time. A lot of time. We still feel and operate like entrepreneurs every day at TGA, 10 years in. And a lot of other entrepreneurs I know experience the same thing. So if you're thinking of venturing down this road, be prepared for the long haul.

I know that many readers of this blog are either already associated with TGA or are interested in becoming so, and I want to thank you for your valuable contributions to the way I've been feeling this week. I'd like to extend a special thank you to LeeAnn O'Donnell, TGA's Marketing Manager, and Nate Wright, TGA's National Program Director, for throwing an awesome birthday party last weekend. It invigorated the local TGA community and put me in a state of euphoria that has motivated me to have one of my best weeks on the job.

That is why celebrating milestones is so important for me, and you, the entrepreneurs.

I want to leave you with my favorite picture from our birthday party, and if you'd like to see others, I invite you to visit our TGA Premier Junior Golf and TGA Premier Youth Tennis Facebook pages.

Thanks again and Keep Swinging!

Entrepreneurial Lessons from a Book on Toddlers

I've been reading up on toddler discipline (my little one recently entered the stage of reckless abandon and “no daddy!”) and am finding numerous theories/lessons that seem to apply as much to business as parenting.

One particular story resonated with me and I’ve found myself referencing it on several occasions this week within TGA’s walls.

The story is this – in an effort to study the impact of boundaries, a behaviorist removed the fence surrounding a preschool yard to see how the kids would react.  Instead of running wild with their newfound freedom, the kids huddled near the center and seemed paralyzed.  Why?  “There is security in defined limits.”  No different than if you removed the sidewalls on a bridge – everyone would drive slowlyyy down the middle.

As an entrepreneur, there are few to no proverbial “fences” surrounding what you do.  You need to be that child that bravely, almost defiantly, steps out into the danger of the unknown.  The best entrepreneurs I know are the ones who embrace uncertainty and manage change the best. 

But then an interesting thing happens.  You have some success.  You start hiring employees.  You have a C-level title by very nature of being the founder (or part of the founding team).   And then you realize that the exact traits that got you to that point are in many ways contradictory to the skills you need to be a good leader of the team you’re building.

Basic HR responsibilities like a vacation policy, staff handbook, consistent review structure, etc. are more of a nuisance to you than anything.  It’s all about results, not processes.  And when you give someone an assignment, you expect them to figure out how to get it done (and done well) with little need for hand-holding or guidance.  Because that’s the environment you, the entrepreneur, excel in.

But most employees need clarity and structure with these things.  They want (rightfully) to understand the expectations, have clear objectives and know how and when they’ll be evaluated.  They need a leader, a manager.  But often their boss (you, the entrepreneur) can’t relate to these needs.  Especially if you’re a first-time entrepreneur.  So while you did a great job of getting the company from A to B, you now need to adapt your approach quite significantly to get the company from B to C.  Fred Wilson wrote an article called “Becoming A Boss” that is a must-read if this topic is interesting to you.

From my experience there are two main stages to entrepreneurship.  The first is taking an idea and turning it into an actual product with a viable business model – i.e. being the kid that steps away from the pack and heads into unchartered territory where there are no fences.  The second stage is taking your viable business model and turning it into a long-term sustainable company – i.e. getting the pack you just stepped away from to now follow you thanks in large part to the fences you’ve built along the way of your trailblazing journey.  

Being successful with one stage is difficult enough, much less both.  It takes a unique individual who not only has the aforementioned personality traits and skill set, but also possesses a high level of self-awareness, eagerness to learn and willingness to adapt.  Entrepreneurship is not for most, and the personal experience I'm speaking from comes mostly from failure which is not fun.  But if you think you've got what it takes and can handle the ride, the successes and highs can be the thrill of a lifetime.

Good luck and happy entrepreneuring...

Could Shorter Loops Help Golfers Play More Holes?

The Wall Street Journal ran an article this past weekend on a golf course in Michigan that is experimenting with 5, 7, 9 and 12 hole formats in addition to the normal 18.  It has generated a decent amount of discussion within golf circles already, including at the highest level within Southern California, and I wanted to add a few comments.

To read the article, please click here.

The reason why I think this concept has really opened eyes can perhaps be explained through my personal history with golf.

As a child, I was fortunate to have parents who were members of the local country club so I could play unlimited golf for no additional fee.  And because of the course layout at Moraga Country Club, there were natural loops of 4, 5, 8 and 10 holes.  I took advantage of this countless times when I simply wanted to enjoy the game and had limited time or sunlight to do so.  Some of my best memories with my dad, my friends and even being alone came during these times when dusk was setting in, the shadows were long, sprinklers had to be dodged and the many majesties of golf were in full force.

Now, as an adult in the metropolis of Los Angeles where club memberships start at $100k+, I, like so many others, rely on public facilities for my golf.  The problem is that these courses charge a minimum nine hole rate which is usually overpriced even for the nine holes, and often the pro shop / tee sheet is closed a few hours prior to dusk so there isn't an opportunity to jump on for a few holes at the end of the day.  Given my responsibilities as a parent and the increasing demand of 24/7 availability in the professional world, this golfing reality doesn't work for me.  I could go to a Par 3 course, but they are so populated that it's still a two hour experience to play the nine holes.  (Plus, I want to hit the big dog!)  As a result, I haven't played golf in 5+ months.  I wonder how much potential revenue the industry is losing from folks like me.  I want to play, but the game doesn't have a solution for someone in my shoes (yet), especially in an urban setting.

What Island Hills is trying to accomplish from my perspective is to provide the country club convenience at a public facility where you pay as you play.  Therefore, that free hour you may have to play golf is accommodated with a viable and cost-effective solution to enjoy golf for that hour.  Brilliant.

There are, of course, the issues of potential bottlenecks, the timing for alternative routings and so forth, which the course owner Bob Griffioen seems to recognize.  It's promising to hear him have clear perspective that his model is a test needing study and likely iteration in the coming months/years.

An important thing to note about Mr. Griffioen is that he comes from an engineering background, not a golf one, and he applies that perspective to how he operates his facility.  I can relate in the sense that I too am not a PGA Professional but rather come from more of a business background. I think the golf industry benefits when folks outside the inner circle take a crack at out-of-the-box solutions to some of golf's ailments.  I reiterate this belief daily when folks who aren't PGA Professionals inquire about TGA's franchise opportunity and worry whether they can be successful in the golf industry coming from a background other than golf.  The answer is absolutely yes.

Concepts like shorter loops, pay as you play models, free equipment and cheap lessons (similar to the Mini Prince at Princeville course I wrote about a few weeks ago) may not benefit the short term bottom line, but if they encourage new players to join the game then we all win financially and otherwise in the long run.

I applaud Mr. Griffioen for taking the risk to try this approach, I'm confident that the industry will be closely following (and aiding) his efforts, and I wish him all the best.

The "Mini Prince" has Big Ideas

I'm headed to Kaua'i in a couple months and I was looking into which of the several great golf courses on the island I want to play when I came across this little gem.  The Princeville Resort, which boasts two 18 hole courses - the Prince (#1 ranked public course in Hawaii) and the Makai (also highly rated but under renovation) - has a six hole pitch-and-putt called the "Mini Prince Par 3."

The Mini Prince includes six holes 48-91 yards in length so it's appropriately sized for people of all ages and skill levels.

It has cups that are 8" wide, almost double the standard 4 1/4" cup, making the game easier and increasing the potential for lower scores and higher enjoyment.

The greens fee includes use of a Titleist Vokey wedge so you don't need to worry about bringing your sticks.

Kids play free with a paid adult so families are encouraged to go out together, and the adult rate is $15 for unlimited play throughout the day.

This makes so much sense to me on so many levels that I wanted to pass it along.  Princeville is a prestigious resort that is predominately visited by families, so they did exactly what I wrote about last week by putting the consumer experience first and created a course experience unlike any other I've heard of.  All a resort guest needs to do is walk up to the pro shop and with very little effort, very little skill, and very little cost, have an enjoyable, easy, quick experience with golf in an environment that has set them up for success.  That's pretty cool and is the approach I believe we need to have across all levels of the industry.

Here are some pictures from their website and I am very much looking forward to checking out this course in September.