Hot-button Issues In N.J. Golf Addressed At Golf Summit
The best source of referrals for new members comes from a country club’s newest members, according to Donna Coyne, executive director of Professional Club Marketing Association.
Coyne was the featured speaker at the New Jersey State Golf Association’s Annual Golf Summit on Wednesday, March 18, at the Galloping Hill Golf Course in Kenilworth, where the NJSGA is headquartered.
The Golf Summit, conducted in collaboration with the N.J. PGA Section, the N.J. Club Managers Association, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of N.J., and the N.J. Golf Course Owners Association, is considered the premier event in the state for networking and discussing hot-button topics among those in the golf industry.
Coyne (760-835-9884, donna@askpcma.org), who is also president of the Club Mark Corporation, tackled the topic of “Marketing Your Club.”
Other speakers included Jim Hankowski , CPA, (646-438-6206, jhankowski@comdcpa.com))partner in Condon O’Meara, McGinty & Donnelly LLP, who spoke on “Current Financial Trends in the Country Club Industry;” and Frank Ferruggia, Esq., of McCarter and English (973-639-7998, fferruggia@mccarter.com), and Paul Marzell, MAI (973-763-4411, paul@marzellcompany.com), a real estate tax advisor on “Update on Property Taxes and Strategies for Lowering Your Assessments.”
A panel group consisting of John Gomez of Echo Lake and the N.J. Club Managers Association, Gary Arlio of Valley Brook and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of N.J., Joe Kelly, head professional at Mendham Golf & Tennis Club and the NJPGA, and Dave Wasenda of Applied Golf Management and the Golf Course Owners Association of N.J. touched on the major issues in their respective industries.
“You need full membership to understand and accept and to approve what you’re doing to attract new membership coming in,” Coyne stated. “Study your demographics and reposition your club for your marketplace. Good communication is key. The best ideas fail because we fail to communicate properly.
“The worst thing you can do is nothing, and unfortunately, for many years, up until the economic crunch in 2009, clubs were doing nothing. Think about how to make your club dynamic with marketing, understand your demographics and how to position yourself as a club, and how to be attractive to new members,” she added.
“If members are getting what they want out of their club, the club will keep them as members. Remember they want to have fun. Put some spin on your events. Don’t set them up the same way every year.”
Coyne noted the most popular amenities clubs are added include health and fitness areas, tennis courts, and that many clubs are being more creative with their golf programs, such as offering engaging on-course opportunities to spouses of passionate golfers.
Hankowski said the costs of maintaining each hole on a private golf course in New Jersey has risen by 45 percent gross to $79,577 since 2004, mirroring the rise in dues. He also said initiation fees have risen 50 percent and that 74 percent of a club’s membership lives within three miles of the club.
The biggest difference in membership fees over the past 10 years is that companies are no longer picking up membership dues and initiation fees, Hankowski stated.
Ferruggia urged country clubs to study New Jersey’s Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, amended in 1986, also known as the Woodlands Act. In New Jersey, Woodland must be a minimum of five acres segregated from the golf course, but part of the country club’s property.
“If a substantial lot of woodlands is segregated or distinct from the golf course, that’s the kind of space for woodlands that can be effective. Numbers can be staggering. You can go from thousands of dollars in value per acre to hundreds of dollars per acre in a private appraisal for tax purposes if the club gets the Woodlands treatment.
“The Woodlands Act has become a powerful tool, if a club has distinct lots of private property,” Ferruggia stated.
Each panel member noted important aspects of their industry.
“The challenging part has been holding down costs, especially payroll, keeping to a zero-based budget. The other thing is gaining member involvement and creating events. Finding ways to improve on events that were partially attended, to getting more involvement up the next year,” Gomez said.
Arlio reflected: “We’re dealing with decreasing play. We need to attract new members, younger members, women golfers, and try to retain those golfers. As a golf course superintendent, every year we deal increased expectations and keeping up with the next door neighbor club, and keeping your members. That’s a pressure on our supers, and we still need to keep costs down.”
Kelly, of Mendham Golf and Tennis talked about his role as a PGA professional
“For all of us, our roles have expanded. In the last several years, the biggest responsibility in the form of what value are we bringing every day for members and owners for membership growth and retention.
“Avid golfer will play their rounds of golf. What are PGA pros doing from a programming standpoint for juniors. Kids are playing other sports, but their parents want them exposed to golf at the course.
“A female golfer is newly exposed to the sport, and wants to enjoy herself and be comfortable at the course. It becomes an issue at home. Can we provide a golf experience that has nothing to do with playing nine holes or 18 holes of golf? We want people to feel good spending time at the club and having fun regardless of the number of rounds of golf they’re playing.
“Getting members to spend time at our facilities has been the challenge in the last several years,” Kelly said.
Dave Wasenda’s company, based in Millstone, N.J., manages 17 golf courses and hires 20 golf professionals and 15 superintendents. Applied Golf manages Knob Hill Golf Club in Manalapan, Hawk Pointe Golf Club in Washington, Eagle Ridge Golf Club in Lakewood, Regency Golf Club in Monroe Township, Clearbrook Golf Course in Monroe Township and Renaissance Country Club in Manchester, and clubs in other states.
“From a business perspective, things are very different. Times have changed.
“We’re repurposing this business in the public sector and the privately owned sector. We’re changing things daily in how we market and compete and staying ahead of the curve. We’re trying to reinvent ourselves a couple times a year. Are we providing the product at the right prices?
“We all owe to it ourselves. I’ve been in this business since 1987. We owe it to everybody to continue this industry in strong way and hand it off to the next generation. A lot of our peers are losing jobs or facing pay cuts. How can we help just a little bit and get this business back on its feet and prospering again? We should do all the things we can and learn how to make things better.”
