Hello everyone,

I think that we are all conscious of the fact that redeveloping our course and building a new clubhouse is not enough to guarantee the sustainability of our club. We know we need to grow the number of people who use our club and we have spoken about the need for us to be truly community centric, including being more than a golf course.

Ashley Mead shared the attached document (click here to view). I recognise that it is not everyone’s idea of leisure reading but I pass it on to you for what is worth. It has been written by Staples Golf, a golf architectural firm out of Phoenix, Arizona. You can visit their website where this same document is available.

The paper is about the plight of municipal golf courses in USA. It discusses the rise and fall of the popularity of the game and the financial demise of municipal courses in recent decades. It also discusses success stories and how turnarounds were achieved.

While we’re not a municipal course, the themes discussed here that lead to a successful turnaround through increased participation from the community provide food for thought for our own situation.

I hope you find it of interest.

John

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