Page 24 - BusinessWest April 14, 2021

A Simple Mission
Region’s Courses Have to ‘Make the Game Sticky’
Just over a year ago this time, Jesse Menachem and his staff at the Massachusetts Golf Assoc. (MGA) were fighting — and fighting hard — to convince the state simply to let golf-course owners maintain their property.
Despite some intense lobbying by his group, Gov. Charlie Baker made golf courses part of his broad shutdown of non-essential businesses
in March 2020, and for weeks, the industry lin- gered in a sort of limbo, not knowing when, if, and under what circumstances courses would be allowed to reopen.
When they did, in mid-May, a number of lim- iting restrictions kept play at modest levels. But then ... the lid came off, and the industry found itself in an enviable position. Indeed, golf was one of the few activities people could take part in during the pandemic, and people started taking it up — or taking it up again, as the case may be, a development that benefited public and private courses alike (see story on page 19).
“I’ve heard from clubs that recorded any- where from a 20% to 50% increase in rounds, which is incredible, because capacity was limited due to the longer intervals between tee times, as mandated by the state,” said Menachem, presi- dent of the MGA. “You couldn’t find tee times on weekends at many facilities; with people work- ing from home, working remotely, not traveling,
not having family activities like Little League and soccer, golf became number one in a lot of peo- ple’s minds, and the game really benefited.”
Now, as the 2021 season gets set to begin in earnest (some courses have already been open for several weeks), the golf
industry has a simple, yet also
complex, mission that Men- achem summed up directly and succinctly: “make it sticky.”
By that, he meant those man- aging the state’s courses have
to take advantage of this huge opportunity they’ve been grant- ed and compel those who took to golf last year, because there were few attractive options, stay with the game now that other options exist.
of which were closed in 2020, while those that were open faced a mountain of restrictions on what they could serve, when, and how. They have also learned some lessons from last year, including how those longer intervals between tee
“
25% to 33% of those who participated last year ... that’s a goal; that’s a start. More would be
”
“That’s our job; that’s what we’re up against — we have to make sure it’s sticky, and that’s something we have not been very good at,” he explained. “If we can sustain or retain at least 25% to 33% of those who participated last year ... that’s a goal; that’s a start. More would be great, but we have to be realistic.”
Indeed, as they go about this mission, courses will have advantages and selling points they didn’t have last year, said Menachem, espe- cially when it comes to their 19th holes, many
times improved pace of play, reduced logjams on the course, and improved the overall player experience.
But golf will also be facing far more competi- tion in 2021 when it comes to the time, atten- tion, and spending dollars of those who found the game a year ago. Indeed, as restrictions are eased, individuals and families can return to res-
Sticky
Continued on page 25
If we can sustain or retain at least
great, but we have to be realistic.
JESSE MENACHEM
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