Dear Golf Industry Colleague,

Beware The Trojan Horse of Golf

These are indeed fascinating times for the golf industry. Most courses that are now open for play have experienced a strong demand and pressure on their tee sheet.

We have a strong warning from the UK Golf Federation regarding Golf Now and their exceptional marketing clout. I am personally completely opposed to the bartering of tee times and have stated this many times before. But to provide a balanced point of view, it is worth remembering that the owners of Golf Now also provide exceptional television coverage of golf both throughout Europe and in America. Since the takeover of Sky Sports, their market position is dominant. I’d like to congratulate them for an exceptional job and for continuing to provide interesting coverage for all of us golf addicts during the lockdown when no live golf was available to view.

It seems such a shame when you have an organisation committed to excellent quality, superb production and a communication system that spreads wide across the globe, that they abuse this position of power in order to turn a cheap buck and erode the financial stability of golf courses that are the backbone of the sport. 

I would personally like to congratulate every single operator who renounces all bartered tee times, having faith in their own product. Together we can celebrate the very good work that NBC Sports Group do in promoting golf, rather than their sordid little scheme, wrongly masquerading behind customer choice. 

If Golf Now were allowed to prosper, then the ability of golf courses to charge a fair rate for the green fees would be totally compromised. It is most unlikely that a customer willing to pay £15 for a round of golf from Golf Now via a bartered time, will return to the same course and happily pay the going rate, whether that is £25 or £55. Beware - this is the Trojan Horse of golf.  There is more detail on this subject in the article from the UK Golf Federation.

Also this month we have a fascinating look behind-the-scenes at American Golf. It has been a very difficult time for all of us in the golf industry and golf retail in particular has suffered for a long period of the closure. Golf retail is raring to go again and there are some great stories on the new store opening at New Malden and also the backing of Justin and Kate Rose’s women’s golf series. As ever, Gary Favell, American Golf’s Chief Executive, has an interesting view on the industry.

Best wishes, Colin Jenkins