After three years of favorable conditions boosting the golf industry, it's time for a step back, much like other areas of discretionary spending. The short-term focus on revenue through higher prices, without significant enhancements to the customer experience, may now have consequences. CourseIQ help you streamline operations, boost efficiency, enhance the customer experience, and allow you to better serve your patrons and members.

In the most recent issue of Golf Business, a survey revealed that 12% of golfers do not feel welcome at clubs or courses, and another 32% find it difficult to make friends at the venue. The Connected Course from CourseIQ connects all existing platforms at a golf venue, bringing all operational silos into one comprehensive view for the General Manager or Director of Golf. This integration allows for significant time savings. This time savings can be used to build relationships with the patrons, resulting in incremental lift as well as customer loyalty.

The Connected Course aggregates data across existing systems, giving the General Manager a comprehensive view of venue operations. This feature saves hours each day that would otherwise be spent manually compiling this information. From there, we create rules (some might call it automation) that allow the GM to leverage their existing platforms more effectively.

The difference today is that GMs still have to manually create rules and act on insights within their systems. With The Connected Course, we can create triggers to execute actions automatically, reducing the need for manual intervention.

The influx of investment in course financing and purchasing has grown, with over $400 million in golf course sales in both 2023 and 2022. Notably, the average sales price of a course increased by over 20% year-over-year. This signals a potential margin squeeze for these new owners. They need to capture every drop of revenue while operating as efficiently as possible. This is exactly where CourseIQ can help.

Short term myopia has taken hold in golf operations. There has been resting on laurels. What happens WHEN times aren’t as great? Reactionary pain. Let’s break that cycle together General Managers! The Connected Course from CourseIQ helps you work smarter, not harder - saving you time, capturing incremental revenue, saving operational costs, and keeping your customers happy. Let us help you. See you on the tee box!

I had the pleasure of enjoying a round at a course we're currently collaborating with (though not yet disclosing), and it was truly an incredible experience—aside from my embarrassing 42 putts (no joke). We extend our invitation not only to GMs to continue reaching out so we can assist in making their lives easier, but we're also now extending this opportunity to more investors.

1/3 strongly agree that there is an acute need for greater integration of disparate technology solutions in golf facility management, with 60% overall agreement. A similar 60% feel that operational soware is too time intensive for them and their staffs to master. 60% see self service and automation making a significant impact on the golf business in the next five years.

This week, the NGCOA provided wealth of data, aligning with observations that the general public, is embracing the present and prioritizing unique experiences in their lives.

Simultaneously, the survey highlighted that 72% of golf operators feel the strain of rising expenses, particularly in providing for their families. The NGCOA terms this paradox of tightening daily budgets amidst occasional splurges as a "Vibesession."

“We hear that people are not as productive on Fridays. That should fit into a theme of more leisure for people. Golf rounds goes up, that means. Rounds going up on a yearly basis. So we think the way it’s been run, we think we can improve operations and make it much more profitable. I love golf”. Steve Cohen knows what’s up.

As the running joke goes across various regions of the United States, there's not just four seasons in a year - there are 10, 11, even 12, apparently. But this time of year, it's the best of times and the worst of times for outdoor golf venues. It reminds me that our poor General Managers and Directors of Golf seem to be addicted to chaos and stress, because year after year, the same challenges arise. Albert Einstein must be rolling over in his grave.

My business partner in LA shared an article from the LA Times that has stirred quite a commotion among the public golfing community there. The issue is around tee time scalping, but that’s just an example of the true challenge facing golf venue operations. It’s the palpable decline in the customer experience due to the significant surge in demand. Thus far, the response from the backend seems to be predominantly apathetic, which is profoundly undermining the day-to-day operations for the GMs/Directors of Golf. Over time, we anticipate a corresponding apathy from the general public, leading to a slight downturn in golf rounds in 2024 compared to 2023.

Greetings from 35,000 feet as we journey to Vegas (baby) for the Club Managers Association of America conference (CMAAs). If you happen to be in Vegas and would like to grab a coffee or beer, I'd love to connect.

Harvey Silverman, representing the NGCOA (the National Golf Course Owners Association, yet another great acronym in the industry), delivered the quote of the week - “I’ve said many times and will continue to: If there are 15,000 golf facilities in this country, they’re run 15,000 different ways.”

As we take more and more meetings with General Managers, a few of them push back saying they don’t need a tool that helps them balance their lives better. All the while having three conversations at once, unable to focus on any of them, and eventually asking to start over or even reschedule. GMs are addicted to chaos. They expect it, wouldn't know what to do without it, and feel they're not fulfilling their role without it.

This is where we borrow a line from the classic sports movie, Jerry Maguire - "Help Me Help You!" Yes, CourseIQ is selling a product, but that's not why we established this business. We built it to bring balance to the lives of General Managers, ultimately enhancing the customer experience.

I don’t know Robert Vasilak, but I’ve just become a fan. While he certainly has put a positive spin on his most recent Golf, Inc. article, even entitling it “Let the Good Times Roll”, I did sense an early warning - the line that said “the majority of golfers can’t afford…those clubs. But even where they do play, $60 is the new $35". This couldn’t be more true. At my local public course, $50 is now $79.

I’m all for courses maximizing their revenue. But like anything, there's a natural price sensitivity curve, and CourseIQ can help these venues extend the peak further down the price axis without requiring millions in literal ground-breaking investments. General Managers, let us help you make your job easier and set you up for success well before any drop-off in participation inevitably occurs.

531 million rounds were played at U.S. courses last year, a record! Topping a pre-COVID record of 518 million rounds in 2001! Wait… what happened between 2001 (The “Tiger Boom”) and COVID? A steady decline of rounds from 518M to 440M. Why? Because golf got staid. Boring. Rested on its laurels.

[January 22, 2024] - CourseIQ, recently named one of the 22 Top Golf Tech Startups To Watch Out For In 2024 by Vetted Sports, is excited to announce the official launch of its groundbreaking product, The Connected Course™, in collaboration with Atlanta Golf & Social, a new and fast-growing simulator venue in Chamblee, GA. This strategic partnership marks a significant milestone for both companies and sets the stage for a new era of golf venue operations excellence.

The National Golf Foundation has just put out some recent research that tracks what we already know. The biggest nugget that stuck with me is:

Nine straight years with over two million beginner golfers. And over three million beginning golfers over the past three years.

This means that a lot of these gals an guys out there are experiencing golf today that incudes five hour rounds/slow play, lack of resources/golf carts, lack of staff at the 19th hole/improper scheduling, unnecessary waiting around for weather delays to clear, etc. The current experience is stretched. Not broken, but certainly not efficient.

We are here to save the poor GM from burnout. Save the customer from a bad experience.

GMs/Directors of Golf - see you next week in Orlando! And hopefully on a tee box!

Everyone knows the golf boom has been huge, has maintained its growth and even put a little more on top. But what happens if course development starts ramping up too to meet the demand, thus putting less pressure on operations and putting our darling little solution at risk? Well, it turns out that the pace of new course development is expanding at a whopping 0.14% a year over the past several years (but might even double this year). That’s not going to cut it.

There was a very nice paid placement in the last issue of Golf Inc Magazine entitled “The Innovation Jump”. While tech is becoming more and more part of the operational requirements of a venue, the article EXACTLY PROVED our point. The solutions were organized by siloed elements of a course.

Meet with CourseIQ at the 2024 PGA Show!