Golfdom, October 2012

At the Turn OPINION T he beauty of our lives and what makes them special is were different Everything about people is different and thats cool Whether at home with family or working on the job almost everything is different These differences are what make the world and our lives interesting rewarding challenging and frustrating But you and me have something in common the golf industry So that probably means that like me You are thankful for this wonderful industry The fact you can make a living doing something you love in one of the greatest sports in the world is truly remarkable You are thankful for the fact that youve been able to impact so many others through your work Talk to your friends who work in other industries Im willing to bet they cant say the same thing Most people I talk to outside of the industry envy those of us who have made a good living working in it You feel blessed to have amassed many friends and colleagues in a close knit community How many times have you talked to your golf course maintenance counterparts and heard someone say the best part of his job is the people hes been able to meet throughout his career Throughout my career Ive had thousands of networking opportunities worldwide and Ive tried to take advantage of every single one of them Golf is a huge business yet its a small one compared with others Be sure to cultivate relationships with those you meet You have seen the industry grow and change in many ways Youve seen it change in ways that have impacted the game and your career Technology has made our jobs easier enabling us to improve the experience for golfers a little bit more each time they play the game At one point even nongolfers had interest in the game After the 2008 U S Open when Tiger Woods beat Rocco Mediate in 91 holes I had many nongolfer friends tell me they couldnt take their eyes off of the TV because of the excitement And yet if youre at all like me You understand that golf isnt the same as it used to be The industry is transforming Were not 12 Golfdom October 2012 If Youre At All Like Me BY MARK WOODWARD only looking back at what golf was were also looking forward to what golf will be In many cases its a little scary Back in the day working in the golf industry was fun and exciting Now even though we have a passion for golf and our careers golf is different than it used to be In todays world the game has become much more of a business You wonder about the future of the industry Because every year more golf courses are closing their doors than opening them Granted many markets were oversaturated with golf courses in the industrys heyday but when I see more than 100 courses closing during each of the past few years it gets my attention Additionally rounds played have declined in many areas and are flat at best Hopefully the grow the game initiatives the industry is developing will help but Im not overly optimistic We all know many golf courses are struggling You worry about friends who are losing their jobs at vulnerable times in their lives Many of them are being forced to say goodbye to the golf business a business to which they have devoted their entire lives And if you get to thinking about it too much youll start thinking about all of the other workers in the business not superintendents alone who are affected by golf course closures and downsizing So if you are at all like me as much as you love the game of golf the industry and your career you have the same concerns about golfs future strength and viability that I do In this regard were not so different after all Mark Woodward is president of Mark Woodward and Associates principal of DaMarCo Golf CEO of MasterStep Golf Management Group and a contributing editor for Golfdom WHEN I SEE MORE THAN 100 COURSES CLOSING DURING EACH OF THE PAST FEW YEARS IT GETS MY ATTENTION