Spring is a time for planting seeds and patiently waiting for something to grow.
Alberta Golf recently used the annual PGA of Alberta Golf shows to make golfers aware of the seeds of change recently planted for the game in this province.
“We took a look inside our association, all the different programs and services that we provide for all the golfers, the golf courses,” said Phil Berube, CEO of Alberta Golf. “We came up with 125 different things Alberta Golf does and we had a media round table and it came down to-what does Alberta Golf do?”
Berube says his group went through several iterations of what that elevator pitch might sound like and the final approach was to be a support mechanism for all the things that are going on in Alberta in golf.
“That means supporting all the golf courses, the golfers that have ideas about how to promote the game, the different associations that are making an impact on our game,” he said.
Those at the golf show were able to see the four pillars Alberta Golf plans to build on consisting of discover and try, learn and play, compete and excel and connect and enjoy.
Berube said the model follows what the ski industry has successfully done for years by segmenting the market into the beginner, intermediate and advance skier.
“It’s an exercise in helping Alberta Golf to find how we can support the industry and how we can market our products and our services so that golfers understand what Alberta Golf does for them.”
The Executive Director of the PGA of Alberta, Robert Rousselle says those winter meetings helped underline for them how important it is to be pulling in the same direction for the game in Alberta.
“The biggest part is the unity. Everybody wanting to regroup together, make it a strong force and stay focused on what we have to accomplish here to keep growing the game,” he said. “Bring the families, bring the individual to the golf course.”
The numbers show that 85% of golfers (50 thousand members) don’t know they are already members of Alberta Golf/Golf Canada so that’s a big chunk just waiting to be introduced to what can be done for them at any level.
With around 240 thousand golfers teeing it up in Alberta each year Berube feels they could benefit in some way from Alberta Golf to enjoy the game even more.
Rousselle says it really is a family focus when it comes to supporting the game at all levels and it requires cooperation from the PGA of Alberta and its member professionals.
“We have the junior who is coming through the system and we’re trying to find creative ways to engage them, there’s so many choices in the market place. It’s great as we see more and more juniors starting to come into the system and at the same time we’ve got to support the true members that have been there for a long time.”
Berube says there are barriers, perceived and real, which keep people from playing golf like time and cost so moving forward there is a game plan through the galvanized efforts of those components which make up the golf industry in Alberta.
“The actual true barriers are getting people to the tee. People are making the time to play, well let’s just show them the ways of getting them to the tee,” he said. “So for us, working with all the other associations and breaking down those barriers, I think that’s what excites me the most. We’re all in this together and we’re all trying to do the same thing for the golfers.”
Here’s hoping for a good growing season in 2018 and beyond.
