How To “Save” Golf With A Brandover!

Folks, this might seem like the Mission Impossible brandover.  I mean if there was ever a sacred cow … Golf is it!  Golf has survived kings banning it, Mark Twain scorning it (golf he once said was “a fine walked spoiled”) and too many changes in fashion to name (see Michael Shanks take here). 

But I’m the kind of guy who says you can always work harder and do better to build your brand and if golf’s ever needed a brandover it’s now!!.  More Americans are giving up golf then ever before and this is part of a decade-long trend (see the articles here and here). 

No one’s quite sure why this is happening, but there seem to be a few stand out reasons: 1) the average man doesn’t want to spend all day away from his family anymore; 2) cell phones are banned on most golf courses and the average person doesn’t want to spend all day away from his cellphone anymore; 3) the Tiger Woods Perfection Depression Syndrome (Tiger’s so good that his example supposedly discourages other golfers from playing … hah!).  Also thrown into the mix is the economy, golf course overbuilding, expense, et cetera, et cetera.

Tell you the truth, I don’t know about any of these “reasons,” but I do know that for golf’s brandover to be successful it has to get back to basics.  One way of NOT doing that would be to forget what golf is!!!  Golf is essentially a solitary sport and a big part of golf’s problem might be that men today simply can’t or don’t want to take the kind of time that golf demands out of their weekends to play. 

But I can tell you the answer is NOT to turn golf into a kind of family fun day!!!  To have children and families all over the course would make it a horror show!  Just imagine missing your shot because some kid is screaming his head off on the green!  No, bringing the spirit of mini-golf onto traditional links is a recipe for disaster!

So what’s the answer, Tantillo?  Well, I’m not going to solve the problem in 30 seconds, but part of the “how to” is to build on the solitary allure of golf –but in a way that makes it appealling today’s consumer! 

If golf has the reputation as something that can’t “fit in” to the way people live today, then I say offer some options to make it a natural fit!  First, build up the number of women playing golf (51% of the population but only 25% play golf).  Do this by featuring “Woman Only” days on the course (can do “Men Only” too) and “Pamper Yourself” days.  This is important simply to create a bigger pool of golf consumers.

From there, build on the “escape” quality of golf –show how it is a brand strength!!!  Offer “Get Away” days or “Appreciate Yourself” days (both men and women) –that way “sneaking away” to play golf will no longer be a negative but a positive … something that people are encouraged to do rather than feel guilty about doing.

By the way, a few people have argued that golfing facilities have to become “family friendly.”  Sure, but it’s probably more a question of the old becoming new again –wasn’t that what all those old time club houses and their summer activities for the kiddies were all about!

And remember, it’s always easier if you keep marketing in mind!

If you’re interested in reading more about the golf decline, here are a few links:

http://www.golfbusiness.com/pageview.asp?doc=1285

http://www.bunkershot.com/2008/viewstory.cfm?ID=6881

http://hookedongolf.wordpress.com/2008/02/27/the-decline-and-fall-of-recreational-golf/

http://www.golfweek.com/story/klein_012108

http://www.golfblogger.com/index.php/golf/comments/a_decline_in_golf/

http://sports.propeller.com/story/2006/10/26/the-decline-of-golf http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/off-course-how-the-us-fell-out-of-love-with-golf-785620.html