05988_GCM_March_2011

GCM The Business MAGAZINE FOR THE GOLF INDUSTRY

MARCH 2011

GOLF CLUB MANAGEMENT Visit www.compleatgolfer.co.za for back issues of GCM VOLU

ME

7 •

ISSU

E 3

GCM IS PRINTED ONBROUGHT TO YOU BY

HYBRID hypeALSO IN THIS ISSUE:■ Junior golf: Where have the ladies gone?■ Building your club’s brand■ A Dutch example of environmental management■ Low-tech water saving and storage■ Rainmakers at golf clubs

GCM_Cover_0311.indd 1 2011/01/31 12:10 PM

Golf Club Management March 2011 3

EDITOR’S LETTER

As we face continuing pressures to main-tain the viability of golf clubs, 2011 has not got off to the most encouraging start. This time last year we were all bullish regard-ing our hosting of the World Cup, and the benefi ts that golf clubs would enjoy from the spin-offs of having all these well-heeled foreigners in our country. Although the positive PR that this event generated may have long-term benefi ts, most clubs found their 2010 revenues falling dismally short of expectations.

To compound the problems of dwindling membership and a fall-off in corporate golf days, in the summer rainfall regions fl ooding has caused huge problems, and at a time when Highveld clubs hoped to cash in during and after the holiday break, many were sitting with water-logged courses.

The frustration of losing rounds at a time when clubs can least afford this has driven some to distraction and added to this is the expense of repairing damage caused by the storms that swept across many parts of the country. The light at the end of the tunnel may still be rather dim, but taking the lead from the more successful operators can benefi t all of us. It is worth remember-ing that the way businesses handle the tough times is likely to determine the way they bounce back once the economy does rebound. Those who can think on their feet and make the proverbial ‘plan’ are most likely to recover quicker and ultimately be more successful when things do improve.

Never has the old expression: ‘the price of survival is change’ been more apt, and while changing a business model to suit business conditions is never easy, the golf industry is being forced to take a hard look

at how it will have to face the future. Certain clubs have been reduced to imposing a levy on their members, but at the risk of pointing out the obvious, this short-term measure is hardly the answer.

Asking golfers to pay more for less, rather than the opposite, can only compound the problem, and while there are loyal members that are prepared to help in times of dire need, this should be a last resort.

It is encouraging to see proactive management and committees bucking the trends, and while there is no ‘silver bullet’ for clubs in different areas with differing profi les of members, there are certain fundamentals that apply to most.

We have to admit that for too long the industry has been spoilt, and we could all be accused of being rather lackadaisical in the way we have done business. Very little has been done to market the game, and even less to make it more affordable. For many years clubs existed by relying on their faith-ful members to make up shortfalls caused often by ill-conceived expenditure by over-zealous committees. More than a few clubs are guilty of spending money that they either borrowed or believed would roll in as usual, and they now fi nd their backs to the wall.

It will be a sad day when some clubs fi nd themselves closing down, and there are more than a few facing that very prospect.

We have long maintained that South Af-rica needs low-maintenance, pay-and-play facilities, and we might soon have them – previously ‘private’ facilities that will have to convert to a more sustainable way of doing business.

FROMTHE EDITOROLD DOGS, NEW TRICKS

A monthly business-to-business magazine brought to you by

To request your copy of GCM, subscribe to Compleat Golfer by calling 0860 100 205

(indicating that you would like to be placed on the GCM mailing list) or go to www.compleatgolfer.co.za

to download your free copy.

BIRDIES AND BOGEYSNews from last month 4

HYBRID AND ELECTRICThe move towards alternate power sources 6

JUNIOR GOLFAttracting young women into the game 10

WATER MANAGEMENTLow-tech solutions for saving water 16

MARKETING AND PROMOTIONPositioning and branding your golf club 18

MANAGER OF THE MONTHMagalies Park’s man at the helm 20

PRO SHOP OF THE MONTHRoodepoort Country Club 23

CONTENTS

COVER PICTUREThe John Deere 8000 E-Cut fairway mower

■ EDITORIAL JOHN BOTHAEmail: [email protected]: 082 498 7380

■ PUBLISHERCRAIG WILSONEmail: [email protected]: 083 288 3834

■ ADVERTISINGSEAN SHARP (NATIONAL SALES MANAGER)Email: [email protected] Cell: 082 821 0474

MICHAEL DALY (ADVERTISING SALES EXECUTIVE)Email: [email protected]: 082 447 5813

GCMPg_3_0311.indd 3 2011/01/31 2:26 PM

BIRDIES AND BOGEYS

4 March 2011 Golf Club Management

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THINGFor the second consecutive summer, unusually high rainfall has negatively impacted on the amount of rounds played at golf courses in several regions. In one cloudburst, Pecanwood suffered a downpour measuring 40mm in one hour. Although bunker sand was washed away and water collected in the hazards, the other playing areas stood up well to the deluge and play continued.

ANYONE FOR CLARET?Prior to the Africa Open hosted by East London Golf Club, Open champi-on Louis Oosthuizen joined with Retief Goosen, Charl Schwartzel, Thomas Aiken, James Kampte and Darren Clarke to host a clinic with youngsters from local areas. “It is a privilege for us to share our time with these young-sters,” said Oosthuizen brandishing the famous Claret Jug. “These are, after all, our future champions.”

THE BUCK STOPS HERE The tame blesbok at Magalies Park Country Club are well used to sharing their habitat with golfers – there are also numerous bushbuck that frequent the course. (See man-ager of the month, p20).

NEW COACH FOR ROYAL CAPEFormer European and Sunshine Tour player Nigel Burch has joined Royal Cape as the teaching professional. Club professional Richard Pickering left the club at the end of January, and at time of going to print the club had not found a replacement to take over the pro shop.

GCMPg_4_5_0311.indd 4 2011/01/31 12:13 PM

BIRDIES AND BOGEYSBIRDIES AND BOGEYS

A CRYING SHAMEThe Huddle Park saga remains one of the most closely guarded secrets, but while various deals and solutions remain unresolved, the former golf facility is nothing more than an eyesore. This valuable track of land was once home to Johannesburg’s only municipal golf courses, but for more than a decade this property, which adjoins Royal Johan-nesburg & Kensington Golf Club, has become overgrown with weeds. The derelict clubhouse, its pathway also overgrown, bears testimony to the sad state of affairs, and the rusted boundary fence has in areas has simply collapsed.

The city manager of Johannesburg,

interviewed on television during the Joburg Open, was very enthusiastic about his city’s showpiece of golf, refer-ring to Royal’s ‘two fi elds’, but he was not asked why his parks and recreation department have allowed Huddle Park Golf Club, a former host venue for the PGA Championship, has been left in a scandalous state of disrepair. Nearby residents have voiced their concern as during winter this neglected area becomes a fi re hazard, and occasionally a contractor is called in to clear some of the bush. Ironically, directly across the road is a property that is managed by the Parks and Recreation department, used as a nursery to grow trees.

ABOVE: What was once tees, fairways and greens is now hardly recognizable, and this valuable green belt has literally gone to seed. BELOW: The derelict clubhouse, bearing a faded sign ‘Linksfi eld Golf Club’ with its overgrown pathway – a sad indictment to the municipality’s lack of interest in this valuable asset. Across the road from the former Huddle Park is the Parks and Recreation department’s nursery.

GCMPg_4_5_0311.indd 5 2011/01/31 12:13 PM

course maintenance

6 march 2011 Golf Club Management

The technology involved in the elimina-tion or the partial elimination of the internal combustion engine is nothing new. Liquid fuel/electric hybrids actually date back to the late 19th century, and as early as 1900 Ferdinand Porsche developed the first pet-rol/electric series hybrid vehicle, which set speed records at the time. Porsche’s vehicle

featured two in-wheel hub electric motors that were wired to a petrol-powered genera-tor. For the greater part of the 20th century, a plentiful and reliable source of fossil fuels (and the powerful oil industry lobby), which were relatively cheap, meant that there was no sense of urgency to mass produce electric or semi-electric power plants.

Dwindling oil reserves and increasing pressure to reduce emissions has goaded motor vehicle companies into action, and it is hard to think of any manufacturer that is not investing heavily in producing vehicles that will not reply on fossil fuels. Turf main-tenance equipment, historically either petrol or diesel driven, has come up with some

HYBriD & eLectric tHe Future?In the quest to find alternate, more efficient power sources, the golf maintenance equipment companies have not been slow to respond to the demand for more eco-friendly, economical and efficient technology. GCM looks at what the ‘big three’ in the business have to offer.

John Deere’s 220 E-Cut greens mower – quieter, more economical and more eco-friendly.

GCMPg_6_9_0311.indd 6 2011/01/31 12:33 PM

course maintenance

Golf Club Management march 2011 7

ingenious ideas that may not eliminate the internal combustion engine altogether, but that will certainly save on the consumption of expensive and emission-producing fuel.

Perhaps as important in the golf market, finding quieter mowers, leaf blowers and other equipment has been as important as the cost or environmental considera-tions. Particularly in Europe and the United States, on certain golf estates course super-intendents are prohibited from using any machines before a certain time, say 8am.

As in the motor vehicle industry, there was a period where everyone seemed to wait for everyone else to come up with vi-able alternates, and it was probably Toyota and Honda that first revealed their hands in this high stakes game of poker. Still other manufacturers adopted a wait-and-see

Each hybrid mower features a rate converter for every cutting unit.

GCMPg_6_9_0311.indd 7 2011/01/31 12:33 PM

Cell: 082 552 9953Tel: 011 964 3236/ 011 964 2997Fax: 086 686 4849Email: [email protected]: www.greensand.co.za(View our product list on our website)

Supplier of USGA Silica Sand to 95% of the top golf coursesMixes according to clients specification

We stock porous ceramics (Ideal for dry spots and Algae)

Preferred suPPlier for soccer 2010

GreenSand.indd 1 2010/05/24 2:51 PM

course maintenance


policy before launching their alternative of-ferings. It will take some years before we say goodbye to the combustion engine, but it is obvious that before petrol and diesel-driven vehicles disappear from our roads, we will see golf courses convert to hybrid and elec-tric-powered machines. Electric mowers are nothing new, but the recent technology has brought them a long way in a relatively short space of time. Battery technology, spurred on by the space race, has also made leaps and bounds, and storing electricity has become a lot more efficient.

JoHn Deere The John Deere E-cut series of machines claims to offer a triple cut – of grass, fuel and noise. The range of hybrid machines includes the 2500 E-Cut Hybrid Rid-ing Greens Mower, the 7500/8500 E-Cut Fairway Mowers and the 220 E-Cut Walk-behind Mower.

JacoBsen The Eclipse 322, pictured right, offers hybrid or battery powered options, and this com-pany has been a pioneer in developing more efficient, quieter machines that are highly respected in the industry. Promising to be simpler, faster and easier to maintain, these ride-on mowers are available as hybrid or battery-powered models.

toro Recently launched was Toro’s EnergySmart concept, which is self-explanatory. This famous brand tells us that it is committed to environmental sustainability, economic viabil-ity and social responsibility. The first product from the Toro stable to display the EnergyS-mart label is the Greensmaster eFlex, which has no CO2 emissions as it powered by a Lithium Ion battery and boasts a charge life that guarantees nine greens being cut before recharge is needed.

It is rather obvious that these major brands have put their research dollars where their mouths are, but converting the rather staid golf market is not going to be easy. Common sense might suggest where there are any savings to made, no product can afford to be ignored. It may be some time before course superin-tendents embrace the idea of greener options when it comes to equipment, and many might choose to stay with what they know. John

Deere, Jacobsen and Toro each have their different devotees, and each claim that the deciding factor, ie the quality of performance of these hybrid and electric mowers, are in fact as good or even better than conventionally petrol or diesel-powered machines.

costing taBleCSE’s Alex Ackron supplied this comparison showing the considerable savings by converting to Jacobsen’s range of hybrid and electric mowers. ■

Jacobsen’s innovative Eclipse 322 hybrid and electric machines claim savings of time and money, and challenges any comparable mower for quality of cut.

GCMPg_6_9_0311.indd 9 2011/01/31 12:33 PM

junior golf


Catch-22s are often spoken of with regard to rules, regulations, procedures, or situa-tions in which one has knowledge of being a victim but has no control over it occurring.

Recently I have experienced an influx of

young lady golfers showing interest in the game. They thoroughly enjoy their weekly lessons at my academy, and in fact they are the PGA professionals’ most treasured customers who spend on golf gear (they are

very conscious of looking the part), they dili-gently listen to our advice when purchasing equipment and they tend to show loyalty.

Being social butterflies, young girls actively promote your business among their

Where have all the young ladies gone?In the past, golf was accused of being a male-dominated sport that only grudgingly accepted women players. This has thankfully changed in recent times, but Paul Bowden believes that clubs could still do a lot more to welcome young ladies into the fold.

GCMPg_10_11_0311.indd 10 2011/01/31 12:14 PM

junior golf


friends and family, making them valuable marketers of your business.

But a problem does exist at certain golf clubs where members and specifically the older ladies are discouraging these girls to follow through and become permanent members. One of my lady customers refers to her golf clubs as accessories, much like a diamond encrusted handbag bought out annually for some important function.

I asked Jessica Shurety, a talented young 12-year-old, about her golf and future pros-pects. Jess has above-average ability with a wonderful golf swing and an engaging personality, and a strong drive to succeed to go with this. This is all very well, but what is lacking is the comradeship and the important fun factor that is enjoyed by her male counterparts.

She concedes that there are only a hand-ful of junior lady golfers of her age who have similar interests, and that motivate her to get out and play more often.

Her sister Amy was much like Jess when she was younger – she practised hard and had big golfing dreams of reaching the highest levels, but she lost interest because playing simply became boring.

Amy eventually gave up the game because she was doing it solo and at 16 years of age with many other fun-filled pursuits on offer she just lost the bug. Luckily, because of Jessica’s enthusiasm, Amy has come back to golf and is now a member of my academy.

Carryn (30) is another lady golfer who I teach and also loves her lessons, but she is finding it difficult to go out and play with other ladies who are younger with similar social interests. I took her out for a playing lesson recently and teed off behind a testosterone-fuelled field of golfers. After she hit a wayward shot, we shouted a warning ‘fore’ and apolo-gised to the affected party only to be ridiculed by one of the male golfers.

Much to Carryn’s good nature and strong personality she nearly held out on the 18th for a hole-in-one, which buoyed her and she was able to forget about the earlier ugly inci-dent. Unfortunately there is still a contingent of men who believe that golf and golf course should remain their exclusive domain. It is frustrating to consider that many golf profes-sionals are working hard to attract large numbers of young lady golfers into the game, but the chance of them continuing and

being welcomed into the club culture is left in the hands of inept clubs, committees and dismally small ‘younger’ ladies sections?

Having so few like-minded young lady golf-ers at clubs leaves them feeling that they are something of a curiosity – and little is done to make them feel part of the ‘golfing family’.

Solutions could include a special mem-bership category. These younger women

need to be playing together and making the pool of players bigger. Lady golfers, say, 35 and under, should be offered incentives with fun formats and weekly events at different courses.

Clubs would do well to attract these like-minded golfers by offering a special package and even establishing their own sub-

committees. Even the catering departments might want to add more appealing fare to this sector of the market – perhaps moving away from the rather passé pies and gravy to something like chicken wraps etc.

On-course professionals could benefit greatly from an influx of this sector – with an increase in these trendier golfers, they could stock a range of accessories that appeal to young women and they would certainly spend money on the right sort of ‘look’.

The industry seems to lagging behind – stars such Anna Norqvist, Natalie Gulbis, Paula Creamer and our own Lee-Anne Pace have become role models for our young ladies and imagine a golf club or a young la-dies golf society that is attractive and trendy with a buzz alike. I hope the clubs will act and embrace this so PGA professionals are able to push their ladies in the right direction and the drop-off rate is reduced.

We have to accept that the golf market is changing rather radically and the profile of your typical young member is very dif-ferent to what it was. If clubs believe they will change their customers by maintaining existing rules and attitudes, they are fooling themselves – it is the clubs that are going to have to change to accommodate the new breed of golfer. ■

froM left: Jessica Shurety in action – one of many young ladies that represent the future of women’s golf. Amy Shurety – talented and keen, but are clubs making an effort to accommodate her generation? above: Anna Nordqvist is one of many stars on the LPGA Tour that has become a role model to young and trendy women golfers.

“Having so few like-Minded young lady golfers at clubs leaves tHeM feeling tHat tHey are soMetHing of a curiosity...”

GCMPg_10_11_0311.indd 11 2011/01/31 12:14 PM

in the office


Most golf clubs have seen the value in us-ing computer technology to keep in touch in members, and email and SMS has become a valuable and effective communication tool. The more reliant we become on email communication the more likely certain mistakes are likely to occur. Simple email mistakes can be disastrous, others simply annoy the recipients. Here are 10 common mistakes that we would do well to avoid. ■ Sending before you Mean to. Enter

the recipients’ email address only when the email is meant to be sent. This helps reduce the risk of an embarrassing misfire, such as sending an important email to the wrong person or emailing a half-written note.

■ forgetting the attachMent. If your email includes an attachment, upload the file to the email before composing it. This eliminates the mistake of forgetting it before hitting ‘send’ and having to send another email with an apology. We have all received emails with ‘attached please find...’ in the message that is sans attachment.

■ expecting to receive an inStant reSponSe. Do not send an email and telephone the recipient soon after to ask whether they received it. They will answer at their convenience – that is the point of email.

■ forwarding uSeleSS eMailS. Whether

a silly joke or an appeal for a deserving charity, these emails are in no way benefi-cial to your colleagues, clients or business associates. This is all very for private emails, but do you know whether your staff are clogging up servers with loads of non-business emails?

■ not reviewing all MeSSageS before replying. When returning to your office af-ter a few days away, review all emails before firing off responses. Replying to something that was already handled by a co-worker creates extra communication, which can lead to confusion, error, and at the very least wasted time for everyone involved.

■ coMpoSing a note too quickly. Do not be careless. Be respectful with your words and take pride in every com-munication. It would seem that spelling or grammatical errors are somehow ac-ceptable when sent via email, but these shoddy messages reflect rather badly on your professionalism.

■ failing to include baSic greetingS. Simple pleasantries are a good idea. Say ‘hi’ at the start of a message and ‘thanks’ at the end. Be sure to use the recipient’s name. A good rule is to be polite yet brief

with your courtesy. There is nothing more annoying that receiving a communication that begins: “Dear member...”

■ eMailing when you are angry. This should be avoided at all costs. Recall buttons are far from a perfect science, and sending a business email tainted by emotion is often a catastrophic mistake. It sounds like a cliché, but sleep on it. Save the message as a draft and see if you still want to send it the next morning. The chances are you will change it.

■ hitting ‘reply all’ unintentionally. This is a big one. It can not only be embarrassing, but depending on what you wrote in the email it can ruin your relationship with co-workers or business associates. There are many examples of where a split-second slip causes irrepara-ble damage.

■ relying too Much on eMail. Remember, no-one is sitting around staring at their inbox waiting for your email. If something is urgent, use another means of communica-tion. A red ‘rush’ exclamation mark does not compare to conducting business in person, and even a telephone call is prefer-able when urgency is required. ■

email use, abuSeand blunderSCommunicating via cyberspace is all very well, but unlike more conventional methods, it is easy to slip into bad habits and make embarrassing mistakes. GCM looks at some common errors.

GCMPg_12_0311.indd 12 2011/01/31 12:16 PM

course design


One of the most frequently asked ques-tions is how and why 18 holes became the norm for golf courses.

As most know, the short answer to this is that 18 was the number of holes that was decided upon at St Andrews, and most (but not all) clubs decided to copy this model.

Less well known is the power struggle that existed between the St Andrews club and the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers at Mussleburgh. The Mussleburgh club, previously known as the ‘Leith Links’ hosted the first recorded golf competition in 1744, and at the time the course only had five holes (two would be added later.)

As far back as reliable history is recorded at St Andrews, the course had in fact 12 holes, 10 of which were played twice, and a round was actually comprised of 22 holes. It was in 1764 that two holes were eliminated; the opening and closing holes – not for any other reason than the ground they occupied

was considered to be substandard. (The area where they lay was known as The Scores, presently the site of the Martyrs’ Monument behind the clubhouse.)

Almost a century later, the first Open Championship was played at Prestwick, a course that had only 12 holes, and there are umpteen examples of courses that for years had any number of holes, ranging from three to 25. It certainly took a long time for the R&A to convince everyone, but we eventually all bought into the idea that 18 was the sacred number.

The fact that when the game was taken from Scotland to many parts of the world most course designers accepted that St An-drews was the course to copy, is really why the idea of 18 holes was cast in stone.

It is curious why golfers consider a nine-hole layout to be somewhat inferior to an 18 layout, but this is rather ridiculous, because for centuries holes were played twice (once

in each direction) at St Andrews and other pioneer clubs.

Indeed, had the Honourable Company won its battle against St Andrews to become the controlling body, 14 holes might well have become the modern standard.

Two of the most important factors that have led to the reduction in numbers of golfers in recent times have been time and cost. Golfers consider that playing nine holes is only half a round and every competition worth its salt must be played in multiples of 18 holes. It might well be time to change this thinking. There are many advocates for the idea of reducing the standard course to 12 holes, and others who maintain that we should not change one standard for another, but simply design courses with as many holes that comfort-ably suit budgets and local conditions. A tough sell and old habits die hard, but this notion is well worth considering. ■

Why 18 holes?There is a groundswell in certain quarters to reduce the number of holes that constitute a round of golf. GCM looks at the history behind the 18-hole configuration, and ideas for reducing the time it takes to play a round as well as the expense of maintaining ‘standard’ layouts.

The magnificent Le Touessrok golf course in Mauritius, all 18 holes of it, designed by Bernhard Langer.

GCMPg_13_0311.indd 13 2011/01/31 2:25 PM

y o u r

retail tribe


Golf clubs need to have ‘rainmakers’. In fact the whole golf industry needs golf clubs to have ‘rainmakers’. By the term ‘rainmaker’ I mean a person who is responsible for creat-ing more members, encouraging members to play golf and participate at the club more often and attracting more visitors and casual golfers to play golf at the club more often.

This individual also has to find more peo-ple to take up the game. All the participants in the industry need to get behind the golf clubs in that effort. Our whole industry needs more golfers and for more golf to be played.

the Marketing ChallengeIn the face of the challenges that many golf clubs and the industry faces, the market-ing strategies for golf can be puzzling. To the man in the street there is no clearly

visible and coordinated growth or marketing strategy. More alarmingly, in the absence of a centrally-coordinated approach, most golf clubs don’t appear to have effective market-ing strategies. In a study we conducted, 96 per cent of people who had previously played the game but were not members of a club, had not been approached by a golf club or golf club member to join a club! The result is more and more clubs without wait-ing lists and more clubs that have waived joining fees. There are more clubs with more tee times standing open, membership numbers in many countries are down, and certainly in many parts of the world, actual rounds played are on the decline. Of course this problem is exaggerated as we have had more and more golf courses built. But it would be easy to blame a surplus of tee-

time inventory for the current challenges. The current situation probably reflects

the failure of golf to move on from an elitist, exclusive sport to one that can drive mass participation. We have not moved on from ‘hero-based marketing’ funded by TV com-panies and the manufacturers’ sponsorship of tour professionals. In the meantime, more and more of the golf courses that have been built are left with a ‘build it and they will come’ hope.

Other industries use a MOdel fOr MarketingIt doesn’t matter whether you are Pampers marketing disposable nappies or BMW selling luxury motor vehicles, there is a tried and tested marketing model used to grow

Retail Tribe’s Ian James spells out his concept of rainmaking at golf clubs and gives a few pointers on how the industry how benefit from his experience.

the need fOr rainMakers

Johan Piek, the head PGA professional at Erinvale Golf Club with Shane Rea, apprentice professional.

CONTINUES PAGE 30

GCMPg_15_30_0311.indd 15 2011/01/31 12:19 PM

water management


Many things in life revolve around money and resources. There is a need to do more with less, get the most out of what we have, and find ways to save money. The process of transforming our golf courses to be more environmentally friendly and more water wise can be very expensive. The expense may be an insurmountable hurdle, leading to the unfortunate decision to make no change at all.

The good news is that there are options available that do not cost the earth and can be implemented gradually over time. This article will give examples of these low-tech solutions, which have been successfully im-plemented by golf courses and have made significant positive impacts on the environ-ment and on reducing water use.

manually operated irrigation systemsNot all golf courses are able to afford state-of-the-art computer-operated irrigation

systems. An example is Rustenburg Golf Club which finds itself in this position, and has the additional challenge of falling into the semi-arid summer rainfall area, where the annual rainfall is around 530mm.

The solution here has been to manage a manual irrigation system, and to plant low water usage indigenous kweek grass (Cynodon dactylon) on greens and fairways.

With these two concepts, the club manages to keep irrigation water usage to a minimum.

Other clever low-tech ideas that have been implemented at courses to save water are: ■ Rain gauges can be placed at various

positions on the golf course to inform the greenkeeper of the rainfall pattern on the course, which can vary considerably.

■ A daily inspection gives an insight into which areas need watering.

■ The fairways should always irrigated at night so that there is minimal moisture loss due to evaporation.

■ Half the fairway areas are watered one night, and the other half during the next evening – this gives the water time to permeate the ground properly.

■ Fairways adjacent to wetlands may need less or no irrigating at all, depending on the amount of water seepage into the fairway.

■ The Cynodon greens can be watered for reduced periods – between 15 and 30 minutes (depending on the prevailing temperatures and rainfall), at 6am in the morning so that the greens will dry off during the daylight. This practice guards against fungal infections.

■ The semi-rough and rough, if comprised of natural veld grasses, never need to be ir-rigated, and these areas will happily thrive on rainfall – no matter how sporadic.

■ During the windy months, course superin-tendents, when necessary, should adjust the sprayer nozzles, with angles being reset at to allow for more penetration – a time-consuming but water-saving task.

low tech solutions For

water saVing

Rand Water’s Megan Taylor points out that revised water-saving strategies need not incur huge expenses, and with some common sense and ingenuity golf courses can cut their use of water quite dramatically.

Energy required to pump water into storage dams can be greatly reduced by using gravity-feed sys-

tems and astute management of stormwater.

GCMPg_16_17_0311.indd 16 2011/01/31 11:30 AM

water management


■ During winter on the Highveld and other summer rainfall regions, the irrigation of fairways can be reduced to once a week in June, and not at all in July. This allows the Cynodon to go into its natural dormancy state which obviously saves water. Cyno-don greens also go into dormancy in July, a period when only a short five-minute period of irrigation is required to keep the turf moistened just enough for the texture to be suitable for play. By adopting this winter schedule, irrigation water usage can be reduced by at least 10 percent.

SwaleS & bermS verSuS concrete: low tech SolutionS for Stormwater runoffSwales, or shallow depressions in the ground, can be designed to capture rain water during storms and hold it for a few hours or days to let it infiltrate into the soil.

Some people believe that swales should ideally be tree-lined, but this will not always be practical on the large grassed expanses of golf courses. The aim is to store water for the plants in the immediate landscape to use, as well as to help cleanse the water as it percolates down, feeding the groundwater system. Swales can be installed on their own or as part of a larger rainwater collection sys-tem and other water conservation measures.

As an example, at Prairie Crossing, a 678-acre residential development 40 miles northwest of Chicago in Grayslake, Illinois, USA, storm water is routed into swales, rather than storm sewers.

The swales provide initial storm water treatment, primarily infiltration and control of sediment. Large grassed areas slow the stormwater’s velocity, giving it time to infil-trate, and soils retain contaminants.

At Prairie Crossing, 65 percent of storm water is retained onsite, while nutrient loads and heavy metal pollutants are reduced by 85 to 100 percent. Maintenance costs for storm water controls are expected to drop, down-stream conditions have improved and there is less flooding. Tips for designing swales:■ Swales can be grassed, or lined with gravel

or rocks. All are designed to slow and retain the flow of runoff. They can also be used instead of costly curbs and gutters.

■ Channels can also be used to direct water to where it is desired, emptying into a

swale that will keep the water pooled in the area until it soaks into the soil.

■ The width of the swale should be covered by the crown of the mature surrounding trees.

■ Soil in the swale should not be com-pacted or sealed but should be loose to encourage absorption.

■ Surprisingly, one tree can reduce storm-water runoff by 15 000 litres a year, thus greatly reducing the need to build costly water treatment plants. So swales lined with native trees are an extremely-cost effective, and often overlooked, low-tech water conservation and stormwater man-agement technique.

Berms are raised beds that can be used to direct water to swales and large shrubber-ies. They are the equivalent of the slope in

road used to push water off the middle of the road toward the curbs. Ideally, berms and swales should be designed into the landscape where there is a noticeable slope to slow and capture runoff.

wetlandS can clean recycled water and control StormwaterConstructed wetlands are ideal for use as part of a golf course’s water management system, and can be used for either recycled water or stormwater. Levels of nutrients, suspended solids, organic metals, trace elements, pesticides and pathogens in the water will be reduced or even removed completely. This will reduce pollution of waterways on the golf course.

The wetlands can also store excess water during storms, and can act as a holding area for irrigation water. Using recycled wa-ter for irrigation ensures that the wetlands remain wet, and there is the added benefit that recycling surface water is less expen-

sive than pumping ground water. The wetlands can be aesthetically pleas-

ing, and increase biodiversity by creating homes for wildlife and flora. The propor-tion of hard surfaces in suburban areas increases as municipalities build roads and homeowners add driveways, roofs and pa-tios. This leaves little area where water can permeate the soil, causing increased storm-water runoff, which can overwhelm the stormwater drainage system, and ultimately cause flooding and damage to streams.

Golf courses can assist with stormwater management, as they consist mostly of turfgrass area where water can soak into the soil. Excess runoff from roads and park-ing lots adjacent to the golf course could be channelled to a constructed wetland. In addition, many new residential develop-ments are planned around golf courses, and these developments need to contain, clean and direct water runoff, especially during storms.

Purdue University scientists conducted a five-year study on the three constructed ponds (wetland cells) on a newly renovated Kampen Golf Course on the university cam-pus in Indiana, USA. The researchers eval-uated the quality of the water from when it entered the golf course until it exited into a holding pond or a recovering natural wetland. Some of the chemicals found in entering water included atrazine, chloride, nitrate, ammonia, nitrogen, organic carbon, phosphorus, aluminum, iron, potassium and manganese. In all, 83 chemicals were monitored, but only 17 were present in measurable amounts.

The results showed that levels of 11 out of 17 measurable chemicals in the surface runoff water were reduced after being treated by the wetland system.

wetlandS clean water and may control neighbour-hood flood ProblemS It is important to design wetlands so they have enough capacity to handle the runoff from a particular area. Water flow speed and the pond depths must vary to ensure that the microbes remain active so they can degrade contaminants. Experts should be brought in to assist with the correct design of the wetlands, to ensure that they perform the tasks they are required to do. ■

“the good newS iS that there are oPtionS available that do not coSt the earth and can be imPlemented gradually...”

GCMPg_16_17_0311.indd 17 2011/01/31 11:30 AM

marketing and promotion


As we head into the end of the first quarter of 2011, golf clubs will no doubt be review-ing how well they have fared in terms of golf, retail and clubhouse revenue.

A simple yet sure way of improving results for the second quarter is through the effective use of brand management.

Brand management involves the use of various marketing techniques, aimed at increasing a company’s perceived value to its customers. In this article, we’ll touch on just a few of these techniques, starting with positioning.

Positioning relates to a company image or identity as perceived by members of the public. In simple terms, it’s the way in which people see your brand. Once companies open their doors for trading, they automati-cally assume a form of positioning, whether this has been carefully crafted or assumed by default. Some golf clubs make the mistake of thinking they are appropriately positioned in

the marketplace, however if one were to ask its target market, feedback might be that they ‘over-promise and under-deliver’.

It’s important therefore to continually seek feedback from members and guests to ensure that their experience of your brand is in line with how your club intends it to be. You can use a weekly or monthly golf newsletter or even suggestion boxes for this purpose. And the great thing about positioning is that it can be positively affected with relatively little effort.

If a club claims to be friendly and invit-ing, this needs to be evident across the board, from the way in which staff interact with guests through to the type of informa-tion posted on its website or notice board.

The way in which this golf club is publicly portrayed in relation to how it is experienced would then be congruent, and this would lead to increased brand equity. Brand equity is an intangible asset that relies on associations made by the consumer. It can be measured

through how easily a brand is recognised in the marketplace (top of mind awareness), through repeat business (customer loyalty) and through transactional values (the rate at which brands sustain growth).

Companies that enjoy healthy brand eq-uity are quickly recognised and are chosen ahead of competitors due to the perceived value received, despite there potentially be-ing cost implications.

And if you have a strong brand equity, it becomes easier to predict consumer behaviour (repeat or increased business will quickly guide you in this regard). For ex-ample, if members respond well to certain annual events, such as a ladies’ open, then it’s worth planning more of these types of member events. Brand equity comes down to the correct positioning. If you position your club as a premium product then the quality of your product needs to be consist-ent throughout, otherwise you will be jeop-

increasing revenuesthrough effective brand management

Lauren Collier stresses the importance for golf clubs to manage their brands, and make the most of their unique selling propositions.

GCMPg_18_19_0311.indd 18 2011/01/31 11:31 AM

marketing and promotion


ardising your brand equity and ultimately alienating your target market.

An important part of brand management is the understanding of who your consumers are, ie your target market. In the golf industry, it may seem apparent however, as the game has become popular among different ages and genders, a club could easily have five or six different target markets, for example: seniors, amateurs, lady golfers, juniors, beginners etc.

And while many clubs may account for these categories of golfers in their member-ship structure, it is worth spending time on developing individual strategies for each of these groups, because of the substantial revenue each could add to various areas of your business.

Your club may not be the only one of-fering certain products or services so it’s important to research what is being offered in your region so that you can offer a point of difference or unique selling proposition.

Due to the number of golf courses and estates in South Africa, there is a great deal of choice when it comes to deciding on where to play. In order to differentiate your club from regional or even national competitors, it’s important to identify your club’s unique selling proposition (USP) and include it in all marketing materials.

Examples of powerful unique selling propositions include George Golf Club, which can proudly claim over 100 years of

existence as well as being voted Best Mem-bers Club in South Africa. Elements Private Golf Reserve in the Limpopo bushveld is a relatively new estate course, yet it has al-ready received a top 10 ranking and enjoys a great deal of foot traffic because of this. And from an aesthetic point of view, few golf courses in the world can rival the majestic beauty of Pinnacle Point Beach and Golf Resort, set right on the edge of the dramatic Southern Cape coastline.

Each golf club should be able to identify a USP of their own – whether they’re the home club of a great golfer, have a fascinat-ing history, enjoy an industry ranking or were home to a prestigious event.

These USPs assist in setting your course apart from the rest, and give an added reason for golfers to visit. By including your USP in all forms of communication, the word will spread amongst golfers that your course is a must-play because of your unique selling proposition.

A good way of pinpointing your USP is in revisiting your club’s vision and mission statements. Just as you cannot play a sport if you do not know what the rules are or what the aim is, a club will find it hard to success-fully motivate staff, grow membership and increase revenues if they do not outline what it is the club stands for, what it strives for, and what the rules of engagement are.

A vision statement defines the desired or intended strategic direction of an organisa-tion. It is a long-term view. An example could be “Our company’s vision is to offer a

premium golf product at affordable prices.”A mission statement on the other hand,

defines what an organisation does (ie its purpose) and how it will achieve its vision (often referring to company values). In the above instance, the mission statement could read as follows:■ We pride ourselves in the quality of our

golf products and services.■ We continually benchmark our pricing to

market-related products and services.■ We are committed to treating each other as

we treat guests – with respect and humility.

We’ve covered quite a few concepts in this article, so if it came down to remembering just one point, it’s that all companies, golf clubs included, can be great brands. By simply referring to your club as a brand in your next staff meeting, you’ll find that staff automatically adjust the way in which they represent the club.

This is because a brand brings with it a personality, so by referring to your club as a brand, you’re making it more personable and easier to relate to. As staff become familiar with the techniques of brand management, you’ll start to see a certain energy and inter-est being generated amongst members and guests, which will ultimately translate into in-creased rounds and revenue for your second quarter. Good luck, and enjoy the process! ■

For more information or assistance in the ef-fective brand management of your golf club or estate, contact Lauren Collier on 082 850 3908 or via [email protected].

Left and beLow: Branded merchandise makes for a fantastic gift or memento, and also ensures high brand visibility for your golf club.

GCMPg_18_19_0311.indd 19 2011/01/31 11:32 AM


EXTRA SPECIAL MAnAgER of ThE MonTh

Not for sale to persons under the age of 18

There can be little doubt that the Magalies Park Country Club is one of our most under-rated golf experiences, and with the energy and enthusiasm displayed by manager Wil-liam van Mierlo, this unique club has shown that supplying golfers what they want is the best defence against the economic downturn.

When van Mierlo joined Magalies Park some 10 years ago, it was as the course su-perintendent, and he certainly had his work cut out. “The equipment was more than 10 years old, and my workshop was a tiny build-ing – most of the equipment stood outside under a tree,” he says. After only two days at the club, he was contacted by East London Golf Club and offered a position to take over the responsibility of maintaining that club’s course, but he felt that he couldn’t walk out having just started at Magalies Park.

He felt that having made a commitment, he wasn’t about to let anyone down. Over the last decade, under his guidance and his will-ingness to put heart and soul into the task at hand, this facility has been transformed, and it continues to improve. One of the first tasks undertaken was to extend the workshop area, which he tackled on his own with the help of the course workers.

This time-share resort, which includes an upmarket estate and river club, has always had a lot going for it, not least of all its positioning on the north-western banks of Hartebeespoort Dam – conveniently close to Johannesburg and Pretoria. The undulating terrain, a total of 64 hectares, is populated by a magnificent array of indigenous trees and with its dramatic backdrops of the Ma-galies Mountains, this player-friendly course has always had a unique character. It must be said that since its opening in 1985, at times the conditioning of layout left a little to be desired. This has now changed. Since taking over the maintenance function and then the complete golf operation, van Mierlo has certainly made his presence felt, some-thing that is appreciated by the members and the visitors to the club.

Growing up in Pretoria, van Mierlo was a fanatical sportsman, excelling at soccer

MAgALIES PARk CounTRy CLubA fAMILy AffAIR

William van Mierlo’s passion, enthusiasm and hard

work have paid dividends at this most underrated club.

GCMPg_20_21_0311.indd 20 2011/01/31 12:20 PM


Not for sale to persons under the age of 18

and he also took to golf, soon playing off a single-figure handicap. He was one of the founding members of the Akasia Country Club, and although he was a highly quali-fied instrument technician, when that club was looking for a greenkeeper, he decided to take a month’s leave and took over the position on a trial basis. “I loved the work and my technical background came in handy,” he says.

Since taking over the pro shop and the day-to-day golf operations, the financial well-being of the club has never been in doubt,

and operating on 36 000 rounds a year with no signs of figures falling off, and with the fleet of 50 golf carts kept busy, the club is clearly on a sound footing. A considerable investment has recently been made in creat-ing a new beautifully thatched clubhouse – the locker rooms are now vastly improved and the size of the pro shop, which was rather cramped, has been doubled.

“Much of our focus is on all golfers being given a friendly welcome, and we are very conscious of supplying value for money,” says van Mierlo, who also makes a point of

taking time to meet and greet players during peak periods. He also makes an effort to play with as many members as possible. (Although he now complains of putting woes that have adversely affected his game, he does hold the course record at the club – a 64, which he has twice scored.)

“We do operate rather differently here, we do not have a committee that tries to micro-manage the club – I have assumed the responsibility of running the affairs, reporting to the board, and this works well,” says van Mierlo. It is patently clear that he loves his work.“Living on the estate, I drive a cart to work, and although I spend a lot of time involved with issues at the club and on the course, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else, he says. His daughter Samantha takes care of the administration and helps out in the pro shop, and his wife Reneé is the en-tertainment manager at the resort. The food and beverage functions are contracted out, which frees up the small staff complement working under van Mierlo to ensure that the golf operations run smoothly. Magalies Park is good example of how a well conditioned course and friendly staff will keep the golfers coming back for more. A job well done, and if you haven’t visited this beautiful course in a while, we suggest you do – you will be pleasantly surprised at the improvements. ■

Above left: Service with a smile – Lucky Malatji behind the counter in the newly revamped pro shop. Above right: Elliot Mmakou (left) and Patrick Kgoele look after the fleet of golf carts and keep the 30 caddies on their toes.

Samantha van Mierlo keeps track of the bookings and general admin at the club which has almost 1 800 members.

GCMPg_20_21_0311.indd 21 2011/01/31 12:21 PM

PReFeRReD SUPPLIeR PROGRAMMe


InTouch Point of Sale is recognised as a GCM preferred supplier, and has earned the reputation as one of the leaders in this company’s field.

With more than 20 years in the business, InTouch offers a member elite system that addresses all membership-type functions your golf club or pro shop might require.

This proven system tracks the account-ing profile of your members, membership billing rules, behaviour patterns, requests, payment plans etc. InTouch systems also cater for membership marketing strategies by interfacing with email and SMS mes-saging, as well as the exportation of data to third-party marketing software. ■

The 10 companies that are listed among GCM’s preferred suppliers have proven their worth and can be highly recommended for their service excellence.

IntOUch POInt OF SALeInTouch Point of Sale provides a SAGA-

accredited end-to-end golf club management solution with complete front-of-house, back-

of-house and online modules. ■ 0861 111438 ■ www.intouchpos.co.za

StIhLThe world’s number one manufacturer of chainsaws famed for their legendary

German engineering.■ Toll Free: 0800 336 996

■ www.stihl.co.za

GReen’S SAnDGreen’s Sand is the preferred USGA Silica

Sand Supplier to the golf industry since 1979 as well as being the proud supplier of

the FIFA 2010 World Cup Stadiums.■ 011 964 3236/2997 ■ www.greensand.co.za

SMIth tURF eqUIPMentStarted in 1991, Smith Turf is the sole distrib-utor in Southern Africa for Toro equipment.■ 011 284 2000 ■ www.smithturf.co.za

eveRGReen tURFSolution provided to the green industry.

■ Head office: 011 959 1000■ Pretoria office: 012 807 3497■ Ballito office: 032 947 0960

■ www.instantlawns.co.za

StAyPRIMe GOLFWith over 250 course installations, StayPrime Golf provides the latest

cutting-edge GPS systems and continues building golfing relationships.

■ 086 166 7466 ■ www.stayprime.com

MAyFORDMayFord is a premier supplier of specialised

lawn seed products tested for local conditions.■ 011 548 2800

■ www.sakata.co.za

cLUbMASteRClubmaster is an SAGA-accredited service

provider that offers comprehensive golf club management software with integrated front

office, back office and online solutions. ■ 044 873 5312 ■ 072 427 1263

■ www.clubmaster.co.za

itee SOLUtIOnSGolf club management (software).

Your IT partner in golf – exclusive distributor of Albatros golf solutions. ‘Made in Germany,

perfected for South Africa.’■ 086 010 9372 ■ www.iteesolutions.co.za

intouch Point of SaleJOInS the beSt In the bUSIneSS

SynGentASyngenta is a leading supplier of chemical

solutions for the turf and landscape market. ■ 082 809 5447

■ www.syngenta.co.za

GcM GOLF cLUb MAnAGeMent

PReFeRReDS U P P L I e R

For further information contact Natalie Shekleton on 011 301 4448, email her at [email protected] or log on to www.compleatgolfer.co.za and follow the link to PSL via GCM.

GCMPg_22_0311.indd 22 2011/01/31 2:23 PM

pro shop of the month


Gavin Drummond joined the British PGA in 1979, and qualified as a club professional after a stringent training period in 1983. He moved to South Africa and joined the legendary Jimmy Falconer, working at the Golf Emporium for two years. This was fol-lowed by a spell of working with Otway and Brian Hayes at Zwartkop Country Club for five years, before he was appointed as the resident pro at Roodepoort Country Club.

After 14 years at the club, Drummond has established himself as an integral part of the operations, and his shop, which turns over in excess of R4 million a year, is a glowing example of attractive merchandis-ing. His well-positioned displays feature a dazzling array of the latest goods.

This shop would not look out of place at a premier facility anywhere in the world.

“I’m fortunate in having enough space,” he says. “The shop covers 120 square metres – sufficient to comfortably keep R1.1 million worth of inventory.”

He makes a point of changing the layout of displays and fixtures and fittings at least once every three years, and his latest configuration features an island counter, which promotes impulse buying.

The TaylorMade brand is easily his most popular hardware – outselling the other brands by a ratio of five to one.

“I am fortunate that the members here show incredible loyalty – I welcome the fact that they might shop around at discount stores, but 99.9 percent of them will come back to me and know that I will match or beat any price.”

But having a well-stocked shop is only part of the secret of success. “Every club pro should strive to build up a special

relationship with his or her members – it is about building trust and confidence. I see my members as personal friends. I also soon learned that spending time playing golf during peak periods is a no-no.

I make sure that I am on hand to chat to all the members before or after their rounds. I also believe in empowering my assistants – they are encouraged to take responsibility, and they will make decisions on everything including trade-in deals,” he says. ■

five-star service BreeDs sUCCessGavin Drummond’s shop at Roodepoort Country Club is undoubtedly one of the finest in the country, and although this club professional describes himself as ‘old school’, the younger generation of on-course pros could learn a lot from his modus operandi.

aBove: Gavin Drummond carries a large inventory, but this is justified by his shop’s large turnover.Below: Assistants Hennie Roodman (left), a former SA Amateur champion, and Charl Enslin are both critical elements in this successful operation.

GCMPg_23_0311.indd 23 2011/01/31 2:22 PM

The environmenT


It’s nature. I was taken aback when I came across the Zaanse Golf Club in Wijdwormer – it lies four metres below sea level in the characteristic watery polder landscape.

The club’s first nine holes are con-structed around a lake with a depth of 40 metres in the middle owing its existence to a dike that collapsed in 1825. Botanical, bird, mammal, invertebrate and amphib-ian ecological surveys are undertaken on a regular basis.

The flora mirrors this watery wonderworld with reed borders, birches and willows. (The one aspect that we feel some additional attention could be placed is on further enhancing the club’s local indigenous veg-etation compliancy.) The natural fauna also thrives here including species from gulls to dragonflies to a range of amphibians. Thirty-four rare, protected and notable fauna and flora species occur at Zaanse.

Habitat areas at the club include ‘rough ecological’ grassland (four ha of local impor-tance), scrub and shrub vegetation (one ha of local importance), native woodland (two ha of local importance), wetlands (2 ha of local importance) and open water features (six ha of national importance). Zaanse has under-taken the following activities to improve the landscape ecology of the site: increasing the size of habitat patches, connecting internal habitat patches, connecting patches with external habitats, the creation of new habitat corridors, introducing a policy to avoid habitat

fragmentation and improving and diversifying habitat edges. The club is also involved in the following actions to enhance nature protec-tion: by carefully assessing weather forecasts it works toward eliminating diseases in the ‘in play’ areas and by avoiding the use of pesticides and a bird watching day is organ-ised in conjunction with the Netherlands Golf Federation every year in May. (Early morning watchers identify between 50 and 60 bird species by sight or sound.)

Landscape and heriTageThe polder where the Zaanse Golf Club is located was dredged in 1626. Before this, the lake was directly connected to the North Sea. A nearby polder, the Beemster, is a national heritage site.

WaTerWater is always abundant at Zaanse. In 1626, dikes were constructed around the then exist-ing lake. The lake is now the main source of irrigation for the club turf. The irrigated areas include greens (one ha), tees (one ha), fair-ways (12 ha) and driving range (three ha).

Water for the clubhouse is supplied by the regional water company. Total annual water consumption is approx 28 000 cubic metres.

In analysis the water is found to be somewhat salty caused by migration of salt water in the deeper layers of the ground about 30 to 40 metres below sea level to the club’s central deep lake. The irrigation

system is fully computerised (incorporat-ing transpiration rates and weather data) and is serviced every six months, upgraded every two years and recalibrated every four years. Zaanse has undertaken the follow-ing activities to conserve and reduce water consumption: minimising irrigation area, irrigating in the evenings, de-compacting the soil, grass species selection, regular inspection for system irrigation leeks, soil moisture analysis, and gathering of transpi-ration data. Zaanse has also undertaken the following actions to protect and enhance water quality: maintaining vegetative buff-ers, the creation of swales and attenuation areas, establishing ‘no spray’ zones, erosion control; pest and disease tolerant grass se-lection; informed selection of fertilizer types, informed selection of pesticides (least toxic/least persistent), and the naturalisation of pond margins to improve oxygenation.

TurfThe grass selection is based on one that thrives with a low nutrition level, good sickness resistance, relatively high salt tolerance and low water need. The ‘out of play’ grass is combined with a flora mixture. Fescue (Festuca rubra) and browntop bent (Agrostis tenuis) are planted on the greens whereas fescue and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perrene) are planted on tees and fairways and ‘out of play’ areas. Zaanse un-dertakes the following practices to improve

cerTified BeLoW sea LeveLJohn Masson, CEO of Local Biodiversity Solutions, continues to glean great ideas from around the world. He will be featuring some of the most interesting environmentally certified international golf courses in this and in future months. His first in the series is clearly unique in that it is located below sea level in the Netherlands.

GCMPg_24_25_0311.indd 24 2011/01/31 12:17 PM

The environmenT


turf health: hollow-coring six times per year, top-dressing six times per year, micro tining four times per year, scarification six times per year, verticutting two times per year, deep anti-compaction two times per year, and rolling four times per year. The nutri-tion programme is assessed via leaf tissue analysis, soil analysis and visual appear-ance. (Fertilizer NPK ‘recipe’ for greens, tees and fairways can be provided to those who would be interested. Zero fertilization in the ‘out of play’ areas).

WasTe/WasTe WaTer managemenTZaanse recycles and has uplifted the fol-lowing materials: glass, plastic, aluminium, metal, paper, cardboard, detergents, cook-ing oils, lubricants, pesticide containers, fertilizer bags, oil filters and batteries.

It re-uses the following: grass clippings, cores, sand and turf. None of the men-tioned materials are either placed in landfill or are incinerated. Zaanse has secure and ventilated storage for hazardous materials.

It discharges waste water from the clubhouse, accommodation and mainte-nance facility into septic tanks. It has plans to change the sewer connection from septic tanks to the municipal sewer storage.

Waste water from wash pad flows into a closed loop recycling system. Zaanse conducts the following activities to reduce resource consumption or minimise waste: soil is stored to mix and recycle so that it may be re-used on the course when it is required and turf waste is stored to make compost.

energyWith recent renovations to the buildings, the heating systems have been upgraded. The electrical system is installed with automatic switches and the showers have water-saving showerheads. Zaanse Golf Club consumes annually the following: electricity – 94 421 kW; gas – 16 554 cubic metres; diesel – 8 000 litres; petrol – 1 500 litres; hydraulic oil – 90 litres.

Zaanse has adopted the following actions to diversify energy and fuel supply: the in-stallation of photovoltaic and/or solar panels and use of electric hybrid vehicles. The club has begun to carbon footprint its operations, keeping informed about new developments in cleaner and economical energy supplies.

Purchasing Policy and susTainable suPPly chainsThis club informs its suppliers of its environ-mental preferences as it desires a ‘green’ image in the Netherlands. It rates factors of greatest importance (five) and least impor-tance (one) in making purchasing decisions – service (five), energy efficiency (five), recycleability (five), pollution risk – (five), durability (five), packaging (four), price – (four) and local produce – (three). This latter issue tends to be extremely important in Europe, but is obviously relatively unattain-able for Zaanse.

educaTion and aWarenessEmployees at Zaanse receive the following formal and informal environmental training: pesticide storage, application and disposal, efficient water management, emergency/ac-cident management, habitat and vegetation management, waste minimisatiion, separa-tion and recycling, health and safety, energy and environmental management planning.

The club also constantly runs courses for golf club members, raising their environ-mental awareness. Formal staff training records are kept of the following: green-keeping, catering and accommodation. Zaanse keeps records of accidents in the workplace – numbers, types and severity.

communicaTionsZaanse undertakes the following internal environmental communications: newsletters, member evenings, course walks, display-ing awards, notice boards, course guides/brochures, on-site interpretation panels and course signage. This, is in addition to external

environmental communications: its website, course walks and open days, press releases, brochures and joint practical projects with the community. (Every year Zaanse holds a course walk with external environmental organisations to demonstrate progress made in achieving its objectives.) The club works with various external groups – local envi-ronmental groups, neighbours, media, local government, local businesses, colleges and authorities. A most successful partnership project instituted by the club was to help meadow birds being troubled by birds of prey by eliminating high trees at the end of the course contiguous to the meadows.

environmenTal managemenT PlanningZaanse has an environmental management plan covering nature, landscape, culture, water, turf, waste, energy, education and awareness. The club reviews its manage-ment plan every six months. Its environmen-tal working group includes the owner, course manager, committee members, a technical specialist and community members.

accrediTaTionZaanse belongs to local and regional ac-creditation schemes and complies with na-tional environmental legislation (Ecologische Hoofd Structuur). It was GEO Certified in December 2009. ■

As always, if readers would like to discuss or obtain more information from John Masson, please contact him at [email protected]. John would like to thank and give credit to GEO for his being able to feature Zaanse Golf Course in this series.

above: Zaanse Golf Club in the Netherlands – a glowing example of good environmental management where all the important bases have been covered.

GCMPg_24_25_0311.indd 25 2011/01/31 12:17 PM

course management


I happened to be at a golf course that boasts slick, undulating greens, putting surfaces that are now very much in vogue. I was in conversation with a course super-intendent from another club, and we were discussing the considerable costs involved in keeping bent greens in pristine condi-tion and running at speeds most golfers, certainly those on the Highveld, seem to expect.

Not for the first time, the dreaded stimpmeter came into the conversation, and for my money this simple device may be fine for academic observation, but taking measurements on a daily basis and putting up the results on a board for golfers’ information is questionable. Does the differ-ence between greens running at say nine feet and 10 feet make any real difference to golfers’ scores? Or if your greens were run-ning at 10 feet and you put 11 feet on your board, would anyone query this?

It is generally accepted that the faster the green speed, at least within reason, the more likely the better golfer is to hole longer putts. It is certainly a fact that on slick greens, the average player is more likely to three-putt.

As for the more proficient player holing more lengthy putts on fast greens, I have my doubts, and as my good friend Denis Hutchinson pointed out recently, for all the complaining of the professionals about Durban Country Club’s sluggish putting sur-faces during the SA Open, we saw umpteen long putts holed, and a look at the scores would suggest that there wasn’t too much wrong with the putting surfaces.

In this obsession with green speed, the focus is very much on cutting heights, but a recent article in International Greenkeeper caught my attention where the point was made that blade settings are only part of

numerous factors that determine the speed of a green. The writer suggests imagining a golf ball placed on brush with bristles made of either nylon, steel wire or other synthetic material. In the case of the firmer bristles, a height of even an inch is still going to allow the ball to roll freely – you can see where he is going with this.

Grasses have different stiffness of shoots, and the density of these shoots will also af-fect the speed of a rolling ball. A factor that influences the stiffness of a leaf and thus green speed is its turgidity (or the pressure of the liquid within the leaf cells, which has to do with the water uptake of the specific species).

Of course since the bent revolution, which satisfies the need for a putting sur-face to be the right colour (very important), and the speeds which the better players demand, course superintendents find themselves teetering on a tightrope – keep-ing a grass that happily germinates and

lives with a covering of snow, alive in African temperatures, and cut low enough for the stimpmeter to produce readings that satisfy the greens committee. Then let us not forget that these slick putting surfaces must also hold approach shots – all the better if the ball can be made to spin back.

But before we start researching the viability of breeding a new, genetically-mod-ified strain of grass that is hardy, fine-leafed, water wise and also pest resistant, we must remember we have an indigenous grass that we used for years on our greens – cyn-oden. Not fast enough? Not green enough?

These greens are certainly fast enough in winter and green enough in summer. The bent species are all very well, as long as our golfers accept that they are not cheap.

While clubs decide whether they can continue to pour money into their putting surfaces, let’s overcome this obsession with speed. Take it from me – the slower the greens, the faster the pace of play. ■

tHe neeD For sPeeDJohn Botha questions the wisdom of speeding up greens for normal play, which actually results in slowing up the field.

above: The brush test – used to illustrate that the density and type of bristle influences the speed of a rolling ball, and it is not all about the height of cut.

GCMPg_26_0311.indd 26 2011/01/31 2:20 PM

For your local agent contact [email protected] | www.growteksa.comJenna Hattingh: 082 467 8527 | Chris Howarth: 083 375 2890,

For your local agent contact [email protected] | www.growteksa.com

BY SUPERIOR WETTING AGENTS

T H E CO R R E C T I V E

BY SUPERIOR WETTING AGENTS

news: course maintenance equipment


winning the world overThe Toro Groundsmaster 360 Quad-Steer has been getting rave reviews at parks and golf courses from the US and Canada to Australia and Germany – which is where Sergej Alexanders took his test drive. Ac-cording to Alexanders, the Groundsmaster 360 Quad-Steer takes productivity to a whole new level.” It’s more manoeuvrable. When there are obstacles like trees, you don’t have to do hand trimming afterward. You don’t need to drive backwards, you can just keep moving forward and do it all in one go. You can do more, and get more done with this machine.”(The back of the mower follows within the width of the deck, making it easy to trim around trees, poles or along fences without hitting the mower’s rear end.)

the new groundsmaster 360 quad-steer drives circles around other mowersYou have to drive it to believe it. The Groundsmaster 360 is engineered with Quad-Steer™ technology, for true all-wheel cornering. When turning the steering wheel, the inside and outside tires pivot around a common point so you can make tight turns or trim around obstacles without turf dam-age. What’s it feel like? Imagine sticking a pencil in the ground and trimming around it 360 degrees without worrying about tearing the turf. Not only that, the Groundsmaster 360 Quad-Steer is remarkably easy to oper-ate. Just about anyone can easily operate it and do a superior job with minimal training.

Built like a groundsmaster all-day, all-terrainDon’t be fooled by its nimble turning response; this new Groundsmaster is a workhorse through and through. It’s engineered with all the rug-ged features that built the Groundsmaster reputation for nonstop performance, plus innovations that will really boost your pro-ductivity.

get the quad-steer advantageAll four wheels pivot around the same point in the Quad-Steer system so you can make tighter turns without injuring the turf. It uses a standard steering wheel instead of stick steering; the Groundsmaster 360 is easy for new operators to learn how to drive.

a new angle on operator safetyBy combining the responsiveness of Quad-Steer control with a wider wheel stance, Toro created a mower that can scamper up steep slopes, trim 360-degree circles around objects on side hills, and still main-tain optimal traction and control.

scale curBs in a single BoundOne of the most impressive features about the Groundsmaster 360 according to An-drew Sterling of Sydney, Australia, is how effortlessly it climbs curbs, thanks to the pivoting front axle and high ground clear-

ance. “In the past, we’ve blown out tires and damaged rims,” he says. “I can’t see any of that happening in the future with this machine, and that will save us a whole lot of downtime.”

the power to mow more in less timeForget about all the obstacles that used to slow you down on mowing day. The two-wheel-drive Groundsmaster 360 Quad-Steer quickly sails around rocks, trees or anything else in its way, with virtually zero trim. You can keep right on moving, instead of going back to make another cleanup pass. And, because the rear end follows within the width of the deck, you can mow in and out of tight areas without damaging turf, equip-ment or property, or breaking a sweat.

versatility is its middle nameWhen Kim Hansen of Batavia, Illinois, USA had a chance to test drive the new Groundsmaster 360, she quickly saw all kinds of ways it could make her more pro-ductive. “Right away I thought, wow, you could use this to mow regular park areas with flat terrain. And then, you could also take it into the rougher areas, and raise up the deck to do a rough cut. But once we

the groundsmaster® 360 quad-steer™

taking productivity in a whole new direction

GCMPg_28_29_0311.indd 28 2011/01/31 2:19 PM

news: course maintenance equipment


got to the hills, let’s just say, I’ve never seen another mower that performs like it does on the hills.” Sounds like she’s found the one mower that really does it all.

maximum control, maximum traction, maximum productivityThink of the four-wheel drive Grounds-master 360 Quad-Steer as the big mower that drives small. It has a huge appetite for devouring grass, but when you need the precision of a smaller mower, it zips in and around, and gets the job done faster than any mower its size. It’s also designed to cut your maintenance costs, with a multi-disc wet clutch that lasts longer than convention-al clutches and a direct-drive transmission that requires less service.

more Grip, less slipCrossTrax® all-wheel drive comes standard on the Groundsmaster 360 4WD. It auto-matically senses when one of the rear tires begins to slip and instantly transfers power from the rear to the opposite front wheel, so you can confidently keep on mowing. What’s the best way to experience the power of CrossTrax®?

Look for the worst place you have to mow. Go to the area where other mowers get stuck, or where it’s very tight and your other mow-ers hit things. As soon as you fly through there with this mower, you’ll suddenly have one of those ‘a-ha!’ moments when you realise this machine does things you can’t do with your other equipment.” ■

Nobody needs reminding that the current state of the game is, if not in crisis, certainly in need of a shot in the arm, and a serious look at the way golf clubs do business will be the main focus of the conference.

Certain clubs find themselves in ‘survival mode’ and while this situation is largely due to factors beyond their control, the way they will survive in the future will depend on new strategies that have to be implemented without delay. Speakers will include the president of the Gauteng Central Golf Union William Lucas, and his talk will be followed by a presentation by South Africa’s foremost security expert, Servest’s Kevin Derek.

Master professional golfer and renowned chef Roy Yates of Blair Atholl will deliver a talk on catering for profit and Andy Bean will then talk on the role of the PGA profes-sional and rainmakers at golf clubs.

The chairman of the Gauteng Golf Course Managers Association, Malcolm Bromley, will also address the delegates, explaining the role and changing strategies for golf course superintendents.

The conference will include a talk by the CEO of Royal Johannesburg & Kensington, Gary Marais, which will be followed by a presentation by marketing expert and GCM contributor Lauren Collier, on the topic of

brand building for golf clubs. Retail Tribe’s Ian James will then deliver a talk on the uti-lisation of online marketing in driving golfers to facilities. Educator and PGA professional Paul Bowden will also explain his system of recruitment and retention of junior golfers. There will also be short panel discussions on issues such as existing and changing environmental laws, as well as the perennial topic of virtual clubs and golf societies. ■

please note: At the time of going to print, other speakers had not yet confirmed their participation, but GCM will feature a comprehensive report on our conference in the April issue.

news: industry

GCM conference-HeavyweiGHts at thepodium

The topics that will be discussed at the GCM Confer-ence held at Country Club Johannesburg will hopefully benefit everyone in the golf industry, and the participa-tion of various experts in their fields promises to supply plenty of food for thought.

GCMPg_28_29_0311.indd 29 2011/01/31 2:19 PM

retail tribe


business. Brand and product managers know that they have to: inspire, engage, convert and retain customers.

are you using a Marketing Model?Like all the best concepts, this is an easy one to appreciate and understand. Now ask yourself to review the situation at your club. If your club is a members’ club it is prob-ably best to start with your current members (consumers you have already converted).

What is being done throughout the year to ensure they are retained as members? Are you contacting members that don’t ap-pear to be using the facilities or playing very often to ensure they feel they are getting value? Are you looking for ways to improve the value of their membership without re-ducing prices? And what is your strategy to inspire visitors to your club, to engage with them so that they either become regulars or apply for membership? Who in your club has a specific objective to introduce new golfers to the club? And what are they doing to achieve that goal?

For too long, golf has relied on Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tony Jacklin, Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els and Tiger Woods to inspire generations of golfers to want to play the game. And while once upon a time watching Palmer, Nicklaus and Player go head to head on TV could inspire a person to get off the couch to play the game, now there are another 100 sporting events on dozens of channels to stay and watch.

The TV executive wants to keep the viewer on the couch ready for another sponsored programme with adverts. And if, despite the alternative attractions of more TV, PlayStations and Wiis, the Internet and Facebook, the TV has inspired someone to take up the game, to play more often or to look to improve their game, then we need golf clubs to be ready to ‘engage’. Yes, there have been improvements in the openness of golf clubs and in the approachability of golf club management. But largely the process relies on a potential golfer finding another family member, friend or busi-ness colleague to introduce him or her to the game in a manner that is more akin to

joining a Masonic lodge than trying to par-ticipate in a sport. We need to be grateful for the investment the manufacturers have made in sports stars and icons, but now we need them to swing their weight behind golf clubs that are committed to inspiring more golfers to play the game more often.

The whole industry needs to get behind clubs that want to create more engagement with members, visitors and casual golfers. It might not be coordinated, but just think how much better off the industry would be if every golf club had someone effectively marketing the opportunity to play golf.

Think about the benefits of ensuring that your club had someone who is dedicated to inspiring golfers to want to improve, to play golf more often. Make sure that person can engage with people that want to play golf, or want to improve their golf. More golfers, more rounds, more participation will be good for golf clubs, good for PGA professionals, good for manufacturers and good for the supporting cast of product and service suppliers. Let’s have a ‘rainmaker’ identified at every golf club. ■

Roodepoort Country Club’s Gavin Drummond is a member of Retail Tribe, and his shop is one of the best around.

GCMPg_15_30_0311.indd 30 2011/01/31 12:19 PM

is simply way ahead of the competition. As the world’s first fully automatic

Documents

05988_GCM_March_2011