Reading the Green is a "quick hit" quarterly newsletter sent by Staples Golf, a Scottsdale based Golf Course Architecture firm that works on behalf of Municipal stakeholders like you. Each month, we explore community focused topics all Municipal stakeholders should be keeping an eye on.

Community Golf Fan,

In our March newsletter, we signed off with “…This issue will pass, and it’s ok to continue pressing forward to make our courses more profitable and playable for the future.” We stand by this sentiment, and we hope you do too!

In looking at the most recent data provided by the National Golf Foundation, it’s clear the golf industry is going through a stress-test, but golf also seems to have everything working in its direction. Rather than dwell on current unknowns, here’s where we see golf’s current advantages, particularly for Municipal golf:

Safe Recreation
Most sports/ recreational activities require the sharing of a ball among all players and many times physical contact is unavoidable; golf has neither of these aspects. But further than the safety of golf, is the inherent aspect of getting fresh-air and exercise.

Family and Youth Golfers
For better or worse, if golf is going to survive and thrive, a renewed emphasis on marketing course offerings to family and youth players would seem to make sense. Whatever marketing and programing initiatives were given to these segments before, could likely be increased.

Strengthening Operations
Reassessing golf facility operations happens less often than it should, so now is a great time to do just that. Chances are some changes for the better could be made, so determine what deserves less attention from what deserves more attention, and put those changes in place.

Competitive Advantage
If your course can be definitive about its direction and how to get there, it has the real opportunity to ‘seize the high-ground,’ so to speak. We already know golf is a safe and healthy activity, and this, along with innovative and fun solutions, need to be continually emphasized to further golf’s appeal into the future.

What you need to know:

• Golf is one of the safest and healthiest recreational activities to do.

• Family and Youth golfers should likely be given a renewed emphasis.

• Now is a great time to broadly assess and optimize golf course operations.

• Golf in general should not be fearful of the future, but excited!

Staples Golf is open for business and ready to help your course improve its bottom-line during these unprecedented times. Now more than ever it’s important for our community golf facilities to look critically inward, and optimistically everywhere else!