Before coming to the European Tour I ran professional football and baseball teams, as well as a lot of sports media, and I learned this lesson: In any sport, there are only really three types of fans that watch and come along to games.
The first type are your die-hards. They love the game, they follow the game, they watch it all of the time. It doesn’t matter if their favourite team or player is winning or losing, these fans will be there or be tuned in.
The second type come along because it’s fashionable. It’s a good date, a good night out, a good reason to get together with your friends, family, or whoever. They come because it’s cool and its fun.
The third type are the bandwagon jumpers. How many people watch the Superbowl, or Wimbledon, or the World Cup, who don’t at all follow the sport during the year? This is something we almost never see in golf. The only event that generally brings in some of these fans is The Ryder Cup, because it has that tribal aspect. Other than that, it’s a rarity.
The die-hards are going to be there no matter what we do, and we should always think about them and reward their loyalty. But for the game, and your venues, to continue to thrive we have to go beyond that. Since the nature of the game doesn’t attract a lot of bandwagon jumpers, our focus at the Tour has to be on being fashionable and cool.
That might sound trite or shallow, but the truth is that a lot of sports fans in the world are more casual. They are just looking for a good time, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The golf industry needs these fans, just like other sports do. In many markets golf is seen as a niche sport, and if we want to create a broader base then we have to be willing to adapt and modify how we present ourselves and what we offer.
For us at the Tour that might be new game formats and tournaments such as GolfSixes, in addition to new branding and new mediums of communication, etc. For venues, there’s a lot of crossover: new game and tournament formats might go down really well, especially for new and unexperienced golfers. And what about the atmosphere at your clubhouse – is it the kind of place that you could throw events that younger people would want to attend? If not, think about how you are going to draw in the next generation. Not the die-hards, you’ll always have them, but the more casual Millennials and Gen Zers who are only going to turn up if it’s cool and fun and fashionable. What would make them want to come and bring their friends?
If you struggle for ideas, look at what other venues are doing. Not just golf venues, but other popular local businesses – bars, restaurants, music venues, other sports – what are they doing right? What kind of environment are they creating? What kind of events are they throwing? There’s plenty of inspiration out there if we are willing to think outside of the box.
With any new idea, the first test, of course, is that it has to be credible for our industry. But right behind that is that it has to be entertaining. Look at the Hero Challenge in the lead-up to the British Masters, with top golf players competing by firing balls across the water at floating targets on Canary Warf. It was unique, it was credible and it was so much fun. That’s how we change perceptions about what golf is, that’s how we reach that second tier of golf fans: we entertain.
It’s scary to step out and change things, especially in an industry with such a rich history and tradition as golf, and no one knows better than me the kind of resistance you can face from members and boards. But if we want to reach out to a non-core golf audience, then this is how we do it, so don’t take no for an answer. You will make missteps, of course. I’ve made a ton of wrong decisions, but I’m not afraid of failure, because success is only making more right decisions than wrong decisions.
So be bold in your thinking, find ways to make golf more fun, cool and fashionable, and then actually do it. That’s how our game and our industry will continue to grow.
