Our Association “Anthem”

As I’ve been watching the Summer Olympics, along with 40 million other people this week, I must admit I experience an upswell of patriotic pride (and even some emotion) when I see one of our own, like Missy Franklin of the U.S. Swim Team, get her gold medal and hear our National Anthem.

When there are two worthy athletes from the U.S. competing in the same event, I often find myself torn between rooting for the favorite or the underdog (if I’m not rooting for an American, there isn’t one to root for!). Clearly, no matter what else is going on, I’m caught up in the bandwagon of the Olympic Games and what they mean on many levels.

With that said, we in the golf industry, especially the PGA, now have our own “anthem” of sorts. It’s the sound of joy exclaimed after a new golfers best shot of their life. It’s the high five when a sixty-something woman is given the “key understanding” of how to elevate her fairway wood shots over and over. It’s the “Oh, I get it,” moment that bridges the gap for a would-be golfer that helps them become a core golfer. It’s the soundtrack of the wow experience we put into play mode as the teacher in a new golfer class like GET GOLF READY. The best part of this “anthem” is found in the unique stories that make up each class we teach and how we, as the teachers, get to mold into sweeter, more meaningful stories.

The Summer Olympics only occurs every four years and is the greatest collection of sporting events in one place; we have GOLF 2.0 year-round. It is, I daresay in the 95-year history of our Association, the single most important initiative with the greatest collection of new ideas, new attitudes and new operating systems for all of us in the golf industry. At the center of Golf 2.0 is GET GOLF READY (GGR).

Like the Summer Olympics, it’s time we ALL, as PGA members, get on the GET GOLF READY BANDWAGON. Our future employment collectively, is dependent on the success of GGR. We can all think of a PGA member we respect is now considered “underemployed,” or worse yet, actually unemployed. Please push back that small voice saying, “I don’t think it’s that serious?” In my travels around our Section, I have seen it firsthand. Good, hard-working, high performing professionals feeling the pain. Here in the PNW Section, we are truly insulated from much of the pain others are feeling in warmer climates like Hawaii, Arizona, Las Vegas and parts of California… for how long?
In the next 30-45 days, thanks to fresh, new TV commercials running on a variety of venues, including Wal-Mart stores, GETGOLFREADY.COM will receive the most hits it ever has—perhaps a 500% increase over prior years. Why not be ready to take advantage of this opportunity? Why not take advantage of the branding and marketing already done for you, versus doing the marketing yourself (perhaps with no budget?) If you’re already on board with GGR and have classes posted, I would also remind you to make sure your front line staff know what’s going on so new customers won’t be missed.

For the next decade and beyond, GGR is our brand, our collective “anthem,” so let’s embrace it and get behind it for the sake of all involved. It’s our stage to shine, and most importantly, GGR is the most effective, proven way to create new “ideal customers” for our public AND private facilities…GGR is the best way to re-establish the PGA professional as the source for financial and operational success because we can create customers (resulting in better employment opportunities), versus the cheaper, less experienced alternatives we have seen come to the forefront in the past two decades. GGR is also one of the best ways to bring back the F-U-N we thought we signed up for when we got into this business…in a clearer sense, it’s the only way I know that a Class A PGA pro can be out teaching, making money and be applauded by his owner, employer or manager (if applicable.)

The golf season of 2012 is not yet past, and we are getting very close to the best time to plan for success in 2013. If you’d like more help creating your own GGR classes to take advantage of the opportunity and to re-establish yourself as the traffic builder at your facility, please contact me to set up a meeting. I would love to learn more about your goals and objectives, and then help you reach them using Golf 2.0 and GGR as tools for your success.

Monte Koch
Phone: 206-335-5260
E-mail: mkoch@pgahq.com

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