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Editor's Last Word
BCGA discovers new avenue to grow game
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Paul Ramsdell
Editor |
For those of you who thought the prospects for new golfers was going
to remain as flat as a putt on the Bonneville Salt Flats, there’s
some encouraging news in British Columbia.
There are plenty of new golfers on the horizon, they just need a little
help in getting started.
That’s the impression Kris Jonasson, the executive director
of the British Columbia Golf Association, has after the BCGA presented
golf to a new crowd in Vancouver.
The BCGA had a presence recently at two consumer trade shows in Vancouver
that golf normally avoids -- the Wellness Show and the Westcoast Families
Expo.
The BCGA decided to try a new market, and the sport was quickly noticed.
“We were surprised at the interest,” Jonasson said.
“Really, what we found out is that people were coming by and
saying, ‘Well, you know I’ve always been interested in
getting into golf, and so how do I get started?’” he said.
That’s music to the ears of golf course owners and operators
around the region.
“I think the big thing that we have learned is that there are
opportunities,” Jonasson said. “There is an interest from
people who have thought about golf but have never actually taken the
steps to do anything about it.”
Getting people interested is the first big necessity for the industry
that over the past half-dozen years has seen more people leaving the
sport than coming into it. Jonasson had an answer for what the next
big step will be.
“From our point of view, if we can go out and make it easier
for them, then there’s a good chance that they’ll be interested.”
After the surprising interest during the Wellness Show in January,
the BCGA was even more prepared for the Families Expo in April. There
was an armload of information ready on facilities and driving ranges
that cater to beginning players.
‘The mothers told us that their
kids had expressed an interest in golf, but they didn’t
really know where to start and hadn’t done anything
with it.’
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Jonasson said if the industry wants to get out of its current doldrums,
then finding new markets and new potential players is essential. Studies
have told Jonasson that only 20 percent of the population in British
Columbia plays golf, so getting exposed to the other 80 percent is
critical.
“The interest that we saw did not break down by ethnic group
or age or anything else, it was everybody,” Jonasson said.
“The mothers told us that their kids had expressed an interest
in golf, but they didn’t really know where to start and hadn’t
done anything with it.”
Jonasson saw that interest first-hand.
“We had more than 600 kids chipping, and none of them had ever
played before,” Jonasson said about the setup the BCGA had at
the shows.
“Anytime that you see a whole bunch of kids trying something
new, it’s always fun to watch.”
The BCGA brought in two CPGA professionals to offer basic instructions
for the kids, and there was such an influx of new potential golfers
that Jonasson said he plans to have a presence at both shows next
year, as well as the larger Chinese New Year Fair.
While this first step of peaking people’s interest in the sport
is key, keeping that interest going once someone shows up at a driving
range or elsewhere is vital.
“I think we’re starting to learn how to do that, but I
think there’s an awful lot more that needs to be done,”
Jonasson said. “I think it starts with a lot of the organizations
talking together so everybody has a better understanding of what all
of the programs there are and how they might fit together so people
don’t get confused when they start out,” Jonasson said.
“I think that’s the next step, to make sure we do get
everybody together and we do have a thorough understanding, and maybe
it involves doing a player development summit or a junior summit,
but it does require the exchange of information.”
Especially if this sport wants to grow any more.
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