The European Golf Course Owners Association (EGCOA) was delighted with the success of its third European Golf Business Conference, held November 5-7 in Berlin.
The central theme to the conference was 'The Big Change' and the event attracted a total of 240 delegates from 25 different countries, including participants from Africa, America and Canada.
Various speakers exchanged views on the changes occurring with golfing habits in Europe today. The general agreement was that the so-called 'Free Golfer' is the growing market. The 'Free Golfer' is described as the golfer who plays golf at leisure and at a range of different golf clubs but doesn't belong to any of them. It was clear that the supply side of golf must change in order to accommodate this new breed of golfer.
Another hot topic highlighted by many speakers was environmental issues and sustainability in golf. Gordon Shepherd, director of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), suggested that the golf industry should take a prominent place in promoting environmental sustainability, but believed there was considerable work still to be done in this area.
Marcel Welling, president of the EGCOA, sparked an interesting debate on the current structure of golf federations and whether they are meeting the needs of their markets and therefore preventing further growth of the game.
David MacLaren, from The European Tour, focused on improving golf operations, Laurence Pithy, from Crown Golf, promoted a more professional approach to golf course maintenance and Peter Walton, CEO of the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO), said he sees great possibilities in the future co-operation of his association with EGCOA.
Bill Sanderson, the Golf Business Coach, ended the conference with a speech in which he focused on service. Most present agreed that the golf industry needs to change its mentality into a more service-orientated one.
A very popular moment was former European Tour executive director Ken Schofield receiving the 2008 EGCOA award for his outstanding contribution to developing the European Tour and for the positive effect this has had on the growth of the game. Commenting on the conference, Mr Schofield said: "The agenda was challenging and timely for golf - particularly in the current economic climate - and the contributors were first class."
The EGCOA announced that the fourth Golf Business Conference will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark in November 2009.
ABOUT EGCOA:
The European Golf Course Owners Association provides services that support golf course owners in their objectives, whilst representing their interests and improving the business of golf on a European level. The EGCOA supports these owners by spreading and sharing knowledge and the current membership levels have recently swollen to more than 650 golf courses in 18 countries.
For more information, photographs and to view the presentations of the speakers visit www.egcoa.eu
Phone: +31 203306103
E-mail: tb@egcoa.eu
