Jay Karen enters his 10th year as CEO of the National Golf Course Owners of America and his 29th year in association management and he continues to preach that the foundation of the golf industry is the owner of the golf course. Before hosting the NGCOA Annual Golf Business Conference during the PGA Show, Karen took the time to answer 10 burning questions we asked her about the state of the game heading into 2025.
GWK: We’re at the PGA Show this week with 30,000 foot soldiers for the match, many of whom are following their marching instructions from your members. Given that your owners have influence over the type of programs they run and have as much say in the game as anyone, how would you and your members like to see the PGA of America evolve over the years? future ?
JK: NGCOA and the PGA of America are close allies and partners, collaborating on advocacy at the federal, state and local levels, and on programs like this. Lately, there’s been a trend toward golf professionals getting off the counter to spend more time directly with golfers and customers, and I’m here for it. Getting more people to play and love the game is probably the best thing PGA members can do for the business. My wish list for the PGA would include more robust programming and education around adult activation and deep course-level engagement. Additionally, it would be wonderful to see the PGA Junior League program offered in parks and recreation offices across America, where children also sign up for baseball, basketball, soccer, soccer, etc. I could see this program being as ubiquitous as any other youth sport. .
GWK: What is one thing you wish more people understood about the NGCOA?
JK: Although we are indeed a golf course owners association, NGCOA serves and includes any person or entity that operates a golf course of any kind, including daily rate facilities, resorts, private clubs and municipalities. We welcome any course operator who cares about the health and success of their business and this industry.
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GWK: What is the decision made in 2024 regarding the work that you are particularly proud of?
JK: We launched our Champions Circle program to help fund various legal and advocacy initiatives, including recent golf course victories that faced threats of lawsuits in Massachusetts and New York. Many generous NGCOA members and corporate partners have stepped up to ensure the financial viability of our work. Through the Champions Circle program, we have also recognized important members of Congress who help advance our agenda. We make a difference.
GWK: What is the core program in the industry that you believe is making a significant difference?
JK: Honestly, the biggest difference makers at the local level are these independent, under-resourced programs that have welcomed and served a wide range of golfers for many years – some for decades – without much involvement or support from national organizations. I’m talking about the Latina Golfers Association, Black Girls Golf, the Midnight Golf Program, the Ted Rhodes Foundation, Women of Color Golf, and the myriad of adaptive golf programs for people with mobility, sensory, cognitive, or neurological. The list above only scratches the surface, and thanks to the Make Golf Your Thing program launched by the USGA, PGA Tour, PGA of America and LPGA, more funds have been provided to those who do the big job. It is often better to breathe new life into basic programs rather than creating new programs imposed from above.
GWK: The online startup space is constantly evolving. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the latest developments?
JK: I’ve seen more exuberance from the tech sector in recent years than I’ve seen in a long time, and it’s exciting. Much of this appears to come from the huge increase in demand for golf. We’re now seeing waitlist technology to help golfers find newly available tee times, as well as secondary market platforms that allow golfers to resell tee times, much like what Stubhub does for paid events. These can contribute to the golf economy if they help golf courses truly grow their businesses and create stronger connections with their customers. What we don’t need – and we’ve seen this happen – are tech companies simply trying to take a slice of the golf economy without solving the real problems at golf courses or generating additional demand. When technology simply moves existing demand and booking behaviors off the course, golf courses may not gain economically. If courses are not winning economically, they cannot serve the game and customers in the best possible way.
GWK: Why do you consider the role of municipal golf in the future of green grass golf to be essential?
JK: Over the past 20 years, most course closures in America have been at public and private facilities located on the lower green fees side of the bell curve. Not all of these closures are failures, but often redevelopment projects. The transition to new land uses has been an economic victory for the families and individuals who have built and managed golf courses for decades. As my friend Dr. Joe Beditz of the NGF said, dirt was worth more than turf. If we extend the trend in golf course supply fifty to a hundred years, it is easy to predict that affordable, daily rate courses near population centers will continue to be ripe for selection. promoters. This is not an existential crisis for golf, but it would mean a change in supply. If demand remains strong and the supply of public golf declines, the nation’s nearly 3,000 municipal golf courses could become even more important in serving the public golfer. For much of the 20th century, municipal golf was the primary source of public golf in America, and keeping these spaces green is in their DNA. They are our past and will be part of our future.
GWK: From automated response services to maintenance teams of unmanned robots, how is AI disrupting the industry?
JK: AI and automation both hold great promise in golf operations. If these new resources allow course operators to improve their margins while redeploying staff more significantly, it will be a win. Imagine golfers using self-check-in kiosks, making their way to the practice area or first tee easier. Imagine having food and drinks delivered to you on the course, on demand. And maybe even delivered by drone! Have rule interpretations, swing feedback and other “big data” in your hands as a golfer in lightning-fast applications. These developments are happening now and I can’t wait to see what happens.
GWK: Affordability is a recurring theme in the golf industry. Owners certainly want to fill out a checkout sheet, but also generate as much income as possible. Where do you see prices moving?
JK: This question highlights the tension between ensuring golf is economically accessible to the general public, but also ensuring the finances are strong enough at the facility level to do everything a course owner needs to do. This involves paying staff well, ensuring all infrastructure is in good condition, improving equipment, paying for new technology, etc. One way courses walk the tightrope is by using dynamic pricing strategies, so tee time prices can fluctuate several times per day. Few courses reach 90% occupancy on their start sheet, so there is still room on most courses to accommodate special programs designed to accommodate people who are not ready or able to pay high fees. But the industry suffered our own fifteen-year recession, and the inability to raise prices put prices behind the eight-ball. It would be nice to never watch this movie again.
GWK: What is the biggest challenge facing the NGCOA in 2025 that we have not yet addressed?
JK: The biggest challenge we face at NGCOA is the one we created for ourselves: growing our membership from 4,000 to 5,000 courses. Associations rely on the strength of their members to make everything else work: from effective advocacy to participating in events, from crowdsourcing issues to testing new concepts, and from collecting and data communication to create value for our sponsors and partners. We have been on a growth curve for several years and we are trying to accelerate it.
GWK: Which hill are you ready to die on in 2025?
JK: As long as I am at NGCOA, I will continue to preach the importance of course operators maintaining full control over their pricing and customer relationships, and not ceding too much power to disintermediaries. Many courses trade tee times with online tee time agencies for marketing and other services, and give these agencies control over tee time prices and guest engagement, to the detriment of the economics of golf, in my opinion. I’m working closely with Google as a new channel to bring tee times directly to golf courses. We are making good progress. I will die on the hill ensuring that courses are not exploited and that I have the healthiest possible relationships with service providers in our industry.
This article was originally published on Golfweek: NGCOA’s Jay Karen addresses the big questions facing the world of golf