Technology eh? Gizmos and gadgets get updated so quickly these days, that the fancy, all-singing, all-dancing mobile phone you bought barely two years ago is now just about as fusty and archaic as the hand-cranked mangle.
But then, you may not even own a mobile phone. And even if you do, your ability to use it is so crushingly bumbling, if someone asks you to “download the App” you just stare back blankly like a dog sitting at the controls of a helicopter.
In this swipe, tap and scroll era of efficiency and instant access, golf, golfers and golf clubs can often be viewed as the clucking old maids of the digital age.
Ahead of this weekend’s second Scottish Golf national conference in Edinburgh, the top brass are preparing to present a new “game changing” digital platform in an effort to connect the golfing community, lure in the nomadic golfer and help clubs help themselves in these challenging times.
Golf has never been quick to embrace change but Apps, downloads, and whiz-bang thingymebobs are the language of a new generation – a generation the game desperately needs to tap into and exploit.
The big selling point, for those who take it up, is that it will be free. Clubs will also keep every penny of the green fee paid, they will be able to set their own prices and dictate their own discounts.
“We are offering a free suite of
software to every club to give them a level playing field,” said Iain Forsyth, the commercial director with Scottish Golf. “Where did we take our cue from? Well, forget golf. If you are banking, booking a flight etc, what is now acceptable? The tech guys are all into how many clicks does a consumer make before they go away.
“As an example, we tried to get on to a well-known golf course in Scotland and we were 17 clicks in before we got to pay. We are going to be only three or four by the time you pay. We want to enable clubs to make it easier and make the experience for the golfer smooth and relative to the world they live in.”
Cheap online tee-time booking websites are not hard to find. A quick squint online yesterday could get you a round in the Glasgow area for £6.67. It’s hardly a surprise folk don’t see the value in forking out over £500 for a membership.
“If we don’t take hold of the whole nomadic, pay-per-play scene and the App, then someone else will,” said Andrew McKinlay, the chief exec-utive with the governing body. “We have allowed commercial organisations to come in and take a big chunk out of the sport. We need to get a piece of that action. The return on investment is potentially huge both in what clubs can save by not paying for systems they currently use but also in relation to income from pay-per-play golfers.”
Having gained enough votes – 60 per cent – to push through a rise in the affiliation fee members pay to Scottish Golf, McKinlay believes there is a willingness to move forward as one, even if stubborn resistance will always be, well, par for the course.
“I’m not expecting all 500 odd people in the hall to have banners and make it like a Trump rally,” said McKinlay with a smile. “There will be naysayers. It reminds me of being in the banking industry. We were going to get a recession given what happened in the banking crisis but there was a real feeling of talking ourselves into a recession.
“Golf can be in danger of doing that. It’s constantly negative. Let’s shout about it positively for a change.”
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