EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING
Manufacturing of golf equipment is another
area that has come under scrutiny.
Golf aficionados believe the market is flooded
with product. Clever marketing, they say, is
luring social players and high handicappers
into purchasing gear more suited to professionals.
One golf club operator, who asked not to be
named, said manufacturers were bringing out
new models every year. “People want to keep
up with the latest trends and feel obligated
to buy the latest driver or set of clubs. “There
was a time when a set of golf clubs would last
10-15 years.”
I ask Bosley his thoughts on the subject.
“In the last 25 years it’s been about the
growth in hardware sales,” he said.
“Once it was about equipment sales, but it’s
become big corporate business.
“So when did we lose track of players?’ he
asked “When did they become unimportant
and the making of a sale important? “In
Australia, and America to an extent, we have
gone through tour validation of equipment we
should buy.
“If it’s on TV and the pros validate it that
should be good enough for you.
“But amateurs don’t play the professional
game. “When did we get away from products
that were game improving and proven to actually help your game to make it more fun so
you can get better quicker?”
Bosley said golfers in country like Korea pay
a premium for game improvement products.
“Mostly we are average golfers and we are
looking for things that give us some sort of
help,” he said. “So, you’d like to see products
out there that really help rather than smoke
and mirrors.”
COMMITTEES AND BOARDS
I ask Coker what were some of the challenges
golf club managers of his era faced and he was
quick to say “catering and committees”. The
former still hinders many managers, however,
since clubs moved from formal committees to
well-structured boards things have improved.
“When I started working at Virginia we had
a committee of 13 and they allowed retired
presidents to come back on committee,”
Coker explained.
“We had the president, vice-president, captain, vice-captain, treasurer, two or three
past-presidents and five or six other blokes on
committee. “There was continual friction from
the past-presidents and it became one of the
main reasons why I left and went to RQ.
“The committee at RQ wasn’t too bad because they were made up of businessmen and
they knew what they were doing.” Perhaps
there is some truth in the phrase “a camel is
a horse designed by a committee”. “I remember coming home from a golf