Golf Industry Central Spring 2012 | Page 4

Mike’s Space The industry is starting to align It’s been a very busy few months here at Golf Industry Central. I’ve had the privilege to attend, facilitate and present in NZ and Australia at a variety of industry forums. Mike Orloff is an Operations and Marketing Specialist for Golf Industry Central and a PGA Member in the USA and Australia. Originally from Southern California, Mike has permanently resided on the Gold Coast for the past 10 years. He has over 20 years of commercial golf experience in various senior management roles and currently provides operational and marketing solutions to the golf industry in the region. Currently, Mike also lectures part-time for the PGA International Golf Institute and runs the industry based website www.golfindustrycentral.com.au. Editor / Sales: Mike Orloff [email protected] +61 415 682 259 Contributors: David Newbery Senior Writer The GMANZ Conference was recently held in Christchurch with close to 100 attendees from all aspects of the industry. Themed Survival of the Fittest, the conference was staged in Christchurch. The national bodies spoke about how they can work closer together on various initiatives which was summarised well from Dean Murphy CEO of NZ Golf. (This event is featured in this issue.) On the Gold Coast last month representatives from across all areas of Australian golf arrived at Palm Meadows for the Annual Golf Development Forum organised by Golf Australia. The forum saw representatives from Golf Australia, the PGA of Australia, the ALPG, Golf Management Australia, all State Association and Junior Foundations, School Sport Australia and the Australian Sports Commission join forces to work through a range of development programs including National Participation Plans Golf Australia Golf Development Manager Cameron Wade said the forum was an important meeting as the sport looks to maximise its resources. “We’ve held this forum for the last two years and it’s been quite successful each time,” Wade said. “By bringing all of the industry’s major development stakeholders together in one place, we can identify and work through any issues and challenges around our programs and also use our success stories as blue prints for the future. Much of the week was about the ways that the industry can use its collective strength to grow grassroots golf even more in the future,” Wade added. Im personally very excited to see where both countries are heading in regarding to working closer together. We are a large geographic area, but we are not a large industry. We tend to have a lot of duplication in many areas, and if we can coordinate major initiatives better well have extra resources to focus on the most important thing- PARTICIPATION!! Mike Orloff Operations and Marketing Specialist Publisher Morlo Pty Ltd ACN 123 872 784 ABN 1812 3872 784 PO Box 773, Main Beach, QLD, Australia, 4230 Golf Industry Central exists to help golf facilities throughout Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia perform better. We offer easy access to golf industry news, job vacancies, recruitment services and operational advice. We also help overseas markets access the local golf industry via our vast network, online magazine and weekly publications. Golf Industry Central operates with a general premise that for the industry to get stronger there is a real need for a cross pollination of ideas and networking from across all the different sectors of the golf industry. We all have a common denominator with our respective businesses - we need more people playing golf and spending money! Currently our readership covers all sectors of the industry - General Managers, Superintendants, suppliers, golf pros, front line staff, accounting, architects, and various others from over 80 countries worldwide. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission. Views expressed in editorial contributions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this publication and it’s management 2 Our goal in each issue is to bring you a fresh and unique perspective on our golf industry. Through the sharing and discussion of thought-provoking topics, we will hopefully help your business in some small way. For this magazine to be fully sustainable and to achieve our goal and vision, it truly will need to be a collaborative effort. Please feel free to submit any items or stories you think the general industry may have interest in. The Golf Marketing Professionals www.golfindustrycentral.com.au