59club study – founded in Canada

Born in the pandemic as a way to help clubs compare notes on how they were dealing with the latest Covid restrictions, our fortnightly survey has become essential reading for club managers all over the world.

Our Evolvement – to the world

For better or for worse, 2020 was certainly a year to remember. Covid was running rampant across the globe with shutdowns and uncertainty being experienced by everyone. Leaders of our industry were doing their best to stay open while abiding by government rules and regulations. Changes in operations were fast and furious and the need for information sharing was at an all-time high. In large, golf, an activity played outdoors and in small numbers per se, remained open but with many and regular adjustments.

How were other clubs dealing with positive cases? Were they allowing players to touch flagsticks, ball washers and rakes? How far apart were clubs scheduling tee times? How often were they communicating with players and by what channels and platforms? Enter Club Study.

Club Study brought decision makers together by taking their questions, framing them into a short, quick-to-answer bi-weekly survey (never exceeding 10 questions). Within a week the data was redistributed into a two-page report that was informative and easy for the network to digest. At first, Club Study was seen as a short-term initiative, suggesting it was nice to have the data to make informed decisions during what was a difficult time. We considered that survey fatigue could set in, or the questions would begin to run out, but as Covid waves came and went, Club Study grew and blossomed.

New questions unrelated to Covid procedures came in. General managers were taking questions they may have previously asked their peer group and now they were sending them our way. Questions arose on policies, finance, staffing, facilities and even compensation – and we were up to the challenge.

The data that many national governing bodies were generating on a year-to-year basis was now being delivered by Club Study twice a month in bite-sized doses. The ability to collate questions that general managers would receive from their members or board and use Club Study’s growing community for reliable information was of huge value.

Does this sound familiar..?

Member to GM: “I played XYZ club last week and they’re not increasing their fees next year, giving their members a break for once.”

GM to Member: “That’s interesting. We participate in an industry research programme and, because of that study, we know that the average club is looking at a 5.5% increase in dues/subscriptions next year, sir.”

A big part of what club operators do is cater to the vocal minority. We know they will never be silenced and, in a strange way, that may be a good thing but having the data to stop them from spreading erroneous gossip, or rebalancing that opinion, is certainly handy.

Today, Club Study continues to bring curious club managers and industry professionals from all over the world together with the same bi- weekly survey model. Whether you’re interested in how much others are increasing their annual fees for the season, departmental staff turnover rates, how many clubs are permitting denim, or even what time club leaders come and go from day-to-day, the topics are vast, and the information comes quickly.

The process is simple. Questions can be requested at any time and we issue a ‘last call’ to our network every other week. They create the basis of the 10-question/2–3-minute survey, with the results generated a week later and posted in our members’ side of our website clubstudy.ca. Participants can include the industry data in board reports, and with their staff or ownership group, keeping everyone ‘in the know’.