Gather Global Podcast

A massive thank you to those of you that joined us for our recent Mentor Room: LIVE! as we welcomed Nicole Wheatley and Jojo Regan, two Gather members who are at the forefront of brand positioning. Both are passionately helping drive a new image for the game to new audiences.

Listen out for key insights on:

• Investing in branding/marketing/PR - the key decisions and opportunities for more golf businesses to consider.
• How we can speak as an industry to the non-traditional golf audiences?
• The "unknown" golf market. How do you approach the golf audience that doesn't sit within traditional demographics with very little known about them (e.g. GenZ, Millenials) ?
• NFT's and the world of crypto - are there genuine opportunities for golf in here?

Read more and check out the highlights video over on our website.

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“Golf needs to have the strength of will of character to look beyond the walls of its own self-worth.” Dan Green, Design Director at Zag.

Are you in the mood for some Truth Bombs?

Then this is the 15min audio for you.

1.     What’s next for branding in golf?

2.     Who does Dan seek inspiration from within branding in the sports world?

3.     What’s Dan’s advice moving forward for golf brands to break through with Gen Z?

4.     If anyone listening wanted to do an audit on their golf industry brand, hypothetically what could that look like?

“Golf has always dined out on its history. It’s always an easy target and a quick win. “Ok, we need to create some content around this event or this course, let’s just tell people what happened 150 years ago, or even 20 years ago” which bears no meaning to the vast majority of the audience. And is really just a pat on the back, boys club, kind of a move ultimately and something that I think a lot of consumers are probably sick and tired of.’”

BOOM!

Welcome to: Cutting Through The BS with Dan Green.

In just 15mins, hear from one of the brightest minds in branding, who also happens to love golf.

Headquartered in London, Zag has earned a big-firm reputation with clients including Audi, BT, Discovery, Deloitte, Disney, Facebook, World Vision and Yamaha.

Dan was also part of the project that re-branded The Open and the Women’s Open for The R&A, plus he created an even bigger emerging golf industry brand called Gather 😉

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What if golf, was just golf?

Not amateur and professional, with so many fragmented organisations. Not with organisations for men and women separately competing for the same commercial sponsors and media outlets?

“We HAVE to look at golf differently now”

This week, we are incredibly excited to share with you our first ever Women's British Open Champion as a Gather Guest, who has some fascinating insights to share from how Australia are challenging the previous norms.

Transitioning from elite tour professional to senior leadership within the golf industry is a rare feat. In addition, being a leader that challenges the norm and trailblazes with new concepts and collaborations, is even rarer. We loved our chat with Karen Lunn (CEO, WPGA Tour of Australasia). Join us as we dive deep into a fascinating conversation on the Gather Global Podcast.

Karen just offered up so many incredibly valuable insights in this conversation, and we're very excited to now share them with you. 

Here's some of the key areas we covered:

• Governing bodies in countries pitching against each other for sponsorship, television coverage and government support, rather than collaborating. "Seems like a no-brainer." Learn why the WPGA and PGA in Australia are doing things differently and what other countries and organisations can learn.
• How would Karen currently score our industry, out of 100, in its ability to collaborate effectively for the benefit of the game?
• The biggest standout from the Australia-wide golfers survey? Hear what the huge opportunity is…and why it’s not about ramming golf club membership down people’s throats!
• Looking at partners with disruptive ideas as an opportunity for the industry, not a threat to the game.
• Hear about the switch Karen has made from an elite player, a major winner, into working as a leader in the sport. Lessons in resilience and keeping your motivation when doors are closing on you. Have former professional tour players honed this skill better than many?
• Do we still place too much value on golfing ability when appointing people into golf industry roles?
• Does the research tell us that PGA training is now focused on the wrong candidates? 
• Karen’s view on the biggest opportunity for the golf community in Australia over the coming 3 years.

Enjoy

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In this episode we had the pleasure of speaking with Amir Malik.

Amir founded The Muslim Golf Association (MGA) in the UK in 2020 which is the worlds first dedicated golfing platform that caters for the modern, professional, Muslim male & female golfer.

Check out their website, but also connect with Amir. There could be great collaboration opportunities for you, but without doubt there will be inspiration and some fascinating insights that can help you, your golf club, organisation or business.

This is your 15min insight into the minds of some interesting, diverse and inspiring people that are doing things within the golf industry and have an innovative perspective on what the future can look like. We kick off all of these conversations with 2 questions:

1. In their view, what’s next for golf in their sector of the industry?
2. A Gather Elephant in the Room question – where we ask about a challenging topic or a difficult question that’s often talked about within the golf industry, but nobody wants to actually deal with it.

What we love most about Amir’s story…is that he wasn’t a golfer 7 years ago.

He’s since fallen in love with the game, learned to play at a local municipal course (where, interestingly he’s found the best customer service compared with many private clubs) and then in 2020, launched the MGA.

He talks about being ignorant to many of golf’s traditions and WE LOVE this. This is a huge strength in trying to achieve his vision with the MGA and….a huge opportunity for us to learn something critical: His observations as a relative newcomer to the sport, compared with many of us who work in the industry that have been fortunate enough to be playing the game for a long time. It’s a fresh new perspective, filled with energy, passion and enthusiasm.

From one chat we could see why Amir and the MGA have been featured already in the BBC, Guardian, National Club Golfer and even in mainstream media in the US.

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If you are starting your first role, or you're a senior leader in golf, there’s critical insights and learnings in this new episode. They come from someone who has gathered varied experiences and skills, put their hand up and asked for more help to learn and now see themselves in an influential role at a global brand at the age of 35. But still learning and staying humble.

Chris Hedderman has worked as an Assistant Professional at a local municipal course, re-gripping clubs in minus temperatures in the cold of winter. He’s worked at one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, receiving the odd comment about not being the ‘usual’ type of Assistant Pro. He’s been on tour working with players and along the way, developed a wide range of skillsets which led him to his current role as Head of Marketing for EMEA at adidas Golf.

Some very strong messages about why and how to listen to the younger people who love golf and who want to work in golf to help shape our future industry. Also, some learnings about how positive collaborations can be when you have no fear and leave your ego at the door. And of course….we talk about the "big" brand strategy behind the ‘Hoodiegate’ disruption…

Here’s some of the great insights Chris shared with us:

• 02.00mins: “Unhelpful stereotypes!” How far we still have to go to change these? 
• 7.05:  “We’ve created robots” Cool young amateurs and Pro players still conforming to ‘golf fashion’. 
• 17.53: “What are we so scared of?” Why doesn’t golf want to embrace change in what people wear? 
• 21.54:  What is the risk, as a global brand, to adidas Golf doing various collaborations with new independent and smaller brands?
• 35.59: “Huge OPPORTUNITY! Golf shops have “retail-tainment” on a plate!” How many golf pros do a great job of selling apparel and how much revenue are they ‘leaving on the table’? 
• 45.00: “Bring me a ‘Stop the Bus’ moment…” Why we must lift up the voices of younger people in golf and listen to their ideas, for the future benefit of golf.
• 49.02: Understanding the minds of Gen-Z for your future career and business. 
• 56.43: Don’t let your peer group opinions hold you back from putting your hand up to learn more from experienced leaders in the industry. 
• 63.00: How the best disruption happens… The inside story on the strategy for the adidas hoodie with Tyrell Hatton? 
• 78.49: The “Dabblers” and “Potentials” are the MAJORITY of the golf market. (*Note: Not called simply “non-members”).

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Mind. Blown. 

That was how we felt after our shortest Gather Global Podcast yet. 

The reason why? Possibly because we were speaking with an 'outsider' who by his own admission:

"...has been stalking the golf industry for a while, from the outside..." 

Possibly because it was the biggest mirror we've had held up to our golf industry faces since Gather launched. 

This chat is not only about golf. It's about culture, fashion, influencers and OPPORTUNITY. 

If you want to hear a genuinely new perspective, with hope and excitement for the future golf industry, this is the podcast for you. 

If you're like us, then you know there are a number of emerging independent fashion brands in the golf industry. You're aware of the growing influencer culture in the wider society. You've seen various golf YouTube influencers reviewing courses, equipment and providing coaching. You might have also seen various urban golf type ventures popping up around the globe in cities.

If you want some help to contextualize all of this into what this means for the future of golf and where the genuinely huge opportunities lie for you, your work and your organisation or business, then we think the insights and questions raised by Sam Roach from Wavey Golf in this chat are going to help you.

We didn't quite know where this chat would lead when we started, and it was all the better for it.

Open your mind and hear about our future...

Some of the things we dig into:

·      03.48mins:  Does the golf industry as a whole, love the idea of ‘heritage’ too much? Does this hamper our efforts to market the game to a new generation?

·      05.36:  Who’s responsibility is it to genuinely drive change so that golf can captivate this new market that has recently become interested in golf?

·      06.21:  “Go and ask them what they want!” – are governing bodies and golf brands missing the obvious and just sitting in their siloes?

·      10.06:  What does diversity in golf look like from the outside, at the moment?

·      15.26:  “We are in the infancy stage, and it’s only gonna get bigger.” How much of a driver does Sam think fashion might be on golf participation moving forward?

·      21.30:   Does Sam think that people call BS* in the golf industry enough?

·      23.58: So where should we be looking for inspiration at the moment, with new ideas and emerging trends in fashion, culture and music, that relate to the golf industry?

·      25.59:  Who are the movers and shakers in the golf world that are on to something?

·      31.04:  We ask Sam if he thinks he would want to collaborate with existing golf industry players. Find out his answer….

·      32.51: How do we get more of this thinking and questioning and diversity of thought coming into the Gather Community?

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PARTNERSHIP WORKING 2.0

With vast experience working with partners globally spanning over 20 years, the approach to partnerships continues to evolve for Andy Brown. However, what's next for this space and will we see disruption?

Here's some of the stuff we dig into in this chat, which offers lots of food for thought if you work with partners in your role or want to learn more in this area:

• Golf used to be a lot of handshakes, whereas now communication barriers have been broken down and behaviours have changed. When we consider the evolution of the digital space - how has this changed the role of working with partners in our industry?
• The partnership models across golf seem quite obvious and generic. Are there any collaborations that have had a high impact and break the mould?
• Why do you think innovation and golf rarely end up in the same sentence? The Irrigation & Turf Care Industry is hugely innovative but it goes under the radar. Surely the innovative thinking from this sector could be valuable in other sectors of golf too?
• Driverless cars, green cutting machines, supermarket checkouts! When will we see the robots? Is the agronomy world going to see less human capital and more machine automation?
• What might golf have to do to stay, not only relevant, in 50 years time, but to actually survive?
• In just 30 years, due to climate change predictions, will our sport become as extreme as the 'Urban Golf' concept the recent BBC Sport article theorises?

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Our chat with golf course architect Kari Haug really made us reflect on our own assumptions about short golf courses, their objectives, how they are assumed to be the solution to increasing women's and children's participation and crucially....why this might not always be the case!

If you care about the growth of the game, or if you are a golf club or facility manager, you should find this to be a fascinating discussion with some questions to consider going forward in your career in the industry. 

Gather member and research expert Sue Shapcott from SportsQuery joined us as Co-Host which made the questions even more insightful and practical.

Key discussion areas:

•Are short golf courses actually the answer to golf's participation needs?

•Can short golf courses potentially be contributing to the further marginalisation of women in the game?

•The number one misconception about shorter golf courses

•What are the top questions that the industry needs to ask itself when considering short golf courses? (Either building new or retrofitting existing 18-hole courses to be more sustainable, inclusive and accessible)

•Why do we still have public golf courses in the US that receive public money, when they are not really accessible to 50% of the population?

•Have resort courses got it right? Why is this and what can private clubs learn?

•What advice and considerations might Kari give to a golfing country where the game is still relatively young if they said they wanted to develop new facilities that are based around getting new people into the game?

•From a town of 600 people and a rudimentary golf course, to designing and modifying golf courses – how Kari's background shapes the way she approaches her work now

•What are the research gaps in this area and how might a different approach to research really help participation drives for more women 

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You know those times when you wish you could hear the chats between the industry leaders on topics that really matter? 

Gather now offers you that fly on the wall experience with our Gather Ripple Series. 

Fred Popp (Zag) and Emma Taylor (former Head of Marketing, Tottenham Hotspur) talk about creating environments and communities for sports fans.

Emma’s amazing time at Tottenham Hotspur saw the club grow exponentially and recently culminated in the opening of a stunning, world-class stadium. She played a lead role in developing the brand experience for this unique sports and entertainment venue and worked as part of the Senior Management Team delivering every aspect of the visitor experience.

Fred has incredible experience of helping global brands in his own right, including The Open. You can find out more from his time as guest on the previous edition of the Ripple with Phil Grice.

Explore this fascinating conversation with insights packed into just 20 minutes:

1.05: Finding the delicate balance between marketing, customer sales and brand building 

3.14: Building multi functionality facilities in line with customer needs

10.09: Adapting existing facilities to be more family friendly

13.12: How can golf appeal to multi-generations?

16.30: How to connect with non-golfers?

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Golf development is not commercially attractive...or is it? 

The phrase golf development conjures split emotions. On one hand we all share the passion to grow the game, but, on the other, we know the rewards will not likely be immediately monetary. It often takes a back seat, becoming a philanthropic afterthought, as the commercial model doesn't seem to stack up

As we move forwards, golf development may become a casualty of the 'golf boom', as facilities understandably feel compelled to make hay while the sun shines. One casualty may be the Get into Golf initiatives which people have driven so hard to develop.

However, is golf development that black and white? How do you convert the buzz around golf to create a win-win?

In this Gather Global Podcast, we sit down with Ray Roessel, who is shifting the paradigm of golf development. Based in China, Ray has pulled together many years in sports marketing, academy management, professional tours and media deals to create products and models that flip the golf development narrative.

When so many people are talking, Ray is doing.

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