Gather Global Podcast

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. 

In our second episode, Phil Grice (Independent Consultant) continues the ripple by interviewing international sports branding expert Fred Popp (Partner, ZAG). Fred has worked with a list of stellar clients in his career, including The Open, the NBA, Tottenham Hotspur and the FIFA World Cup.

Explore this fascinating conversation with insights packed into just 15 minutes:

- What is golf's 'stock value' right now?

- How is the golf industry perceived in the wider sports industry? In line or behind?

- How would you adapt professional golf to develop a better green grass landscape?

- What can traditional golf clubs do to change negative perceptions?

Our next Gather Ripple will see Fred turn to another leader to continue the conversation…

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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? 

Well, we’re delighted to now offer you that fly on the wall experience as we launch the first in our Gather Ripple Series. 

Jeremy Slessor (Managing Director, European Golf Design) wanted to ask some direct, no nonsense questions to a leading expert in the world of club management. So we recorded his Gather Ripple chat with the experienced Phil Grice (Independent Consultant). 

“Are golf clubs well positioned or not to capitalise on the 2020 ‘boom’ in participation demand?”

Here we're offering up the best bits in under 13 minutes.

Our next Gather Ripple will see Phil’s turn to unearth insights from a respected leader. Who will it be...?

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Join us for this intellectual chat with Andrew who has had a foot in both camps of academia and the golf industry for many years. With a career and projects that span various areas of the golf industry, he’s uniquely positioned to delve into some questions we have been itching to ask.

You know those ones that you feel should be raised, but nobody really knows where to start with them? Yeah….those ones.

Open your mind and check this one out, we delved into: 

• “Who owns golf?” and how does this relate to governance, power and influence?
• The question of structures within golf, the history and how forward thinking the governing organisations are.
• How tension within the structures can be helpful.
• Is it fair to expect anything national golf associations to solve all the challenges for golf in a country?
• Are there too many associations within golf?
• Does innovation and innovative thinking have the potential to drive changes in the governance of golf
• What might the future of Higher Education golf programmes look like? 
• How can you create a meaningful and appropriate education and development opportunities for yourself within the industry?

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This one is a bumper one folks! 

Packed full of insights, experiences and advice that many people are unlikely to have heard from the golf culture and the business of golf in the Far East.

As seems to happen on every episode, we feel like we’re going back to school and just learning constantly. The key word for this episode is OPPORTUNITY and if you listen in, you will just hear an awful lot of it! 

Key takeaways include:

• The benefits of the culture-mixing in the Middle East golf and hospitality industry.
• The historical profile of the South Korean golfer.
• How government intervention in South Korea aims to make more golf clubs public and make the game more inclusive.
• The value of gaining career exposure to different global experiences and cultures. Plus...how do you take your first steps towards doing this?
• Understanding how to speak with, connect and influence, board members and influential, wealthy people.
• The critical importance of having a focus on RELATIONSHIPS.
• What you can learn about Asian golfers who travel and why this makes business sense.
• Tim’s best piece of advice for Gather members

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Starting in banking, leaving to start up a real estate private equity development fund, training to become a golf professional, summers interning in the US and now currently the Vice President of Sales for Arccos Golf. It’s been a diverse journey, which sees Andrew now working at a really interesting case study of a successful start-up in golf. 

This episode was a little bit like going back to school for us…. We learned A LOT. 

Listen out for:

• Why is nobody tracking the biggest percentage of golfers in the UK? Any sensible business wouldn’t survive without a way to engage with all their customers.
• What is one of the things the golf industry completely undersells to its consumers?
• Start-ups in the golf industry – do they need to be “go big” or “go home” in order to be successful?
• Setting lofty goals vs “achievable” goals, especially if you plan to pitch for investment.
• “Quit your job” – perhaps the first step for someone in their 20’s or 30’s, working in the golf industry and with ambition of starting something up.
• Does Andrew think there is an investment market for big thinking in golf and does golf need more education on what investors look for?
• If you grow up in the golf industry, is there a risk your thinking is institutionalised?
• A great idea from Andrew on how the Gather community could help you to test your business model.

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Colin Bell, Adam Keable and Mike Hyde look back at the first two months of Gather. We report our top five learnings from our members, and some thoughts of our own on the journey we're on the journey we are on with you all, to try and build a better golf industry.

We discuss:

• The geographical spread and vocational breadth of the Gather community
• The similarity of the challenges our members face, regardless of industry sector
• The 'positivity paradox' - social media echo chambers are painting a positive vision of the industry, which doesn't seem to be shared by everyone
• Universal frustration with pace of change
• A shared appetite to genuinely change the golf industry
• Our industry's fear of failure

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The Gather Global Podcast aims to deliver genuine insight and offer you new perspectives on the golf industry, and this episode with Clare Queen and David Kearney goes above and beyond on both fronts.

Clare is Head of Performance at Scottish Golf, and David is Performance Director at Irish Ladies Golfing Union. The conversation kicks off with an insight from David about the effect of the global pandemic on golf, which goes far beyond the typical commentary about golf 'enjoying a boom'.

As well as discussing the impact of the pandemic on performance programmes - your host Colin Bell, Clare and David visit the culture of national associations, why parents might be holding back elite youngsters, and the benefits of maximising your personal strengths - a principle that is just as applicable to life as to golf.

Timestamps

2:56 How COVID-19 is forcing a (well needed?) re-think about how the top amateur golfers are supported by national associations.

10:36 How a shift in culture, from top down, within a national golf association can contribute towards increased opportunities for former elite female players to remain working in the sport.

21:06 Why do golf magazines not have women on the front covers?

22:26 “The golf club membership situation drives me bonkers!” – hear what a hugely respected industry golf professional thinks about the culture still evident in some clubs and why it would stop him from joining a club.

28:06 Learn about a HUGE rarely-discussed problem in golf. Why a high percentage of young players and their parents do not really understand golf and the significant impact this has on how young golfers develop.

36:34 The benefits of doubling down on your strengths and not beating yourself up in your ‘examination of the self’.

41:21 A very generous offering of help from David to anyone currently struggling in the industry.

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Currently CEO at The Scandinavian, David Shepherd moved to Denmark in 2016, after eight years at Monte Rei and time at The Belfry.

Perhaps most notably, also David holds the honour of being our first ever Gather member! So, we discussed why he joined the community, as well as looking at the industries that golf could learn from, and how he's crafted a career that's taken him to some of Europe's top venues.

Look out for some key points:

4:15 David's biggest frustration about the golf industry

11:00 How to network more effectively 

16:15 Is it inevitable you need to move around to build a career?

36:15 The Scandinavian's plans to retain members in 2021

44:45 David's biggest career regret

48:30 Are paid boards the future?

Jazzaddict's Intro by Cosimo Fogg (201) is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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Agustín Piza is a man of the world. From Scottish academic roots to his international award-winning architecture practice, Agustín talked honestly about his journey to becoming one of the most influential people in the golf industry today.

From unexpected friendships with UK music icons to designing family friendly golf 'playgrounds', Agustin discusses opening our thinking to help us grow as individuals, and to develop the game for the future.

We loved our conversation with Agustin and here’s some interesting bits to listen out for....

2.30mins How CONTROVERSIAL is Gather going to be? How much 'poking of the bear' will there be?

5mins Here's a great intro article to learn more about Agustin from the Edinburgh University Alumni website.

7.50mins Agustin talks about the influence of music on his work designing golf facilities, including his favourite Brazilian artist and Paul Heaton from The Beautiful South here.

13.45mins How can golf develop in Latin America?

15.45mins The Elephant in the Room for this chat and why “the most dangerous thing out there, in any subject, is the illusion of knowledge”.

21.20mins Why the blank sheet of paper for golf in some countries in Latin America, is absolutely a blessing and an opportunity.

27mins How people in Latin America have traditionally “learned” about golf and the goal to build truly public golf facilities around Mexico.

30.45mins The legacy, urban legend and current state of the Olympic Golf Course in Rio, Brazil.

35.25mins Why the ‘one size fits all’ approach doesn’t work for the golf industry in Latin America.

37mins Why would I design for the golfer? I want to design for the non-golfer!

43.30mins How can we build golf courses that are multi-use for all kinds of people?

47.30mins When does creativity stop for us as adults?

53.30mins Agustin’s number one message to people aspiring to progress in the industry.

More interesting links to Agustin’s work:

Wellness Golf Chable by Piza Golf.

First Tee Mexico - the first nine Chapters.

Agustin is involved as an Innovation Consultant for the G2 Academy.

Agustin’s TED Talk (Spanish).

Connect with Agustin:

Website: www.pizagolf.com 

Instagram: @pizagolf

Facebook: @agustinpizaarquitecto

Twitter: @arqpiza

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In a searingly honest conversation, Gather co-founders Colin Bell, Mike Hyde & Adam Keable introduce Gather - a new global community for golf industry professionals.

We discussed:

• Why the golf industry is broken, despite there being plenty of great people in the golf industry
• The glacial pace of change
• The easy solution to make the golf industry booming again
• Why do the Gather Values matter so much to us?
• What do we mean when we are talking about trying to be disruptive?
• Our biggest fears
• Who the heck are we to say we should have the right to be the platform for these kind of discussions in the golf industry?
• What EXACTLY is Gather and can it really cut through the noise in the golf industry and make a difference to people?
• What does a Gather Member look like? And what do you get for membership? 
• How can Gather help you meet new people in the industry?

Gather is about taking a broken industry, and saying “it doesn't have to be this way”.

It's about joining a group of like-minded people who agree that it's time to change things for the better.

You can be working at any level of the golf industry, anywhere in the world. We simply want passionate, innovative thinkers who share our values.

Join Gather today: http://www.gather.golf

Jazzaddict's Intro by Cosimo Fogg (201) is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.