T
he Reynolds Plantation
development on Lake Oconee,
halfway between Atlanta and
Augusta, was an appropriate location
for ASGCA’s 67th Annual Meeting,
which took place in late April.
For Reynolds, one of America’s
largest integrated golf and real estate
developments, has been through tough
times since the economic downturn
hit, culminating in the Reynolds family,
the project’s initial developers, losing
control of their property. But the green
shoots of recovery were not long in
coming: Reynolds has been acquired
by insurance giant Met Life, and is
now managed on its behalf by golf real
estate specialist Daniel Corporation.
The firm’s boss Charlie Tickle
told the meeting that both he and
Met Life executives still believe in
the golf business as a key part of
development. “Met Life doesn’t think
the golf course world is busted,” he
said. “The issue is the confidence
the financial world has lost, not the
golf courses. Restore confidence
and there’s a bright future. Golf is
an expensive amenity, but it pays
a dividend. The question is one
for every individual development:
is there a market or isn’t there?
The power of golf as an engine of
development is clearly shown by
the Lake Martin community near
Atlanta. It has half as many lots as
Reynolds Plantation, but they realize
much lower prices. Why? Because
it doesn’t have golf. We’re going to
make Reynolds Plantation the great
recovery story of the golf world.”
•
ASGCA Meeting
Lessons from Georgia
FOCUS
14
|
By Design
The 67th ASGCA Annual Meeting, at Reynolds Plantation in
Georgia, enabled members and their guests to share insights
on the global golf industry, and discuss a number of interesting
topics.
By Design
reports on the key learnings from the meeting
LPGA professional Mary Lyons, Ann
Dye and ASGCA members Jan Bel Jan
and Vicki Martz joined ASGCA staff
member Aileen Smith, sharing an
informative discussion of the wants
and needs of women golfers. The panel
agreed that the pioneering work of
ASGCA Past President Alice Dye has
been hugely important in helping golf
designers and operators understand
how women play the game, but also
that the discussion needs to go beyond
distance–hence the panel title!
“I teach male and female golfers
differently,” said Lyons. “Men and
women play for different reasons: men
for competition, women for the fun of
it. Guys ask ‘who won’? Well, when
women play together, we all win, and
the post-round discussion focuses on
our successes.”
“Women are each others’ best
supporters,” Martz agreed. “But the
way we approach design is from a male
point of view, and we tend to lump
all women together. Just as there are
differences in male golfers, women have
different games and skill sets, and we
need to provide some alternate routes
for them to get to the green. Women
don’t want their course dumbed down.
But they don’t feel the need to shoot
par. If we take all the strategy out of
golf holes to make them easier for
women we destroy the interest of the
game and their skill level will never
get better, they’ll lose confidence and
they’ll stop playing.”
“To promote more women to play,
we’re talking about getting more
adventurous,” said Bel Jan. “Create
challenges, but not challenges that can’t
be surmounted.”
“Teachers are not taking people out
on the golf course enough,” said Lyons.
“They should start their players short
and let them achieve success. If you’re
not keeping score, you don’t worry
about a lost ball, you just drop another
and keep going. Lots of my students
have hydrophobia, they are terrified by
water hazards.”
MORE THAN FORWARD TEES
Look for expanded coverage on ASGCA
members designing facilities to welcome new
players in an upcoming issue of “By Design.
