SAY IT AIN’T SO, PETER
2 May 2014

SAY IT AIN’T SO, PETER

By Mike Stevens I forget what tournament I was watching. It might have been the Honda Classic or Doral, but out of nowhere, Peter Jacobsen made a comment that today’s players are so much better than players of his era or before. I think the term “head and shoulders above” was in there. I was flabbergasted. Tell that to Ray Floyd, who won the Masters shooting 17 under par in 1976. How about Al Geiberger, who shot the first 59 in tournament play at the 1977 Memphis Classic played at 7,249 yards? These fellows were playing with equipment vastly inferior to today’s implements. They were also playing under conditions rarely found on any tournament course these days. To even hint that modern players are so much better today is ludicrous. I say that if you gave Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, or Byron Nelson the equipment they use today, they would set records galore. How can I be so sure? Let’s look at some facts. Bernard Langer shoots even par at this year’s Masters. Sandy Lyle made the cut. How is it possible that guys well into their fifties can compete in a major? Any chance they would be there using the wooden-headed clubs they played with in their victories? How well do you think today’s players would score if they had to use the tools of Jones and Hagen? I can give you a hint. I have had three former tour players participate in the United States Professional Hickory Golf Championship and one active player. Their identities will remain anonymous to protect the innocent, but their scores were 77, 79, 81, and 83. I doubt Sam Snead would shoot scores like that with an R-whatever in his bag.
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1 May 2014

UNDERSTANDING FLEET FINANCE

By Marc Gelbke The last piece of my series “puzzle” on golf cart fleets is to cover what may be the most important part, and that is fleet finance. What is fleet finance? It is to determine whether or not the cost of the fleet you have in mind is suitable for your facility, and will strongly depend on how much revenue you expect the carts to bring in, as well as the expenses involved in setting them up and operating the program. Another aspect is, of course, how much profit you would like to make with your fleet program. As a general rule, fleet size, rental rates, and cart per rounds should generate income that averages about $1,900 per cart annually. To calculate your number for your facility, you need to forecast golf cart revenue, expense, and profit. Factors you need to take into account when forecasting revenues are cart rental fee charged, cart rounds, number of carts, the trade-in value (if properly serviced it can be 25%-40%), and other income (private or member carts). For the expense side, you need to account for operating expenses (cost of gas or electricity, cost of parts for repairs and labor), acquisition cost – which is two-fold and includes the interest on the purchase loan and/or your leasing charges, and other costs such as storage, cart paths, etc. On average and to figure hard numbers, you can use the rule of thumb of $3 per round for operating expenses. Your next step is going to be to determine your estimated gross revenue (EGR), and the factors you need to determine your EGR are number of carts in your rental fleet, number of rounds per cart, and your rental fee. For example: 57 carts x 185 rounds per cart = 10,545 rounds annually X $17 rental fee = $179,265 gross revenue; 10,545 total rounds X $3 = $31,635 operating expense; $179,265 revenue – $31,635 expense = $147,630 net operating income (NOI); $147,630 NOI – 25% trade-in value ($29,526) = $118,104 estimated annual profit. In closing, as you can see from the example above, managing your cart fleet is an important and vital part of every golf course operation that operates carts, and you as manager should be involved in your fleet program to make sure carts are being maintained properly and serviced on a regular basis to maintain the highest trade-in value possible, which will strengthen your bottom line and keep your golfers and guests happy.
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RORY MCILROY’S PUTTING ROUTINE
16 Apr 2014

RORY MCILROY’S PUTTING ROUTINE

Pre-shot routines are important, but in professional golf they are mandatory. You can use the pre-shot routine to help with nerves, calm you down after a bad shot, or keep a good round going. Many top players and amateurs alike have a pre-shot putting routine. They look at the putt from a few different angles, take a few practice strokes, and then stare at the hole and pull the trigger. After working with Dave Stockton, Rory McIlroy started a new routine with no practice strokes. Say what?! How could one of the top players in the world not take practice strokes? In Stockton’s camp, they believe that if you are a good-enough athlete, then you should be able to toss a ball to someone 20 feet away without a practice motion. To his point, in most sports you don’t have a chance to take a practice or rehearsal motion. A football quarterback doesn’t stop the play to take a practice throw, nor does a major league pitcher take a few practice windups prior to the pitch. These athletes look and react, plain and simple. By embracing this philosophy, you take the “thinking” out of the action and rely on your natural athleticism. Rory has now made his pre-shot putting routine simpler, just look and react. Could your students make their routine simpler? If they are struggling with too many thoughts, or too long of a process, possibly have them try Rory’s routine: look and react.
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Among The Azaleas
8 Apr 2014

Among The Azaleas

By: Arlen Bento, WGCA contributing writer So, I am going to the Masters. You know, the little tournament in Georgia started by Bobby Jones at the Augusta National Golf Club. Have you heard of it? Pretty big stuff; you get an awesome green jacket if you win! Now, why I am going and how I am going are two very interesting things. First, I am going because of my golf coaching. I am very fortunate to coach at a great high school that has a lot of great connections to golf. I have been able, with the help of great players and families, to build a very good golf program in the last nine years with many great players, many great accomplishments, and more to come. As a team over the last few years, we have been rewarded with a personal visit with Arnold Palmer after winning our second state district title. After our third district title, Mr. Palmer took a liking to our program and was able to donate our team uniforms for our 2012 season. Our players were even invited to participate in a great charity event where my senior players we able to caddie for Mr. Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Lee Trevino. In the summer of 2013 as we started to plan for our fourth state district and a legitimate run at our first state Florida high school championship, an incentive was put into place to motivate the team: Win the district, advance to the regional and play in the state tournament, and go to the Masters. No small feat in Florida…from our region, if you get to the state, you win the state. Very tough golf in our area. Well needless to say, guess what? We win the district, finish tied for first at the regional, and make it to our first state championship. And, now we get to go to the Masters. Now, let’s talk about how we are going. Well, we are traveling with our five players from the state team and our girl’s individual state champion – and myself – for a weekend at the Masters. We leave on the Friday of the tournament from our local jetway via private plane. We arrive at Augusta, where we will be transported to our accommodations on property at Augusta National Golf Club. On Friday night, we have a dinner planned, then a quiet evening on the grounds to get ready to watch the weekend at the Masters. Can you imagine! Saturday and Sunday at the Masters, up close and personal, plus staying on property, walking from your private home to the event. For any golfer, this would as good as it gets, maybe better. I really hope we have good weather and I really hope that I can learn from being at this type of event, taking in the feel of golf and what it takes to get players to bring their games to the next level. As a golf coach, I am always talking about the little things, the one putt, that one chip, that one bunker shot that takes a player to the next level. Well, this April we are going to be looking at the next level, maybe the ultimate level, the level that we all dream about, the level that transcends golf and sport. My only hope is that someday, one of my players makes the field at the Masters, and that would be my ultimate experience in golf. For now, we are working at a first state title, I think the motivation of the Masters helped! Master Teaching Professional Arlen Bento Jr. is a golf coach, golf sales business owner, golf product developer, and golf writer living in Jensen Beach, Florida. He is a former professional tournament player and is a national award-winning head golf professional at the PGA Country Club at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, FL. He can be reached via face book at www.facebook.com/arlenbentojr or on his blog http://arlenbentojr.blogspot.com/ or on his business website www.abjgolfsales.com.
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