It’s that time of year again where the winter chill in the air makes it hard to get motivated to play golf.  However, there is no need in packing up the clubs for the season.  Maybe a golf vacation to Arizona will help fight off the winter golf blues.

When it comes time for me to get away and play some memorable winter golf I head straight to Arizona..Phoenix or Scottsdale to be specific.    No matter if it is the dead of the HOT summer or the middle of their gorgeous winters, there is no better Golf than Phoenix Golf . Of course, if you are looking for breath taking golf, Scottsdale Golf has few competitors.

Either location is a safe bet for some exceptional and off the chart exciting golf courses. Phoenix Scottsdale Golf has some of the best Arizona Golf Packages available.  Some of the golf courses they have access to are McCormick Ranch, Starfire, Orangetree, Arizona Grand. At Phoenix Scottsdale Golf, they take pride in providing discount Arizona golf vacations that focus on finding the best golf and lodging deals in Arizona.

They take the time to listen to your needs and understand your golfing style in order to make the best possible accommodation and course recommendations for you.

Phoenix Golf Packages include golf course like Golf Club of Estrella, Pointe Golf Club – Lookout Mountain, Rancho Manana, Kierland Golf Club. Scottsdale Golf Packages include golf courses like Grayhawk, TPC Scottsdale, Wildfire, Talking Stick.

How can they do it?

Well, …

1. The folks at Phoenix Scottsdale Golf live in Phoenix and regularly play golf courses allover Arizona.  This personal touch insures you to have a quality experience.
2. They have access to the latest tee time sheets and accommodation promotions to find the best package deals, enabling them to provide complete custom Arizona golf vacation planning at low package prices.
3. They help you tee it up at some of the finest golf courses in Arizona and enjoy first class hotel and resort accommodations for much less than you think!

Phoenix Scottsdale Golf prides themselves in providing detailed information and insider secrets to help make your Arizona golf vacation an unforgettable experience. So, save yourself the time and hassle of planning your Arizona golf vacation. Let Phoenix Scottsdale Golf plan it for you.

I have said it before and will say it again..there is no better place to build a business relationship than on the golf course.  What makes building that relationship easier is to play golf at a quality oriented golf facility.  The Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort in Horseshoe Bay, Tx, is one of those quality minded golf resorts.

If you have not been to the Hill Country of Texas you are missing some breathtaking scenery.  The Hill Country of Texas is located in the center of the state starting around Austin and San Antonio and going west.  Not only has the Golfing world found the hill country a great location for spectacular golf, the Wine industry has moved in to now producing some very good wines.

The Horseshoe Bay Golf Resort sits on the banks of Lake LBJ..one of the only constant water level lakes in the state.  Lots of fishing, boating and jet skiing offered.  Fortunately, the Hill Country is the Home of the best barbeque..or BBQ as it is commonly seen written in Texas.

The Marriott offers both Hotel accommodations or Condo Villa’s.  Depending on the level of business to be conducted they have it covered for the overnight stays.  They also have some very, very affordable golf packages that include unlimited golf and the world famous Marriott Breakfast Buffet. This makes the Business Golf accessible to every level of business person.

As far as a place to go to play golf and talk business..well, not too many places are going to provide what the Hill Country of Texas offers.  However, getting to the facility does take some doing since the nearest public airport is in Austin, TX which is over an hour and a half away.  There is a private airport that can handle private jets if that works for you. Driving to Horseshoe from Dallas is a little daunting with all the construction on I35 and the narrow rural state highways offered as alternate routes.

Overall, it is recommended you play a few days spent at the resort to get the most out of the adventure and investment.

Golf Galore

Let’s start with the golf.  The Horseshoe Bay Resort Golf Club is, simply put,…Hill Country Golf at it’s best.

“There are a number of reasons why Golf Magazine named Horseshoe Bay Resort one of America’s Best Golf Resorts. Maybe it’s the three championship courses designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. or the anticipation of our member’s only Jack Nicklaus signature links.”

There are now four courses at Horseshoe Bay Resort.  Each course has four sets of tees.

• Apple Rock, the longest of the three, (From Tips-6999 yds, par 72 with a 75.4/136 Rating/Slope), challenges the big hitters to hit the fairways.
• Ram Rock course (From Tips-6926 yds, Par 71 with a 75.6/137 Rating/Slope) forces the golfer to keep focus away from the spectacular views from top of hills to getting on the slick Bentgrass greens..which are rare in Texas.
• Slick Rock, a little flatter of a course stretches out from the tips to 6850 yds, Par 72 with a 72.8/131 Rating/Slope.
• Summit Rock, this is the New Member’s Only Course at Horseshoe Bay.  It is the ONLY Jack Nicklaus Signature Course to open in the US this year.  Since it is private and only for members no information on the course could be provided..but you can assume it must Rock!! (Pun intended)

Naturally, the assortment of tees on each course tames the beast to the length of play that suits each player.  All of the courses play very well and provides all skill levels a fun opportunity to enjoy the game.

Meeting Settings

I found a number of places for the business part of business golf.  Since the crust of the purpose of business golf is not to hard sale someone the focus on comfort is needed. Naturally, the Marriott always seems to offer up a high level of comfort. (Look for my review on the Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort soon.)  At the Marriott there were all kinds of places outside and inside to casually sit and talk in semi-private settings.

Naturally, private meeting rooms were available as well as a large conference facility to accommodate the largest of any business golf outings.

It is unfortunate the Cap Rock Clubhouse burned to the ground last year.  It offered the best settings for sitting and enjoying the views from the top of the Cap Rock while sipping on a cold beverage.  However, the cabana facilities did survive the fire and were available to serve as a great place to sit in semi-private setting.  (I’ll have to tell you about their great margaritas later.)

The Whitewater putting course has to be the most unique of all places I have every seen to continue the business relationship building in a very low key casual  setting.  However, putting on the 18 hole bent grass miniature putting course can get rather competitive.  The Whitewater Putting course sits right outside the Marriott resort.  The set up is outstanding for a twosome or a tournament.  The outdoor bar provides lavations for the players while they putt their way thru a very well landscaped exotic bird park…yes..wild birds are everywhere.

The Party Barge and the Horseshoe Bay Yacht provide the special private get away voyage on the lake.  The boats handle from two to 80 people in a floating party atmosphere.  Or, a business discussion cruise.

Tourist Attractions

As is the case in most rounds of business golf that include overnight stays, everyone wants to take the opportunity to turn the business trip into a pleasure trip including the family.  What to do with the family is easy to manage at the Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort.  As mentioned, the Wine Industry has stepped up to offer the guests of Marriott all day Wine Tours during the wine season.

Did I mention the Waverunner Jet Skies?  Enough said..there is fun to be had on the lake year around.

Yes, there is tennis and bike trails..all kinds of activities to keep the family of all ages interested and entertained.  There is even a Kids Night Out.

Mr Business Golf’s Rating:

I am going to score the Horseshoe Bay Resort with an Eagle on the business golf and a overall Birdie for the convenience factor.  The resort is secluded which makes for an outstanding getaway from the grind.  It also has all of the creature comforts of home once you get there, but it is the getting there that causes the overall rating for the Horseshoe Bay to fall to being just a birdie.  Still, I don’t give out below par scores often so I can say I would recommend if you are planning a business golf outing the Horseshoe Bay Resort should be on your A List..it is on mine.

I was leaning on the fence one evening talking to a few of the golfers who were waiting on the two groups ahead of them to clear so they could play.  Naturally, Pace of Play was the topic for the day.

Since there was more than a 15 minute wait until they could shoot, they just pulled their carts up to the fence and we had a decent conversation about the State of Golf today.

Discount Golf Causing Problems

In asking this foursome of 40 something men and women golfers what they thought was causing the slow play on a private country club they where very quick to list a few issues.   All seemed to agree it was due to the club attempting to boost their revenue which just will not work for private golf clubs.

Some of the reasons they readily offered were:

• opening up the private clubs doors to non-members to play golf
• promoting discount green fees
• selling discounted and trial membership packages
• club using online tee time sites
• handing out free guest fees to members

All of these they felt were resulting in the club placing “too many golfers on a difficult to play golf course in hopes they will play in less than 5 hours”.   Seems this club is doing what many private clubs are doing to survive, but obviously their efforts are backfiring for this club.

Wrong Message Being Made

This group of private club golfers, who report to have been members of the club for over 15 years, all feel the new ownership of the club has lost site of the club being a private club and who is paying their bills. Even though the member’s do not own any equity in the club they do provide for the club’s operation’s operations budget..including salaries and profit for the owners..through their monthly membership dues.

Comments made..

• The clubhouse has a “resort” look that is very uncomfortable for private club members.
• “The look and feel gives me the impression they don’t want us staying in the bar very long”.
• “The focus of the club is to get more members which is OK, but this means more demands on the tee time availability which makes it hard to get on the course on the weekend.”
• “Having a full roster of members is good, but how they manage a large number of members is driving many of the current members to think about continuing to be a member.”

This group sited things that annoyed them like:

• Onslaught of promotional emails from the club, or other members of the club for the club, announcing bargain membership packages and soliciting members to solicit their friends to become members.
• Newsletters placed in their bill from the club manager and board of governors reporting how well the club is doing financially but not addressing making any major capital improves to the club’s infrastructure.
• Overpricing of food and beverages served by over stressed employees
• No personal contact by the club ownership

From what I gathered there are some morale issues developing to a fevered pitch amongst the membership which, along with bad management decisions, are proving to not be very productive.

State of Golf

Truly the state of Golf in general is making operating a Private Golf Club very challenging.  With discretionary funds drying up, uncertainty in the stock market and golfer’s incomes at risk many people’s livelihoods are being threatened for the fist time EVERY.

What is a Private Club, whose soul function is to service the Golf market, to do?

The golfers I had the privilege in interviewing seem to feel the ownership of the club going back to treating the current membership like people would be a start in improving the membership’s morale.  From there, trust can be built from the managers of the club knowing what they are doing.  It was also mentioned the need for the club’s ownership procuring good outside advice on how to go about building, rebuilding or maintaining trust amongst the membership, wouldn’t hurt.

Listening Works

A lot can be learned about how well Golf is doing by taking the time to get out on the golf course and ask golfers what they think.  Most of the time, golfers are never lost for words.

For you golfing members of a private club, ask your general manager to join you for a round of golf.  If he/she obliges you then take the opportunity to casually get to know what he/she is thinking and get their point of view they used to guide the club into the future. It’s your money that is paying the GM’s salary..at the very least they should at sometime get out on the golf course with you.  If he or she does not play golf..well, then..I think you might see where the problems begin.

It probably would be good for your club’s management to get out and find how the membership feels about things.  It would be good for them to see how the golf course plays during a peak period instead of residing on what the golf director or course superintendent reports.  In this uncertain economy, maintaining a private club’s membership, or customer base,  is solid advice to follow.

I got a lot out of the few minutes I had to talk to a group of fellow golfers.  I wonder how many club managers take that amount of time to talk to their members?

Let me know how I can help.

Back in May of this year I posted a blog on the aspects of Empire Avenue I really did not know what to expect.  Today, how I feel abut EA is even more important. 

First of all, Empire Avenue is not just a game and it is not a waste of time.  Actually, the more time you spend on EA site the more influential you become.

As far as an evaluation of your influence in the social spaced, Empire avenue does the trick. 

The basics are:

1. Fill out all of your Profile and BIO
2. Connect all your social spaces to Empire avenue
3. Connect to others in EA with common interest.
4. Develop a strategy on who you are going to invest in and post that on the site.
5. Then write a blog about EA and post it.

This will get you started.  Meanwhile, be on the look out for people using Empire Avenue who are producing a hefty dividend.   Don’t get in a hurry..this is a marathon not a sprint.  The more your stock value goes up the more influential you become.  Hang in there and you will see more people investing into you and posting something about you.  Make sure you post your link to your blog.

If you are looking to improving your results from social media you need to invest in Empire Avenue.

I ran across this video of Phil Mickelson’s greatest golf shots.  They guy still has game..I like the shot made at Grayhawk Golf Club.

Is there a Dr in the House?

A husband and wife are on the 9th green when suddenly she collapses
with a heart attack!
   "Help me dear," she groans to her husband.
The husband calls 911 on his cell phone, talks for a few minutes, picks
up his putter and lines up his putt.
His wife raises her head off the green and stares at him.
   "I’m dying here and you’re putting?"
"Don’t worry dear," says the husband calmly, "they found a doctor on
the second hole and he’s coming to help you.
   "Well, how long will it take for him to get here?" she asks feebly.
"No time at all," says her husband. "Everybody’s already agreed to let
him play through."

Episode #7 of the Mr Business Golf Show will go down as one of the best shows since:

It featured all three of the co-hosts, Scot Duke, Dave Bisbee and Krista Hartman

The show focused on the discussion being held in the Business Golf Country Club LinkedIn Group on the questions,

What is the most important thing that has to change to grow the game of Golf?

On Episode #8 the Mr Business Golf Show will take on the question..

How should Golf deal with the current economy?

The shows are starting to gather a good following and the questions are coming in from around the world.  Please keep sending the questions and comments in on the show..we enjoy the feedback.

It was another FUN show this week.  The Mr Business Golf Show just keeps getting a little better each week making it really FUN to produce.  This week, Dave Bisbee and Scot Duke trudged on without Krista Hartman who is still out on assignment gathering material for a series of reports to be presented on upcoming shows.

Mailbag

In this weeks show more emails from fans asking questions were read on air. 

• “Business Coaches are a Dime a dozen, what’s our deal?”
• “When will the MBG Show go to Videocasting?”
• “When will Scot, Dave and Krista be doing seminars and workshops for their fans?”

The feedback on the show is great as well as the questions being asked.

Tee It Forward May Not Go Forward

Scot and Dave jumped in on the subject of the new program the USGA and PGA launched in may..Tee It Forward.  Dave provided some very sound concerns about the programs direction and discussed other possible changes to how golf can be played differently to appease all levels of golf skill.

Sedona Rocks!

The show wrapped with Dave’s report on playing conditions being at their peak at the Sedona Golf Resort and the business golf programs he is working with the PGA SW Section.

Business Golf Country Club Rules!

Scot provided more input on how someone can become a guest on the show and what the Business Golf Country Club is all about.  Plus, more on how someone can join in the business golf network in the Dallas, Texas area.

ENJOY THE SHOW

Wife’s Diary:

Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it. Conversation wasn’t flowing, so I   suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn’t say much.

I asked him what was wrong; He said, ‘Nothing.’ I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset He said he wasn’t upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving.

I can’t explain his behavior I don’t know why he didn’t say, ‘I love you, too.’ When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely,   as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV.. He continued to seem distant and absent.   Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep; I cried. I don’t know what to do. I’m almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.

Husband’s Diary:

        A four putt;  who the hell four putts ?

As the many debates rage on about the merits of the Tee It Forward program the USGA has developed to improve the appeal of playing golf, the question I have been trying to figure out is..

Will it help Golf Grow?

The entire concept of what the Tee It Forward program is really designed to accomplish is clouded with suspicion.  Sure, if every golfer played from the tee box matching their golf skill everyone would enjoy golf more, but aren’t their other solutions to getting golfers to enjoy playing golf?

Basing what tee a person should play from the distance they hit their driver is also questionable of really working to improve a golfer’s pleasure in golf or to speed up play. We all know dozen of people who can hit the ball over 300yds, but then they take 10 shots..not counting the penalty shots..to get the ball in the hole.  I also know a large number of people who can’t drive the ball further than 200 yards, but they carry a scratch handicap.

It seems what the purpose of the Tee It Forward program is really wanting to happen is to get more people to pay a green fee.  True, without golf courses there would not be golf, so supporting the operations of a golf course would keep golf courses open so people can play the game.

However, isn’t the USGA missing something here?  The high costs to play golf has to reckon with to produce a greater interest by more people in playing Golf.  This has to be the hardest problem to solve for which Tee It forward is not going to help.  Golfers are not going to be overwhelmed in joy to pay inflated green fees to not be allowed to play the course they want to play it.  It’s recommended that you take Skiing lessons before taking on the mountains, why not recommend lessons that shows people how to play so they can enjoy the full length of the golf course.

Given the fundamental problems of the weak golf economy are not total deterrents for many people to playing golf, isn’t the real problem golf has to overcome in the difficulty of learning to play golf.  Wouldn’t it be a better approach to improving the appeal and pleasure of playing golf by having everyone who plays golf learn to play Golf before they PLAY Golf?

This is just one of the debates going on today in the world of golf.  Dave Bisbee, Krista Hartman and I are going to discuss the Tee It Forward issue in the coming weeks on the Mr Business Golf Show .  There is a strong feeling in the business golf community that the point of the problem golf is having with it sagging popularity is not from where a person tees the ball to play.  Many of the problems golf is having with attracting more golfers could be outside of golf.

Make sure to stay tuned into the Mr Business Golf Show so you can find out more of what is really going on with the Tee It Forward program.

Let me know how I can help