GCBAA BOARD OF GOVERNORS WELCOME Blake Thomas, GCBAA CHARTER MEMBER REGENCY WIRE!

The GCBAA Board of Governors welcomes Blake Thomas with GCBAA Charter Member Regency Wire to their team. The GCBAA Board of Governors will meet at the 2023 Winter Meeting in conjunction with the GCSAA Conference & Trade Show.

Blake is a veteran of the Missouri’s Army National Guard 1140th Engineer Battalion, his time as a 51R Interior Electrician would be his first experience working on electrical projects. He received a B.S. in Agribusiness from Southeast Missouri State University. During his studies, he was first introduced to the Golf Course Industry through a turf grass agronomy internship at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Ultimately, he was able to bring his golf course and electrical construction experience under one roof at Regency Wire. A privately owned American manufacturer of direct burial wire and cables for the irrigation industry, Regency Wire has been a member of the GCBAA for over 20 years and became a Charter Member in 2021. Blake is a dedicated GCBAA member and has served on the GCBAA Board of Directors.

Blake joins other golf construction industry veterans Rick Boylan, Chairman, Charter Member Mid-America Golf & Landscape, Inc.; Fidel Garcia, Charter Member Ryangolf Corp; Brian Vinchesi, Irrigation Consulting, Inc.; and Scott Veazey, Charter Member Southeastern Golf, Inc.

BY HENRY DELOZIER GLOBAL GOLF ADVISORS

For the past 30 to 35 years, the housing industry has driven new golf development…to the great benefit of many golf course builders. The driving forces influencing the next generation of golf-oriented development and construction have shifted and provide golf course builders three markers to monitor for new business opportunities

Following are four examples of counseling GCBAA members can add to the pace of play discussion:

Local Economy – The greatest influences for new golf projects within local economies are consumer confidence, household income, and tax burden.

• Consumer confidence reflects employment opportunities and local political leadership. Despite news of inflation and interest rates, 2023 consumer confidence continues to float on its post-pandemic high. Consumer debt and spending continue at the high end of the range. Substantial pent-up consumer demand remains a marker to be watched.

• Household income indicates dependable access to employment opportunities and the reliability of those jobs through good times and bad. For example, cities with a convergence of state government and state universities have maintained stability in hot and cold market conditions because employment with the state is relatively stable. Think of cities such as Boise ID, Columbia SC, Lincoln NE, and Madison WI. Income stability drives residential development with golf in many markets; however, most such communities serve mid-market demand (regardless of members’ and developers’ ambitions for high-end clubs).

• Tax migration – from states with high state-income taxes to states with zero- or lowlevels of state taxes – was underway well ahead of the coronavirus pandemic. Covid seems to have accelerated the movement of primary residences to reduce tax burden for high networth households. As such, new opportunities for builders will emerge in states like Florida, Nevada, Tennessee, and Texas. States adjacent to high-taxation states, such as the Carolinas, Georgia, Idaho, and Wyoming can expect golf course growth.

At the end of it all, growth in golf supply relies upon increasing housing demand and stable or friendly local-market economic conditions.

Cost Effective Land – Most golf course builders have a ringside seat to observe the shifts emerging in golf facilities. These shifts arise in large part as developers and real estate investment funds look for affordable land near growing housing demand. The singlemost important economic factor within most residential and resort development performance is the cost of land and, therefore, the volume of land being used for golf.

Developers are shifting their thinking to reduce the acreage footprint dedicated to golf – as a lifestyle amenity – while capturing the Covid-driven enthusiasm for golf-oriented entertainments like short- and putting-courses and derivatives of Topgolf. The emergence of cost-effective golf entertainment amenities, such as Trackman golf studios and golf simulators, is serving to provide developers with new and, perhaps, more engaging golf options which require less land.

For non-golf reasons – usually tied to permitting and entitlements – golf courses will continue to serve developers’ purposes within master-planned communities. Developers will continue to demand more efficiency and innovation from their golf course builders to integrate community drainage and open-space solutions to their site plans.

Changed Golf Amenities – Mentioned above, new generations of golfers and the surging participation of women are driving change in the types of golf facilities that are needed. Advantageously for developers, some of these options do not require full-length golf courses. One will see growing use of small courses – instead of pocket-parks, for example –to meet open space and passive recreation needs in communities and – in so doing – requiring less up-front capital investment in golf for developers.

This change will be advantageous to golf course builders able to make the shift in scale, scope, and process. Efficiently building small golf amenities – such as 3-hole, 6-hole, and 12hole courses – will serve golf course builders well.

Golf is changing and its builders must adapt and innovate alongside the game’s changes. In most cases, the changes are not an indictment against golf’s popularity or relevance. It seems to be a reflection of new golfers’ needs and expectations.

So, what markets show favorable signs for growth and new opportunities for GCBAA members? Consider:

• Charlotte

• Cleveland

• Pittsburgh

• Dallas

• Nashville

• Jacksonville

• Kansas City

• Miami

Local economic stability, access to costeffective land, and emerging golf entertainments signal a new generation of opportunity for golf course builders.

Henry DeLozier is a Principal and Partner at GGA Partners, a trusted advisor to private clubs, resorts, and residential communities since 1992. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Audubon International. Contact Henry at hdelozier@globalgolfadvisors.com.

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