It’s bigger than football and it’s bigger than tennis. It’s golf - the most popular activity among men in Australia and the fourth most popular physical activity in the nation behind walking, swimming and aerobics, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data on participation in sport and physical activities. Golf jumps to the number one sport in Australia if we agree with claims by the Australian Golf Union that walking, swimming and aerobics are physical activities rather than sports.

In addition to the 1.33 million adult golfers identified nationally through a 1998/1999 ABS survey, golf is a very popular sport among young Australians. A national junior development program has introduced more than 350,000 children to golf since its launch by Greg Norman in 1992.

Not only is the spread of golf courses making a large footprint on the Australian landscape, golf’s economic impact is considerable - worth about $300 million to the nation annually according to the ABS population survey monitor.

A national survey of golf course respondents by researchers from the University of South Australia shows that while 74 per cent are regular users of golf facilities, only one quarter of players are members.

“To attract more members, golf course owners and managers need to look closely at adopting strategies that can give their facilities a competitive advantage over rival golf courses,” research associate Mr Scott Edgecombe said.

“With the increasing importance of public accountability and regular evaluation fast gaining acceptance as a feature of good management practice, performance indicators have emerged as a key tool for leisure managers,” he said.

Working collaboratively with industry support, researchers from UniSA’s Centre for Environmental and Recreation Management (CERM) developed a series of performance indicators for golf courses aimed at providing owners and managers of golf facilities with the ability to assess, monitor and compare performance levels in operations management and customer service quality with those of other golf courses.

“By defining customer service quality standards, problems can be readily pin-pointed and corrective action taken,” Mr Edgecombe said.

Of the 21 customer service quality attributes developed by CERM, well managed teeing off, well maintained and high quality course, behaviour standards and etiquette, on-course drink fountains and support facilities generally require improvement in performance to meet the service quality expectations of customers.  

“When customer service indicators are reviewed in conjunction with CERM’s operational management questionnaire and their own customer profiles, golf course managers will be able to better predict and determine the level of participation and profitability of their courses,” Mr Edgecombe said.

CERM’s profile of public golf course customers shows that courses are dominated by men (83 per cent) and that more than one-third of users are adults aged 50 years and over. Morning tee offs are the most popular for 70 per cent of users, with just under half staying for less than three hours. One-third of users play on a weekly basis and 59 per cent play on weekdays. About 74 per cent participate in casual or social golf and, consistent with this, 77 per cent visit the golf course with a friend.

The Sweeney Sports report for winter 2000 shows that golf is more appealing to women as they get older, while men aged 45 years and over are less likely to play golf than younger men.

The CERM project is the first comprehensive measure in Australia of feedback and expectations of customers using golfing facilities. Funding for the project was received from a number of local government councils and interested organisations from across Australia.

CERM’s performance indicators are regularly used in more than 200 sports, leisure and aquatic centres, as well as a range of golf courses, bowls clubs, campsites and individual programs such as gymnastics in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. 

Media contact: Geraldine Hinter (08) 8302 0963 or 0417 861832