Kevin Herlihy’s Post

Good news for the golf industry! According to the recent report by Jon Last from Sports and Leisure Research Group, the golf industry is thriving, and growth is expected to continue in 2024. SLRG's survey of private club members revealed that while many clubs have full memberships, they must make proactive changes to stay relevant in the coming years. The data also shows that golf is increasingly attracting a younger audience, a trend our research at SUSSNER supports. Clubs should also assess their brand image to appeal to these younger members. For those interested in diving deeper into the findings, SLRG has made their report available for download here: https://lnkd.in/giVyDt-K Here's to the positive momentum in the golfing world! #brandsmademeaningful #clubbranding #branding #sportsbranding

Sports Management Tip 2️⃣6️⃣/3️⃣6️⃣6️⃣💰 --- Need to generate revenue for your club? 💰 Run additional User Pays programmes outside of your regular club operations at an accessible cost.🏏 Include Holiday camps, community sessions and specialised training for all ages and abilities.🏌️ #sportsmanagement #sportsbusiness #footballmanagement #clubmanagement

In light of our ongoing inter-school challenges, this week's You-Tube video covers the importance of sportsmanship and healthy competition. Check it out below and share these important lessons with the young people in your life! https://lnkd.in/e9wJuEMG

In our latest blog post, we take the time to explore the winning formula for sponsorship success and the crucial role of hosting a Pro-Am. ⛳ Check it out here! ⤵ https://lnkd.in/g6VmfXzZ #ProAms #GolfEvents #PGATour #LPGATour #Sponsorships #sponsorshipsuccess #GolfTournament

The second biggest hurdle for new sports faciity owners is finding and paying for the equipment for that facility. Watch our guide to find out what you need for your facility. #sportsfacilities #sportsequipment

GLOBAL BRANDS AND GOLF The Masters Golf Tournament effect on golf popularity in America is akin to how Wimbledon and the French Open have impacted tennis popularity through out the U.K. and Europe. The Masters Tournament, wasn’t always a success, struggling to make a profit from opening in 1934 and for the several decades, including a complete club shut down from 1942 until the 1946 Masters during WWII. In the fall of 1944, forty-two nearby prisoners of war helped to restore Augusta National back to golf form, including using their bridge-building knowledge to create what was Rae’s Creek bridge located between the famous 12th hole green and 13th hole tee box (bridge pictured below). Excerpts from “The Making of the Masters” by David Owen #brands #golf #marketing #hospitality #ANGC #masters #globalsports #insurance #SaaS #tech #financialservices #energy #globalbrands NOTE: As part of Q3 2024, our agency rEvolution will feature content and highlight global brands in golf ⛳️ , supporting our 15 brands in golf over the past decade.

#MondayMotivation: The more I work and practice, the luckier I seem to get.” -- Gary Player. Our Shamrock Sports & Entertainment team could not agree more. We are also inspired by the latest data that supports a future of optimism for of one of our purpose-powered properties -- Drive Fore Kids (www.driveforekids.com). According to the National Golf Foundation, in 2023, 26.6 million people played golf, an increase from 24.2 million in 2018. Female participants grew by to 26% (+1.3 million) and participation from people of color grew by to 23% (+1.8 million). https://lnkd.in/etC9c-w8

The method is being changed by the people who run the Official World Golf Ranking because they voted against letting LIV Golf events earn ranking points. In the New Year, the OWGR board will make changes to their scoring system that will highlight up-and-coming golfers and make the points distribution curve for limited field events more even. #Golf #Sports #WorldGolfRanking

The Wall Street Journal highlights the surge in off-course play, especially at venues like Topgolf and simulators. These spaces offer flexibility, solid F&B, and cater to all ages, contributing to the game's growth and introducing newcomers to golf. With Topgolf expanding to over 90 locations by year's end, and considering my journey starting when we were venue #26 in 2016, it's incredible to witness this rapid evolution. This energy should continue to pave the way for more people to transition to traditional golf courses. Have you explored off-course golfing? #topgolf #golf #growthstory

Golf - The Evolving Business Model. The men's professional game of #golf continues to be as divided as many of the stakeholders in the US political arena. We saw it yet again this past weekend, when one of the games showcase events "The Masters" was played at Augusta in Georgia, USA. Broadcasters seemingly, and incredibly unprofessionally, went out of their way to discredit the presence of the #LIVGolf league players who were in attendance along with their #PGATour colleagues over the course of the week. All of the sly and sarcastic interludes throughout the broadcast did not get lost on the fans of the game, as the internet lit up as if it were some kind of heated debate between passionate #Democrats and #Republicans. #PGA pundits making sly remarks about the LIV players not being able to manage playing 72 holes over the week, because the rival LIV tournaments are played over 54 holes over three days. This got me thinking. Who actually invented the concept of 18 holes for a round of golf, and how did 72 holes become the 'norm" for a golf tournament? Well you might be surprised to learn that at the traditional home of golf, St Andrews in #Scotland, the course originally consisted of 22 holes. 11 holes out, and 11 holes back in. This was later shortened when holes were merged together. Yet back then there was no standard, some tournaments even featured courses that had just 12 holes. It's when we jump back over the Atlantic once again to understand that The Masters tournament was originally played over eighteen holes over three days, eighteen holes were played each day for the first two days, and then a final 36 holes were played on the third day. Co-founder of 'The Masters" , Amateur golfer Bobby Jones suggested that the tournament should be played over four days so more tickets could be sold, and other events could be built around the week, so it was born, the concept, and norm that a golf tournament was to be played over eighteen holes over the course of four straight days. Other major tournaments followed suit such as 'The Open' and the 'PGA Championships'. In June 2021 the disruptors came into the game, the LIV Golf league. LIV introduced three day and fifty four hole tournaments. Ever since then the internal flames on mens professional golf has become an out of control wildfire. Players, fans and administrators are all embroiled in a never ending circus that started in 2021, over 250 years after the game was invented. The question is, when will the adults enter the room and realize that for mens professional golf to prosper the ego's need to be put aside so that the sustainable future of the game can be created which for now, is the only thing that matters. The only thing that matters.