Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The "off" season

We're in late November and it's clearly the off season for golf. In warmer climates people are still playing, but even there the real golf season is over. Nothing on the PGA nor the LPGA.

What are all those golfers doing? Probably enjoying the time away from the course. Time to spend on other activities; add some balance to your life; and maybe reflect on new approaches to get better for next season.

Is there an off season in business which we can use to the same advantage? Absolutely.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Course management - Harder than it looks

We've all had the experience of watching the pros make it look easy; while knowing that getting the ball to do what you want it to do is not easy.

But who knew that building a golf course could be so hard? From my office window on the 10th floor of a condo building on Iles des Soeurs near downtown Montreal I can see a new 9-hole executive golf course under construction. It sounded easy when they described the project, but apparently it's not.

The plan was to convert about 70 acres of toxic landfill into a golf course by removing debris and re-contouring the land then covering it with topsoil and landscaping it for golf. It took about nine months and thousands of truckloads in and out of the area. Only last year did some seeded grass start to appear on the planned driving range. This summer there were signs of sand traps and greens. But only enough for about three holes. The driving range was finished but not officially opened. Now in late fall, there is more dirt being moved around, but still not sodded and not a tree in sight.

Already delayed, probably over budget and having changed owners, the course is now expected to be ready for golf by September 2009. We'll keep watching.