Maintaining the Direction
In the spirit of moving forward, the staff and board of the Northern California Golf Association and Poppy Holding Inc. are steering the company on the course that our late CEO, Paul Porter, set for us. Over the last 18 months the strategic planning committee, along with staff, discussed numerous methods of operation for the association in the upcoming years. We concluded that in order to better serve our members, we should adopt a “member-intimate” philosophy.
To make this operational philosophy successful, we need membership participation. We want to hear from you, the members and member clubs. We need your feedback on what you anticipate out of your NCGA membership. We want to know if our services are what you expect, or if they’re below standards. To voice your opinion, please take advantage of the member feedback link on www.ncga.org; no question or concern is too small. We are seeking to broaden our membership offerings to fit the varied needs of our more than 175,000 members and we want to know where you stand.
In an effort to increase participation in the game of golf, our goals are to increase the awareness of the NCGA, help member clubs grow membership, help all Northern California courses increase rounds and at the same time grow rounds at the two NCGA-owned golf courses, Poppy Hills and Poppy Ridge. We will do all that we can to promote the game. Based on feedback from members, we will offer services and programs that go beyond the game. We intend to be a progressive leader in the industry.
Past research has indicated that people join the NCGA for three main reasons: 1. To get a handicap index. 2. To be a part of a social group. 3. For discounts at our two golf courses. It appears as though membership numbers have hit a stabilization point over the last three years based on the top three reasons for membership. Our goal is to increase membership by offering additional programs and services that will bring in new members.
Our two golf courses, Poppy Hills and Poppy Ridge, through the direction of the Poppy Holding board of directors, will focus on similar long-term goals. Objectives determined from our annual retreat in September left us with the following goals: provide the best possible course conditions at all times, increase service, improve the appearance and functionality of our clubhouses, consolidate our database for better communication with members and embrace a member-intimate philosophy while operating at a profit.
By 2011, we hope to see 240,000 members of the NCGA playing a combined 120,000 rounds of golf at our two golf courses, with participation regionally increasing exponentially. Again, the key to making this happen will be initial feedback from the membership. We are excited to hear from you.
Wishing you more fairways and greens in 2007.