Talk to golf strategist Jim Keegan on the phone, and in seconds you’ll discover his passion for the golf industry. You’ll also learn he likes to rattle the statistics: In mid-July, he’d just completed 20 flights in 30 days. Over his career he’s worked with 4,000 courses in 49 countries.

“Advising is one role, and getting clients to execute is another,” said Keegan, who formed the consortium of leading golf experts in 2005.

Like most cities across the United States, the golf market in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is highly competitive.

There are a range of courses spanning the municipal, public and country club sectors. Bakker Crossing fell somewhere in the middle, as a moderately-priced public facility, known for presenting golfers with a challenging round. With competition from all sides, the club saw a need to differentiate itself. It engaged golf course architect Kevin Norby, ASGCA, to conduct a long-range master plan study, and commissioned a detailed market and financial analysis by golf strategist J.J. Keegan.

1. Presented to City of Johnson City Council on December 4.  With less than $300,000 in revenue, losses nearing $8.7 million since acquired by the CIty, deferred capital exceeding $3.0 million and over 50% of golfers non-residents, this was an easy call.
2. For a major newspaper, we performed a financial analysis on five public courses owned by Donald Trump.  The hypothesis of the intended article was, “If He Can’t Run a Golf Course, He Certainly Can’t Run a County.”   The article was killed.  Each of the five courses analyzed how “unique” events that adverse distorted the financial performance of the courses.   We advised that the article would have been misleading and inaccurate based on information analyzed.
3. Continued transition planning for the City of Palo Alto with OB Sports for the grand re-opening of Bay Links Golf Course.
4. Commenced preparation of four-hour seminar for February 6, 2018, for the GCSAA titled, “Municipal Golf:  Imaging the Possibilities.”  Will be co-presenting with Josh Heptig, Golf Course Superintendent, San Luis Obispo.
5. Completed GLMA for Cold Lake Country Club again predicting their actual golf revenue within 1%.
6. Commenced analysis of Harry L. Jones Golf Course in Charlotte, NC that is contemplating either closing 9 or renovating all 18 holes on a course situated on a landfill.
7. Preparing Webinar Series (January – February) for Salt Lake City’s six golf courses to create a strategic plan using 18 templates to heuristically find a solution to current woes other consulting firms have attempted to solve.
8. Read “How Non-Conformists Move the World” by Adam Grant and Stevie Nicks Autobiography over the holidays.

Geoff Converse: Cape & Islands golf gets down to business

Last week, there was a conference held at Barnstable Town Hall on marketing Cape & Islands golf in an attempt to grow the industry here.

Over the past decades, that task was undertaken by the likes of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, Tee Ball Golf and a consortium of different courses banding together to promote the region.

Last year, the Town of Yarmouth hired an outside consultant to help the golf committee and help guide Yarmouth into the future. His name is JJ Keegan, who specializes in the business of golf and offers insights into making a golf operation profitable.

Keegan travels the world over in his position as a mentor, consultant and observer. He is a treasure-trove of information to help courses, municipalities and country clubs turn what may be a struggling venture into a self-sustaining and growing enterprise.