Second Space

Outing participation has been on the increase the last two years, and I told all my existing outings this spring, “you have never been in a better position to have increased numbers. You should be so excited”. Now, I can’t be exactly sure what my coordinators were thinking when I told them that, but here is my logic, and why a public golf course just like this, are poised for a good future.

#1, people are spending a lot of money and buying a lot of stuff, but one thing they are craving are “experiences”. Look at millennial’s homes. No furniture, no pots and pans, no decorations, but tell them they can throw axes, get locked in a dark room with no escape, go on a nature walk with wine and cheese stations, they are all in. Golf outings are a just like that. A chance to have fun, be with people, and do some good. It isn’t going to hard to fill your event.

Which brings me to #2…. the reason why they want experiences. Though I have the privilege of marinating myself in human interaction 12 hours a day, there are a lot of people who never leave their home anymore. My brother told me he last left his house since 2009. Maybe you are more productive, save on gas, and no time is wasted commuting, but you are 100% alone. And being totally alone, makes people lonely. Tom Hanks wasn’t exactly having a fun time in Castaway as I recall. Wouldn’t an invitation to spend the day with co-workers be a nice break from Zoom in your pajamas.

Golf is poised to be that thing academics call “second space”, that sort of replaces work as a social outlet. Humans need a public place to go to be with other humans, to simply feel like they are doing something and interacting. Your outing, and our golf course is going to fill those voids. It’s already happening. I’m not prognosticating, merely reporting.