GCBAA offers opportunities to improve business

Editor’s note: During the Golf Course Builders Association of America’s annual summer meeting in Chicago this year, Golf Course News hosted a roundtable with six GCBAA members to discuss the association. Participants were Rick Boylan from Mid-America Golf and Landscape, Steve Christman from Eagle Golf & Landscape Products, Kurt Huseman from Landscapes Unlimited, Mick Jones from the Toro Co., Scott Pate from Seaside Golf Development and Bob Pinson from Course Crafters. The following is an excerpt from the discussion.

GCN: Is there a challenge bringing new members into the GCBAA?

Christman: I don’t know if there’s a challenge of bringing in new members, but belonging to the association doesn’t guarantee you a sale. Participation probably would be the No. 1 reason why people leave. It takes a while to work your way in and talk to people. If they come to one of these meetings and they didn’t really get to talk to many people or they felt it was a waste of time, they’ll leave.

Huseman: We’re friendly, aggressive competitors. We’ll get along on a social basis, and there’s a lot of camaraderie in the group. We’re getting together a couple of times a year, talking to one another, talking about business. If you want to talk about a project that’s being executed or one that’s finished, it’s a very helpful organization. New members would gain a lot from just being able to talk with one of our board members who’s looking at doing some international work. If they want to know about the intricacies of doing that, I could say you need to talk to this person, this person and this person. That discussion, which lasts all but two minutes, could probably save a month and a half worth of due diligence.

Jones: Coming from a supplier’s standpoint and from a networking standpoint, you have to be involved.

Christman: My company wouldn’t be where it is today without the GCBAA, but I’ve been at it for 15 years.

Boylan: As a builder, I acknowledge we’re always going to be a work in progress. We’re trying to build credibility with other golf associations. One of the things about reaching out to new members is that there’s credibility in our association. And with the networking opportunities you get with all the other associations, it’s all win-win for us.

Huseman: Collaboration is the key. You can talk through things with our allied groups and build from that as well. When you get together in forums like this and have the opportunity to co-mingle and interact, there are benefits that come from it.

Boylan: Being a work in progress, we’re working on further accreditation and educational things.

Christman: You’ll find that most of the top builders who have that credibility are active members.

Huseman: An interesting dynamic is going to be the amount of construction that’s involved in the development of golf courses overseas. I don’t think there’s another organization that’s similar to us from a golf standpoint. We’re an international community, and what happens when they really understand what the benefits are with working next to companies like Rick’s, Bob’s, Scott’s or ours or whatever and just improving their project delivery. There’s no telling what this organization could turn into from an international perspective.
The potential benefits for international members participating and what they get for that participation could really shift the dynamics of our organization in some respects. They have approaches that would probably be interesting to us. From the irrigation side, to how it relates to how they lay their irrigation pipe. There’s not just one way, that’s for sure. For us, getting greens mix or a fleet of scrapers is a telephone call away. That doesn’t exist elsewhere.
The message for the international clients is that you’re making a significant investment and you want to make sure you optimize your investment. GCN