Chapter 5: If You Don't Understand Golf Courses and New Business Sites, Your Service Won't Hit the Mark

When you are on the ground at a golf course, you strongly feel the significant gap between the image seen from the outside and the reality of the business in operation. From the user's perspective, a golf course is a leisure facility to enjoy in nature. From the perspective of manufacturers or those in charge of new business development, it might look like a market with a certain number of visitors, long stay times, and potential for some kind of experiential service. However, from the perspective of someone involved in daily operations on-site, a golf course is not such a simple place.

I have been involved in facility and cleaning area management at nine courses in Saitama Prefecture. In that experience, I have been interviewed by new business teams from manufacturers about experiential services for golf courses. What I felt again at that time was that having a good product or an interesting idea is not nearly enough to introduce a new service to a golf course. What is important is whether you understand the golf course's operational structure, the flow of time, how revenue is generated, the burden on the site, and even the existing human relationships.

On the new business side, there is the idea that "if it's a good product, it should be adopted." However, at a golf course site, more than "whether it is good," the questions are "whether it will run smoothly," "whether it will cause delays," and "whether it can be done without increasing staff." In other words, a new business for a golf course requires not just a product proposal, but a design that can fit into operations without strain.

In this chapter, I will organize from a practical perspective what becomes a barrier when bringing a new service to a golf course and what conditions must be met for it to be accepted on-site. Finally, I would like to discuss the role that a Building Environmental Hygiene Management Engineer can play in this area.

Section 1: A golf course is not a "place where people gather," but a "place that runs on rotation"

Those thinking about new businesses first focus on the number of visitors. How many tens of thousands of people visit annually, how many people are there per day, and how many opportunities for contact are there? This is a natural perspective when looking at the market. In fact, it is not rare for an average golf course to have around 150 people per day, or 50,000 to 60,000 users per year. Looking only at the numbers, it certainly seems like some new service could work.

However, what must not be overlooked here is the revenue structure of a golf course. A golf course is not a simple visitor-count business. Basically, it is a rotation-based business that relies on the formula of the following: number of visitors × play fee. Moreover, that rotation is strongly constrained by the time frame of the day. Start times are set, there is a flow of play, there is a first half and a second half, and the movements of the clubhouse and master room are linked to that. Even if the number of visitors seems large, there is not an abundance of time for those people to freely engage in consumption behavior.

This trend has become even clearer, especially since COVID-19. Previously, corporate entertainment, large competitions, and long stays including meals were a single revenue opportunity. However, now, individual reservations have increased, through-play has become established, and stay times have shortened. Fewer people remain in the clubhouse for long periods after their round, and the average stay time after play has also decreased. From a field perspective, the flow of leaving about 30 minutes after the round is becoming the norm.

This change significantly alters the premises of new business. In other words, at a golf course, the value is not in the fact that "people are there," but in "how many contact points can be created without strain, at what time, and in what place." If you bring in a service with the same feeling as a general commercial facility without understanding this, it will not function on-site.

If you look at a golf course as a market, you must first understand it as a "rotation facility" rather than a "stay facility." Without this recognition, the service design will be off from the initial stage.

Section 2: The conditions for a new service to succeed are "short time, no inventory required, and no increase in manpower"

When considering the feasibility of a new service on-site, I feel that three conditions are extremely important. First, it must be completed in a short time. Second, it must not require holding inventory. Third, it must not require additional manpower. A service that does not meet these three criteria, no matter how attractive, will have a significantly higher hurdle for introduction at a golf course.

First, it must be completed in a short time. Although golf course users may appear to be taking it easy, they are actually moving according to the flow of time. In the flow of reception, start preparation, play, break, second half, settlement, and departure, any extra stagnation becomes a major burden for the site. If a new service stops the user for too long, requires too much time for judgment, or requires too much explanation, that alone makes introduction difficult. What is required on-site is that it is "usable when you notice it, and ends immediately."

Next, it must not require holding inventory. Although golf courses have retail spaces, retail is not their main business. Every time a new product or service is introduced, if inventory management becomes necessary, problems such as ordering, storage, inventory taking, breakage, loss, and unsold items arise. This is a new management task for the site, and it becomes a factor that increases effort and risk before increasing profit. In reality, especially at sites already full with existing consumables and equipment management, proposals based on inventory are difficult to accept.

And most importantly, it must not increase manpower. Current golf course operations are run with a bare minimum of staff at many sites. The front desk, master room, course management, cleaning, restaurant, and facilities are all run with limited personnel. If a new service is introduced there, and explanations increase, responses increase, and troubleshooting increases, the strain will fall somewhere. Those in charge of new business tend to think, "If you could just help a little," but from the site's perspective, that "little" is the heaviest burden.

That is precisely why a new service entering a golf course must be "designed not to increase new work for the site." The ideal is rather to naturally ride on the existing flow, not increase the site's workload, and allow only the user to feel the value. If you want to make a new business succeed at a golf course, before looking at whether it will sell, you must first look at whether it will run.

Section 3: If you choose the wrong installation location, even a good service will fail

When thinking about a new service, one tends to focus only on the content, but on-site, "where to place it" is just as important. In fact, there are many cases where the success or failure is determined by the selection of the installation location rather than the service itself.

For example, from the perspective of an outsider, the area around the front desk looks like a place where people gather. Visitors always pass by, and there are many contact points. Therefore, it is natural to think that the front desk would be a good place to install something. However, in the actual field, the front desk is the place with the highest operational density and the place where no disruption can be allowed. Reception, settlement, inquiries, reservation confirmation, troubleshooting, and phone responses are concentrated there, and if the flow of movement is delayed even slightly, it affects the entire operation. In other words, even if it looks like a suitable location, it is an unsuitable place from an operational perspective.

On the other hand, areas with potential from a field perspective include the vicinity of the master room and places where users experience short wait times. A little time before tee-off, waiting for play to progress, or a short gap after play. These locations and time slots are points where it is easy to create touchpoints without interfering with the main on-site operations. In other words, considering installation locations at a golf course is not about finding 'places with many people,' but about finding 'places where you can naturally fit into wait times without stopping operations.'

This is why proposals that do not look at the actual site are prone to failure. Those creating the service think about the flow from the user's perspective. However, at a golf course, user flow and operational flow overlap. What is convenient for the user may be a hindrance to the site. Conversely, a location that is not flashy but does not place a burden on operations is actually the best place for installation.

What is important in a new business is not taking a prominent location. It is being able to have natural touchpoints with users without disrupting the flow of the site. At a golf course, I believe the quality of a service is not determined by the product alone, but by the entire environment, including the installation setting.

Section 4: The Golf Course Industry Has Unique Distribution and Human Relationships

Another factor that makes new business difficult is the distribution structure and human relationships unique to the golf course industry. From the outside, it might look like you just need to bring in a good product, propose it, and have it adopted. However, in reality, there are many stakeholders and existing routes in between.

Golf courses include both large chains and independent ones. The decision-making mechanisms also differ. Some are driven by headquarters, while others have significant on-site discretion. Furthermore, there are multi-layered people involved in the introduction, such as equipment wholesalers, existing vendors, cleaning and facility subcontractors, site managers, general managers, and headquarters staff. In other words, a new service is not introduced simply because it 'seems necessary,' but must be positioned within that flow.

Especially on-site, it is extremely important not to break existing relationships. No matter how good the product is, if you suddenly enter the site and threaten the position of existing vendors, you will be met with caution. Also, if things proceed only through headquarters without explanation to the site, the reason 'why we are doing this' is not shared, and as a result, cooperation may not be obtained. Conversely, even if the site is positive, if headquarters is cautious from a budget or contract perspective, it will not move forward.

If you do not understand this structure, the new business side will feel that 'it is not moving forward despite the proposal.' However, from the site's perspective, that is not stagnation, but a process of relationship adjustment. Introduction at a golf course is not just a competition of product strength. Who understands, who is convinced, who moves, and who takes responsibility? Only when that path is visible does the introduction become a reality.

In other words, if you are thinking about a business for golf courses, you must view distribution and human relationships not as 'obstacles,' but as 'conditions that should be included in the design.' If you take this lightly, no matter how good the idea is, it will not take root on-site.

Section 5: Building Environmental Hygiene Management Engineers Can Become 'Translators' Between Companies and Sites

As stated so far, to make a new business successful at a golf course, simply proposing a service is insufficient. You need to understand everything from the site's sense of time, revenue structure, staffing system, equipment load, installation location, and introduction routes to human relationships, and translate that into business language. At this time, a position that knows both the site and management, such as a Building Environmental Hygiene Management Engineer, can play a major role.

A Building Environmental Hygiene Management Engineer is not just a qualified person with knowledge of equipment and hygiene. In practice, they are individuals who observe how facilities are used, understand the flow of the site, and know the management's criteria for judgment. That is precisely why they can provide concrete translations for new services that companies are trying to bring in, such as 'this will be a burden on the site,' 'there is potential if it is in this location,' 'this way of saying it won't get through,' or 'this order is necessary if you are going to introduce it.'

This is not just advice. For the company side, it is a perspective to revise the plan into a form that reaches the site, and for the site side, it is a help to understand proposals coming from the outside in light of their own operations. In other words, Building Environmental Hygiene Management Engineers can play the role of bridging the gap in perception between companies and sites, and changing new services from 'desk plans' to 'implementable plans.'

I believe this translation function is one of the great values of future Building Environmental Hygiene Management Engineers. Not only protecting equipment, but understanding the reality of operations, adjusting proposals from the outside to fit the site, and conversely, conveying the site's true intentions to the company. If there are people who can work in such a way, new businesses will be less likely to fail, and the site will be less likely to feel that 'something unnecessary has come again.'

Just having one person who understands the site changes the dialogue between the company and the facility significantly. It is not for selling new services, but a bridge to create things that can truly be used on-site. And I believe that practitioners who can build that bridge are the talent needed for future facility management.

Conclusion: The Success or Failure of a New Business is Determined by 'Site Adaptability,' Not Product Strength

There is still a lot of potential in golf courses. New experience-based services, mechanisms to increase convenience, and ingenuity to raise user satisfaction will be further demanded in the future. However, to turn that potential into reality, it is necessary to understand golf courses not just as customer-attracting facilities, but as complex operational bodies consisting of rotation, time, personnel, equipment, and relationships.

On-site, whether it will work is questioned before whether it is a good service. Does it complete in a short time? Is it unnecessary to hold inventory? Can it be established without increasing manpower? Where is it appropriate to place it? Can it be introduced without difficulty within existing distribution and human relationships? Only by satisfying these conditions does a new business become a living service within a golf course.

And as an entity that connects the two, the role of the Building Environmental Hygiene Management Engineer is by no means small. Because they are in a position to know not only equipment and hygiene but also operations and the site, they can change the company's ideas into a form that can be used on-site and convey the site's true intentions to the company. I believe that for future engineers, in addition to the power to protect, the power to connect is necessary.

What is truly questioned in new businesses for golf courses is not product strength. It is site adaptability.
I believe that only proposals with that site adaptability will remain in the future of golf courses.