2020 was a testing year, but HMH continued to deliver sales for clients in this niche sector. The 12 sales completed by HMH during 2020 follow on from the 10 sales HMH completed during 2019 – testament to the strength of the market. Businesses sold over this 24 month period included a freehold golf hotel, a leasehold 9 hole golf centre, and two private members’ golf clubs, with properties widely dispersed across the country. All of the properties were sold for ongoing golf use.
Ben Allen of HMH said “The diversity of purchasers that are active in this niche sector always gives us great encouragement. Charitable organisations, private high net worth individuals, specialist tax funds, property speculators, private family trusts and existing operators each have their own motivation for acquiring golf businesses, whilst the security offered by a golf’s underlying asset value proves to be a common attraction amongst many purchasers”.
Tom Marriott of HMH added “Nine of the twelve sales that we completed during 2020 were handled on a confidential basis. Our ability to place property on an off market basis is a key attraction for many clients”.
Businesses sold during the last two months of 2020 included Bristol Golf Centre, a proprietary club in the northern sector of the M25, and Tickenham Golf Centre. With a further four clubs currently under offer through HMH, this positive trend seems set to continue.
For an initial confidential discussion on how HMH can help your business, please contact Ben Allen or Tom Marriott:
Ben Allen 07888 80 44 30 ben@hmgolf.com
Tom Marriott 07900 67 20 45 tom@hmhgolf.com
Farleigh Golf Club in Surrey has reaffirmed its commitment to sustainability and environmental initiatives by signing up to the Operation Pollinator programme, which will see it commit to establishing a minimum of 0.5 hectares of new wildflower habitat around the golf course.
The 27-hole venue is always looking to improve its green credentials and has signed up to the scheme as part of its plans to enhance its seventh hole on the red loop and third on the blue to provide more outstanding habitats and food sources for a range of native bees and other pollinating insects across its golf courses.
Operation Pollinator provides the experience and advice to help landowners and farmers replace habitats essential for all pollinating insects. Pioneered by Syngenta research, it is recognised as one of the world’s leading environmental initiatives.
While also improving the visual appeal and aesthetics of the stunning John Jacobs-designed course, which can be played as three different 18-hole loops, the club also wants to be a part of the long-term solution to maintain ecological biodiversity.
Research-driven trials have continuously proven that the creation of even small areas of dedicated habitat can significantly increase numbers of pollinating insects. Bumblebee numbers are continuing to decline, with some UK species on the verge of extinction. And these pollinating bees make up a fundamental part of the natural ecosystem with their pollination of food crops.
With golf courses across the UK occupying approximately 150,000 hectares of land, and with Farleigh set amongst 350 acres of picturesque countryside in the North Surrey Downs, they can play a vital role in providing pockets of sanctuary for wildlife.
James Ibbetson, Farleigh’s general manager, said: “We are really pleased to be a part of such a fantastic initiative. With so much land, flora and vegetation, it would be almost selfish of us not to share this with the animals and insects which are so vital to our environment.
“By creating the best possible habitat for them to continue their essential cycling of nutrients, pollination, dispersion of seeds, as well as maintaining soil structure and fertility, all of which is beneficial to the world and the golf course, we’re doing our bit to hopefully prevent the extinction of some of our critical pollinating insects, such as bumblebees, and continue the growth of grass and crops.”
Mizuno‘s new ST Series of metal woods, which go on sale in February, represent the culmination of a three-year driver development project.
Preceded by the ST190 and ST200, Mizuno’s first drivers widely played by its global tour staff, the new ST-Z and ST-X employ the brand’s new Beta Titianum face and complex carbon construction to deliver high ball speeds and a powerful sound at impact.
Chris Voshall, head of product design at Mizuno, said: “Most of our ST200 tour feedback was on the sensory side, a desire for a sound our players generally described as ‘solid’ or ‘dense’. We spent the next year working on improving feedback, hand in hand with releasing the additional ball speed we knew was left in our SAT2041 Beta Ti face.”
SAT2041 stands for ‘Super – Alloy Titanium – 20% Vanadium – 4% Aluminium – 1% Tin’ and offers 17% more tensile strength and 8% more flexibility than traditional 6-4 Titanium. A Nippon steel product that was developed over five years as a lightweight, high-strength material for the automotive industry, and used for complex cycle parts requiring intricate design and an ability to withstand strong forces, SAT2041 has a fine grain structure inherently resistant to fatigue. As a high strength Beta Ti, SAT2041 maintains its characteristics and resists micro fractures for longer than the commonly used 6-4, Alpha Beta Ti.
The ST Series driver comes in a choice of two different head designs, with characteristics to suit different playing requirements and deliver different ball flights.
The ST-Z driver has been designed to be ultra-stable and to offer low-spin efficiency. It has a balanced toe/heel carbon composite construction with deep central back weight – for a spin efficient, straight-line ball flight. It features the 2nd generation of Mizuno’s Forged SAT2041 Beta Ti face for potent ball speeds and consistent performance over time.
A balanced use of carbon composite on the sole and a deep central sole weight are biased towards a straight-line flight and low spin efficiency. The ST-Z driver has a wide, low footprint, with a neutral visual lie angle and comes with 4 degrees of quick switch adjustability to fine-tune look and trajectory.
“The ST-Z’s predecessor the ST200 had a reputation for being a straight-line bomber favored by our longer hitting tour players, and the ST-Z profile is no different,” said Voshall. “But with a year’s extra experience of engineering Forged Beta SAT2041 Ti. we were able to release a little extra ball speed and a much more satisfying experience off the clubface.”
The ST-X driver features a draw-biased carbon composite construction aided by a heel side sole weight. Like the ST-Z, it’s built upon the second generation of the Forged SAT2041 Beta Ti face to produce potent ball speeds and consistent performance over time.
An expanded toe located carbon composite window, with a heel located sole weight combine to produce a reliable draw bias. The ST-X driver offers a more compact profile, a slightly deeper back portion and more upright visual lie angle and also comes with 4 degrees of quick switch adjustability.
As with the ST-Z, the ST-X offers more dense feedback through impact and a more muted, powerful tone.
Those with mid-lower swing speeds will benefit from the J-Spec, Japan Specification, incorporating an incredibly lightweight 39g MFUSION graphite shaft.
Voshall added: “In testing, a lot of our tour players preferred the ST-X over the ST-Z for its deeper shape and slightly smaller profile. I’d recommend starting with an open mind and dropping the ST-X alongside the ST-Z in the address position. For a draw bias driver, it’s not going to be what most players expect.”
ST-Z Fairway Woods
Offering high levels of stability and low spin efficiency, the ST-Z fairway woods offer a throwback profile, with curves for the purist and performance for the pragmatist.
Mizuno’s third generation MAS1C face is its most powerful to date. The ST-Z fairway woods provide a balanced package of low spin performance and stability, not common in most fairway woods. Both the 3- and 5-woods have an adjustable, quick switch, hosel offering four degrees of loft and face angle adjustability.
The ultra-lightweight carbon crown lowers the COG for better spin vs MOI performance, while re-engineered WAVE Technology, delivers a compact wave design that lowers the mass
Voshall said: “The fairway wood might be the least regularly changed club in any bag, so we spent a lot of time looking at older models that our tour players had hung onto over the years. It ended with a lot of really subtle touches on the ST-Z, like leading edge and transition into the hosel. There’s a lot to like at address.”
The ST Series of woods have an RRP of £399 for the drivers and £279 for the fairway woods and will be available at retail from February.
Awesome Golf, the pioneering golf software company, is returning to The PGA Show this month. The company launched its gaming software for FlightScope Range and own use simulators at the show in 2020 and has enjoyed such a huge amount of interest in the interim that it is also recruiting!
Visit the Virtual Booth here https://virtual.pgashow.com/exhibitor/awesome-golf or book your meeting now: https://www.awesome-golf.com/pgashow
The Awesome Golf Range and Awesome Golf Suite have 12 different modes which are innovative, intuitive, imaginative and addictive! The new ‘Wrecking Balls!’ and ‘Get in the Hole!’, based on the popular Hole.io app, are unlike anything else on the market, offering players of all abilities and ages the chance to score points and improve their game at the same time.
“The quality of our product speaks for itself. People love the games and the feedback we get from customers around the world is fantastic,” comments Gavin Hamer, owner and designer of Awesome Golf. “The most interesting development for us has come thanks to our Driving Range solution. We are able to install units where other brands can’t. For instance, in golf pods, indoors and in venues with small spaces and short outfields. We also offer a per bay, lease-to-own pricing structure which is very appealing to range owners.”
Awesome Golf customers enjoy Virtual Golf and unrivalled shot analysis with two different insight screens. The new coaching mode, which has been designed in conjunction with PGA Professionals, includes an outfield range view so you can see the ball flight and records many different elements including swing plane, smash factor and shot grouping. Using the FlightScope unit you can also record video of the player in slow motion.
For individual use the offer is fantastic for 2021. For just £/$199 +£/$10 pcm or £/$349 for a lifetime subscription, users get access to all of the current games, regular updates and support. If this pricing still isn’t enough to convince you, then maybe the 14 day free trial will show you how Awesome this seriously fun investment is!
To book a demo or appointment simply access The PGA Show calendar here: https://www.awesome-golf.com/pgashow
It’s about this time of year Reesink Turfcare would be at BTME. The stand in the Purple Zone would be up, the coffee machine would be on and Reesink representatives would be ready to meet customers and greet new contacts, telling them what they can expect this year from Toro’s fine turf machinery and irrigation products, Otterbine lake and pond aeration and TYM tractors.
While that’s obviously not the situation, Reesink still has news to share and updates to bring, new innovations and technology to talk about and new names and faces to introduce. Here Reesink’s managing director, David Cole, talks about the challenges and achievements in 2020 and what’s coming up.
“2020 was an extremely challenging year for us all,” David says. “Few, if any, industry sectors escaped unscathed from the impact of a sweeping pandemic. So, it’s worth taking a moment to recognise the resilience of our customers, our dealers and even ourselves for surviving the year. For Reesink, we have had to become a different business from this time last year.
“COVID-19 forced us to make some changes. We saw some of our well-known customer-facing colleagues take early retirement as a result of the changing workplace, whilst some also left to seek out new challenges. So, we took the opportunity to restructure the business, and refocus on the fundamentals. We welcomed, and congratulate here, Alastair Rowell in his appointment as UK sales manager and Trevor Chard as national account manager for Toro fine turf and grounds. In addition, we welcomed new people to the Turfcare sales team, regional business manager David Timms for the southwest and midlands and salesman Daniel Tomberry for the midlands.
“Customers in certain areas of the country have a new Reesink contact, not because their old contact left but because we’ve made those structural changes to the areas our representatives work in and because our sales reps now cover both Toro fine turf and grounds machines. Post-COVID, it made sense to now have one contact for all Toro customers in one area, a single source of expertise.
“We focused on our parts, servicing and support division. We knew how important this would be to so many throughout lockdown. During that time machine sales slowed, and clubs kept hold of existing machines due an upgrade for longer. Toro has the benefit of longevity and durability on its side, but still replacement parts have never been more in demand. We’re pleased to say we and our dealerships were able to continue fulfilling performance parts orders throughout that time and we hope it helped.
“Despite the challenges, concerns and distractions, 2020 had some highlights. We launched our online national network Ree.Own, providing access to the best used Toro machinery available in the UK. The opportunity to browse, compare prices and match budgets on a range of machines that are guaranteed to have less than 3000 hours use on the clock, have been used for less than seven years and been through a multipoint check by trained technicians, will have been helpful for many customers with budgets under pressure and the volume of choice will only grow overtime.
“The launch of the Toro Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 all-electric riding greensmower was another highlight. A machine that has brought the next big technological advancement to the market. Electric power is here, and here to stay, and the 3370 delivers the charge capacity and day to day performance to make this important technology a practical solution at last. Already customers are enjoying the noise-free, clean cutting this machine affords and we’re seeing that momentum continue in 2021.
“We are transitioning to Tier V engines in many Toro machines, an important and regulatory change for emissions control that has impacted the whole industry. And we welcomed Franklin pumps and SRC two-wire irrigation controllers to our product portfolio to provide an even more comprehensive range of irrigation solutions to our customers. Plus, during 2020 we saw a significant pick-up in interest in Toro’s GeoLink precision spray system, which impacts chemical waste and over-spraying.
“BTME has always been a highlight in the Reesink calendar. We really enjoy the opportunity it presents to catch up with everyone around the important educational activity and while the update on your laptop, mobile or magazine instead isn’t the same, we hope it reminds you we’re here and would love to hear from you!”
Reesink UK LTD is the sole Toro distributor in the UK for golf and sports fields equipment and irrigation products. It is based at 1-3 Station Road, St Neots PE19 1QF. Call 01480 226800, email info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk or visit www.reesinkturfcare.co.uk
The 68th edition of the PGA Merchandise Show, Jan. 26-29, 2021, transitions to a virtual event to connect the international golf industry online, allowing PGA Professionals, golf buyers, manufacturers and industry leaders to drive forward the business of the game from the safety of their homes, facilities and workplaces during the ongoing global pandemic.
“Golf, proven to be a safe form of much needed recreation throughout the pandemic, successfully responded to provide responsible venues that welcomed record numbers of new and existing players this past year,” said PGA of America Chief Membership Officer John Easterbrook, PGA. “The 2021 Virtual PGA Merchandise Show is another example of golf responding in these times to help our industry maximize this surging interest, introduce new game-enhancing products and share important industry initiatives that will retain and grow participation for generations to come.”
The PGA Show, organized by Reed Exhibitions in partnership with the PGA of America, remains an industry-only event with complimentary industry registration and event details available at www.PGAShow.com
Nearly 300 participating golf companies and brands are staging robust exhibitor showrooms; presenting merchandise education sessions and video demonstrations; and hosting group and one-to-one buyer meetings. The virtual PGA Show marketplace features vetted new companies, as well as traditional market leaders and established manufacturers, including some of the most well-known brands in golf, such as Callaway Golf, FootJoy, Titleist, Cobra PUMA Golf, Bridgestone Golf, Cleveland/Srixon/XXIO, Mizuno and many more.
The 2021 Virtual PGA Show Week begins on Tuesday, Jan. 26, with a special Product Preview & Launch Day to spotlight the latest merchandise and services of participating golf manufacturers. Several companies have special plans that day to present live and on-demand product launch events, including BioWave, Callaway Golf, Cobra Golf, DPP Golf, E-Z-GO, Focus Golf, Golf Skate Caddy, Golf Surprize, Homestretch Golf, Prestwick Golf Group, Range Servant America, Tourism Ireland, True Score and TrackMan A/S.
A compelling schedule of live and on-demand industry presentations and valuable educational sessions also will be available to golf industry professionals, beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 27, through Friday, Jan. 29. All programming presented live during PGA Show Week will be made available on-demand beginning the next day, allowing attendees to view content and participate during times most convenient to their schedules.
Phil Mickelson, 2020 Ryder Cup Captains Steve Stricker and Padraig Harrington, PGA Champion Collin Morikawa and CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz are among the speakers in the PGA of America Industry Presentations. The PGA of America, PGA TOUR, LPGA, NGCOA and additional industry leaders will present sessions on growth initiatives and pressing industry matters.
Influential, national-level experts from the world of business, golf operations, teaching & coaching and retail will lead succinct sessions tailored to deliver key tools, insights and valuable takeaways in the low-cost PGA Show Education Conference. PGA Professionals will have numerous MSR education credit opportunities through daily event participation and additional credits for each educational session. While access to the virtual marketplace and industry presentations are free of charge, the full PGA Show Education Conference of more than 30 live and on-demand virtual sessions is available to PGA and LPGA Professionals for $95, and all other industry professionals for $125.
Many exhibitors are hosting special demonstrations, presentations and Q&A sessions in the Exhibitor Track of events, while multiple Callaway Golf Sessions, Titleist Workshops , a special FootJoy Launch Event and TPI Performance, Fitness and Wellness Presentations are offered each day for attendees.
Several exhibitors are providing exclusive golf merchandise and service solution educational sessions for participating industry professionals. Insights on technology, software solutions and innovations will be shared by companies including 9-Eighteen Solutions, aboutGolf, FlightScope, Lightspeed, Sik Golf, Tagmarshal and Trackman.
The latest golf, resort and sportswear collections will be in the spotlight of the PGA Show Trend Panel & Virtual Fashion Show on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 5 p.m. (ET). Participating fashion show brands include 2UNDR, 7 Diamonds, Anatomie, Boston Scott Golf Apparel, FootJoy, IBKUL, Katherine Way, Kinona Golf & Life, Le Club, PUMA Golf, Sunderland, Tzu Tzu and Under Armour.
Tourism Ireland, Los Cobas Tourism Board and The Three Royals Golf Experience are panelists for the Golf Group Travel Post Pandemic session, moderated by Farhad Heydari, the editor of NetJets Magazine and Founder & CEO of House of Heydari, on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 2:35 p.m. (ET).
Also, the NGCOA’s Golf Business Conference continues its strategic alliance with the PGA Merchandise Show and will be delivered on the PGA Show virtual platform, Jan. 25-27, 2021. Registration for the virtual GBC21 is available online when registering for the PGA Show at PGAShow.com
The PGA Merchandise Show is the largest annual global summit for the business of golf. The easy-to-use virtual platform for the 2021 PGA Show features new product launch events, dynamic exhibitor showrooms, e-commerce applications by RepSpark, education sessions, industry presentations, one-to-one meetings, group networking, special events and PGA/LPGA player engagement programs. PGA Show programming will be available on demand for an extended period of time after the PGA Show concludes. PGA Show exhibitor showrooms will remain open on an ongoing basis to help exhibiting companies and buyers drive commerce throughout 2021.
Callaway Golf, FootJoy and Titleist are Platinum Sponsors and Cobra PUMA Golf is a Gold Sponsor of the 2021 PGA Show Virtual Experience and Marketplace.
The virtual PGA Merchandise Show remains a trade-only event, not open to the public. Learn more at PGAShow.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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