WEBVTT - The States of The Game - Golf vs. Covid-19 0:00:01.040 --> 0:00:03.800 I can't stress enough what a severe hit it is 0:00:04.120 --> 0:00:09.120 on the people in this business, people that get their 0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:12.560 paycheck from from golf. So we're gonna do everything that 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:15.079 we can to make sure that we're safe, but to 0:00:15.200 --> 0:00:18.200 stay open as long as we can. So we're putting 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:21.200 a lot of things in place today while we're not open, 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:25.040 so we can best protect our employees and our customers 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:28.840 when we do. In reality, we expect to expect most 0:00:28.840 --> 0:00:32.640 people to reschedule and travel to put twenty one. The 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:34.760 cool thing about go Hill Park is it's such a 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:38.560 community spirit. You know. I got people coming out of 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:42.120 the woodward just to just to volunteer to pull weeds, 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:57.760 you know. With another logo, Nobody Getting This is the 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:02.200 fire Pit hosted by Matt Jane. One of the benefits 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:04.320 of being around a fire pit is that the conversation 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:07.720 can go in a lot of directions. In this episode, 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:11.280 it's not one good story about golf, it's several perspectives 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:14.399 on the state of the game before we get started. 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:16.839 To be sure to follow my social handles because on Monday, 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:20.080 we're posting a live auction which will include items donated 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:22.039 by all my guests on this show, and it will 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:26.800 benefit Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger relief organization. 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:29.959 With social distancing in place for weeks now and a 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:32.479 flattening of the curb the United States, when and where 0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:35.680 does science and safety start yielding to the greater good 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:38.440 of the economy and mental and physical well being of 0:01:38.440 --> 0:01:41.960 a country. Thankfully, I'm not in a position to make 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:47.000 those difficult decisions. Although there is division and confusion, one 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:51.080 thing is clear. We all admire, respect, celebrate, and support 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:54.480 the doctors, nurses, and first responders risking their lives to 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:57.920 save others. The front lines of this war are, in 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:02.600 most cases hospitals down street. We cry for the people 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:06.160 who are dying alone, leaving loved ones who are grieving alone. 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:11.200 It's devastating and overwhelming. We are riddled with dual channels 0:02:11.240 --> 0:02:14.160 of anxiety, not only for the good of mankind, but 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:18.440 also for the future of our families and finances. So 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:21.000 where does golf and the golf industry fit into all this? 0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:25.400 Some could care less, and I obviously get that they 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:30.200 have more pressing priorities and concerns I can only imagine, 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:33.760 but almost all of my friends work in the golf industry. 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:36.520 My life and my future are tied to a game. 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:40.400 As trivial as that sounds, it's real, and admittedly I 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:44.120 find a slight comfort knowing I'm not alone. The National 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:47.520 Golf Foundation estimates the game supports one point eight million 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:50.880 jobs and is an eighty four billion dollar industry, with 0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:54.040 almost one in every nine Americans playing some form of golf. 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:57.560 It's the number one outdoor, pay to play individual participation 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:00.800 sport in America. As of April sixteen, there are fifteen 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:05.040 states with mandates in place disallowing play. With that being said, 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:07.639 and having recently launched this podcast, I found a few 0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:11.160 friends and leadership positions within the industry. I scheduled a 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:13.880 Zoom roundtable, looking for insight into where we are now 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:16.240 and to get some sense of what the future looks like. 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:20.120 At some point we will emerge from our homes. As 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:23.120 the n GF reports, the itch to play golf is 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:28.440 intensifying despite financial and personal anxieties, When and how can 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:31.679 we play this game safely and responsibly by minimizing the 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:34.560 risk of life and death? Joining me on this call 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:37.840 where Dr r A. Sapaya, a functional sports medical expert 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:39.360 who I've worked with at the Golf Channel for the 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:42.400 last few years, Doctor Rro is only available for about 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:44.280 a half an hour. He ducks out in the middle 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:47.840 of the call. Marty car CEO of car Golf Group, 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:50.360 which is based in Ireland and includes car Golf Travel 0:03:50.400 --> 0:03:54.160 and car Golf Management. Josh Lesnik, president of Kember Sports 0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:57.920 and Kember Lesnik, which manages over a d golf facilities 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:02.880 in States. Tom Pashley, president of Fine Nurse Resort, which 0:04:02.920 --> 0:04:05.360 is often referred to as the cradle of American golf. 0:04:06.280 --> 0:04:08.960 John Ashworth, who's the co founder of Link Soul and 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:13.040 who manages Go to Hill Park, a municipal course in Oceanside, California. 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:16.920 And Lou Thompson, owner of Forest Students, a multi course 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:23.440 facility in the middle of Michigan. Why don't we just 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:26.520 sort of start with and around the horn of sorts 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:29.240 in which you kind of just give your perspective of 0:04:29.240 --> 0:04:34.280 of the way COVID is impacting your your professional world. 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:36.599 At this point, we're really getting into sort of the 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:41.200 industry perspective as it relates to the course or courses, 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:45.040 or the destinations or all the properties that you represent. 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:50.080 Um dr are he's limited time, so UM I want 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:53.640 to also sort of include a lot of his perspective 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:55.760 and commentary on the front end of this before we 0:04:55.880 --> 0:04:58.360 end up having losing that about one third. You know, 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:01.240 from where you sit, where are we at as it 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:07.000 relates to COVID nineteen uh, you know, looking at America 0:05:07.080 --> 0:05:10.480 as a whole, I see signs of it starting to 0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:14.240 tap it down, meaning we've hit a plateau, right, And 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:18.560 that's very reassuring, very promising, and it's great news. And 0:05:19.000 --> 0:05:21.800 I see that even in in in our state in Florida, 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:26.120 where we were expected to have quite a significant surge 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:29.080 happening in the last week of April into the first 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:32.760 week of May, and we've been we're looking at the 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:35.160 numbers and it's not going to be as bad as 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:37.880 we thought it's going to be, which is great news, okay. 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:42.200 But the other side to this is as quickly as 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:45.919 it shot up and it plateaus, don't expect it to 0:05:46.000 --> 0:05:50.000 come down as quickly that the down slope is much 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:55.880 much slower. Okay. So that's where, yes, it's great news, 0:05:55.960 --> 0:05:58.520 but I think the situation is going to linger on 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:01.440 a little bit longer than more people have the patients. 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:04.680 We still have to put those measures in when we 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:10.520 start coming down the slope. Okay, So social distancing, handwashing, 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:13.760 all those things are going to be still around at 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:16.280 least for another month. And from what I can see, 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:20.000 there's there's one model that I saw, um which I 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:23.880 trust actually from University of Washington. They they look at 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:26.960 a model that I saw that if you remove social 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:32.640 distancing measures on first of May, it predicted a significant 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:36.320 surge in August. You know, and if that that's the 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:39.839 kind of scenarios do not want to face. So looking 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:41.760 looking from the front line, that's what I see right 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:45.840 now as it relates to golf dr are right here. 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:48.919 Let's say you know, the Orlando area, Winner Park nine 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:52.840 is closed, Winner Pines is open, Interlocking is closed, Country 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:56.720 Club of Orlando is open. That's you know, and then 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:59.839 one state is total lockdown and one state is playing 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:02.320 off like it was you know every week as a 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:05.919 member of guest. That's the kind of the confusing intersection 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:09.240 of where the game meets sort of reality and the 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:13.360 rubber meets the road and sciences is meeting economy. Yeah, 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:15.800 it's it's frustrating because you know, I live on on 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:19.560 Eagle Creek golf course right and here before the match 0:07:19.640 --> 0:07:22.040 just came in, everything was as normal. And then when 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:24.680 the states started climbing down a little bit and they 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:27.760 put the curfew in place, in Orange County, people were 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:32.120 still playing golf. And what the club did was they said, 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:37.520 all the practice areas shut down and they've put distances 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:42.200 between the practice the boxes and everybody is on their 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:46.200 own cards, so there's no removing flags. So you know, 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:49.520 I do see that as a good thing. Uh, if 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:53.400 you can absolutely be strict and be diligent and watch 0:07:53.400 --> 0:07:55.840 out for each other and keep the distance, I think 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:59.320 going on the golf course, exposing yourself to sunlight, getting 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:03.160 some access life, getting some you know, stress out, and 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:07.120 actually giving a sense of normalcy is very very important 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:10.400 at this time. But I share your frustration, like why 0:08:10.440 --> 0:08:13.480 why are some places completely shut down? And then the 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:16.880 other places have you know, some golf still being played 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:18.480 and then you go to you know, down the road 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:21.440 I'll work and it's completely open. You know that that's 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:24.320 kind of and at the end of the day, just 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:28.360 to be clear, as it relates to science, being you know, 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:31.120 more than six ft apart, being out in the open air, 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:35.600 not touching flagsticks or rakes, being an individual carts or 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:38.720 you know, no caddies or carrying your own bag walking 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:43.760 only all of that in theory, you know that that's 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:46.600 a very low risk scenario in which you'd actually pass 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:50.800 on the virus or get and you know, it's it's 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:54.440 no different than us working out you know, outside my 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:57.560 my my front y'all. You know, I'm out in the sun. 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:00.360 I'm doing my own thing. You know, even if someone 0:09:00.360 --> 0:09:02.960 else running past me and the six ft away, that's 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:05.720 completely fine. So if you can do those things that 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:08.880 you very you know nicely pointed out. If you can 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:12.080 do those things, then I think playing golf is not 0:09:12.240 --> 0:09:17.080 a risk high risk endeavor. No, um, all right, thank 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:20.640 you dr All right, So, Josh Kemper Sports hundred and 0:09:20.720 --> 0:09:23.600 twenty courses running the gamut of low green fees to 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:26.320 the to the bandon dunes and stream songs of the 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:31.040 world and sprinkled throughout the country of the How many 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:33.440 are still open, how many are closed, how many are 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:38.000 on the brink of of closing for good? Yeah, Kemper Sports. 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:41.760 We manage very diverse portfolio, as you're saying, you know, 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:45.079 our very first management contracts and nine whole municipal course 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:48.319 in Vernon Hills, Illinois and then going on to the 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:51.640 as you said, the Chambers Bass, dream song banded Dunes 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:55.520 of the World and pretty much everything in between. And 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:59.839 we operate in twenty five states across the country. On 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:05.520 Fortunately at this point only thirty of our facilities are 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:14.760 open in some capacity, meaning se are closed. And it's uh, 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:20.040 you know, it's such a severe hit on each and 0:10:20.080 --> 0:10:22.560 every one of the businesses, even the thirty percent that 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:25.680 are open. Yes, I can say right now that in 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:29.040 in places where golf is open, the golf courses are 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:33.280 frankly busier than they've ever been. Obviously our sport is 0:10:33.320 --> 0:10:37.840 always weather dependent, but um, they're busier than than they've 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:44.160 ever been. People uh need as as Dr Era was saying, 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:48.560 you know, the the exercise, the sunlight, the entertainment, the 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:52.640 stress relief. Um, it's a it's a great uh just 0:10:52.760 --> 0:10:56.200 form of a healthy lifestyle. Um. So we're seeing that. 0:10:56.280 --> 0:10:58.640 But of course, the golf courses that are open are 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:03.600 now operating under you know, different procedures. Uh. For example, 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:05.800 you know, no one no one's going in the pro shop. 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:11.040 There's no food and beverage, uh no, uh no touching 0:11:11.040 --> 0:11:13.520 the flags, that no rakes. You know a lot of 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:17.040 places no carts. Some places you're allowed to single ride 0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:20.760 in a cart um. And it's very different all over 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:24.400 the country, some places county by county um as to 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:26.560 how we operate. So what we're doing at this point 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:31.319 is just trying to advise our clients through this time. 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:33.960 A majority of the properties that we run are managed 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:36.200 on behalf of other owners. We still do own some 0:11:36.480 --> 0:11:40.480 least some and have some consulting agreements, And at this 0:11:40.559 --> 0:11:44.640 point we're really just advising our clients and are leaders 0:11:44.640 --> 0:11:49.480 at each course how to manage best through this pandemic. 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:53.160 And it's I can't stress enough what a severe hit 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:58.560 it is on on the people in this business, the 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:03.720 hourly people, the people that get their paycheck from from 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:07.400 golf or the independent contractors, the caddies. This is such 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:10.760 a severe hit, and the longer it goes on, really 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:14.480 the worst it gets for people. How much longer do 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:18.360 you think before this is just a tipping point of 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:21.560 pure disaster. If we're not there already, look if this, 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:25.520 if if we can't get golf courses open, you know 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:32.280 before July one, Um, it's it's a it's a disaster scenario. 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:35.320 And I think you know everyone who's leading our country 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:39.440 through this knows that, Um, whether it's whether it's golf 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:45.720 or restaurants or lodging. Um, you know, I think everyone's 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:50.959 aware of the unemployment rates now getting up to where 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:54.320 they were at the Great Depression. How many months can 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:59.040 a small business go with with basically zero revenue? You know, 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:01.880 you're talking at daily fee golf courses that are closed. 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:05.040 You have zero revenue? You know, can you afford to 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:08.040 keep the superintendent and afford to keep some staff to 0:13:08.120 --> 0:13:12.240 keep the golf courses alive? Where do you draw the line? 0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:15.160 Everyone's such a key staff when you're open, but when 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:17.640 you're you're closed for business. So obviously there's a lot 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:22.080 of a lot of damage there, and uh it frankly, 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:26.200 it can't can't go on that much longer. That's of 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:30.960 course an economic opinion, and um there's a science side 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:32.920 to this too that we all have to abide by. 0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:40.120 So it's really a severe situation, Uh, Tom patially of Pinehurst, 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:46.120 When did you guys realize this is this is a 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:49.000 no fly zone and we need to be responsible. This 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:51.480 is a place that you know is considered the cradle 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:54.720 of American golf. Where do you guys sit on all this. Yeah, 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:57.280 we've got you know, nine golf courses plus the cradle, 0:13:57.400 --> 0:14:01.840 three hotels and tens and restaurants, and so it was 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:05.480 March eighteen when the State of North Carolina mandated that 0:14:05.559 --> 0:14:08.800 the restaurants closed. That for us, that took two hotels 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:12.439 with it. We've closed our two smallest hotels, and then 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:15.720 we held out hope we stayed open. We consolidated everybody 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:19.680 into the Carolina Hotel, the flagship hotel, but then it 0:14:19.760 --> 0:14:23.800 became to an extent of safety issue for our employees 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:26.680 and for our guests, and it also just became an 0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:30.920 economics issue of not needing to have a large hotel open. 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:34.760 So on March twenty we closed the Carolina Hotel. Now 0:14:34.960 --> 0:14:38.200 are our nine golf courses are still open. Piners has 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:41.920 over golfing members and so as Josh mentioned, you know, 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:45.560 there's the beautiful spring days that we're enjoying right now. 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:47.760 The dog Woods and as Alias are in full bloom. 0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:50.360 It's it's perfect, and the courses are in great shape. 0:14:50.360 --> 0:14:52.240 So we have a lot of golf being played by 0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:55.160 our members. But typically this is when we would be 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:58.840 full full of people kind of coming from the Northeast, 0:14:58.840 --> 0:15:02.240 people who had just watched masters. People who've got the itch. 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:05.320 They would all be here right now enjoying it, and 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:09.880 and they're not here. What what kind of safety stipulations 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:14.200 are the members operating under and and how how is 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:17.440 that also impact like how about the maintenance crew and 0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:21.720 sort of the infrastructure of providing that experience. Yeah, it's uh, 0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:26.480 we've gone from employees down to two hundred employees. A 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:29.320 lot of those are on the golf maintenance staff just 0:15:29.400 --> 0:15:32.640 to keep the nine courses mode. Uh, certainly it's a 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:35.720 it's a reduced maintenance practice then you would normally have. 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:40.240 But we're trying to keep the courses in good enough 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:42.920 condition so that when we are able to reopen to 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:45.920 the outside world, that that everybody will have a great experience. 0:15:46.160 --> 0:15:50.240 Same things that were mentioned about single carts, um, you know, 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:53.080 the little PVC in the in the cups so that 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:54.840 people don't have to reach all the way in and 0:15:55.160 --> 0:16:00.480 touch everything, the flagsticks, the rakes, um, all the typical 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:03.320 things that everyone else is doing. Is or the practices 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:06.160 that we're adopting and and what we've seen, you know, 0:16:06.200 --> 0:16:08.080 a trend is in walking. You know, that's one of 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:09.600 the things that I hope will come out of this 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:12.880 is that more people will enjoy the walking game. We 0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:15.360 just got a shipment of push cards in. You know, 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:17.800 you can use a pushcard on pine ER's number two now, 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:20.680 which we didn't used to allow. But now we've got 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:22.960 push cards on all nine of our golf forces and 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:25.560 we're seeing a lot more people doing that, and I 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:28.160 think that's hopefully going to be a nice outcome when 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:29.800 this is all over, that more people are going to 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:33.160 be walking the game. Can you imagine a scenario in 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:38.960 which in sort of the greater part of Pinehurst, North Carolina, 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:43.200 if you sucked out all golf and just shut it down, 0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:48.960 what does what does that do? Yeah, well it is 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:53.640 you know, is we've we're making judgment calls. We're trying 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:57.760 to maintain safety. We could be open, the hotels could 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:00.880 be open right now. But we do think that, you know, 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:03.720 to an extent, the cradle of American golf is out 0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:06.720 there carrying the flag for for a lot of people, 0:17:06.760 --> 0:17:10.200 and particularly golf in North Carolina, if not in the country. 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:13.040 So we're gonna do everything that we can to make 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:15.920 sure that we're safe, but to stay open as long 0:17:15.960 --> 0:17:18.159 as we can, and so far that the state has 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:21.560 recognized that it's important to communicate the safety initiatives that 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:23.640 you're taking. We let the state know what we're doing 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:26.760 so that so that they don't get misinformation and and 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:29.720 get a random photo of a foursome that looks like 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:33.560 they're standing too close together. I mentioned our members earlier. 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:35.959 Our members are doing a little bit of policing because 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:38.560 our facility is still open to the public. People are 0:17:38.640 --> 0:17:41.480 coming here and playing golf that are not members. But 0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:43.679 there was a group of about six of them gathered 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:46.159 together on the putting green, and one of our members 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:48.440 went over to them and kind of wagged a finger 0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:51.560 at them, because you know, if things get a little sideways, 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:53.680 if someone shows up from the state and they see 0:17:53.720 --> 0:17:57.240 that we're not maintaining these social distances, they could shut 0:17:57.320 --> 0:18:03.240 us down. M Luta Sen Forest Dunes. You have you know, 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:07.199 you purchased this resort several years ago. You've added the 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:10.680 Loop by Tom Doak, You're about to open a short 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:13.360 course at ten whole, Part three course by Keith rad 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:17.159 and Riley Johns, and you've got a scheduled opening, not 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:20.560 unlike Bandon Dunes has a scheduled opening of Sheep Ranch. 0:18:20.600 --> 0:18:23.879 As you know, the first part of June. Where do 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:26.879 you sit, lou What's what's your perspective of being in 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:32.000 the middle of Michigan very much a destination resort on 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:35.640 what seemingly was going to be your greatest year by far. 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:39.639 As of now, we were scheduled open this Friday. Uh, 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:42.840 the Snight of Michigan has got us on a shutdown order. Uh. 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:46.240 We don't know when we're gonna get told. We don't 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:48.920 know if that's my one. Uh. The governor might come 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:50.920 out in the next week or two and move that 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:54.520 to June, which is the members that we pardoned, you know, 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:59.840 which creates a huge problem because we need staffing. You 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:02.119 hard for me to get staffing in there today to 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:04.879 get ready because you call people, I'm gonna stay at 0:19:04.880 --> 0:19:06.920 home order. You know, I don't want to. I can't 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:10.720 go to work. Um, so you know, I can't wait 0:19:10.760 --> 0:19:13.760 till the day we open and bring in seventy people. 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:17.879 So uh, and not knowing when that is it's a 0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:21.080 huge problem for it. We don't know if even when 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:23.520 we open golf, if the restaurant's going to be open 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:26.960 or restaurants carry out today, we don't know what we're 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:31.320 gonna be able to do UM at this time. You know, 0:19:31.720 --> 0:19:35.600 it's pretty sad times. How many how many employees do 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:39.040 you have? It for us stance today, I've got about 0:19:39.119 --> 0:19:41.879 twenty some employees that's on the Pyroad, that stays on 0:19:41.920 --> 0:19:46.440 the pyrow year round. And uh we'll add about sending 0:19:46.440 --> 0:19:51.040 about the employees when we first open. Uh, but I 0:19:51.040 --> 0:19:53.399 don't want to bring them people onto the Pyroad today 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:55.400 if I'm not gonna get open until Junior, Dy long. 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:59.000 So you know, I'm sitting here kind of talking to 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:04.480 management daily. What do you hear? What? What can we do? Uh? 0:20:04.720 --> 0:20:08.080 At this time, we don't know. And you're maintaining these 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:10.760 courses as though you're going to open. I mean that's 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:14.880 a lot of maintaining they're going to be perfectly open. 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:19.200 So uh, but again we don't know what that is 0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:23.639 going to be. Uh. And you know Tom said it 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:27.320 bestball ago. You know, the biggest issue we are dealing 0:20:27.400 --> 0:20:30.040 with is we have to do what's best for Psychety, 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:33.879 for our employees and our customers. So we're putting a 0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:36.840 lot of things in place today while we're not open, 0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:40.720 so we can best protect our employees and our customers 0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:44.760 when we do them. Marty Carr of car golf travel 0:20:45.640 --> 0:20:51.040 obviously facilitating you know, trips within the UK and and 0:20:51.160 --> 0:20:56.120 UH and also a vast majority of people coming from 0:20:56.160 --> 0:20:58.720 the U S. You're you're at a total rense. What's 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:02.840 the situation right, It's not it's not unlike what's happening 0:21:02.880 --> 0:21:05.080 in the in the golf course side. We we are 0:21:05.080 --> 0:21:08.160 all also the management business like Kemper that managed golf 0:21:08.160 --> 0:21:13.199 courses and they're all closed over here and Ireland. Basically 0:21:13.280 --> 0:21:16.320 it was about eleven and a half thousand cases of 0:21:15.520 --> 0:21:20.959 of the coronavirus and we have about four hundred and 0:21:20.960 --> 0:21:25.160 six deaths. So it's there really are slowing the curve here. 0:21:25.200 --> 0:21:27.600 It's it's just at about five percent at the moment, 0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:32.200 and they're hoping to relax the restrictions here, the stay 0:21:32.200 --> 0:21:35.640 at home restrictions by the fifth of May. So we 0:21:35.720 --> 0:21:39.960 are involved in an aggressive campaign to lobby on the 0:21:40.000 --> 0:21:42.800 safety of golf. And I've flipped you on an article 0:21:42.840 --> 0:21:46.600 before about how a doctor was quote in the Irish 0:21:46.600 --> 0:21:49.520 Time today talking about he's the foremost expert in infectious 0:21:49.560 --> 0:21:52.359 to these in Ireland about how it's safe to play golf. 0:21:52.400 --> 0:21:54.960 And I think it's really just I know it as 0:21:55.000 --> 0:21:58.440 related to the travel question. But it's important that that 0:21:58.440 --> 0:22:01.560 that that that that the science it comes out about 0:22:01.600 --> 0:22:04.360 golf is supposed to the industry because the industry are obviously, 0:22:04.560 --> 0:22:06.560 like every other industry, is trying to get back to normal. 0:22:07.280 --> 0:22:11.280 And as far as the traveler is concerned, that clearly, 0:22:12.240 --> 0:22:17.879 you know, zero revenue, everybody is moving their reservations to 0:22:18.920 --> 0:22:20.679 one it's it's, it's, it's it's a bit of a 0:22:20.720 --> 0:22:25.320 mess came upolis very quickly. So all that the April 0:22:25.400 --> 0:22:31.399 May June businesses all rebooking for and the suppliers, the 0:22:31.440 --> 0:22:34.879 golf courses and the hotels are all offering credits to 0:22:35.000 --> 0:22:40.480 rebook for, and most cases people are looking for full refunds, 0:22:41.160 --> 0:22:44.440 but in many cases we would have passed on those 0:22:44.440 --> 0:22:47.639 deposits are large part of those deposits to the suppliers, 0:22:48.760 --> 0:22:51.040 And so it is that we're talking to a lot 0:22:51.040 --> 0:22:56.400 of people about rescheduling trips July, probably in the mix 0:22:56.440 --> 0:22:59.520 of the moment, and hopefully there will be the ability 0:22:59.600 --> 0:23:02.440 to start traveling again maybe August September, but in reality 0:23:03.040 --> 0:23:06.600 we expect expect most people to to reschedule and travel 0:23:06.720 --> 0:23:11.440 to one then is going to see a huge amount 0:23:11.480 --> 0:23:16.439 of rebookings U and the Open having moved to twenty 0:23:16.520 --> 0:23:18.480 twenty two from St. Andrews is a big help for 0:23:18.520 --> 0:23:24.679 that because clearly we see one probably being of the 0:23:24.720 --> 0:23:27.240 peak and I think things may be getting back to 0:23:27.400 --> 0:23:31.600 level part in two. So that's a very our view 0:23:31.640 --> 0:23:33.880 of the world at the moment. But again it's really 0:23:33.920 --> 0:23:35.800 just a lot of problem solving and dealing with a 0:23:35.800 --> 0:23:38.359 lot of clients who don't know what to do. And 0:23:38.400 --> 0:23:41.040 clearly you're looking at two years of revenue for two 0:23:41.080 --> 0:23:43.320 years of costs and one year revenue, so it's very 0:23:43.400 --> 0:23:47.440 very challenging times two years of cost one year of revenue. 0:23:47.480 --> 0:23:49.760 That really sums it up, right, I mean pretty much 0:23:49.840 --> 0:23:52.440 pretty much. Yet, I had a meeting with my CFO 0:23:53.800 --> 0:23:55.440 on the first of March and we were looking at 0:23:56.000 --> 0:23:57.919 revenue has been up seven percent a year on year, 0:23:58.080 --> 0:24:01.720