The Players 1st Conference 2021 was a great success!

The fourth edition of the Players 1st Conference took place last week, gathering in Oslo with much anticipation after a 27-month hiatus from the yearly congregation.

The three days were brilliantly coordinated by the Norwegian Golf Federation, with a 3-day conference agenda scripted by the Federations, there was certainly a lot to catch up on and to be shared and discussed.

With participants from Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Spain, The R&A, we were also able to include virtual participation.

There were +30 years of client relationships between Players 1st and the Federations in the room, and it is clear to see each year, the continued openness and the desire to help and support each other to grow and develop.

Players 1st welcomed the opportunity to announce some of our new and upcoming partnerships, and also share updates regarding newly released features, as well as the BI tool which all the Scandinavian federations have integrated with (https://www.blog.players1st.golf/blog/business-intelligence-suite).

The main topic of the conference was of course the latest boom in golf. All federations could present very positive trends in the number of golfers in the game. The general focus across all federations is now on retention. How can we make sure that we keep the new golfers and returning golfers in the game? Especially the onboarding experience is a focus since all data shows that this is the most critical period for a long-term club membership.   

We then heard from a number of federations, with an update from some national Junior initiatives across the Nordic regions. All with the common goal of creating more opportunities to access the sport, and some very inspired initiatives to ultimately get them to have some fun at a golf course, with ‘playing’ at the forefront of these programs.

The afternoon welcomed a conference first, in the form of a virtual presentation. Jackie Davidson, Assistant Director of Golf Development at The R&A with an update on the Women in Golf and some of their research that has taken place to go on to build their strategy.

This was followed up with a collaborative presentation on the same agenda topic from the Dutch and Danish Unions, looking to establish a similar proposition that could work within their specific market dynamics.

With technology driving the golfing industry evolution, it was only appropriate that the hotly anticipated annual Players 1st golf tournament took the form of a simulator tournament. The late September Oslo weather also made this an easy decision! Taking place at the beautiful Losby Golf Club just outside of Oslo, their impressive 6 TrackMan simulator facility can be used by members and guests. It was here we spent an enjoyable morning playing the front 9-holes around the challenging and often very narrow, Evian Resort Golf Club, France.

Out of courtesy and respect for the participating federations, and since we were organizing the event and it would be inappropriate to put the spotlight on yourself, we will not mention who won the tournament 😉.

With so much conversation taking place over the course of the 3 days, we will digest some of the main learnings, experiences, challenges, and opportunities shared by our client federations, and update these to our blog in the coming weeks.