Ian Hutchinson

  Considering what we’ve been through the past two years, it wouldn’t be wise to think that Covid-19 is a thing of the past. However, it has eased its grip on golf businesses as far as restrictions go and those within the golf industry are travelling more, be it by car or plane, to take […]

By now, your clients or members will have seen any price increases that you’ve implemented since last year. Whether it’s a hike in food and beverage prices, membership, rounds or products, the golf industry is no different than the rest of Canada these days with the cost of everything rising. That, of course, means business […]

Last week’s GNN Poll asked readers if they expected hiring at golf businesses to get more difficult each year due to the aging population and the majority said yes. The reason we asked that question was a Statistics Canada report that more than one in five or 21.8 per cent of working Canadians are aged […]

Bill Murray has rightfully earned his place in golf as a master of mirth, not only as groundskeeper Carl Spackler in Caddyshack, but also with his antics each year at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Golf expects zaniness from Murray, but how far does it go before that humour offends people? Murray appears to have […]

A month ago, the GNN Poll asked readers to compare this year to last for hiring employees to fill out the staff at the golf businesses where they work. The majority, or 49 per cent, said hiring has been more difficult in 2022, with another 41 per cent saying hiring is just as difficult as […]

In just over a month, and hopefully the weather is kinder than it was on Wednesday, a group of us will gather north of Toronto for a memorial golf tournament in honour of a longtime buddy who left us far too early in life. The players in the field that day have known one another […]

The good news is that after two full seasons of dealing with the pandemic, Covid-19 isn’t likely to be a primary concern this season, but don’t count out the possibility of it returning in a big way. That’s the type of uncertainty the golf industry faces as the 2022 season gets underway. The sixth wave […]

It may be spring on the calendar, but you wouldn’t have known it early last week when heavy snow turned the area where I live north of Toronto into a temporary winter wonderland. A snow/rain mix hit Eastern Ontario the next day before moving into Quebec. Last Tuesday, 22 cm. of snow fell on Calgary, […]