2024 Golf PEI CEO Report

Hard work, subtle changes, and a little luck.

2024 came and went faster than most. And with good reason: it was Golf PEI’s best year ever by a number of metrics, thanks to what I attribute to three things: hard work, subtle changes, and a little luck.

Hard work: from golf course operators to superintendents and all their staff, they all work hard to ensure an enhanced experience through their golf product and customer service. Golf PEI’s staff is no different, and I’m proud of each of them for their dedication and commitment to our members and customers.?

Subtle changes: Our leadership has been focused on subtle changes over the years. It’s something our team and board of directors believe in and push towards. It’s not about moving mountains every day. It's about consistent subtle changes stacked up against each other over time, resulting in major improvements for our customers and our partners. These compounding changes are sometimes tough to notice, but all work towards the growth of Golf PEI.

A little luck: Golf is almost totally reliant on the weather. In 2024, we had the good fortune of very few rain days, which meant tee sheets were fuller and more people went golfing. Golfers can be a picky bunch, but weather was not a significant factor as it has been in prior years.?

Successes

From a numbers point of view, it was a record-breaking season. Let’s talk about some of these success metrics:

• 446,479 - the total number of rounds played on PEI, up 12.3%
• 210,684 - the total number of paid rounds played, up 12.1%
• $2.11 Million - total Golf PEI reservation centre revenue, up 24%
• $2.05 Million - total value delivered from golfpei.ca’s online booking engine, up 56%
• 450,000 - total website pageviews, up 17%
• 6.04 Million - total social media impressions, up 16%

These numbers reflect the hard work, subtle changes and a little luck that have resulted in a strong year for Golf PEI. Beyond the numbers, there were other successes that contributed to the bigger picture.?

These include:

• The launching of our strategic plan, The Way Forward, in January 2024
• Board committees struck to gather further perspectives in areas such as sales, marketing, HR and finance
• Consolidation of marketing efforts in a busy, attention-grabbing market
• An in-depth consumer research project with Jon Last and Sports & Leisure Research Group, the best market researchers in the business
• Growing our team by one, adding capacity and value to our members and staff complement
• Emphasis on after-golf activities to grow package opportunities and collaboration amongst the tourism industry
• A new French website and complementary marketing assets
• Investments in staff professional development
• A strengthened relationship with NGCOA and other industry groups

Onward

With 2024 now far behind us, Golf PEI has shifted its focus entirely to 2025 and beyond. Our strategic plan and subsequent work forces us to ask the question: what do we want to be when we grow up??

The reality is that Golf PEI of today is much different than yesterday’s Golf PEI. Through our strategic plan, the new year brings us the opportunity to shift some of our marketing, branding and governance, which will only strengthen and complement the work we have been doing for the past number of years.

I’ve mentioned before that while golf got us to this level of growth, it won’t get us to the next. You can only fit so many golfers on a tee sheet each day. This is where the introduction of our More Than Just Golf theme has come in, where we work closely across the tourism industry to create a fuller vacation experience for our customers while also growing revenue for our members. This is something we will emphasize in 2025 and welcome more partners to the Golf PEI fold.?

Our 2025 bookings are pacing ahead of 2024 at this point and there is an eagerness for golfers to come, visit, and play on PEI. Pairing this with the ongoing tariff situation, more Canadian golfers are choosing to keep their hard-earned money in Canada and cancel their southern golf trips in exchange for a Canadian option. PEI is proud to be positioned as that option.

I ended my 2023 report by stating that Golf PEI has an impressive story and that we need to keep telling that story; this year is no different. We have a rich history of being a one-of-a-kind destination filled with great golf, the best people, and offerings that extend far beyond the golf course.

Thank you again to Golf PEI’s board of directors, members, and stakeholders for trusting us to do the important work we do each day. And one final thank you to Jennifer, Stephanie, Janelle, Ryan and both Kevins in our office for making Golf PEI the well-oiled machine it is.

Our strategic plan vision is to become the #1 Golf Destination in North America. To do that, we need buy-in from all our partners. We need to double down and position ourselves as a powerhouse for golf tourism. We need to keep telling our story.

With hard work, subtle changes, and a little luck - we will continue telling our story and growing our impact.

Sincerely,

Sam MacPhail

CEO

Golf PEI

To see Golf PEI's 2024 Annual Report, click here.