UGolf, Europe’s largest golf club management company, has launched a new global operation, UGolf International. Here, CEO Nathanaël Pietrzak-Swirc talks about the new venture, the markets it is targeting, and how individual clubs operate under its umbrella.
How did you get involved in UGOLF?
I joined UGOLF in 2014, seven years after I’d entered the golf industry having obtained a golf management diploma. Since then, I have held the positions of golf director and area manager before I took charge of the company’s international expansion in 2021. During that period, I graduated as a certified club manager in 2018 and served on the board of the French Golf Managers’ Association, as well as being involved in the MCO association in Europe.
Can you tell us more about UGOLF International?
UGOLF is owned by the Duval Group, a large real-estate group which is based in France, but is also involved in multiple activities in Europe, Africa and Asia, and UGOLF International is a new branch which has been created for the international expansion of the brand.
After the merger between UGOLF and Blue Green, we decided to create a specific entity to develop our brand outside of France. We already had dealings in Spain and New Caledonia, but when we started to work in Rwanda and received a lot of interest from groups keen to use our expertise in Africa, we decided to create a dedicated company.
Tell us about your success in growing the game in France?
Our CEO in France always jokes about the recent Covid pandemic: “We want a pandemic each year!” because immediately afterwards all our golf clubs and academies were fully booked. Golf is the fourth biggest sport in France in terms of federation members and the number of people playing has grown significantly in recent years. This has been helped by the French Golf Federation continuing to push to develop the game and also to prepare the whole industry for the new challenges ahead with things like sustainability and environmental issues.With our 100 golf courses in France, we work hard to continue to attract new golfers through our UGOLF academies, and our success is mainly through our UGOLF Academy model and also in the way that we offer our members the opportunity to play multiple courses instead of just one.
And how have you managed to adapt this policy to less mature markets, such as Africa and Egypt?
For the academy model, we try to use the same formula that we are using in France with our USWING Program, our program for people starting out in the game to become a golfer in one year. We can’t offer the same for the network of golf at the moment, but it’s something that we want to try to develop, to offer different courses to each member. In addition, it’s a way for us to work better because we can work in cluster and focus our energy in one area.
Youth golf is a major driver of the company. What does UGOLF provide in this space?
We use really affordable prices for golf schools and we have created a ‘Road to Dallas’ program to identify young golfers and bring them to Texas to spend one week with Chris Como, the sponsor of our academy.
What are the advantages and benefits to clubs through your bespoke way of operating?
Our mission statement is ‘driving growth, on a global scale’, which means that we are seeking the development of each golf club, through different ways.From the beginning, UGOLF has been an operating company, used to managed golf courses in difficult financial environments, so we know how to adapt and to think “like an owner” to manage as a good steward.In addition, we are focused on understanding each country, each culture and each club to adapt all our operating standards. We do not come with a defined playbook as such and instead create a playbook for each club. It takes more time but it’s key for success. When you are a member of UGOLF, you are entitled to play at all the courses. We have different kinds of membership and offer everything from the opportunity to play one area, a bigger area or a worldwide membership.
All our members also receive a gold card from our golf network ‘Le Club Golf’, which offers discounts at 800-plus courses around the world. All UGOLF-managed golf courses are in the network, and in addition, a lot of independent clubs join the network to benefit from B2C and B2B offers. The B2C offer is a loyalty program and is insurance for any member who has to stop playing for a period, as well as being a marketing program to promote each club. On the B2B offer, the benefits range from being a buying power and having access to a lot of meetings to an annual conference, which is attended by 900 people each year.
Commercially, you have a strong network of B2B green fee and golf tour operators around the world. What benefits does this bring for prospective clubs?
When we sign a new management contract, on this aspect we bring two things: The club will be part of Le Club Golf network and our travel department will take care of promoting this club. The travel department is the only point of contact for the tour operator, so we offer a really easy way for each group to book a package (golf / hotel / transfer).
What are the plans for the future?
We are currently the fifth largest golf operator in the world and it’s our aim to break into the top three in the next three years through the projects we have in Africa, Europe and Asia. When you consider that ten per cent of the golf courses in the world are managed by golf operators, and there are 38,000 courses, there are clearly plenty of possibilities and avenues that we can get involved in a range of different markets.