DI golf CEO named to prestigious list of industry’s influencers

You might not have heard of Jay Karen, a whiz-kid who spreads the gospel of golf from his Daniel Island office. But give him time. You will.

 

Karen, a living portrait of enthusiasm and hard work, is the CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA), which is headquartered on Seven Farms Drive. He was recently recognized as one of the country’s “Most Powerful People in Golf” by Golf Inc. magazine. It’s the first time he’s made the elite 25, checking in at No. 24.

 

The Most Powerful People list includes quite a diverse cast of characters, including No. 1 Tim Schanz and Dana Garmany, CEO founder and board member of Troon, the golf industry’s largest management company. Also on the list are Greg Norman (LIV Golf Investments), Seth Waugh (CEO, PGA America), Tiger Woods (Principal TGR) and even former President Donald Trump and his son Eric, who are the principals of Trump Golf. Also included is some guy named Jack Nicklaus.

 

Golf Inc. covers the business side of golf and prides itself as being the world’s only magazine for golf course developers, owners and management company executives.

 

The magazine points out that when Karen took over as CEO of the NGCOA in 2015, the organization was struggling for an identity dominated by entities such as the PGA and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA). Since then, the magazine reports that NGCOA’s membership under Karen has grown about 27 percent to nearly 4,000 domestic courses. 

 

Karen’s main duties include lobbying to protect the interests of golf course owners in the online tee time business. He did this by helping to create and administer the Golf USA Tee Time Coalition with the PGA of America, according to Golf Inc.

 

“For me to be on that list is quite an accomplishment for the NGCOA,” said Karen, who has degrees in history from Winthrop University and the College of Charleston. “We represent golf courses and their owners. Golf is an $85 billion dollar industry and it’s important for us to be united and have a voice.”

 

That was the case when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the country when it reared its ugly head in early 2020. Karen pushed for golf courses to remain open because it offered acres of open space outside that was more than enough for social distancing and its required six feet apart.

 

“It was the perfect time and way to be outdoors,” Karen said. “Golf proved to be the answer for the need to get outside, to engage in something active or athletic and to satisfy our most human need to be with friends and family – while having fun.”

Golf Inc., in a separate story, asked Karen about the biggest challenge ahead for the golf world in 2023.

 

“If the economy in America worsens in 2023, it will result in a challenging situation for golf courses,” Karen told the magazine “Costs of doing business will continue to rise, and tee time pricing will be looked at once again as a lever to pull in the name of keeping customers. But lowering the price does not increase demand or engagement in golf.”