Speakers

Ashleigh Anderson-Guerra | CEO | BIRDHAUS Brand Studio

Ashleigh Anderson-Guerra knows how to grow revenue and reach new audiences in the golf industry, and she’s done it consistently without big budgets or huge teams. Introduced to golf at age 10 through an inner-city youth program, she brings a unique perspective that most industry insiders lack: she gets what makes emerging audiences tick and how to turn them into your next wave of customers.

As Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Youth on Course, she led a complete organizational rebrand that helped double membership growth and significantly expanded national awareness. Her marketing campaigns and corporate partnership initiatives contributed to over $2 million in charitable contributions while expanding the organization’s reach and economic impact. She also led the complete rebrand of LPGA*USGA Girls Golf and executed marketing campaigns that catapulted its program growth and participation. Her #inviteHER campaign and launch of the LPGA Women’s Network tapped into underserved markets that now represent the sport’s highest growth segments.

Today, as Founder and CEO of BIRDHAUS Brand Studio, Ashleigh helps businesses capitalize on emerging markets through strategic brand positioning and resourceful marketing systems that maximize ROI. Her collaborations with adidas, Nike, Rolex, Callaway, and TopGolf, alongside her current work pairing creative strategy with AI, demonstrate a consistent track record: smart branding paired with strategic storytelling and efficient systems attract more customers, keep them coming back, and set you apart from your competitors without requiring massive marketing budgets.

Cathy Harbin | Owner, Pine Ridge Golf Course | President, NGCOA

Cathy Harbin’s pedigree includes Class A PGA Master Professional status since 2000. She is also a member of the LPGA and NGCOA. With over 30 years as a golf course operator, Cathy has perfected training and operational systems that create a consistent world class experience and sustainable profits. Cathy has had a diverse path through golf that few others match. She was General Manager of the World Golf Village courses, Executive Director of Golf 20/20, Vice President of Golf for ClubCorp and now owns her own golf course. Cathy’s commitment to growing the game and making it accessible for all is unwavering. Recently she completed her role as the At-Large Director for the PGA Board of Directors and is President of the NGCOA.

Jeff Hoag | Co-Owner | Scott Lake Golf & Practice Center

Jeff is the co-owner of Scott Lake Golf & Practice Center, a daily fee 33 hole golf course in Comstock Park, MI, a suburb of Grand Rapids. Since 1975, Jeff and his brother Paul have been the drivers to growing the business at Scott Lake. Scott Lake was the recipient of the 2011 Michigan Golf Course Association Course of the Year, and the 2012 NGCOA Course of the Year. Together they have expanded from 18 holes to 27 holes with a large practice facility and a six-hole short course. Jeff’s nearly four decades of building and growing the business, even in the face of a national recession, has led to some exciting and progressive programs for building customer loyalty. Jeff is a past president of both the NGCOA and the Michigan Golf Course Association.

Jay Karen | Chief Executive Officer | NGCOA

Jay Karen is the CEO of National Golf Course Owners Association, where he leads the golf industry’s trade association and initiatives to support the success of the golf course business. In his role at NGCOA, he has chaired the board of the industry-wide advocacy coalition, We Are Golf, and served on the Golf USA Tee Time Coalition board, a joint initiative with the PGA of America, and the advisory board of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CBS Radio, New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, the Golf Channel, Golf Digest and many others call upon Jay for his insights on the golf industry. Jay has also served as CEO of two associations in the lodging and hospitality industry, and he is a certified association executive by the American Society of Association Executives. Jay currently serves on the board of directors of the US Travel Association and ASAE. Jay is an Honorary Commander for the Joint Military Base in Charleston and a mentor in the College of Charleston’s MBA program.

Jim Koppenhaver | Founder & President | Pellucid Corp

Jim is the President, founder and principal owner of Pellucid Corp., a leading golf industry information and insights provider. His background includes a decade of Fortune 50 marketing and sales experience in Consumer Goods and 25+ years in data management, reporting, analytics and insights across multiple industries. Jim founded Pellucid in 2001 to address the golf industry’s need for accurate, unbiased information to support better business decisions for industry stakeholders. Since its inception, Pellucid & partner Edgehill Golf Advisors have pioneered nearly every industry information advancement including consumer-based facility price segmentation, quantifying annual supply/demand imbalance, quantifying weather impact (historical and, recently, forecasts), creating the first course Customer Franchise Analysis and developing the industry-standard, web-based Golf Local Market Analyzer tool. Their latest endeavor/challenge is to bring monthly industry performance tracking (Rounds, Revenue, Utilization & RevpAR) and local market benchmarking to fruition. At fruition, it will plug a gaping hole in the industry’s understanding of trends and causes and help stakeholders from facility owner/operators to major equipment manufacturers make better-informed decisions.

Stuart Lindsay | Principal | Edgehill Golf Advisors

Stuart Lindsay is the Principal of Edgehill Golf Advisors, a golf consulting and market research company located in Mequon (Milwaukee), WI. Since its founding in 1989, Edgehill has provided services to an eclectic mix of clients including banks, accounting firms, golf software companies, golf course appraisers, and golf management firms along with daily fee, private and municipal golf courses. Since 2001, Edgehill has worked closely with Pellucid Corp., a well recognized golf research and insight provider. With Pellucid, Edgehill has co-developed the innovative Customer Franchise Analysis that tracks golfer retention and value, along with the Weather Impact Analysis that determines golf specific weather impact for individual courses across the US. From 1996 – 2013, Edgehill served as a consultant to Fore! Reservations over which time they grew from 400 to over 2,100 golf courses. Mr. Lindsay has been widely quoted on golf business issues in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, GolfInc, Sports Illustrated, Golf Course News, GolfWeek and Golf Business.

Kyle Morris | Founder & CEO | The Golf Room

Kyle Morris is a golf entrepreneur, performance visionary, and founder of The Golf Room, a nationally recognized academy that has redefined how golfers train, think, and perform. What began with just $42,000 in assets has evolved under Kyle’s leadership into an eight-figure enterprise, spanning coaching, technology, digital media, and player development on a global scale.

From a single hitting bay in a rented space to now operating the nation’s largest player development facility—and the second largest in the world—Kyle’s journey is a masterclass in vision, grit, and business scaling. The Golf Room has expanded from 1 bay, to 2, to 3, to 4, to 6, to 7, and now to 12, serving thousands of players at every level, from juniors to professionals. Today, The Golf Room is recognized by Golf Digest as one of America’s Best Academies, producing over 400 tournament wins and dozens of college scholarships in just eight years. But Kyle’s influence extends far beyond the walls of the academy.

He built an online coaching community of more than 50,000 golfers worldwide, delivering elite instruction through The Golf Room Everywhere, where players access world-class training remotely. He also owns CollegeGolf.com, the official college recruiting platform for over 10,000 AJGA members, helping competitive juniors connect with college coaches and navigate the path to collegiate golf.

Charlie Rymer | GBC26 Emcee | Executive Vice President | McLemore Club

A native of Cleveland, Tenn., who grew up in Fort Mill, South Carolina, Charlie Rymer dominated the South Carolina junior golf scene in the mid-1980s before earning All-America honors at Georgia Tech and playing on the PGA Tour. He moved from playing competitively to broadcasting golf in 1998, where he joined the Golf Channel and became one of the top analysts for over 20 years. Along with working in the golf media space, Charlie founded the “Yours and One other Foundation” in North Florida’s PGA Section, which aims to fix challenges facing North Florida’s youth and veteran communities. He currently serves as the Executive Vice President of McLemore Club in Rising Fawn Georgia.

Gina Rizzi | President | Radius Sports Group

Gina Rizzi is an industry leader in golf consulting, sustainability, and economic impact analysis with more than 25 years of driving innovation, meaningful impact, and financial performance for Fortune 500 companies and golf organizations. She is the president of Radius Sports Group, founder of BMP Hero, president of ARCUS Marketing Group, and the creator of VRA Connect, a golf industry supply chain platform.

Her work spans major state and national initiatives, from economic impact studies in New York, Texas, and Colorado to innovative platforms that help golf courses adopt best management practices with credibility and ease. Gina brings expertise in marketing, data analysis, and stakeholder engagement, building strategies that bridge golf course operators, associations, regulators, and communities. She earned her MBA from the University of Notre Dame, her BA from Michigan State University, and Certificate in Sustainable Energy Management from Presidio Graduate School.

Gaylord Schaap | Owner | Northwood Recreation, Inc.

Gaylord Schaap currently serves as the COO of Northwood Recreation, Inc., and the General Manager of the Northwood Golf Club in Monte Rio, California. Gaylord has been the manager since the early 1980’s and is responsible for its major improvements and renovations since that time. He began his golf career in the maintenance department of a country club in Sonoma County while earning his BA degree in Business Management from Sonoma State University. Gaylord also holds a degree in Agribusiness Management and Marketing. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the local water utility company. Gaylord believes strongly in the team approach to running a successful business, and that is reflected in the fact that his PGA Golf Professional and GCSAA Golf Course Superintendent have both been employed at the course for over twenty years. 

Michael Williams | Executive Director, Cyrano Communications | Contributor, Golf Business

Michael has had success in industries ranging from High Tech companies to foreign exchange banking. But his life has been defined by his abilities in the media and communications, for his experience in world affairs and his passion for the game of golf.

Michael has established himself as a leading voice for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. His “Open Letter to the Golf Industry from a Black Man Who Loves the Game” became a template that inspired the leadership of the game to implement long-needed change. In addition, Michael’s article for ESPN about his handling of a PGA Tour professional who admitted to dressing up in blackface garnered praise from around the world and was recently recognized as one of the best articles of 2020 by the Golf Writers Association of America.

Michael is also known as one of the political world’s most astute commentators as the moderator of “Issues in the News”, the flagship political and current events program for Voice of America. A sought-after speaker and communications expert, Michael has counseled some of the most influential individuals and organizations in the world on topics including crisis management, corporate re-branding and diversity/inclusivity issues.

In 2005, Michael launched his first radio show on FOX News Radio, “Sticks and Stones”. Since that launch, Michael has established a reputation as a savvy broadcaster and as an incisive interviewer and writer. An avid golfer himself, Michael has covered the game of golf and the golf lifestyle including courses, restaurants, business, travel and sports marketing for publications all over the world.

In his first year as host of The 19th Hole Golf Radio Show on CBS Radio in Washington, D.C., Michael led the show to becoming the top-rated golf show in the 7th largest market in the United States and was named the recipient of the 2014 Middle Atlantic PGA Earle Hellen Award for the Outstanding Media Person of the Year. The 19th Hole with Michael Williams is now a podcast with 40 thousand listeners per week on GolfWRX.com.

Michael is a member of the United States Golf Association, the Golf Writers Association of America and the National Association of Black Journalists.