Fourth Quarter, 2016

GOLF USA TEE TIME COALITION UPDATE

New Board Member

The Coalition added a new member to the Board of Directors. David Sjolander, Chief Operations Officer of Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG), will be offering his services to the Coalition. David brings over 30 years of experience in hospitality distribution; he has worked for Pegasus Solutions Travel Click and Carlson Hospitality Worldwide.

Trademark Laws

The Coalition will soon be releasing a series of whitepapers on trademark law, specifically relating to Google Adwords and the purchase of golf course names as keywords. These papers will discuss the ethical and legal ramifications of some of these brand hijacking schemes. Finally, a full-service solution will be offered to golf courses looking to curtail this type of behavior.

Successes

Recently, Jared Williams, Managing Director, attended the Direct Booking Summit. There, he had the opportunity to meet with the revenue manager for a large golf resort in Pennsylvania. As revenue manager, this gentleman's job is to manage the golf course's relationship with Online Tee Time Agents. He had his contract with him and the Coalition has been assisting him in identifying potential pitfalls in the contract. I n addition to assisting this golf course, the Golf USA Tee Time Coalition had recent success helping a golf course in Arizona institute and maintain a desired floor price. Please feel free to contact the Coalition should you require any assistance with an online tee time distribution matter. 

The animated video below provides an in-depth look at the relationship between software providers and distribution agents in the industry. If you are looking to have a better relationship with your third party service providers, contact the Coalition and we will respond promptly with the best method to achieve your desired goals.
 

BILL INTRODUCED TO MODIFY OVERTIME RULE

U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., has introduced recent legislation to address concerns over the U.S. Department of Labor's new overtime rule.  The rule raised the salary threshold for employees who are exempt from overtime pay from $23,660 (or $455 per week) to $47,476 (or $913 per week) effective Dec. 1. Any salaried employee meeting the DOL's criteria making less than $47,476 a year and working more than 40 hours a week will be entitled to overtime pay. But Rep. Schrader's bill HR 5813, called the "Overtime Reform and Enhancement Act," seeks to provide businesses, non-profits and universities with the time they need to plan and comply with the new rule. Essentially, it recommends a three-year phase-in of the salary threshold and eliminates the automatic indexing. The NGCOA, along with its allied associations, signed a letter to Rep. Schrader supporting his legislation.  Read more

CURRENT NEWS

Use of Independent Contractors at Golf Courses in Question

Many businesses are looking at bypassing some of the challenges created by the Department of Labor's (DOL) Overtime Rule by moving to the use of Independent Contractors. Some of these include, but are not limited to, golf professionals and assistants, tennis professionals and assistants, and even some maintenance positions. The most important question an owner or operator must ask when considering this options is, "will this person work for my business or simply provide a service?" This sounds like an easy question to answer, but the DOL and IRS have added a new litmus test for these positions. It's called the "economic realities test". Click here to view the six questions to ask to see if your plan passes the economic realities test.  Read more

Family Owned Golf Courses: New IRS Regulation May Impact Value of Your Business

In August of this year the IRS issued proposed regulations that will eliminate (or severely limit) the ability to discount the value of transfer of interest in closely held entities (Family Limited Partnerships (FLP), Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs), family corporations) to family members. If enacted in their current form, would result in family business owners paying much higher gift and estate taxes when transferring ownership of their business to their heirs.  For estate planning purposes, the IRS currently allows a person to gift minority interest in one's family owned business (FLPs and LLCs) to one's heir(s) at a discounted rate.  Read more

EEOC Adding Pay Data to Annual Reporting Requirements...Expect Your Cost to Increase

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced plans to require employers with more than 100 employee submit compensation data to the EEOC beginning in 2017. They have proposed a new EEO-1 Form which will collect pay data by race/ethnicity and gender. The revised report will retain the existing 10 job categories. Pay data will be reported using a new twelve pay bands currently used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Occupation Employment Statistics Survey. Read more

Preparing Your Course for Disaster

Is your business prepared for emergency? If you're like most of us, the answer is no. It can be difficult to know where to begin and where to go from there.  A disaster may be caused by carelessness, negligence, bad judgment or by natural forces such as a hurricanes, tornadoes or floods. Improved personnel training can deter or minimize man-made disasters, but natural disasters are, by nature, uncontrollable. This requires individuals and businesses to establish a preparedness plan and know where to go for assistance following the initial impact of the disaster.   Read more    

STATE NEWS

Solar Tax Cut to be Enshrined in Florida's Constitution Extends Tax Savings to Golf Courses

Source: FloridaWatchdog.org

Big business loves tax cuts and environmentalists love solar power. A solar tax cut would seem a perfect fit.

And so it is.  The nexus between business and environmental groups proved a powerful force ahead of Tuesday's statewide primary elections. By a margin of 3 to 1, the solar tax cut known as Amendment 4 is on its way to being enshrined in the state constitution. Passing of this amendment provides businesses the same level of tax savings homeowners have previously enjoyed. Golf courses can now take advantage of utility savings from solar powered equipment and lower their property tax bills.   Read more

Recovery Underway for Louisiana Golf Courses

The historic rains which befell 22 parishes in and around Baton Rouge, La., took a toll on the 20 golf courses in the area. But fortunately, severe damage was limited to only one course. As part of an outreach effort by the NGCOA, the NGCOA Advocacy staff called and emailed course owners in the disaster area to get an update of their recovery efforts and to find out what support the NGCOA and its members could provide.  Oakbourne Country Club's rain gauge measured 24 inches of rain in a three-day period ... more