Mike Orloff is a US and Australian PGA Member with more than 25 years of industry-wide experience, including 18 years working for two of the biggest international golf management companies in Australia and the USA – American Golf Corporation and Clubcorp.
Now based on the Gold Coast, Australia, Mike consults with clients directly as well as via workshops and conferences in New Zealand, Australia, and South East Asia.
Golf Industry Central was created by Mike in 2008 as a major golf industry portal for the Australasian region – offering news, jobs, and operational advice all in one place.
An innovative and experienced golf marketer, Mike was hand-picked by American Golf Corporation, the largest golf management company in the year 2000, to improve the performance of its first Australian courses on the Gold Coast.
In the USA, Mike had a track record of finding creative opportunities to increase revenue at American Golf’s clubs.
Australia
After arriving in Australia, Mike reviewed the local golf industry then launched a market-leading product that changed how golf was played at two of the largest golf clubs on the Gold Coast – Robina Woods and Paradise Springs (now Palmer Gold Coast and Palmer Colonial).
The Mega Membership program targeted social golfers with a low sign-up fee to enable members to access ongoing discounts to play at these popular clubs. This marketing initiative targeted the changing demographic of golfers in the region. At its peak, 3,500 social golfers signed up to play at both courses, boosting the clubs’ revenue by $350,000 plus ongoing income.
Mike has proven results and experience managing marketing campaigns that have increased market share and made profits for all types of golf clubs and golf-related businesses.
What an amazing week I had in Auckland! After my very full week in Sydney, I was off to Auckland. It all started with a flight over from Sydney, after a week of assisting in running the Golf Management Australia Clubhouse, Land and Development Planning Summit. It was a real...Read More
By Mike Orloff On a recent trip to Sydney, I was fortunate enough to get a personal guided tour of Royal Sydney Golf Club and the new Gil Hanse layout in Sydney. This industry is full of amazing people who are genuinely proud of their work and eager to share...Read More
It’s that time again. In Australia, Queenslanders would know it better than anyone. With public opinion geographically divided, the state has fought a bitter feud over time, literally. The myth of daylight savings The myths and controversies surrounding daylight saving time (DST) are plentiful, and the opinions are vastly diverse....Read More
In this episode, Leighton Walker is joined by Mike Orloff from Golf Industry Central for a deep dive into the evolving landscape of club life in Australia and New Zealand. Together, they explore what clubs in the region are doing well, with a particular focus on cultural dynamics and modern approaches...Read More
Well, I’m still feeling the “buzz” after my third national tour with the one and only, Gregg Patterson! This is my third “tour of duty” with Gregg after successful tours in 2016 (7 days) and again 2018 (10 days). Those tours were joint presentations with Norm Spitzig, but this...Read More
My Next Golfing Adventure: Laguna Golf Lăng Cô Embarking on the next leg of my golfing adventure in Vietnam had Laguna Golf Lăng Cô on the itinerary. A comfortable transfer an hour north of Da Nang through some countryside brought us out into the secluded resort. With cooler beachside weather...Read More
Over the past several years Golf Industry Central has been publishing stories about the journey that the Vietnam golf industry has undertaken for Vietnam to become a true golf destination. To create a destination that people will travel to from halfway around the world, you need many variables to come...Read More
*Story originally published in PGA of Australia The Professional. ARE YOU READY FOR THE EXPERIENTIAL ECONOMY OF THE FUTURE? THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS’ JOURNEY AT YOUR GOLF FACILITY FROM A MILLENNIAL PERSPECTIVE. Today, the concept of selling experiences has spread beyond theatres and theme parks and has made its...Read More
In this month’s episode of the popular Australian golf pod Yardage Book Yarns, Australian PGA Member Glen Whittle invites Mike Orloff of Golf Industry Central and Golf Recruitment Central to talk about his career and passion for the sport. In his podcast, Glenn talks candidly about Golf and life with...Read More
Sometimes referred to as selfish, the “ME” generation, or Gen Y, is now moving on to a new, more selfless, phase in life. Having now reached the formidable age of somewhere between 18 and 35, millennials are experiencing a new stage in their lives where self-absorption is secondary to the...Read More
Club Marketing Specialist Mike Orloff hosted a live panel discussion with four long term managers in the golf industry. The format for the day was an open live Q/A between the panelists as well as taking questions and comments from the viewing audience. During the 75-minute session, the managers compared...Read More
It might not say e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g about people’s real life interest, but when IGEA via Game Sales Data (GSD) provided their game sales analysis last month, revealing cartoon golf by Super Mario to be topping the charts in Australia, when the majority of Kiwis much preferred anime sci-fi instead, it begs...Read More
Earlier this month Golf Australia released its rounds update for YTD August 2020. There is certainly a rounds boom occurring in the rest of the country with the boom particularly evident over the last few winter months. This will increase more now that Melbourne course are back open to 4...Read More
Hyped by the network as family entertainment on an epic scale, if you have ever watched an episode of Channel 7’s action-packed mini golf reality show hosted by Sonia Kruger and with Greg Norman as the resident golf pro, then you know there is A LOT to unpack in 60...Read More
Australian golf tourists are hitting the road. Do you have a plan to let them know you are open for play? Over the coming months more and more Australians will hit the road and travel in their own country, due to international border restrictions. This is a great opportunity not...Read More
Recently, Club Marketing Specialist Mike Orloff was invited to guest on the podcast We Just Love Sports, a forum for everyone who has a passion for sports. In what was the first of the podcast’s industry interviews with host Peter George, Mike discusses his role in the Australian golf industry...Read More
Last week Club Marketing Specialist Mike Orloff appeared on an episode of The Wednesday Match Play Podcast. In the episode Mike talks about Mike’s Space, a business directory on the website, his time as a GM, an overview of GICTV and his Tiger Woods/Fullerton, CA connection. .brtcl6989b013d31d2 { margin-bottom:20px }...Read More
No matter the difficulty of tough times or how busy we may be, a simple “THANK YOU” should never be overlooked. Of course, the real heroes at the moment have been all the front line healthcare and essential service workers, that assist us all with some semblance of normality and...Read More
Let’s face it; the new target demographic that many clubs are after now is the “middle something’s” that have young kids i.e. Family market. Yet the product the club typically has on offer is for the “old “something’s” that don’t want to change! This is seen in an old clubhouse,...Read More
We are all aware that golfing membership numbers have been in a steady decline at most clubs around the country – a trend that is a great worry to the entire industry. I’m concerned this small steady decline will soon become a large “thud” as approximately 60% of all current...Read More
