A Conversation with Brett Sterba, Championship Director, 2012 PGA Championship

by Alan Cooper
April 30, 2012

 

LowcountryBizSC:
How did the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island get to host such a prestigious golf event?

Brett Sterba:
Golf has four majors: The Masters, the US Open, the Open Championship (held in the United Kingdom), and the PGA.  Each of the majors is run separately by a different golf organization.  The PGA and the US Open are the two major golf championships that are held in the US where the golf courses rotate each year.  Only The Masters is held on the same golf course each year – Augusta National.   Like the US Open, we are willing to bring the PGA Championship to new golf courses. In 2004, for example, we held the PGA Championship to Whistling Straits, Wisconsin, and this year, we are adding the Ocean Course at Kiawah as a first time venue.  

LowcountryBizSC:
What impact will hosting the tournament have on South Carolina?

Brett Sterba:
We held the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 2007 Senior PGA Championship at the Ocean Course, but it’s really been twenty years since this golf course has been the center of the golf world.  According to a study undertaken by the College of Charleston School of Business, there will be a $92M direct impact and a $26M labor impact to the region.  The way technology has developed over the past twenty years, the outreach and the viewership of this year’s tournament will far exceed that of 1991 Ryder Cup.   The tournament will be viewed in 580M households in over 190 countries.  The estimated value in media exposure is $75M.  There is a huge interest in this tournament from outside the region.  We have sold tickets in 44 of the 50 states.  60% of both our ticket and corporate hospitality purchasers are considered tourists by definition (that is, they are coming from over 50 miles outside of Kiawah).  That number is traditionally less than 50% and sometimes as low as 25 -30%.

Hosting the PGA Championship here will have a lasting effect on the golf and tourism industries in South Carolina and position the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island as one of the great, iconic golf courses in the world.  

LowcountryBizSC:
What criteria do you use in selecting possible new venues for the PGA Championship?  Why pick the Ocean Course at Kiawah?

Brett Sterba:
There is no set model to choosing a new golf course, but we do look at a couple of key factors.  First, is the course itself.  Is the course a major championship caliber golf course?  We know that the Ocean Course is a great golf course, probably the toughest in America.  There is no other golf course in the US that has the views that you get from the Ocean Course.  

Second, there are lots of great courses around the US, but not all of them have the infrastructure to host a tournament of this magnitude.  The space needed to house the entire support infrastructure is significant:  TV crews, vendors, hospitality areas, corporate infrastructure.  The infrastructure needed to run the 1991 Ryder Cup pales in comparison to what the PGA Championship needs today.  The days of bringing one satellite truck to a golf tournament are gone – we have seen a big increase in the number of trucks needed to broadcast with HD and 3-D, for example.  Our TV compound is 200,000 square feet!  There’s not a lot of golf courses that have the extra space available to provide a facility of this size.  

The availability of hotels in the vicinity is also another major factor.  

Each potential site has challenges, but with the Ocean Course we found that the opportunities far outweighed any of the hurdles.  It was a no-brainer to bring the 2012 PGA Championship here.  

LowcountryBizSC:
What is the biggest challenge that you have faced at the Ocean Course at Kiawah?

Brett Sterba:
Our biggest logistical challenge in Kiawah is traffic.  We have been working for about three years with the state, county and municipal governments to help solve those issues.  We believe we have a great plan in place for the tournament and that traffic will flow smoothly.

LowcountryBizSC:
Where are you at in terms of planning?  Are you ready?

Brett Sterba:
We are ahead of the game.  In other years, at this point, we might still be focused on selling more tickets and corporate hospitality programs or looking to fill the volunteer program.  With this tournament, the excitement and the demand for tickets has been unlike any other championship that we have hosted.  We sold out our first category of tickets 22 months in advance of the championship, almost tripling the previous record for individual daily ticket sales.  We were able to bring in 94% of our ticket sales through a new pre-registration process.  A year in advance of the tournament, we had sold out of Friday, Saturday and Sunday tickets as well as the week long Wannamaker tickets.  We currently have just 1-2% of tickets remaining for the entire event.  The advance sales allowed us additional time to focus on solving logistical issues.  

We have the RSVP’s to the party, now we just need to work on the details so when people get here, they will get what they are expecting – a major championship experience.

LowcountryBizSC:
What is the business model for the tournament?

Brett Sterba:
For on-site operations, ticket sales are about 40% of our revenue; corporate hospitality (client entertainment such as a suite or skybox on the golf course) is 40%.  We have exceeded many of our budgeted goals on that first 80% of revenue. The remaining 20% is from on site concessions and merchandising at the event.

LowcountryBizSC:
Does the PGA tournament have a presenting sponsor?

Brett Sterba:
None of the major tournaments has a presenting sponsor.   We have partners that we work with, but there is no lead sponsor as you will see with a tour event.  That is what makes the majors unique and helps to uphold the great tradition and history of each of these events.  
LowcountryBizSC:
How many people can you accommodate on the course?

Brett Sterba:
We have limited the number of tickets to 30,000 full spectators per day.  Logistically, we can’t exceed that number without compromising the spectator experience.  It’s the first PGA Championship where we have limited the number of tickets.  Daily attendance at the event will be about 30% lower than the average PGA Championship.  

We did studies on the 1991 Ryder Cup.  For that international event, you have a maximum of 24 players out on the course at the same time, on two teams.  For the PGA, there will be 156 players on the course so spectators will be much more spread out.   We have widened cart paths and moved tee boxes right or left to improve the gallery flow.  The Ocean Course has numerous natural viewing areas on grass mounds around the course.  We have found creative ways to define viewing areas and build bleachers where natural viewing areas are not available.  

LowcountryBizSC:
Does Kiawah Resort participate in the revenues?

Brett Sterba:
The Resort is a full partner of ours and we share in all expenses and revenue.  

LowcountryBizSC:
What particular challenges will the golfers face on the Ocean Course?  
Brett Sterba:
The Ocean Course sits parallel to the ocean; in many places, the only thing between you and the Atlantic Ocean is a sand dune.  It’s a wide open golf course with very few trees so the wind will be a big challenge for the golfers. On average, the wind blows between 15-20 miles an hour, but it can blow as hard as 25-35 miles an hour.  The wind will make this golf course a lot different from the traditional golf course the pros play on a weekly basis.  

The Ocean Course is similar to the seaside links courses that you find throughout Europe, but with one critical difference.   On the European courses, many players will hit the ball low when it is windy and bounce the ball up to the greens.  On the Ocean Course, the greens are well protected so you have to fly the ball to the green.  In addition, the golf course will be set up for a major championship with some decent rough and firm fairways and greens.  You put it all together and it could make for a very challenging round of golf.

LowcountryBizSC:
Will the PGA return to the Ocean Course at Kiawah at some time in the future?  

Brett Sterba:
It’s hard to ignore the success that we have had already, but the PGA Championship is committed through 2018.  Our task right now is to focus on this 2012 championship.  If we can deliver a top quality event for the players, the media, the corporate clients, the spectators – then there’s no reason why a major championship shouldn’t return to this area.

LowcountryBizSC:
Talk a little about the PGA of America?

Brett Sterba:
The PGA of America owns and operates three spectator golf events:  the Ryder Cup, the PGA Championship, and the Senior PGA Championship.  We are comprised of 27,000 men and women golf professionals who are the recognized experts in growing, teaching and managing the game and business of golf.  Our headquarters are in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.  

LowcountryBizSC:
Would the PGA ever be held outside of the United States?  

Brett Sterba:
Of the four majors, the PGA Championship is theoretically the only one where it could potentially work to host the tournament in another country.  There are other PGA organizations with similar roles in other countries: the Canadian PGA, the French PGA, and the PGA of Australia etc. who already host their own respective PGA tournaments.  On a personal level, I think that could be great because golf is becoming such a global game with the addition of so many young, international golf superstars, but I don’t know if it is logistically possible.

LowcountryBizSC:
Why do major golf tournaments draw so much attention?

Brett Sterba:
Players’ careers are defined by majors.  When you win a tour event, you are in the record books; when you win a major, you are in the history books.  We have the world’s greatest golfers coming to Kiawah so it’s truly going to be America’s toughest course vs. the world’s greatest golfers.