National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA)

If you own, operate or manage a golf course in the United States, the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) gives you advocacy, education, peer networking and member discounts on what you buy. It is a US trade association that describes itself as the only one dedicated solely to golf course owners and operators.

Members include owners, operators and general managers of daily-fee, semi-private, private and resort courses of all sizes. You can join through separate routes for course owners or operators, municipal and government agency course operators, and industry suppliers.

What you get as an NGCOA member

According to the NGCOA, member benefits fall into six groups:

• Savings on purchasing through the Smart Buy Marketplace, its official program of discounts and rebates for clubhouse and operations buying, plus 401(k) retirement plans.
• Advocacy on your behalf, with dedicated staff, a legislative resource center and National Golf Day.
• Conferences, retreats, online workshops and webinars, with free Golf Business Conference entry in your first year as a new member.
• Networking through a member directory, the Accelerate members-only discussion portal and dual membership with state or regional affiliates where these apply.
• Business resources such as research reports, Golf Business magazine, the NGCOA Buyers Guide and free virtual staff training.
• Member pricing on NGCOA events and free admission to selected PGA and LPGA events.

Events you can attend in 2027

• Golf Business Conference 2027, January 25 to 27, 2027, in Orlando, Florida, held alongside the PGA Show, which runs through January 29.
• National Golf Day 2027, May 3 to 5, 2027, in Washington, DC, with the Hyatt Regency Crystal City as host hotel, for advocacy and community service.

At the Golf Business Conference, which the NGCOA calls the largest yearly meeting of golf facility owners and operators, every registration includes a PGA Show Core badge through the association’s alliance with Reed Exhibitions and the PGA of America. Groups of four or more from one company save $100 per person, and sessions earn you continuing education credits from the PGA of America, LPGA, CMAA and GCSAA. A full pass covers the Sunday Masterminds pre-conference session, the Monday opening reception, two days of education tracks, breakfasts, the awards lunch, the Sponsor Fair and Happy Hour and the Award of Merit lunch.

Exhibits center on golf products and management software of the kind sold by vendors such as Club Prophet. Suppliers can attend only as sponsors. Our guide to golf trade shows in 2026 and 2027 places the conference in the wider January calendar.

Research and reading to help run your facility

The association publishes Golf Business magazine, the Golf Business WEEKLY newsletter, Golf Business podcasts and Golf Business LIVE videos. Its 2026 reports include the Golf Business Pulse Report, a Golf Industry Compensation and Benefits Report with a multi-course owner edition, and a Golf Facility Safety and Compliance Report. It has also issued white papers on building a simulator business at a course and on independent contractor rules.

History

The NGCOA was formed in 1971, when Don Rossi, then president of the National Golf Foundation, brought together a group of public-access course owners. It was a founding member of Golf 20/20 and a founding partner of the Golf Industry Show, and later moved its conference to sit alongside the PGA Show.

Source: golfbusinessconference.com, ngcoa.org/membership/welcome/about-us, ngcoa.org/membership/member-benefits, ngcoa.org/home

Shows by this organiser

You can plan around 1 show from this organiser: its dates are announced.

Shows run by National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA)

Show	Dates	Venue	Sectors
Golf Business Conference 2027 (NGCOA)	25-27 January 2027	Rosen Centre Hotel, Orlando	Clubhouse and operations, Golf carts and utility vehicles, Golf course equipment and maintenance

Photos

Image: National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA).

Company facts

Areas served

United States

Location

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291 Seven Farms Drive, 2nd Floor, Charleston, South Carolina 29492, United States

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