Advice To Golf Facility Managers

Posted by John

October 17, 2008

Dear Club Managers,

No one has to tell you guys how tough times are for most golf courses these days. It doesn’t matter if your club is private, semi-private or public. Rounds played are down and the owners are looking for you to ‘fix’ it. The solution is basic marketing. You’ve got to offer a better product at a competitive price. This doesn’t necessarily mean slashing your annual membership fees, one time initiation charges or even daily play rates. If you’ve got a better product you just might be able to keep your charges where they are, even in these tough economic conditions. Golfers may cut back on rounds played, but when they do get out they will want a great experience.

I play a lot of different courses of all stripes. In general the quality of the rounds has gone down in recent years. If you want to attrack golfers, you can’t let this happen at your course. Here are the biggest issues that affect the golfing experience; course conditions, slow play and lack of decent customer service. Course managers can address all of these issues with very little added expense. It’s a combination of good management and understanding your customers.

The single biggest problem that impacts the playing experience is not enforcing player etiquette. I was fortunate to have my dad teach me the game. Right from the get go he made it very clear that golf had rules and if I wanted to play I had to follow them. If you play golf you should know and follow them faithfully. They are; rake traps, replace divots, repair greens, keep up with the group in front of you and throw your trash in the trash cans. These are really simple, but it’s obvious to me that the majority of golfers don’t have a clue or, maybe they think they’re special and the rules don’t apply to them. Either way, it’s up to course managers to educate their golfers. And don’t be afraid you’re going to lose paying customers. For every slob who leaves you’ll get at least 2 serious golfers you didn’t have before.

Signage around the pro shop and course goes a long way to addressing etiquette issues. It must be clearly stated what the rules are and that all golfers are expected to follow them or risk forfeiting playing privileges. This approach alone will shape up many players who’ve just gotten into bad habits. I recently played at Saratoga Springs and they have made it plain as day that part of the service they offer is a round played in 4 hours or less. When you tee off you get a start time. A ranger can check your card at any place on the course and see if you’re keeping up or not. The day I played there the course was full and we finished in just under 4 hours – no waiting and no complaining from anyone. Most golfers really do want to finish a round in 4 hours or less.

Replacing divots and repairing greens can save big dollars on course maintenance. Clubs that have gone to new devices for repairing ball marks are saving 25% or more on green maintenance. On average I repair at least 3 ball marks on every green and I’m only playing one ball. There’s no excuse for not finding and repairing your mark, it takes seconds. The same goes for raking traps. If you play by the rules and your ball ends up in someone’s footprint in the trap, you know you’ve got to play it as it lies. That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t love to get your hands on the lazy SOB in front of you who couldn’t be bothered to clean up the mess they left.

Course managers should also provide the extra touches that can really make a difference. Find a starter who’s firm but also a diplomat. The starter should go over the course rules and expectations with every new golfer. At Bandon Dunes in Oregon, they even give newbees couse advice for specific holes. It can save a lot of pain when they tell you no one has ever ‘cut the corner’. The starter should also explain the food setup, such as needing a cellphone on number 9 if you want to call in a food order. Help the golfer buy your product and services by explaining them. A golfer who isn’t starving is a much happier golfer.

The person in the pro shop who takes the money should be cheerful and helpful and not make the customer feel like they’re just an unwelcome interruption. Keep the water jugs out on the course full. When it’s cold provide hot cider and coffee at numbers 1 and 10. As much as you want to sell your own food and drink, don’t go overboard in trying to keep golfers from bringing some water or a PB&J sandwich. Charge a greens fee you’re happy with and be satisfied with it. We understand perfectly the rule about not bringing your own alcohol. I know of one course where you can purchase beer and they provide the cooler and ice for taking it out on the course. Sounds like a smart solution to a customer problem and isn’t that what businesses are supposed to do?

Often, explaining the rules is enough to get people to comply. It lets them know you’re serious. Most everyone likes a well run ship. If you can’t find the right starter, look for a retired sergeant. They know how to explain things with a smile but still get across that the quality of your life will be much better if you don’t mess up. At one course, the director of golf services gave me a course yardage book, something they normally charge for. Maybe it’s just coincidence, but I’ve played more rounds at that course than any other this year and I’ve told everyone I know to go there.