t’s been coming on for 3 weeks since I wrote my last blog about buying time. It’s been amazing the number of people who have privately approached me to say how much the article resonated. Funnily enough though the only people who openly admitted to having the same experiences were fellow Pro’s.
This year has been very different for us Golf Pro’s; from the long time away from the business, not sure how or if it would survive, to the unprecedented demand from a huge number of new golfers post lockdown.
The demand for tee times still hasn’t abated here and my thoughts have shifted somewhat towards how we as a club and a business strive to satisfy that demand, and how we can continue to add value to the product on offer and so retain members into the new season.
Many of those “new” golfers this year have always been golfers, they just haven’t been members and perhaps have struggled to justify the expense of a membership. Now that many other activities have had to be suspended, for many of you golf is the only respite from being indoors all day every day. Ironically as I write this the course is closed and, on a normal year I’d be driving customers into the studio to play in the warmth on some of the best courses in the world - but even that can’t happen!
The studio here has been an extraordinary marketing tool; from visiting parties, to non golfers, to kids to those who can’t walk round the course any longer. it has been something that has caught the imagination. Members love showing it off to their guests as it’s not something each club has, and the guests make the requisite noises of admiration. In reality, I think the success of the Studio is because it shows that as a business we are willing to take a different path. We were willing to invest heavily at a time when there was a lot of negativity surrounding the industry and saw a pathway to provide our customers with a different experience, a different level of service. For me that is what RM Irvine Golf is all about. We don’t want to be the same as anyone else, we want you to remember the experience, to tell your friends and to be desperate to visit us again.
For golf clubs, well I believe they need to take the same approach. What is their USP? Most have 18 holes, a clubhouse, a shop… what makes them different? I’m proud of the fact that we have developed an identity as a venue for families, for people to get Into Golf. Douglas Park’s heritage has been based around being at the heart of a leafy, affluent area with great schooling. What better way to position yourself in the market than at the centre of that family dynamic?
So in terms of how do we add value to a membership what does all that mean? We are striving to develop relationships within the local area; with other businesses; schools; other clubs. Marketing campaigns such as #Dear Local and #Small Business Saturday are premised on exactly that. Big, online, faceless companies trade almost exclusively on price - they see a section of the market who’s “need” is predicated on price. What “price” can you put on the smile on your kids face when they make their first par? What price for the 70 year old Grandparent able to spend time on the links with their kids and grandkids at a time when you can’t even spend time together in your own home? What price on the memories we all have of having played a round of golf with someone we cared about and is sadly no longer with us? How do you put a price on that?
As Golf Clubs we need to offer a facility and an opportunity to make that happen. Yes the course needs to be in great condition, the shop stocked with the latest gear and the beer at the bar needs to be chilled. But we also need to sell the opportunities, to be more active in the communities, to involve the various generations, to have relationships with other clubs to help arrange those summer trips away. Golf is an opportunity for most people to take time away from their day to day lives, from their stress and worries. If we can help people by improving their techniques or providing equipment which helps with this then great. But equally we can help with increasing their awareness of what their time on the course means, what value it brings to their life.
A customer actually said to me that after getting their new driver the other day that they were conscious of how much better their mood was after leaving the course that day. Moreover that mood didn’t end when they left the course; their family noticed when he came home too!
There’s a famous quote that says “golf is not a way of life, it’s more important than that”, that isn’t true, golf is a mechanism to improve your way of life, how do you put a price on that?