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Golf 2.0
The Southern California PGA is proud to lead the way in the future of golf. Golf 2.0 is ready to bring millions of new golfers into the game, as well as keep current golfers playing often and inviting lapsed golfers back into the game. With your help, we can make it happen!
For more information about how you or your facility can get involved with Golf 2.0, please contact the following PGA staff. Nikki Gatch will be heading up the Golf 2.0 efforts in the Southern California region for the PGA of America.
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Nikki Gatch
Player Development Manager
PGA of America
760-534-1370
ngatch@pgahq.com |
Alexandra Tegels
Growth of the Game Manager
Southern California PGA
951-845-4653
ategels@pgahq.com |
 KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERThe second Golf 2.0 playbook has been released and is available on www.golf20.netThe “Know Your Customer” playbook was developed with input from experts throughout our industry to benefit PGA Professionals, LPGA Professionals, and the overall golf industry in the quest to make the game more fun and welcoming to millions of new golfers. Within the playbook you’ll discover real-life examples of innovative ways that leading professionals, owners and operators are growing their business and delivering to the bottom line at their facilities.
An important part of the Golf 2.0 initiative is to “Strengthen the Core”. We must engage our current customers in order to improve customer retention and customer spending. The Know Your Customer playbook focuses heavily on Customer Relationship Management (CRM).CRM is a widely implemented strategy for managing business interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology — particularly customer database software — to organize and automate processes for customer tracking. In the golf industry at the facility or management company group level, that means information about customers, their golf shop purchases, rounds played, golf revenue, instruction and any other trackable information. You will find in depth information on Relationship Building, Customer Database Development, Communicating with your Customer Database, Customer Database Segmentation, and Marketing Plan Execution. The Playbook will also provide you with a tool for you to assess your facility’s current level of managing customer relationships.
Yes, the Know Your Customer Playbook is detailed and lengthy, but remember, becoming an expert marketer is a marathon, not a sprint. The Playbook is a detailed roadmap to help you become a better marketer, but you don’t need to master all of the suggested tactics and strategies listed in this playbook TODAY. Simply use it as another tool and resource for you to refer to as you analyze and develop your player development and retention programs at your facility.
You can access the Know Your Customer Playbook, as well as the Golf 2.0 Playbook at www.golf20.net You can use your personal PGA Links username and password, or can share the link with your owners and other staff members and have them use the “golf2.0″ username and “growgolf” password. If you have any questions or need any assistance, feel free to contact me at NGatch@pgahq.com or 760-534-1470.
EXECUTION
So now in your player development plan, you have communicated with your employer on the goals for your facility, you have analyzed strengths and weaknesses as well as internal and external factors, you have planned out your programs, marketed them, and now you are ready to EXECUTE!
There are some key components to successfully execute your plan and truly become a revenue generator at your facility:
- Commit to your plan
- Maintain enthusiasm and a positive attitude
- Dedicate time to your marketing plan
- Have the right people on your team
- Expand your database
- Have regular follow-up communication with your students
When executing your player development program, remember three simple keys:
Make it FUN, Make it FUN, and Make it FUN!!
“It may be more important to teach people how to have fun; the golf skills will follow.” – Ted Bishop, Vice President, The PGA of America
Having a staff in place that takes ownership of your objectives and goals is key. The instructors you put in place to execute your player development programs need to friendly, exude warmth and have a passion for the game and a desire to spread that love of the game to others. They need to be enthusiastic and have strong interpersonal and communication skills.
You must make your staff, facility and programs welcoming. This includes your marketing messages, the atmosphere at your facility, the ease of registering and participating (use of equipment, affordable fees as examples), retention plans (offer special deals to entice your students to return to the facility), and creating personal relationships with your students (make a friend not a sale!).
In summary, remember this relationship building approach:
CONSUMER = CUSTOMER = CLIENT = PARTNER
First, think of the target market that is available at your facility (consumer base)
Second, as you have attracted them to participate in your programs, they are becoming a “customer”
Third, have the follow-up programs designed and ready to implement so the customer is inclined to return for future experiences, thus making them a “client”
And finally, as you nurture the relationship by getting them to return again and again, your client will eventually become a “partner”, which significantly increases the likelihood they use you as their primary resource for everything golf.
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns, as I am here to help us as a Section, and you at your facility, become more effective with player development. I can be reached at 760-534-1370 or by email at ngatch@pgahq.com
 Marketing
Out of all the steps outlined in the Golf 2.0 Player Development Playbook, MARKETING is the sole means of driving golfers to your facility. The golf professional can use their creativity to their advantage in effectively promoting programs. Efficiently selling your product will directly impact the facility’s bottom line. In prior decades, the idea of mainstream marketing included building a site, opening the doors and allowing for the growth to occur. Times are different, and now it is the personal responsibility of the professional to get the local community actively engaged in golf.
This should come naturally to all golf professionals. You are marketing a product that you like and are familiar. Three simple words should be at the core of your message. These include “friends, family, and fun”. Assess your facility from an outside perspective and see how it would appeal to a non-golfer. Create a welcoming environment for your intended market and make sure it is equally as fun. It is very important to incorporate the ideas of a socially welcoming activity to draw your prospective market to your facility and or program. Alternatively, the intended market needs to know that golf has numerous health benefits. This is especially true if you are creating senior player development programs. The non-golfing community will have many misconceptions about golf. The quicker your marketing assesses the pain points of affordability, time constraints, and non-welcoming atmosphere, the more successful your marketing approach will be.
The Golf professional has a wide array of channels and means in which they can pursue. The National Golf Foundation has conducted surveys that find on an average approximately six thousand golfers are willing to play golf outside of each golf property. Types of marketing and suggestions can be found below.
Community Marketing: Direct connection to the local environment surrounding your facility. Contact the HR department of local businesses to find out if they have a health and wellness program and have them enroll their employees in your Get Golf Ready programs. Alternatively, seek out the local school district and provide free lessons to the students and teachers. At the end, allow the school to have a field trip to your facility and welcome thousands of potential golfers.
Special Events: Hosting large scale events, although it might seem difficult, can have tremendous impact on reaching a large quantity of consumers. Examples include pairing up with other golf courses in the area and hosting a Welcome to Golf Day while providing free ten minute lessons. After the completion and scattered throughout the event, have promotional material and signups for your player development programs.
Direct Email / Mail/ Digital Campaigning: Cost efficient and an instant way to communicate. Email, text messaging, and even certificates via Groupon have become very popular. In one month, a Florida golf course received 240 Get Golf Ready applicants.
On-Site: There are multiple assets at your current facility that you can utilize to your advantage. In addition to the traditional flyers, brochures, and signage in the golf shop, make sure your existing and core golfers are aware of these promotions. Word of mouth is a very powerful and effective form of marketing that can have a significant impact on the size of your programs. This is especially true if they have friends and family members who are not active golfers.
Remember to always be sure you are maximizing your return on investment. Determine which marketing method you feel will provide the best ratio of cost to player development participation.
For additional marketing methods refer to Golf20.net and look under the marketing section of the Golf 2.0 Player Development Playbook. If you have questions, would like assistance in evaluating your facility’s player development programs, or would like to share a best practice, please contact:
Nikki Gatch
Player Development Regional Manager, PGA of America
760-534-1370
ngatch@pgahq.com
Golf 2.0 – Planning Step
The third step of establishing your “Personal” Player Development program will serve as a foundation for all of your programs and allow maximum effectiveness. Planning takes all shapes and forms but there are 5 key steps you should adhere to during this process.
Establish a Framework
Develop a Mission Statement of what you intend for your program.
- This is typically a brief statement that will guide what actions and direction your program will take.
Have a Vision Statement.
- Remember, you are not planning just for the present, this statement will help guide you for future programs.
Objectives
Set realistic numbers that are easy to track
- How many programs
- How many participants
- What type of participants
As part of the Objective portion, don’t hesitate to become specific as to what the desired outcome will be.
Be SMART; Specific Meaningful Achievable Realistic Time-Oriented
- More female play during evening hours
- More students continuing on to the next level of instruction
Programming Functions
This portion of the plan will detail various functions and identify what you want to accomplish. This will also establish who will be responsible and the timelines in which they will be done.
This becomes the “Roadmap” for your programming.
- How do we promote this program
- What program is what day
- Who is teaching the program
- Where is the program location
- Are we prepared for everything
Budget
Project Revenue to Expenses for each program
- Determine fees to charge
- What do they include
- Are they comparable to other area programs
- Determine where fees go
- Facility split, Instructor fees
- What hidden expenses might arise
Project Revenue and Expenses for the entire season
How to Plan
SWOT; Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
- Build your program around your strengths
- Outstanding professionals
- Area demographics
- Great facility
- Identify and address your weaknesses
- Facility challenges
- Smaller staff
Communicate with facility directors what your intentions are.
- Work together towards the end goal
- Share the end result data
For additional planning methods, refer to Golf20.net and look under the Planning section of the Golf 2.0 Player Development Playbook. If you have questions, would like assistance in evaluating your facility’s player development programs, or would like to share a best practice, please contact :
Nikki Gatch
Player Development Regional Manager
PGA of America
ngatch@pgahq.com
www.golf20.net
760-534-1370
Player Development = Your Future
It’s Personal
Communication
The first action step in the Player Development cycle is Communication with Employers. On page 9 of the Golf 2.0 Playbook (available on pgalinks.com) is a word cloud with the top responses listed from employers when asked what Player Development programs their PGA Professionals recommended and if the programs were successful. If you have not seen it please take a moment and take a look, it really is eye opening. Although some of the programs such as Get Golf Ready are listed, the top answer was NONE! If our employers do not think we are doing anything to help grow the game, we become liabilities to our facilities instead of revenue generators. It is up to each and every PGA Professional to turn that around and become better communicators on how you can positively impact the number of customers and rounds played at your facilities.
What to Communicate
To truly showcase yourself as the expert leader, it is vital that you communicate results on a national and local level. Communication should include:
Industry Trends – Provide employers with perspectives on national trends and what impact Player Development programs can have to a facility’s bottom line. Share with them Best Practices that you have heard about as well as direct them to the Golf20.net website and be able to answer questions they may have.
Your Plans & Results – Keep your employer informed on your Player Development planning, the results you have achieved and any challenges you have faced. Let your employer know that you and your staff will be driving and delivering these programs, but in order to be successful, you will need their support.
How to Communicate
There are two basic types of communication to engage your employer:
Meetings – Face to face collaborations to maximize appropriate levels of involvement from your employer. “NOW” is the perfect time to hold a meeting on Player Development and let them know what you have planned for the year/season. Or better yet, plan your programming together. Also consider meetings throughout the year or season to keep employers informed and engaged of your progress. End the year/season with a meeting to review, and let your employer know how many golfers you and your staff created and how many rounds that you helped generate.
Reports – Communication of program performance to keep your employer informed and updated on your success. Let your employer know of success stories from your programs. Also keep them informed with fresh industry research from Golf 2.0.
There is a great opportunity now for PGA Professionals to be creative in creating and implementing player development. Use this opportunity to set yourself apart and really showcase the value of a PGA Professional to your employer.
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns, as I am here to help us as a Section, and you at your facility, become more effective with player development. I can be reached at 760-534-1370 or by email at ngatch@pgahq.com
Nikki Gatch
Player Development Regional Manager
PGA of America
I hope you are all enjoying and taking advantage of the mild Southern California winter! I am happy to be back after the 95th PGA Annual Meeting and the Merchandise Show where Golf 2.0 was the main topic. This is an exciting time for our Association!
My role as Player Development Regional Manager is to assist our PGA Professionals and their facilities analyze their current player development programs and offer support in those areas. My responsibility is also to educate our Professionals, their facilities and owners, and allied associations about the importance of player development for our industry and the tools and resources that are available to achieve success.
Player Development = Your Future
“It’s Personal”
Two important tools are now available to help all of us with our Player Development programs, the “GamePlan” & “Playbook”. You can use the Player Development GamePlan to gain an overview and understanding on the recommended action steps to enhance your Player Development efforts. The Player Development Playbook is the more comprehensive resource for you to use, as it provides detailed information and direction for each of the steps. Please visit www.Golf20.net to access the Player Development Playbook to utilize at your facility. It can also be downloaded from www.pgalinks.com
The cycle of player development success involves six steps: Communication, Analysis, Planning, Marketing, Execution and Tracking. In the upcoming editions of Enews, I will touch in more detail on each of the six steps. With the Spring and Summer seasons rapidly approaching, now is the time to evaluate your player development programs at your facility, and together, make a difference!
Education will be available at the Chapter level in the coming 30-60 days, as well as at the Golf Industry and Business Summit on March 19. In the meantime, if I can be of any assistance in analyzing or help with planning your player development programs, I can be reached at 760-534-1370 or by email ngatch@pgahq.com
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