duced rates that let them play
more often for less money while
keeping a course's tee sheet full.
The benefits to golf course op-
erators are wide-ranging. Golfers
are drawn to play more rounds
and bring their friends to experi-
ence the social aspects of the
game.
Members of loyalty programs
practice more often and enjoy
the sport more. And they are in-
centivized to play at their home
course, which translates to more
bookings and higher revenues
for the courses that are doing it
right.
"It's like asking a farmer why
he has to keep most of his crops
alive – it's fundamental to his
business and he only has so much
land to work with," said Chris
May, the Vice President of Rev-
enue Management for American
Golf Corporation based in El Se-
gundo. "Similarly, for most own-
ers, golf is microeconomic and
courses are limited to working
with the population within a
short drive radius of their prop-
erty. If a club is not doing the
right things to attract existing
golfers and cultivate new audi-
ences within the local community,
creating the occupancy needed to
sustain the business is going to be
a tough row to hoe."
American Golf has offered The
Players Club membership pro-
gram for the past three years and
has seen participation skyrocket
at the dozens of courses it oper-
ates in California and beyond be-
cause the monthly cost is far out-
weighed by the benefits, which
include significantly reduced
green fees compared to rates for
the general public, complimen-
tary range balls every
day of the week, and
discounted tee times at
other American Golf-
managed courses.
Monarch Beach Golf
Links and Tijeras Creek Golf Club
– both OB Sports-managed prop-
erties in Orange County – have
successfully developed the
Crown Club and Creek Card loy-
alty programs, with more than
5,000 unique golfers signed up to
receive discounts on rounds, ad-
vanced booking capabilities, re-
duced guest fees and plenty of
other benefits.
"We owe it to our customers,
within our allowances and to the
best of our abilities, to treat them
well enough to convince them to
remain loyal," said Eric Lohman,
the PGA General Manager at
Monarch Beach. "These programs
are imperative to our financial
success in a competitive golf and
recreational marketplace. We
need our core base to
support us year-round.
We are always trying to
create loyalty, and this
definitely helps."
May said the focus at
American Golf is on encouraging
golfers to play more and play bet-
ter without costing them an arm
and a leg.
"The Players Club accom-
plishes this by providing effec-
tively unlimited access to the
practice tee, group lessons in a
non-intimidating atmosphere
and discounts on tee times later
in the day, when new golfers
won't be as stressed on pace and
performance as they might be
playing earlier in the day," he
explained.
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American
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o9ers
The
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at
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including
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