Golf Inc - August 2008 - (Page 23)

Getting kids involved One operator who has embraced the family concept is Steve Schaller, director of golf at the Seaview Resort & Spa in Galloway, N.J., where 185 people attended this year’s family festival despite the afternoon being cut short by tornado warnings. “Kids and family can’t be put on the back burner anymore,” Schaller said. “You need to embrace the idea and put in the time. Consider it seed money.” Offering free evening golf for kids has been a great way for Schaller to drive interest in the club and in the game of golf. two courses in Watersound, Fla., the Origins Course and Camp Creek. Both are owned by Jacksonville-based St. Joe Co. and operated by Troon Golf, and both offer a variety of family-oriented programs. “They started five years ago and now we sell them out every year,” said Will Hopkins, general manager at Camp Creek. The four-day-long junior camps are offered three times each summer. “It’s about encouraging and creating situations where the child can accomplish something,” he said. “If you can get the kids to the point where they want to play, you’ll see that impacting the parents and the number of rounds they play.” Family golf ideas • Invite the entire family out to the course on Sunday afternoon. Provide a short instruction period, allow families to then play and then serve a post-play dinner. • Hold a family golf day tournament, with special rules sheets and certificates for every participant. Charge a single rate for a family of four and provide hamburgers and hot dogs at the conclusion. • Create parent-junior golf leagues, with regular events and tournaments. • Host father-son and motherdaughter events, with clinics, followed by play. • During slow tee sheet times, allow kids to play free when accompanied by a paying adult. • Set up family tee boxes, so that the adults and children play from distances appropriate to their skill levels. • Stage a “Grandparent Golf” Day, when grandparents are invited to bring their grandchildren to the course for a special outing. Source: Golf 20/20, Play Golf America There’s a societal change going on in which families Steps everyone can take It doesn’t take a huge budget or corporate want to spend more time backing for operators to lead family initogether. Golf needs to tiatives, according to Hopkins. “The first thing everyone can do is align itself with that shift. —Joe Louis Barrow Jr., executive director of First Tee “Look, a lot of these programs don’t get us the average rate, but the tee sheet usually isn’t jammed up in the evening anyway,” he said. “And if I get a new membership out of it or if I get mom in for a ladies night event, now it’s working for me.” It has been working for years now for another of Marriott’s golf properties, the Stone Mountain Golf Club, in Stone Mountain, Ga., where the family golf festival first took root back in 2000. “The Kids Golf-4-Free program has been a huge selling point for us,” said Dustin Irwin, director of golf at Stone Mountain. “You can’t look at it as giving inventory away. We’re still getting the parents out at the rack rate and it builds loyalty because kids get familiar with our course.” Summer camp success Summer camps have been huge hits for come up with a really good junior rate, even if you want to restrict times,” Hopkins said. Barrow encouraged operators to take it even a step further and designate one night a week as family night. “Lock it in,” Barrow said. “Tuesday night the course is reserved for families. Maybe you even create an experience similar to skiing where you have the nonplayers learn how to play from a teaching pro while the experienced players go out and play six or nine holes.” In order to create a more familyfriendly environment on the course itself, Atcheson suggested installing tee boxes that considerably shorten the course for younger players. Another important step, according to Atcheson, is to engage local vendors. “Contact the local distributor of golf equipment to see if they’ll provide golf balls and caps, the things the kids would love to have,” he said. Hopkins suggested courses hold youth summer camps similar to the ones at Origins and Camp Creek. www.GolfIncMagazine.com 23 “You can charge for them, so you can cover your labor costs,” he said. “Plus, mom and dad will love you because the kids are out being active and getting taken care of. You’re creating good will. It should lead to more business from them.” Barrow challenged the notion that operators in the golf industry cannot afford to implement family programs. “You can’t afford not to,” he said. “If we don’t challenge ourselves to expand our game, our market will disappear. The overall willingness to consider new ideas is a lot stronger than it was five years ago, but we have a long way to go.” —Scott Desiere August 2008 http://www.GolfIncMagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Golf Inc - August 2008

Golf Inc - August 2008 Contents Editors Column Around the Industry: Big Green in Arizona Data Collectors Combine Forces GPSI Hires Chessler, Files Suit Americas Europe/Africa Asia/Australia Machrihanish Dunes Draws on the Past to Make History Again in Scotland Innovative Superintendent Finds Way to Keep the Nation's First Totally Organic Course Green Latest Clubhouse Designs Reflect Changing Lifestyles: It's All About Casual Camelback Conference Brochure More Operators Embracing Initiatives Aimed at Bringing Families Together on the Golf Course State of the Industry 2008 Muni Maddness? The Last Word

Golf Inc - August 2008

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