The Pellucid Perspective - December 2010 - (Page 8)

REVENUE WATCH The Lonely Golfer Phenomenon Add 15 percent more revenue one golfer at a time By Harvey Silverman O ur survey work for Pellucid clients conducted over the past three years has shed considerable light on golfer habits, opinions, similarities, and differences. We advise each survey client that two things will occur as a result of the survey: Some assumptions will be confirmed, and some surprises will be revealed. There is one question we have asked in every survey that does both: “What are the primary barriers that prevent you from playing golf more often?” The response answers include: n I don’t have enough time n I don’t have enough money n I don’t have anyone to play with n I am not very good n I cannot easily get a tee time The industry assumptions are that Time and Money are the biggest barriers to more frequent play, and every set of survey Increase your average food and beverage sale by 10%. clubcar.com/visage 1.800.CLUBCAR, ext. 4782 responses confirms that. However, the disparity in response percent is revealing in and of itself, in that Time registers a three to one response over money. This has held true even through the depths of the Great Recession. It might vary slightly depending on the region, but we have done enough surveys across most areas of the country to say with confidence that the lack of Time in people’s lives is what is keeping most golfers from playing more frequently. The big surprise in the response set is the third most popular response, “I don’t have anyone to play with.” On nearly every survey, the percentage of people responding to this answer is 15% (survey respondents are able to select up to two answers on this question). At first we thought little of this, taking the attitude of “Well, that’s too bad.” But as we’ve done more and more surveys, our attitude has changed to “This is a consistent theme – now what can be done about it?” Think about it for a minute. If stretched across our 27 million golfers, that’s four million who might get out to play a little more often if courses can find ways to match them up with other “Lonely Golfers” or promote available space for singles. Even a couple more rounds a year from these Lonely Golfers can create a meaningful increase in rounds played, something the industry (1) has not been able to generate with other programs; and (2) needs badly. Seemingly, the days of long lines of standby golfers at most courses are gone, and Lonely Golfers might be less apt to take a chance of finding openings even though many might exist. They need to be invited, to be made to feel welcome by both the course and people playing in less than foursome groups. Intelligent use of social media and texting programs might provide some solutions. Getting customers to participate on the golf course Facebook page can connect them to other Lonely Golfers. Texting programs like that offered by Cybergolf and others can create another channel of communication to those who choose to opt-in, although that’s not always easy to do. FORE! Reservations has responded to this phenomenon by creating an online tee time reservation module called “orphan tee times.” It displays only tee time times where space for singles and twosomes is available, and enables course operators to include any type of special that might attract those looking to play but who don’t have a full foursome. To our knowledge this is unique among the electronic tee sheet providers, but if others have developed this function we’d like to know about it. Some courses have launched promotional programs designed to attract golfers, with some success. Ideas such as “9(See Lonely Golfer on page 13) december 2010 8 The Pellucid PersPecTive http://www.clubcar.com http://www.clubcar.com/visage

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - December 2010

The Pellucid Perspective - December 2010
Contents
3rd Party Tee Time Marketers: According to Some, “missed It by That Much”
Course Sales Pace Showing Signs of Increasing
Nov YtD Weather Impact Oct YtD Utilization
The Lonely Golfer Phenomenon
A Formula That Fits
Meadowbrook Golf on the Way Back?
Raffles a Risky Gamble
Denver, CO DMA
Dear Golf Industry Santa

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