Make the Most of the Second Half of the Season! Utilize Your Fore! Reservations Capabilities

For those of you that have had a miserable weather-related spring, you’ve got a lot of company across the United States and Canada. Misery may love company, but there are a few things you can do to try to separate yourself from your competition and improve your results through the rest of the year. For southern courses gearing up for the start of your busy season, you can do these very same things now to ensure you have the tools in place for a profitable fall.

In last month’s article, I explained how it is unlikely that you can discount your way back to prosperity. And since July and August are typically the highest utilization months for course operators in the northern two-thirds of the US (and Canada), all discounting can really do is further reduce your revenues from golfers that would probably be playing anyway.



Instead of resorting to widespread discounting, the first thing you can do to improve your results is to find out what specific times aren't selling as welll as previous seasons; and then make the necessary adjustments. In previous articles, beginning with the very first article in January, I discussed the importance of course utilization extensively.

The second adjustment you can do is make better use of your Fore! Reservations capabilities and strategically communicate with your customers. Strategic e-mail marketing was the focus point of the March article. Has your course implemented the tools referenced in the article that help you market your customers in a targeted and effective manner?

One of the most effective marketing tools Fore! Reservations offers is the Fore! Marketing Defector Campaign, which automatically sends targeted e-mail messages to customers that haven’t returned in a certain time period (of your choosing). The latest version of Fore! Marketing enables you to target defector e-mails to customers that have not returned over a longer period of time (i.e. 180, 270, 365, etc. days). Those of you that have access to this feature should use it immediately and continue using it through the end of the season. This feature is great because it includes your database of defector e-mails over the entire time you have had your Fore! Marketing system in place.

Courses using the Defector Campaign are retaining more customers and generating extra revenue, but the folks at Fore! Reservations shared with me that over 40% of Fore! Marketing users have not activated this feature. What are you waiting for? Get it installed immediately!!! I can’t repeat it enough, regular communication with defectors can raise your retention of these players by over 50%. This results in a substantial increase in your revenue!

Also referenced in the March article, was the importance of regularly thanking your customers for their business. Utilize the Fore! Marketing Thank You Campaign as an opportunity to say “Thank You” and lessen the likelihood of a customer becoming a defector in the first place.

For those of you that do not use Fore! Marketing, the best method of communication remains a regular newsletter (see March article). If you have not sent one out this year, or have not done one in the last 30 days; now is the time to get one out – it’s as simple as telling golfers about upcoming events, F&B specials and/or Merchandise offers.

Getting back to the importance of the upcoming high demand months of July and August for many of you, maximizing your tee sheet over the next eight weeks is critical to recouping rounds and revenue mother nature took away from you this spring. As most of you know by now, I do not encourage discounts that cover an entire day just to fill your tee sheet. However, that does not mean you shouldn't market empty times, particularly on weekends.

There are three easy-to-use features in Fore! Reservations I would recommend using to help you fill your tee sheet without blanket discounting:

1. Implement Find-A-Game – By utilizing the Find-A-Game online booking feature, you can offer value-added specials or discounts of your choosing on targeted times where singles and twosomes are available. If you’re new to Find-A-Game, a good entry point would be to start using it Friday, Saturday and Sunday to see how it works for your course.

2. Target Market Special Rates – If you want to promote special rates through e-mail marketing to fill your tee sheet, utilize the feature in Fore! Reservations that allows you to send a targeted e-mail that excludes golfers with current reservations on the day you are promoting. This feature is available in Fore! Marketing (see first screen shot below) as well as through View | Marketing | Email from your tee sheet screen (see second screen shot below). In both instances, this e-mail would not be sent to customers with a tee time on July 21, 2011. This is a great feature that everyone should utilize whenever sending promotions. Not only  will you maximize play, but also the green fees collected for each available tee time.





3. Identify “High Value” Customers – Another tool you can use to improve your results is identifying your “high value” or “Top 100” customers through the CustSpnd.xls and ResMade.xls spreadsheets available in Fore! Reservations as identified in the February article. You still have time to find out which “high value” players have not returned in 2011. For customers in this group, we recommend getting in touch with them with a personalized e-mail, letter or phone call depending on what customer contact information you have for them. For southern courses, you should identify your “Top 100” customers from the previous season and send a “welcome back” message to encourage their continued loyalty.

In the end, the only way to make up ground lost with a late start this spring (or avoid a lack luster start) is to market your course better than you have in past years. With only one exception, all of my client courses are outperforming the weather in their respective markets. The keys to their success can be summarized as follows:

• Regular defector messaging
• Regular newsletters
• Recognition of new golfers and thank you acknowledgements
• Selective promotions based on course utilization

Utilizing the tools available in Fore! Reservations, targeting promotions and making the decision to better promote your course through regular communication should help make the second half of your season better. Over the past six months of articles, my intention has been to provide you insight into the tools that can help you succeed in these difficult times. Use this opportunity to go back and take a look at the articles to determine if there’s something you aren’t implementing that could help make a difference.

As always, please feel free to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to discuss this article or any other previous topics. There’s more exciting topics in store for the rest of the year so stay tuned!

Stuart Lindsay

"Lindsay, a lifelong Milwaukeean, has made a career of a seemingly
thankless task: Helping businesses and individuals understand the
inner workings of the golf industry. He began delving into golf course
economics while with Deere & Co., and continued after founding
Edgehill Golf Advisors in 1989. The work combines his naturally
analytical mind with his passion for golf." - Golfweek, April 2008

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Edgehill Golf Advisors
10134 N. Port Washington Road
Mequon, WI 53092
Telephone: 262.241.7088
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