Fore!mula For Success - An Owner's Perspective - August 2010
Succeeding In a Challenging Market
Linda Rogers has been a golf course owner for 21 years. Together with her husband Mike, they built Juday Creek Golf Course, an 18 hole daily fee championship course located in Granger, IN. Juday Creek has consistently been rated as one of the best public golf courses in the state of Indiana, and in 2009 was selected by the Indiana Golf Course Owners Association (IGCOA) as the Indiana Golf Course of the Year. Linda’s experience as an owner and long-time Fore! Reservations customer provides her with a great perspective on the current state of the industry and the role a golf course’s software provider plays in helping a course succeed in challenging conditions.“It’s very rewarding to be in a business where your customers are excited to be at your facility,” says Linda. “Owning a golf course provides an avenue for people of all ages and abilities to play a sport they can enjoy for a lifetime. We get great satisfaction from being able to provide that to our customers.”
Juday Creek customers enjoy playing a challenging golf course that lends itself to all levels of players with five sets of tees. Golfers can take advantage of the many opportunities to participate in course events, leagues and outings, as well as develop their game through instructional programs like junior golf camps, beginners clinics, and ladies learn to play programs. Juday Creek was recently recognized by the Indiana Section of the PGA for introducing the largest number of new golfers to the game through Get Golf Ready, and was also awarded the 2010 Player Development Award by the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA).
“We strive to do the most we can from a customer service standpoint for both our members and daily fee players as well as grow the game of golf,” Linda says. “As a golf course owner I have a responsibility to make sure this great game evolves in a positive direction. I enjoy working with other owners that have a similar goal in maintaining the overall health and well being of our industry.”
Linda currently serves as the IGCOA President and NGCOA Vice President. She says her most important message to golf course owners is to “get involved!” “The Golf Course Owners Association is a catalyst for meeting other owners that are truly the best consultants on the industry. There is no better way to learn best practices than from other owners. Our industry is facing many challenges today and we need to work together to best face those challenges to ensure our businesses succeed.”
According to Linda, oversupply and third-party discounting are two of the most concerning challenges facing operators today. “The best way to succeed in an oversupplied market is to set yourself apart by being creative. The time is long gone when you can expect golfers to come to your facility on their own. You have to be inventive, offer programs that entice customers to come, and have tools in place that keep them returning,” she says. “If your strategy to endure the current market is solely to drive rounds by discounting, you’re putting your facility at great risk; discounting through third-parties will not grow your business. Instead of golfers being loyal to your course they are loyal to the third-party organizations that make money off of our product. It’s like adding additional golf courses to an already oversupplied market.”
In order to overcome these challenges, Linda believes operators should do two key things to position their courses to succeed; get involved with your association to stay informed on industry trends, and get involved with your software so you can utilize tools that help your operation conquer such challenges. “Fore! Reservations dedication to be the industry’s technology leader has really been of great benefit to us,” Linda adds. “The metamorphosis of the software not only parallels with industry trends, but often has been at the forefront. We believe it is important to our success to capitalize on the software's features.”
When it comes to software utilization, Juday Creek has implemented five core components identified by Fore! Reservations as critical for success:
1. Collect Customer Data
2. Implement Internet Tee Times
3. Offer the Low Price Guarantee on Your Website
4. Utilize Comeback Coupons
5. Establish an E-mail Marketing Program
By implementing these five core components, Fore! Reservations Users can avoid the pitfalls of an oversupplied market and eliminate the perceived need to resort to bartering tee times with third-parties. The five core components are proven to grow a course’s customer database and leverage it into more rounds, maintain customer retention in a competitive market, generate more dollars per customer visit, effectively drive customers to a course’s website and most importantly maintain the course’s tee time price integrity with common-sense Internet implementation.
“Our business has remained steady the last few years because we stay a step ahead of our competition by implementing the software’s cutting-edge features and best practices,” states Linda. “The genuine interest in the success of their customers makes Fore! Reservations so advantageous. They are not just a vendor; they are much more of an industry partner. They respond to customer input and incessantly think of solutions that will work best for their customers versus just trying to sell us a product.”
“I always say if you keep doing the same thing you will get the same results, so it’s important to be constantly evolving and the entire Fore! Reservations team understands that,” concludes Linda. “After being a customer for the last 10 years, Fore! Reservations has never promoted a business philosophy, marketing idea, or software implementation suggestion that didn’t help us succeed.”
Interested in getting involved or learning more? Click here for information about joining the NGCOA or click here to signup for the NGCOA Listserv. For information on how to implement the five core components mentioned in this article, please contact our Marketing Team at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Is the National Users Conference a must attend for your facility? Do you always leave the conference with an idea that can help your business succeed? If so we'd like to share your success story! Please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we'll feature your course in an upcoming article.
