Local Knowledge

GOLF GENIUS TM: GOLF HUB

Golf Hub is a powerful set of marketing automation capabilities available at no cost to all clubs using Golf Genius Tournament Management (GG TM). The numerous features included in Golf Hub provides a modern, streamlined approach making it easy to promote, display details, and register for upcoming events in one location.

Within their familiar GG TM experience, golf professionals at private clubs, public courses and resorts can instantly create a promotional landing page (a “Golf Hub Page”) for any event, league, or clinic, optionally enable online registration and payments as needed on each Golf Hub Page, and automatically create aggregated pages (“Hubs”) to showcase the playing and learning opportunities at their facility. Golf professionals then can embed these Hubs into their club website, email campaigns, and social media posts to amplify promotional efforts and drive increased participation.

By automating the creation of highly professional digital marketing materials and streamlining the promotion, registration and payment process, Golf Hub can save golf professionals time while helping them deliver a superior golfer experience.

To learn more about Golf Hub, click here. For a brief introductory video about Golf Hub, click here.

BECOME A YOC COURSE PARTNER AND HELP GROW THE GAME

Thanks to dedicated supporters and participating member clubs, the TGA Foundation (TGAF) has been able to continue to make great strides in broadening the reach of Youth on Course (YOC) throughout Texas.

This is the fourth year of the TGAF’s partnership with YOC, a national non-profit grow-the game initiative that allows kids and teens ages 6-18 to play golf for $5 or less, plus opportunities for paid internships, caddie programs, and college scholarships. The collaboration initially began in January 2020 as a pilot project in the San Antonio area with 11 courses, including all eight that comprise the Alamo City Golf Trail.

Through the first half of 2023, there are now more than 60 courses across the state that are part of the YOC community. While the progress made in expanding the footprint of YOC thus far is promising, the two organizations are working diligently to encourage more facilities to open their doors to the life-changing program.

Course partners that provide a nurturing atmosphere where YOC members feel welcome to play golf, have fun, learn, and grow, are helping to ensure the long-term future of the game. They are also realizing an immediate benefit as well.

Because course partners are in full control and decide when YOC members can play the course at the special rate, they are able to fill their tee sheets with enthusiastic young golfers during normally slow times. In addition to receiving a monthly check for the subsidized rounds, course partners report that at least 60% of the time, a parent or guardian joined the junior golfer and paid full price for their round. That means additional revenue from green fees, cart fees, pro shop merchandise sales, and food and beverage purchases.

It’s a proven win-win relationship between YOC members and course partners that has worked incredibly well since the program’s inception in 2006. There are currently over 140,000 YOC members that have access to nearly 2,000 courses across the U.S. and Canada where they can play a round of golf for $5 or less. Over the years, YOC members have played more than two million subsidized rounds of golf while the organization has helped generate more than $8 million in tee-time revenue reimbursed back to individual golf courses.

For more information about the benefits of becoming a YOC course partner, click here. If you have any questions about joining the YOC community or need assistance getting started, please email Kelly Kilgo, Managing Director of TGA Foundation/Outreach, or call 1-214-468-8942.

2023 PGA BUYING & EDUCATION SUMMIT JULY 31-AUG. 2 AT OMNI PGA FRISCO

The PGA Buying & Education Summit, taking place July 31-Aug. 2 at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort in North Texas, provides a combination of focused face-to-face business meetings, PGA Education workshops and networking opportunities exclusively for PGA Professionals and golf buyers to meet with a curated group of emerging and top golf brands showcasing the latest innovations and trends in apparel, accessory, gift and award, equipment, technology, and golf lifestyle products.

The three-day event will offer opportunities for sourcing products, learning new business strategies, and networking with industry peers during fun experiential events across the PGA Frisco campus and the Monument Realty PGA District golf entertainment spaces. Each evening will offer PGA Professionals, buyers, and exhibitors a chance to unwind and stay connected.

For more information about the 2023 PGA Buying & Education Summit and to register online, click here.

PROTECTING YOUR CLUB AND ITS ESSENTIAL DATA [GOLF INC. MAGAZINE]

Mitigating cyber threats and performing background checks on members, as well as employees, are at the forefront of club security.

A little more than a year ago, the famed Wentworth Club in Surrey, England, faced something that no club wants – a ransom attack. The club, which is headquarters for the DP World Tour and serves as host venue for the prestigious BMW Championship, had its network hacked, and ransomware criminals stole information from 4,000 members.

About the same time, the email account of Clubster founder William King was hacked. Members of 10 U.S. clubs received messages that included racial slurs and expletives.

Both incidents are indicative of the security challenges that clubs and courses face today – mostly cyber threats.

In fact, the number one security risk for clubs is ransomware attacks, and they’re growing in size and frequency. Although ransomware has been around for decades, in recent years it became the preferred cyber weapon for hackers, experts say.

In simple terms, ransomware is malicious software that blocks access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid. The software usually makes its way in when someone clicks on a link in an email. You’ve likely seen those emails. They look important, and sometimes they even appear to be from someone you know. But, think again.

“It’s really hard for people to pick apart the emails,” said Duane Laflotte, chief technology officer and senior security consultant at Pulsar Security. “The hackers are so good at it.”

Unfortunately, he said, the human user is the weakest link when it comes to breaking into a computer. And most clubs are not prepared to ward off cyberattacks.

In an article for Golf Inc.’s digital magazine, author Michelle Weyenberg takes a closer look at the steps clubs can take to help minimize cyber risks.

To read more about Protecting Your Club And Its Essential Data, click here.