Local Knowledge

GOLF GENIUS TM LAUNCHES GOLF HUB

Golf Genius recently announced the launch of Golf Hub, a new and powerful set of marketing automation capabilities available at no cost to all clubs using Golf Genius Tournament Management (Golf Genius TM).

Within their familiar Golf Genius TM experience, golf professionals at private clubs, public courses and resorts will be able to 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 will save golf professionals time while helping them deliver a superior golfer experience.

To learn more about Golf Hub, click here. To watch the Golf Hub training webinar, click here.

If you have any questions regarding this new feature, be sure to reach out to Shona DeMint by email at [email protected] or call her at 214-468-8942 ext. 157.

PARTNER WITH TGA FOUNDATION AND YOUTH ON COURSE TO HELP GROW THE GAME

Building on the successful introductory campaign in several target markets, the TGA Foundation has plans to roll out the Youth on Course (YOC) program statewide in 2022.

Youth on Course is a 501(c)3 organization that began in 2006 as an initiative of the Northern California Golf Association to subsidize the cost of green fees to help provide more young people with access to affordable golf. Belonging to the YOC community gives members aged 6-18 access to play more than 1,400 golf courses across North America for $5 or less, along with benefits and opportunities that support their journey with the game.

The goal for this year is to grow the number of YOC partner courses in Texas to 100, and to increase YOC membership enrollment to at least 5,000. That’s a big leap forward from the current totals, but one the TGA Foundation believes is needed to continue to create a positive impact on as many kids’ lives as possible.

To inspire and nurture a new generation of Texas golfers through the expansion of the life-changing program, the TGA Foundation is looking for golf course facilities across the state who would like to be part of the YOC community.

Becoming a YOC Partner Course is easy, and the benefits are numerous. Course operators are in full control and decide when YOC members can play the course at the YOC rate. In addition to receiving a monthly check for the subsidized rounds, course operators reported that at least 60% of the time, a parent or guardian joined the junior golfer and paid full price for their round. For course operators, that means additional revenue from green fees, cart fees, pro shop merchandise sales and food and beverage purchases.

If you would like to learn more about YOC in Texas, click here. If you would like to be a part of the YOC community and have questions about getting started, please contact Kelly Kilgo, Managing Director of the TGA Foundation and Director of Outreach.

NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR TEXAS GOLF HOF CLASS OF 2022

Nominations for the 2022 Class of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame opened March 3. The public is urged to nominate qualified individuals before the April 29 deadline.

Following the nomination deadline, the list of nominees will be screened by the induction nominating committee to be sure they meet the eligibility requirements of the specific category for which they were nominated. There shall be no more than eight total nominees per category per induction year. Not all public nominations are guaranteed a place on the official ballot.

Nominations for individuals and courses can be made in five categories: Amateur Player, Golf Professional/Teacher, Lifetime Achievement, Professional Player, and the Texas Registry of Historic Golf Courses.

The 2022 Class will be announced in July and formally inducted on Oct. 17 in San Antonio. Tickets to the fall induction ceremony will be made available to the public.

For more information about the nomination process, categories and requirements for nomination and online nomination form, click here.

RETHINKING THE RETENTION QUESTION [NGF]

As golf’s pandemic-fueled high tide continued in the U.S., the National Golf Foundation fielded many questions about the mid- and longer-term sustainability of more players and higher engagement, which ultimately led towards discussions about customer happiness and loyalty.

For years the research has said – above all else – that getting someone to feel accepted, comfortable, and confident makes the biggest difference in whether they stay or go. That’s right, those sentiments matter more than addressing a golfer’s (instinctively) rational concerns about time or money.

The NGF still believes this to be true but decided recently to adjust the lens on the issue. In most of the NGF’s past research on this subject, the dependent variable has been retention – simply, whether someone is still playing or not. But retention is not the same as conversion. A retained golfer stays on (for now, at least), but a converted golfer shows a stronger emotional connection to the game – an important distinction.

In a recent survey of more than 1,000 adults who took up golf in the last 10 years, the NGF changed the dependent variable from trying to predict retention to understanding more about those who become converted customers – that is, a golfer who (1) finds at least 8 days out of the year to tee it up, (2) shows passion for the game, and (3) has an inclination to stick with it, assuming healthy and financially able.

To learn more about NGF’s findings on the most impactful conversion factors, click here.