Page 12 of 23

Getting vacationers to your golf course

October 27, 2012 / Staff

It’s that time of year. The leaves are changing and the weather is definitely turning up north, and all the golf fanatics are trying to get in their final rounds of the year. It’s a frustrating time for golf fanatics, but for owners of golf courses and resorts in warmer climate areas, this is the calm before the storm. Golf travel season is about to kick into gear, and if you own a course you want to make sure you grab as much of that business as possible.

One thing to consider is online advertising. Most people research vacations now online, and you have to have a great website and be registered in the search engines. Once you have that, you can buy targeted ads on Google and Bing to drive traffic to your site of guys looking to book golf vacations. This can be a very effective tool. Social media can also help, especially if happy customers are encouraged to follow your page on Facebook. They’ll post pictures with links to your page, and then as you post stuff it shows up in their timeline. All of this makes it easier for them to share information and photos about your course with their friends, who then can also become customers.

It’s important to get impulse customers as well who check into nearby hotels, so you have to have good brochures that are placed in spots where tourists can find them.

So be prepared and make the most of this upcoming vacation season.

Courses, Resorts, Travel

golf vacations

Ryder Cup 2012 Debutants

October 4, 2012 / Staff

Golf Pros

golf rookies Ryder Cup Ryder Cup 2012 Ryder Cup 2012 debutants

Augusta admits first female members

August 23, 2012 / Staff

Things are finally changing at Augusta National. The home of The Masters finally has some women as members, with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore being admitted as members.

Augusta Admits First Female Members

Courses, Lifestyle, Videos

Augusta National Condoleezza Rice Darla Moore golf and business The Masters

Buying golf products online

July 18, 2012 / Staff

More and more golfers are turning to online options when purchasing golf products and gear. As golf clubs and gear get more advanced, they also get more expensive. So shopping online is a great option as golf consumers can find a much wider selection and better deals. Think about it. Do you really want to be shopping at the pro shop at a country club? Sure, many of the members there don’t mind as money isn’t an option, but for the average player, value is critical for these products.

Of course for certain products you want to feel them and try them out. That’s why traditional golf stores still have a loyal customer base. Golf chains are still a huge business, as we can see from the recent deal where Golf Town bought Golfsmith for $96 million. But savvy consumers know they can shop around at these stores to figure out which clubs and irons they want to improve their game, and then they can look online to find the best price. They can also take advantage of sales and coupons as well, as one can use one of these promo codes for tgw.com to get better deals. Become an educated consumer, and then shop around online to be a happy one as well!

It will also be interesting to see how the industry deals with fewer buyers as well and how that might affect prices. There is so much competition in the industry now. For example, with golf courses and country clubs there was a huge building boom as golf’s popularity exploded during the Tiger Woods years and while the economy was booming. But then the economic crash hit and there was way too much capacity. Also, golf’s popularity has been declining a bit after the huge spike in interest, and that’s affecting demand. Golf courses aren’t as crowded and some even went under or were sold for a loss. This will inevitable affect demand for clubs, irons and gear, so those of you looking for deals online might find even better prices in the future.

Clubs & Irons

Buying golf products online country clubs golf clubs golf popularity golf products golf sales Golf Town Golfsmith

Tiger turbocharges interest in the US Open

June 11, 2012 / Staff

There’s nothing like Tiger Woods to get golf fans and the casual sports fan interested in major golf tournaments. Sure, Phil Mickelson gets a lot of attention, like his recent stunt where he quit the Memorial tournament after one lousy round because he was hung over. And you have Bubba Watson, who’s good ‘ol boy approach to the game has earned him a legion of fans, particularly in the South. But Tiger’s dramatic win at the Memorial has vaulted him back to the top of the heap again. Golf betting has been a lot less interesting with Tiger in his slump, so plenty of fans probably spent more time betting other sports or hanging out on Party Poker Television. But with Tiger back it’s safe to speculate that the sportsbooks will be getting plenty of action for the US Open.

With the US Open around the corner, the buzz is starting to get out of control as the experts start handicapping Tiger’s chances. You even have news stories about what Tiger might be wearing at the US Open! Then the news came out that Tiger would be in a group with Phil Michelson and Bubba Watson at the US Open and naturally that fueled even more interest. The powers that be in golf don’t want to waste this renewed interest and want to milk Tiger’s resurgence for all it’s worth.

But Tiger still hasn’t won a major in a long time. The Memorial is a very prestigious tournament since it’s hosted by Jack Nicklaus on his home course and is considered to be an unofficial major by many. But it’s still not the US Open, and Tiger needs to demonstrate that he can rise to the occasion again on the biggest stage. He has certainly changed his game, as he’s used his driver much less in order to improve his accuracy, but that also takes away a huge advantage he had over the field in the past. If a big hitter like Watson gets hot at the open, then Tiger will have an uphill battle.

For all of us golf fans, this will be very fun to watch!