It’s not that Larry Bowden, owner of The Natural at Beaver Creek in Gaylord, Mich., had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the technology age. But he does admit to a certain amount of skepticism. “In the beginning, probably into the late ’80s, I was a paper-and-pencil kind of guy,” Bowden says. “I didn’t believe the Internet was going to make it.”

Now pretty well convinced that the World Wide Web is more than a passing fancy, and that online tee-time reservations, electronic pro shop and food & beverage point-of-sale systems and e-mail blasts are also faster and more productive ways of managing and promoting his business, Bowden has retired his trusty paper and pencil and become not just a believer, but an advocate of technology.
“If you’re not up to date on technology, you’re way behind the curve,” he says, sounding like a true techie

Of course, Bowden wasn’t the only golf course operator in the late ‘80s who had doubts about technology’s role in a business that hadn’t changed much since the days of persimmon drivers and alpaca sweaters. As more than one pundit has observed, the golf industry as a whole has been slow to wrap its collective arms around golf software. The prevailing wisdom seemed to be that if a No. 2 pencil with an eraser and a cash register with a roll of tape were good enough for the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, they would be good enough for the next few decades, too.

Times, they are a changing. It’s rare these days to find a course that isn’t taking advantage of golf software to handle routine tasks faster and with less labor. But it’s not so much the prospect of productivity gains that has owners and operators embracing the electronic age. It’s the opportunity to leverage the latest electronic bell and whistle not only to save money, but also to make money. In today’s golf market, where new competition lurks around every corner and changing demographics are playing havoc with participation rates, the two sweetest words in the golf business are “incremental revenues.” And, as more and more operators are discovering, one of the most efficient paths to incremental revenue is not through player development or full-page ads, but with bits and bytes.

“The same golf software that we were using only a few years ago to do things that helped us save time is now giving us the opportunity to increase revenues,” says Saugeen Golf Club General Manager Dave Cowan, who gives golf software no small measure of credit for the 50,000 rounds played during a seven-month season on the shores of Lake Huron.

The technology may be similar, but the application is dramatically different. For proof, consider the following scenario that’s now possible in most any pro shop equipped with the latest point-of-sale software:

As Mr. Brown walks into the shop, the assistant pro behind the counter recognizes one of the club’s longtime members and quickly types his name into the computer system. A member profile appears on the computer screen while Mr. Brown considers a sale rack of golf shirts. The assistant pro greets the member by name and asks, “How are you and that new driver getting along?” a question prompted by the record of last month’s sale showing on the screen. “That’s what I’m here to find out,” Mr. Brown says. “By the way,” the assistant pro adds, “that new bag you ordered for your wife’s birthday looks like it came in yesterday. Let me grab it for you from the back.” Before he heads to the storeroom, Mr. Brown says, “No rush, Bobby, I’ll pick it up after lunch.” One more glance at the computer screen provides another bit of information: Mr. Brown is allergic to peanuts. “Remember to watch out for that Waldorf salad, Mr. Brown,” Bobby warns. “They’ll sometimes throw a peanut or two in there.” As the impressed member heads toward the restaurant and a Waldorf hold-the-peanuts salad, the director of golf, who has been observing from the other side of the pro shop, makes a mental note to give Bobby a raise.

So what does an exchange like that have to do with golf software’s contribution to incremental revenues? To hear some operators tell it, the answer is just about everything.
“We’re all trying to provide the best customer service possible because we know that satisfied customers spend more and keep coming back,” Cowan says. “If I can utilize technology to make my customers feel more welcome, increase pace of play, or even make paying the monthly dues easier, I’m giving something to my customer that endears him to me and makes him loyal. That’s what I’m after.”

That process actually starts before the customer or member even drives into the parking lot. It starts with employees, according to Cowan.

“One of the most important things I can do is to make sure my staff is happy. That can be achieved in different ways, but one way is to give them the tools they need to do their jobs. Technology helps me do that. And if golf course software can help me keep a smile on my employees’ faces, they will put a smile on customers’ faces,” says Cowan, who graduated from the Honeywell Institute in Toronto with a degree in computer programming before going into the golf business.

Greg Dukart, general manager of GolfLinks PEI, which manages and promotes Prince Edward Island as a golf destination on behalf of its member courses, has discovered another way to squeeze incremental revenues out of technology. He does it with a centralized call center that receives telephone calls from golfers who want to book a tee time at one of five courses in the GolfLinks PEI network. Here’s how it works: Say you’re calling for a tee time at The Links at Crowbush Cove. After the call center operator reserves your time, which is accomplished in real time, she asks if you’re aware of the new Callaway Golf Performance Centre at the Brudenell River course, or if you’ve heard about the promotion going on over at Dundarave? Before you know it, you’ve booked two more rounds for your group and signed up for a swing analysis.

“We can potentially close four or five sales with one call,” Dukart says. “We’re up-selling and cross-selling while we’re providing the type of efficient service that consumers are looking for.” GolfLinks PEI is also doing it with half the number of telephone operators it once employed.

Of course, these kinds of technology “breakthroughs” are old hat in other industries. Casinos have had loyalty programs for “whales” (the guys who drop lots of money on the gaming tables) and catalog retailers have been up-selling cashmere sweaters for years. Golf shouldn’t be bashful about borrowing good ideas, says Kirk Jensen, vice president of sales for ActiveGolf, part of Active Network, which helps operators promote and manage their businesses through a wide range of technology products and services.

“Casinos are probably the best at servicing clients in the business world. They are near the top as well in business. They have proven that it makes sense to treat their best customers at the highest level so they’ll keep coming back and keep spending money at their casino instead of the one down the street,” says Jensen.

Jensen suggests using reporting software to develop custom promotions. “Identify players who have played the most rounds or spent the most at the club in the last six months, for example. Send them a thank-you note with an offer to pick them up in a limousine to bring them to the course for their next round. That story will get around fast and will encourage spending at the club.”

Jensen also suggests using e-mail marketing programs to partner with vendors. “Maybe TaylorMade wants to create a campaign to acknowledge and thank its customers who have purchased its clubs in the last year. You’ve got that information in your membership database. That’s an opportunity to work with manufacturers to help them create loyalty for their brand while you’re creating loyalty for your course. All at potentially no cost to you.”

Obviously, none of this techno-wizardry is possible without the basic building blocks of electronic marketing: personal information, including name, e-mail address, shoe size and anything else operators can learn about members, customers and prospects. “In business, information is power. It is no different in golf,” Jensen says.

“Building your database starts from the minute someone contacts your business,” says Bowden, who in addition to The Natural also owns the Marsh Ridge Resort in Gaylord in northern Michigan. “It doesn’t matter if they’re calling for a tee time, for a room at the hotel or to have dinner in the restaurant, we make a concerted effort to get as much information from them as we can.”

That means guests in the restaurant might be asked to fill out a questionnaire in return for a free dessert. Or golfers in the pro shop might be offered free range balls if they complete an information form. “Sometimes our employees are reluctant to ask for the information because they think it’s being too aggressive,” Bowden says. “But if you ask them in a way that lets them know there’s a benefit in it for them, they usually have no problem giving you the information.” The efforts are paying off. The Natural’s database now includes 50,000 names of golf and winter sports enthusiasts.

Massive databases are nice to brag about, but as savvy operators like Bowden and Cowan know, the big winners are the operators who know how to put that information to work. “What I’m looking for with any piece of technology is the ability to get a little closer to the customer,” Cowan says. “If I can find out what he’s really interested in, then I can communicate directly with him. It’s just that simple.”