Playing Opportunities

Transcription

1 Playing Opportunities What playing opportunities do you currently offer the women at your club? DID YOU KNOW? 66% of women members play on a once a month basis and only 14% of clubs have a women s short course. Women s lifestyles are busy and they often want a shorter and quicker alternative to the traditional 18 holes. > How regularly does your club hold competitions or social playing opportunities over three, six or nine holes? Increasing the number of these events will help to challenge the perception that golf is too time consuming! What would your current women members responses be to the following... > When would they like these events to be run? i.e. day, time and time of year etc. > Do they like the current mixture of playing opportunities? i.e. Medals, Stablefords and informal/ social events etc. > What elements do they like about social events? > What are their favourite formats and why? 01

2 Shorter Formats Did you know shorter formats have been highlighted as a popular way to get more women playing golf? Here are some suggestions to consider: > Short Playing Loops How many holes can you play in a loop that can be easily accessed from the car park or clubhouse? Just work out which holes can be played in a loop and promote this to women to encourage them to play more regularly. > Ability Tees Gender neutral tees where a player s ability level or handicap determines the tee they play from. This makes playing golf more enjoyable and a quality experience. > Golf Express An ideal way to encourage women who are time poor to play more regularly via a short course. Time how long it would take an individual, a pair and a fourball to complete nine holes or a predetermined loop and market this opportunity to challenge the perception that golf takes a long time to play. Tees are gender neutral so anyone can play from them and the course could be measured for competitions. > Winter Tees For Women Does your club move the tees forward during the winter to compensate for the loss of carry and roll of the ball? Ask your current women members whether this would be beneficial to them? You may find it encourages more women to play throughout the winter and maintain their connection with the golf club during this period. Top Tips For Golf Express > Market the Golf Express to working women who want to play a few holes after work. > Why not play some social/ informal events from these tees? It will provide an ideal opportunity to learn more about course management through different teeing positions. > Manage the course effectively. For example, open the front nine to players wanting to play Golf Express and start other golfers, who want to play the full course, on the back nine. Work out loops which work best for your club and its members and promote accordingly. This will help with retention and may encourage more members to play more often helping to achieve better value from their membership. 02

3 Social Playing Opportunities > Social Roll Ups Organised at a convenient time for women members and promoted as an opportunity to chat with friends, enjoy being outside and to get some exercise. It s not all about competition! Roll ups could be planned for evenings or weekends to encourage women who work; or during the day, at different times to the usual competitions. > Three Club Challenge A fun way to learn course management and be creative about how you play each hole. Do you always need 14 clubs? > Reciprocals Have you thought about creating a link with a local driving range or another club to offer additional facilities? Forming links with a covered range will encourage your members to keep practicing throughout the winter months, and are more likely to remain a member of your club. Why not set up a reciprocal arrangement with other courses so your women members can meet and play social golf at different courses at a reduced fee? > Cross Country Golf Set up the course so women start from different teeing grounds and play to alternative greens i.e. you start from the first tee but play to the fourth green. It s a great way to test imagination and take on shots you wouldn t normally do in a Medal! When setting up a short course remember that the average handicap for a women is They will have an average carry of 130 yards and total carry and roll of 150 yards. TOP TIP So try to ensure that they aren t likely to hit their tee shot into a hazard. 03

4 Social Events For women, being a member of a club isn t always about playing golf. So why not add some social activities to the playing opportunities at the club? These are great ways to keep your women members connected with your club. Have you thought about running the following types of events? > A Fashion Show This may include golfing and non-golfing clothes. > Makeup Events Invite an expert to talk about skincare and how to apply makeup. Or have a manufacturer or local salon to come in to discuss the benefits of their products/offers. > Cookery Demonstrations Task your golf club chef with demonstrating quick and simple dishes incorporating a theme such as family favourites or dinner party cooking. > Quiz Nights A great opportunity to help integration within the women s section and across the club. These could be extended to a family or club quiz night. > Food Themed Nights - Such as Indian, Chinese, Italian etc. Why not combine these with your quiz nights? > Dance Nights - Cèilidh night, Strictly Come Dancing night or Zumba use the clubhouse to learn dancing. > Other Forms of Exercise Classes - Pilates or Yoga will aid core strength required for golf. > BBQ To be available after you have played. This is a great way to involve women within the club environment. > Wine and Cheese Evening Ask your wine merchant to organise a wine tasting for your women members and get them to bring a friend. You may want to consider organising a shuttle bus home too! 04

5 Competitive Playing Opportunities Don t forget some women enjoy playing competitions so it s important to have a good balance of social and competitive golf. Here are some ideas, in addition to the usual Stablefords and Medals: TOP TIP If you get your short course measured you can run handicap qualifying competitions from these tees. This will help to retain those who struggle with length just as much as supporting those women who are learning the game. > Texas Scramble A great team format where beginners and more experienced players contribute to a team score in a reduced pressure environment. > Am Am Team event consisting of between two and four amateur women with the best score from either one, two or three players counting on each hole. A reduced pressure format encompassing a social team environment. > Eclectic Scores are collected over a number of rounds and the best score for each hole is recorded. A personal challenge to better scores which helps to retain women within competitions. > Matchplay Leagues Could be played individually, as a pair or in a team. Please refer to the winter league or evening league case studies on England Golf Clubhouse for further information. Summary Your golf course, together with the club environment, is your club s biggest asset in keeping members. If the course meets the needs and expectations of your members it will help you to retain them, recruit new ones and keep them playing. Whenever you section-off the course to allow different formats to be played, keep your membership informed so they are aware and know what to expect when they arrive at the club. Make sure s are sent, the website is up to date and signage is appropriately placed to prevent any confusion. For further information please refer to the Club Handicap Factsheet. 05