Not so long time ago, I wrote about that Bom Sucesso became a member of the Europen Tour Properties as an official European Tour Destination. This time I can tell you that the Donald Steel-designed Guardian Bom Sucesso golf course will be renovated in the near future by European Golf Design (a joint venture between IMG & the European Tour).
One of the curiosities of the Guardian Bom Sucesso is that they are Portugal’s first heathland golf course.
According to my sources, the golf club’s intention is to:
- Improve sustainability (to what extent??) and environmental perspective;
- To be enjoyed by all levels of golfers and
- Reinforce Guardian Bom Sucesso as a world class destination.
Jeremy Slessor, Managing Director of EGD said:
“Our initial objective is to improve the landscaping around the course and in that way to increase the environmental value of the land. While at the same time reintroducing the beautiful natural characteristics, removing areas of grass that are far out of play, reducing the cost of maintenance and the consumption of water without compromising on the overall playability of the course.”
A couple of things were not mentioned regarding the redesign of Guardian Bom Sucesso are:
- How will be the golf course differentiated from the neighboring golf courses like Praia D’el Rey (and its future West Cliffs golf course) and Royal Obidos?
- Is it based on the outputs of a Net Promoter Score or a Voice of Customer survey? If yes, then which elements of the customer experience drive their score. What are the most important drivers?
- Do they know what are the expectations golfers regarding golf course design and conditioning?
- Do they know what part of the customer experience is causing detraction?
- How will they help vulnerable habitats (e.g. birds, insects and mammals)? Maybe with wildlife corridors?
We should not forget that customers via social networking, can rapidly access competitive offers, check reviews, ask their friends and share results across their communities.
To be able to succeed today golf clubs like Guardian Bom Sucesso should come up with compelling, contextually relevant experience.
