Although online tee time reservations increased 25% from 2012 to 2013, telephone reservation system is still the most dominant/popular form of booking tee times. Why do we complicate our life with such "old school" solution? We don't book our holiday or business trip via telephone!
As I am checking the two key tee time reservation systems, EZLinks Golf and Golf Now, I have to realize that they are quite similar. However, I think a tee time system should/could be the foundation of a powerful marketing operation. I can only agree with Adrienne Hogan (Director of Golf/Instruction at Berkleigh Golf Club) who thinks tee sheet can power marketing as well.
When we are thinking about powering marketing with tee sheet information, we should look tee time software that (e.g. EZLinks Golf, Golf Now etc.) has analytics function as well. So you can understand your customers' behaviour and what is the value of each of them (see Customer Lifetime Value).
What I have not found yet is a tee time reservation software that has mobile application where I can book my tee time on the fly. This is important not just from the customer point of view, but from those as well who are managing tee time reservation.
Just in the UK, half of the population has smart phones (eMarketer projects that by 2014, two out of three mobile phone users and 53.7% of the UK population will use smartphones.). While at the same time in the US, the smart phone penetration is cca. 61% (source: Nielsen). I don't want to be insatiable, but it is a good start that we have mobile optimized websites.
In the social technology era people tend to think about email marketing as a less important communication channel, when it comes to golf course marketing. Let's think beyond tee time reservation and newsletter emails. We should think about how to use this communication channel for lifecycle marketing activities (e.g. welcome, loyalty, winback/re-engagement).
In this field EZLinks seems to be stronger than Golf Now.
Finally, I would like to see how can a tee sheet system facilitate cooperation or at least ease it among golf course workers.