I have long been of the opinion that golf clubs should no longer make decisions without having data that justify their decisions. In other words, they must become data-driven. Analytics can help golf clubs to make operational improvements in areas that include F&B, HR, tee time booking & sales, and optimization of various golf club services.
Also, think about how much you can save this way! You can utilize the saved expenses in other areas. Not to forget that we can improve the customer experience in our golf clubs.
Ask yourself: Do I know who are my golf club’s guests & members are?
The ability to understand and use data effectively and profitably will help determine who are golf’s big winners and losers over the next decade.
It is fair to ask who will analyze the data in golf clubs who cannot afford to create a dedicated position for a business analyst. I don’t recommend saving on data analysis…for similar reasons I would not sacrifice the turf quality of the golf club.
I don’t see option “B” for golf clubs and resorts than to become truly data-driven. Future golf club guests and members will expect us to know them like Google, Amazon, etc. know our preferences, goals, and needs.
They will want us/golf clubs to use their data effectively and with great respect to privacy (see GDPR). The challenges are not only technological but cultural as well.
When you are reading this article, think about how popular are such wearables like Arccos Golf, Shot Scope, etc. The motivation of usage is very similar.
Players 1st – Business Intelligence suite
I described the importance of becoming a data-driven golf club to better understand why the following news is important.
Together with four golf federations across Scandinavia, Players 1st have launched a groundbreaking Business Intelligence (BI) platform to benchmark and optimize rounds played and also track membership development.
The BI Suite introduces a common data benchmark language across all clubs in the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark) and has already been implemented at more than 900 clubs.
These clubs now benefit from consistent metrics when interpreting
- rounds played,
- utilization rate,
- players per booked tee-time etc.
These metrics help golf clubs and federations when optimizing their golf course utilization.
In addition to tee-time booking performance, the suite also enables clubs to monitor their member metrics such as
- retention and churn rates and compare to national benchmarks in real time.
With a specific focus on key metrics for new members, as well as churned members, clubs can efficiently forecast their membership growth rates and take effective actions in order to achieve their membership goals.
For further insight into the health of club membership, clubs can filter all data on demographic segments such as
- age,
- gender,
- handicap,
- membership type, and more.