EVERYONE WANTS GOLF ENTERTAINMENT MONEY, BUT HOW
As a target golf company, we’ve been on tour for quite a while burning in our Gen3 targeting system by putting on big field, Topgolf-style range experiences. From this we’ve learned how private clubs and public courses can tap into the evening entertainment dollars without having to transform their ranges into large multi story permanent venues.
WHAT IS THE ‘TOPGOLF EFFECT’? It is when you bring something in that has an automatic draw and thus begins to generate a new on increased revenue stream through food and beverage or increased ball rentals. Topgolf achieved this by turning a driving range bay into a bowling alley bay with tee box to target gaming that made golf easier, more involving and more fun for the majority of customers who work during the day. This latter point is most important. They opened up the night to a new revenue stream.
HOW DOES THIS TRANSLATE TO THE PRIVATE GOLF CLUB? Opening up the night and adding golf entertainment to a private club needs to be different, more intimate, social and at times MC’d for optimum enjoyment. After all a Club is a club. They want to maintain their privacy and intimate, social nature. They also want events and experiences for their members and guests that are up to the quality and visual aesthetic of their club while not having the targets out on the range or fairway all the time. As a result, the ability to put up entertaining targets for events is a big deal because a static target range system simply doesn’t work for upscale private golf clubs.
BIG ISN’T ALWAYS BEST: The marriage of Topgolf with private clubs comes in the form of big field targets that make day and evening special events an easy pop up experience for the staff and a new audience building activity for the members. We’ve found that big, bright field targets give players the needed feedback to be able to play games and pit themselves against their friends in competition.
FEEDBACK: Feedback is everything and with Quick up targets venues can give their players daytime sounds when the targets are hit so you can now use them for teaching. Then at night, create games that turn on golfers and non-golfers alike with crazy sound and light.
FLEXIBILITY: Flexibility to put up and move| targets is key to a proper green grass revenue model for golf entertainment. But we are not just talking about easy set up and take down. We are talking about breaking the rules by being able to move targets during the event. As a result you can put on engaging events with 1-4 targets simply because the targets move. Yes, this is the game changer. Being able to stop the play during ’rounds’ and moving the targets further down the field or into another configuration. This is revolutionary because it hooks members to stay around as the competition progresses and multiplies the targets affect so you don’t neccessarily need a full field of targets.
SMALLER CAN BE BETTER: With movable, flexible targeting clubs can create weekly hole in one target golf events or 3 target cigar parties or junior events on the fly. These targets can then be used to activate numerous outside events like wedding parties, bachelor parties and weekend tournament dinners.
In review, we’ve learned that big 20 bay events have a place as a weekend experience that brings everyone together. We’ve also learned that a small or private club can drill into and mine the use of just a few mobile driving range targets by focusing on smaller activations, weekly activations and special event bookings that allow the targets to fit into the private clubs esthetic.
What all this means is yes, Topgolf makes serious coin by the nature of their shear size and ability to wow the customer with a complete gaming experience. Bravo to them. And yes, everyone wants that golden ring. But as a smart course owner it’s important to see how far you can push this type of mass adoption model into a more established and esthetically upscale environment. The upside is that mobile targets are a strong and very valid new revenue streams for private and small clubs
We hope you learned a few new tips and we look forward to a grand 2019 golfing season.
