Road Trips Show You Care

GNN blogger Kevin Thistle of Coppinwood in Uxbridge, Ont., just returned from a golf trip with members to Phoenix/Scottsdale and says he plans to get the club involved in such trips as he settles into the job as GM.

The trip to Arizona was with members who had invited me along, but I didn’t organize it.

For years, I’ve been taking members away because I think it’s a good thing to show that you care about members and it’s not just about a paycheque or an April to November job.

One of the best I’ve seen for organizing such trips is Ian Crebbin in Unionville, Ont., and even as a young guy at Seaton Golf and Country Club in Pickering, Ont., I did a lot of trips.

In the winter, I’d go on at least one, maybe two, pro-ams where, as a golf pro, you took three amateurs down. We went to Mexico, Thailand, Singapore, Casa de Campo and I used to take members and friends from Seaton to places like St. Kitts and Casa de Campo. We had about 30 people go the odd time.

People like to go on golf trips. Everyone does it, be it four people, eight people, 12 people. If you organize something where you take 16 to 24 members and, as a nice little bonus, you take one of your associate golf pros down with you, it’s good fun and good for business.

I like to set up a Ryder Cup format and build in a $40-$50 golf shirt – after all, they’re paying thousands to go away – and maybe some hats and you pick two teams.

I’m not talking competition like it’s a four-day PGA Tour event. I’m talking best ball today, maybe a two-person scramble the next day and singles matches afterwards, along with some practice rounds.

Bring some scoring sheets down. On the trip I was just on, one of our guys is a graphic artist and he did up some score sheets and we had teams and it was so much fun. Next year, we’ll put a trip together at Coppinwood. This year, it was difficult because I came in mid-season.

Actually, Ian Crebbin and I even talked about doing a Ryder Cup format between Coppinwood and York Downs. We all want to get away in the winter, so let’s get away under the guise of golf, but it’s really for fellowship and fun. It’s worth the work involved.

You’ve got to work with the airlines – the resorts, no problem. Here I am, I’ve got 24 rooms, I’ve got my price, I’ve got the golf, but they’ll let you back out of those and adjust 30 days out or 60 days out.

It’s the air that’s the tricky thing. You have to book your airline tickets before you even start selling, but you’re on the hook past a certain date. The resorts have cancellation penalties that are a little easier.

If you’ve done it before, no problem – you know the rules.

If you haven’t done it before, you might be better off going to a wholesaler and saying I need a one-stop shop for hotel, airfare, golf included. I just need one price. The great thing about that is that you’re just working with a travel agent and you’re working under their cancellation policies.

Whatever way you decide to go, the work that you do shows you care and that you’re not just shutting down the golf shop when November comes.

When you get back, the members who went tell other members that couldn’t go and they say, `Oh, that was nice of Jim Smith the golf pro to take that group away.’

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