Smaller Groups Allow You To Showcase Your Club

As I mentioned in my last blog, I’m noticing a trend towards smaller, more intimate corporate events, as opposed to the bigger tournaments that used to be so prevalent.

If you take a look at the demographics of the bigger events, there is only a small percentage of a group that businesses are looking to target. The rest are often fill-ins or staff members and businesses are much more budget conscious these days.

They may now say, `I’ve got $10,000 to spend. Why don’t I grab my key clients and really make it work for me?’

With a smaller group, they might take them for lunch, take them golfing, then buy them dinner. Instead of a $20 gift from the pro shop, it might be a $100 gift. They’re really going after the key people and making it work for them.

We still get the big events with 120 to 144 players and we’ve still got charity events that keep coming back, and we play a key role with those charities, but more and more, we’re seeing the smaller groups emerge.

We’re seeing more team-building sessions. They’ll have a meeting in the morning, followed by lunch, golf and dinner and the group may consist of 12 or 16 people.

The benefit for the golf course is that you really get to know the people in a smaller group better and it’s healthy for the golf course because of potential members or corporate customers who maybe want to buy some shirts or golf balls.

You get more one-on-one with people in a smaller group and they’re here for the entire day. With some of the bigger events, they show up, get registered, go play and sometimes, they don’t eat because it’s time and people are busy.

With the smaller groups, you have the opportunity to know individuals, show them where their meeting room is, introduce them to the staff who will be taking care of them and offer a personal wish for them to enjoy the day with us.

Because it’s a smaller group, they interact as well with members who are playing that day, so they get a feel for the club. With a big shotgun tournament, our members might play in the morning, but they’re gone in that afternoon when the tournament is on.

Also, with a smaller group, they’re usually playing tee times instead of shotgun, which are quite often scrambles. The smaller groups, however, often play their own ball and get to really play the golf course.

If you’re really trying to show them the culture of your golf club, you need members around and visitors to get a good feel for the golf course for them to get a good taste of what you have to offer.

Smaller groups are lend themselves perfectly to a newcomer getting a better look at your club.

It’s part of the changing landscape of golf, but that’s not a bad thing. Smaller groups offer potential for sales down the road.