By Lisa Goulian Twiste
For Chris Rowe, PGA of America Director of Golf at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas, making the most of tournaments and other events has been a notable part of his success over the last two decades – during which the club has seen annual revenues rise from less than $100,000 to $1.5 million.
One of the programs that has helped the event business at Whispering Pines – a destination club with 300 members who all belong to numerous other clubs – is a 20 percent discount offered to members who plan corporate events at the club and order dual-branded merchandise. Often this is a golf shirt with the corporate logo on one sleeve and the Whispering Pines logo on the front, but there are other options like hats or golf balls, as well.
“Corporations are going to spend money on their clients, and having their company logo and our pine tree logo has been very successful,” says Rowe, whose members include everyone from small business owners to large corporations like Chevron. “The interest in this and business impact is extremely positive and continues to increase every year.”
Whispering Pines has cottages with 64 beds on property, where event participants can stay during outings. To make the program even more appealing, the club offers to have gifts waiting for participants in their room when they arrive. Corporate members are reminded of this opportunity at the start of each season with a special video describing the program, which allows them to order from digital vendor catalogs or discuss options with a sales representative in person.
“Not only are we talking about increased sales – about 10 percent of our revenues comes from corporate sales – but this leads to increased loyalty to the club, as well,” Rowe says. “Once a corporate member participates in these opportunities, they almost always repeat the next year.”
Whispering Pines has another revenue driver in its “Par 3 Bet” – part of two member-guests held at the club each year. The 15th hole is an island green where the staff will set up a table showing numerous items from the golf shop. When the players arrive, Rowe or another staff member is there to greet them and explain they can place an optional bet where they pick out up to $300 worth of in-stock merchandise. If they hit the green, they get the items for free; if they miss, they pay full price.
The upshot: Whispering Pines averages about $10,000 during each member-guest for this part of the event, which virtually every player participates in.
“This is a no-lose bet for the golf shop because everyone bets something,” Rowe says, adding that most choose more than one item and the hit ratio has been between 25 percent to 30 percent over the last 18 years.
“We call it ‘Vegas at the Pines,’ and most know this coming into the tournament. Some members even hold off on buying a golf bag or a specialty item so they can place a bet to possibly win with a good shot. It’s one more thing to make the event fun and increase loyalty to the club.”
