Resort Professionals Staying Busy
Of course, the impact of golf travel goes far beyond the professionals leading members on trips. With nearly 2,000 PGA of America Golf Professionals employed at resort facilities, that puts them on the front line of the historic surge in demand for golf experiences.
Four years into a historic golf boom, both the golf courses and the professionals who work them are tired – but ready to welcome more guests for years to come.
“As we continue to set rounds played records every year, I look at things like par-3 tee boxes,” Geneva National’s Murray says. “Seldom are they built large enough, and that’s really exposed with all the play we’ve been getting. So, we’re expanding those tee boxes, and that’s kind of a symbol of what’s happening throughout the operation with all this demand: You can’t just do things the way you used to.”
This past season, Geneva National attempted to strike a balance between demand and the player experience by raising green fees but increasing the intervals between tee times for a more premium on-course product. Murray thought this would increase revenue but lower rounds played – except it didn’t.
“We raised prices 20 percent thinking it would bring rounds down, and the opposite happened,” Murray says. “I know demand is pretty market-specific, and some markets might be leveling off, but we have tailwinds here that keep driving business.
We watch our competitors and benchmark ourselves against them, and we’re seeing this sort of traction all across Wisconsin.”
Murray says another shift for PGA of America Golf Professionals at resort facilities is finding new amenities for visitors who want to stay on-site throughout their visits. This season, Geneva National added a lighted putting course, called the Dance Floor, with a bar and games like bocce. It quickly became the social hub of the property.
“We’ve found that our guests staying on property, they’re looking for things to do without having to get back into their cars and drive into town,” Murray says. “Especially with golf groups, some people just can’t get enough, so the Dance Floor is a way to keep the vibe going a few more hours, then you walk back to your room.”
At Horseshoe Bay Resort outside Austin, Texas, PGA of America Director of Golf Anthony Holder is seeing a similar demand for post-golf activities from his guests. On the leisure side, the resort opened a pool within Lake LBJ, the first water-in-water pool of its kind in the U.S.
In terms of golf activities, Horseshoe Bay enhanced its Whitewater putting course so its playing conditions would mirror that of the resort’s two championship golf courses while adding music, lights and horseshoe pits. There are fire pits for marshmallow roasting and a beverage bike delivering drinks to players.
“Buddy trips love it, because they can play on the big courses until dark and if they feel like they still have some golf in them or you need to settle some bets, you can head to the putting course, have some drinks and have fun,” Holder says. “Or you can bring the whole family, and the parents can sit at the Whitewater 360 Sports Pub in the middle and have a good view of the kids.”
At Geneva National, Murray and his staff take time to travel to other resorts and benchmark each experience against their own property. And they work with PGA of America Golf Professionals bringing groups to the resort so they can recognize the groups and create a great impression that reflects on the professional leading the trip.
“We’ll put little amenities in the rooms saying how excited we are to host that club, or a member of the golf team will meet them on the first tee with coins that can be redeemed for a drink,” Murray says. “It’s little touches that go a long way, and it creates a lot of pride for that club that their PGA of America Golf Professional brought them somewhere that recognizes them as an important group. We want that professional to look very important in front of their members.”
At Horseshoe Bay, Holder is excited for the strong business the resort is experiencing. But he advises his fellow PGA of America Golf Professionals at resort facilities not to take it for granted.
“Right now, a lot of good things are happening as we start the fall season, but we are always evaluating what’s best for the golf operation and the resort as a whole,” Holder says. “Everything is open post-pandemic, and we don’t have all the drive-in traffic to ourselves anymore, so we need to offer a strong value for people to come here.
“There’s a lot of moving pieces to hosting golf travel, and the key thing is making sure you’re realistic about the product you’re offering. We do comp set analysis of other resorts and do our due diligence, so we make sure we’re pricing the product correctly for the consumer. Then we can be realistic about who we are and where we can take our business in the future.”