The Southern Pines, N.C., property has introduced the “Llama Pen” Sports Bar & Grill, an Alumni Club to reward longtime visitors, a new villa pavilion, breakfast bar, and cell tower.
After conducting a “relevancy campaign” to determine where the industry is headed, Talamore Golf Resort in Southern Pines, N.C., is conducting a major facilities facelift, as well as a transformational and full-fledged modernization, focused specifically on the areas that golfers value most.
Greeting resort guests when they enter Talamore’s main clubhouse is the new “Llama Pen” Sports Bar & Grill, which is already jumping with March Madness festivities. Talamore first made headlines for its famed stable of llama caddies.
The resort also recently introduced an Alumni Club to reward its longtime visitors, a villa pavilion that regularly hosts Pig Pickins of all shapes and sizes, a top-shelf breakfast bar to start the golfer’s day off properly, and a new cell tower for when and if one needs to check on things back home.
Head superintendent Keith Osterman, who helped guide the resort during its original “glory days,” has returned and both golf courses are already in pristine condition.
“During our meeting with the sales staff, we drilled down,” said General Manager John McDougald. “The pie is only so big and if anything it has shrunk. People coming to Pinehurst on a shoestring budget were not getting the ‘experience’ and that ruined the idea of ever coming back. Now, the experience is coming back to Pinehurst. We wanted to remain simple and convenient—the ‘center of the universe’ for our guests. We are ‘ground-upping’ our total experience.”
McDougald said the Llama Pen has been a very popular addition. “We have had a huge call to provide this service onsite for our in-house guests,” said McDougald. “TVs abound with sports, sports and more sports in a comfortable setting overlooking our famous finishing hole. It doesn’t get much better than this. Our guests love the flexibility that our golf vacations offer. The Llama Pen adds to their flexible list of options, as it will give them a walking distance spot to hang out and watch their favorite sporting events.”
Talamore started its new Alumni Club as a way to reward its numerous return guests with a host of special features including their personalized alumni card, complimentary range balls, automatic entry into a monthly golf vacation, complimentary breakfast and more.
“We have guests that have been coming to visit since we opened in 1997,” said Kristin Blanchard, one of Talamore’s long-time Golf Package experts. “A staggering 9 out of 10 of our guests are repeat visitors with many groups in the ‘10 Years in a Row Club.’”
The Pavilion at the Villas—equipped with a fireplace, flat-screen TVs, comfortable seating, a plethora of BBQ grills and everyone’s favorite corn hole toss—is becoming a hit, serving as the site of Thursday night southern BBQ featuring a Pig Pickin’ and other southern favorites.
“In conjunction with a new survey process for our in-house guests, we developed a bold new direction for our facility,” said Matt Hausser, Talamore Resort Director of Golf. “It is the Talamore and Mid South team’s way of saying ‘thank you’ and providing outstanding additions that will enhance their resort guest’s experience and make their vacation even more memorable.”
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