A Welcomed Invitation

Annual member/guest events don’t have to be a chore, or a bore—done right, they can generate year-round payoffs.

by April Miller (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
March 2007
 

Summing It Up •If annual member/guests are drudgery for your staff, they will be for participants, too. •Unique formats, prizes and themes can help revive tired events and keep popular ones fresh. •Weigh the tradeoffs of closing the course to non-participants against the benefits of a full focus on the event.

When most people hear a reference to golf and a green garment, they think of azaleas, chirping birds and springtime in Georgia. But at the tip of Northern Michigan, mention of The Green Coat is the signal to rush and sign up for the annual men’s member/guest invitational at Birchwood Farms Golf & Country Club in Harbor Springs, Mich.

While many club staffs dread the drudgery of another member/guest cycle, Head PGA Golf Pro Cris Cavitt and his associates at Birchwood Farms embrace it as one of their most important activities of the year. The event’s success—it’s fully subscribed every year with more than 200 players, and even has a wait list—is all due, Cavitt says, to how the club’s departments work in the teamwork atmosphere generated by General Manager John Foster. And it’s no accident, he feels, that more than 10 current club members were first introduced to Birchwood Farms through The Green Coat.

While it’s a proven winner, Cavitt knows the importance of keeping the multi-day event fresh by periodically changing the format, adding new contests, and changing up the prize and gift mix. Three years ago, a father-and-son event was added within The Green Coat that quickly became an equally coveted part of the competition. Cavitt also makes sure to send a post-invitational survey for player feedback and new ideas, so he can keep trying to make a good thing better.

The ladies aren’t forgotten at Birchwood Farms, either. And unlike The Green Coat, the club’s women’s invitational, The Silver Birch, chooses a different theme each year. Selected annually by a committee, recent themes have included French, Mexican and Greek-inspired outings which all, Cavitt says, are fully reflected throughout the food, décor and favors.

In some years, Cavitt reports, The Green Coat has generated income, but more typically, the club breaks even. In part that’s because, like many clubs, Birchwood Farms (a 27-hole facility) chooses to keep some of its course open for members who don’t want to participate in the member/guest, but still want to hit the links.

Increasingly, though, some clubs are deciding it’s better to go all-out in trying to turn their member/guests into for-profit enterprises. For example, Rolling Hills Country Club in Golden, Colo., now closes for its four-day men’s member invitational, The Stampede.

THE MEMBER/GUEST, says Tom Pasha, Executive Director of the Golf Event Managers Association, “is one of the only club activities that can increase and improve all of its revenue streams at once.” Much of that payoff, Pasha adds, is earned after the event, through proper followup. In addition to surveys that solicit comments and suggestions, Pasha stresses the importance of also sending thank-you notes to all involved, as well as calling all members to thank them for bringing a guest. “Don’t forget to post the winners, participants and event photos on your Web site and in club publications,” he adds. “Even during the event, you could have streaming video on your site. And wherever you post photos and names, include a save-the-date mention for next year’s event.”—AM

“When we left it open, some members felt slighted who were at the course but not in the tournament,” says Jeff Seltz, Director of Golf. “We couldn’t give them lessons or the attention they needed. We decided we could only justify that by the event being a money-maker.”

So at Rolling Hills, members now pay to participate in the event, and Seltz also sells sponsorships, which about half the players purchase, he reports. Last year, it all paid off to turn August into the club’s biggest month ever. Yet from a management perspective, it hardly amounted to work.

“For my department, it’s seen as a four-day vacation,” Seltz says. “People are having a great time, and they make the staff have fun, too. For the maintenance staff, it’s a chance to showcase their course. There is big pride going into the event.”

The Stampede’s stroke-play format, Seitz adds, is another big reason why more than 100 players come out each year. Other clubs in the area tend to use a match-play format that doesn’t lend itself to the best team finishing first, he notes.

“In our format, the last day is the most important, and anybody can win,” he adds. “If the same people win each year, other members and guests will quit coming back. Our format eliminates this.” C&RB

Rolling Hills Country Club’s member/guest, The Stampede, is distinguished by its stroke-play format and for-profit management.

“The member/guest is ,” Plus, Pasha adds, it’s a natural event for generating referral sales of new club memberships. “When your members bring in non-members for the event, their guests will be similar in lifestyle, age and income, and in all likelihood, would be excellent candidates for membership.”

Pasha says you may want to at least keep morning tee times before the event gets underway. “You have those members who play every day and that’s why they joined,” he adds. “You don’t want to take that from them.”

For men’s events, casual is the way to go if you do choose to theme it. He recalls a Mardi Gras member/guest event that had small touches of Mardi Gras, nothing over-the-top.

Follow-Through
Whether it’s a themed event, men’s or women’s don’t forget the all-important follow up. Have players complete a survey to find out where you can improve; send thank-you notes to all involved; call all members, thanking them for bringing a guest; and don’t forget to post the winner and event photos to your web site and in any club publications.

“The day of the event you could have streaming video on your web site and then afterward post photos,” Pasha says. “Show the member, his title and who he works for—the stuff that people want to see and know. Be sure to get exact spellings of members and guests and if they won a trip to Cancun, say that.” Wherever you post photos include a save-the-date mention for the next member/guest event to generate excitement and encourage new participants.

The event itself is a chance for you, and your members, to show off the course and the club. Marketing before, during and afterward allows the members to keep bragging—and you’ll keep growing your event and your revenue.

To Theme or Not
While men are more likely to participate to satisfy their competitive side, women tend to participate for more social reasons and thus themed events may be a good fit for ladies’ outings.

At Rolling Hills, interest in the ladies’ event waned so they no longer hold it, yet an old cowboy theme has always been used for The Stampede. The event’s logo, used on marketing and outing materials, is an old cowboy with a horse. Seltz says how deep they go with the theme depends on that year’s committee members. Some years, club staff have dressed in jeans, cowboy boots and hats, but in other years they’ve gotten away from the theme and gone with a more casual, party atmosphere particularly at the closing dinner.