Netting Members’ Interest

Tennis can be a wonderful value-added program for a club—but only if much of its appeal stems from creativity and fun.

by Julie Sturgeon (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
August 2008
 

SUMMING IT UP • Tennis programs can give a big boost to clubs and resorts as part of their push to provide more family-oriented activities. • New approaches to instruction, clinics, equipment needs, and event and league opportunities can help reach players at all levels. • Tap into existing tennis enthusiasts to help tennis pros execute new ideas and keep the program growing.

Tennis may be known as the sport of kings, but clubs and resorts can’t afford to be that exclusive. When it comes to running a successful court program, the pros say the magic word is diversity.

At most properties, the sport will never pull in the dollars that golf can, admits Jack Thompson, head tennis professional at Two Rivers Country Club in Williamsburg, Va. On the other hand, tennis has what marketers call “stickiness”—once members get involved with it, they are far more likely to renew their annual fees. And that only stands to have greater value, as clubs seek to move into a new, more family-oriented era.

“Tennis is a big draw for families,” assures Andy Brydges, Chairman of the Tennis Committee at the Suffield (Conn.) Country Club. “It attracts a lot of junior players who want to take tennis lessons, and parents who want their kids to learn tennis more so than golf.” Brydges finds the program to be so important to the life of the club that he doesn’t charge for members’ children to receive an initial six weeks of instruction. In doing so, he generates interest in the sport without any initial cost to members.

The diversity needed for a successful tennis program requires a big commitment on the part of the club, Brydges admits. It means offering a men’s program full of competition and a women’s program that emphasizes health and fitness at a more convenient time. Moreover, clubs can’t afford to leave out the youth audience, which is not only a great source for future members, but also equipment and snack sales.

“Part of the competitive women’s leagues are stuck in the 1970s model, where the matches are Tuesday or Wednesday mornings. We’re finding the younger generation of women are working at those times and are unable to compete in those leagues,” says Brydges. “We’ve had a hard time generating interest for women players, because we can’t provide them with the same opportunities as we do the men players. The regional leagues have not kept pace, either.”

A winning tennis program must offer clinics and league play at varying skill levels for all different membership demographics. But even if you have all of these ingredients, it will still fall apart, experts say, if you leave out the fun.

To learn how to make sure that essential ingredient is included, take a page from how these club programs are serving up creative ways for members and guests to enjoy all that tennis can offer:

Once members get involved with tennis, they are far more likely to develop the “stickiness” that leads to renewed annual fees.

Two Rivers CC: Variations on a Theme
The Williamsburg club tapped into a great (and free) captive resource—existing tennis enthusiasts—to help Thompson execute new ideas to keep the program growing. Now the program is thriving through new competitions, open-play formats and socially oriented events that bring out new players and help it grow from within.

Thompson’s bio can’t help but impress, especially since he was named member of the year in 2007 for the Professional Tennis Registry of Virginia. But the tennis players at this private club recognize his bent for court-time creativity. For instance, he instituted “drop and play” times at Two Rivers, where members show up and Thompson will arrange a match for them—with no fuss, no commitment, and no planning on their part. Mixers involve both men and women, which in and of itself draws interest. That’s not enough for Thompson, though.

He assigns themes to these events: “Woods and Whites,” for example, requires players to dress in all white and play with the wooden tennis racquets of yesteryear. (If a member doesn’t have one, the club has some to loan.) “Mixed Up Mixer,” meanwhile, pays no attention to gender, so a team might consist of two men playing two women, or two women playing a man-woman combination. Other times, the theme centers more around decorations and entertainment than actual match structures, which is why “A Day at the Beach” has been quite popular.

There are also times when Thompson simply pairs members with strong partners and dangles prize money for a tournament. Younger players, of course, can’t play for cash, but they can compete in USTA-sanctioned events on their home courts.

“To survive today, you really have to have something for the entire family,” Thompson notes. And since he came to Two Rivers in 2004, the sport has grown, in his words, from “not much of a program at all” to “good participation levels now.”

CC of Landfall: Music and Mixers
Fun at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C., sometimes wears a body out—particularly when tennis director Charlie Owens turns up the music for one of his cardio tennis sessions. He picks upbeat, action-packed songs, to get heart rates up while players chase down shots.

The goal isn’t so much to win the point, but to hit the ball and get the blood pumping. “And keep smiling,” Owens adds. “Let those endorphins release. When you’re smiling, it eases the pain a bit.”

Members at the Country Club of Landfall work up a sweat to upbeat tunes during the club’s ever-popular cardio tennis sessions.

Then there’s the “sneak and cleat,” where participants first play nine holes of golf, followed by a round-robin tennis tournament. Yes, they keep score, assign handicaps, and the result is “a real fun team event,” in Owens’ experience.

Holiday mixers are also a big draw. Owens’ big days are the 4th of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day, and he makes sure to scramble partners so players don’t get stuck with the same teammates all the way through.

“We also make sure you’re playing short amounts of games, so you get to play with as many people as possible,” he says. “A lot of times, people get stuck in cliques when they play tennis; this type of mixer allows them to meet new people and possibly have new playing partners in the future.”

Thanks to Landfall’s grass courts, a Wimbledon theme in June is a given. Like Thompson, Owens implements an all-white rule for the event, and breaks out the wooden racquets so members can indulge in at a bit of nostalgia. Of course, it’s not all fun and games. Adults and juniors who want to play for rankings will get that chance throughout the calendar year, and they can participate in USTA-sponsored league play.

Currently, the CC of Landfall supports 15 tennis teams at various ages and levels. Sign-ups have increased every year in the last five and, according to Owens, there’s now a waiting list for the club’s sports membership package, which involves tennis, swimming and the health fitness facility.

Still, he never stops looking for more opportunities to grow the game. That’s why he holds an annual invitational tennis tournament for 14 universities in the area, to expose Landfall to a wider audience. He also arranges exhibitions with former tennis champions.

“The real secret,” Owens says, “is to have no dead spots on your calendar.”

Indian Ridge CC offers members “theme mixers” to get them on the court. The latest hit? A “Sadie Hawkins” match.

Indian Ridge CC: Eating It Up
Tennis is a social activity at Indian Ridge CC in Palm Desert, Calif., and head tennis professional Andy Scorteanu plays up that angle every chance he gets. Like Owens, he arranges golf and tennis outings that he dubs “Boogies and Faults,” and makes sure to include dining as part of the package. Since 10 of his courts are lighted for night play, he has no qualms about holding some of these play-and-dine events after work hours.

Other times, he follows up a mixer tournament with an exhibition—complete with food, of course. “Everyone is eating and having cocktails while they watch,” he notes. “We like for people to develop a camaraderie and have a good time. We keep them busy until they’re hooked.”

Scorteanu works to keep similar numbers in his men’s and women’s leagues, which is why party themes—like “Sadie Hawkins,” where ladies invite the gentlemen of their choice to play doubles matches—go over really well with the members.

“I think [some directors] get too comfortable—the social events can tend to be the same every year,” he warns. “If you want members to be excited, you always have to take a fresh approach with this sport.”