Wolf Creek’s Got Game

One of Nevada’s top public golf courses—Wolf Creek Golf Club in Mesquite—is poised to gain a new world of fans with the upcoming launch of the highly anticipated Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 09 video game.

by C&RB Staff (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
August 2008
 

One of Nevada’s top public golf courses—Wolf Creek Golf Club in Mesquite—is poised to gain a new world of fans with the upcoming launch of the highly anticipated Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 09 video game.

The game—released in late August for the Xbox 360 game and entertainment system, the series of Sony PlayStation® systems (2, 3 and Portable), and Nintendo’s Wii console—showcases Wolf Creek’s par-72, 7,018-yard layout. And Wolf Creek’s General Manager, Joel Villanos, hopes that the course’s presence in the game does more than just entertain “virtual” enthusiasts.

The partnership came about when Tom Renedo, Business Affairs & Licensing for EA Sports, contacted Wolf Creek in the fall of 2007, after having sent a scouting group to the property. “Apparently they had come out to play earlier in the year and raved about the unique golf course layout we have,” explains Villanos. “They had mentioned it was a golf course unlike anything they had played before, and felt our course would be perfect for the game.”

Recognizing the kind of marketing and branding power EA Sports brings to the table, Villanos felt the partnership would give the club another opportunity to market the course and the region to a larger and broader demographic they might not reach otherwise.

“EA Sports plans to sell 2.1 million copies [of the PGA TOUR game] in 2009, 80% of which will be sold to actual golfers,” says Villanos. “This translates to 1.7 million potential tourists who may want to come and experience the ‘real thing.’ ”

Tiger Woods 09 - Hard Day

Wolf Creek, which is the only course in Nevada represented in the game, is also collaboratively working on a cross-promotional program with Golf Digest and The Golf Channel, along with EA Sports, to create a sweepstakes-type promotion. The grand prize winner would be awarded a trip to Mesquite to play golf at Wolf Creek and stay at its partner hotel, the Eureka Casino Hotel; prizes such as a game station and a copy of the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 game would also be awarded.