Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Generating Profits With Your Golf Simulator

By Joe Hartnell


Remember it never rains in a simulator, an advantage that golf simulators have over the outdoor version of the sport. Golf courses are always dependent upon the weather to cooperate and when the sun sets the day is over. This is not the way it is on a simulator. Without the dependency on weather or daytime, you can develop more consistent schedules and extend billable hours while using a golf pro. With a golf simulator, you can pick how late you want to stay open. If your establishment provides food and beverages, you can anticipate people will stick around longer, play an extra couple rounds, or get a few tips on their swing while in the meantime outdoor golf courses are shut down for the day.

The history behind golf simulators is important to understand. Once used as a training tool, golf simulators were used by players as a convenient resource to receive advice and feedback on their swing. This same training aspect is still the underlying advantage to most golf simulators. Yet, today as software and sensors progress and evolve, golf simulators are transforming into not only simply training gadgets, but sources of sports entertainment. An experience customers are willing to pay for. The key to steering consumers to your golf simulator and thus greater revenues into your pocket is by knowing how to take advantage of its amenities.

Golfers often are looking to get better. A golf simulator can assist considerably with this quest, by providing club fitting, swing analysis and year round indoor play. Do not overlook the countless number of golfers seeking to improve their game. The best way to do this is to work with or employ a golf pro. A golf pro can charge their client for time on the simulator while utilizing the cutting-edge training tools offered on most golf simulators available to buy. Many golf pros are turned off by the simulators. They believe it will rob them of their regular clients. The truth is a golf simulator can help a golf pro better determine troubling areas in a client's game and quickly fix the issues. In the mean time this will allow golf pros to work year round and charge the same if not more for an indoor session. Do you offer club fitting? With most golf simulators, a pro is given the feedback required to offer club fitting to your customers, thus increased sales to your shop.

Teaming with a golf pro is the easiest way to earn profits on your golf simulator. My advice is you should work with a golf pro to develop a program that offers both indoor and outdoor lessons to clients. Check with your local golf courses to find out what golf pros are charging for lessons and use that information to price your packages competitively.

This can be a part of your simulator which can drive profits through repeat business. Providing your customers a true entertaining experience will have them scrambling back for more (and with their friends). Employing your simulator to achieve entertainment is simple. You are offering your customers the ability to play some of the worlds best golf courses all from the comfort of your business. Golfers love to try out new courses; a golf simulator grants them the possibility to play a round in New York, the next round in Scotland, or where ever they choose to play from your course library. Marketing this feature will create a buzz for your business, create a league, host a tournament, and hold contests: "like longest drive" or "closest to the pin."

These are easy ways to bring people to your simulator. Again this is a fantastic way to lengthen your hours. A two-some will play 18 holes of golf on a simulator in approximately an hour and fifteen minutes, so host a league night of eight players and you could have golfers at your establishment; eating, drinking, and playing golf, well into the wee hours of the night, if you please.

My recommendation is survey your customers' interest in specific events. If you currently run a summer league, I would roll that league into an indoor fall or winter league. Maybe your sponsors will offer prizes for a "closest to the pin" contest or to the winning team of a tournament. Promote the idea of being able to play several courses throughout the weeksand include this into your leagues and tournaments. My suggestions is scheduling nine hole leagues that play no longer than eight weeks.

You can generate more profits by using your golf simulator, working with a golf pro and setting up programs. One last thing: Promote your programs! Let your current and potential customers know about your system and programs. This will greatly increase player participation and consumer awareness. This is simple advice and performance will vary on location, market competition and other factors. If you're looking for more advice or have questions about generating more profits through your golf simulator, feel free to contact me through my website.




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