The Pellucid Perspective - July 2011 - (Page 5)

Pine Meadows facility still charges for no-shows). Permanent groups at Cog Hill are allowed up to two no-shows without notification per season without losing their regular time. If they stay within that limit, they are rewarded with a coupon for a free round after the regular season ends on the last weekend in September. The other requirement for players keeping their permanent time is that they maintain pace of play, a condition that Frank Jemsek says he learned from his dad. Jemsek also pampers his regulars with service amenities including free use of rental clubs if someone forgets their clubs, the ability to run a tab if they forget to bring their wallet, or the right to play fivesomes, assuming they keep up. In all, or virtually all cases, permanent tee time holders are credited in some fashion if it rains or the course is otherwise unplayable on their day. on Sunday who pay a $3,500 fee for their weekly time during a 30-week season, but most of those, he said, are long-time customers, many of whom originally signed up when the course opened more than a decade ago and are still in the program. Joe Livingood, Operations SVP for Billy Casper Golf, said of the company’s 110-plus managed properties, only one – Cranbury Golf Club in New Jersey – offers permanent tee times to his knowledge. Jeff Perry, general manager for KemperSports at The Crossings at Carlsbad in Carlsbad, Calif., does not offer permanent (See Tee Time Marketing on page 14) Group bookings may suffer In Golf, it’s important to choose your partner carefully. One concern raised by operators in markets outside Chicago is the possibility that a heavy slate of pre-booked weekend times might cost courses the opportunity to book lucrative outings or tournaments in those times. That is particularly problematic at facilities with just 18 holes, although some of those, like the hotel industry, have relationships with other area courses which will allow them to shift their regulars to those facilities from time to time. If not, they are forced to schedule outings after the morning bloc of permanent times, using a tee time basis instead of a shotgun start. In other cases, like the Jemseks’ multiple courses or the 27 holes that Director of Golf Tom Denklau has to work with at Indian Lakes, it is much easier to shift regulars around to accommodate a weekend morning group outing. To some degree, the feasibility of the permanent tee time concept is like most things in the golf industry – it depends on the local market, or even the individual facility. In the Chicago market, and to a much lesser degree in several other short season metropolitan area markets such as New York City, it seems to be fueled by tradition, a relatively favorable public play supply-demand ratio and the pent-up demand born of long and unplayable winters. There are some scattered reports of the phenomenon around the country. Jason Paul, general manager of the Westfields Golf Club in Clifton, Va., said the course has six groups on Saturday and six www.PellucidcorP.com #11 at The Glen Club, operated by KemperSports At KemperSports, we have a real passion for what we do. Every day, we help people enjoy what we consider to be one of life’s most rewarding endeavors: the game of golf. With more than 90 facilities under management, our turn-key services range from program development, toto construction management, to operations. And what really sets develepement, construction management, to operations. And what really sets us apart are the partnerships we we enjoy course owners and developers who who our our us apart are the partnerships enjoy withwith course owners and developers sharesharepassion for for game and who understand our simple management philosophy: run run every passion the the game and who understand our simple management philosophy: every golf course as we we the the ones to play it. golf courseifas ifwerewere nextnext ones to play it. 500 Skokie Blvd., Suite 444, Northbrook, IL 60062 847.850.1818 | www.kempersports.com True to the game. The Pellucid PersPecTive 5 http://www.kempersports.com http://www.kempersports.com http://WWW.PELLUCIDCORP.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - July 2011

The Pellucid Perspective - July 2011
Contents
The PGA of America hits the restart button on player development
Permanent tee times, Chicago style
Positive P.R. leads to course record revenue month
Exploring the alternative golf universe
Jun 2011 YtD weather impact, May 2011 YtD utilization
Life at the top of the market
Minneapolis, MN Core Business Statistical Area (CBSA)
Comings & goings
Musings from the rough

The Pellucid Perspective - July 2011