Remember, Time is Money

"Pace of play is very important," says Nicholas. "Time is valuable to everyone these days. The majority of golfers will choose an 18-hole round that takes from four to six hours, many times regardless of price. If you can assure someone they can complete a round within four hours — and still be able to take the kids to soccer practice or mow the lawn — you can also convince them to pay a few extra dollars for the experience."

Facility design and layout is critical here, including how an operation receives people, gets them on the course and stages tee rimes. But moving people along must be handled sensitively. "You want to encourage golfers to maintain a steady pace without constant visits from the ranger. Patrons must be able to check in quickly, restrooms should be easily accessible, and buying a hot dog and soda should create minimal delay," says Nicholas. "Although simple in concept, these areas are too often forgotten in clubhouse design, and result in a negative golf experience."

Add a Learning Center with Modern Amenities

Many owners in recent years have added learning centers, complete with bunkers, greens and fairways that simulate actual course conditions. These centers let golfers hone their games without committing a lot of time. Most golfers can hit 80 to 100 practice balls in an hour.

The Byron Forest Preserve District's learning center, which opened in 2001, helps draw people to Prairie View Golf Course, says Executive Director Ed Clift. "We have the only learning practice center in our county," he said. "If someone's really serious, they'll probably come here to practice."

Golf Range magazine listed the Libertyville Sports Complex Golf Center (run by the village's parks and recreation department) as one of the top 10 best new ranges in the country for 2002 and among the top 100 for 2003. The center boasts 40 heated and covered automated tees, available year-round. Since being introduced, more than 100,000 guests have hit more than 5 million golf balls off the automated and traditional tees.

"There are a lot of gadget-lovers out there - and automated tees really appeal to them," observes Nicholas. "They bring in golfers who might not go to a traditional driving range." Business is picking up, adds Libertyville golf pro Charles Sims. "The first week of December 2003 was up 144 percent over the comparable week (in 2002). Overall revenues are up 273 percent for the year."

Let Golfers Play (or at Least Simulate) Year-Round

Decatur has an indoor center. Peoria has an indoor learning academy. And Libertyville's golf center is open year-round.

"The potential is there to increase revenues," says Rick Anderson of the Decatur Park District. The center includes two simulators, a hitting area with nets, a putting green, a chipping green and a practice bunker. There's also a stretching area with a stretching device, plus mirrors to help golfers practice their swings.

Decatur drives programming through the indoor center to help increase revenues. For example, instead of teaching a class at the Y, the class now is taught at the indoor center. "And we make the money, instead," Anderson said.

The center can be rented for parties and is used for golf contests as well.

At Oak Lawn's Stony Creek Golf Course, virtual reality golf simulators are open from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily, allowing golfers to "play" more than 40 world-famous courses. Golfers hit their balls onto a large screen on which the course is projected. The computerized machine

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tracks the golfer's swing and estimated velocity and portrays the information on the screen.

"While the snow is blowing outside, you can tell your friend you played Pebble Beach today. It's Golden Tee with real golf clubs," says Nicholas. The simulators also can be used for private lessons during inclement weather.

Be Creative with Marketing

From partnering with radio stations to bringing in professional athletes, Libertyville tries all kinds of things to draw golfers.

A Bears-Packers event included former players from both teams. Golfers also could hit at cardboard cutouts of the team they abhor. A long-drive contest also was part of the event.

Dave Beno of the Waukegan Park District also touts marketing. "We used to do just print media," he said. "Now we look at every possibility. We try to stretch that dollar as far as we can." Besides print and radio ads, Waukegan promotes itself in many coupon and discount books and in direct mailings.

Superintendents and directors say "two-for-one" specials, ladies' nights, family nights and other discounts all serve to lure people to the courses.

Theme nights, meanwhile, can make golfing more fun. During the summer, Libertyville's Saturday night golfers play to music from decades gone by. The cost of golf balls is discounted and the food provider sells nostalgic root beer floats and Coney Dogs. On summer Sunday evenings, it's Family Night, with a fourth debit card of golf balls free with the purchase of three cards. Free ice cream sundaes also are on the menu. And every third Thursday of the month is Ladies' Night. For a low fee, women get two hours of ball-hitting, Ups from the golf pro and fresh veggies to munch.

On Wednesday nights in Decatur, the town's golf pros head to the driving range to offer tips to golfers who purchase a large bucket of balls. "We also turned that into Family Night," says Decatur's Rick Anderson. Kids can hit balls for two bucks for two hours, while adults can pay $5, hit golf balls for two hours and get instruction from the pros.

"It's not like an individual lesson. Pros are giving pretty quick tips," says Anderson. But it attracts golfers. "We might have 100 people easily in two hours. They have to wait to find hitting room."

"We ran specials, such as 2-for-1's, almost every week for three solid months," said Byron's Ed Clift. "The end result was that, as of the end of October, revenue was up a couple thousand dollars over 2002. We were able to keep revenue stable."

Don't Forget the Pro Shop and Clubhouse

Have a nice pro shop, with reasonable prices, say district directors.

Naturally, most shops cross-merchandise their stores, offering gift certificates good for the obvious merchandise and supplies, plus less-obvious lessons, simulator sessions, buckets of balls or even food from the course's restaurants.

Golf pros should watch what sells and what doesn't, cautions Anderson. "We used to try to offer all the new things, and our inventory got pretty high. We stick with the top sellers now. We don't try to sell everything."

And if there's space, offer more, such as Libertyville providing regripping and club repair services.

Directors say their clubhouses are used throughout the year, for weddings, corporate meetings, bar and bat mitzvahs, first communion and birthday parties, family reunions and other gatherings. Oak Lawn rang in 2004 with a special New Year's Eve celebration for 120 people; the event also kicked off the park district's 60th anniversary celebration this year.

"Local demographics need to be carefully considered when developing food and beverage goals," cautions PHN's Nicholas, who has helped many districts in Illinois with new or remodeled clubhouse facilities. "If there's a banquet facility close by, you need to consider how you will compare with the competition. Often gatherings of 80 to 120 people don't work comfortably in large commercial banquet facilities designed to handle 300-plus people. A clubhouse is a perfect alternative for those looking for a more intimate setting and scale."

He advocates a design that permits running the clubhouse with minimal

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staff. With labor frequently one of the biggest costs in clubhouse operations, a good clubhouse design will allow for food and beverage to be handled by just the golf staff at low-volume rimes, says Nicholas. "Of course, during peak hours, it's important to provide adequate staff so as not to adversely affect the golfing experience or pace of play."

Consider Storage Rental

To generate revenue, districts may want to consider offering golf bag storage, perfect for the golfer who plays the same course weekly. Setting aside a secure area within the clubhouse relieves golfers from the trouble of unloading their trunks a couple rimes a week and may keep them from damaging their clubs in the process. Also, having a golfer's clubs on the premises practically assures that he or she will return to that course for his or her next round.

Embrace Winter - and Let Facilities Do Double Duty

Oak Lawn opens the Stony Creek Clubhouse for after-school fun. Kids can play video games, traditional board games and cards.

Weather permitting, the course features free outdoor ice skating and sledding. Of course, a warming cup of hot chocolate in the clubhouse bar and grill is the perfect complement afterwards.

In Wheaton, where Arrowhead Golf Club offers cross country skiing in the winter, the clubhouse pro shop is converted into a ski shop for the season. District officials now are in the planning stages for new facilities that can be used for golf in the summer and skiing in the winter. While work is only preliminary, officials are considering a new, open-air pavilion, with an area that can be enclosed and heated, and perhaps a cozy fireplace, to serve as a warming area for skiers, says PHN's Nicholas, who is working with Wheaton on the project. The pavilion would be used for golf outings in the summer, says Wheaton Park District Director Bob Dunsmuir. It's hoped the pavilion will be open by late summer 2004. A new clubhouse also is part of the project.

"Trade" Players with Other Courses

"Players like to check out other courses," says Byron's Clift. So some districts promote arrangements to allow non-residents to play at resident rates.

Decatur calls it "drive around." Anderson. secured agreements with two other districts, allowing residents who have season passes for their respective courses to play at partner courses at resident rates.

"Every facility has players who like to try out other courses," points out Anderson, "Park districts should partner themselves with other facilities," to allow this kind of reciprocity.

Play When the Sun Goes Down

Various groups in Decatur - 15 to 20 a year, estimates Anderson -schedule "Night Light" tournaments, with glow-in-the-dark balls on the par-three course, bringing in $8,000 to $10,000 a year. "Church groups come out, the LPGA girls club and other groups do them just for fun." Other courses similarly offer night golf, sometimes as a fund-raiser for various school and charitable organizations.

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Host Demonstration Days and Tournaments

Both Libertyville and Decatur hold demonstration days. On the last Sunday in April, Anderson has six to eight sales representatives bring samples and demonstrators out to the driving range. "It's free to the public. People can try all the different clubs and can hit balls all afternoon. You can try a Titleist against a Galloway against a Cleveland against a Cobra driver to try to find out what's best for you. That day might generate sales of 20 sets of golf clubs. At the same time, the day provides a value for the customers because they can hit balls and try out everything."

The demonstration day can draw 600 people, if the weather's good, says Anderson.

Decatur also tries to host a number of tournaments, both for the good of the area economy and for its own courses. "It can drive players to your facility," says Anderson. "If golfers know they're going to play on your course, they might come in and get a practice round in."

Sometimes Less Means More

Decatur used to run its clinics for women in six-lesson segments. "It was time-consuming and it seemed like people only showed up half the time," says Anderson. So he tried a package of three, 45-minute lessons. "Women signed up for one session, took the lessons, had a great time and signed up for a second session. We made more money overall. The shorter lessons seemed like less of a time commitment. And participation was probably 80 percent as opposed to 50 percent."

Today's Events Might Mean Tomorrow's Bookings

Byron offers a special deal with a local chamber of commerce; for an additional fee, Byron will host the annual golf outing, charging only for the food, in exchange for some advertising. "This event does bring out corporate executives," says Clift. "We have no way of judging what that may or may not mean for us down the road, but I hear good comments." The event had its full complement of 144 people in 2003.

Expenses Are Important, Too

There are only so many golfers to go around, points out Clift. So when the economy worsened, Byron scrutinized expenses and operations. "We made some pretty drastic reductions in how often we used our rangers, starters and cart attendants," cutting some of those expenses nearly in half. That helped keep revenues steady.

"It's very competitive out there," agrees Libertyville's Sims. "You've got to make it so that people want to come back. You want a warm inviting atmosphere. My theme, before we ever built the center and the range, was that I envisioned a place where customers could spend an hour or an afternoon and enjoy themselves. You want them to come in, hit balls, then look at the pro shop, then have a cup of coffee. You want them to spend time with you."

Beth Bates is a writer affiliated with PHN Architects, which specializes in the design of golf and recreation facilities such as golf course clubhouses, recreation centers and aquatic centers. See www.phnarchHects.com.

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