Since arriving in the UK earlier this year, Golf Genius has been making headway in the group golf event sector. GOLF RETAILING’S Miles Bossom has used the software for his own golf society and spoke to Craig Higgs, UK/EMEA sales for the US based company, about how Golf Genius can help clubs save time, maximise revenue and increase player experience.
Organising golf events is always a stressful task. Whether it’s a small weekly club swindle or a large corporate charity golf day, organisers often struggle with the time management and administrative responsibilities that putting an event on demands. Golf sales manager at The Grove in Hertfordshire, Brad Gould commented, “The administrative hours that go into putting on a large-scale golf event can be both time consuming and frustrating. With player details often changing right up until the last minute, a centralised system to facilitate every aspect of group event management would make the whole process quicker and more efficient.”
Golf Genius is a new fully-featured cloud-based management software product that delivers a breadth of admin functions with the aim of providing more value and a greatly enhanced experience to golfers. As well as providing golfers with a tour level experience, including features such as live scoring, printed scorecards and even branded tournament websites, the product saves the organiser time and maximises the potential for both future and ongoing green fee revenue. The software provides increased levels of engagement delivered to players in the form of pairings, leaderboards and live-scoring.
Golf Genius is already proving popular in the UK among clubs looking for ways to maximise advertising and sponsorship opportunities, as well as the chance to provide better targeted marketing and membership retention. Former World Golf Championship venue, The Grove, has been quick to adopt the software and integrate it into its golf operations department.
Director of golf at The Grove, Anna Darnel stated, “Through Club Car, Golf Genius has provided us with the perfect combination of saving time and enhancing the experience we can offer to our guests. The ability to create a branded tournament website, personalised printed materials including score cards and pin positions, and the management of entries through the easy to use online portal has dramatically increased our efficiency in delivering a first class golf event. This development further highlights The Grove’s commitment to delivering excellence.”
Also making use of Golf Genius is Northumbria-based Close House which recently hosted the ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship. Remarking on the incorporation of the Golf Genius software, managing director John Glendinning said, “At Close House we are committed to delivering exceptional service to our guests. The Golf Genius software has elevated the service and experience we can offer golf societies and events to a new level. The system is intuitive, easy to use and has a number of features that benefit the end user, in particular the in-built live scoring app allows us to offer a service that would otherwise have to be out sourced.”
Also benefitting from the range of features that Golf Genius has to offer are those in the corporate sector. Nick Lunn, managing director at NGL Golf, explained, “As a specialist corporate golf agency, the software provides us with an invaluable management tool for the event support we provide to corporate golf days in the UK and across Europe. Golf Genius offers players a more engaging and interactive experience, with the flexible nature of the system capable of meeting the demands of our clients.”
Effective implementation of the cloud-based product enables golf professionals to enjoy seamless event scheduling, personalised printed materials and open registration, all in an effort to cut down event organisation time and maximise operational efficiency.
Through my own experiences of using the Golf Genius software, I would certainly recommend it to golf clubs and society organisers. I used the software for a large society event I organised in May and after the initial setup phase (which went smoothly) the software really came into its own. On the day of the event I was able to move players easily to different groups or rearrange tee-off times to suit. My guests loved the live scoring element and the leaderboard, and I will definitely be using it for future events.
Speaking for Golf Genius, Craig Higgs outlined the advantages of the software. “The Golf Genius product is uniquely tailored to meet the needs of any golf professional or team, and provides a complete and end-to-end administrative solution that enhances the group golf experience, on the day of play.
“Golf Genius puts the event in the hands of the golf club, allowing clubs to build their own tour-standard themselves, rather than using outside suppliers. This will enable clubs to maximise revenue by making more money through attracting society days and other golf events.
“By investing in Golf Genius, clubs are able to make use of their own ‘in house’ staff, rather than outsourcing external support at an additional cost. By providing an administrative solution that facilities going from spreadsheet to tee sheet in less than 20 minutes, time efficiency is maximised and productivity increased.”
The software puts the event completely in the hands of the organiser, and as a cloud-based product, the system is accessed online with user training provided by Golf Genius’ ongoing support network, delivering one-to-one sessions to help customers maximise the product’s functionality.
All facets of the Golf Genius system are inclusive for a simple annual subscription, providing unlimited usage and multiple event setups throughout the year and includes an online portal function that enables sponsors, spectators, friends and family to access content in real-time.
Clubs interested in improving their golf day experience and green fee revenues can now take advantage of a free Golf Genius demonstration by visiting: http://info.golfgenius.com/free-event-demo