Tips for your Golf Course
Web Site
Your Website
- Home Page
- Essential
Pages
Optional Pages -
Satisfaction
-
Private Course
Your Website
is another marketing resource for your business. The Golf Course
Website is fast becoming the most important advertisement you will buy.
Your Golf Course website is a permanent 24/7 advertisement that will
give the viewer their first impression of your facility. The
availability of information about your course on the website will also
reduce the time spent on the phone providing information to people who
may or may not visit your course. The more a person learns about your
course, in the comfort of their home or office the more comfortable
about your course they become. The information will also fend off those
who might not be satisfied with the services you provide or rather, do
not provide, sending them elsewhere. It will inadvertently increase the
satisfaction level of those who do grace your course. Satisfied
customers provide free word-of-mouth advertising to others.
Home Page: On
the first page, tell a little about the Course. Use distinguishing
features. Include the number of holes and the course par. Plainly tell
whether it is a municipal, private, or public golf course. You want to
draw those into your site that might be interested while being courteous
to those who may not. Giving the right information will do both. Provide
just enough information on the first page to entice them into your site
or allowing them the decision to move on saving their time and energy.
The latter is more so to happen with a Private Golf Course website.
If your Golf Course has a 'pro-shop' you would want to mention it as
well and if the golf course is private but the shop is open to the
public you will want to state that as well. Also state whether or not
there is food available such as, your restaurant, snack shop, vending
machines or other nearby restaurants (if you have no eating facilities).
A simply statement “Restaurant Page” then linking to that page would
suffice. See the ‘Restaurant Page’ paragraph below.
Links to your map and your pro shop pages should be on that front page
as well, unless, yours is a private golf course. (A map is a must have!)
The private course may have other needs and goals and may not
necessarily need all these suggestions.
Essential Pages:
Contact, Map/Directions, Tee Times/Prices, Course Map, Score Card, Golf
Shop, Restaurant and an About page.
On the Contact Page, list all your contact information including
the link and Phone number to the Golf Shop. The contact page may also
double as the Map/Directions page.
The Map/Directions page should always include a map or a link to
a map. With Mapquest, Google Maps, or Bing Maps the resources for
providing a map are too many to ignore. You can link to a page that
shows your location or embed the map result in your page. Some will
simply copy and paste (Show originating site URL for proper credit) the
map or make up a map of their own to show nearest highway or main street
in and out of town.
The Tee Times/Prices page may also contain the course's Score
card and/or course map.
The Course Map helps the viewer to get a feel for the course. The
Tee times/prices and/or the Score Card may be included on this page.
The inclusion of the Score Card informs the viewer of the
relative difficulty or ease of the different holes and the overall par
of the course/courses. You might go into the specifics of each hole on
this page or another. Some will include the Score Card on the
Map/Directions page or the Tee Times/Prices page. I favor the Tee
Times/Prices page or its own page.
On a Golf Shop page it should be made clear whether your Pro-shop
is at the course, on-line, or both. I've seen some where it said online
but was there a Shop at the course? I do not know. Perhaps it is; maybe
not. Post the phone number on the Golf Shop page even if it is the same
as the main Golf Course number. You want to be reached and not lose a
customer who lost interest looking for your phone number.
Keep your prospective customers close to home. When you do not have a
golf-shop, have a page to list the nearest golf shops.
The Restaurant page will tell of your eating facilities. This
page should state whether your restaurant is open to the public or for
members only. Tell where the vending machines are kept when you do not
have eating facilities. When you do not have a restaurant, snack shop or
vending machines, you will use this page to show the nearest restaurant
or restaurants to your location. On the home page only mention what is
available, there is no need to say what you do not have.
The About page will tell a little about the course; date
established; very brief history; important tournaments that have been
held at the course and even VIPs that have graced the course. The more a
person learns about a course in the comfort of their home or office the
more intrigued they may become.
Optional Pages:
History, Reciprocal Links, Contests, Specials, Clubs, Local Link page or
for other purposes.
A History Page is always interesting. When there are historical
golf figures or others involved the viewer may be enticed to try the
site because of the names mentioned.
A Reciprocal Link Page is useful in boosting your website in the
search engines. The more links between like-sites the higher the sites
come up in the search results. Do not increase the Reciprocal links by
more than 10 to 15 a month to avoid the search engines computing a large
increase to be mechanically produced and knock your site out of the
results. Begin by linking back to ImagineAuburn.com - Washington Golf
Courses -
www.ImagineAuburn.com/golf.htm. Let
us know when you link to us and we will make the name of your listing
bold. Just email Hancock @ PoetPatriot.com - No Spaces.
A Contest page (Tournament Page) would list past contests, show
the last contest and who won (get pictures), and/or tell of the next or
current contest/contests/tournaments ect.
A Specials page would show the specials on tee prices and/or
product specials. You would need to have a link to this page on the
front page prior to and during the ‘special.’ Be sure to show the dates
that the special prices apply.
A Club/Association page would list and tell about the clubs that
use your golf course. Knowing the available associations may the draw
for some players.
A Local link page would be a courtesy to your prospective
customers. Show links to businesses that provide lodging, meals, other
recreation or other purposes you might think of. This page can be
incorporated into the reciprocal link page listing these first.
Providing local resources for your prospective customers will keep them
feeling connected to your facilities.
Satisfaction:
You want your customer to have an experience that will bring them back
for more of your services. Your website will help do just that; while
you are busy tending to other customers, doing the books or arranging
that next tournament. The website is an extension of your 'customer
service' and should be just as convenient to your customers as your
procedures and as enjoyable as your smile.
Private Golf Course:
The private golf course should make clear on the front page that it is
private, public, or semi private. Although your name says “Country Club”
it does not mean private as many such courses have began to offer
services to the public. Some are fully open to the public while others
have only their traditionally slow days open to the public
(semi-private) A statement such as, “Private Golf and Country Club is a
members only golfing facility,” sends away those looking for public
access golf courses. You will spend less time on the phone telling
people, “We are a private course.” When you are open to the public say
so, to boost the additional revenue. The semi-private course should make
clear the days that are public access.
The ‘Private’ course that allows any level of public access usually does
so for the added revenue. It also may be to draw more members. Whatever
the reason, to draw more players to your course is a goal. Using the tips
above will assist 24/7 your attempts to increase the golfers on your
course.
(c) October, 2010 Roger W Hancock
www.ImagineAuburn.com
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