Many golf and country clubs rely on the warm months for their entire revenue stream. However, the mortgage and utility bills don’t stop during the winter. Closing down completely can lead to loss of revenue, inactive year-round memberships, and difficulty in retaining high-quality staff. Here are some creative ideas to keep your golf course active and profitable during the winter months.
Communicate Winter Plans to Members
Inform your members well before the normal season ends that you will be serving brunch, lunch, and possibly even dinner throughout the winter. Even if you can only staff the kitchen on weekends, it’s much better than closing down altogether. Banquets and special chef’s dinners can be a great success.
Outdoor Winter Activities
If you have enough snow to shut down your golf, tennis, and swim operations, you have enough snow to shift your club’s focus to other outdoor activities for a few months. Here are some ideas:
- Sledding and Toboggan Rides: If you have hills, you can attract guests with sledding and toboggan rides.
- Cross Country Skiing: This is a popular activity, often accompanied by fat-tire snow bikes.
- Sleigh Rides: Fun for the whole family and a unique addition to a romantic evening.
- Ice-Fishing: If there’s a lake or pond on the property (and it’s cold enough), ice-fishing can be a quiet, relaxing way to spend the day.
What Do Golf Courses Do In The Winter? - The Golf Xpert
Themed Activity Nights
Pick a night to host a themed activity. Some clubs have found that a weekly activity can draw a nice regular crowd. Consider these options:
- Electronic Trivia Games: These games pit players against each other in the club and across the country and can boost drink sales.
- Member-Suggested Themes: Ask members what type of theme night they’d like - maybe it’s bingo or a movie night where they can see their favorites on the big screen.
Incentives for Year-Round Play
If your courts or courses are chilly but still usable year-round, members may just need a little added incentive to come out.
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- Tennis Courts: Make them more comfortable by setting up a social area nearby with deck heaters and a mobile bar.
- Golf Courses: Mini tournaments can sometimes be enough of a lure to get some hearty players on the course. It’s okay if all the entrance fees go to the winners at the end of the day - you just want to sell some drinks and make sure your members are having a good time.
Golf Simulators
Consider investing in a golf simulator for the pro shop or resort bar. Today’s golf simulators are incredible. Golfing with a simulator can assist players to improve their game. These metrics can give golfers much more valuable and meaningful information, offering players more specific data.
Using a simulator also offers other advantages. Golfers can use simulators to not only golf virtually anywhere in the world but can do so at any time and in any weather. High winds and rain will no longer be a problem for those who reserve use of our golf simulators! In addition to the helpful tips our simulators give to players, our simulators can allow guests a more private getaway to spend time with friends and family.
Golf simulators offer a unique experience to seasoned golf enthusiasts.
| Activity | Description | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Sledding/Tobogganing | Riding down hills on sleds or toboggans | Attracts families, utilizes existing landscape |
| Cross-Country Skiing | Skiing across snow-covered terrain | Appeals to fitness enthusiasts, can be combined with snow biking |
| Sleigh Rides | Rides in a horse-drawn sleigh | Romantic and family-friendly |
| Ice Fishing | Fishing on a frozen lake or pond | Relaxing and quiet activity |
| Themed Nights | Weekly themed events like trivia or movie nights | Draws regular crowds, boosts food and beverage sales |
| Golf Simulators | Virtual golf experience | Allows year-round golfing, provides performance data |
Final Thoughts
It’s true that there are golf and country clubs that have survived for decades without staying open year-round, but they’re missing out on revenue. They’re also losing quality employees who just can’t afford to stay home for months at a time. The bottom line is that it’s an inefficient business model and, with a little creativity, it can be improved upon.
Ask your staff. Ask your members. Come up with fun ideas that everyone will enjoy and see if staying open all year works for your club.
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