Golf pro warns of Groupon psychology

A golf professional has urged golf clubs not to sell green fees on discount websites as he believes they are damaging the industry.

Sean Mysel, who is also a marketing expert, said websites such as Groupon attract customers who are unlikely to invest additional expenditure in the facility, because of the psychology of the deals. He also said the companies take too large a cut from the arrangements they make with golf clubs.

Speaking exclusively on Golf Club Management’s ‘Marketing Minute’ video platform, Mysel said: “I ran a deal through a discount site and sold 36 lessons in one week. I received a 100 per cent rating for customer satisfaction. You know how many of those people I kept? One. I talked to another ten pros that ran similar deals, and between them they kept two people.

“Research suggests that two-thirds of people that buy deals from discount sites never come back. If someone pays a discount price the first time they use your golf club, do you really expect them to come back and pay a higher price the next time?

“You’re just inviting bargain hunters. They don’t care about your club, service or golf lessons. Besides, if you’re going to work so hard on your golf course, do you really you want to be considered the cheap guy on the block?”

Mysel added that while the psychology of the deals is the biggest issue he has with group discount deals, the maths also works against golf clubs.

“The discount sites normally take 50 per cent right off the back, and then they take 50 per cent of the remaining 50 per cent and all you’re left with is 25 per cent of the original price,” he said.

The warning follows comments made earlier this year by the chairman of the Organisation of Golf and Range Operators, who said that the sale of green fees by internet companies such as Groupon is causing hardship to golf venues.

Colin Jenkins said: “The whole world seems to have gone voucher mad with Groupon. Discount offers are now seemingly the only way to attract new trade. Great if you are a golfer and great if you are making a commission from these trades. But maybe not quite so good if you are a golf club, finding that you have less income from more traffic.

“If they were, at a stroke, no longer able to offer prime tee times at a discount, then what would happen? Golfers would continue to play when they could. Golf clubs should take a firmer stand – in fact, many of the clubs that currently do not accept discounted tee time offers are doing better year on year.

“These businesses have succeeded in offering masses of people more product for less money. Golf clubs are expensive to run and prices cannot continue to fall simply because this is what the customer says they want – more for less is a poor master.”

And Steve Rumball, the manager of Chalgrave Manor Golf Club in Befordshire, even set up a website in order to compete with Groupon, after he was visited by a sales rep from the company.

“There is a huge variety of non-golf organisations whose sole aim is to make profits on the backs of the golf clubs of this country, without ever having to make any level of investment back into those clubs themselves,” he said.

“With Groupon, we’re not allowed to decide how much to set the deal at ­ they tell us that we are to charge £29 for a two-ball voucher or £54 for a four-ball voucher, which includes coffee and a bacon roll plus 18 holes for all players. These rounds could be played midweek or weekends.

“The end user buys the voucher from Groupon, who keep all the money until it is used at my club. I then have to take the voucher and correctly process it back to Groupon. Two weeks after I’ve provided the food and golf, I get paid 50 per cent of the voucher value from Groupon.

“If the voucher is never redeemed, Groupon keep 100 per cent of the money.”

However, some clubs have used Groupon to increase business in the last year.

Addington Court Golf Club in Surrey secured 184 customers from a recent Groupon coaching deal, and the club claims that 176 of these were retained.

In addition, a spokesman for The Kent and Surrey Golf Club, which has also utilised Groupon, said: “Without these internet deals, we wouldn’t have been as busy. We’ve been booked up every weekend like never before, also our food and drink sales have gone through the roof. Groupon and other internet sites have improved our club, it has made us busy, given us revenue we would not have got and is putting our name back out there.”

Josephine Ellis, PR and communications manager, Groupon UK, said: “Groupon is keen to be seen as a core part of a golf club’s marketing mix.

“We are a tried and tested marketing tool that works for businesses wanting to generate footfall and recognition for their brand whilst obtaining a huge amount of advertising for no upfront cost. The Groupon price point is just the trigger to get a new customer through the golf club’s door. Once they are there the golf club owner then has a huge opportunity to provide other products and services, as well as develop a relationship with them for the long-term.”