App for golf club members to launch

The same company that launched the HowDidiDo app for golfers, which has already had over 100,000 downloads, is launching an app for members of golf clubs, which should dramatically reduce managers’ admin time

Richard Peabody – managing director of Club Systems International

Remember how frustrated we used to get with personal computers? The paradox was that they advanced too quickly.

No sooner had we purchased one, than the technology driving it was obsolete. Mobile phones went the same way, but, thankfully, things have slowed down somewhat, to the point where the cycle has changed again and we once again appreciate advances in technology – though maybe the manufacturers of golf clubs still adhere to the old PC time schedule.

Now, whatever industry we work in, advancements in technology are not only lauded but even highly anticipated. Such is the work undertaken by Manchester-based Club Systems International (CSI), Europe’s leading golf management IT solutions provider, which has been innovating in the design and build of such systems for 35 years.

Golf club officials attending the company’s now traditional roadshows in the autumn will be able to view product enhancements which will, retrospectively, be looked upon as step-change moments in the industry.

Fresh from the success of the HowDidiDo mobile app, which has topped 100,000 downloads in its first six months – split 70 per cent on Apple and 30 per cent Android – CSI is soon to launch an app for its cloud-based ClubV1 system which will act as a member hub for individual clubs.

The ClubV1 Members Hub will be available for Apple iOS and Android smartphones and tablets and will be based on a revamped CSiHub. The app will give the club member simple access to all their club data, such as handicap, handicap certificate, bar spend, competition entry fees, online top-ups, subscription balances and tee bookings.

Most things at the club which are handled by ClubV1 and its associated CSI software can be viewed by the member at one convenient, immediately updated source. It will complement the HowDidiDo app perfectly and is a real boon for club officials who will be able to reduce administrative time considerably.

The ClubV1 Member’s Hub will also give users who are members of more than one club the option to choose which to log in to, as well as the ability to toggle between each. For those clubs using BRSGolf’s new booking app, the ClubV1 Member’s Hub will sync seamlessly to it providing the golf club member with a totally integrated solution without the need to switch apps.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, other CSI developers have continued to enhance and update the increasingly popular ClubV1, now in use at more than 1,100 golf clubs across the UK and Ireland.

Further enhancements to all aspects of ClubV1, especially the competition management side of the software, are expected for the start of the 2018 golfing season. One such development will see the option to have a ‘live leaderboard’ for active competitions, through the new CSiHub / ClubV1 Members app.

An increasing number of clients are switching to the premium ClubV1 offering which comes inclusive of a website or CSiHub, saving further design and maintenance costs in the long term.

Tim Lowe, the general manager at Betchworth Park GC, in Surrey, was one of five progressive club managers from across the country to sit down with CSI management recently to discuss what would be required in the future, and, after a two-day ‘seminar’, he was left in little doubt that what was in the pipeline would be a ‘game-changer’.

He said: “There are some fantastic updates coming on the responsive side of things from Club Systems, whether it’s websites, the new ClubV1 members’ hub, the HowDidiDo smartphone app … all of them are fantastic additions for golf club members. I’m really looking forward to seeing the benefits of what comes over next few months.”

It was Apple co-founder and chairman Steve Jobs who said: “Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.”

Darren Wood

CSI believes that too. It also believes golfers and golf club officials will, simultaneously, embrace enthusiastically these technological leaps and enhancements the company is putting out into the market. What’s more it’s confident it can continue to respond to the increased demands of both golfers and golf clubs in the future.

CSI relationship manager Darren Wood added: “Club Systems prides itself on being the market leader and setting industry standards when it comes to customer service and new technology. Listening to our customers and reacting to feedback is at the heart of our business and will always remain so.”

CSI also launching cost effective online tee booking system

Club Systems International is currently developing its own tee-booking modules. While not as feature rich as the BRSGolf offering it will provide golf clubs with the option of a cost effective and easy-to-use booking facility. The strong relationship between CSI and BRSGolf will certainly continue, with the next stage of EPoS integration already under way. Both companies feel giving golf clubs options from the market leaders is key to future success.

Such things take considerable R&D time, but CSI hasn’t put all its eggs – by which we mean developers – in one basket (project). There’s another very exciting development on the horizon which will also be available for officials to experience on the 20-plus-venue roadshow later this year.

The company’s tech wizards are finalising the development of a ClubV1 version of their highly successful MerlinTouch software – a trimmed-down EPOS system, according to those who interpret the technical gobbledegook. Again, like the majority of CSI products, it integrates seamlessly with other CSI software. Developments are also scheduled for PSiTouch and the Digital Sign-In Book over the next six months.