Steve Bird, business development consultant and education lead at Foremost Golf, discusses the four-step roadmap to driving good business for PGA professionals, while helping golfers enjoy their game in the process.
This article will examine four areas that enable a PGA professional to not only further the interests of their own business, but also drive the golf club and enhance the whole member experience.
Increasing visibility
The biggest area of change to a modern golf professional’s role in the past few years is the need to communicate across a variety of channels. Engaging with members when they are at the golf club should be a given, but how good is the communication when they aren’t? Regular contact is vital to keep members up to speed with club events, services and products available and to generally make them feel a part of the family. This digital ‘community’ helps to retain members who may otherwise have their heads turned by competitors who are marketing themselves effectively.
Another key purpose of increasing visibility is to inspire golfers. Providing coaching tips, demonstrating fitting testimonials, showing the course facilities off in the best light and featuring well known charismatic personalities, can all help to keep golfers playing and engaging regularly, or entice back some of those members that have got out of the habit of playing.
High member engagement from the pro shop team
All pro shop staff should be taking every opportunity to engage with members and make them feel as welcome as possible. Golfers love nothing more than talking about their game, so give them the time of day! The cliché of the pro shop being the ‘hub of the club’ is accurate. It should be a welcoming environment that all members want to engage with.
Ensure a full calendar of events
One of the best things a pro shop team can do is to host regular events. Getting people coming to the golf club en masse creates excitement around the club and feeds other areas, like the food and beverage department. People are far more likely to spend money when they are coming to an event, rather than just being in ‘golf mode’. Good examples of these events are evening talks in the clubhouse, club testing events, multi-brand fitting days, new member evenings or opportunities to play golf with a member of the pro shop team.
Offer a first-class custom fitting and coaching experience
The more professional the experience, the better it reflects on the pro shop team and golf club. Ensure the environment is clean, tidy, impressive and logical. Take real pride in the process, from having a professional website and booking system, to offering a pre-fitting / coaching questionnaire, to an after sales service that no competitor can get close to. At Foremost, we use technology like our online booking system and Foremost POS till system, to ensure these processes happen consistently and portray a real professionalism of the pro shop and golf club in general, without costing undue time to a busy PGA pro.
The aspirations of a golf club and a PGA professional should be perfectly aligned because strategically working together is absolutely beneficial for both parties. The best pro shop businesses we work with at Foremost have regular meetings with their golf club management to ensure they are both on the same page and helping each other move forwards.
For further information on how Foremost Golf can assist you and your business in 2025, simply email membership@foremostgolf.com or call 01753 218890
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