FAQF

Q: How does the Golf Rewards program work?
A: Quite simply, golfers receive 1 Reward point for every $1 they spend on greens fees and carts. They keep coming back to your course to stockpile their points – and you return the loyalty by awarding a free round at pre-determined reward levels.

But there’s another reason golfers love the program (besides the fact that it’s free) – Golf Rewards’ personal touch. Every time they play a round, they’ll come home to an email message automatically generated from your course, thanking them for their patronage and showing them their updated point total (which they can access anytime by simply checking out their personalized Golf Rewards account online).

Q: Who determines the rewards levels?
A: You and your staff. Typically, courses set up their Golf Rewards program to award a free round after 7-10 paid rounds.

Q: How many reward levels are there?
A: Three: The most easily attained level can be redeemed for a free weekday round (Monday-Thursday); the next level is redeemable for a Friday-Sunday round after 1 p.m.; and the highest level is redeemable for a prime-time round, Friday-Sunday before 1p.m.

Here’s an example: Let’s say it costs $25 to play your course with a cart on weekdays and $35 on weekends. So weekday players receive 25 points for every round; weekend players receive 35. You might set your first rewards level at 250 points, your intermediate rewards level at 300 points and your top reward level at 350 points. That way, the golfer who comes out every Monday can play his 11th Monday for free – but can’t cash in for a Saturday-morning round until he’s played 14 rounds.

Q: How do golfers sign up for Golf Rewards?
A: With minimal effort. Simply direct first-timers to the Golf Rewards kiosk (it’s a fancy word for computer screen) in your pro shop, where he/she will enter (typically) their name, email and zip code. Your staff will hand the player a bar-coded card, either wallet- or keychain-sized (we’re all about choices). Once the email address is confirmed, the membership is complete. Every time that golfer plays a round at your course, he/she simply swipes his/her card at the same kiosk – and your staff enters the corresponding Golf Rewards points via a keypad next to the cash register. How’s that for easy?

Q: Okay, I can see how Golf Rewards builds loyalty among my customers. How else can it build revenue at my course?
A: Let us count the ways. Every time a golfer signs up for Golf Rewards, his/her contact information becomes part of your course’s database; for many Straight Shot Solutions clients, that database numbers in the thousands. Many courses use their database to do the bulk of their marketing – emails advertising everything from pro shop merchandise sales to the Sunday brunch in the clubhouse (10 percent discount with your Golf Rewards card!). Several courses have used their database to fill slow time slots by sending emails offering double Golf Rewards points during those periods.

An increasing amount of Straight Shot Solutions clients are tying their Golf Rewards programs to their food and beverage and/or pro shop sales – again, 1 point for every dollar spent – in an effort to encourage guests to spend even more before leaving their facility. They’ve gotta eat lunch somewhere, right?

Q: What’s the “Reminder Message?”
A: After four-six weeks (your choice) has passed since any golfer has used his/her Golf Rewards card at your course, he/she will receive an auto-generated email offering double rewards points for playing a round within the next two weeks. Judging from the feedback we’ve received from golf pros and GMs, this might be Golf Rewards’ most popular feature – and we have the revenue statistics to show you why.

Q: Can Golf Rewards points accumulated at other courses be redeemed at my course?
A: Some courses choose to have a reciprocal relationship with other area courses offering the Golf Rewards program (especially when owned by the same operator). Some choose to limit redemption points to their own courses. There are marketing advantages either way, and we’ll help guide you toward a decision that best benefits your bottom line. Even in the case of courses sharing Golf Rewards points, however, the golfer must play a minimum of four rounds on the course on which he/she redeems a free round.

Q: Okay, I’m intrigued. How long does before Golf Rewards is up and running?
A: About two weeks. During that period, we’ll customize your back-end (database), your email templates, the sign-up screen for your pro shop terminal, 1,000 bar-coded cards for your customers and your online staff-training program. Once that’s done, you’ll receive a package containing a CPU, a monitor with a card-swiping apparatus attached to it and a keypad. That part, much like your home computer, takes about 10 minutes to set up (add a minute or so if you recycle the box).

Q: I’m in. How do I get started?
A: Just pick up the phone and dial:
1-877-876-GOLF (4653)