Brett Gorney, the 2019 Georgia PGA Section Bill Strausbaugh Award Recipient, is the PGA Owner/Operator at Mobile Golf Events in Atlanta, Georgia.
Brett Gorney on the importance of maximizing your investment in technology:
Golf technology continues to transform the way we play the game, coach our students and manage our businesses. I am often asked about the technology I’ve used over the years, and I advise others to spend within their means, but to invest that extra dollar, if they can, for a more reliable product that will prove profitable for the long-term. Understanding that there will be multiple revenue streams available through a high-quality product, PGA Professionals incorporating a launch monitor and simulator into their coaching repertoire can leverage this technology for in-person engagement with members and students, as well as online coaching. At Mobile Golf Events, we use Foresight Sports golf simulators, and after six years, they continue to serve our business well. The product is versatile, accurate and very portable with its plug and play operation. There are no specific lighting or sensors needed – we did our homework and found something that met our needs. PGA Professionals must consider what their intentions are for such technology and research accordingly. Will you be using it year-round or solely during the winter? Will it be utilized in one place or moved around? Are you using it for lessons? Fittings? Member use? All of these factors go into your research and ultimate decision. In addition to this in-person engagement, technology allows us to teach students from all over the globe. As part of the Tour Striker Golf Academy, I teach using Facetime and Zoom. These virtual platforms allow you to broaden your base, similar to what my mobile golf business does, but on an even larger scale.
Brett Gorney on the business impact of maximizing your investment in technology:
With the COVID-19 pandemic causing the cancellation of many golf outings and indoor affairs, many clubs are repurposing that vacant space – dining rooms and ball rooms for instance – for putting clinics, fitness classes and golf simulators. Engaging with your members right now is more important than ever. Granted, the groups will be smaller and the protocols in place may sometimes pose a challenge to facilitating any group events, but altering the way we do business amid the current health crisis is what being a leader in the industry is all about. Implementing a golf simulator at your club could increase lessons and fittings, as well as boost food and beverage revenues. As small member groups sign up to use the simulator, having your bar or restaurant available to them can add revenue dollars at a time of year when you are usually closed for such business. Maximizing your investment in technology will render great returns through revenue on the spot, lessons and hard goods sales in the future and continued relationships that are the cornerstone of our green grass facilities. My business may be a bit different than the club or course where you work, but our goals are the same – to make money, engage with golfers to provide the best golf experience and continue to grow the game of golf.
If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email brett.gorney@gmail.com.
