Charles Sheppard is the PGA director of golf at Toftrees Resort Golf Course in State College, Pennsylvania.
Charles Sheppard on the importance of making junior schedules more accessible:
Last year at Toftrees we redesigned our junior golf programs to better fit families and their summer schedules. In past years, we offered junior programs that ran for six weeks straight, which was very difficult on our participant’s and their parent’s schedules, especially with summer vacations. Last year, we offered three different camps which ran Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Our programs divide the youth golfers by age and focused on all fundamentals of golf. In addition, we utilized SNAG golf and Nintendo Wii Golf, and all participants designed their own creative golf course. The kids loved the program and enjoyed immensely their time playing on the course.
Charles Sheppard on the business impact making junior schedules more accessible:
The initiative to redesign our junior golf program and focus on time and scheduling was a big success. With the new schedule, we were able to capture new participants and retain existing participants, all while increasing our revenue by 400 percent. With a charge of $250 per child, it was great for our bottom line and our instructors’ revenue.
If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email charles.sheppard@marriottgolf.com
