Glen Walden is the PGA Director of Instruction at Beekman Golf Course, in Hopewell Junction, New York.
Glen Walden on the importance of marketing your teaching business effectively:
It is important in any industry to know how to market yourself and your business. That point is magnified when it comes to our golf business. With many options for the recreational dollar, as well as competition within our own field, getting your name out there is more important than ever. I take many steps to grow my clientele and build my teaching business. For instance, I use social media to create connections world-wide and forge relationships on a local level. This increases my own knowledge of our game and creates opportunities that may not have been available otherwise. I also share thoughts and ideas with business people from an array of fields within my community. Whether they are young families, with kids for my youth program or long-time golfers hoping to get over that next hurdle on the course, getting to know your neighbors offers a plethora of opportunities. In fact, these relationships are often mutually beneficial, as I have a great deal of students who may be looking for the services of others I know in the community. A big aspect of these networking efforts involves building a database of people I meet, students I teach, and golfers who I speak with about their golf games every day. In addition, I teach indoors during the cold New York winters to maintain those relationships and allow my seasonal programs to feed into each other. Winter is a great time to reconnect with students who I may not have seen since summer, and the winter programs often lead to increased lessons when the weather turns warmer.
Glen Walden on the business impact of marketing your teaching business effectively:
In our business, it is important to be proactive in growing your lesson base and creating a buzz at your facility. Having a vibrant instruction program that is geared towards women, youth golfers, beginners, and families helps boost your private lessons, rounds played, shop sales, and food & beverage revenue. As stated, much of this success can be attained by developing relationships both on the course and in the community. In this, my sixth season at Beekman Golf Course, I am very proactive in dictating the success I desire. Through collaborative efforts with a local indoor golf facility, email blasts are sent promoting my business and providing my contact information to hundreds of golfers and potential students in their database. Because of the efforts I have taken in recent years, I have realized a 50-60% increase in winter revenues over last year, a 20% increase in private lessons year round, and a 25% increase in my summer programs.
If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email pgapro@glenwaldengolf.com
