By Vinnie Manginelli, PGA
Tom Mason, a multi-year special awards winner in the prestigious Carolinas PGA Section, is the PGA of America owner/operator of Par Tee Golf Center in West Columbia, South Carolina. Mason’s facility is a three-time Golf Range Association of America (GRAA) Top 50 Stand-Alone Facility.
Mason, a 1993 graduate of the University of South Carolina, worked at five green grass facilities – four of them private – before realizing that he wanted to be his own boss and provide that private facility level of service to his local golfing public. Having several years of GM experience at a facility in Orlando, I asked Tom if he had always wanted to own his own facility.
“With my early green grass experience, facility ownership was always on my radar,” Mason says. “Although I was happy doing what I was doing, when the opportunity to finally attain my own driving range arose, it was one that I couldn’t pass up.”
Par Tee Golf Center has a fully-lit practice range with 100 all-grass hitting areas that are lush with Bermuda grass from April to November and a rye grass overseed during the cooler months. They also have artificial turf hitting mats for golfers who prefer that over grass. The body of the range is expansive at well over 300 yards and has a variety of targets so golfers can easily gauge the distance of each shot as they work on their game. Par Tee also offers a 6,000-square-foot Bermuda grass putting surface for golfers to practice their short game, bunker and putting skills.
In addition, Par Tee has a unique three-hole Par 3 loop that has four tee boxes for each hole, enabling golfers to play a full 12 holes or practice various on-course scenarios that they often encounter on the course during their leagues or daily play. With holes between 60 and 160 yards, you’ll need more than just a wedge!
“Our retail shop has some Par Tee Golf Center logoed hats, as well as golf balls, gloves and golf clubs,” Mason says. “We display our golf grip options near the entrance to our shop so golfers take notice right when they walk through the door. And as a result, we do a lot of re-gripping that not only generates club repair revenue but also provides me the opportunity to evaluate our golfers’ equipment. With every one of my employees being trained on how to re-grip properly, we’ll even provide the service on the spot while they spend the time practicing on our putting green. If I see someone can use an equipment upgrade, I’ll suggest they spend some time with Palmer in a custom club fitting session to determine the specifications that match their needs and abilities. This engagement is a valuable marketing tool to share all that we offer at Par Tee Golf Center.”
Many of Mason’s staff members are high school and college students who have demonstrated a passion for golf that Mason himself has long enjoyed. As the Head Golf Coach at nearby Columbia College, he is particularly proud that his Par Tee Golf Center employees are learning about customer service as much as they are about the game of golf. After all, these service skills will aid them in whatever career field they pursue, proving that working in golf teaches many of the same life skills that playing the game does. These are the words of a true mentor.
In fact, Mason’s own son, Palmer, is a PGA Associate and has been teaching at Par Tee since graduating from Charleston Southern University last year. He’s also elevated the custom club fitting service to boost engagement in this area and increase hard goods sales in the golf shop.
Mason says his facility’s mini golf course is popular – although not “Myrtle Beach popular” – and it brings in revenue from daily play and kids’ parties. He understands that as a marketing tool, you never know where your next core golfer will come from. A family might come for the mini golf and realize the many other amenities he offers.
“Whether it’s our amenities, our friendliness or our industry expertise, the service we provide is the reason golfers call Par Tee Golf Center home,” Mason boasts. “As a PGA of America facility owner, I take pride in growing the game on both sides of the counter.”
Mason says facility ownership is very different from serving members as a GM or Head Professional. The responsibilities are greater than ever, but he doesn’t miss fielding complaints about slow greens or members questioning the validity of their fellow members’ handicaps.
“Our customers hit their range balls, say please, thank you and go home,” Mason says with a smile. “It’s very refreshing. We’ve taken the business from just a driving range to a learning center where golfers of all skill levels can come to improve their skills and increase the enjoyment they derive from playing the game we all love as PGA of America Golf Professionals.”
With all that he has on his plate, Mason always has the best interest of his customers in mind. For instance, when asked if he might not be better served by taking a day or two to grip a set of clubs so a customer has to make a second trip to his facility, he had this to say, again with exemplary customer service at the forefront: “You can look at that positively or negatively, thinking that if they have to come back to pick up their clubs, they’ll hit a bucket of balls. But we understand that everyone has time constraints, and it’s a real service to our customers that we turn their re-gripping job around in a matter of minutes rather than days.”
Par Tee Golf Center is open 363 days per year, and Mason works a lot. But this labor of love involves teaching golfers, mentoring staff, providing golf services for the ever-increasing diverse golfing community that we’ve welcomed since the pandemic and enjoying golf facility ownership with his son, who is learning the golf business from one of the best in the industry…his dad. Tom enjoys the freedom to come and go. He is community-minded.
Mason says many of his customers donate clubs to him, and as a result, he has paid that forward in donating more than 120 sets of clubs to high school and college-aged customers who don’t have their own equipment.
“If I see these kids visit our facility a few times without clubs, I’ll offer them their first set of clubs. They’ll use them, possibly upgrade over time and often bring them back when they’re done with them,” Mason boasts proudly.
Mason concludes with some friendly advice from a fellow PGA of America Golf Professional: “If you want to own a driving range, you have to be willing to work it. You have to be hands-on and work a lot of hours. After more than a dozen years of picking up my own range balls, I still won’t complain about it! It’s different when it’s your own thing. We’ve welcomed a lot of new golfers in recent years, and driving ranges have been the catalyst AND the beneficiary of this growth in golf. I’m proud to be one small cog in this renaissance in golf.”
For more information on Par Tee Golf Center, log on to its website today!
