Steven David, the 2005 Minnesota PGA Section and 2002 Nebraska PGA Section Merchandiser of the Year for Private Facilities, is the PGA head professional at Denver (Colo.) Country Club.

Steven David on the importance of creating self-guided practice stations:
When it comes to a practice range, we feel it’s important to create a presentation that is inviting. We want our members to want to spend time on the range and practice. One of the ways we’ve done this is by creating practice stations with directives on how to work on certain areas of the game. This came about when working with one of our ladies teams. Some of the members thought it would be nice if, when they came to the range to practice, they would have something to direct them on what to do. So we designed these practice areas that feature placards providing three to four drills on different areas of the game: pitching, bunkers, chipping, putting and full swing. The drills are presented similar to a flip chart, with photos to accompany them. Rather than showing up to the range and not knowing what to do, our members now have tangible goals associated with the practice and can track their progress from one session to the next. This way, our members don’t need to have their instructor present in order to practice, and makes them want to come to the range more often.

Steven David on the business impact of creating self-guided practice stations:
We feel this helps with our members’ overall enjoyment of the game. They have guidance in their practice, rather than just hitting ball after ball with no purpose, which leads to success, and the members will want to spend more time at our club. This leads to an increase in instruction revenue, as the members want to work on their games and become better golfers. We’re also seeing increased revenue in the golf shop and in our restaurant.