Tom Barber, a Southern California PGA Hall of Fame member and the son of 1961 PGA Champion Jerry Barber, is managing partner at the Tom Barber Golf Center in Simi Valley, Calif., and the PGA head professional at the Griffith Park Golf Course in Los Angeles, Calif.

Tom Barber on the importance of running specials to counteract quiet nights:
The popularity of Monday Night Football was causing us to have a major lack of business on Monday nights, so roughly a decade ago we decided to address this with our buy two, get one free offer. We charged for two buckets of range balls and gave one bucket for free. It has been a gigantic success for us. We turned our most lackluster night into our busiest night, and it’s now gotten to the point where hitting stalls can be hard to come by if you don’t get here early. Each bucket contains 100 balls and costs $11, so for $22 the player is getting 300 balls that can be used at any time, not just on Monday nights. As the only range in town doing this promotion, and with Monday Night Football and any other big event on the TVs at the range, customers have flocked to us to enjoy themselves.

Tom Barber on the business impact of running specials to counteract quiet nights:
There is something about the word “free” that excites the public, and we’re first-hand evidence of that. Our sales on Mondays have tripled and sometimes even quadrupled over where they were before we instituted the program. We’ve seen foot traffic increase steadily with a lot of new clients as a result. In addition, we’ve seen an increase in candy and soda sales, and our teaching professionals have never been busier, which at least in some part has to be attributable to the increase in Monday traffic. In addition, the ability of players to use the buckets on any day has made the offer even more attractive. It’s a win for everybody as the customer gets free balls, I get more business, and my employees get more hours.