By Melissa Williams, PGA
Digital communications platforms like social media, texting, emailing and WhatsApp are fantastic ways to share highlights and engage with your audience after member events and clinics. The personal touch of communicating through these popular means can deliver moments directly and make them feel extra special. Providing members and guests with tangible reminders of their experiences can create a deeper connection and leave a lasting impression.
Going the extra mile shows that their participation is appreciated, while also ensuring they feel included and cherished. Hosting special member events is a great way to foster a sense of community. It also shows their friends how much fun they are having playing the game of golf and being a member or guest at your club. This engagement and these types of fun events could bring new members as word spreads and your facility and team develop a reputation for creating memorable opportunities and experiences for golfers of all ages and abilities. Prospective members are now seeing a lot on social media. If they see what they are looking for and like what they see, it’s a win-win for all.
In addition to social media, I have also started using text chain messages or WhatsApp to keep the clinic students engaged and updated. These text chains can go on for months with golfers sharing an array of exciting things that happened to them on the golf course. Doing this also helps them find other golfers to play with. This has been a wonderful new aspect of my beginner clinic. The beginner clinic started with eight people who didn’t know each other. These ladies really clicked at the very first series. We did a second series and then I started the text chain with all of them. We’ve enjoyed holiday greetings, check-ins with each other and selfies galore! They are having a ball and will stick with golf with a great attitude and seven new friends! Seven new members added to the bottom line! They now rent carts, eat lunch and dinner together, play and learn. A TOTAL WIN-WIN!
Melissa Williams, the 2024 North Florida PGA Section Professional Development Award recipient and a multi-year special awards winner in the Section’s Southwest Chapter, is a member of PGA Lead Cohort VIII and the PGA of America Head Golf Professional at Tara Golf & Country Club in Bradenton, Florida.
