ORLANDO, Fla. (April 5, 2010) – In addition to increasing rounds and revenues at participating courses, the GolfNow.com online tee time booking service is benefiting the game as well. According to research conducted by the National Golf Foundation, golfers using GolfNow.com are playing more often and expanding the number of courses they play.
A service of Golf Channel, GolfNow.com is an online reservation system that markets tee times for golf courses across the U.S. Golfers can search at any time for courses and available tee times and make reservations online that fit their schedules and budgets, saving time and money.
Thirty-six percent of surveyed golfers – selected at random from among registered users of GolfNow.com – said they are playing more golf since they started using the service. Overall, respondents said they played an additional 13 rounds last year.
What’s more, according to the survey, the service is encouraging golfers to try different courses from the ones they normally frequent. Seventy-three percent of respondents said they played an average of four new courses in 2009 that they hadn’t played before they started using GolfNow.com.
“I really like being able to pick a course based on the available tee times, even on the same day,” said Michael Dwyer, a sales representative in Jacksonville, Fla. “I have a busy schedule and this makes it easy to pick any available course I want to play.”
Calvin Lingelbach, a teacher and coach in Orlando, likes the always-open convenience of GolfNow.
“With GolfNow, I can book a tee time in the middle of the night. I don’t know many pro shops that are open all night,” Lingelbach said. “I’m not that computer literate, but even I’m able to navigate through the site and get a tee time that suits me.”
Among survey participants who said they were playing more often, the largest group (49 percent) is 18 to 34 years old. The same age group is also expanding the number of courses they’re playing more than any other. Eighty-two percent said they played an average of 4.2 new courses in 2009 as a result of the GolfNow.com service. The research also pointed out a strong correlation between the number of times golfers use GolfNow.com and the number of new courses they play. Those who used GolfNow.com 10 or more times to book their rounds averaged playing at 5.6 new courses during the year.
The survey confirmed beliefs that GolfNow.com is having a positive impact on golf participation and bringing new customers to courses, according to Gene Pizzolato, COO of New Media Ventures for Golf Channel. “The fact that GolfNow.com is helping to grow the game and bring new customers to courses is great news for our business, golf course operators’ businesses and for the business of golf,” he said.
In 2009, golfers booked 3.8 million rounds through the GolfNow.com site, generating more than $121 million in incremental revenues for partner courses.
About GolfNow.com
GolfNow.com is the Internet’s largest and most comprehensive online tee time booking service. Since the launch of the service in 2001, GolfNow.com has expanded to more than 50 U.S. markets and now provides tee time access to nearly 2,000 courses for almost 1 million registered users. The site’s demand-based Dynamic Pricing Engine™ puts operators in complete control of their tee sheets and pricing. GolfNow.com is supported by the power of Golf Channel, which is seen in 821 million homes and by 15 million monthly viewers; as well as by GolfChannel.com, the Internet’s No. 1 golf destination. The service is part of GolfChannel.com’s online platform of Internet sites designed to help the recreational player enjoy every aspect of the game.
Contact:
Dan Higgins
Golf Channel
407-355-4018
dhiggins@golfchannel.com
Bill Bryant
Bryant Marketing Communications
bbryant@bryantmarcomm.com
678-366-3232
Brian Kemp
Golf Channel Solutions
bkemp@golfchannel.com
407-355-4288
