Pizzolato: “Service meets needs, provides value to wide range of operators”
ORLANDO, Fla. (April 18, 2011) – The Classic at Madden’s Resort in Brainerd, Minn., recently became the 3,000th golf facility to partner with GolfNow.com, which offers online tee time reservations, electronic revenue-management and other programs and services to help operators increase revenues and efficiently market their courses.
Passing the 3,000-course milestone further expanded GolfNow’s position as the golf industry’s largest online tee time marketer and capped a dramatic period of first-quarter growth. More than 500 courses have joined GolfNow in 2011, approximately five every day. In addition, there are now more than 1.1 million golfers who use GolfNow to reserve some or all of their golf rounds.
“GolfNow continues to gain popularity with course operators who need cost-effective ways to market their courses and fill their tee sheets, as well as with golfers who want convenience and options when it comes to their golf experience,” said Gene Pizzolato, chief operating officer, Golf Channel New Media Ventures.
Golf facilities also are attracted to the GolfNow platform, Pizzolato added, by the marketing support they receive from Golf Channel and GolfChannel.com, the Internet’s leading golf destination; and by GolfNow’s expanded support services and programs, which include Golf Channel Am Tour events, GolfNow golf leagues, revenue management technology and a marketing distribution network with more than 3,000 partner websites.
The now more than 3,000 courses that are members of the GolfNow network include public, private, resort and municipal facilities. Thirty-five courses offering the GolfNow service are included in Golf Digest’s ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses (The Classic at Madden’s is T-53). “The service obviously meets the needs and adds value to a wide range of course operators who see GolfNow as a way to deliver value and complement the overall experience they offer their customers,” Pizzolato said.
GolfNow passed the 3,000 course milestone three years after the service was acquired by Golf Channel in April 2008 from Cypress Golf Solutions. At that time there were 910 participating courses. GolfNow is available in more than 65 North American and UK markets.
Pizzolato said GolfNow would continue to add to its course total while helping participating courses and their operators leverage the service to market more effectively, increase the number of rounds booked at their facilities and encourage customer loyalty. As an example, Pizzolato cited user conferences GolfNow is conducting throughout the U.S. to help operators understand that its services and support, which now includes website management and design, go beyond helping them fill their tee sheets.
In 2010, golfers booked 4.9 million rounds through the GolfNow.com site, generating more than $156 million in online revenues for partner courses.
About GolfNow.com
GolfNow.com is the Internet’s largest and most comprehensive online tee time booking service. Since its launch in 2001, GolfNow.com has expanded to more than 65 markets in North America and the UK and now provides tee time access to more than 3,000 courses for more than 1.1 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 powered by Golf Channel, which is seen in 83 million domestic homes in the U.S. The site is also supported 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:
Golf Channel
Dan Higgins
407-355-4018
dhiggins@golfchannel.com
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Bill Bryant, Bryant Marketing Communications
bbryant@bryantmarcomm.com, 678-366-3232
Brian Kemp, Golf Channel Solutions
bkemp@golfchannel.com, 407-355-4288
