More people are deciding to create their own businesses based on their interests or the needs of the public. If you dream of owning a golf course, you’re likely to get customers if you understand how to grow it properly. According to CNN, as many as 25 million people played golf in the United States in 2015. Take advantage of the sport’s popularity and information in this guide to help create a thriving golf course people want to use.
Maintain Your Golf Carts
Very few people want to be in a golf cart that’s banged up and can’t keep up with the rest of the golfers. That’s why it’s essential that your golf cart is well-maintained and in compliance with safety and functionality. You should ensure your golf cart is constantly being tested for issues. If issues come up, you should handle them accordingly and switch them out with a more functioning cart. After all, you don’t want to annoy your golf club members and visitors as they can always go somewhere else if you don’t have adequate equipment such as a golf cart.
Some golf carts can even be enhanced. You can have golf carts with more cushioned seats, faster acceleration, and proper covering to protect people on those extremely hot days. You may even want golf carts painted in your company colors so you’re always promoting your brand. After all, owning a golf course means you own all the products on it, so you can customize things to you
You should have a golf cart repair service on hand. In other words, if a golf cart breaks down, is damaged, or has issues, there shouldn’t be a long downtime for it to be repaired. You can have a golf cart repair professional on site or one you have a relationship with can be available for emergency services.
Maintaining your cart can also start with protecting them from the elements. Just like a passenger car has a garage to protect it from weathering, corrosion, and theft. You should have the same option for your carts. You may live in an area with seasonal weather where it can rain at any time. However, even if you’re in an arid climate like Florida, where it’s sunny all the time, your golf cart may still have issues with the elements. Extreme UV rays can fade vehicle paint as well as cause it to overheat. Birds are always flying around dropping their poop everywhere. The last thing you want is to show up for the day and see your golf cart fleet covered in bird poop. Sometimes poop can stain vehicle paint. Then you would have to spend time and energy trying to repaint the carts. So make sure that you have your cart in an area that’s covered. Use a golf cart garage or a protective awning that can prevent wetness or other elements from impairing the functionality of the carts.
Upgrade Your Irrigation System
A typical golf course is characterized by beautiful, rolling hills of green grass. It would be a shame if people showed up and saw dying and yellowing or brown grass. That would be a sign that your golf cart is not well-maintained and you shouldn’t expect to see people returning. Therefore, owning a golf course means having a proper hydration system, so your grass is always beautiful and well-fed. If there are issues with your existing watering system, get water line repair services immediately. You don’t want to be without proper hydration for too long, especially as summer months set in.
If you just started owning a golf course, you may have to start contacting lawn irrigation companies now. It’s a good idea to get a few quotes to see which ones offer the best pricing for your business. Get recommendations from other businesses who need commercial lawn irrigation. Maintaining hydration on your grass with automatic irrigation can save time and energy. Manual watering on a golf course is way too hard for someone to do daily, Especially as the summer months get hotter. Manual hydration on a space so large may not effectively water all the areas needed. Otherwise, you can expect to see faded and dying patches of grass that’ll look unsightly.
Partner With Other Businesses
One of the things any smart business does is form strategic partnerships with other businesses that aren’t direct competitors but can’t provide related services that allow you to help each other. Owning a golf course in any area means you may have people that may be in town for golfing events. Therefore, it’s a good idea to partner with hotels or Airbnb. Local cabin rentals can always be an enticing option as cabins can be rustic and romantic. Therefore, if a couple wants to go to a particular area for a romantic golfing week, they can benefit from a cabin and golf course package. You may also want to consider relationships with restaurants or bars in the area. Even though your golf course may have its own catering service, you can still partner with other restaurants that offer discounts and agree to advertise your golf course on their menu, or in their other advertisements.
Consider forming partnerships with businesses that supply some of the equipment you use. For example, you’ll need golf cart upkeep. Therefore, you may want to form a partnership with your local auto detail shop. They may have advertisements for the golf carts they worked on. If they’ve done enhancement work on tires or chrome work on the paint, they can advertise that in their shop advertisement. As a result, they’ll also advertise your business and people will know where to find your enhanced or pimped-out golf carts. They may also want to show off riding in your cool-looking carts on Instagram as they play several holes on the course.
Keep Your Greens Pristine
Owning a golf course means keeping your landscape green and beautiful. You can hire local landscapers to apply fertilizer. Fertilizer not only keeps your grass growing strong but also removes existing weeds and prevents them from growing back. Weeds are destructive naturally occurring plants that can soak up all the nutrients of the soil. As a result, if you don’t handle these weeds, your beautiful golfing landscape can become yellow and brown. Fertilizer isn’t just for the grass as it can help any other plants that you have that make the golf course look beautiful. So if you have strategically planted flower beds or trees, they all benefit from professional fertilization. Professional landscapers know the right type of fertilizer to use for each species of grass, flower, or other plants. They also understand the right amount to apply and when to apply it.
Tree companies are major contractors to hire when owning a golf course. Well, it can be great being on the golf course on a hot sunny day. People also need some shade for refuge. Luckily tree companies can strategically plant trees around your golf course that can supply the necessary shade needed that won’t get in the way of the holes. Trees also clean the air as they provide oxygen. Plus trees simply look beautiful and majestic as they stand tall on any landscape. Local tree companies may even be able to add a few fruit trees to make your golf course look even more beautiful. Imagine a site of gorgeous lemon, apple, or nut trees sprinkled along your golf course. It provides quite a sight and your resident golfers may be tempted to pick a few for a snack. You may also use some of these fruit and nut trees as part of your meal planning at your golf course catering.
Renovate Your Buildings
While the golf course may be the highlight of the show, it’s not the only element to worry about when owning a golf course. A typical golf course will have other structures, such as the country club and/or site restaurant. Many people use golf courses for more than playing a few rounds. People rent golf spots for events, such as weddings, corporate gatherings, and parties. Many golf courses are known for their quality catering and ability to host many people, which is why people use them for such events. When people are there for a formal golf event, such as a competition, they’ll usually eat at the on-site restaurant. Therefore, you need to ensure any building that hosts members and guests is always up to par.
Take a look outside your golf country club building. If it needs exterior updates, you likely need to start with the siding. Now is the time to invest in new siding installation. You can also paint the existing siding, as a good exterior paint job can last for about 10 years. However, if the site you inherited is too rundown, contact commercial demolition contractors to raze it and you can build a new structure from scratch.
You don’t want your roof falling in on golfing patrons, do you? Therefore, call local roofing contractors who can install a quality roof that can protect everyone from leaks and other damage. If leaks get into your country club, water will seep into the foundation and breed mold. The structure will also look unsightly. Plus, it’ll become a health hazard as mold goes into the air and can get into people’s respiratory systems. Focus on quality and durable roofing materials, like metal, slate, or ceramic tiles. According to Bob Vila, a well-installed metal roof can last 40 to 70 years and requires low maintenance.
Fix Your Parking Areas
When people roll up to your golf course to play a game with friends, a publicised event, attend a wedding, or a corporate shindig, they need a proper place to park their car. Owning a golf course means having a beautiful and professional space where people will feel comfortable driving and parking. If the existing pavement is cracked, has potholes, or is uneven, you should call local concrete cutting companies to fix things. A local concrete contractor can lay down cement and fix an existing layer or start from scratch. Many of them can add color and stamping to incorporate your concrete pavement into your company branding. When you don’t want to use concrete, you could always use asphalt. If you live in an area with harsh winters, asphalt pavement is ideal as it absorbs heat, which melts snow and ice faster. Plus, asphalt’s dark color has a stunning contrast against your green golf course grass and other vegetation. The concrete contractor can also build walkways as needed for different parts of the course.
Create a Marketing Strategy
Owning a golf course means letting people know about you. Create a marketing strategy to let people know you’re open for business. Your marketing should include beautiful pictures and videos of the golf course itself. Photograph your golf cart in action. Advertise the events you can host, what people can rent your space for, and golf membership benefits.
Your advertisement can include a website and social media posts. After all, there are billions of people who have social media accounts that are likely to come across your advertisement. Remember to use the proper tags. You can have even more fun with advertisements by taking advantage of auto detail updates. Many companies use auto-wrapping services to showcase their business. You can rent a fleet of cars, vans, and other vehicles wrapped in your golf course name, logo, and pictures of your carts. These cars can drive around the city, giving you promotions all over town.
As you can see owning a golf course involves a great deal of work. If you do your due diligence, you can have a successful business with a thriving membership rate. Imagine summer with people playing several rounds of golf and contacting you to rent out your space for corporate conferences, birthday parties, and weddings. These things can all happen when you do your due diligence and plan accordingly. Good luck with growing your golf business in 2024.
