Baker, Bo - Junior Golf Academy Utilizing Operation 36

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Property: The Creek at Qualchan

Location: Spokane, WA

Program Contact: Bo Baker

Contact Phone/Email: 509-218-8862, bbaker6948@gmail.com

Name of PD Program: Junior Golf Academy Utilizing Operation 36

Type of PD Program: Junior Golf Program

Details of Program

We implemented Operation36 as the operating engine for the new Esmeralda Junior Golf Academy. The curriculum is designed to set goals for students, keep them motivated when they are on and off the course, and help them track their progress through the fun and interactive Operation 36 mobile app.

We hosted three 8-week semesters that parents could enroll their kids in. These semesters all included a parent and student orientation, club fitting, weekly classes, optional weekly supervised classes, bi-monthly on course 9-hole playing matches, and end of the semester pizza parties.

The most important step of every semester was having Information Orientations that would typically take place one to two weeks before a new semester would begin. This is where most of the parents would sign up and register their juniors for a class time. It was a great opportunity for the families to ask questions and learn more about the program in a forum like setting. These orientations were primarily promoted through social media.

Marketing collateral was also created for the pro shop staff to hand out on a daily basis to any parents that entered the golf shop. We trained the staff about the program and what the key benefits of the program were. This gave them the knowledge to express what the program was to individuals that had never heard of it before.

A Yamaha Grant was used to buy the equipment that is recommended by Operation 36 to produce a great experience for the players, including alignment sticks, A-Frame signage, cones, station dividers, foam noodles, target rings, balance beams, label makers, name tags, office supplies, pop-up goals, etc.

Results of Program

2018 Results (Esmeralda GC) Marketing the event via social media had a huge impact on the success of this program. We utilized Facebook for a small $30 advertising campaign that generated eight families at the first orientation. Out of those eight families, seven of them enrolled at least one junior golfer in a class. Some families enrolled as many as four golfers. We averaged an active enrollment of 25 students per semester.

We also gained three new couples in the league that played on a regular basis.

We noticed more families playing golf in the afternoons, more food and beverage spending during class sessions from parents that stayed on-site, and due to the bi-monthly 9-hole matches we saw a nice uptick in junior rounds played. The 9-hole matches also increased cart rental fees.

We also had a goal to recruit parents to participate in the weekly Friday Night Couples League. We had three new couples join the league regularly because their kids were in the Operation 36 Classes on Friday nights. More couples occasionally played in the league throughout the year as well. Overall, we saw parents coming to the course with their kids outside of the regularly scheduled classes and matches to play golf, specifically in the afternoons. The parents bought into the idea of their kid's goal of scoring 36 or better on 9-holes, this was recognized by the parents reporting back to the Pro Shop after a casual round saying "Man, he/she had a birdie putt on #9 to shoot 36, and she/he made it. That was awesome!" Another reason parents loved the program was because they knew the round would be under two hours because of the short yardages the kids would play from, which made it more enjoyable for both the parent and the junior.

The program generated $21,000 of player development revenue, had a total of 37 participants, and had an overall positive impact on the facilities bottom line.

2019 Results (The Creek at Qualchan) My junior golf instruction revenue saw an increase of 15%, the facility saw an increase of 20% in junior rounds, and a 10% increase in junior merchandise sales. There was also a noticeable spike in food and beverage sales during class and match days.

We totaled 44 kids in the program with an average of 32 being enrolled for all three 8-week semesters. On top of Operation 36, we also launched PGA Junior League and filled two 13U teams and one 17U team, totaling an additional 27 players.

Recommendations

If you are going to adopt the Operation 36 Network, do it sooner rather than later. You will NOT regret your decision. The return on investment goes further than the bottom line. The relationships and culture that you create through a junior golf program like this is invaluable. The most important part of the program is to stay connected with your parents and students throughout the program. Parents enjoy seeing measurable results, the Operation 36 program makes this extremely easy for any teacher to do. There is easy-to-measure, quantifiable data within the program.

I would recommend being as organized as possible before the season starts. You should have your promotional materials set and ready to go at least eight weeks before your launch date. It’s also good to host an informational meeting for parents. I’ve learned that one meeting time is not enough because of everyone’s busy schedules with kids, try to host two!