The PGA has expanded its official supplier programme with the addition of golf benchmarking group 59Club.
The company, which is the brainchild of former Belfry director of golf Simon Wordsworth, helps clubs and resorts improve standards of customer service, boosting revenues and profits in the process.
Among 59club’s clientele are leading golf groups De Vere, Marriott Hotels, McDonald and Q Hotels plus a number of independent and private members clubs such as The Belfry, The Vale and Donnington Grove.
The service provides detailed feedback to clients – a benchmark – based on a mystery shopper phone call and visit with an extremely detailed set of questions measuring in a consistent fashion how successfully staff implement business strategies and plans.
Benefits include benchmarking against competitors plus it can be utilised as a training and development tool.
The PGA Official Supplier programme is a network of companies that work closely with the Association across the golf industry, helping create business and commercial opportunities.
Robert Maxfield, PGA property and commercial director, said: “59club is a pioneering benchmarking service that helps golf facilities improve the golfer’s experience and revenue which is good for all aspects of the game. We’re pleased to welcome 59club on board and look forward to a successful relationship as part of our Official Supplier programme.”
Wordsworth revealed that the idea for the business stemmed from his time at The Belfry.
“We couldn’t get any really good feedback on the service we were offering and to find areas that might need addressing or improving,” he said. “What 59club does is analyse the two most profitable customer contact points – the first phone call to the venue and the first visit.
“Through a detailed checklist we can analyse how well staff are representing and portraying the venue. That first phone call can often be vital and in the cases of people booking golf days can be worth thousands of pounds so it’s vital to get that right.”
He added: “We plan to open out the business to all types of venues who are interesting in improving and measuring their service.”
59Club www.59club.com