Teetimes.co.uk – the commission-free internet green fee booking service from Online Teetimes Ltd – has launched with an email campaign to 300,000 golfers promoting tee times at its participant clubs.
And the huge marketing push represents the first phase of Online Teetimes Ltd’s (OTL) aim to reach 1.5million golfers this year, using a unique distribution model that combines digital and offline platforms.
The company is currently working with a number of the country’s biggest retail, travel and media golf brands – including major retailer American Golf and official PGA club exchange site Golfbidder.com – to directly drive traffic to its listed courses.
OTL has a proven tee time distribution model which incorporates selling commission-free green fees for clubs on its own website www.teetimes.co.uk; sending branded emails to the biggest golfer databases in the UK; providing bespoke tee time booking engines on the UK’s most heavily-visited golf websites; and sending weekly special offers by email to its own registered users.
Pat Stanford, of OTL’s head office in Grantham, Lincs, said, “Through experience, we understand that the ability to push available tee times to golfers is critical in helping our clubs grow their visitor green fee sales. That is why our distribution model has been built to reach golfers across a number of platforms – via email, websites and even in-store when they are buying equipment.
“Our partnership agreements mean we will reach up to 500,000 golfers through the spring and up to 1.5 million golfers by the end of the summer. This tee time distribution model enables us to reach huge numbers of golfers very quickly.”
More than 70 clubs currently make tee times available through www.teetimes.co.uk and this figure is expected to reach 200 during the season.
The company’s weekly email broadcasts make golfers aware of special offers, typically ‘distressed’ tee times golf clubs have allowed OTL to promote to its golfer database.
Paul Heeney, OTL managing director, said, “Our aim is to bridge the gap, in an easy to use way, between courses with tee time availability and golfers seeking choice and value-for-money. Setting up an online tee time booking service is easy – in fact, many companies are doing it. But a website alone is not a powerful enough method to drive green fee sales.
“Successfully distributing tee times is a specialist skill and this is where we excel. This is why we work so hard at building databases of golfers we can email, and at reaching golfers through innovative on and offline marketing methods.”
“We are the only online tee times company to launch such a service with a proven success behind us in another country, and we believe that this, combined with our zero-commission, zero-fees, mass-distribution model, makes us clearly the best option for any golf club wishing to increase green fee revenues.”
OTL developed Ireland’s largest online green fee booking service, www.teetimes.ie, which has a two-year history of delivering thousands of paid-for rounds of golf to clubs in the country.
Said Paul Heeney, “We know our model works and now we are delighted to have launched it in the UK. The online tee time market is very competitive, but we are confident that clubs will find our simple and effective approach the very best way to increase visitor green fee sales.”
OTL’s Grantham office handles enquiries from clubs wishing to market tee times more effectively. It can be reached on 01476 577461 or visit www.onlineteetimes.co.uk. Email info@onlineteetimes.co.uk.