For club-based PGA professionals, the biggest – if not the only – revenue streams are teaching and retail sales. The holy grail for the pro would be a system or an event or a promotion or a magic wand that would put both those things instantly within reach of the entire club membership, and outside customers as well.
‘Well the quest is over’ so say the founders of GolfProConnect, a new website that is also mobile-optimized website that literally earns the pro revenue while he or she sleeps.
At its most basic, www.GolfProConnect.co.uk is an online scheduler that allows golfers to book a coaching lesson online with the pro of their choice. But the back-end muscle of GolfProConnect is such that it will likely cause a step change in the way golf pros actually do business.
Possibly the most important component of the website is the linking of each pro’s web page to a PayPal account, so that when a golfer books a lesson the payment is made at the time of booking.
As part of an outreach mechanic too (that the pros will likely not ever have had access to before) the dialogue between pro and golfer will become easier for both parties and more monetized for the pro than ever before. And this is so in several ways…
In golfing cultures where amateurs view taking lessons as unnecessary, unattractive or too costly (like Britain and Ireland) the menu of lesson options opens up wider than ever before too. One of the upcoming software updates will allow the golfer to film him or herself at the practice range using a smartphone which can then be used to upload the clip directly to the pro’s account for remote evaluation and fault-fixing.
This benefits golfers in that they can access tuition conveniently and in bite-sizes for less cost than for a full half hour / hour lesson. The pro, meanwhile, is actively commoditizing his stock in trade (teaching), by making it accessibly remotely and in a variety of modules and cost options.
In other golf cultures where taking lessons is a more widely welcomed part of a golfer’s repertoire (e.g. Germany, Sweden) the golf trade and golfers alike will simply integrate it into their golfing landscape without hesitation.
All the while, of course, the amateurs and pros are building relationships that may never before have existed, and that will provide a vital basis for ongoing exchanges of both the commercial and learning kind.
“The change in pro/customer relationships that this makes possible is absolutely unprecedented,” points out Gary Rushgrove of GolfProConnect. “The very mechanics of the relationship are more buzzing than ever before purely because of the simple connectivity potential now.”
The monthly subscription for PGA professionals is £19 + VAT.
GolfProConnect www.GolfProConnect.co.uk