More than 10,000 golfers have joined the new, free Direct Golf loyalty card within weeks of its launch. And almost 1,000 more have signed up to be a VIP member, at a cost of just £10, which entitles them to more than £150-worth of extra golf benefits, including a free round of golf.
When it was launched in April, it was dubbed ‘golf’s #1 loyalty card’ and the response of customers so far suggests that to be the case according to Simon Corp, Direct Golf’s marketing manager.
He explained: “It is our intention at Direct Golf to make golf more affordable and, consequently, more accessible. The launch of the loyalty card – and the subsequent take-up by customers – shows that we are helping to achieve that.
“The sign-ups in just the first few weeks have exceeded our expectations and we are delighted that so many people have appreciated the extra benefits bundled with the VIP membership. We felt that people might perceive it as just too good to be true – but it is genuine and people have appreciated it.”
The Direct Golf loyalty card is free and comes with three months complimentary golf insurance from Golf Care. The VIP version of the card – which costs just £10 and can be paid for in cash in-store with any purchase – comes with more than £150-worth of extra benefits, including a £50 Your Golf Travel voucher, and a free round of golf at any De Vere Venues resort.
The Direct Golf loyalty card enables shoppers to turn everyday shopping points into golf bargains. It is powered by rewards4golf.com which awards points for purchases made with 1,000s of major brands – points which customers have been using to redeem online for the last couple of years, but can now be redeemed in any Direct Golf store.
The rewards4golf scheme was launched in 2008 and has more than 300,000 members who earn points while doing their everyday shopping with any of around 3,500 online retailers – including Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Matalan, Amazon, Top Man, SKY and many more – or on the High Street, in stores such as Debenhams, Halfords, O2 and Vodafone.
Purchase spend is converted into points with every 250 worth £1. And now, with the introduction of the Direct Golf loyalty card, those points, accrued on a daily basis while shopping, can be spent in-store.
Corp added: “The number of stores involved in the rewards4golf scheme is phenomenal and many of them are household names we’d use every day. That means millions of pounds-worth of savings for UK golfers.
“I know the old saying says ‘you don’t get anything for nothing’, but with this, effectively, you can: merely by shopping through the rewards4golf website you earn points by shopping at many of the retailers you would be patronising anyway. It’s a great scheme and we’re delighted to be able to reward our customers in this way.”
Those who sign-up for the Direct Golf loyalty card will become a rewards4golf member for free, meaning they can earn points to spend in store at Europe’s leading multi-channel specialist golf retailer while they are shopping online for their favourite things.
Yorkshire-based Direct Golf UK has 20 branches nationwide and was named ‘best mail order company’ for eight successive years in the Today’s Golfer reader awards. The company, founded by John Andrew, a Class AA, PGA professional, in 1991, has enjoyed massive growth in 23 successful years of trading.
It started with one small shop in Huddersfield, but its philosophy of cutting manufacturers’ recommended retail prices proved to be very popular with the golfing public and it quickly gained the reputation for the best prices in the UK. Backed up with fast delivery and world-class customer service, Direct Golf UK grew quickly into one of the largest specialist golf retailers in the UK and Europe.
Direct Golf’s Loyalty card www.direct-golf.co.uk/loyaltycard