It is estimated that stolen golf equipment costs the industry a whopping £10 million per year. Together with high-value items being damaged or misplaced, this hurts the bottom line of any golf club. Alarming as that sounds, there are numerous ways to deter and therefore prevent these losses and many courses are looking to safeguard against further losses.
A quick Google search will throw out many stories of buggy theft, some of which happen out of hours, but some in the middle of the day. Battery theft is also a real issue, according to Zurich Insurance as batteries can be re-sold. Golf clubs that offer a club rental service are also particularly vulnerable to theft. Replacing golf clubs for any centre is an expensive game, so using simple yet effective systems could be the key.
From state-of-the-art CCTV to tracking systems such as Immobigolf there are many initiatives which help course owners and managers to eradicate this problem from their clubs.
One cost-effective technological solution which is already used by the leisure and hospitality industry is CardsSafe. The system is specifically designed to securely retain customer credit, debit and ID cards while the cardholder runs a tab or hires a product or service.
Deemed a significant deterrent for misplacement and vandalism to golfing equipment on the course because customers must return the goods to retrieve their bank card, the system also helps to eradicate golf clubs and buggies being left out on the site, which means that staff can spend more time with customers and less time searching for missing equipment.
The CardsSafe system has already been installed in numerous golf courses nationwide. Foxhills Country Club first signed up for back in 2009 and increased their usage in 2011 and 2019 due to positive customer feedback.
The London Golf Club has been using the CardsSafe system since 2011, while Redlibbets Golf Club & Country Club joined as recently as 2019. Part of the Get Golfing group, only last month, they came back for ten more units for another six of their clubs. Silvermere Golf & Leisure joined in 2015 to tackle their customer hires with additional units added later.
Silvermere manager, Dani Snow, explains, “CardsSafe has allowed us to safely retain customers’ cards while they trial equipment on the driving range. We can trust CardsSafe and efficiently replace any damaged or lost components.”
Staff on courses can act quickly should equipment need fixing or replacing because incidents can be reported as soon as the customer returns. CardsSafe has revolutionised the way businesses manage customer hires on or off their premises. Protecting business assets and equipment and ensuring customer banking data is securely handled.
Not only is the system a crucial part of a growing number of golf courses across the UK, it’s also simple and easy to use. It’s technologically secure and takes minutes to train staff in how to use it.
The customer exchanges their payment card for a CardsSafe key; the key belongs to a single safe box which is locked while they’re on the course. That’s it. Not only does CardsSafe act as a deterrent for misplacement or theft, but it also that assures customers’ bank cards are securely held, preventing credit card fraud and cloning, so a win-win for both parties.