John Stallings has created a product that addresses a need for two very important elements of the golf industry – golf courses and golfers. “Golf course owners and managers are always looking for inexpensive ways to attract players to their courses. And golfers, especially when visiting a new area, are searching for places to tee it up,” said Stallings.
His creation, seven years in the making, is Golf Guide Directory, an online directory service created just for connecting golfers with golf courses, and it brings these two important elements together with one click of a button. Utilizing a directory consisting of every golf course in the United States, and the “NEAR ME” application, players can get information on courses nearby in an instant.
“The web site will pull up any golf courses within the radius the golfer has selected, 10 miles, 50 miles etc.,” said Stallings. “The program will display a generic listing of golf courses in the specified area. For our ‘feature courses’ it will pull up a listing with photos of the course, clubhouse, restaurant, or anything the course manager chooses to include. The player will then make a decision on where to play.
“We are excited to be releasing our platform this year at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando; golf course owners now have a cost-effective way to reach a large number of golfers with our SEO optimized digital platform, unlike print our golf course owners can customize their marketing plan throughout the year for no additional cost.”
Golf courses owners should check their free listing and verify its content as soon as possible.
The service is free of charge to golfers, and courses pay no fee to be included in the directory. For $1,500 a year they can upgrade their simple listing to become a “featured course,” including all the information they would like to share with the inquiring golfers.
“There is no software for courses to buy or load, but they will have the ability to customize content on their feature page,” said Stallings. “The site is being updated and fine-tuned daily with exciting new elements, so upgrades will be coming fast and furious and courses will get them automatically.”
Stallings is especially thrilled about one new element in the works. “We are really excited about a feature that we are working on now where a customer will be able to book a tee time with the course directly from its listing,” said Stallings. “That’s one-stop shopping from start to finish.”
Along with the course research, players have other reasons to visit the www.golfguidedirectory.com website. They can keep up with the latest golf news thanks to a daily news wire feed, read reviews of equipment, learn about the latest training aids, get instructional tips to help their game, and more.
Said Stallings, “While the site is very informative regarding all aspects of golf, we want to be known as the King of the ‘Near Me’ search. Just three clicks and you have a list of great courses to play, with no booking fee and no charge at all.”
Golf Guide Directory’s manufacturing partners include Golf Training Aids, Sky Caddie, Flat Cat, Dynamic Brands, Duca Del Cosma and Antigua Golf Apparel.
For more information, call 423-839-6523 (+1 for international callers) or visit www.golfguidedirectory.com
