What measures will you be taking at The Duke’s in preparation for the Open arriving in St Andrews?
Around the Open we are making it as easy as possible for golfers to come up to The Duke’s for a game. There will be a lot of golfers in town without their clubs, so we are offering a package that includes green fee, golf cart, balls on the range, course guide and club hire for £150. We are hoping to get the course up to 100% capacity.
We will also be offering a nine-hole rate for tee times after 5pm, to cater for golfers who want to spend the bulk of the day at the Open.
The Old Course Hotel will also be very busy. It is the official hotel for the Open Championship, and the R&A has booked around 90% of the hotel’s 144 rooms, with the remaining 10% being taken by [hotel owner] Mr Kohler and his guests. We are anticipating having a lot of players staying in the hotel for the Open.
How has business held up at the Duke’s Course during the recession?
We have been encouraged this year, although the volume of visiting golfers certainly dropped in 2009. Corporate memberships dropped by about 30% entirely due to the recession - and our non-member corporate business went down by around 25%. So we looked a bit closer to home to try to strengthen our general membership. At the end of March 2009 our membership went from 230 down to 170, but through some local marketing, and with the increasing popularity of the renovated golf course, we have since managed to attract over 100 new members, so our membership is now up to a healthy 270-plus. We are thrilled with that.
What membership initiatives have you undertaken?
We have created some new social events and we send out a quarterly newsletter. It is important to let members know you are embracing them, rather than just taking their money at the beginning of each season. We have introduced a ladies coaching programme, and we have introduced a juvenile membership for £50, for golfers aged 13 and under, as long as they play with an adult member. £50 is a nominal fee for a young golfer, and by introducing that we have also encouraged parents and grandparents to keep on with their own memberships.
And you also have a membership category for PGA professionals?
Yes, this gives pros the opportunity to play and practice away from the clubs where they work, to give them a chance to enjoy their golf with a bit of peace and quiet. On the back of that there is a marketing advantage, as the pros go back to the clubs where they work and hopefully talk about The Duke’s to their customers.
The Duke’s is an attractive golf course to professionals because we have excellent practice facilities and also the challenge of a golf course that stretches to 7,500 yards from the back tees if they want it to. We can make this course about as tough as any in Scotland.
