Making Winter Leagues part of your member engagement strategy

A “winter league”, or any league for that matter, can come in a variety of formats, shapes, and sizes – whether this be single or multi-round, club leagues or regional societies.

Having a league set-up during the off-season has become a successful way for Golf Genius’ customers to improve their service offerings, create greater member engagement and increase participation at a time when their golfers find it difficult to play and justify the cost of their membership.

“Running leagues are an absolute no-brainer for any golf facility. Our golfers are really engaged in them for numerous reasons – the formats on offer and flexibility to play when they want being just two – and without a shadow of a doubt, I would recommend running a form of league to any club that wants to improve the golfer or member experience and drive their facility forwards.”– Ian Orrell, Wychwood Park Golf Club

So, with the colours on the trees turning, temperatures dropping and the summer daylight fading, now is the time to take advantage of this great opportunity.

Here are our top three tips and recommendations you should think about:

• Mix-up the formats – Singles formats are very popular for a reason, but how about introducing a multi-format winter league that caters for a variety of competitive tastes? Pairs and even team formats play into the hands of those less-so-serious golfers who want to have a social game. By introducing multiple formats across a single round, this will help speak to more of your membership base. You could even try changing the format each week, to cater for those who can’t play one week but can another.
• Participation points – Staggering your point allocation tables with the right level of ‘gaps’ or ‘intervals’ is key to making your winter league as competitive as possible. However, one of the most demoralising feelings a golfer can have is not receiving any points on a particular round. Awarding participation points means no matter their performance, there is always something to play for, which creates a multi-round league series with higher levels of participation and engagement.
• Technology – For golfers and organisers alike, technology has helped to enhance leagues across the country, allowing General Managers and PGA Pros to run winter leagues hassle-free, and in turn, provide their golfers with a seamless experience from their first round to their last. Whether it is managing league registrations, enabling live scoring or posting end-of-round results, Golf Genius is helping clubs across the UK to deliver these great winter leagues.

How can your Winter Leagues benefit from Golf Genius technology?

Golf Genius’ cloud-based Tournament Management software affords every club in the UK with a more efficient and flexible solution to run any type of winter league, with features that keep members and golfers more engaged throughout the off-peak months.

With an innovative library of formats, Tournament Management allows clubs to create winter leagues that are fit for your golfers, whilst improving administrative demands.

The software’s versatility also means the event and format can change each time, with golfers benefitting from live mobile scoring, league portals, online registration and payment, as well as live leaderboards that are accessible in-play or post-round.

So, any golf club manager running leagues this winter can maximise the golfer experience they provide through Golf Genius, whilst also making the process much simpler and more efficient.

“We used Golf Genius for a three-day golf trip to Scotland and ran a league. The fun we had after the golf with everyone checking scores as they came in and viewing photos that had been shared during the round, made the whole experience very enjoyable. It created fantastic memories for us all.” – Brendan McDermott, Belvoir Park

Now is the perfect time to organise a winter series for your club and offer your membership an interactive playing experience all year round.