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Golf Club Websites - What should they have?

MendieGK

MendieGK

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I run my works golf society, so spend quite a lot of time looking at websites for course information etc.

some are very good, whilst some a just plain awful!

For example, one website i was looking at a minute ago (which has caused this rant) didnt even have a scorecard of its two courses!! one of them ranked in the top 50 of england golf courses.

In your view, what should a good website have? or not have?
 
I would say a scorecard, & a course preview, hole by hole to see if it is difficult enough/too difficult depending on the player's abilities.

I would also say (from experience) it would be good to get an idea of topography (flat course / hilly etc). I say this as we all arrived for a stableford social recently at a course new to all of us. On the site, the course overview all looked lovely. However, when we actually arrived there were a great many more hills than we thought. One of our group is ok with flat, but should any hills be around needs to use a buggy. Luckily one was available, but it could have been a wasted trip.....
 
MendieGK said:
I run my works golf society, so spend quite a lot of time looking at websites for course information etc.

some are very good, whilst some a just plain awful!

For example, one website i was looking at a minute ago (which has caused this rant) didnt even have a scorecard of its two courses!! one of them ranked in the top 50 of england golf courses.

In your view, what should a good website have? or not have?
Click to expand...

self evidently they need to meet the needs of both the business and the customer - these aren't always the same!

there's also the problem of using the site as a customer filtration application - and getting that very wrong!

finally many clubs are still using a single site as a member communication vehicle as well as a general web presence; generally no one ends up happy :(

as an occasional viewer I do find it strange that those associated with the largest media orientated groups have the least pertinent information for the visiting golfer or potential member; examples being Marriott and Crown golf. At the other end of the scale some smaller clubs provide everything you might want to decide about membership or visiting without the need to phone anyone, or fill in a web inquiry form (yuk)
 
Both of the clubs I've been a member of don't have a scorecard on their website, but they do have a hole-by-hole description, with yardage diagrams and a pro's tip.

As as much information as possible is usually the best. Info on deals, bundles, open competitions, maybe special offers in the pro shop, possibly a weather ticker. I'm not too keen when it shows the captains photos and things in their blazers, I think they're better off kept in the clubhouse. Keep the site minimalist, but with all the info you need, and information that will actually get people there. I know some clubs are upmarket, but I've seen some on their home page just moaning, with the dress code rules, and no changing shoes in the car park rules. Remember, first impressions are everything, and to me, this sort of thing ruins it.

As for an online tee-booking system, I'm not really sure. I had some bad experiences with one at my last club, as too many people used it well in advance, so it was very difficult to get a round in, if you left it a few days or even a week before. Between 8:00 and 4:00 on a weekend you could just forget it, tees were (on paper) booked weeks in advance. A lot of people booked and never turned up too. My new club doesn't have one, but I much prefer the face-to-face interaction and social aspect of going to the club to check competition lists, having a chat and a coffee, and if I really want to, book a tee time on a busy day. You probably waste more time, but personally, I'd rather be at the club, having a practice, and maybe a drink, taking in the atmosphere, than sat in front of my laptop.
 
duncan mackie said:
self evidently they need to meet the needs of both the business and the customer - these aren't always the same!

there's also the problem of using the site as a customer filtration application - and getting that very wrong!

finally many clubs are still using a single site as a member communication vehicle as well as a general web presence; generally no one ends up happy :(

as an occasional viewer I do find it strange that those associated with the largest media orientated groups have the least pertinent information for the visiting golfer or potential member; examples being Marriott and Crown golf. At the other end of the scale some smaller clubs provide everything you might want to decide about membership or visiting without the need to phone anyone, or fill in a web inquiry form (yuk)
Click to expand...

My example was St Mellion, so yes you are correct.
 
RollinThunder said:
Both of the clubs I've been a member of don't have a scorecard on their website, but they do have a hole-by-hole description, with yardage diagrams and a pro's tip.

As as much information as possible is usually the best. Info on deals, bundles, open competitions, maybe special offers in the pro shop, possibly a weather ticker. I'm not too keen when it shows the captains photos and things in their blazers, I think they're better off kept in the clubhouse. Keep the site minimalist, but with all the info you need, and information that will actually get people there. I know some clubs are upmarket, but I've seen some on their home page just moaning, with the dress code rules, and no changing shoes in the car park rules. Remember, first impressions are everything, and to me, this sort of thing ruins it.

As for an online tee-booking system, I'm not really sure. I had some bad experiences with one at my last club, as too many people used it well in advance, so it was very difficult to get a round in, if you left it a few days or even a week before. Between 8:00 and 4:00 on a weekend you could just forget it, tees were (on paper) booked weeks in advance. A lot of people booked and never turned up too. My new club doesn't have one, but I much prefer the face-to-face interaction and social aspect of going to the club to check competition lists, having a chat and a coffee, and if I really want to, book a tee time on a busy day. You probably waste more time, but personally, I'd rather be at the club, having a practice, and maybe a drink, taking in the atmosphere, than sat in front of my laptop.
Click to expand...

Do you not think its pretty strange not to have a scorecard of the course? for me that would be pretty much no1
 
My club have just re-done theirs and i think they have done a pretty decent job! has everything you would want i think,
 
MendieGK said:
Do you not think its pretty strange not to have a scorecard of the course? for me that would be pretty much no1
Click to expand...

My old club had both a scorecard, and a hole-by-hole description. My new club has a hole-by-hole description, but this has the yardages by tee colour, par, etc, so it is pretty much a scorecard with diagrams of the holes, just not in the form of a physical card.
 
Being a previous website admin it's difficult to say how a website should be. Is it a marketing tool for the course? Is it a place where existing members can get info etc. I see a lot of golf course sites and I cringe so bad and feel like asking them if I can do one for them. My own course site is so old that Windows95 looks new.

It's not hard to do. A simple CCS/HTML template, a picture upload of a scorecard, and some text with pics detailing the holes. It's basically beyond the understanding of most to put it all together neatly. Web design companies will charge tens of thousands for new sites for clubs, and it puts them right off. There's always some guy who knows a guy who made one website and they get the job. Some do it really well Like Hayston near me. Their site is great. Full of info for new and existing members. Some get it really badly wrong.
 
Paul77 said:
Being a previous website admin it's difficult to say how a website should be. Is it a marketing tool for the course? Is it a place where existing members can get info etc. I see a lot of golf course sites and I cringe so bad and feel like asking them if I can do one for them. My own course site is so old that Windows95 looks new.

It's not hard to do. A simple CCS/HTML template, a picture upload of a scorecard, and some text with pics detailing the holes. It's basically beyond the understanding of most to put it all together neatly. Web design companies will charge tens of thousands for new sites for clubs, and it puts them right off. There's always some guy who knows a guy who made one website and they get the job. Some do it really well Like Hayston near me. Their site is great. Full of info for new and existing members. Some get it really badly wrong.
Click to expand...

My club would probably be in the badly wrong category. It's seriously old school, so there is naff-all information for members, it's just all done by paper on notice boards, which for some reason I like, even though I was born in the 90s :D. You're right about that, my work's website was done for free by another employee, who likes dabbling in web-design as a hobby. Everybody has a couple of friends who could do the job.
 
It always amazes me when clubs fail to put up some pics of the course and holes. They can make them look quite dramatic and exciting. Like this:

TurnberryResortScotlandTheAilsaChampionshipGolfCourse.jpg


or

992.jpg
 
RollinThunder said:
My club would probably be in the badly wrong category. It's seriously old school, so there is naff-all information for members, it's just all done by paper on notice boards, which for some reason I like, even though I was born in the 90s :D. You're right about that, my work's website was done for free by another employee, who likes dabbling in web-design as a hobby. Everybody has a couple of friends who could do the job.
Click to expand...

People think that it's too expensive. A web address is a couple of quid a year, and hosting is about 5-10 quid a month from Fasthosts. I'm in the middle of creating my good ladys cosmetic enhancements website. It's nothing at all to do. Stock pics from Shutterstock with folk jabbing faces and clean UI. Enough info to lure folk in to contact her and that's it.

When I was looking for a course to join, I nearly joined the one that had the best website because I had a felling they paid attention to detail. Turns out they were the more popular choice in the area. I'm thinking about offering my services to my club plus taking the pics for the site too. I'm quite happy to help them out for the greater good.

Current site looks like an Excel spreadsheet nightmare.
 
Course info (length, par, features).
Prices.
Contact info.
Dress code requirements (nicely put).
Photos (course, clubhouse etc).
Pro shop info (stock, offers, prices).
Directions.

Members section (comps, handicaps etc).

Menu (with prices).

Maybe a little piece on the history of the club and local area (I appreciate it when they bother with something like that, local info can be handy if staying for a few days).



Pictures of shoes, lipsticks, kittens, household appliances and a celebrity gossip section (well, we do want to encourage female participation don't we?) ;)
 
I'm not really interested in the card at all or length, I head straight for the gallery to see what it looks like, but quality images is a must, as these stand on the tee/fairway and shoot with iPhone/android, cheap camera bland photos just don't do anything for the course at all. And being an amateur photographer, i do like taking photos of golf courses and know how important strong imagery is to get you to part with your hard earned money. So I'm with Woody69 on this.
 
duncan mackie said:
as an occasional viewer I do find it strange that those associated with the largest media orientated groups have the least pertinent information for the visiting golfer or potential member; examples being Marriott and Crown golf. At the other end of the scale some smaller clubs provide everything you might want to decide about membership or visiting without the need to phone anyone, or fill in a web inquiry form (yuk)
Click to expand...

Marriott have improved greatly recently, once you know how to navigate their site all the relevant information is available.

https://book.golfswitch.com/Portal/CourseInfo.asp?custid=MHL&part=&lang=en&courseid=CSS3412

https://book.golfswitch.com/Portal/CourseInfo.asp?custid=MHL&part=&lang=en&courseid=CSS3411
 
Cooden have recently updated their website, and as good as it is, it still shows old plans of the holes under course description.
For instance, our 13th (my favourite hole for some reason) still only has one bunker showing at the dogleg, when a second one (invisible from the tee) was added some 5 or 6 years ago.
In the description of the hole, it mentions it, but the map overview doesn't show it.
plan-13.jpg
 
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