What are the business costs for a bucket of balls?

[barrybridges]

This is a genuine question, relating to an idea I've been mulling over for some time.

I just wondered what the business costs were for someone operating a driving range, for a bucket of (say 100) balls, above and beyond the already existing costs they occur.

In other words:

Let's say Peter runs a driving range and he already has a customer base and is making some money.

If I rock up tomorrow and pay him £5 for 100 balls, what are the additional costs that he has incurred in providing me with that service?

I get that:

- there's a cost in time/effort/petrol in picking up/collecting the balls
- there's a negligible increase in rate of depreciation of equipment (mats wear quicker, powertees etc)

But other than that, is there an additional cost?

This would be really helpful information; I'm working on a very local charity initiative to connect local schools with the local driving range and want to have an idea of the costs involved.

 

[JustOne]

I think it's a viable business if you can get custom.

I always thought about it along the lines of... a customer pays you £5 for a bucket of balls then goes home... is it not better to sell him a 2nd bucket for £2.50 and get more money rather than let him walk away?

I think you have to take some 'loss of balls' into the calculation (and theft), and cost of staffing if you turn it into a 'busy' place.

 

[barrybridges]

I think it's a viable business if you can get custom.

I always thought about it along the lines of... a customer pays you £5 for a bucket of balls then goes home... is it not better to sell him a 2nd bucket for £2.50 and get more money rather than let him walk away?

I think you have to take some 'loss of balls' into the calculation (and theft), and cost of staffing if you turn it into a 'busy' place.

Hadn't thought about ball loss and theft - good point.

It's still the very early days of an idea, but I'd like to share it with you.

The local driving range to me has (had) a great pro working there; a really genuinely nice guy who bent over backwards for you. Sadly, he's been pushed onto other pastures as the driving range used to be a separate venture to the club itself; now the club have done a deal with the owners of the range and he's been nudged out because he can't afford the rent (which I'm told is £2000 a month).

I had a chat with him earlier and he very kindly informed me that on a good month, the range itself made £2,000, but that's only in the height of the best weather. Normally it's £1k per month - and often much less in the winter. I was pretty shocked, but sadly not surprised.

We then had a chat about how the viability of a driving range is intrisically tied to the ability of the club to gain new members; there's a very limited catchment area to pick from and - in general - if the club is shedding members then the driving range is unlikely to be growing much. In other words, a pretty poor situation for the pro to be in. We queried why there were so few juniors playing.

Which made me wonder if there was a way of working with local schools to offer them heavily - and I mean really heavily - discounted range sessions, pulled together under the auspices of some kind of social initiative or charity scheme?

I reckon that I could quite comfortably liaise with the 30+ local schools around here to get 100 kids on the range once a week. If they all paid £1.50 for a bucket of balls - or if the school were to subsidise this in some way - it'd be an extra £750 in the coffers for the range.

It doesn't sound like much, but when you hear that they're making an average of £1000 a month, it's increasing their income by 75%.

Like I said, it's just an idea, but I'm pretty convinced there's a way of a) giving school kids cheap access to golf, b) giving the range additional income and c) giving a pro some money for group lessons.

 

[Alex1975]

Staff!!! Thats the big one, the cost of the staff to pick them up and wash them and feed them back into the machine and lighting in the winter.... Just guessing though.


Rent...

 

[brendy]

Staff, rates, mortgage/rent, electricity, insurance, products.. Im sure I missed a few.

 

[Alex1975]

By the way.... where have you been Barry, we have not seen you.

Another one we missed was burned out cars!!! Remember that one!!

 

[JustOne]

Staff, rates, mortgage/rent, electricity, insurance, products.. Im sure I missed a few.

Definitely insurance if you've got 100 kids swinging golf clubs, wouldn't want Billy wearing Mike's driver as a permanent hat

I'm sure driving ranges are viable businesses with the right person at the helm... although you need a PGA pro involved most of the time... and/or video stuff set up nowadays.

 

[davidg2010uk]

A stated above staff are expensive. While the pro is giving lessons you need someone in the shop serving customers.
Was the £1000 per month profit or revenue?

 

[CMAC]

A stated above staff are expensive. While the pro is giving lessons you need someone in the shop serving customers.
Was the £1000 per month profit or revenue?

has to be profit or it would be making a massive loss.

This kind of business needs footfall and lots of it, consistent footfall as opposed to 'busy in summer only'. I've had lots of ideas for ranges and with our climate a good one will make good money as people travel for the experience.

 

[Coatsy79]

I would have assumed a range (decent one with lighting etc) would be as busy if not busier in the winter, as it's the only way to play golf for some at that time of year

 

[pokerjoke]

Theres a range near me that does schools already,dont know what they pay.
However regular range users cant get on,so it can have an adverse effect.

 

[Wolfman]

As a seasoned business professional I am amazed how poor some ranges are managed
Often they seem to miss opportunities such as short game practice and putting areas and if they have a Pro the chance to offer quick 15 min walk down the bays giving advice at a low price, say £5 / £10 instead they wait for the golfer to come to them and book 30 mins or an hour. Lack of forward thinking, mirrors in bays, alignment marks on mats, video swing and take home on USB etc etc

I am sure in the Winter time more could be done as well, ok maybe it needs brainstorming but we all know certain practice is very valuable especially during the winter just needs more thought than rows of bays for driving the hell out of range balls

 

[mykweb]

My local range charges £7.40 for 100 balls. However They offer a loyalty card (which I have) if you top up the card you get a discount on the balls. I top up with £25 each month. I end up getting 100 balls for £6.50. I know they loyalty cards sell well for the regulars.

During school holidays they offer 50 balls for jr's for £1.50 Monday > Friday. I have been up a few lunch times and its mobbed with kids. This is great for the business and for the future of golf.

One thing to be wary of with regulars is the types of balls. One range i used to use had unmarked white balls. They were terrible every time you hit them they were like rocks. That range charged £6.90 for 100. I only went there once due to the rubbish balls. The place where I go now at braid hills in edinburgh uses wilson range balls. They do not allow bags onto the range which cuts down on the theft of the balls.

 

[lyden]

My school was underprivileged by some stretch but our p.e classes involved a trip to the range. Just about the only time id picked up a club, none of us would have been able to afford green fees and certainly not even a junior membership. A lot of the people on those trips play golf now they're working though.

 

[barrybridges]

Thanks for your replies.

I'm sad to say that the range involved - as I understand it - was only turning over £1-2k per month. That's revenue, not profit.

The pro running it told me that the rent was £1k but was put up to £2k when the club bought it.

He's a good guy but it's just an awkward situation for them all. The club is a "bit crap" to be fair with a fair course which is badly maintained. It's an out-of-the way location and if struggles to attract members or casual visitors; the only people using the range are club members.

It's a really sad yet inevitable situation.

Now, I really like the guy, but I can't help big think that what we're seeing is a symptom and not a cause; up and down the country there aren't enough juniors playing and membership numbers are dwindling. If there's not enough turnover, there's no commercial incentive to operate facilities like driving ranges, so regular holders end up suffering.

Really sad times.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

From the schools point of view, they have Class A with 30 pupils @the stated £1.50 per kid = £45
It then costs another £150 to hire a coach to take them there and back which blows a hole in the budget as it now costs £6.50 a head,

Add in the fact that they will need more staff/parent helpers for an out of school activity , the ratio will change with the age of the kids,

So now it isnt a quick trip down the range with class A, its a letter home asking for parental help on the day & money for the event, booking a coach ,collecting money, chasing money, doing a risk assessment and pray that little Johnny doesnt belt Nigel with his 7 iron.

Compare this with Class A kicking 9 bells out of each other on the school field with 1 teacher in control and you can see why it isnt obviously attractive to schools

Now if they are within walking distance, then that might be different, but that might be 1 school, not 30

 

[SocketRocket]

Most Ranges I know have a very poor business outlook. They have little understanding of how to attract customers or how to enhance the customers experience.

Why do they not offer a monthly membership scheme where you pay a fixed fee and can hit as many balls as you like.

As someone else mentioned, buy one get one half price.

Why does the Range Pro not spend a little but often amount of time walking around, speaking to people and offering a little free advice with some explanation of what the customer needs to improve and how he/She can help with a plan.

Poor quality golf balls will drive serious golfers away.

A free cup of coffee goes a long way to attract customers at a fairly low cost.

 

[JustOne]

Most golf courses I know have a very poor business outlook. They have little understanding of how to attract customers or how to enhance the customers experience.

Fixed that for you :thup:

 

[Wolfman]

Most Ranges I know have a very poor business outlook. They have little understanding of how to attract customers or how to enhance the customers experience.

Why do they not offer a monthly membership scheme where you pay a fixed fee and can hit as many balls as you like.

As someone else mentioned, buy one get one half price.

Why does the Range Pro not spend a little but often amount of time walking around, speaking to people and offering a little free advice with some explanation of what the customer needs to improve and how he/She can help with a plan.

Poor quality golf balls will drive serious golfers away.

A free cup of coffee goes a long way to attract customers at a fairly low cost.

Exactly my thoughts too