Every golf course operator answers similar questions every day at the pro shop desk. “When are you aerating?” “Which holes are cart path only?” “Is there a frost delay today?” The list goes on and on.
Answering these queries is not only repetitive. They are a drain on the most valuable resource of all: TIME. Every moment spent on the phone responding to a question is a precious moment that could be used to assist a customer in the pro shop, tend to an urgent need on the course, or take a moment for yourself (we all need those sometimes!)
This blog post will attempt to solve this age-old issue by presenting three Gallus modules that can be used to post course conditions updates for everyone to read at their leisure. Read on to take back your time!
One of our most helpful tools in promoting the app was posting daily course conditions. My biggest suggestion to any course manager out there looking to implement a Gallus app at their course would be to start posting course conditions to the app every day. It is a quick and easy way for players to check and it takes just a few seconds to post on the management side.
It’s also a way to eliminate a lot of phone calls. Golfers are always looking for answers to questions like “Is it Cart Path Only today?” “Is there a delay this morning or on time?” “Is the driving range open?”
So many of these phone calls have been eliminated with the course conditions posting. Here at Algonkian Golf Course, we’ve even told our pro shop staff, starters, and marshals, to check the app to see if they need to come to work that day.
Matthew Taylor
General Manager, Algonkian Golf Course
Featured News
News items have the benefit of being prominent at the top of an app’s home screen and twice the size of a normal home screen button. This vastly increases the likelihood of a user tapping on it.
Most facilities use this feature as a single location app users can visit on the morning of a round to gain information about the conditions of that day. Since this is a static button, users need to look for and tap on it themselves. This acts as a filter for the message and ensures users that aren’t playing aren’t bothered with this unnecessary information.
For the simplest flow, create one News item with a basic format of conditions. This could be as simple as the cart path only holes for the day, or could go in-depth with aeration schedules, pin positions (with a pin sheet in the News item), and even the names and contact numbers of the marshals for the day.
From there, add a task for your opening crew to update this News item every morning with details for the day. The task will be less daunting and only take a few moments, with minor updates to the existing copy needed. Everyone on staff can then enjoy the rest of the day without unnecessary calls asking for this info. (If someone does call for this, make sure to point them to check the app next time!)
We were sending out daily emails with course conditions and frost delays, plus dealing with a lot of calls each morning regarding conditions. We have now ‘trained’ our members and guests to look at the app each morning, we update the conditions daily there. The members love it that they can now just check the app in the morning if they have a round scheduled. Gallus has really helped our operations.
Stacy Dunster
Director of HR & Club Ops, Red Hawk Golf & Resort
Pop-Up's
If News isn’t direct enough for your operation, the next step is Pop-Up’s. These messages can be set to display the moment a user opens the app for the first time that day, which results in every user that opens your app that day needing to interact with it.
Pop-Up’s display until the user taps out of them, which hides the message for the rest of the day. Because of this, it’s best to make the content of the Pop-Up generic and use the CTA at the bottom to link to a News item. This helps to push more traffic to your News item and prevents your staff from needing to update another feature every day.
A good example of this is the Pop-Up to the left. Note that the text could apply to any day and the CTA is prominent at the bottom of the screen. Set this up once and pay attention to the News item every day!
Gallus Golf has given Pohick Bay Golf Course a great way to interact with our customers with the use of push Notifications, Offer Locker, and News. Being able to send frost delays and course updates directly to the app through a Push Notification has been very beneficial to us. The ability to post weather and course conditions in our news items has been a great tool to keep everyone informed each day.
Jon Mendez
Asst. Golf Course Manager, Pohick Bay Golf Course
Push Notifications
Push Notifications can be the most efficient way to get a message out to the widest audience possible. They send to a device’s lock screen so the user can view them in their notification drawer AND display in their app’s Message Center for the next 30 days. This means even users that haven’t allowed notifications through their device will still be able to see them in their app.
With a maximum of 178 characters, Push Notifications demand a succinct message. Keep it simple with the most important information at the beginning, followed by anything else users may need to know. For instance, the message on the right has all of the elements previously described: a concise message with important details front-loaded.
Best of all, Push Notifications can also be linked to a News item. This means the most pertinent info can be sent out with the remaining details available in the item itself. Then indicate the user can tap on the notification for more info.
Conclusion
The in-app browser is a powerful tool that empowers clubs to enhance their operations and provide a seamless experience to their members and guests. By integrating external URLs within their app, facilities can streamline processes such as lesson booking, member portals, tee time reservations, course updates, and food and beverage ordering.
The result is a more efficient and convenient mobile experience, where users can access a wide range of services without ever leaving the app. As golf courses continue to embrace digital solutions, leveraging the flexibility of an in-app browser will become increasingly vital in meeting the evolving expectations of golfers in the modern age.
If you don't have a Gallus custom-branded mobile app yet, we'd love to walk you through specific examples of how we can help your club. Click the button below to schedule a demo with one of our marketing experts.
