Solving for a Global Need
Fellow CourseIQ founder, Jack, and I had the chance to play some rounds in Ireland this past week, where I finally experienced my first links course, and first true round of golf there since I was a kid playing pitch and putt during summer camp. The weather was kind to us overall, and we were in heaven.
Unsurprisingly, the experiences we had, along with the conversations with the managers, captains and other venue staff, were exactly the same to what we’ve been encountering in the US. For the first round, we had planned on having lunch prior to teeing off. Only when we arrived to the course did we learn the restaurant was closed. Thankfully, the tee sheet was wide open for a mid-week round, and we teed off with little delay. We ended up spending money that potentially would have stayed at the course in town instead. Given the light tee sheet, the restaurant might have been closed regardless, but it would have been good to know in advance so we could have planned our day better.
On the second round, we accidentally made back-to-back duplicate bookings in the system the week before. The pro shop was aware of this prior to our arrival as they immediately brought this up when we walked in, but they had not alerted before we showed up to the course if this was indeed our intention (which should have been automated/flagged). When we mentioned it was a mistake on our part, they thankfully offered a refund for the duplicative booking, but we had to send an email after the round to their accounting department (who replied to us a day later with the refund confirmation). While this team was unbelievably friendly and took care of our mistake, they also lost a set of tee times that day, and for a few short minutes we thought we were going to have to pay twice.
Finally, on the third round there had been some rains overnight, so the morning of we received an email saying that three holes would be unplayable and closed. We were disappointed, but at least we received notice of the weather impact hours prior to our arrival. Shortly after receiving the first email, we received another with a significant credit towards our greens fees and an apology for the grounds condition, which immediately brightened our spirits and made things right with the world. Finally, or so we had thought, here was a course that had the systems/rules in place to be able to manage the experience - and save revenue as we had considered seeing what else was fully open that morning. However, when we showed up, we learned that an invited society had been squeezed onto the course, which slowed down pace of play to a five-hour round, and basically had us finishing the last hole in darkness. Foiled again!
Three rounds over four days, and not one of them went completely smooth from an operations standpoint. Did that ruin the best time with Jack on this trip? Absolutely not. But will it impact how we look to go back to these courses again in the future? Absolutely.
This trip gave us overwhelming confidence that what CourseIQ is building will only make everyone’s job easier, make the patron experience better, and drive incremental revenue from these operational efficiencies. We are back stateside now, with a demo in hand and some more great news to announce soon.
See you on the tee box!