» MILLENNIALS
Through its concerted efforts to position itself as the family-friendly option for Millennials, the tradition-rich Field Club of Omaha has seen a net gain of 53 memberships over the last two years for which the primary member is under 35 years old.
Photo courtesy Field Club of Omaha
Bridging the Generation (Golf) Gap MACKENZIE MACK, LPGA, PGA, MBA, serves on the WE ARE GOLF Millennial Task Force. A professional golfer and certified LPGA and PGA of America teacher, Mack played collegiate golf at Indiana State University, where she graduated with a B.S. in Business Marketing and Masters of Business Administration. Mack, who was named to Golf Digest’s list of “Best Young Instructors Under 40” in 2016-2017, currently serves as Senior Program Director for The First Tee of Tampa Bay. For golf pros seeking She recently issued these “Five Tips to Help to attract and retain Golf Pros Retain Millennial Clients”: Millennial clients, a key Be Flexible. Millennials do not adhere to is to “meet them where traditional 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedules. They may they are,” says Mackenzie Mack. pop in to work at 8 a.m., have a long lunch at 12 noon, and want to stop in for a lesson at 2 p.m. Keep your teaching schedule open to their everchanging needs. Provide Class-Size Options. Millennials are social! They may take an individual lesson and want to invite their best friends to the next one. Make sure you provide lesson packages that allow for different class sizes. Get Off the Range and Get to the Course. Millennials like to see results quickly. Do not spend five lessons on the range. Get them the basics, and then transition them to the course. They want to see how everything ties together. If they think they need more time on the range, they will say so! Cash App it! Millennials don’t have a checkbook and rarely carry cash, because they don’t have to! Make sure you make quick and convenient payment options, such as PayPal, Venmo and Cash App, available, so they can quickly pay for the lesson and be on their way. Pause for a Selfie Break. Take time to capture fun experiences on the lesson tee to share with the world. Sharing on social media allows you to connect with millennials by speaking their language. Meet them where they are!
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As GM, Gilg has ramped up the club’s concerted efforts to embrace Millennials as both valued members and membership prospects, as well as key parts of the management staff who can help to inject a lot of fresh energy into the club’s programming and culture. Those efforts have already paid off with publicity such as a recent feature story in the Omaha WorldHerald that was headlined, “Omaha’s Oldest Private Club is the New Place to Be for Millennials, Young Families.” Much of the impetus behind the Field Club’s new direction, Gilg says, stemmed from his frustration, while at previous clubs, that came from watching club Boards sit around and sulk about how Millennials don’t value the club lifestyle. “As a Millennial, it’s not that we don’t like the club lifestyle; we just want the value proposition to make sense to our family, because there are more options than ever before fighting for discretionary dollars,” Gilg says. “Omaha has a market of really awesome clubs, each uniquely different,” he adds. “We have tried to position ourselves as the family-friendly option for Millennials.” In the past two years, that positioning has paid off for the club with a net gain of 53 memberships for which the primary member is under the age of 35—growth that has taken it to capacity for social memberships, and near capacity for golf. One key to this growth was adjusting the Field Club’s junior membership structure to provide greater value for the dues. Before www.clubandresortbusiness.com
6/28/19 9:39 AM