Golf is at the forefront of everything Direct Fairways does. When it came to leveraging the golf boom that happened during the pandemic, they were ready with their already established, innovative way to connect golf courses around the country with local businesses in a win-win for both.
Interest in golf had been rising steadily in popularity for years, but the pandemic created the perfect conditions for the sport – a fully outdoor activity that facilitated social distancing. Golf offered an opportunity for people to develop a new skill in a time of relative isolation.
According to The National Golf Foundation, since 2016 the sport has seen a 30% increase in the number of Americans engaged with the sport as players or spectators. They also report that the number of rounds played on average per year is up 10% from pre-pandemic levels. The PGA reports that the total number of active on- and off-course golfers represents approximately 11% of the United States population, fueled by the third consecutive year of 33% increase in the population of first-time beginners from pre-pandemic levels.
These statistics have propelled the growth of Direct Fairways, allowing them to serve more golf courses nationwide, expand into Canada, and establish satellite offices across the United States demonstrating its growing influence in the market.
Innovative, Cost-Effective Ways to Enhance the Golfer Experience
Since its founding in 2015, Direct Fairways, which is based in Arizona, has been putting local businesses in front of local golfers every day through innovative and cost-effective materials to enhance the experience of golfers. In the wake of the pandemic when so many people took to the greens, Direct Fairways was ready to help golf courses by providing free scoring materials while facilitating connections with local businesses at an affordable cost.
Direct Fairways now serves thousands of golf courses with their cutting-edge products. They provide top-quality golf kiosks, scorecards, yardage cards, and course guides. Golf courses receive these products at no charge while local businesses benefit from advertising on these products, allowing them to reach a highly engaged audience and desirable demographic daily – golfers are affluent, educated, and willing to spend money on recreational enjoyment.
It’s a perfect alignment of courses, golfers, and local businesses. Except for the advertising, the golf course management and staff have full control over the design and approval of the materials.
Scorecards are designed to enhance the status of each course while complementing other marketing materials. In the past the high cost of printing the scorecards fell on the individual courses causing them to order in large quantities. Due to the longer time between printing, courses were not able to adjust for changing yardages, designs or layouts. In order to solve this problem, Direct Fairway’s free scorecards are printed digitally and in smaller quantities to accommodate course and advertiser changes.
A Captive and Engaged Audience
In a crowded media landscape with so many marketing opportunities available to businesses, advertising on golf course materials commands attention from a captive and engaged audience. The advertising on materials produced by Direct Fairways gets seen. On average, golfers spend four-to-five hours with their scorecard in hand. Scorecards are often taken home or to the office by golfers as a keepsake or souvenir, which adds continued visibility for advertisers.
Technology plays an integral role in Direct Fairways’ operations through digital platforms and innovative solutions. They actively invest in digital tools to enhance service delivery and customer engagement, including the development of digital scorecards and interactive course maps. These technological advancements provide more dynamic advertising opportunities while maintaining a commitment to quality service.
Direct Fairways harnesses technology to create websites for golf courses, elevating their marketing and enhancing customer engagement. Whether the course is a resort, semi-private, private club, municipal, or a daily fee golf course, Direct Fairways can help. Their experienced web design and marketing team are dedicated to providing state of the art websites and digital marketing services to help sell more rounds of golf or market the course property for special events and corporate outings.
Golf courses can create new revenue streams by also adding an online store to their website to sell merchandise, memberships, gift cards, and more.
Keeping the Customer Satisfied
Customer service is paramount and building relationships with the golf courses and local businesses is part of the company’s mission. The Direct Fairways team assists golf course management by reaching out to local businesses to negotiate offers and sponsorship deals for advertising. It makes the process much easier for golf courses when management knows it can rely on the experience and expertise of Direct Fairways to get their program up and running.
Direct Fairways connects with customers through their enhanced digital platforms and tools, focusing on providing value through interactive features such as digital scorecards and course maps. Their approach emphasizes maintaining strong relationships with both golf courses and advertisers through consistent communication and service delivery.
They actively monitor customer feedback and maintain strong relationships with both golf courses and advertisers. Direct Fairways’ vetting process ensures all advertisements meet golf course management approval, maintaining high standards and protecting their partners’ interests. Continuous improvement of their services is based on client feedback and industry trends.
A Workplace Culture That Cares About Employees
Not only does Direct Fairways help connect and empower local businesses and communities— but they also take care of their employees. In addition to comprehensive and robust benefits, employees are encouraged to maintain a healthy work-life balance with generous sick leave, paid time off, commissions and bonuses. Inspiring and empowering their team members is a driving core value at Direct Fairways, rooted in collaboration and dedicated to continuous improvement.
Direct Fairways offers second chances to people with backgrounds that might affect their employment options, with the goal of helping them rebuild their careers and contribute to their communities. Paired with diverse hiring practices and an inclusive workplace culture, employees of various backgrounds and perspectives are welcomed and rewarded for their engagement and support.
By Chris Bates
