Introduction

The golfer’s lament: calling for tee times.

There are about 15,500 golf courses in the U.S. About 3,500 of them are private, essentially not open to the public. Perhaps another 3,000 to 3,500 courses are in rural areas, not connected to the Internet, tough to get to and even the best marketing won’t attract enough new foot traffic to make much of a difference.

If you’ve ever called for a tee time, I’m sure you’re familiar with the dance you go through. First, you call the Golf Shop, and if you avoid voicemail or a busy signal, perhaps you’ll get the young assistant pro or telephone operator. Your conversation likely goes something like this:

• “I’d like to book a tee time for Saturday morning.”
• “What time would you like to play?”
• “How about two people at 10:30 a.m.?”
• “We’re booked then, and only foursomes allowed before noon.”
• “How about 12:15 p.m.?”
• “Booked.”
• “Well, I need to play before 1 p.m.”
• “How many people in your group?”
• “Two, like I said.”
• “Sorry. I have a single at 12:48.”

• “I’d like to book a tee time for Saturday morning.”
• “What time would you like to play?”
• “How about two people at 10:30 a.m.?”
• “We’re booked then, and only foursomes allowed before noon.”
• “How about 12:15 p.m.?”
• “Booked.”
• “Well, I need to play before 1 p.m.”
• “How many people in your group?”
• “Two, like I said.”
• “Sorry. I have a single at 12:48.”

You think booking golf reservations are ripe for disruption?

Our work for GolfNow grew out of an ongoing relationship begun with Golf Channel in the late 1990’s ... before there was a GolfNow. Our business-to-business expertise in the golf category was needed to help sign up golf courses to participate in the GolfNow marketplace.

What’s interesting about the online booking category—even to this day—is the sheer marketing chutzpah of the leading players. The largest on-demand auto transportation provider in the U.S., Uber, doesn’t own a single car. The leading lodging player, Airbnb, doesn’t own a single hotel, not even a room.

And the top online tee time marketplace in the world doesn’t own a single golf course.

Before the brand could build credible traction, however, GolfNow needed golf courses to offer tee times online. So the first thing we did was help them get there. “The Race to 3,000” was on.

the race to 3,000

The power of promotion.

This was a sales promotion designed to effect hyper-growth. GolfNow’s online and on-air advertising on Golf Channel was its not-so-secret weapon, allowing the brand to build awareness and demand among golfers who, in turn, kindled the necessary apprehension and adoption among golf course operators.

Imagine trying out the OpenTable app to book a restaurant in Atlanta or New York and finding only a handful of restaurants available. Not because the rest were booked solid; they just weren’t OpenTable customers. Would you be likely to use OpenTable again? Probably not.

That’s why building an internal promotion to drive new course acquisition was so important to help fuel GolfNow’s growth. We wanted to go from approximately 1,200 to 3,000 courses and do it before April 1. The Race to 3,000 included an all-expenses paid trip for four top GolfNow salespeople to the Masters. A trip to the first major of the year, golf’s holy ground? They killed it.

The Race to 3,000 was one of many milestones GolfNow will log in pursuit of their moonshot to “Facilitate the booking of every round of golf, everywhere.” That’s what’s so great about a moonshot. It isn’t a long shot, but a glimpse at the truth for your brand and your company. When President Kennedy challenged America to reach the moon before the end of the 1960s, what went unsaid were the many spectacular discoveries and accomplishments that this grand mission would produce. And that’s where 54 thrives—we are big idea driven and project-focused, which produces remarkable results.