Two Courses Look to Stay Ahead of the Amenity Curve

Jamie Driscoll

By Gord Montgomery, Inside Golf

SPRUCE GROVE, Alberta — In any business, an owner or manager needs to stay ahead of the competition; otherwise, they lose out on new, and returning, customers. Such is the case in the golf world where the recent boom has seen players seeking venues that give them the most for their money, and not just through green fee dollars.

To that end, two courses in the Edmonton area — one public and the other private — have stepped up their games to draw consumers in — and hopefully keep them — through top-end offerings. Both the Stony Plain Golf Course and the Edmonton Petroleum G&CC know they need to do something special to keep patrons returning or initially buying in, so they’ve both gone above and beyond with course amenities to meet rising expectations.

At Stony Plain, a public layout, executive professional Jeff Cuthbertson pointed out that his course has, over the past few seasons, become an exclusive adidas-brand shop (as well as carrying all other lines), plus they are now one of a few public facility pro shops anyone can access that carries PXG clubs. And finally this year, they’ve added a full-time teaching pro to their staff.

By offering more than what others tee up at their courses, Cuthbertson noted, “I think for us, we’re always looking at trying to improve. The staff here are always looking for something new, always looking for what might be the next trend.” Over the years, the municipal course has done just that by adding a short game practice area, a kids’ 4-hole loop, and an executive chef to whet the appetite of public players after their rounds.

While their focus has largely been on course conditions over the past few years, the Stony pro said, “I think now we’ve moved past that. Our retail business continues to grow every year. We have a big shop, the space to have a true retail store. They guys custom fit, teach lessons, and you’ll see more of that this year with the COVID protocols gone,” and that’s where the new teaching pro comes into play there.

Down the road at the Petroleum Club, their biggest addition to foster growth and to give current members more for their money has been an upscale practice area. It now includes, of course, a driving range, but also a short game practice area and the newest addition: a 3-hole loop that includes one each of a par 3, 4, and 5 hole.

Of those new holes, head pro Kyle Boyd said the reasoning for it was twofold: firstly to give members more for their money but also to entice new people to join the club.

“That three-hole practice loop has championship holes,” said Boyd. “People can come out in the evening, go to the range then go to the loop to practice what they’ve been working on. It’s great for young families being introduced to the game. There’s an opportunity to expose people to the game. It definitely was twofold, both to add value and something unique for the current membership while being a selling feature to prospective members down the road that will help separate us a little bit from some of our competitors.”

Boyd said, “I think it’s a little too early to tell,” as to whether this expense will pay off in the long run, but added, “We definitely saw a bit of an uptick in the fall (2021) of some share purchases whether it was just the right place, right time. The short game area opened in August 2020 and three-hole loop in September of last year. So outside of being able to only show plans and sell verbally, there wasn’t an opportunity to show it. I’d say, on a limited basis, it’s helped but it may be a bit early to tell whether that’s going to be a deciding factor,” but it likely isn’t going to hurt either.

Back in Stony, new teaching pro Jamie Driscoll, a long-time Class A professional welcomes the opportunity to put several new teaching ideas into play, including individual and group lessons, corporate sessions, and giving women and kids the proper start in the game. He feels adding a teaching pro like himself at a public facility such as Stony is a big step in the right direction in attracting — and keeping — a solid customer base. And he noted that there aren’t many teachers on staff at public golf courses these days.

“I think it’s very important nowadays to have somebody who can dedicate a lot of their time to teaching,” he began. “The biggest demographic of new golfers these days are ages five to ten and lady golfers, so you need professionals to go out and teach. Courses have been so busy these last two years there hasn’t been time for guys to leave the pro shop to be able to get out and teach.”

To further enhance what he’s offering, Driscoll has teed up what he calls lesson memberships. “I’ve created a junior version and an adult version. With COVID the last couple of years, we haven’t had that 1-on-1 instruction and, for sure, group settings. People are excited to come back to that and because of that, it’s important to have somebody that dedicates most of their time to teaching.”

For both facilities, it pretty much goes without saying that bringing in new faces and keeping them attached to these facilities is the end goal of making such strides forward in improving what’s offered.

“Ultimately, the goal with any facility, whether public or private, is retention for long-term health of the club. Certainly one way we felt we could do that — separate ourselves, get people in the door, and then when you see what the product is all about — and if I wasn’t on this side of the table, it would certainly be an attractive place to join,” Boyd explained about spending money to make money in a competitive business.

For Cuthbertson, who has changed the face of his public layout dramatically since he took the reins a few years ago, doing upgrades like what have been done during his time, and before, add up.

“A big part of it is not standing still. If you’re standing still, you’re going backwards and I’ve always had that opinion.”

And right now, in a competitive marketplace in the Edmonton area, neither one of these courses is standing still, waiting to see what everyone else is doing.

For more information on what’s taking place at the Stony Plain Golf Course, and what their lesson plans are, call the pro shop at 780-963-2133. As for the Petroleum Club, who are likely putting a cap on memberships this year, they can be reached at 780-470-0700.