As daily fee golf courses try to balance their need to attract new golfers with the equally important goal of reducing expenses, every marketing dollar is precious. The balance is even more delicate for those courses in far flung northern areas where the season is short and the competition intense. It demands special creativity to attract new blood to their golf courses.
An ad in today’s USA Today shows that some clubs don’t get it and are throwing good money after bad. A club called Manistee National, which I had never heard of, took a quarter-page ad in the national paper today at a retail cost of probably $25,000 or so. At the minimum rate that Manistee advertises for green fees, that is the equivalent of 297 rounds of golf. The ad squanders many opportunities. It mention’s only the club’s web site and phone number under a single “wow-‘em” line, “Golf Package Special” starting at $84.
The ad makes no mention of Manistee National’s location; it could be in Canada, or Zimbabwe for that matter. A check of the web site indicates the golf club is in Northern Michigan. Are they ashamed of the location, or afraid folks won’t go to their web site if they indicate “Northern Michigan?” If that is the case, do they think a person who visits the web site will change her mind about a trip that likely includes a few changes of planes to get to Muskegon and then a drive of about another hour?
If this ad was produced by its ad agency, Manistee National should fire them. If Manistee’s own people produced and placed the ad, well, you know the old line that the man who represents himself in court has a fool for a lawyer. The same is true for advertising.
Ironically, at least I now know what and where Manistee National is.