In today’s competitive golf environment, generating a
non-traditional revenue stream should be reason enough to consider—if not
wholeheartedly embrace—a new concept. Sciarrillo estimates that since
implementing the changes at Monty’s, approximately 70 percent of the club’s food
and beverage revenue now “has nothing to do with the golf population.”
Those are some pretty hefty numbers, especially considering he and
his staff’s marketing investment has been consciously cost-effective. Their
efforts include everything from door-to-door handouts and direct mailings to
bartering for broadcast and print advertising. Theme nights, such as the
“Tropical Island Night,” where staff members dress accordingly, are specifically
designed to attract business from the community by creating a fun, inviting
atmosphere.
With the shorter golf seasons in colder climates, the food and
beverage operation has become increasingly important for bottom-line performance
for facilities like The Legends Golf Club. Legends, which was recently honored
as the NGCOA’s 2006 Golf Course of the Year, is located 25 miles south of
downtown Minneapolis. General Manager Dan Dols and Marketing Director Steve
Dowling realized from Day 1 (in 2001) that f&b would have to generate
significant revenue to help the facility weather Minnesota’s harsh
winters.
“We’ve been doing about $1.8 million annually in food
& beverage between the Legends Grill and banquets,” says Dols, who points to
the quality of food and the club’s executive chef, Steve Laced, who was hired
away from an established private club, as the principal drivers of this new
revenue stream.
