Nike Golf Builds R&D Center at Texas Range
Nike Golf is building a research and design center in Fort Worth, Texas. The 27,000-square-foot private facility will be located within Leonard Golf Links, a public driving range, enabling Nike Golf's research team to invite amateur golfers to assist in testing equipment. Nike Golf has agreed to a multiyear lease with Marty Leonard, owner of Leonard Golf Links. The Nike facility will be home to more than 30 employees operating multimillion-dollar testing and design equipment when the doors open mid-year.

Mini-Golf Web Forum
Miniature golf vendors, contractors, owners and players can join a free online forum launched by the newly formed Mini-Golf Association, a Surfside Beach, S.C.-based organization. Charter members as of mid-November 2002 included All Kids Play, Atlantic Miniature Golf and Wilson Design & Consulting Group. To join, visit www.minigolfassociation.com.

Judge Netting Buys Manhire Construction
Manhire Construction, a netting installation company with a concentration in the California golf market, has been purchased by Judge Netting Inc., a nationwide installer based in Mesa, Ariz. Jim Manhire, who started the company in 1989, will remain as a consultant to Judge Netting, which is owned Dan Judge. Manhire's sales manager Arlene Leonard will continue on in a similar capacity with the company. She can be contacted at 909-793-9088. Dan Judge can be reached at 480-969-2989 or through www.judgenetting.com.

Golf Added to Sports Club/LA
The Sports Club/LA on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, N.Y., a $60 million 150,000-square-foot sports and fitness complex, has added Greenside Golf Academy to its more than 50 sports offerings. Founded by John Hobbins, a PGA professional and former director of Golf Digest Schools, the academy offers individual and group lessons, beginning as early as 5 a.m. All sessions include use of high-speed cameras and a customized JC Video system for taping students' swings and then providing side-by-side comparisons with computer models of leading male and female golfers.

Give 'Em an Offer They Can't Refuse
Do you try to save your way to profits? Maybe cut back on marketing to control costs? What's the logic in that? Marketing is an investment that generates sales.

One example of how range owners try to save money while trying to make money is stingy promotional offers, such as coupons offering $1 off a bucket of balls or a buy-one-get-one deal. When you're talking about a $5 bucket or a $3 round of miniature golf, these types of offers aren't valuable enough to motivate consumers. You have to create a deal that is too good to pass up--something people see and then think, "I would have to be stupid not to take advantage of this."

Get their Attention
It's not easy to get people's attention and persuade them to take action. But one thing is for sure: you won't do it with a cheap offer. If your coupon isn't enticing, you'll get poor results, or worse, no results. Then you'll look at the investment you made in printing and distributing the coupon and conclude--erroneously--that marketing doesn't work.

Be Bold
Try something big and bold. Give away buckets of balls or rounds of miniature golf. You'll be surprised at how these small giveaways can generate additional sales and build customer loyalty. Give it a try and see what happens. There's little to lose and much to gain.

For more information on how to use coupons to your advantage, read "How to Put the Profit-Producing Power of Couponing to Work for You" at http://www.retailernews.com/399/reece399.html.

And the Winner Is... Jupiter Golf Center
Top honors in Golf Range Times' 2002 Best New Range contest go to Jupiter Golf Center, a 15-acre practice facility and family entertainment center located on the outskirts of Las Vegas. Read about this award-winning facility in the January/February issue and how owners Roger Baron, Dick Bellinger and Bob Cuillo created a risk-free recipe for success in America's gaming capital.

Mulligan's Island Golf & Entertainment Center in Cranston, R.I., placed second in the 2002 contest. An in-depth look at this facility will appear in the March/April issue of Golf Range Times. Congratulations to these winners and thanks to all the ranges that participated. Information on the 2003 contest will be available this spring.

In the meantime, be sure to check out these other features in the January/February magazine:

• Range owners weigh in on direct mail's effectiveness and offer tips for integrating this promotional medium into the marketing mix.
• What Link Up 2 Golf is teaching the industry.
• A look inside indoor golf centers and how this industry segment has grown into a year-round business.

Plus, industry news, new products available in the marketplace and a look at mowers and utility vehicles for maintaining the range.

Is Your Range Better Than Before?
Beginning in 2003, Golf Range Times' new department, Before & After, will highlight improvements and additions to golf practice facilities. Send Golf Range Times information on your renovation project, new amenity or equipment purchases for a chance to be featured in the magazine. No project or purchase is too small! Send a brief write-up along with photos to Golf Range Times, 8730 Stony Point Parkway, Suite 250, Richmond, VA 23235; call Kristen Caldwell at 804-272-9100 x.112; or e-mail kristen.caldwell@douglasmurphy.com.


The Only Directory You'll Ever Need
The Golf Range Times Buyers' Guide and Directory is the only directory published exclusively for the golf range industry. It's the one resource you'll refer to all year long as you make purchasing decisions. Alphabetical company listings cross-referenced by product category make it easy to find the equipment and services you need. Copies of the 2002 directory are $35 and can be ordered online here.


Back Issues Available
Missing an issue of Golf Range Times? Or looking for reference articles on adding amenities, insuring your facility or hiring qualified and committed staff? Click through back issues of the magazine to find these topics and more here.

About the Golf Range Times e-Newsletter
The Golf Range Times e-Newsletter is a free bimonthly publication sent to range owners and developers who have provided e-mail addresses. You can subscribe online here.

Don't hesitate to forward a copy of this newsletter to friends and associates or to let them know that they can subscribe at www.golfrangetimes.com.


Have a tip or idea?
Contact Marshall Norton Jr., Golf Range Times managing editor, at 804-272-9100, ext. 112, or by e-mail at marshall.norton@douglasmurphy.com.