Joe Wisocki IV, the 2006 Minnesota PGA Section Merchandiser of the Year for Resort Facilities, is the PGA general manager at Ridge Creek Golf Club in Dinuba, Calif.

Though you can always fit yourself into the niche of offering the least expensive outings, it’s obviously more profitable to go for the big-bundle packages. With this in mind, when you’re negotiating with an organization to put on a golf outing, be sure you discuss all the services you can offer rather than simply how much it will all cost. At our facility, we make sure we offer as much as possible, including sponsorship signs, organizing hole contests, tournament checklists, shotgun starts with lead golf cars to direct participants to the correct hole, range setup, merchandise and any food and beverage options that the organization desires. Moreover, since what you’re selling is your services, not just your facility, make sure you always go that extra step whenever possible. For instance, we pyramid the balls at the range rather than just have boring buckets sitting around. We also always put two water bottles in each golf car, and have beverage carts appropriately apportioned throughout the course (giving the event planner the option of going with pre-paid drink tokens or working on a tab). Before your next outing, take a look at your facility and determine if there any unutilized areas that you might be able to include in your next outing contract.

When you put together an outing package, work to bring in revenue to every possible area of your facility. With this approach, clearly showing everything we have to offer through our golf club, we’ve been able to bring in 50-80 outings throughout the year (and we’re a very new facility). Also, by incorporating these packages our dollars per round for all revenue categories has exceeded our plan by 17 percent on a monthly basis. If there’s anything extra you can think of adding into a package, go for it and clearly explain the benefits of the additional services. As much as a good time, your customers are looking to wow their attendees, so they’ll be more likely to choose your facility if you can highlight the varied services you’ll offer instead of just your price compared to other facilities.