Steve Hupe, the 2004 and 2006 Georgia PGA Section Merchandiser of the Year for Resort Facilities and the 2000 Georgia PGA Section Merchandiser of the Year for Public Facilities, is the PGA director of golf at Promontory Club in Park City, Utah.

Our Dye Canyon course, one of two world-class layouts at our high-end private facility, was zoned by the county to have availability for a limited amount of public play – 28 players per day. In the past, filling those times was a very low priority. Typically, the times were booked by high-end Park City hotels, small corporate outing business or local players willing to spend $200 for a round. With the change in economy this past year, our owner wished to make it a priority to fill those times on a more regular basis. We came up with the Limited Resort Play and Pro-to-Pro programs that solicit play from five basic sources – our members, high-end Park City hotels and resorts, Utah country clubs, country clubs from other states and third-party providers. I sent out letters and Promontory fact sheets to the private country clubs and Park City hotels, and also made visits to speak to the sales and concierge staffs. We also solicited our members to bring their company or social groups and receive full tournament benefits and services for no charge as a way of increasing guest revenue. In addition, we opened up on several Mondays and solicited corporate outings from the third-party providers we had contacted.

We have nearly 20 Park City hotels and resorts, 18 Utah country clubs, more than 50 private clubs from around the country and 12 third-party providers included in our programs. This effort to attract small outings to our facility has produced more than 2,000 non-member rounds and $225,000 in golf, merchandise and food and beverage revenues so far this year.