We’re really fortunate to own the only venues in the Austin, Texas area with Power Tee ranges. Since our three upscale daily fee courses – Falconhead Golf Club, Teravista Golf Club and Avery Ranch Golf Club – were all equipped with both Power Tee range stations and Toptracer Range, the volume of individuals coming out and hitting range balls has grown. But we've also had growth in monthly memberships. Because really practicing and learning the game with technologies like this is a game changer compared to our competition. It gives everybody the feeling of an upgraded product.
SWe try to let people hit on grass whenever we can, but with the volume and business we have, it's almost impossible to have grass available. So, Power Tee has upgraded our tee line with incredible mats and the ability to automate the teeing process of each golf ball. It makes for a very enjoyable, relaxing and unique experience. Once you hit on the artificial tee that’s part of Power Tee, you realize how incredibly lifelike it is, compared to the grass. We think that helps beginners and developing golfers advance and improve faster because there's a very big barrier for golf – a lot of beginners are still intimidated to come out and learn how to play golf or improve their game.
Topgolf’s had an unbelievable breakthrough in allowing anybody to have fun at the range. And that's what we've
brought to all three of our courses. We've broken down some barriers so it’s less intimidating to come and be part of our courses, especially if you're just learning. The golf academy at each of our clubs is armed with this technology, making it less intimidating to hit balls and practice. New golfers are attracted to a friendly environment. And when you have all the technology that we do, you can play so many games on Toptracer and Power Tee. It’s a really nice, cool scene that keeps people coming back.
Power Tee has two different mat types. So you can chip off a very firm lie that represents a true clean grass hitting surface. Then they've got another mat that's less dense and a little softer. The problem with people who hit a lot of balls is that it causes wear-and-tear on their bodies. So having two different mat situations is really nice. Another thing we've learned: Teeing up 100 balls during a practice session can be physically demanding for some people. Power Tee makes it easier, as you don't have to bend over and tee up every single shot. And you can raise and lower the tee – creating different situations where you have a very high tee for your woods and a low tee for your irons.
I admit that two of our instructors initially thought that it would be disadvantageous teaching on Power Tee and the mats because they thought their students would want true grass lies. But they've been pleasantly surprised by how many students really want to take a lesson on the mats. Don't get me wrong – some purists will always want true grass lies. And we can accommodate that through a lesson on the back part of our range. But when people try the mats and see how great hitting off them really is, they’re sold.
And with Power Tee, you can go through a large bucket of balls as quickly as you really want with that automated tee process. We found that there are times when people are on Toptracer alone, they take a long time to hit a bucket. With Power Tee in that automated process, they spend less time at the facility so we can turn more clientele. It also keeps the pace going because as soon as you hit that ball, the next ball is teed up and ready to go.
I realize other range owners and operators cautiously consider the program’s price barrier and system costs. It's not inexpensive. But the benefits far outweigh the expenses. And that's the value add for every golf operator. You’ve got to get creative and see that you can grow the sport at each one of your facilities with Power Tee – not only at a standalone range, but at a golf course as well.
Speaking of, this technology has boosted our business so much that we've come up with programming to make food and beverage more readily available at our ranges. In better weather months, we're going to start setting up individual bars and barbecues at our Power Tee and Toptracer booths. Each booth has seating, so we're going to do more personalized food and beverage in golf season that will boost revenue even more. It's a bright future.
About Power Tee
Power Tee is the world's premier automated teeing system and is currently installed and featured at 80% of the golf ranges in the U.K including St. Andrews, The Belfry, and Celtic Manor. Power Tee offices are in Jacksonville, FL, and Swindon, U.K., Power Tee is currently automating the bays in ranges in 18 countries, teeing up more than 6 million balls each day.
