Maximise revenue from your golf fleet

04/09/2024

Provide your golfers with an exceptional experience and drive profits with these tips from the industry-leading Club Car.

With rising operational costs, golf venues are under more pressure than ever to save money and maximise revenue streams. A fleet of golf cars, if used optimally, can be an easy win for clubs to boost income.

"Compared to other aspects of a pro shop such as clothing or equipment, golf cars have a very high margin if you use them the right way," says Andy Bourke, Club Car's Regional Sales Manager for UK, Ireland & Scandinavia.

Andy answers some of the most commonly asked questions about increasing golf car profitability:

What are your top tips for maximising revenue?

Offer a car at the first point of contact, so make sure your team know to ask someone who calls to book a tee time, and that there’s an option to add one for online bookings. You can incentivise your team to sell the cars with targets and bonuses.
Upsell the cars. Throw in a couple of drinks, some refreshments, a few balls or a pack of tees and charge more. This is a great tactic for groups and societies.
Line the fleet up neatly outside your pro shop every morning and make sure they are clean and pricing is visible.

How many cars is the right number?

It’s different for almost every golf club and there’s always a sweet spot. At Greetham Valley a few years ago, they were struggling to rent out two cars and asked a couple of other clubs nearby what they were doing wrong. The answer was they didn’t have enough, so they increased to 10 and things turned around. Over the years they’ve gradually added more and now make a healthy profit from 50.

How much should I charge?

Again, it’s about experimenting to find the sweet spot. We usually see between £15 and £60 for 18 holes – it depends on the type of facility you are, your location and your demographic, as well as what spec of car you have.

Is it better to buy or lease a fleet?

That depends on how many cars you need and your other business requirements and objectives. The majority of our customers lease their fleets, but some purchase their cars (see the case studies for Aphrodite Hills Resort’s amazing return on investment).

What about Club Car Connect technology?

Using our GPS technology, customers can use the built-in screens for hole-by-hole information and yardages and to communicate with the clubhouse or pro shop. And operationally, it gives you full visibility of the fleet, so simply by opening an app you can see where all your cars are, check pace of play and monitor battery life.

Mike Shrieve, Director of Golf at Bearwood Lakes Golf Club, Berkshire.

“When I arrived in 2019, the club was making a loss on its golf buggy fleet. The cars were kept in a compound out of sight, and when they did come out they weren’t that clean and were obviously being neglected.

“I suggested to the chairman that we invest in a new fleet, but because they were a loss-maker he took some convincing. We made sure the new fleet had upgraded seats and steering wheels, a custom paint job and all the little extras you’d expect at a premium facility.

“We kept the new buggies in clear view of the members and hand polished them every day, and as result we quickly increased revenue, making a profit in the first year. Four years on, we’ve quadrupled revenue from the buggies and they are now a very healthy profit-marker for us.”

Andrew Darker, Aphrodite Hills Resort, Cyprus

“We bought 72 Club Car Precedent golf cars between 2010 and 2012, and since then each vehicle has clocked up 25,000 – 30,000 kilometres – that’s nearly 2 million kms in total!

“The fleet has given us a 10-fold return on investment and has delivered exceptional longevity. We are a buggy-mandatory course as it’s incredibly tough, hilly terrain here. Lots of venues lease their fleet but the decision to buy ours proved a very shrewd one.

“We have recently replaced the cars with 72 new Tempos and they are proving very popular with our golfers.

“We opted for Lithium-Ion batteries which are making a huge difference to operational costs – they have a shorter charging time, last longer and are more powerful – a big plus on our terrain. As a big resort, the Connected technology is also a great asset to have."

For more information on golf cars, visit the Club Car website here.