Upon asking for feedback now and again, Harrogate Golf Club went on a mission to find a more structured approach in 2023. After being introduced to Players 1st and testing one of its survey templates, the English club went on to launch 3 different survey types within a few months – and they did not hesitate to put the data into action.
Back in 1892, just a stone's throw from the bustling spa town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, the professional golfer Willie Park Jnr formed a club. He decided to adopt the name of the city, giving birth to Harrogate Golf Club, the oldest of its kind in the area.
Fast forward to today, this historic golf venue boasts a membership of 750, with over 2,500 visitors teeing off on its parkland course last year alone.
William Culver-Dodds used to be the Marketing Commercial Director at the club, responsible for attracting potential members while also stepping up communication with existing ones. Recently taking on the role of Chair of the Board, Culver-Dodds recalls addressing the process of the way the club collected its member feedback, moving away from non-golf specific online survey platforms.
After discovering Players 1st on social media and through England Golf, the Yorkshire club wasted no time in launching its first survey in 2023, followed by two additional experience survey types. But what exactly did Harrogate Golf Club hope to achieve by surveying different types of members just once during 2023?
When one becomes three
Even with some past feedback experience under his belt, William Culver-Dodds aimed to roll out the customer experience management platform at a pace that felt right for the club, its staff, and the Board. Also, he was keen on building up his own knowledge of the software by exploring its features before going all in.
So, he laid out a quite clear and careful strategy. Start with the short Players 1st Exit Survey. Follow up with the Players 1st New Member Survey. And if it's going great: move on to the holistic Players 1st Member Survey.
Exit Survey
In May 2023, Harrogate Golf Club introduced its first-ever Exit Survey. The goal was simple: to understand why members had recently left and how the club could prevent future churn.
New Member Survey
When getting used to the automatic survey rollout and the software, the New Member Survey was an obvious next step. After setting it up with just a few clicks in August 2023, the club sent it out to the newest members, eager to hear about their initial experiences and welcome into the club.
Member Survey
In September 2023, the club was ready to deliver the Member Survey, seizing a golden opportunity to gather insights from every member.
Actions based on benchmarks and feedback from first responders
Within just a few months, Harrogate Golf Club had all the feedback laid out on the table, allowing them to see their Net Promoter Score, satisfaction scores, and benchmark themselves against 250 other clubs. And it's safe to say they made the most of having this valuable data at their fingertips.
Harrogate Golf Club could now back up its decision-making in larger projects like revamping its veranda, refurbishing the clubhouse or whether it should reassess its food and beverage pricing according to benchmarking.
"It will be interesting to go back to see how we've performed"
With a flurry of changes and improvements now in the mix, William Culver-Dodds looks forward to seeing how the members will receive them.
Harrogate Golf Club are now committed to tracking their own internal development scores in Players 1st, with the proactive golf club planning to send out their next round of surveys later this year. And for other clubs eager to follow in their feedback footsteps, the Chair of the Board has one final message to share.
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