Mini Golf
An introduction to Mini Golf
Mini Golf doesn't necessarily mean gimicky objects like windmills etc, but can be a mini creation of a real golf course
The Non-Traditional Golf Course That Can Drive Revenue
Originally, I thought that mini golf was nothing but a big gimmick. I’d see all of those funny courses, with their big windmills and weird obstacles, and come away with one opinion.
This is not a pure form of the game of golf.
However, I couldn’t deny the interest that I got in these types of courses. Leads came in enquiring about mini golf on a weekly basis. But at the time, I just passed them onto other people and forgot about them.
Information started filtering back to me about how much people charged for these courses.
$1 million+
That was my lightbulb moment. Course designers charged people $1 million to create these Mini Golf Courses.
I decided that I needed to look into this in more detail. That’s when I discovered that mini golf wasn’t what I thought it was. Sure, you have the putt-putt courses and all of their little gimmicks. However, you can also have mini golf courses that get set up like regular golf courses. Courses that are literally “miniature” golf courses – they look like a real life golf courses but have been shrunk down to a smaller size. No more windmills and other “fake” obstacles.
That’s exactly what we designed for full-size courses. Why not create mini versions if that’s what our clients wanted?
We started talking more about mini golf on our social media and soon got our first client. They operated on a pretty tight budget, so the course we built for them wasn’t a masterpiece, by any means.
But that client now believes that he’s going to be able to retire thanks to his mini golf course.
He told us that the course had completely paid for itself within three months of building it. I had to dig into the numbers to find out exactly how that could happen.
This is what he told me.
On average, the course gets 1,000 rounds of golf every week.
He charged about $12 per round.
That’s $12,000 per week from a mini golf course. And that wasn’t all. The client told me that the course got up to 2,000 rounds on some weekends. That’s another $24,000, which makes a total of $36,000 in revenue, on a good week.
Those are absolutely incredible numbers and they convinced me that mini golf courses are the answer. And keep in mind, these numbers are green fees only. When one factors in food and beverage, the numbers are even higher. More on this later.
Imagine the Possibilities:
As the owner of a traditional golf course, you have to deal with a ton of issues.
Imagine if you had a course that presented none of those issues. Imagine if you had a course that practically ran itself. Imagine…
No More Expensive Ground and Grass Maintenance
A traditional golf course requires tons of investment to keep the grounds and grass in good condition. And if you don’t pay the money to keep the course in pristine shape, you’re quickly going to find that players avoid your course.
A mini golf course requires so little maintenance in comparison. In fact, you’ll spend practically nothing on ground maintenance. And with no grass to speak of, you’re no longer spending money on watering and mowing.
Attracting More Customers
Golf can be a very intimidating game, especially for somebody who’s never played it before. There are tons of people who want to give it a try but worry about playing on a full-sized course with seasoned players.
Imagine being able to offer those people an alternative that allows them to get to grips with the game. That’s a brand new audience that you can appeal to with your mini golf course.
Creating a New Revenue Stream for Your Golf Business
$36,000 per week.
Imagine having that as a new revenue stream for your business, on top of what you earn from your traditional course. And that’s without mentioning all of the extra revenue that you generate due to attracting more customers.
Getting More People Interested in Golf
Everybody reading this loves the game of golf.
A mini golf course provides you with an opportunity to help a whole new segment of the market fall in love with the game. And many of those new players will soon want to graduate from mini golf to your traditional golf course.
That means your mini golf course provides you with a boost in revenue for your traditional golf services.
All-Year Service
At certain times of the year golf revenue can stop dead in its track. It could be the cold of winter, the heat of summer or the wet season.
At least, that can be the case with a traditional golf course.
But imagine having a mini golf course that you can operate all year round because these courses are less affected by the weather. When revenue from the traditional course starts to dip, you can still rely on your mini golf course to bring money in.
An Investment That Pays for Itself
The client I spoke about above says that he started generating a return on his investment within three months.
That’s a bit of an extraordinary case. Typically, a mini golf course will pay for itself within one or two years.
Still, that’s a very quick repayment of the investment that you put into the course. And once it’s paid for itself, every dollar that it generates goes into your pocket.
Low Equipment Costs
Putters and balls.
That’s all that you need to run a mini golf course. And if you’re able to rent those things out to your players, you’re removing a barrier to entry into the game of golf.
Think about it like this.
To play a traditional round of golf, a player needs a full set of clubs. They also need balls, tees, and any number of little gadgets and gizmos. Those things come at a cost, which a new player isn’t necessarily going to want to absorb.
But if all they need is a putter and a ball, and they can rent those from you, they’re much more likely to turn up and play.
Imagine Opening up a Whole New World of Possibilities
That is what building a mini golf course provides to your business. New customers, less maintenance, and more revenue.
Mini golf is not the gimmicky game that I thought it was so many years ago. When you move away from the putt-putt model, you can create something that complements your traditional courses.
And you’ll make a lot more money from your golf business as a result.
In this guide, I’m going to dig deeper into what makes a great mini golf course and how you can use it to drive revenue.
On the next page I’m going to explain the key mistakes to avoid when building a mini golf course…..