We've launched the new forums! Read more here

The Little Details

Go to article
JB

JB

Follow @THPGolf on Social Media
Albatross 2024 Club
Staff member
Joined
Oct 8, 2008
Messages
283,896
Reaction score
436,732
Location
THP Experiences
After spending some time at the Dormie Club this week in North Carolina, I had a chance to talk with @jdtox and @Powder about how courses differentiate themselves. Be it while traveling to a special place or just your local facilities.

This is a separate conversation from course design and conditions, but rather the little details that make a good facility great or something that becomes memorable. What types of the little details make you take notice?

IMG_9203.jpg

Continue reading...
 
I have been really impressed with everything you guys have said and posted about Dormie!
 
Some of the little details that really stand out is having the course think ahead or be prepared. Like cold towels ready to go or a bottle of water in the cart cooler, little things like that.
 
Staff friendliness is an instant plus when I visit a new course, public or private. Being told where amenities are and not having to ask comes across as welcoming, too. Having things out in the open as far as food, water, course info is wonderful, and seeing personalized tees, water bottle labels lets me know that the course takes pride in what they do and who they are.
 
  • Thread starter
  • Admin
  • #5
MarMill said:
Some of the little details that really stand out is having the course think ahead or be prepared. Like cold towels ready to go or a bottle of water in the cart cooler, little things like that.
Click to expand...
Im a huge fan of having water available in the cooler or someone offering it. That is definitely a little thing that goes a very long way.
 
This is a good question. I was really impressed with the welcome committee we got and how organized the staff was when we got to the course for our rounds at RTJ. Having that positive first experience each day definitely made me feel a lot more comfortable being there.
 
Balls already out at the range in the pyramid formation.
 
A well equipped and spacious locker room is always a big draw for me. Showers/towels/sunscreen/ample locker space...
 
Directions to the next tee. It's simple, but so many courses it can be a guessing game on where to go after you finish a hole.

But higher end stuff would be waters in the cart cooler with ice, towels, tees. Some places I've played have had free plastic divot tools or ball markers as well
 
sometimes is just the willingness to make me/one feel as if they belong and are welcomed.

A happy good morning. The starter is genuinely interested in setting you off on the right foot. A positive check-in by the ranger on the course. All in all - it's the positive personal interactions with staff that create a storyline about the club/course.
 
Little things that make a course feel special to me...
- Free branded tees (love my Pinehurst tees that are labeled with the different course numbers!)
- Free branded ball markers (Bandon Dunes has different ones for each course)
- Tiny cups cut into the practice green (I always putt better after trying to make a few short putts in the holes that are just slightly bigger than the ball)
- High end push cart rentals (means they encourage walking and want you to enjoy yourself while doing it)
- Those green rolex clocks installed by the first tee (Ok, those aren't little or cheap, but you know you're playing someplace great when you see it!)
 
Everything I've seen about the Dormie Club and other Dormie courses is top of the game. A tremendous amount of thought has been give to anticipating pretty much every guest might have. At least, it seems that way with the times THP has had guests or Experiences. Things like course-branded matches or bottles of water are little things that one will remember with top notch golf.

I associated Sandestin golf courses with the mango-scented icy cold, wet towels. That was an outstanding perq to playing the courses yet, for whatever reason, they discontinued the towels. Good service will put a mediocre course in much better light than it would be on golf alone. Bad or just inattentive service by club personnel will detract from an experience at a fantastic course.
 
ddec said:
Balls already out at the range in the pyramid formation.
Click to expand...
This is another huge one. I was actually talking to a local course the other day and they said they couldnt because people take them. That's a sad reality I guess, but at any form of nicer course, the idea that you need to tack on a small bag for revenue instead of just increasing fees and having them out is crazy. Its such a nice look.
 
Dormie Network obviously takes this to the extreme which is awesome. But on the public courses that I'm playing some of it is the greetings from staff, most courses have the coolers on the golf cart, but one near me has a chest of ice with the starter and when you are checking in the starter asks if you need any ice for the cooler, that rather than having to ask for a bag of ice when picking up drinks is a nice touch. When it gets really hot that same course will have cold towels ready to go, some simple little steps to make things more convenient.
 
JB said:
Im a huge fan of having water available in the cooler or someone offering it. That is definitely a little thing that goes a very long way.
Click to expand...
Absolutely. Every time I am at Big Cedar in Branson, Mo they do such a great job at the little things that it takes the experience to the next level. The cold water bottles available, the cool wet towel with mint scent and the bison burger at buffalo ridge to name a few. I will be honest and say the course conditions could have been more pristine but due to play and heat it had some things that popped up, but I looked beyond that this last time because everything else was so great.

Really is the little things that make the difference.
 
JB said:
This is another huge one. I was actually talking to a local course the other day and they said they couldnt because people take them. That's a sad reality I guess, but at any form of nicer course, the idea that you need to tack on a small bag for revenue instead of just increasing fees and having them out is crazy. Its such a nice look.
Click to expand...

I mean range balls out in advance is a nice touch in general. The pyramid is going that extra step and makes me feel like I'm at a classier place. Oh and while on the range part, I like if there is a range attendant out there. I don't need it, but it's another nice detail that makes you know you are at a fine club.
 
For a local daily play.

Water on the course - It is AZ so it should be the law
Water buckets for towels - Again AZ drenched towels are dry by hole 6.
Cart GPS is a plus
Seeing a ranger at all

For destinations and resorts

Branding on small trinkets. Love a tee with the logo on it. Small but appreciated
Stocked pro shop. I will splurge here and there but if the selection is bad then it is a let down.
A smile. I have been to some places where I have spent thousands on a golf trip and the staff looks like they don't even want my money. I mean cmon
Those things you didn't know you needed. When I went to Bandon a few years ago, they had shoe dryers in the room. So smart.
At resorts I love if the jacuzzi is easy to get to and use.
 
Always like water bottles in the cooler on carts in warm weather. I remember at the Patriot club they did so many things, but the little touch I remember liking was that they had tees in the cart. On each side there was 1 red, 1 white, 1 blue.
 
Water and towels are nice to have. One shouldn't have to ask for either. I also like it where the staff treats everyone as if they have been a member for years,
 
Logo’d everything. Water and extra towels available on carts. Pyramid balls on the range.
 
jmix18 said:
sometimes is just the willingness to make me/one feel as if they belong and are welcomed.

A happy good morning. The starter is genuinely interested in setting you off on the right foot. A positive check-in by the ranger on the course. All in all - it's the positive personal interactions with staff that create a storyline about the club/course.
Click to expand...
This is key for me. A friendly staff interaction can make all the difference.
 
echico said:
Those things you didn't know you needed. When I went to Bandon a few years ago, they had shoe dryers in the room. So smart.
At resorts I love if the jacuzzi is easy to get to and use.
Click to expand...

Our guys this week encountered this, well sort of. They have complimentary shoe cleaning where you leave your shoes in a bag and the next day they are turned to your cottage cleaned. Fantastic service.
 
Staff demeanor is a big one. I’d like to think they enjoy there job and having golfers there but a certain courses they seem as if they’re just putting cattle into a corral. The minor details like logos on water or the such is a nice touch, mentioned before but some directions at the check in as far as the range and such is nice, and a starter who doesn’t feel like he’s taking out the leftover bitterness he had from last nights fight with the Mrs’s would be nice.
 
Is generally just the feeling of being welcomed to the course. When you go to the top end clubs here, you're generally given a little valuables pouch with tees, yardage book and other bits and pieces in which is a nice touch. Just little things, maybe a free bottle of water, complimentary bucket of range balls, something like that.
 
I really like when you go into facility, and i mean even driving up to it, its Clean, groomed and just looks like they have taken care of it. When you walk in they greet you with a friendly Hi, welcome in , be right with you, especially if they are working with a customer already. Its just nice to be recognized.
Balls at the range, i know when we went to Mossy Oak they were out at each station, in a basket, but they were there and they were Taylormade, Old Waverly had Titleist.
Carts were clean and they had a cooler, there was a large cooler outside with ice if you wanted it.
Like @Parrot referenced, I have played a lot in Destin Sandestin and those mango scented towels are sweet.
Colonial had free divot tools tees and ball markers as someone else said. but a nice touch, even just tees and plastic single spike is cool.
having a small towel in the cart pocket
but just having the place manicured and reasonably static throughout the course, i mean all the greens about the same speed and traps worked.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top