_November/improvingtheirodds.jpg "Improving Their Odds")
By Rob Carey
The management of Rocky Gap Casino Resort brings an entertainment mindset to the golf facility, boosting awareness and use among golfers and non-golfers alike
When a subsidiary of Minnesota-based Lakes Entertainment, Inc., bought, refurbished and reopened a western Maryland resort with a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course in May 2013, any skepticism about the chance of success would have been justified. Granted, the facility was rebranded as Rocky Gap Casino Resort and featured 550 slot machines plus 10 table games and three poker tables that added a unique element to the property. But if general manager Scott Just didn’t come up with an integrated plan to attract golfers to the facility’s remote locale, the gaming component wouldn’t be able to keep the property afloat.
Fast-forward to autumn 2014. Rocky Gap Casino Resort is bustling, thanks in large part to the success of Rocky Gap Golf Club. The course now hosts 22,000 rounds annually, up from 14,000 rounds a few years back. What’s more, the golf facility serves as a venue for unique tournaments, wine tastings, concerts and other non-traditional events under the direction of Rick Flowers, who functions both as head golf professional and activities manager for the entire resort.
“We had to figure out how to get those people [who live 60 to 90 minutes away] to come play golf during the week,” says Just. “That takes a lot of planning because people won’t spontaneously drive here midweek.”
To boost drive-market business, Just and Flowers started promoting afternoon nine-hole tournaments on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays that offer cash and casino credit as prizes. “Now a couple of guys can plan to work a half-day and then play some competitive golf,” Just says. At other times, the course draws couples and families with events such as large-hole golf, glow-ball golf and FootGolf tournaments. These types of non-traditional offerings bring revenue during off-peak times while exposing players to the facility. “Once people get familiar with the course,” notes Just, “they might come back to play regular golf, too.”
Filling the tee sheet is a priority, but Just and Flowers strive to have guests participate in at least two activities while on property. “We don’t care if it’s golf plus gaming or a sit-down meal or a show or canoeing on the lake or whatever,” Just says. “A five-hour round leaves people too tired and time-constrained to do anything else, so the golf has to be fun and fast.” To ensure speedy and enjoyable play, Flowers alters the course’s weekend set-up to be less punitive, using front pin placements that eliminate partial blind shots, timely rough mowing and reshaped fairways on certain holes that guide players toward openings in front of the green.
Creating loyal customers is an equally important mission at Rocky Gap. One way resort officials reward repeat golfers and promote other offerings is by hosting a proximity challenge every day of the week. A camera is positioned at the par-3 sixth hole in case a loyalty card member hits a precise tee shot. Aces garner up to $5,000 in cash, while a shot within three feet of the pin nets $500 in casino credit.
“By letting players know ahead of their tee time that loyalty members have a shot to win big money on the course, we boost enrollment and are then able to get future resort-wide promotions to more people,” Just says. “Now we can track which secondary activities our golfers prefer, based on response to different promotional combinations.” This effort prompted Just to create a wine and nine event that combines a round of couples golf with a wine tasting on the clubhouse deck. The first one this past season was a success, so he plans to offer similar events more frequently in 2015.
Earlier this year, Rocky Gap hosted a concert on the resort’s practice range featuring a 1980s nostalgia band that drew nearly 500 people in late August. A few weeks later, a second rock show dubbed “Rocktoberfest” attracted an even larger crowd. Plans for 2015 call for an entire concert series.
“We improved our practice area dramatically for the reopening, but it can’t be seen from much of the resort,” Just notes. “So doing concerts gets people over there to see it all, and they say, ‘Wow, I had no idea how nice this golf facility is.’ If they’re golfers or have friends who are golfers, we benefit by introducing these people to the facility however we can.”
As time goes on, Just and Flowers will continue to explore new entertainment opportunities and combinations that support greater use of the golf course, practice areas and the clubhouse restaurant. It’s all part of a new focus at the club, one that seeks to establish Rocky Gap as a destination rich with offerings beyond just golf.
“When our new owners came in, they infused the place with a lot of energy and a focus on delivering a ‘wow’ factor to make this place pop,” Flowers says. “The calendar of events is now getting full. It was not like that before—there was much less action here.”
According to Flowers, the ownership also encourages an open dialogue and empowers employees to present their ideas. “They might end up saying no to what we propose, but they always hear us out,” he notes. “We do try different things and fail sometimes, but you have to make those efforts or you’ll never know what might work.”
Rob Carey is a freelance writer and principal of Meetings & Hospitality Insight.