If I were part of a family searching for places to possibly join, I think I’d be more inclined to notice, and be intrigued by, a property that stood out with unique and compelling words like “family” and “sports” in its name.
Would you think that a place called a “Family Sports Retreat” would or would not have golf? If it instead had “Club” in its name, would that make you more inclined to think golf was offered, or to want to join it?
It was reported that the owners of a property in Hockley, Texas recently announced such a change to help shine new focus on the renovation of its golf course. Previously know as the Houston Oaks Family Sports Retreat, it will now be called The Clubs at Houston Oaks.
In addition to the usual things you’d associate with clubs, such as golf, tennis, swimming, a spa and fitness center, and dining, the property offers a wide variety of amenities—including lodging (“Room to Grow,” C&RB, August 2016), and “full-scale sports facilities, including a baseball field and basketball and volleyball courts,” according to the facility’s own description. Go deeper into its website and you’ll find much more—bocce ball and croquet, disc golf, horseshoes, a fish camp, a gun club, a playground and tree house, a ranch for horseback riding, and a petting zoo.
The owners of the property—which has a long history dating back to when it was created as a retreat for executives and employees of Tenneco Oil and Gas Company—certainly have good reasons, I’m sure, for the rebranding, not to mention the right to call it anything they please. But given the efforts by many clubs to expand well beyond golf and develop broader appeal, the name change strikes me as perhaps representing a step back from the trends that now seem to have the most appeal.
I’m guessing that the owners, who converted the property from semi-private after they acquired it to one that is now exclusively private, are thinking that “clubs” conveys a membership message much more effectively than “retreat.” But in the process of making that switch, I think they may be sacrificing the value of two other words that can be especially powerful in today’s club-marketing sphere.
If I were part of a family searching for places to possibly join, I think I’d be more inclined to notice, and be intrigued by, a property that stood out with unique and compelling words like “family” and “sports” in its name, as opposed to another run-of-the-mill “club” name that would get the property lumped in with a lot of similar ones.
I also think it could be possible to promote a golf course under a broader sports umbrella, and that might in fact be a more effective way to position the game—as one recreational option among many—to those who think it’s too hard or takes too much time.
In the end, any name for a club will be as inviting or restrictive as what it has to offer. But as more properties try to stand out by offering much more than what traditional clubs have been known for, it might be worth some extra effort to try to find names that do a better job of standing out, too.
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