The Florida course has a “Director of Marketing in Charge of Fun” and management that seeks to get away from “serious, grim-faced” approaches to golf through lighthearted signage, announcements and other features.
Davie Golf and Country Club (“Win, Win, Win,” C&RB, April 2012) is doing everything it can to get away from an overly serious, “grim-faced approach” to golf, The Miami Herald reported.
“We want people smiling,” Dave Harris, whose official position at Davie is Director of Marketing in Charge of Fun, told the Herald.
“When we hire our employees we let them know that they are ‘ambassadors of fun,’ ” Harris said.
Some examples of that fun are posted on signs around the course, the Herald reported, including:
• Play the tees that make you the happiest.
• Play often . . . laugh more.
• Gamble some . . . and laugh even more.
• You’ll remember friends more than your scores.
• Love of the game lasts a lifetime.
On the first hole, the Herald noted, with music coming out over a loudspeaker as players hit their first tee shots, they are told, “Relax…fun starts now.”
“Music on the first tee adds to the atmosphere,” Harris said, although he admitted there might be a couple of golfers who would rather grimace and concentrate on their shot instead of listening to Elvis Presley singing “Hound Dog.”
“Our mission is to love, serve and deliver fun to all,” said the 62-year-old Harris, described by the Herald as “the more-than willing employee of Greenway Golf and its chief operating officer, Ken Campbell, who is an avid advocate of making golf more fun and less serious.”
“Ken pretty much brought that philosophy to the golf course,” said Harris, who carries a 19-or-so handicap but enjoys every swing he takes — even if there are too many of them. “We want to differentiate ourselves from other facilities.”
The Davie course, the Herald noted, is “to put it mildly, interesting to play,” with greens that are “laced with ridges that make putting an adventure.”
The course, previously known as Arrowhead, was taken over by the state of Florida for a while so it could create a drainage runoff from I-595, the Herald reported, which resulted in ample lakes and water on the course.
Currently, the course is owned by the city of Davie, and there are plans for a new clubhouse/pro shop by the end of next year, to replace the trailers that now serve as those facilities.
Other unique innovations at the course, the Herald noted, include free scratch-off tickets for discounts on food and drink and merchandise, and tubs of apples positioned on the course to give players a quick pick-me-up snack.
“I like coming up with ideas to help foster the ideas our owners want to create,” Harris said. “Our goal is simple: It’s to let people have fun.”
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