Par 3 Fridays allow beginners and families to enjoy a nine-hole stretch of the golf course at Tower Ridge Country Club, with new and different orange tees set up each week.
For golf properties with only one golf course, it can be a challenge to attract golfers of differing skill levels. The 18-hole, 6,450-yard golf course at Tower Ridge Country Club in Simsbury, Conn., is tough for beginners, says General Manager Amanda Ominsky, prompting the club to develop an event that makes the layout appealing to everyone.
“The golf market is changing considerably, and Tower Ridge is working to create a couple’s night that’s different from the typical ‘Nine & Dine’ theme,” says Ominsky.
Par 3 Fridays are now a weekly event for which the Tower Ridge staff transforms the front nine into a par-3 challenge course, with new and different orange tees set up each week. Open to the public, the event includes cart rental at $15 per person, with tee times starting at 5 p.m.
“This is a great event where husbands bring out their wives or children,” Ominsky says. “[Because] par-3s are easier, we have seen increased traffic of women golfers, beginners and also families bringing the little ones out.”
Each Friday, the orange tees are set up by golf staff, with a different yardage and pin placement, allowing for a variety of layouts each week. Groups can include up to eight people.
One Friday per month, the event is paired with a wine tasting in the club’s restaurant, for $60 per couple. The tasting includes golf, drinks and food on the Tavern Patio. “When we do a tequila tasting, I get more groups of guys,” Ominsky says. “When I do a wine or whiskey night, I get more couples.”
In 2014, when Par 3 Fridays started, Tower Ridge saw more than 200 extra customers, bringing in $3,000 over 19 days (not counting revenue from the restaurant and bar). In 2015, the event had more overall attendance, and Ominsky reports that the property is on pace to see another increase in 2016, with current averages of 20 par-3 golfers weekly and 50 on tasting nights.
Non-golfers, she adds, make up about 50% of those participating—helping with the semi-private club’s goal to increase traffic for non-members. And because the event only utilizes the front nine, the back nine is still available to other golfers. Further, the orange tee markers stay out all weekend, prompting golfers who are unaware of the event to ask what they’re for.
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