Today we launched a new membership plan. This was going to be a league membership but it is now a membership to our site that comes with special members benefits. One of those memberships is access to events we organize.
In a post last week about a Golf NOLA League we mentioned we were not going to do a large membership fee as we needed to build our membership to show courses, we can commit x number of players at each event. The plan was originally going to be a low annual cost of $25, however, we have done even better for everyone. This membership for this first year as we all grow together will be $0.
We did this for a number of reasons. One we are having some technical difficulties with our bank accepting payments and were told it would be up to a few weeks to work it out. We did not want to wait as we are sure those of you excited about playing some tournaments would not want to wait either. Rest assured we will have the payment issue fixed before our first event. The other reason is this is a first for all of this year. Not a first that we've run tournaments, or a first that you have played in one but a first for all of us here in New Orleans together.
Since one of our goals here at Golf NOLA is to grow golf in the New Orleans area what better way than to give New Orleans area golfers a way to come together, connect for rounds of golf, talk golf, and more on us. With this membership you will get the following benefits:
Access to Golf NOLA Tournaments and Events
Special Members Only Section on Our Website
Members Only Forum (discuss golf, find playing partners, and more)
Members-Only Web App
Special Giveaways
We will absorb all the upfront cost of membership for this year and as we grow we will add different membership plans and levels. For example, when we do a specific league membership it will have special league sections on both our web page and app for only members of that plan as well as other benefits. One benefit we plan to add to memberships will include the opportunity to upload videos of your golf swing for an online lesson.
When it comes to our events this year we will plan as many as possible once we reach 40 members. Each tournament will need a minimum of 20 golfers to participate with a maximum of 120 golfers. Entry will start the day we schedule an event and there will be a deadline of 14 to 21 days prior to the event that registration will close, with no exceptions. This may sound harsh but it is to keep a great working relationship with the golf courses and consistency. Most courses want a final number 14 days prior to an event. The closer we get to the event date and make changes can cause problems for a golf course and many times change the rates we receive the next time we want to book there. This is also due to the deposits we have to give golf courses when we book for a certain number of players.
Each event will have a cost of $30 over the best green fee rate we can get. For example, if the green fee rate is $50 the total entry for the tournament will be $80. Out of the $30, we will allocate $20 to the prize pool and $10 will be used for admin fees. These admin fees will include printing costs for scorecards, credit card processing fees, scoring software subscription fees, and more. To put it into perspective for you there are certain golf tours, we won't mention here, that charge $150 for every event regardless of the course gree fee. If a course charges them $40 they still only put in about $10 per player into prizes and pocket the remaining $100. You may have played in one and noticed the low amount of payout to players. We want to give back as much as possible, have consistency, and have transparency with all our members. We want you to know what your entry pays for and how it is used.
Check out our new Golf League Page for more information on the league.
As we grow we will look for sponsors to add to the prize payout of each event. If anyone is interested in sponsoring an event or all events feel free to contact us.
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