The Opportunity

Eagle Ridge Golf Club in Fort Myers, Florida had long suffered under the direction non-golf operators and eventually was foreclosed upon by its lending institution. Despite being professionally managed by another golf course management company for more than three years while under bank ownership, the club continued to underperform and fell into further disrepair with limited capital reinvestment. The lack of leading-edge marketing initiatives, membership structure creativity and underwhelming personal customer service had capped the performance of the club far below levels possible in the vibrant Southwest Florida golf market.

The Vision

Coral Hospitality’s long track record of successfully operating and turning around failing golf properties through its innovative operating platform was applied to Eagle Ridge with a focus on driving revenues and creating memorable guest experiences. At the same time as proven revenue maximization techniques were implemented, the perception and experience of the guests at Eagle Ridge dramatically improved and repositioned the club as a top-of-mind destination for the public golf community in this highly competitive market. Intensive world-class service training programs, as led by Coral Hospitality, coupled with strategic investments into enhancing the course and grounds created an air of excitement for Eagle Ridge Golf Club. A sense of pride grew in the club’s staff, local community, and ownership as the transformation of Eagle Ridge became a reality. Eagle Ridge’s guests were welcomed with genuine personal service, experienced a visually appealing and well-maintained facility and course, and returned because of their experience. Innovative membership structures specifically developed to maximize revenues at Eagle Ridge were implemented in conjunction with strategic marketing and yield management techniques that immediately increased top-line revenues. Critical improvement areas were self-funded through these increased revenues allowing ownership to reinvest while providing an above market return.

The following short-term plan was implemented at Eagle Ridge immediately upon acquisition:

• Developed Structured Membership Program(s) to eliminate displacement of peak period public times.
• Conducted Daily and Hourly Business Analysis
• Installed a Leading Point-of-Sale System to support Revenue Maximization Initiatives and provide for Vital Business Analytics
• Instituted Dynamic Pricing Models
• Employed Effective Online Marketing Techniques
• Completed Landscaping and Fixture Enhancements around Clubhouse and Arrival locations
• Constructed Limited Flight Driving Range as additional amenity
• Course Beautification and Maintenance upgrades of more than $250,000
• Implemented Core Agronomic Program with related increase to Golf Maintenance budget of more than $100,000 per annum to significantly improve course conditions and playability
• Created New Product Offerings in Golf and F&B to enhance experience
• Dramatically Improved Service levels through training and standards implementation

The Results

Eagle Ridge Golf Club saw immediate financial improvements upon the restructuring of the membership offerings, dynamic pricing implementation and online marketing initiatives. Upon the implementation of the course maintenance improvement strategy and property beautification plan, all completed by the in-house agronomics staff as supported by Coral’s corporate agronomics team, Eagle Ridge Golf Club became the talk of the golfing community. Eagle Ridge experienced an unbelievable uptick in rounds played, repeat guests and an ability to drive rate because of the efforts. In addition, the Club saw an influx of new clientele on a daily basis as the local golfing community was engaged and came out to see the instant turnaround story of Eagle Ridge.