1. Hot Topics!!!
Fax: 866-594-0823
KenG@buckeyegolf.com
buckeyegolf.com
P.O. Box 42
Delaware, OH 43015
800-826-4394
Support our Corporate Members:
They support you.
Baker Vehicle Systems
Rick Baker Rick.baker@bakervehicle.com
Green Velvet Sod Farms
Randy Tischer randy@greenvelvet.com
International Club Supplies
David Hamilton
dhamilton@inticlubsuppliers.com
Keystone Insurers Group
Lori Simpson
lsimpson@keystoneinsgrp.com
Saling Simms Associates
Jenny Berry
Jenn.berry@raymondjames.com
South East Golf Car
John McNutt/Dave Tribby
Segc100@aol.com
Wolf Creek Company
Alan Clark aclark@wolfcreekcompany.com
Employers Choice Plus
Kelly Pavloff kp@echoiceplus.com
Beacom Energy Inc
Jean Beacom Jean@BeacomEnergy.com
US Realty Consultants, Inc.
Sam Powers/George Jacynycz, CPA
spowers@usrc.com
gjacynycz@usrc.com
1-2-1 Marketing
John Chapman john@1-2-1marketing.com
Froggy’s Ball Service
Al Kidder froggyak@aol.com
Hrobat Insurance
Pete Pappadakes
timh@hrobatinsurance.com
Kerman Insurance Agency
Chris Lucia clucia@kernanisurance.com
VGM
Carla Pierce Carla.pierce@vgm.com
GolfOuting Pro
Shawn Lally shawn@golfoutingpro.com
May 2014 New Junior Golf Program
For fifteen years the Ohio Golf Course Owners Association,
now dba the Buckeye Golf Association, has operated a series
of junior tournaments known as the “OGCOA Junior
Tournament Series”. Participants in this series had the
opportunity to advance from a series of regional tournaments
to the State Championship event as well as the two-day Ryder
Cup style match with players from Pennsylvania.
Our juniorTournament Committee has decided that we will no longer produce the twelve regional
tournaments, but instead strive to work with other quality existing junior tournament
organizations throughout the state. For 2014 we will be working with the Northern Ohio PGA’s
Kenny Novak Series, the Lake Erie Junior Tournament Series, the Greater Central Ohio Junior Golf
Association, and with you, our members.
The plan is very simple. We will use existing junior tournaments to offer players some additional
opportunities to expand their skills with other top-notch juniors from around the state.We would
ask that if you hold a junior tournament, we make your tournament results available to us so we
might contact the top players from your event. They will be invited to participate in the Buckeye
Golf Association State Championship, July 22-23, at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Norwalk, Ohio. Players
for the annual Ohio/Pennsylvania Bi-State Challenge will be selected from the State Championship
field as well as possible Tournament Committee picks.
State Championship
The 2014 Buckeye Golf Association State Championship will be an invitational tournament open
to all juniors who:
1. Have played in one or more of the Kenny Novak, LEJGA, GCOJGA tournaments or a Buckeye
Golf Association member course junior event.
2. Have placed in the top tier of their age group.
3. Are between the ages of 11-18.
The State ChampionshipTournament will be a two-day (36 hole) event played at the Eagle Creek
Golf Club, Norwalk, Ohio. The cost for the two-days will be $85 which includes the 36 holes of
golf and lunch both days.
Bi-State Challenge
Each year, sixteen top juniors (10 boys and 6 girls) will be invited to join the “Ohio Team” and
compete against Pennsylvania junior golfers. This annual event is a 54 hole Ryder Cup style
tournament lasting two days. This year’s event will be hosted by Pennsylvania on July 28-29. The
Pine Grove Golf Club in Grove City, PA. will be the site this year.

2. The End of
Rack Rate?
Dynamic
Pricing in
the Golf
Industry
We're hearing a lot of talk about “Dynamic Pricing” in the golf industry these
days. While Dynamic Pricing is a common practice in many industries, it is
relatively new to golf, and leaving many to ask, "What, exactly, is dynamic
Pricing?"
Dynamic Pricing is simply the pricing of a product or service based on real-
time supply and demand factors. For example: a bottle of ice water may be
worth $5 if it is 100 degrees outside, but only $1 if it’s 40 degrees.
However, that same bottle of water may be worth even less on a 100-degree
day if you have 1,000 bottles in stock and a cold front or rainstorm is heading
your way. Pricing a product based on real-time supply and demand factors
maximizes value for businesses and charges consumers a fair price based on
current conditions. Whether talking about a bottle of water or a tee time,
market conditions can greatly influence the value of a product or service.
Businesses typically trigger dynamic pricing through two distinct steps:
• setting a base price for their service as accurately as possible in advance
(taking into consideration cost of goods or relevant market conditions);
• setting rules to adjust prices based on real-time market conditions such as
utilization, demand, or weather.
The goal is to generate maximum revenue by adjusting price to meet demand.
How Dynamic Pricing is Used?
Try to answer this question: How much is a flight toTexas? A hotel room?There
isn’tasingleanswer,asthepricechangesbasedondayoftheweekandavailable
inventory.DynamicPricinghasbeenthestandardforthetravelindustryforyears,
and is now being employed by more and more industries.
For example, many Major League Baseball (MLB) teams are now utilizing
Dynamic Pricing, including the ChicagoWhite Sox. According to their website
(as of May 2013):
• The White Sox will dynamically price tickets to all 81 home games
in 2013.
• Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets for high-demand games early, as
prices are expected to increase as the season progresses.
• As the season progresses, ticket prices will be adjusted, either upward or
downward, based on market demand.
• The ability for the White Sox to adjust prices during the season provides
all fans with various pricing options.
What does this mean to White Sox fans (pre-season)?
• Popular rivalry = White Sox vs. Cubs = higher prices
• Best time to draw a crowd = Friday nights or weekend days
= higher prices
• Hardest time to draw a crowd = weekdays = lower prices
What does this mean to White Sox fans (mid-season)?
• The White Sox have a losing record (14-25 in mid-May) = empty seats = low
prices
• If they started winning = tickets start selling = prices go up
• Prices in upper deck and on weekdays remain reasonable
• If they make the playoffs = prices skyrocket
Linda Quinde, Executive Vice
President of Operations at EZLinks
Golf, Inc. shares thoughts on the
dynamic pricing model and how
EZLinks incorporates dynamic
pricing into their software product.
continued

3. Nationally March 2014 rounds played were down 3.5% and days open
were down 5.5% compared to March 2013.This March had the lowest
number of days open and lowest number of rounds played since
Performance Trak’s inception. Annually, about 12% of the nation’s
rounds have been played through March.
Ohio did a little better than the national average in rounds played with
a 6.1% increase this March over last year. That increase in rounds
playedinMarch waswithan11.2%decreasein daysopen.Iguessafter
this past winter, Ohio golfers were more than ready to get out and hit
the course.
Ohio Golfers Are Ready
How do you communicate prices to consumers?
That decision is up to you. In the case of the White Sox,
consumers were told upfront about dynamic pricing for the
2013 season. Informing customers that dynamic pricing is in use
(and turning it into a positive) is becoming standard for many
teams throughout the MLB, NBA, and NCAA.
On the other hand, many industries use dynamic pricing in the
background:
• Hotels
• Airlines
• Rental cars
• Broadway tickets
Am I Crazy or Did That Price Just Go Up?
Web retailers often DO raise prices when you visit a website
several times before purchasing. They also offer different deals
based on your browser (i.e. banks offer different rates on car
loans to Firefox vs. Chrome users, while Orbitz presents cheaper
rooms to PC users).
So When Are Consumers OK With Items Being
“Dynamically Priced”?
We don’t seem to mind when the product is something that
expires (like a hotel room, a flight, or arguably, a tee time) and
the price increase is based on demand, not the size of a
customer’s wallet (a full hotel, a full flight, or a full golf course =
higher prices).
So if Hotels and Airlines Have Been Doing This for
Decades…Is the Golf Industry Decades Behind?
Consumer acceptance and technology are important factors in
determining when a business or industry should adopt Dynamic
Pricing. The evolution to a new pricing strategy doesn't happen
overnight, but we’re already seeing many EZLinks clients
implementing step one of Dynamic Pricing: "Set prices as
accurately as possible in advance (taking into consideration set,
relevant market conditions).”
There are several examples of adjusting prices based on pre-
determined rules. Rates differentiate for:
• Early-bird/rack/twilight based on demand and number of
holes a golfer can play.
• Weekday/weekend based on demand.
• Price breaks by days in advance: 31-60 days vs. 0-7 days to try
and change consumer behavior.
• Player type (Public, Resident, Cardholder, Member) to incent
signups.
• Sales channel (course website, EZLinks Reservation Center,
wholesaler, walkup) to best compete in a channel.
• Automatic discounts for prepaid tee times to reward pre-
payment.
Adding Dynamic Pricing toYour Revenue Strategy
There are many factors to consider when determining the right
pricing strategy. With multiple sales channels, it can be a full-time
job. However, advances in technology in the golf industry are
making Dynamic Pricing easier, reducing the time and effort to
implement,andcreatingreal-timecontributionstothebottomline.
For example, the EZLinks Dynamic Pricing Engine is a
sophisticated tool within the EZLinks WebMarket platform and
offerscoursepartnersabetterunderstandingofhowthisallworks:
• Automatically change rates as utilization changes.
• If tee sheet is 50% utilized at seven days out, then
improves to 75% utilized at four days out, rates will
automatically increase.
• Different prices and utilization triggers can be set up by
sales channel, day of week, and even by day part.
These advances in technology are allowing courses to shift away
from the tradition of rack rate pricing and ultimately benefit
both the course and the golfer. How much does it cost to play a
round of golf, on a perfect day, at your favorite course? Though
there may no longer be a set rack rate, the answer to most
golfers is priceless.
This article was originally featured on the Golf Business Monitor blog.
The End of Rack Rate? Dynamic Pricing in the Golf Industry continued