Thursday, September 02, 2010

Online partnership offers unique real-time tee-time booking option

One Golf Network, the marketing and tee time initiative endorsed by the English and Welsh Golf Unions, has partnered with GolfHub – the only multi-resort, real-time, online tee-time booking system in Europe – to offer UK golfers unprecedented tee-time access across Europe.

One Golf Network has been developed to allow every UK and Irish golf club the ability to market available tee-times and green fees to the largest possible audience of online golfers whilst staying in full control of their tee times and their price.

GolfHub, the community platform for GolfSwitch, the world’s largest online real time tee-time distribution network, already covered a large swathe of continental Europe and will now offer UK-based golfers the same extensive booking facility. The partnership means golfers can now book tee-times on more than 200 courses in Europe and 1,400 US courses at one visit.

Jo Maes, GolfHub’s director of European development, said: “Initially around 350 UK courses will be accessible through GolfHub, but this figure will grow as more golf clubs utilise One Golf Network.

“There are around 3,000 courses in the UK and Ireland and while, naturally, they won’t all sign up, many of them are expected to, which will benefit golfers and GolfHub members enormously.

“The partnership with One Golf Network is mutually hugely beneficial. One Golf Network effectively acts as GolfHub within the UK and Ireland, while access to the GolfSwitch network affords their users, the English and Welsh golfers, access to more than 1,600 courses across the globe.

“This partnership will also allow GolfSwitch to connect more and more courses in the tourism hot spots as it brings more golfers to our offering – and every course down south desperately wants access to these golfers.”

Jane Carter, managing director of Gemini Network Media, operator of One Golf Network, said: “We are delighted to be working alongside GolfSwitch to bring the largest tee-time booking service to golfers in the UK and Ireland. Working with our network of partner websites, One Golf Network will now offer the most comprehensive tee-time booking service to a growing online audience.”

With more than 1,600 connected courses and four-million transactions processed per year, GolfSwitch has become the go-to organisation to market available tee-times. And its community platform, Golfhub, is steadily becoming Europe’s largest online golf community.

Maes added: “GolfSwitch is undoubtedly the most sought-after solution in the online tee-time marketplace today. It is immediate, flexible and – crucially for the consumer – up-to-the-moment. Yet, with GolfSwitch it is always the course which determines the business rules regarding availability and rate, allowing them full control over their own inventory.”

The partnership with One Golf Network continues GolfHub’s expansion which only recently added the St Andrews Old Course Hotel and the complete portfolio of UK Marriott golf courses, including Forest of Arden, Hollins Hall, Dalmahoy and Marriott St Pierre.

www.golfhub.com | www.onegolfnetwork.co.uk