The NGCOA Technology Conference is held during Sep 27-29th, right in our backyard. Minutes from our Teesnap office within the Allegiant Headquarters. If you plan on attending the conference, also reach out and set up a time for a tour of our office and to talk shop.
Please email me at [email protected] to schedule. We would love to visit with you.
See the conference agenda below.
Track 1: Marketing
From developing a social strategy to executing digital promotions to creating a website that functions as a true sales tool, this track will feature a rich offering of sessions designed to bring your marketing efforts into the 21st century.
Track 2: Operations
Data capture. Point-of-sale systems. Yield management. These terms may seem esoteric, but understanding—and more importantly, effectively using—these tools is crucial to running a truly integrated golf operation. Sessions in this track will showcase tips and tactics that can help you get the most from these and other front- and back-of-house operational applications.
Wednesday, September 27
8:00am – 5:30 pm
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Registration Open
Location: 3b
11:30am – 12:45 pm
The Opening Experience
Location: Starvine 10 & 11
Before the afternoon education begins, peruse the offerings of numerous technology vendors at your discretion. And while you’re there, enjoy a light lunch.12:45 – 1:15 pm
Opening General Session: We’re Living in a Wired World
Location: Starvine 10 & 11
1:15 – 1:45 pm
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Marketing Opening Session: Identifying Your Golfer—The basis of all your marketing efforts
Location: Starvine 2
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Operations Opening Session: Creating the Connected Golf Course
Location: Starvine 13
Education Block #1
1:45 – 3:30 pm
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Social Media Basics
Location: Starvine 2
Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. So if you want to compete in the modern age, you better get your facility online and get engaged. In this track, you’ll gain the basic skills you need to boost your online presence to help drive rounds and grow your business.
1:45 – 2:15 pm
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Choosing (and Using) the Best Social Media Platforms for Your Business
Confused by the vast array of social media platforms? We’ll explore what the most popular social outlets do and learn how to choose the platforms best suited for your business.
2:15 – 3:00 pm
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Creating a Posting Schedule That Grabs Attention and Delivers Results
We’ll discuss the keys to creating effective Facebook posts and develop a posting schedule to get the word out about your course. When you leave this hands-on workshop, you’ll have created 30 days worth of Facebook posts.
3:00 – 3:30 pm
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Using Facebook Live
One of the best ways to generate organic traffic is by utilizing Facebook Live. We’ll review some best practices for using this tool in your golf business and learn how to manage it with a phone app.
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Website Basics
Location: Starvine 12
- Presented by: Andrew Leintz, Dayta Marketing and Luke Riordan, Dayta Marketing
- Is your website doing all you need it to do for your business? Chances are the answer is no. In this block, you’ll learn what all good websites have in common and learn how to create a site that works for you.
1:45 – 2:45 pm
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Are You Wasting Money?
Technologically challenged? Learn the questions to ask when you’re shopping for or building a website. We’ll talk about the importance of owning your own domain and the actions you need to take if you find yourself in a bad situation. Plus, we’ll look at good web design and discuss what information needs to be on your website.
2:45 – 3:30 pm
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Content Marketing
It’s all the rage in marketing these days. But what is it and how can you leverage it to grow business? We’ll explore this evolving marketing strategy and discover ways to utilize it in your golf business.
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Clubhouse Operations
Location: Starvine 13
Perhaps nowhere is technology more beneficial than in front-of-house operations. In this block, you’ll gain valuable insights to improve efficiencies in this area.
1:45 – 3:30 pm
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The Point of Sale: Getting more from your POS system
The days of taking tee times with pencil and paper and keeping cash in a lock box have long since passed. Point-of-sales systems allow course operators to more efficiently and effectively manage tee time booking and other sales processes, collect and store customer data, and track inventory. In this session, experts from some of the industry’s leading POS providers will share tips and tools to better leverage the power of your POS system.
3:30 – 4:00 pm
Education Block #2
4:00 – 5:45 pm
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Email Basics
Location: Starvine 2
What’s the first impression you give when customers see an email from your course in their inbox? More importantly, what do they do? This seminar will take you step-by-step through the keys to effective email marketing and offer easy steps that will allow you to harness the power of the inbox.
4:00 – 4:30 pm
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Are You Writing for Your Golfers?
The written word is one of the most powerful tools in marketing, but most email messages are poorly crafted. Get a lesson in the art of writing copy that will get in your golfers’ heads, answer their questions, and lead to higher open rates.
4:30 – 5:45 pm
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Grow and Own Your List
Your email list is the cornerstone of all your digital marketing efforts, so to ensure the foundation is as strong as possible, you need to constantly update your database. We’ll discuss how to create a solid opt-in on your website that entices golfers to provide their email addresses, and offer suggestions on ways to get your staff involved in acquiring more emails and leads.
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Customer-Facing Operations
Location: Starvine 12
Technology can have a dramatic impact on how you interact with customers. This educational block will highlight best practices for using customer-facing innovations to ensure you’re making the most of these opportunities.
4:00 – 5:45 pm
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Using Technology To Improve the Golf Experience and Generate Incremental Revenue
Location: Starvine 12
Whether you’re looking to boost f&b sales, improve your golf instruction offerings or deliver a unique on-course experience, technology can be applied in a number of ways to boost your bottom line. In this session, experts will share ideas for leveraging some of today’s cutting-edge technology to enhance the guest experience.4:00 – 5:45 pm
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Protecting Your Brand
Location: Starvine 13
Ever been the victim of a negative online review on Yelp or another site? Or performed a web search and found your course name had been used without your permission? With the proliferation of social media and online transactions, a disgruntled customer or less-than-scrupulous marketer can damage your brand with a few strokes of the computer keys. In this session, reputation management experts and trademark lawyers will share steps you need to take to protect (or repair) your brand should you ever fall prey to brand-bashing or hijacking.5:45 – 6:45 pm
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Happy Hour & Sponsor Meet & Greet
Location: Starvine 10 & 11
Sip a beverage and mingle with TechCon sponsors as you peruse their products in a low-key, casual setting.Thursday, September 28
7:00am – 5:00 pm
Registration Open
Location: 3b
7:30 – 8:30 am
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Buffet Breakfast & Sponsor Demos and Networking
Location: Starvine 10 & 11
Before the morning education begins, peruse the offerings of numerous technology vendors at your discretion while enjoying a hot breakfast.Education Block #3
8:30 – 10:15 am
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Website Advanced
Location: Starvine 2
Picking up where the website basics track left off, this session will dive deep into website development.
8:30 – 10:15 am
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Turn Your Website into a Money-Making Machine
- Presented by: Andrew Leintz, Dayta Marketing and Luke Riordan, Dayta Marketing
- There’s much more to creating a business-building website than peppering the pages with beauty shots of your course. Now more than ever, owners and operators need their websites to drive business and facilitate sales. In this hands-on workshop, experts will walk attendees through the process of building a website that uses video to engage customers while also functioning as an online retail store that helps them to sell everything from tee times to weddings and outings to vouchers for golf.
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Back-Office & On-Course Operations
Location: Starvine 12 & 13
As important as technology is for marketing in the modern age, it’s equally–if not more–important for streamlining back-office and on-course operations.
8:30 – 10:15 am
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Being the Captain of Your Tee Sheet
Location: Starvine 12
- Presented by: Arnaud Zunz, Priswing; Nahom Daniel and Damien Lemarie, Priswing
- Dynamic pricing has been used for years in the hotel and airline industries, but it remains widely under-utilized and, often, misunderstood in the golf business. In this session, experts will walk you through, step-by-step, the way to utilize dynamic pricing and digital marketing to fill your tee sheet. The program will explore the fundamentals of building a dynamic pricing strategy and showcase how to effectively manage it on a daily basis for maximum results. Industry newcomer or veteran, single-course owner or multi-course operator, it doesn’t matter—you’ll leave this session with the tools you need to make yield management work for you.
8:30 – 10:15 am
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Technology for On-Course Management
Location: Starvine 13
From apps for remote irrigation control to drones for course mapping to robotic mowers, technology is transforming the way course operators manage and maintain their most important asset. In this session, experts will analyze some of the innovations that are reshaping golf course maintenance and offer insights into how this technology can be used to maximize efficiency.10:15 – 10:45 am
Education Block #4
10:45 – 12:30 pm
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Social Media Advanced
Location: Starvine 2
This session will build upon the tactics and techniques introduced in the social media basics track.
10:45 – 12:30 pm
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Advanced Social Media Advertising
So you understand where you need an online presence and have a schedule for reaching out. Now what? This session will serve as a how-to guide on using advanced Facebook techniques to accomplish specific conversions and maintain a low CPC. The presentation will include a variety of tips to help businesses and brands improve their Facebook ads, including a step-by-step process of implementation and discernment of which techniques are best for particular goals and business sizes.
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Email Advanced
Location: Starvine 13
Drawing on lessons learned in the email basics track, this session will showcase advanced email marketing strategies.
10:45 – 12:30 pm
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Sales Funnels that Drive Sales
Do you use emails simply to send occasional discounts for golf or do you leverage them to identify and acquire new customers? If your answer isn’t the latter, you’re vastly underutilizing the power of email. In this advanced hands-on workshop, you’ll walk away with a sales funnel that’s designed to drive more business to your course.
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Back-Office Operations
Location: Starvine 12
This session will highlight tech-fueled solutions designed to enhance back-office operations and efficiencies.
10:45 – 12:30 pm
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Technology for Facility Management
- Presented by: Shane Riley, Scott Lake Golf & Practice Center
- GPS for fleet management. Point-of-sales systems for tee time booking and customer data collection. Automated time sheet management. In this session, learn how technology is changing the way course operators manage the front and back of the house, and gain tips on ways to use it more effectively.
12:30 – 2:00 pm
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Working Lunch & Panel Discussion
Location: Starvine 10 & 11
- Presented by: Jared Williams, Golf USA Tee Time Coalition
- Jared Williams, managing director of the Golf USA Tee Time Coalition, will host a discussion with some of the industry’s leading sellers of online tee times.
2:00 – 4:00 pm
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Sponsor Educational Demo Sessions
Location: Starvine 2, 12 & 13
Select sponsors will lead an educational session that offers technology solutions while showcasing their product or service.4:00 – 5:00 pm
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Panel: New Kids On the Block
Location: Starvine 10 & 11
- Presented by: Greg Norman, Greg Norman Company; Maury Gallagher, Allegiant Airlines CEO; Andy Rhodes, CIO, USGA; Lance Stover, PGA Tour
- Despite countless media reports to the contrary, golf isn’t dying. In fact, some companies are making substantial investments in the industry, particularly in the technology space. This panel discussion will spotlight some of the people who are putting their money where the game is and explore why they’re so bullish on the sport.
6:00 pm
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Technology & Fun In Focus
Topgolf Las Vegas
Shuttles to Topgolf: 5:30pmREGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE HERE
