Aug
9
Extract from Business Times - 09 Aug 2008
New interactive system lets you do this real-time for courses in and around Singapore, reports JUSTINE MOSS
WEBSITES dedicated to the golfing world have been around since the dawn of the Internet Age, and products and services aimed at the e-savvy golfer range from online retailers flogging the latest hi-tech equipment and apparel to golf tournament staging, and those offering golf vacations and sought-after tee times at exclusive courses. There’s a huge market out there for busy golfers who want access to this and more via the click of a mouse.
One slice of the Internet golfing pie involves booking tee times at a number of well-known public and exclusive golf courses around the world. While detractors may argue that it is easier to pick up the phone, online booking allows golfers to book out of hours - plus there’s usually valuable information on these sites showing availability, pricing, course and weather conditions.
The newest system on the block is Clickateeonline.com, an interactive, real-time online golf reservation system which went live three weeks ago. The idea for developing this portal stemmed from founder David Goh’s own experience with limited access to golf courses. ‘Most of us started out driving to Malaysia to play golf simply because most of the local golf clubs are off-limits if you are not a member,’ he says. ‘But when you visit these local golf clubs, you find that the courses are not full every day. If the clubs can allow some access to visitors, they’ll be able to get an added revenue stream and use it to improve the club facilities and services for its members.’
Mr Goh adds: ‘The way for the game of golf to continue to grow in Singapore is to increase the utilisation of golf courses. We can’t afford to build more public courses amid the scarcity of land. Yet, none have been able to do so without infringing on the privileges of club members. Through the latest web technology, we have found a way for members and non-members to co-exist.’
What differentiates this portal from other websites in Asia is its real-time facility, according to Mr Goh. He says that other golf websites in Asia involve filling out an online form, emailing it off and then waiting for a confirmed booking. ‘Why would I bother to do that? I may as well pick up the phone and get immediate confirmation,’ he says.
‘With Clickateeonline, everything is real-time and your booking is confirmed straightaway. An email is sent giving you confirmation details and an ID.’ He adds: ‘Some of the US websites have been planned in a very linear fashion. When we planned this we wanted something very easy for golfers.’
There are currently 13 courses in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand available on the website and these include Keppel Club, Sembawang and Jurong Country Clubs, Legends and Starhill in Johor and Lam Luk Ka Country Club in Bangkok. Mr Goh is hoping to grow this to 80 by the end of the year.
‘We’ve created a target list,’ he says. ‘In Indonesia you’re really just talking about Bintan and Batam, and we’re not going into Jakarta or Surabaya yet. We’ll probably go as far south as Perth and probably go into China as well.’
Regions outside Asia might also be an option in the future, says Mr Goh. ‘This is borderless - it’s a matter of time, resources and response. The US is probably a bit saturated but we think we still have a better product as to what’s out there, and with the right funding we might even expand there.’
Using this golf reservations system is free and it’s relatively simple to navigate. You don’t have to be a member or register to use the website, and once you make a booking, you receive an email with confirmation of your booking plus a login ID and password.
After deciding on when and where you want to play, you click on that timeslot which reveals the number of flights available and how many golfers can play at that time. The price and what it includes is shown in local currency, and might typically include playing 18 holes, buggy, lunch and caddy. Most of the courses have a cancellation policy of about three days, and Clickateeonline will send golfers a reminder about their booking.
Other features of the portal include a quick overview of golf courses, a detailed course description with hole-by-hole photos and tips on how to play. ‘My Game’ allows golfers to view, edit or cancel their online bookings. There’s also ‘My Score’ - a personal score repository that let golfers submit their hole-by-hole scores online - and ‘My Stats’, an interactive chart that plots golfers’ performance over time, with callouts of specific scorecards and score breakdowns.
An additional feature for the future is a community-style add-on, which Mr Goh says he may call ‘the tee-room’, where golfers can upload a picture of themselves and post something on the notice board saying they’re playing a particular course on a certain day and time to see whether other golfers would like to join them.
Loftec has already started working on Phase 2, which promises many more nifty features for golfers. Adds Mr Goh: ‘We want to build an entire golf ‘ecosystem’ around Clickateeonline.com.’