VIRTUALLY
SPEAKING
Members-only Web
sites transport the private club experience
into your home and office.
Staying active in your club just became easier. Virtually speaking, of course. As part of a major Internet initiative currently being rolled out to Associate Clubs across the world, ClubCorp has partnered with LifeCast.com, a Dallas-based Web site service provider, to create members-only Web sites for each club. Soon (if you don’t already), you will have computer access to a variety of your club’s amenities and information that in the “good ol’ days” took a phone call or trip to the club to accomplish.
Imagine. It’s late and you’re heading out of town early the next morning and you want to make reservations for the wine dinner the evening of your return. No problem.
And how about that tee time for Saturday? Don’t worry.
Just log on. Dial up your club’s home page and the information you need will literally be at your fingertips.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes, from a technology standpoint, to deliver members the most advanced experience on the Internet,” says three-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA champion Mark Aguirre, chairman of LifeCast.com. “Whatever it is, we want them to experience all that the Internet offers.”
Aguirre, who has had a longtime interest in interactive media, ought to know. As a member of Stonebriar Country Club near Dallas, he’s been practicing what he’s preaching about jumping onto the information superhighway. The Stonebriar Web site was one of the first sites to show off all LifeCast.com has to offer.
Using a new concept in Internet technology, called a gated portal, the Associate Club Web sites will be password protected so only members will have access to specific club information. You will be able to take tours of golf courses and clubhouses, review the daily menus, make reservations for dining, sign up for tournaments and other events, and keep up with the calendar. There also will be financial and travel information, links to other Associate Clubs, updates on course conditions, photos of club events, and club tournament updates. Golf handicaps also will be posted on the sites.
Want more? You’ve got it. How about multiple e-mail accounts or the ability to create your own full-service Web page? LifeCast.com’s chief executive officer John Reed expects many members to take advantage of their club relationships to build their own family Web pages.
Reed says each member will be able to tailor their club Web site to focus specifically on their designated interests. “A member may be delivered content and programming that is different from what their next-door neighbor, who is also a member of the club, would receive,” he says.
“To be effective and for us to reach our goals, the clubs have to reach their goals,” Aguirre says. “We want the members enjoying themselves through the experience of being online. And we’re going to be there not only for the club, but for each member. If you don’t like something, then we want to know. You do like something, we want to know. You think we should add something, we want to know.”
Aguirre says the Stonebriar site helps him feel a sense of belonging: “We have a lot of things going on and I might miss some of them because it’s difficult to keep up while I’m traveling. Now I can register for those online. I can see what’s coming up.”
All with just a click of his mouse.