“OUR GOAL IS TO REACH 800 PARTNER COURSES AND 350,000 PLAYERS BY 2020.”
There is strength in numbers… and it brings great benefits. This has been demonstrated for fifteen years by Le Club, an immense network of golf players and golf courses that was born in France and is becoming more and more established in Spain. And the prospects for worldwide growth are spectacular, in the words of the CEO of LeClub Golf International, Bruno Lelieur.
In fact, LeClub is the largest network of golf courses in Europe. Created in 2000, it brings together more than 400 courses on five continents. LeClub members benefit from discounts on green fees on the entire network of courses. Every time a LeClub player plays away from his or her course, he or she accumulates points called “fees” in the loyalty program.
Lelieur, who holds a degree in Economics from the University of Paris Assas and a master’s degree in Management and Business Strategy from CPA/HEC, has extensive experience in the management of golf courses and companies in the golf industry.
-In how many countries is Le Club present?
-LeClub is currently present in 18 countries, mainly in Europe (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Portugal, France, Spain, Czech Republic…), and outside Europe we have a partnership agreement in the United States with Arnold Palmer Management, we are also developing in Mexico, in China with Mission Hills, in the Philippines, in Australia, in Morocco…
We are now setting up the European purchasing center, which at the moment will benefit 180 courses in France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal, with an estimated purchase volume of around twenty million euros per year. We are reaching agreements with all the major international suppliers: machinery, products for the proshops… everything a golf course needs.
-Is LeClub the largest golf course association in the world?
-In Europe, without a doubt, and I think also in the world. At least, there is no network of golf courses so well established internationally. There are associations in Japan, Canada, the United States, but as far as I know, not as widespread as ours.
-What does LeClub Golf Destination consist of?
-The main international development is to channel the flow of players, the golf tourist, into what we call LeClub Destination. This year we have created the concept of LeClub Golf Destination, which is basically a resort of by Deal Top”> hotel
plus golf, which can be two properties or the same one, and there can be a by Deal Top” style=”z-index: 2147483647;”> hotel and several courses. Today our main market is the French market. We have a database of 67,500 French players. We have agreements with golf tour operators that consist of them configuring golf packages and we communicate them to those registered in our databases, with the aim of channeling and promoting the flow of golfers to the network’s courses.
-What advantages do golf courses that join the LeClub network obtain?
-The great advantage is that synergies develop between the associated fields from which they mutually benefit. We work in four areas. One is the promotion of sales, that is, to encourage greater player traffic between golf courses; another is the issue of purchases, since by grouping together we get better conditions from suppliers, both in maintenance and proshop, etc. The third point is the communication to the players, since we have an important database. And fourthly, we have a computer tool that allows us to record everything that is happening: the players who come, what they visit, which course the members of a club go to, etc., and then we have an international congress every year where we bring together suppliers and course directors and greenkeepers.
-And for golfers?
-We have two types of LeClub member players. On the one hand, members of partner clubs who join the Gold program, which is exclusive to them and helps our clubs to build loyalty by giving them added value, such as playing with a discount of up to 50 percent on LeClub courses. Then we have the Classic program, which is open to any player and provides a discount of at least 20 percent on all the courses in the network.
-What role does the Amateur World Cup play in LeClub’s expansion?
-We are developing and implementing ourselves in new countries through this sporting event that we created last year. This year there are ten countries doing their national challenge and the winning teams will participate in the world final, which will be played next May in New Caledonia, being invited to a week at the by Deal Top”> Sheraton New Caledonia Spa & Golf Resort, a spectacular place. This year France, Italy, Sweden, Spain, United States, Mexico, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and New Caledonia are participating. The goal is that this championship will grow every year and that by 2020 40 countries will participate, which will involve some 1,200 courses and some 400,000 players. The goal is to become the largest amateur tournament in the world. We have already received applications from Turkey, Austria, Colombia, Switzerland…
-What are the company’s growth forecasts?
-The goal is to double our volume of courses in five years and reach 800 by 2020, which would mean some 350,000 players. In Spain we will end the year with 40 courses and a database of around 25,000 players.
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