Ways to Boost Your Golf Course Profits With Beverage Carts

Many golf courses look at food and drink as a losing proposition. Time and time again, course owners have said that food and drink are money losers, and the goal there is always to break even. The simple truth, though, is that outdated perception is only going to help you do one thing - lose money in a hurry.

Food and drinks are a great way to give something special to your players and keep them on the course a little longer and coming back for more. One place you particularly want to look as you reexamine your thoughts on food and drink while on the course is the beverage cart. Here are three ways you can certainly enhance your profits with a simple fleet of beverage carts on the greens.

Train Your Staff

Beverage carts can be a revenue cow, but only if your staff knows what they're doing. If your cart staff are sitting in front of the green or generally displaying other poor behavior on the course, the last thing your players are going to want to do is head over and spend some cash.

Any staffer needs a basic understanding of the game of golf. You don't want them to slow up the pace of the play, but you also don't want them to be wholly unavailable to your players, either.

Make certain they know their role, and emphasize the importance of service. A friendly smile could certainly earn you some serious returns on your beverage cart investment, and it could earn them some real tips, too. At some of the major courses across the U.S., many beverage cart employees can expect hundreds in tips over the course of the month in addition to their regular salary, so let them know how to treat the customer, and the customer will certainly treat you, and your employees, well in return.

Stock Your Cart

If you don't have what your customers want on hand, they're going to be far less likely to flag down the cart again, and even if you find a convenient location, they're less likely to bother to stop too. What's more, though, is that if another course offers better amenities, they may head over that way for their next tee time. Among the items you'll certainly want to stock are water and a sports drink like Gatorade. Sodas are also often a good idea, as is bottled iced tea.

Many beverage carts also stock a refreshing selection of juice as well. You can't have a good beverage cart without cold beer, so make certain you leave plenty of room for that in the cooler. Many beverage carts also add premium liquors to that menu as well like vodka and whiskey.

Snacks are also a must-have. Candy bars are a natural choice, but chips and crackers work well for most golfers too. You could also go with some portable fruits like apples and bananas. Cold sandwiches are often a good choice too, as games can be quite long sometimes. If you've just decided to add a beverage cart to your course, don't hesitate to poll your players either online or in person to learn more about what they'd like to see when they're on the course.

Become Available

One of the biggest complaints many people have about golf beverage carts is that they're either nowhere to be seen or that the drivers are going so quickly, they just can't flag them down. Either way, that sort of behavior just isn't going to work for your profits.

Make sure all of your drivers know which parts of your course tend to be slow. Think about the tee on a par-3 hole, for example. If they better understand where people might be most interested in a cart, you're going to get a much better return on your investment.