Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort
How a half-century old beach resort created the first high-tech driving range on Hilton Head Island.
Palmetto Dunes has always been on the leading edge of innovation—with the island’s first air-conditioned golf carts, state-of-the-art GPS on its cart fleet, and its own mobile application. The resort was seeking a technology solution for its practice range to maintain a competitive advantage over other facilities in Hilton Head.
The resort upgraded the Robert Trent Jones practice range and learning facility with Toptracer technology in 14 covered hitting bays (plus a VIP area), providing ways for all types of golfers to have fun and improve. It became the first facility in the state to introduce Toptracer technology.
Sales: The facility is projected to do around $500,000 in ball sale revenue in 2023.
Customers: The practice facility’s main focus is meeting the needs of golfers on the tee sheet warming up before they hit the course. To that end, nine of the bays are reserved for “tee times only” for the majority of the day and every player with a tee time is given a warm-up bucket to use Toptracer prior to their round. Palmetto Dunes has noticed that a large number of afternoon reservations on the Toptracer bays are from golfers who used the technology before their rounds earlier in the week.
Programming: The resort runs a loyalty program during football season for local residents and also hosts birthday parties and private events.
Staff: Since installing Toptracer, Palmetto Dunes added one full-time range manager who also serves as a bartender and two full-time range pickers. Staff members are very knowledgeable about Toptracer, and they interact with guests at multiple touch points. “Our staff brings people back,” Alex Franseen, GM of Robert Trent Jones Golf Course, said.
Marketing: Advertising to resort guests in their welcome packets and guest brochures as well as biweekly email campaigns has been key to the success of Palmetto Dunes’ driving range. They also have a heavy social media and web presence, place ads in local publications, and have Toptracer branding in several visible locations on property.