Every bay has its own Inrange screen with access to all the feedback and games available.
Morpeth is in a prosperous and beautiful part of the North-East, close to Newcastle and surrounded by glorious scenery and the wonderful North-East coastline. It is also a keen golfing area.
Morpeth Golf Centre is owned by Declan Malone, who also runs several other golf centres and N1 Golf Academies. In addition to this, he has developed in partnership with Jake Peek and the rest of the team, a superb range booking system: yourgolfbooking.com.
The centre comprises a nine hole course in a parkland setting with separate Footgolf greens, along with an excellent golf range, café bar and an adventure putting course, as well as a first class short game area ideal for nurturing new talent, teaching and the general enjoyment of all.
The site at Morpeth is fairly flat with gently rolling fairways. It is perfectly dry and so provides an excellent opportunity for golf all the year round, without irritating interruptions due to drainage issues and mud. The reception area is light and airy, and there is a lovely patio to enjoy the summer sun. The adventure golf course is extremely popular in the warmer months and is used by all members of the family as well as local businesses for staff outings and team bonding excursions.
Declan has recently installed Inrange technology at Morpeth. Inrange uses radar to track the flight of the ball and give customers and coaches fabulous feedback as to how and why the ball flew as it did. It is also great fun and with the latest additions Inrange will now allow golfers to play some of the best courses in the world, hitting their balls out onto the range whilst tracking their progress on the screen.
There are also a range of games which make participating in the fun of golf so much more addictive for the young and new players rather than just the (sometimes grim) slog of hitting ball after ball on the range to improve your technique.
Golf Features caught up with Declan Malone:
“We are thrilled with the new Inrange installation. The technology works perfectly, seamlessly helping golfers get more from their range experience. We are able to charge a premium for using the new system and almost all golfers take advantage of the new technology.
“We have also installed Inrange at the Peninsula Range in Greenwich and Riverside Golf Centre in Nottingham. The results have been exceptional at all the venues. We opened our adventure golf course last year and this is a perfect mix for those wanting to take advantage of the Inrange technology. “This is making golf fun, resulting in more and more non-traditional golfers visiting the centre.
“Obviously we are very keen to teach these new players, and our N1 Golf coaches are brilliant at nurturing these golfers.”
The golf range offers beautifully finished internal bays, complete with netted bay dividers and full carpeting. The floodlights allow for full practice all year round and there is an excellent outside grass teeing area for use in the summer. There is a large teaching bay that is used constantly by the N1 golf coaches.
The Inrange screens are available in all of the indoor bays and provide superb feedback and entertainment for the golfer. The radar picks up the flight of the golf ball immediately it has left the bay and tracks its progress, relaying flight information, trajectory, distance travelled and accuracy back to the main screen; it brings alive the previously dreary activity of hitting balls on a golf range. Golfers of all ages are keen to see their shots displayed and their statistics revealed. The keen golfers can drill down on these statistics and work on their data to improve their swing and course performance.
The more casual golfer can enjoy games such as Longest Drive, Ballseye, Twenty One and Shrinking Target. With Inrange+ world class courses can be played from the comfort of your range bay. Best of all, customers can capture their session with the Inrange app - once registered, they can take their analysis with them to study at home and use at other sites.
The Coronavirus problems that have beset the world over the last eighteen months have certainly generated more interest in golf. Last year, golf was the only available sport that could be enjoyed by most of the British public, and not surprisingly courses reported record numbers of golfers joining clubs, paying green fees and starting golf for the first time. In addition, huge numbers returned to golf having put their clubs to one side for a variety of other reasons. Morpeth has been able to take advantage of this renewed interest in golf, with the last two years having seen phenomenal growth.
Declan founded the N1 academy and more recently an excellent booking system for his coaching team. Over the last twelve months, he has rapidly developed this with the help of Jake Peek and the rest of the team into Yourgolfbooking.com. Since the arrival of the virus, people have been more reluctant to pay with cash, and operators have been more hesitant to receive cash. As a result, being able to book online and pay for a range session, a game of golf, or a visit to the adventure golf course has become very appealing. The benefits are immense for both the customers and the operators, and whilst most facilities using Yourgolfbooking.com still keep a couple of bays free for walk-in trade, it is much more convenient, and Covid-friendly, for the consumers to be able to book their sessions online and arrive in good time, with no queueing. Yourgolfbooking.com is currently the most popular system for golf range booking: it is super simple, inexpensive and the money is transferred within a day directly into the facility’s bank account. It is probably encouraging additional sales of at least 10% at the ranges where it has been implemented. Declan elaborates:
“We have been absolutely thrilled with the take up from golf ranges and centres across the country who have chosen to use our new system. We can seamlessly integrate other options, such as nine holes of golf, Footgolf and adventure golf rounds. You can also book club hire, coffees, bacon rolls and extra items.
“This greatly increases a centre’s turnover and makes it much more likely for people to enjoy multiple activities at a centre. Busy families and individuals are increasingly looking to book their leisure activities online and in advance. Yourgolfbooking facilitates this, and all golf centres using it have been delighted with the response.”
Declan has owned the centre since 2007 and has continued to invest in the facility. There are more plans for the future and Golf Features will keep you abreast of future developments.