Landscape Golf Management Partners With Lightspeed Golf To Develop The New Family Accounts Feature

We are happy to present our new Family Accounts feature. This feature was specifically created for the golf course operator offering member charging or house accounts. Family Accounts allow golf courses to streamline the house account feature when a family or business has multiple player accounts that are paid for by one primary account.

A “family” will no longer have multiple transactions for each of their house accounts; now, all members/players included in the family account will have their house account information funnel into the primary account, at which point there will be a single transaction for that consolidated account.

This feature is key especially in the private and semi-private golf space where member management is at the center of a facility’s operation. To make sure we developed a tool that met the exact needs of golf operators, we collaborated with Scot Wellman, Director of Marketing & Revenue Management, and his team at Landscapes Golf Management. At Lightspeed, we believe that listening to our customers is instrumental in our product development process so here is a glimpse at our latest collaboration.

(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity).

How did this partnership come to life?

Wellman: A few months after joining Lightspeed, we wanted to move the remainder of our golf courses to our new system. One of the hurdles we faced was the fact half our facilities are private so to create a pathway that allowed us to switch, they needed to have the ability to consolidate bills and monthly statements for customers into common accounts–all our facilities were already operating this way so a system that didn’t offer this feature would have a drastic impact on their operations. Many customers try to pay their family’s fees with a single credit card in order to maximize their rewards or travel miles. So, after speaking with the development, who has been playing with the idea of building this feature for a while, we came up with the idea of collaborating for its development–it just fell into place and made sense. 

How did the project unfold?

Wellman: The first step was bringing in the management team from our different facilities so they could show us what their members were accustomed to at their facility with their current system. We then spent a lot of time with David Alexander the Product Manager on your development team to hash out the details regarding how this project was going to unfold. The interesting thing about building a product from scratch is that it allows us to improve upon what systems are currently capable of doing–it’s exciting to have the liberty and opportunity to innovate. 

One of the most important things for us was to create a process that allowed us to easily connect players to family accounts without eliminating the individuality of players. Doing so would allow our members to have visibility on individual expenditures– we all know how much kids love to spend on candy and drinks. The most important thing however is to be continuously communicating and improving. This is just the start of the collaboration between Landscapes and Lightspeed, we will keep going until we have the best product possible for golf operators. 

How did you launch the new feature at your facilities?

Wellman: The project timeline we created rolled out the Family Accounts feature in 3 phases. 

Phase 1 

This phase occurred at the end of the month of July. It was all about linking individual house accounts to family accounts to make sure the principle of individuality remained. This went down very smoothly, we did not get any complaints from our management staff. 

Phase 2 

The second phase had the goal of testing the system’s billing capabilities–seeing if we could easily send a consolidated bill to a selected individual in the family account. Again, no negative feedback. 

Phase 3 

The third and last phase is aimed towards giving members the ability to make their payments directly on their accounts online. We are looking forward to this step, this is crucial to offer high-quality customer experience.

Would you be willing to participate in future collaborations?

Wellman: Absolutely! We are actually already talking with the development team to create another feature. Many providers say that they’re here for their customers and that they listen to their input but they never actually do–it’s nice to see a company that actually cares. In my opinion, having tech companies and golf courses work hand in hand leads to the best end result because. it brings the best of both worlds with a mix of on-field operational experience technological know-how. The fact that Lightspeed has its ear to the ground definitely gives them a competitive advantage over the competition.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience with Lightspeed Golf?

Wellman: Back when we made the decision to switch to Lightspeed golf, the main reason why we chose your company is because we felt like it was going to be a true partnership and you have not disappointed. When we were in the process of selecting our new system, JD Saint-Martin, SVP of Global Sales at Lightspeed and founder of what was once Chronogolf, told us, “Our mission is to help small and medium businesses, including golf courses, compete with larger players”. You guys had our best interest at heart since the getgo and your willingness to collaborate and make sure the tools are sufficient for customers truly showcases what kind of company you are. Can’t be more pleased with how this relationship has developed–Lightspeed is a true thinking partner.