Golf Hunter Inc. does two things for the golf industry. They provide a healthy net-new revenue stream for their Home Courses and provide access to the game, for as many as possible, at the most reasonable of prices, FREE. “That is what we need to do. We have to give the game of golf back to those that can’t afford a $54,000 initiation fee.” says Sean Manias, owner and creator of Golf Hunter. “That is one of the ways it will really thrive again.” Of course there is nothing for free these days, and well, it’s obviously not free. But consider this. If you knew of a dry-cleaner in your town that sent his customers golfing at great courses as an appreciation for the business, would you use that dry-cleaner? Of course you would. How about this as a solution?

Sean tells this story like it was the changing of the guard in his own golfing mind. One night, in the middle of a cold Halifax winter night, Manias woke up with the idea of a ‘Variable Foursome.’ He suggests “If you and your friends aren’t going to use that tee-time at 1:17, why can’t my friends and I go instead? As long as the course gets it’s due, and is respected by all guests, the name of the player shouldn’t matter. Where is that kind of membership? There is a gap here somewhere.” He goes on to say, “When you add in the freedom to play at a dozen courses, it gets a lot closer to perfect.” At the time, Manias was a Food & Beverage manager at a private club in Glen Arbour Nova Scotia. His job at the time included hosting the LPGA Canadian Open in 2005 and the thousands of guests in attendance. Manias has been on both sides of the bar, if you will; the serve-er and the serve-ee. That, in addition to his 8 years in corporate sales for a large company in Toronto has provided him the business acumen to create his own solution and his own company.

Golf Hunter Corporate Membership
“Here is the simplicity of it. One Foursome, Any four golfers, every day of the week, at any of our home courses, with no restrictions. No initiation fees, no minimums, no hidden fees. Period. This is an open concept to the game for the everyday player. Because we all need to dry-clean something,” The Golf Hunter suggests. “The typical multi-course memberships at the high-end courses have become far too expensive, far too exclusive and very prohibitive. Hey, if you can afford it, please continue to spend it. Ontario and Canada have some of the greatest golf courses, and some of the greatest golf course staff in the world. We just think our solution makes more sense for the business owner. Less cost, less time away from the office, (because you nor your staff need to be there) and more access to the game for everyone.”
Manias continues, “and the best part the is that development of loyal customers and loyal employees has never been more important to the business owner. We help them with that too.” This membership also allows business owners to reward employees through Golf Hunter’s Employee Reward and Recognition Programs. “If your employees come in on Monday with 10% more productivity in mind because they had a great Saturday, golfing with their friends and family…well, that’s priceless.” says Sean.

What About The Golf Course?
“We have to maintain the integrity of our course’s rules, expectations and price structure. In essence, we are filling unused inventory. Those growing empty tee-times.” Courses look to Golf Hunter as an alternative to hiring someone in a sales capacity and forethought the expensive salary that goes with doing that. An expense that many courses are now forced to cut out. Sean is educated in the business of golf and is more than passionate about its future success. His one-to-one marketing and hand delivered packages are the direct approach course owners are looking for. Golf Hunter offers a distinct differentiation that will get more golfers to their course. And it seems to be working. Corporate sales for some of Sean’s courses have risen by 75% in two short years.

Sean humbly rhymes off at least 18 names of people who, he says, have helped in building this company and this dream of his. Some I have heard of, most I have not. “Great people…like my course owners and managers, who have the to look outside this shrinking golf box. Doug Wilson at Diamond in the Ruff, Lana Stoddart at Settlers Ghost, Stuart Brindle at Mill Run, The Moyer Family at Bear Creek, Jonathan Gee at Bigwin Island, Jeff Palmer from The Raven at Lora Bay…” and the list goes on. The truth is this guy must be working hard to keep happy his 10 locations and dozens of new clients because, for the most part, this is a one-man operation. But the system he has in place seems to be doing exactly that. “We satisfy our customers, AND our customers’ customers, everyday. That’s the coolest part.” Golf Hunter is proud to say they have never lost a client, and work to maintain that record.

Golf Hunter is now focused on growth and doubling his 10 locations for 2010. Plans include Kitchener/Waterloo, London, Burlington and Oakville. “We’ve always thought this should work across the country. Franchising will be in the future, but our core focus right now is doing it right, doing it well.”

For pricing details, or to speak with The Golf Hunter directly, call Sean Manias anytime @ 705 252 8880 or email him

Writer: Roy Green.

The history of the game of golf can be traced back at least as far as the 12th century to St. Andrews, in Fife, Scotland, where people say – probably in a thick Scots brogue – that shepherds tending their flocks became so bored they began using their wooden crooks to whack rounded stones across the glens and into rabbit holes. And while there is no record of the first business deal consummated on a golf course, it probably took place soon after, when an entrepreneurial Highlands laird organized a foursome of potential fleece buyers for 18 (rabbit) holes of stonewhacking.

Today, golf and business are solidly intertwined and the grand old game has become the martini lunch of the modern workforce, the buoyant venue where business gets done. “Golf for business is a hole-in-one opportunity,” says business guru and author Harvey Mackay. “In the United States, an estimated $28 billion in annual sales is attributed to contacts and relationships initiated on the golf course.”

As far back as 2000, The Wall Street Journal reported: “As the game continues its transformation from province of the wealthy to mass pastime, a growing number of major international companies are sending young executives to ‘business golf’ experts to learn the art of selling themselves on the fairway.”

Or, as Bill Storer, president of Business Golf Strategies, puts it: “Think of it as a sixhour sales call.”

And if the ‘tight wee island’ of Scotland is the acknowledged birthplace of golf, it is in the vast open spaces of Canada where, centuries later, the game is enjoying its greatest growth. Canadians, perhaps because we have all this room (and any number of rounded stones and rabbit holes), have taken to golf with great enthusiasm.

“With six million golfers, Canada has the highest per-capita participation in golf in the world,” says Vince Kishimoto, of the Central Ontario chapter of the National Golf Club Owners Association of Canada. “About 20 per cent of the population takes part in the game, many of them for business reasons. And the real benefit of playing business golf is relationship-building; the opportunity to spend four or five hours in a captured situation. It’s a very useful tool you won’t match in an office setting.”

Business leaders who took part in a National Post/COMPAS survey revealed for each dollar they spent on golf, they earned more than $1,500 in business revenue. “Only restaurants surpass the golf course as an effective place to conduct business outside of the office,” stated the survey, “with hockey games, squash courts, tennis and nightclubs placing distant third, fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively. Not only is golf an important part of some business cultures, but business leaders say that it has set the stage for business transactions.”

Tom Fischer of Barrie’s Tangle Creek Golf Course, waxes poetic about the charms of the links as the ideal place to schmooze. “It’s where two to four people can meet in a beautiful, scenic, social environment and build a relationship together,” says Fischer, who has more than 20 years experience in the golf industry. “ You’ve got all that leisure time with clients who are relaxed and comfortable and everyone’s having fun. In most business situations, that’s hard to do. In the board room, it’s all serious business.” For young sales people, he says, the golf course is a natural place to build rapport with clients. “In what other environment can you see your customer for four to five hours straight, without interruption from phones, meetings or competitors.”

Chris Sadler, who operates an executive search company in Barrie, says entertaining clients on the golf course is a great way to break the ice with new business contacts. “Taking someone you hardly know to lunch can sometimes be awkward,” he says.

“What are you going to talk about? On the golf course, you have the game, the drives, the putts and whether you hook or slice, to talk about. You build a friendship without once having to talk about business. The golf course is a nice distraction, even as you solidify a relationship.”

The golf course can also serves as a second corporate office, according to Teresa Grattan, business development officer at Midland’s Brooklea Golf & Country Club. “There are two large employers in Midland, Franke Kindred and Elcan, and they regularly use the golf, dining and meeting rooms to treat their best customers and visiting officials from head office,” she says. Mark Parrish, director of sales and marketing at the Georgian Bay Club near Collingwood, agrees. “Executives and corporate clients come up and enjoy an afternoon of golf, preceded by a meeting in our boardroom – a little bit of business, a little bit of golf.”

But the key to the success of business on the golf course, everyone agrees, is to not actually do business out on the golf course. Bringing something up about business after your client has just driven three balls into the water isn’t a good idea and you should be thinking more about signing your scorecard before you worry about signing a deal. “It’s not a place to close deals,” says John Peters, General Manager of the Barrie Country Club. “It’s a great business tool, a four-hour round and some social time is a great way to get acquainted and learn about a person. The more people get to know you – and the golf course is an excellent place to learn something about a person, the more they’ll want to do business with you.” Peters also believes private clubs like the Barrie Country Club, established in 1913, offer even better opportunities for business golf. “The attraction to joining a club is to meet people of a similar ilk and the possibilities of networking and business opportunities expand. It’s the perfect place to blend business and social networking.”

Private or public, Randy Fielder, owner of Bonaire Golf in Coldwater, agrees the actual business of business isn’t a good idea on the course. “No one’s going out there with an order pad in the golf bag. It’s all about the companionship, the lead-up, the getting-toknow- you,” says Fielder.

And if soft-pedaling business talk on the golf course is a good idea, imagine how successful you could be if you bowed out of the picture altogether and let the client go golfing without you.

That’s the premise of Sean Manias, who left his job with Xerox three years ago to open Golf Hunter Inc., a Barrie based company that connects golf clubs, businesses and, most importantly, potential customers. Manias now has agreements with 10 golf courses in an area from Uxbridge to Muskoka, allowing foursomes to golf anytime they please, with Golf Hunter making all the arrangements.

“Business people who want to woo clients but can’t spend hours on the golf course can have the best of both worlds, and many clients really don’t want to golf with a sales rep,” says Manias. “If you had a chiropractor or real estate agent who sent you golfing two or three times a year with your friends, you’d never switch chiropractors or real estate agents. For businesses, we’ve eliminated all the logistics. You’re not out of the office and your client is having the time of his life.”

But for those business people who prefer to join potential clients in the sand trap, there’s another advantage to golf – it’s a great test of character and an ideal way to learn more about those potential clients. As golf legend Bobby Jones once said, “You can learn more about a man in nine holes than a lifetime.”

From: Huronia Business Times.

Your Business. On Course. Every Day.