Drone-generated flyover videos have become commonplace on clubs’ websites as eye-catching and impressionable ways to showcase the best features of their golf courses. More clubs are also beginning to effectively use the latest video and digitizing technology on their sites, so members, prospective members and those interested in holding weddings or other events at a club can take virtual tours of the clubhouse and other facilities—including structures and spaces that are still in the planning, proposal and to-be-constructed stages.
The more sophisticated of these approaches adopt the technology provided by companies commonly used by architects and designers to provide computer-generated, three- dimensional looks at floor plans and models for clubhouses and other facilities that are in the planning process, as well as virtual tours of existing spaces. Technology can also be used to take static photo tours to new and more interesting and relatable levels. Some notable examples of how clubs are using this technology to bring their clubhouses and facilities to life on their websites and provide compelling “inside looks” at what they have to offer include:
The virtual tours of The Country Club of Virginia’s two clubhouses, which each begin with three-dimensional floor-plan visuals and then include, as the tours progress, with pop-up descriptions of the special history and features of all of the rooms along the way. theccv.org/web/pages/virtual-tour
The interactive, three-dimensional virtual tour of the event space at Isla Del Sol Yacht & Country Club in St. Petersburg, Fla., featuring 360-degree, panoramic views of the club’s Boca Ciega Ballroom. As stated on the club’s website, “If you can’t visit Isla Del Sol in person, the virtual tour is the next best thing to being here!” isladelsolycc.com/Plan_an_Event/Virtual_Event_Space_Tour
The virtual, self-guided tour on the website of Meadowbrook Country Club in Northville, Mich., that allows viewers to use directional arrows to change the positions from which each room is viewed and gives them the ability to zoom in anywhere for closer, detailed looks. meadowbrookcountryclub.com/public/about-the-club/virtual-tour
The comprehensive site tour provided on one page of the website of Gulf Harbour Yacht & Country Club in Fort Myers, Fla., which offers a click-through Google 360 Tour of everything from the front entrance to the clubhouse lobby, several dining and grille venues, the tennis courts and tennis pro shop, the wellness center reception area and five different fitness rooms, the golf TrackMan room, the spa and salon, and the men’s and women’s locker rooms. gulfharbour.com/tour
As clubs accelerate long-range master-planning activity to address the need to upgrade and expand their facilities so they can properly serve and accommodate growing memberships, we can look to see more of this technology utilized in a cost-effec- tive, dual-purpose manner: first to help generate member excitement and approval for planned and proposed projects, and then to promote all that’s become available in truly up-to-date fashion.