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October 2009
On the Tee with ForeTees Welcome to another edition of "On the Tee with ForeTees". It's hard to believe that fall is already upon us. Hopefully, you have all had a good summer season. I am sure many of our northern pros are ready to wind down while many of our southern accounts are thinking about firing up for another busy winter season. I am happy to report that it has been a busy summer at ForeTees and the purpose of this newsletter will be to update you on what is new and what is on the horizon for the near future at our company. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your fellow staff members. Thank you and enjoy!
Our Newest ForeTees Features
Recently, we sent out an email blast announcing several new features that have to do with guest tracking. Many of our clubs have indicated a need to
track and search guest play in more detail in order to better enforce club policy. As a result, we have given facilities many new features to
do just that. These features include:
Guest Name Report: This new report will generate a list of each guest that played during a specified date range. The report will identify the date and time played, as well as the name of the hosting member. It will also attempt to identify the guests by name (if guest names are included in the tee times). Guest Search Tool: Here we have added a new utility that will allow you to search for guests' past tee times. This is similar to searching for a member's past tee times. This utility will only search the players that are identified as guests. This tool is useful when trying to determine how many times a guest has played during a specific date range. Tournament Expert (TourEx) Export: This feature allows the golf professional to export an event registration list to a file in a location where it can be imported by the TourEx program. This eliminates the need to manually enter the players into TourEx. POS Indicator: If you are using one of the POS Interfaces to send charges from the ForeTees tee sheet, then you will notice different background colors in the player check-in box on the tee sheet. If a player has been checked in, but charges have not been sent to the POS, the check-in box will contain an X and the background color will be white. If a player has been checked in and charges have been sent to the POS, the check-in box will contain an X and the background color will be green. This should provide a quick visual in order to determine which players have or have not been charged. Performance Improvements: In July our technology staff made some changes in our servers to take advantage of some new technologies that recently became available. These changes resulted in some very significant performance improvements. Our tests showed that a typical tee sheet downloaded 50% faster than our previous configuration. For more information on the newest ForeTees features, please click on the "New Features" tab at the top of the home or tee time page.
ForeTees Mobile
In the very near future, ForeTees will have a mobile version of its system available which will make it easier for members to access
ForeTees on their cell phones. This version will be an abbreviated version of our current system. It will make it possible for members
to more easily make or modify a tee time from their mobile apparatus or submit their name for a lottery. More information will be coming
to you soon, so please watch for this very important email announcement.
ForeTees 'FlexRez' Is Almost Here
Another great new product coming from ForeTees in the very near future is the new ForeTees FlexRez System. This system has been designed in much
of the same way as the industry leading ForeTees Tee Time System. It will enable a club to offer its members online reservations for tennis,
racquetball, platform tennis, spa services or any other similar club activity. If your club would have interest in using ForeTees' FlexRez system,
please contact us at sales@foretees.com.
ForeTees Support Line
This is a reminder that ForeTees has a support line available 24/7 to its customers, so that you can receive the best service in the industry
for your tee time system. Not sure how a certain feature works? Or, do you have a question about configuring your system? Whatever, your
problem might be, remember we are here to help you and there is no additional charge for the assistance. The support line number is 651-765-6006.
National Award Winner
Congratulations to a ForeTees friend, Brian Morrison, the Director of Golf at Olympia Fields in Chicago. Brian was recently selected
as the PGA Merchandiser of the Year for Private Clubs for 2009.
A Tip from the Staff at ForeTees
Without a doubt, a large majority of our clients choose to use Foretees because of our outstanding tee time system. It's easy to use, cuts
down on phone calls and members love the convenience. However, ForeTees is so much more than just tee times. For instance, features such
as Event Sign-up, Lesson Book, Demo Club Tracking, Dining Requests and the Extensive Reporting capabilities are just a few more of our popular
features. As the season winds down for many of our clubs in the northern half of the United States, if you are not using some of these
features, why not take a good look at how they work and possibly incorporate them into your plans for next season? We believe these items
can make your life and the lives of your members much easier.
Call us at 651-765-6006, if our support team can be of help.
ForeTees Biography
Brad Koch, ForeTees Support Specialist
Brad became fascinated with technology at a young age, recalling early Saturday mornings of racing his brother downstairs to get the first turn playing their favorite Nintendo games. This fascination only grew after his family got their first computer, and continued as he built and tinkered with a computer of his own during high school. "I think the hardest part was convincing my parents. It took quite a few years before they really understood and accepted how interested I was in computers and technology. I'm pretty sure it's because of how different it was from when they were growing up, but once they saw it blossoming into a future career they seemed to come around, and it's been nothing but support since then!" Around the same time, Brad found an interest in golf, playing in youth leagues with friends over his junior and senior high school years. Brad moved on to study Computer Science at Iowa State University, getting his first real look at programming. "I started my first semester of college with 10-15 friends I'd met in Computer Science, but after a semester or two I was the only one who hadn't switched to another major. It was a bit disheartening, but it helped me confirm that this is what I wanted to do." After graduating, Brad found contact with ForeTees, and ended up joining their growing team as a Software Specialist in the Spring of 2008. He now works closely with the Proshop Support staff to handle the technical side of many client requests, as well as building various customs and features. In his spare time, Brad enjoys golfing, both traditional and disc-based, fishing, and spending time in Northern Minnesota. He still often finds himself tinkering with computers, and continues to be just as fascinated by the technology as when he first started. Thanks, Brad, for all you do for ForeTees and we know you will faithfully serve our customers for years to come.
See you "Down the Middle"!
Watch for these emails in the future to keep up on the latest news from ForeTees. |
