Interview with Michael Steele from Golfnow
Michael Steele is Regional Sales Director of Golfnow.com, the world’s largest online tee time booking service owned by US media giant The Golf Channel. 2011 was a big year for Golfnow with its first venture into Europe having been launched in March 2011. Michael has over 15 years’ experience in the online travel sector, having been centrally involved in establishing one of Ireland’s very first online online travel portals,GoIreland.com. Following a spell in Italy where he ran an incoming touring agency, Michael returned to Ireland in 2007 and has been leading the GolfNow expansion since 2009.
OGT: What is it that you do exactly?
MS: Very simply, GolfNow.com provides a marketplace that connects golfers to golf clubs and provides an opportunity for golfers to book a round at the right price, right time and right place for them.
OGT: What do you enjoy most about what you do?
MS: What we do is very much at the leading edge of change in the golf industry. While what we do may some simple, there are many techniques in the background which are revolutionising how people book golf. From the airline and hotel sectors we have borrowed yield management, so you don’t pay the same for golf on a rainy Tuesday morning in November as you do a splendid summer Saturday afternoon.
We are opening tee sheets 24/7, meaning that golfers can book at time that suits them, over 50% of bookings currently come through after 5pm when most golf club offices are closed. We also allow golf courses to simply build their client databases and target these golfers with special offers and promotions.
OGT: What would you say are the 3 best places you’ve ever stayed?
MS: My memories are very much coloured by the location rather than the property so I would say, in Italy my second hometown of Ferrara is a special little place, The Whitsunday Island’s in Australia and San Francisco for its offbeat energy.
OGT: What’s been your most memorable dining experience to date?
MS: My mother-in-law’s Christmas dinner!
OGT: Have you rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous, either through your work or your travels?
MS: I have been fortunate enough to meet many leading lights in the world of golf including Harrington, McDowell and Palmer. A guy that stands out is young French pro, Gregory Harvet with whom we played in the Pro-Am at last year’s Irish Open, a true gentleman.
OGT: What currently ranks highest on your travel wish list?
MS: Sri Lanka, Columbia and the Cliffs of Moher – still never been!
OGT: What has been the most memorable golfing experience you’ve had to date?
MS: As a very poor golfer my experiences tend not to revolve around shots I hit but scenery and friendship. For both check out Ardglass Golf Club, a hidden gem in County Down.
Thanks Michael, Arglass Golf Club is definitely a course worth checking out!
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