We contacted Kankaisten Golf Masku's (KGM) Service Manager Oona Vartiainen and Office and Event Manager Jari Laukkanen, who discussed their experiences with Golf GameBook's Tournament Manager and the event-rich golf season.
Kankaisten Golf Masku began using Tournament Manager in January 2022, and they organized 178 events with Tournament Manager in the very first season. Over the next year, they organized roughly the same number of events, some of which were smaller competitions for groups of friends and some of which were invitational competitions for companies.
📸: Kankaisten Golf Masku
"There are a lot of events during the year! We have also tried to sell the scoring solution specifically to companies interested in organizing golf events at Kankainen Golf," says Vartiainen.
What are the benefits of adopting Tournament Manager?
One of the biggest advantages of using Tournament Manager is its seamless compatibility with the Golf GameBook application.This integration benefits both the end user, the player, and the event organizer.
"Our customers and players are already familiar with Golf GameBook, which makes it easier to enter results in tournaments. The application looks modern and is simple to use. Its visual appeal benefits us as it takes the customer through the entire user journey," concludes Vartiainen.
"Even seniors have mastered entering results really well with Golf GameBook," says Laukkanen.
Tournament Manager makes it easier to commercialize corporate events. You can customize the look of the event's tournament site almost endlessly, including the color scheme, logo and images, which means that you can create a completely unique look for each event. You can create a summary of the event on the tournament page, including photos of the event, a written summary of the highlights of the day and a thank you to the participants.
"We brand most events to match the customer’s specific look and feel. Even if some players don’t use Golf GameBook during the round, they can still receive the results via a link, showcasing the logos of sponsoring companies on the summary page. This is much nicer than just a PDF file," Laukkanen says.
"Especially for corporate events, it's important to be able to share photos taken during the event in a stylish way," Vartiainen sums up.
Support for Tournament Manager and Golf GameBook
Kankaisten Golf Masku has now been using Tournament Manager for the third season. This season, it has been quick to create events by using previous events as a template.
"Of course, the visual look has been changed, but otherwise we have been able to use the old templates. This makes the process twice as fast. The staff is also proficient in using Tournament Manager," says Laukkanen.
Kankaisten Golf Masku has also been able to quickly get help with questions or problems related to Golf GameBook and Tournament Manager. Laukkanen and Vartiainen also enjoyed a remote meeting held at the end of the previous season where successes and needs that had arisen during the season were discussed.
"The meeting went over what needs we have at Kankaisten Golf. What we think are important areas for development and what things have worked really well during the season. It was a good way to end the season. Even though the 'development pipeline' for Tournament Manager is mostly set at that point, there might still be room to influence certain things," Vartiainen and Laukkanen speak together.
Feedback from golf clubs and customers has been taken into account in the development of Tournament Manager. In 2022 Kankaisten Golf Masku still had to instruct and advise players with the application and report a few bugs, but in the last couple of seasons both Golf GameBook and Tournament Manager have worked without any problems.
"This year we have had very little feedback from players, which is a good sign. I've heard a few players this year comment that they don't really use Instagram anymore, for example, but they spend time on Golf GameBook," Vartiainen says.
A rich season of events
Kankaisten Golf Masku is constantly developing new events which requires a lot of organizing. However, the events have gone well and have been well received by the players.
"We are constantly trying to develop events so that we don't get stuck in patterns. We have a really innovative culture," Vartiainen says enthusiastically.
Tournament Manager makes creating weekly and monthly tournaments for the whole season easy. That's also the case at Kankaisten Golf Masku.
"Competition series attracts a lot of players. For example, we have a competition series for seniors that lasts 12 weeks and is fully tracked through Tournament Manager. In addition, the club's match play competitions have been organized this year using Tournament Manager," Laukkanen explains.
"The highlight of the season is the club championships! The event features 10 series and several rounds, all managed through Tournament Manager. The community is really well put together and the atmosphere is always at its peak," Vartiainen sums up.
