ABOUT GOLFPAC
Posted: 27-JUN-2008 00:06

The History of Golfpac

The World's #1 Golf Travel Company

Daniel Newhaller, a retired corporate executive, founded Golfpac in 1975. The business evolved out of requests from Dan's friends and business associates from the Midwest to make advance tee times for golf courses during their annual winter vacations. Initially, the requests were for the Orlando area only, but the business slowly grew to include Tampa, Miami, and a few golf resorts in other areas of Florida. Each year the volume increased, but the focus was always on the winter "in-season" traveler. Phones were actually turned off in the summer and reconnected in the fall.

In 1986, Jeff Hamilton and a group of investors bought Golfpac from Dan. The new management team decided to build the business into a year-round operation. By 1989, Golfpac was also offering trips throughout Florida, Scottsdale/Phoenix, and Myrtle Beach. In addition, an international division was created to handle travel to Scotland, Ireland, England, Portugal, and Spain. Through the years, domestic destinations have grown steadily to include 14 areas throughout Florida; Charleston, Hilton Head, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Las Vegas, Nevada; Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona; San Diego and Palm Springs, California; Gulfport/Biloxi, Mississippi; and Williamsburg, Virginia. Each year, Golfpac carefully chooses new and exciting destinations to offer to their wide base of proven golf travelers.

Every September, a Golf Vacation Guide is produced and mailed. This past year, 300,000 brochures were printed with 250,000 being mailed to potential customers just after Labor Day. The balance of brochures is distributed to responses generated by word of mouth and advertisements in various trade publications. For example, Golfpac advertises extensively in Golf Digest and Golf Magazine along with many regional golf and travel trade publications. The company also participates in domestic consumer golf shows and travel-related trade shows such as POW WOW and Florida Huddle.

In the past few years, the Internet has become an extremely valuable marketing and customer-service tool. Golfpac's extensive website - www.golfpactravel.com - constantly changes and improves to meet industry demands and customer needs. Visitors to the website can now research where they want to stay and play, view online specials and packages, create their own custom quotes, and make reservations online. The website also offers special features such as "MyTrip," where confirmed passengers can view all aspects of their reservation including hotel confirmations, rooming lists, tee times, payments, package descriptions, etc. Each reservation booked with Golfpac receives access to their own private "MyTrip" website. Travelers love this unique feature!

Golfpac creates custom packages using net room and golf rates wherever possible. Packages include accommodations, green fees, golf carts, car rentals, taxes, and any other features available through the specific hotel or golf resort. This method allows flexibility to build customized packages to meet specific client needs. Customers are provided with vouchers for services booked and vendors direct bill immediately using the vouchers as guarantee of payment. In the 2004/2005 season, more than 40,000 golfers traveled with Golfpac. A significant percentage of these travelers are repeat customers, which speaks well of consumer confidence in the organization.

Over its 30-year history, Golfpac has grown from a seasonal mom-and-pop business to one of the largest, most experienced golf travel companies in the world with 30 employees. The company maintains its headquarters in Altamonte Springs, Florida.



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