GolfSigma Goes iPhone

How can you make something that is already good, better, make it mobile. Now you can go to the iTunes store to download the new GolfSigma iPhone App and look for your tee times anytime you want.

This App is what you expect from an iPhone App, simple and easy to use.

Here is how it works;
1. Start the App
2. Select how many Golfers
3. Hit search
4. Select your desired course and tee time and we will take you the correct booking page so you can complete your reservation

That’s what we do, search for your tee times, we have more courses and more tee times than any site and make it as fast as possible so you can compare times and prices to make your selection, saving you time and money.

So please download the App, give it a test drive, and tell your friends about us. Ah and if you have a sec please rate it helping others to find the best kept secret for golfers.

Wow, I need to get going so I can work on Android, ha just kidding, soooooooooo, soooooooooo much more to do.

Rich



If you haven't loaded it on your phone already click here to go to the iTunes Store.



Hey if you are an Android developer we have an API for you :)

Wow my hat is off to instant search!

What will they think of next? With the latest released feature called “Instant Search” it is like the engineers who coded this feature are reading our minds. You start typing and the screen starts filling up with the most logical choices. It is truly a wonderful and time saving feature! (Umm, just like the rest of GolfSigma.)


You really need to give it a try, head on over to www.golfsigma.com and …..Oops did you think I was talking about Google? Yeah I heard they did a pretty good job of instant search too, but with all the money they have is that a surprise? (BTW I am a big Google fan, so I am just kidding.)


Try our version of instant search by going to www.golfsigma.com . Our Golf Course directory just got better and faster. Trying to find a golf course, type part of the courses name, part of the city name it is in, or what street it is on, and instant search will show you the courses that meet your criteria. Looking for your next tee time, start typing and see an instant display of the cities with courses and online tee times.

Wow what will these engineers think of next to help us save time, a site that searches all the tee times sites and compares all the prices for us?

GolfSigma, saving you time again and again.

Sooooooooooooooooooo much more to come.

Rich

3000 Courses, but who is counting?

Remember when the net first started and you wanted to travel somewhere, before Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz and now Kayak? You would waste your time going to all the different airline sites and or hotel sites to do your research and figure out who had the right deal for you. Would you even consider doing that today, NO WAY?

Then why would you still do that today when you are looking for your next tee time? GolfSigma does all the work for you searching over 40 sites and 3000 courses and putting all the information, you need in one concise screen.

So the question is did you GolfSigma today, or maybe better yet why didn’t you GolfSigma today?

All right maybe that is a little like blowing our own horn, yes it is, but so many of our users go wow this is a no brainer when they find us.

Now we have added a new golf course directory that, ok blowing our own horn again, that is the best golf course directory that is out there. We have spent soooooooooo many hours researching the latest golf course information that “golfers” want to know, to see if this is the golf course you really want to play. We have also gone through great effort to furnish you with a link to the golf course web site, (we know you will come back to visit us soon)!

Oh, after you play leave your review / comments and tell the world what you think of the course. Always nice to the opinions of others that have played a course to help you make a buying decision.

One last note. Both our users and golf contacts have asked us about offering deals on our site and we are close to offering a solution, at least starting in the Phoenix area very soon. We are always concerned that whatever we do we want to make sure it is good for the golf industry and we believe what lies ahead will give the industry a new way to reach out to their customers.


More to come, as you know I am forbade about speaking about futures…….

Up next 3000 + courses and I am counting!!!!!

Soooo much more to come.......

Rich

The new GolfSigma has been released to the golfers of the world and the feedback has been very good!

• Faster
• More tee times
• More courses
• Easier to search
• Easy to use reviews
• Like the snapshot info

These are just some of the comments that we have received.

But before I go too far I want to thank all of you who have been leaving reviews and entering our contest. I would like to thank our winner, Gary from IL, who was the winner of the ProV1’s. Gary left the review you see here and was chosen among the 100 entries that we received that qualified for the contest. Thanks to you all!

Reading reviews on GolfSigma is easy, search for the course under the course tab and once you find the course check out the review tab. Ah searching for the course is pretty cool; there are several different ways to perform that search.

• Enter the course name or any part of the course name
• Enter the town, or city
• zip code
• address

Writing a review, same as above except you need to register to use the site. Don’t worry it is free. Go to the upper right hand corner and click on sign in. This will take you to our simple sign in page that you can use one of your already created Twitter, Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, LinkedIn, Facebook, AOL or Open Id accounts. Sign in with one of those accounts and write your review. Fast and simple, just like finding your next tee time on GolfSigma, with no new password to remember. Give the course your 1 – 5 star rating and tell us all what you think.

So after that next round of golf let us know what you thought of the course, or maybe you have a favorite you want to tell us about, or even a not so favorite, share it with us.

Just like the rest of GolfSigma, it is fast and free!

Have a great summer, play golf and tell everyone about GolfSigma! :)

Soooooo much more to come!

The New GolfSigma

1. It has been a long time coming.
2. The best things in life are free.
3. Good things come to those who wait.
4. Good things come in small packages.
5. Good things come in threes. ( this is our 3rd major revision )
6. If it were easy everybody would be doing it.
7. Patience is a virtue.

Pick one of the above, they all apply. The new GolfSigma has been a work in progress now for a long, long time. Ok I will fess up, it was I that was the hold up, as I kept adding so many great things to make your experience with our site easy, fast and useful.

I have pondered what to put in the blog the first time after the system was released and I came up with the following mantra, KISS, just like GolfSigma. (Keep it simple stupid) So as not to go into detail on each and every feature and enhancement, I will list some of the major features in a bullet form and at a later date may try to bore you to death with a detailed explanation (Doubt it)

• We completely blew up the search algorithms and developed a totally new way to search for your tee times. (Oh and courses, more about that later) Faster by a magnitude of 100, + or – 80 or so.
• Search now works by geo location and a 50 mile radius of where you are searching from.
• Registration, totally optional, but with registration come some features, and more and more are planned. First features are;
o Widescreen detection when logged in and we will fell your screen with as many times that will fit on your monitor. Geeky but cool.
o The ability to write a review, anybody can look at them.
• Many more courses that have been added, another website, numerous golf course web sites and 1000’s of more tee times.
• International, just the start, but we do now have tee times in 5 countries. Canada at the moment has the most new courses, but we plan on spreading our wings to add many other countries.
• Ah a comprehensive golf course directory!!!! What do I mean comprehensive? Check it out and you will see a very unique approach to getting you the information that you are looking for. We have worked very hard on putting the best directory together for you. Including correct addressees and links to any and all golf course web sites where possible. The directory is US based only, currently, and we are very good through North Carolina. So we are in Ohio now correcting the database and adding more courses, so if you see something or we are missing something lets us know.
• Snap shot views have been intergraded into two different areas of GolfSigma, the tee time booking window and the golf course directory. I know you will like them as they provide the information at a glance that you need to know.
• Golf Course reviews and rating system. If you become a registered user of GolfSigma you can leave a rating or a review. Tell the rest of the golfing world what you think. When to just look at what others thought of a course, no need to register just locate the course in the directory.

I know what you are thinking, why did it take so long to just add those above features? See above number 1, 2,3,6,7.

Here is something equally important that I wanted to discuss in the new GolfSigma;

• We are still 100% free!
• We did not go for the tiered service level. All features of GolfSigma are free.
• Most importantly, feel good about our search results on GolfSigma; we do not add anything to the prices that we find. So what we see is what you get!

The best thing to do is to go to www.golfsigma.com and give it a spin. What can I say but this is just the tip of the iceberg, there is sooooooooooo much more to come.

If it were easy everybody would be doing it.

Rich

Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles

The Secret Golfer and Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles

One of the thoughts I had back a while ago was to have a site that was like a “Secret Shopper,” except that it would be a “Secret Player” for Golf. If the site existed, the following would have been an article on that site. (BTW if you take this idea and make any money, remember me.)


I pulled up to the entrance of Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles at 7:00 am and was greeted by a young man who actually came to the car to get my equipment out of the car, instead of me bringing my bag to him. He was most pleasant and he was and right on top of what group I was in. Ah, that is a breath of fresh air, service.

While I was experiencing the service of the golf staff at Trump I was also trying to take in the beautiful stately clubhouse, even these words seem to be an understatement describing this beautiful facility. Old world charm mixed with “Today,” makes the clubhouse a beautiful facility, and that is not even considering the panoramic ocean views. Wow, this is starting to sound like an ad for Trump National, sorry it is not, and it is all true….

On my way to check in at the pro shop I was greeted by 100 images of Donald Trump, umm, might be exaggerating, actually we counted and it was 98, and a most friendly concierge. She was there to offer her help if I lost my way, which is entirely possible, and her smiling face at 7 am was most welcomed.

Onto check in at the pro shop. I give the guys in the golf shop a 10 out of 10. Friendly, informative, interested in my needs, genuinely focused on my group and me. I may say this more than once but I wished all courses were like this. However, the fact of the reality is they are not. Therefore, with that said I wished all high-end courses were like this course, but the fact of the reality they are not, kudos to the staff so far at Trump National.

With check in completed, our group was hungry and wanted to grab breakfast before we got out to experience the course. I am not exaggerating but once again what an experience, great food, beautiful restaurant, TV is going so our group could keep up with the world before our escape and the food was excellent. Mr. Trump talks about the food at the course on the course’s web site and he is not kidding, it is a great place to eat.

All right one knock, seems like I have to find something to keep this objective. The service in the restaurant was not on par of what I had experienced so far with the other Trump staff. Our server did not have the Trump National mystic about her, as everyone else seemed to have. She came across as disinterested and almost unfriendly but you know what, everyone has a bad day and it was not enough to bring down the breakfast, nor the golf day.

I was truly disappointed in one thing for sure; breakfast was so good that I did not have time to take in the practice facilities, that according to Mr. Trump have beautiful ocean views. Oh, well next time I will get there earlier, and yes I would love to play this course again soon.

Straight to the starter for our orientation. Ya know the bla, blah, blah, stuff that golfers do not always listen to? (Similar to the same speech that flight attendants render upon take off) Well leave it to Trump National to have a starter that was so engaging. What a way to start the round by talking to the Trump starter. We chatted about life, golf, Mr. Trump and of course, we talked about what to expect for the course.

Onto the course. I am not going to review every hole, as I am not a golf course architect, but let me tell you about the highlights.

· The first hole is breath taking enough that most courses would be happy to have it as a finishing hole, what a way to start.
· Greens were in good condition, looked faster than they were but plenty fast enough. Weird the ball kept rolling where I putted. ( I hate when that happens, not way to have excuses)
· Fairways, let's put it this way, I have played golf courses who would like to
have greens as nice as the fairways at Trump National.
· WOW tall grass! Not sure, I have that shot, it is tall and gnarly, but thankfully only in limited areas.
· Hit off the fairway, which seem to be generous enough, and my advice to you is do not waste your time looking for it. (Or in the words of a some Italian “Forget Abooout It.”) Really, if you are a higher handicapper, enjoy the course, enjoy the round, keep up the pace of play, and resolve to the fact that a ball into that stuff that lines the fairways is gone forever.
· Views, every hole, every direction, need I say more?
· Playability, excellent. The course is tough but fair. My Compliment to Trump National is this. When I was done with my round, I wanted to play it again because I know I could play it better!

I know when you write a review you need to find things that are wrong or bad so you have some objectivity to the review, so here is the knock, we did not get to meet Mr. Trump. There, I said it; that was the only thing wrong with Trump National. You know what, we got to meet the assistant general manager, who made a special trip out on the course to make sure our round was going well and that shows what a first class establishment Trump National is.

Over all I would have to put Trump National Golf Club in my all-time favorite golf Experiences.

My golf bag is a little lighter due to the loss of several golf balls. My wallet is a little lighter, no explanation required. However, I would tee it up there again as soon as I can get a chance.

My hat is off to Mr. Trump, Lilli and the staff at Trump National Golf Club for making this not just a round of golf but a fine golf experience.

Rating 5 out of 5 Stars (Spoiler alert - you will be able to do this in our new UI)

Oh and if you are wondering where we booked this great golf course….www.golfsigma.com

Rich…….

So much more to come……

“Best Rate Guarantee”

“Best rate guarantee”, is a new trend in the golf industry for selling tee times that deserves the consumer’s attention. This marketing initiative is a takeoff from the hotel industry and seems to be catching on with certain golf courses and golf management companies.

Why do I bring it up, because GolfSigma’s commitment to displaying all tee times, retail, wholesale, packagers, canners, discount, rack, distressed, not distressed, long rage and short range, and whatever you want to call a rate, including best rate guarantee are all part of GolfSigma’s search results. (Well maybe not the “Canners”)

Do we distinguish this rate from any other rates in the tee time detail window, nope. I have stated before, see previous blogs, that price is only one small part of booking your next tee time, from what our customers have told us. As we have maintained from the launch of GolfSigma, we do not call your attention to any one particular tee time, as we realize what works for you may not work for the next golfer.

So to paraphrase a great slogan from a wonderful airline (Southwest), “You are free to move about the tee time detail window.”

Why bring up this rate issue anyway? I just wanted to let our golfers know that we are showing this new rate where we can, and are working with the technology providers where needed to expand this strategy where ever we can search it.

By the way, not that we are “Nuts about Southwest Airlines”, but golfers have to love em….Golf Bags Fly Free!!!!!! (And that is the second best golf tip I can give you)


More to come….. Oh so much more to come.

First best golf tip? http://www.golfsigma.com/

The Gulf Coast of Mississippi

Our mission is to have any golf course that has online tee times on GolfSigma so your first thought when you go to book your next tee time is GolfSigma. With that said, GolfSigma is pleased to announce the addition of 13 new golf courses in the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.

New Mississippi Golf Courses

· The Preserve Golf Club
· Windance Country Club
· Grand Bear Golf Club
· Shell Landing Golf Club
· The Bridges Golf Club at Hollywood Casino
· The Oaks Golf Club
· Pass Christian Isles Golf Club
· Diamondhead - Cardinal
· Diamondhead C.C. - Pine
· Great Southern Golf Club
· Sunkist Country Club
· Mississippi National Golf Club
· Dogwood Hills Golf Club

Golf destinations are very desirable for all golfers and we continue to add more golf destinations. Recently we added Palm Springs and we have started searching some of the courses in Myrtle Beach. So many more to search (and we are working on all of them!)….

For our cold weather friends, as the snow melts and courses start to reopen in the northern part of the US, GolfSigma will start searching and displaying their tee times automatically. So if you are in getting ready for the upcoming golf season, remember to start your search on http://www.golfsigma.com/.

We have been collecting information from a survey that we have included in our emails and wanted to share some of the survey results. We have found that golfers will search three different web sites and consider up to five different golf courses prior to making their tee time decision. Golfers also said that the cheapest price at a course is not always the main deciding factor, the actual tee time sometimes was much more important than saving a few dollars.

Rest assured we all realize that finding a tee time for your next round of golf is not always the easiest thing to do. Trying to take all the variables into consideration, time, price, course, location, weather, daylight, and of course, can my friends make the time, are just some of the issues that you need to consider.

Until GolfSigma came along, there was not one place to go to see the answers to all these questions. So stick with GolfSigma and watch us add more courses, here there and ….. New features, new tools, all created to make finding your next tee time easier, faster and enjoyable.

For today we will present you with the addtional tee times of The Gulf Coast of Mississippi.

Stay tuned more to come.....

Wow, all I wanted to do was book a tee time

There is a lot of text in the post; sorry I got on my bandwagon. Since I wrote it, I think it is an interesting read, (a little bit of a prejudice there) but it is a long read. So I am afraid I will lose you before the end. If that is the case, skip to the bottom of the post and look for, Not too difficult now to see the need for GolfSigma. Then read all the things GolfSigma can do for you.

All I wanted to do is book a round of golf online. Sounds easy enough, but it is not exactly as easy as it sounds. One site has the correct tee time but the price is excessively high. Wow, another site has a great deal but only one tee time and I need four.
Umm, what was the URL for the golf course’s web site, was it golfcourseurlgc@something.com, or golfcourseurlgolfcourse@golfcourse.com, or any of another 100 possible combinations. I thought the heck with it; I will just call the course and ask for the Internet discount, yeah right, that is not happening. (and it really shouldn't, but that is a story for another time.)

Here is the lowdown on what you will see, or maybe not see when you are searching from site to site for your next tee time. When you start looking at the tee time sites closely, you can really start to see the differences they have. So here are just some of the variables that come into play when you start to search for your next online tee time.

Times;
· Some sites only have a few tee times to display, while other sites have tons of tee times for the same course for the same day.
· Some only have morning times.
· And you may never notice this happening, but some tee time web sites will automatically replenish tee times that get sold. (some courses would rather not display too many tee times for whatever reason)

Price;
· Different tee time web sites have different prices.
· Different tee time sites have different tee times with different prices.
· Different tee time sites have the same tee times with different prices.
· Different tee time web sites prices change at different times. (Twilight)
· There are those sites that have that one tee time at that unbelievable price. When does that appear, how many of those are there, darn I was late to get it. (It is like chasing the Holy Grail)

How far out (the booking window):
· Different sites allow you to book your online tee time a different amount of days into the future. (called the booking window).
· Different sites have the same courses as other sites but with different booking windows.
· Some sites will have a booking window as far out as two months and these sites will typically show higher prices as it gets closer to the current day.
· Ah, but the above trend is starting to change and some sites feature lower prices for booking further out. Tell me this is not getting confusing.
· Some sites are in the Vacation Golf business and feature a very long range-booking window.

Area;
· Depending upon the tee time site that you are looking at, chances are that they may only cover certain regional areas.
· The same companies that power golf courses operate some sites and depending on the size of the company; they may have a regional presence or a specific type of golf course presence, i.e. municipal, semi-private, limited play private.

Tee time online booking sites, so many, how do you choose.
· Some sites offer loyalty programs.
· Some sites look like the other sites but are just a tad higher. (affiliates)
· A few are the biggest tee time sites, but are they the best deal, do they have what you want, price, times, booking window, course?
· There are tee time sites that have a particular niche that you may never have heard of.
· There are golf course web sites, if you can remember their URL.
· Then some of the golf course web sites have up to five booking engines on the site, which one is the correct one for you?
· Management companies have tee time sites.

Not too difficult now to see the need for GolfSigma.

When we designed GolfSigma we set out to solve, or give the golfer the tools to help them solve, each of the above issues.

Time, it’s right there in the best presentation on the web for you to decide when you want to play and to compare the times providers may have.

Price, sort from high to low, low to high, select your favorite course and see comparisons in prices that have never been available before.

Booking window will become longer as we develop some of the additional providers that have those long range tee times. This will help you to plan your next golf vacation.

Area, no need for you to try and find the web sites for a specific area, GolfSigma does it for you. We are constantly adding more and more sites to search.

Who to book with? There is and always will be one simple answer to this question, the site you want to do business with.

Did you ever think that much thought needed to go into booking your next tee time?

Next time go to www.golfsigma.com :)

Mums the word….

Yeah, I still can’t tell you all the new things we are working on, and it is killing me. All I can say is, nothing, I promised. OK moving on, you really should see this new feature that we will…. dang I forgot, I really hate not talking about futures.

So since I cannot talk about futures, I can say that we had a most interesting time at the PGA show where we met several new providers, what that means is more courses to add to our search engine, and as they say, some are across the pond…more to come.

So rest assured we are here not resting on our good looks, but working very hard to improve upon what we have, to bring you more courses' tee times and so much more…that I cannot talk about.

Spread the word about GolfSigma

So much more to come……


Rich