International Golf Research (IGR)

One of the criteria and benefits of being a member of World of Leading Golf, is participating in the ‘Mystery Test” process. This not only assures your club is meeting the expectations of World of Lead Golf clubs and resorts, but provides owners and managers with valuable and constructive feedback on all aspects of the products and services they provide, from the eye of an independent guest.

A further benefit is the ‘benchmarking’ of tests across the whole World of Leading Golf membership. As well as your own detailed set of test results, your club will also be benchmarked across 14 different categories against;

  • The average of all World of Leading Golf members.
  • The average of the ‘Top 5’ performing World of Leading Golf members.
  • The average of the World of Leading Golf members in your specific country or region.
  • The average of a bespoke comparable set of 3 clubs that you will nominate.

The test has been developed over many years and now delivers one of the industries most detailed audits for the golf business. The test is coordinated and delivered by International Golf Research, a company based in St Andrews and with extensive experience of golf operations and management at the highest level and on an international basis.

The Test itself includes over 170 ‘touch points’ cover the following major areas;

  • Clubhouse & Services
  • Golf Course
  • Emotional Experience

International Golf Research have developed an extensive network of ‘Testers’ who are based in 16 countries and with over 20 nationalities represented. They include both male and female, and a range of handicaps, ages and backgrounds.

Members receive a detailed Mystery Test Report after each test including a year to date average of the tests done in the specific year, along with the benchmarks detailed previously. The report provides valuable feedback with the evaluation scores, constructive comments and images to support any key observations.

For member focused clubs, the test can be adapted to also provide feedback from a ‘members’ view point.

The report also provides some of the key demographics of the tester, along with the specific date / time and commentary on the weather, climatic conditions and other influences which could impact the test. This allows the members to ensure each test can be put into as much context as possible when being reviewed.

The test report is a great way to provide feedback to owners, boards, committees and the team itself, supporting successes and helping to identify and improve on areas that may need focus.

Whilst we strive to provide consistency across the tests through detailed Tester Guidelines and appropriate Tester recruitment methods, we recognise that each test will always have a degree of subjectivity. But, in a world of instant reviews and social media and where ‘perception is reality’, the mystery test provides a safe way to gain feedback and reviews to help ensure your service and products meet the expectation of all your paying guests and members.