Service quality in sport: A case study of golf resorts in the Liberec region

In the sport service environment, the level of customer satisfaction is monitored more and more thoroughly. The assumption is that a satisfied customer remains loyal for a longer period of time, buys more new products, talks favourably about the service provided, pays less attention to competing services, is less sensitive to price, and provides the company with new ideas for service improvement. Aim. The aim of this paper is to assess the level of customer satisfaction with golf resorts in the Liberec region. The survey evaluates the satisfaction of 78 customers at four golf courses in the Liberec region. Methods. Customer satisfaction was surveyed using a standardized questionnaire adjusted to Czech conditions and based on the SERQUAL model. This method identifies gaps between customer expectations and perceived quality of golf courses. It seeks to assess customer satisfaction with the golf course, the golf course amenities, the services offered, the golf course staff, the club staff, and the golf resort management. Results. Overall results showed that the customers were most satisfied with the services at Grabštejn Golf Course (total gap 0.02), while Malevil Golf Course and Ypsilon Golf Course had the same negative result (total gap −0.22) and the worst negative gap was at the Ještěd Golf Course (−1.24). The results show that there is room for managers to improve their services. In all cases the biggest gap appeared in the “Satisfaction with the course” dimension (except at Ypsilon GC), Ypsilon GC had the biggest problem in the “Satisfaction with staff” dimension (−0.72). Also the customers at the Malevil GC claim that they are dissatisfied with the golf resort management (−0.74). Conclusion. There is room for improvement at all golf courses that took part in this research. Customers are mostly dissatisfied and they evaluated the service provided as low quality in most of the dimensions. Generally the worst area is the golf course and staff. At the Ještěd GC, the results show that the management of the golf course is at a low level