The Power of Ambient Scent In Golf And Country Clubs

Ambient scents, and the professional air freshener machines that evenly diffuse them, have been redefining brands and improving the bottom lines of every commercial industry under the moon and sun. Statistics underscore that more and more business owners within the automotive industry, HOA management, medical professions and others are enhancing their lobbies and retail environments with the goal to soothe, relax, increase linger time and drive sales — and the golf and country club sector is no exception.

According to Rachel Herz of Brown University, an expert in scent and psychology, “aroma provides the most emotionally relevant dimension to any interior.” Within a country club setting, an effective signature scent must transport an unspoken sense of luxury and elitist leisure.

As is the case with any other uniquely designed aroma, it must nurture a positive kinship with the ambiance and connect with its target audience, which in this instance are club members and guests.

Welcoming and consistent, the fragrance should uniformly pervade (but not overwhelm) the entrance, clubhouse shop and locker rooms. Most importantly, a luxury scent encourages clientele to linger longer and perceive service levels even more positively.

Scents are invisible statements that reinforce a brand’s uniqueness, message and loyalty and their creation is an art form our chemists, perfumers and chief designers have been perfecting for well over seventy years.

The Golf and Country Club Industry

Since the end of World War II, golf was the primary force behind country club memberships. Most of the early country clubs in the United States were formed to provide a healthy outlet for member recreation.

Down through the decades, the concept of exercise has changed. Walking the length of a golf course has been replaced by a large extent by spending time in a gym or fitness center.

According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), there are now about 25 million golfers in the United States, representing a drop of about 5 million since 2003.  Both the number of people playing golf and the frequency with which they played stabilized in 2012-2014. From 2013 to 2018, the Golf Courses & Country Clubs in the United States have grown by 1.2% to reach revenue of $24 billion in 2018.

Despite this, the golf industry is still about 33 percent smaller than it should be and the number of golfers nationally remains the same as it was in the 1990s. For golf and country club owners and managers this single statistic means trouble, and a call to action to save that all-important bottom line.

Turning around golfer participation by improving course conditions, upgrading facilities and adding new programs are all positive steps, but they don’t go far enough. The secret lies in investing in the non-golf aspects of the golf and country club membership experience.

The primary reason most golfers join a club is because they love to socialize and play with others of their ilk. Their affluent lifestyles and personalities thrive on meeting new people and networking. This means rethinking recreational offerings and that’s where ambient air-care enters the very fragrant scene.

The Importance of Ambient Scent in Country Clubs

According to Alan Hirsch, neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment & Research Foundation in Chicago, “Smell has a greater impact on purchasing than everything else combined. If something smells good, the product is perceived as good…” Rachel Herz of Brown University, an expert in scent and psychology adds: “Aroma provides the most emotionally relevant dimension to any interior.”

Family incomes surpassing $100,000 represent the largest market for golf and country club services. The number of households earning more than $100,000 is on the rise, representing a potential opportunity for the industry.

Expenses for the golf and country clubs in the United States consist of memberships, green fees, food and beverages, equipment rentals and other sales and services.

Guests in golf and country clubs expect and have the right to feel pampered and special. Their membership fees quality them for VIP treatment. While easily stated, this task requires supreme skill to accomplish.

Every little sensual detail from the moment a guest steps through the club’s front door must be perfect in design, details and that special feeling only a signature scent from the masters at Air-Scent can evoke. That first impression must pervade the senses immediately upon entry.

When properly distributed, fragrance has the power to help define an environment and has been scientifically proven to positively affect moods and emotions, increase sales and inspire club loyalty.

The appropriate signature scent for a golf and country club will create a special sense of comfort and belonging for all of its members. It will also very subtly bolster the club’s primary focus, which is always to provide a unique multi-sensory travel experience for all of its members.

Scent must be barely perceived as it wafts gently through lobbies, shops and locker rooms and the corridors of mental perception, where it affects emotions and memory formation.

Luxury Scents and Country Club Interiors

Fragrances selected for golf and country clubs must be invigorating and inspirational. They must reflect ever so subtly the beauty of the natural landscape, feelings of relaxation, elegance and luxury.

In addition, a chosen signature scent must also blend seamlessly with the club’s interior décor and lighting and simultaneously enrich the setting with a consistent strategy that eliminates unwanted malodors arising from alcohol, food, and body odor.

The integration of all of these elements are essential to impact new memory patterns and establish membership loyalty and are best left to the ambient air-care specialists at Air-Scent. 

Ambient Scent Machines For Larger interior Spaces

We were founded in 1946 and have been in continuous operation ever since. We have become the leading American manufacturer of air-care systems and environmental hygiene products, providing commercial HVAC air-freshening systems, odor control products and ambient aromas to an enormous range of clients all over the world engaged in every modern industry under the sun.

In addition to the creation of unique signature scents, we offer a variety of professional air freshener systems that are suitable for golf and country club settings.

For large reception and clubhouse areas of up to 50,000 cubic feet, the Aroma Beam dry vapor diffuser system is the best choice. It features no-spill Scentsia refill cartridges that consistently combat malodors and offer a myriad of scent experiences that can be altered for holidays, seasons or special themes. An enormous selection of fragrances or the choice for a customized one will suit any mood or purpose.

Smaller areas, such as hallways and elevators, are also addressed with appropriate ambient air-care measures. The Aroma Styler is an extremely versatile ambient air diffuser system that is available in three different sizes; Gamma, which covers up to 63,000 cubic feet; Beta for areas up to 21,000 cubic feet and Alpha for spaces up to 10,500 cubic feet.

The Top Luxury Fragrances For Golf and Country Clubs

There are many ambient scent suppliers that provide fragrances today, but there is only one that suppliers and distributors turn to the world over, for the singular reason that we only use essential oils that have been harvested, distilled, stored and distributed properly, and (in the case natural organic fragrances) that are RIFM safe, free of dyes and other non-clogging containments.

We pride ourselves in providing the highest quality and most effective HVAC fragrances in the marketplace today, the following of which are some of the most popular for use within golf and country clubs environments.

• Alma Flower and Honey

Crisp, citrusy and refreshing, this scent is marked by bursts of orange, mandarin and peachy green nectarine tinged with sweet, dry minty cassis. These aspects blend effortlessly into a middle note of aromatic jasmine flower, honeyed and metallic neroli, alluring and romantic rose and uplifting lavender. The scent finishes with a base note featuring woody, honey sweet nectar and sensual musk tones.

• Almond Biscotti

The presence of almonds evokes the recall of sweet concoctions, such as cookies baking in an oven, and holiday warmth. Sweet cream and orange zest dominate this enticing, comforting and passionate fragrance. It is the perfect accompaniment to any seasonal meal or gathering. It seamlessly blends the concepts of family, friends, celebration and community.

• Barrel Aged Whiskey

Stimulating and invigorating, this fragrance evokes energy, which translates into more time spent on the golf course. Sensual and passionate, the softness of caramel is inviting and warm. Notes of oak and vanilla are deeper, woody, sensual, sweet and comforting. Collectively, they render a scent that is evocative of home and hearth and pleasant childhood memories.

• Clean Cotton

While thoughts of white sheets swaying in a soft summer breeze may be the first image that comes to mind, this scent can fit in perfectly within a luxury ambiance such as a golf and country club. Exciting and energizing, this fragrance evokes freshness, cleanliness and crispness and tantalizes the golfer to play yet another round of golf. This scent contains floral, lilac and musky notes, which complete the fragrance.

• Eucalyptus Mint

This stimulating and zesty scent is the perfect pick-me-up for any golf and country club setting, particularly in the locker room. Earthy, dry, fresh and herbal Eucalyptus is blended with sweet, dry mint to bring fresh energy to any situation and to relieve mental exhaustion.

• Fresh and Woody

This mysterious scent is the perfect blend for an elitist setting such as a golf and country club because it adds a splash of luxury and warmth to the ambiance. Clean and refreshing blends with rich, elegant, exotic and sultry woody notes to create an atmosphere of comfort and class.

• Genoa Lemon

There are few fragrances that can evoke the sense of fresh and clean better than this one does. Lemon and zesty mandarin orange provide stimulation and energy to this mysterious, bright and sparkling scent flawlessly blends into a complex and warm middle note of sweet and cloying magnolia blossom, neroli and orange. The fragrance finishes with a green base note that is fresh, floral, unusual and feminine.

• Green Tea And Sage

The aromatic, light and floral notes of green tea blend with earthy and pungent sage to evoke a mood of calm and relaxation. That feeling of “being on vacation” is enhanced with this fragrance, which can be directly applied or subtly diffused via one of Air-Scent’s superior scent systems.

• Lemongrass and Sage

Intoxicating and exotic, the lemongrass in this scent evokes the mystique of misty, far away places replete with emerald lagoons and sweet-smelling tropical breezes. Aided by earthy, piney and warm sage, this fragrance is soothing and relaxing and the perfect complement to the beautiful natural landscape.

• Rain Shadow

This passionate, warm and inviting fragrance is like a new rain that brings the unspoken hope for a chance to begin again. Sensual and soothing, this scent calls to mind the sudden drumming of rain rushing through the trees of a fragrant forest. The top note is dark, earthy, wet and mossy and it gives way to a peppery, floral, bright rosy carnation middle note. The scent finishes with a woody base note of dark, earthy patchouli, oak moss and cedar.

• White Tea and Fig

This exotic and sophisticated blend of aromas opens with a fruity top note of fig. Clean, citrus and fruity middle notes of white tea bud, sweet jasmine and aromatic rose give way to base notes of woody, earthy cedar, creamy amber and sensual musk. It evokes the feeling of fresh and clean and offers the faintest suggestion of the Orient.

• Sea Water

The scent of sea water will vary from ocean to ocean, depending on that body of water’s marine life, seaweed, natural brine, minerals and elements. Somewhat salty, with touches of ozone and floral, the overall impression of this fragrance is one of freshness and cleanliness.

• Miami Vibe

Cool, moist salty air, resplendent sun, surf and redolent breezes are integral to the olfactory experience related to just the mere mention of the word, Miami. Sensual, passionate and invigorating, this scent is finely balanced by complex floral middle notes of sweet jasmine and thick, sweet fruity honeysuckle. The scent finishes with a base note of sun-dried driftwood that is strong, woody and musky.

• Citrus Vanilla

This invigorating aroma can inspire the sudden proclivity for an extra round of golf, as its citrus aspects are energizing and refreshing. Tinges of bergamot, lemon, orange, tangerine, grapefruit and neroli alos evoke vivid images of tropical and exotic settings, such as palm fronds swaying gracefully in a breeze and lush lagoons brimming with sparkling emerald waters. The addition of vanilla balances this fragrance with elements of warmth, comfort and the down home sweetness of cookies baking in an oven.

In Conclusion

While the golf culture of the past formed the identity of the country club membership experience, there is a dynamic expansion of interest into health, fitness and wellness sectors that will become the strategic pillars of tomorrow’s clubhouses.

Indirectly, this mirrors a growing societal awareness of the degree and influence people have over their own physical and mental well-being. The choice of appropriate scents provided by Air-Scent will always be a part of the country club experience, enhancing its ambiance of luxury, leisure and wealth.

Managers and owners of golf and country clubs, heed this call to action. Call our ambient air-care masters today and let us help you transform your clubhouse into all it can be for your guests and members.

Final thought on golf: I have a tip that can take five strokes off anyone’s game. It’s called an eraser. ~ Arnold Palmer

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