HJ0083 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0083 LRB102 26835 MST 37857 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Gateway National in Madison, Governors Run in Carlyle, Kokopelli in Marion, Rend Lake Golf Resort in Whittington, Stone Creek Golf Club in Urbana, and Stonewolf Golf Club in Fairview Heights offer some of the most beautiful and captivating courses for golf in the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, These seven courses currently operate as independent golfing destinations; to visit each course, separate dealings with all seven are required in order to set up tee times and lodging; and

WHEREAS, Other states have linked their courses into a "trail" to boost tourism and thus revenue; Alabama created the highly successful Robert Trent Jones Trail; Iowa and Ohio have also connected many of their golf courses and have seen tremendous positive economic growth by doing so; and

WHEREAS, The success of linking golf courses into a statewide golf trail is dependent upon ease of use; ultimately, there should be one internet portal that would enable golfers to reserve tee times and book lodging at all seven golf courses; and

WHEREAS, Other states have already demonstrated that this concept can be tremendously successful, and similar results are expected in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Illinois State parks and lodges could utilize additional revenue streams; the additional revenue could be used for maintenance, repairs, and improvements or to enhance the image and marketing of said facilities; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Office of Tourism is urged to do a feasibility study on linking together the seven golf courses listed above into the Abraham Lincoln Golf Trail (ALGT); and be it further

RESOLVED, That the study should include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) electronic tee time scheduling, which at the start could be an 800 number that golfers would call with a planned move to a fully-automated, electronic tee time scheduling system to take place as soon as possible;

(2) automated lodging/hotel reservations, as the convenience of automated bookings and reservations encourages usage;

(3) 24/7 customer service assistance, which, until the ALGT has the ability to handle customer service itself, could be outsourced to a third party, with the ability to schedule all tee times and make lodging reservations at all courses that are part of the ALGT;

(4) ongoing training, as customer service is the hallmark of any successful organization, annual training for all golf course staff would be recommended;

(5) promotion, including information about the trail to be disseminated at the individual courses, advertisements on the website, and paid advertising space;

(6) public relations "buzz" and "word of mouth"; and

(7) licensing merchandise, as merchandise with a logo is a natural for all member pro shops; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the seven courses listed above would be considered phase one of the ALGT; as the trail becomes operational, additional golf courses in central and northern Illinois could be added; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the study is requested to be completed by December 31, 2023; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the Illinois Office of Tourism.