SARASOTA, Fla. (Dec. 4, 2015) – Need to RSVP for a club soiree, check out lunch and dinner menus or monitor the distance from your ball to the green? There’s an app for that.

The Founders Club, Sarasota’s premier private golf and social club community, is enhancing the member and guest experience with a free smartphone application that provides on-the-course GPS tracking, a detailed hole-by-hole description of the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed championship golf course, current weather conditions, menus and more.

Available for Apple and Android operating systems, The Founders Club’s app was designed by Talgrace Marketing, a boutique marketing company in Louisville, Kentucky, specializing in digital marketing.

“This tool provides a resource for members to look up anything from daily operations and club events while providing the club with the ability to communicate effectively with members and guests,” said Brad Cecil, an account executive and developer for Talgrace. “By creating an app, The Founders Club is extending its reach to its members and making information more accessible. More than 80 percent of people access the web on a smartphone as opposed to a laptop or tablet.”

The Founders Club app allows users to log in as members or access guest features without a password or user ID.

“The new app will enhance an already close-knit community and its social and active lifestyle,” said Mark Wilson, president and CEO of London Bay Homes, which owns the majority of the Sarasota community’s homesites. “Because of the community’s intimate size, the club’s membership is active in events, clubs, activities and other offerings. The app is a perfect way to keep residents and members connected and updated on activities on a daily basis.”

On the course, the GPS yardage and scoring tab outlines potential hazards, provides strategic distances from fairways to bunkers and greens, and allows golfers to keep score. Users can also send stats to instructors.

Members can look up general information about The Golf House, dining hours, menus, special activities and events, and access the community’s website and member newsletters. The menu bar also includes links to fitness classes, tennis league schedules, resident clubs and social activities.

Both guests and members can preview the multimedia photo gallery, featuring community and club videos, virtual tours and snapshots from golf tournaments, food and wine events and special activities. They also can subscribe to specific channels to receive push notifications, updates and blogs tailored to their interests.

“Users can manage the alerts they receive,” said Cecil. “For example, an avid golfer can personalize preferences to receive only notifications involving the golf course or golf programs.”

The app also links members and guests to the club’s social media pages and provides telephone and email contacts for key staff members.

“What’s really unique about The Founders Club app is the ability for members to communicate with the club,” Cecil said. “If they see something that requires attention, they can take a picture, write a message and send it to administrators. Most apps only work one-way.”

The 700-acre Founders Club is planned for only 262 single-family homes on large homesites overlooking nature preserves, lakes and fairways along the golf course. The community features 100 protected live oaks and a natural habitat that attracts a variety of birds and wildlife.

The Founders Club offers the area’s only traditional caddie program. Golfers are allowed to walk the course, and membership is limited to 275 to ensure members enjoy year-round golf with no tee time required.

Training facilities include two putting greens, a recently enlarged short game area.

A recent renovation has updated the interior of the 24,000-square-foot Golf Hall, which overlooks an oak hammock and the 18th hole, and offers a main dining room, bar and grille, outdoor verandah, and private dining room for casual and fine dining.

The facility also has a professionally staffed and fully stocked golf pro shop, state-of-the-art fitness center, and men’s and women’s locker rooms and lounges.

The club offers a vibrant, active social calendar and an in-season reciprocal partnership with Sarasota Yacht Club.

Amenities at The Founders Club are designed to foster camaraderie among residents and a connection with nature. Miles of winding boardwalks and paved walkways meander throughout the community.

The Founders Club also features Har-Tru tennis courts, basketball and sand volleyball courts, and a picnic pavilion. Fitness and wellness classes, educational and instructional programs, and social gatherings are coordinated by a professional staff.

London Bay Homes offers a selection of single-family detached villa homes, Reserve Collection homes and one-of-a-kind estates ranging from 2,500 to more than 6,000 square feet of living space. Home and homesite packages are priced from the $900,000s to more than $5 million.

The Founders Club is just minutes from Sarasota’s famed Gulf of Mexico beaches, the new University Town Center mall, and the acclaimed local restaurants, boutiques and arts and cultural venues of downtown Sarasota.

The Founders Club Sales Center is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 3001 Founders Club Drive, three miles east of I-75 on Fruitville Road, Exit 210.

For more information about The Founders Club, call 941-398-0900 or visit www.TheFoundersClub.com.