It’s back

Two years in the life of a CCM General Manager

John Lawler CCM was delighted and proud to be appointed General Manager of Royal Portrush Golf Club in October 2019. Now, two years in the role, he shares his experiences with Clubhouse Europe.

Ihave enjoyed the challenges presented by managing a Club of the scale and stature of Royal Portrush immensely. And like every other Club Manager, the effects of the pandemic over the last 18 months have required us all to think on our feet and find creative ways to deal with the restrictions imposed on our Clubs.

As a Certified Club Manager, I have found the support of my colleagues in the Irish Golf Club and Managers ’ Association [IGCMA] and the Club Managers ’ Association of Europe [CMAE] invaluable. I speak frequently with some of my colleagues in Ireland and further afield and, as the saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved. There is a fantastic support network with trust at its core that allowsmetopickupaphone,andequallyallowsothers to contact me to share ideas and challenges. We all face common issues and the proactive efforts of the CMAE and IGCMA in keeping us all talking and sharing, albeit remotely, during the last 16 months have been greatly appreciated.

I was appointed as General Manager during the week of the Open Championship in 2019 and was not part of the build up to or hosting of the 148th Open. I had the incredible experience of getting a coursetouronthemorningbeforemyfinalinterview a month before the Open and the sight of enormous grandstands and massive infrastructure served to remind me of the scale of this job and the excitement of having an opportunity to take on the role.

My predecessor, Wilma Erskine, has done an excellent job in putting Royal Portrush on the global mapforgolfandIamexcitedtotakeonthechallenge of continuing her hard work. I am fortunate to be surroundedbyadedicatedteamofhardworkingand enthusiastic people. I see one of my key roles as creating an environment for everyone at the Club to do their best work and we all work hard to support each other working towards our collective goal of ensuring Royal Portrush is one of the world’ s leading golf clubs.

I can genuinely say it felt thrilling when we were first approached about hosting the 153rd Open in 2025. It is one of the world’ s great sporting events and for it to return to this small corner of Northern Ireland is a remarkable tribute to the hard work put in by everyone in the lead up to the 148th Open.

Starting with the Members, the team here and to the wider community – everyone embraced the Open,andtherecurringcommentIhearisthatitfelt like a festival of golf. Everyone bought in to this positive shared experience and were proud to show the world everything that Royal Portrush, the Causeway Coast and Glens area and Northern Ireland has to offer. We have barely caught breath and it is coming back in 2025. I am excited by the journey that the nextthreeandahalfyearswillbringmeandtheClub as we prepare to host this storied event again. We are fortunate that no major course changes are required as significant work was carried out in advance of 2019, and any work in the lead up to 2025 will have less impact on day to day golf for our members and visitors.

Partoftheenjoymentofworkingingolfclubmanagement is the wide range of areas that you are involved in. This is a topic that I have discussed with

We have developed very ambitious plans to get the Club to carbon neutral status… As our Captain often says, we are only “

custodians of this land, and it is our responsibility to hand it on in safely to

the next generation.”

mycolleaguesintheindustry,andwearefortunateto be presented with new areas for our input and management on a regular basis. The same is true of Royal Portrush, and one of the big items I am currently workingonwithourCourseManager,GraemeBeatt, is our drive towards carbon neutrality.

We have developed very ambitious plans to get the Club to carbon neutral status. This will include smaller items such as improved waste recycling and the reduction in the volume of waste we generate, but also bigger items such as making use of solar power to run more of our operation and the introduction of an electric fleet of course machinery.

The potential in this whole area is huge. It is a fast moving space with lots of new ideas emerging that require consideration, but it is such an exciting project and shows the Club’ s commitment to protecting the local environment and behaving responsibly in how we look after this precious site and the local area. As our Captain often says, we are only custodians of this land, and it is our responsibility to hand it on in safely to the next generation.

Royal Portrush is not immune from the issues of staff shortages experienced throughout the UK and Ireland at the moment. The area of food & beverage in particular has been impacted significantly by a move of people out of this industry. It has been a long summer for the team here and we have had to reduce our normal opening hours and availability of services to ensure days off while we continue our recruitment process. The Members have been very supportive, and we have tried to communicate frequently and effectively to help them understand the challenges that we are currently facing. 2022 will be a busy year for the Club with the expected return of overseas visitors and a full range of Member competitionsandwearelookingforwardtohavingournormal service levels restored in time for this.

ThetwoyearssinceImovedfromTheIslandGolf Club in Dublin have flown by, and my wife Vicki and I are very happy in our new home in Portrush. It is a staggeringly beautiful part of the world and even now, I still stop to take photos.

The support shown to me by the Officers, Council, Members and the team I work with has been fantastic and I describe it as an atmosphere where you feel people want you to do well. That is a wonderful environment for me and the team to be in and I enjoy coming to work every day and seeing what challenges lie ahead.

The lead up to 2025 will be very busy with lots of member golf, excited visitors arriving and preparations for The Open. And I am looking forward to it immensely!

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