Asian Club Business – July 2014

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Issue #66

JULY 2014 ASIA PACIFIC CHAPTER

Official Magazine for CMAA-Asia Pacific Chapter asiapacificgolfgroup.com | golfconference.org | cmaa-asia.com

THE BUSINESS WE ARE REALLY IN!

SYSTEMS FOR SUCCESS

BY GREGG PATTERSON

BY JAMES CRONK

PINEHURST

GOLF IN INNER

MONGOLIA STAFF TRAINING WITH AN ATTITUDE!

BY JIM PRUSA

CHINA DRIES UP! ASIA PACIFIC’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS GOLF AWARDS ANNOUNCED! CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS!

A

PUBLISHER's OFFICE MIKE SEBASTIAN

mike@asiapacificgolfgroup.com

APGS To Host A Real “Game Changer” Here’s some dramatic news that all golf course owners, operators, club general managers and superintendents should hunker down to listen to.

It’s going to come as the best news for the golf industry in Asia, in fact the whole world, and it’s said to be a life-saver.

The 2014 Asia Pacific Golf Summit will stage a one-day special Global Symposium to showcase the revolutionary “Zeon” Zoysia turf grass.

Often referred to as “barefoot grass,” it is a fine blade Zoysia that is ideal for sun and shade. It is disease and insect resistant. It has a bright green colour and will establish well in many different types of soil.

The “father” of Zeon, Dr. Milt Engelke, Ph. D. and a member of Team Zoysia International, LLC, will lead the symposium together with a high-level panel of other international experts.

“We are delighted to be granted the unique opportunity to stage this milestone event and more importantly, we consider this a major breakthrough for the club industry because it provides a fantastic opportunity to introduce a super strong strain of Zoysia which is a real game changer,” declared Mike Sebastian, chief

executive officer of the Asia Pacific Golf Group, the owner and producer of APGS 2014.

Zeon Zoysia is the turf that has been selected for the course that will play host to the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

Feedback on the Zeon strain has been very positive – it is said to be the most playable fairway turf on the market because of its blade density. Zeon Zoysia is a world-class playing surface that provides superior lies, excellent feedback on ball-striking, and excels in stressful conditions brought on by extreme drought and heat.

Just how playable is the grass? Last spring at a corporate instruction clinic, World Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman hit a 3-wood directly off the grass and turned around, drop-jawed, and remarked to the audience, "Wow, that zoysia is phenomenal."

Other qualities of Zeon include its ability to settle perfectly into warm climate settings and

it uses between 30 and 40 percent less water and fertilizer, is drought tolerant and able to persevere through extreme conditions.

The turf’s protection against cold weather and long periods without water is dormancy.

Normally a translucent green, Zeon Zoysia will "dim out" to a muted green and ultimately, light brown. It only takes a few consecutive days over 75 degrees, however, to restore it to its native grandeur.

Zeon Zoysia is very environmentally friendly and the grass needs very little water, and very low amounts of nitrogen fertilizer, while still looking and playing great. The grass will create a worldclass playing surface for any golf course in Asia.

The Zeon Zoysia symposium will be staged on November 16 and the venue in Singapore will be Marina Bay Sands hotel.

An event of global significance not to be missed by all stake-holders in golf!

Publisher/Editor: Mike Sebastian Executive Director: Angela Raymond Art Director: Saiful Sufian Video EDITOR: Editor Wayne Lwee Finance: Myra Paras Marketing Executive: Alice Ho PUBLISHED BY: Asia Pacific Golf Development COnferences Pte Ltd Contact: mike@asiapacificgolfgroup.com CMAA – Asia Pacific Chapter: President: Mike Sebastian Chief Executive officier: SYLVAN BRABERRY Director of education: LAWRENCE YOUNG OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.cmaa-asia.com OFFICIAL AFFILIATED Websites: www.asiapacificgolfgroup.com; www.golfconference.org; ; www.asianjuniorGolffoundation.com; Office ADDRESS: Suite 05-06, Hong Aik Building, 22 Kallang Avenue, Singapore 339413 Tel: +65-6323 2800 Fax: + 65-6323 2838 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of Asian Club Business may be reproduced in any form or means without the written permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed by writers and advertisers within Asian Club Business are not necessarily endorsed by Asian Club Business. Asian Club Business accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, transparencies or other materials. Manuscripts, photographs and artwork will not be returned unless accompanied by appropriate postage.

Asian Club Business

JULY 2014  02/03

CONTENTS ISSUE #66, JULY 2014 – CHINA DRIES UP!

COVER STORY:

CHINA GETS BRUTAL ON GOLF! PG8

The Chinese Communist Party has delivered a massive blow to the golf industry in the Middle Kingdom that could be considered a fatal blow that is expected to hit the golf industry really hard. This blow will be felt most severely in water scarce regions of China. Shortly after the Chinese government announced a new water rate structure, a reliable source told the Asia Pacific Golf Group (publisher of Asian Club Business) that President Xi Jinping, was reported to raise water prices from July 2014.

AN ARCHITECT'S TAKE ON GOLF IN CHINA ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

PG12

ASIA PACIFIC GOLF SUMMIT 2014 APAC’s Most Prestigious Golf Awards Announced Pg16 The 2014 Asia Pacific Golf Summit, the eighth in the series, will induct three of Asia’s most prominent golf luminaries into the Asia Pacific Golf Hall Of Fame. The three men who will receive this prestigious award hail from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand respectively. Asian Club Business reports.

UP CLOSE WITH TOP HONCHOS Troon Golf – A Shining Star! Pg20 Troon Golf is obviously doing something right – it has discovered the elusive elixir to pump some life into what is generally a languid and flagging club industry. For the answers to Troon Golf’s success formula, Asian Club Business sought an interview with the man at the helm, the charismatic Dana Garmany, chairman and chief executive officer.

Pg20

SPECIAL FEATURE Strategic Planning And Its Place In The Club Industry Pg28 Strategic thinking is defined as a mental or thinking process applied by an individual in the context of achieving success in a game or other endeavour. As a cognitive activity, it produces thought.

Asian Club Business shares the five steps club leaders should take to encourage strategic thinking and culture as identified by club management guru , Henry DeLozier, a principal of Global Advisors

CLUB MANAGEMENT WITH JAMES CRONK

Part 5: Systems For Success – Everything is Measurable! Pg32

In this final installment we will consider the most important element to creating success in the club business…. determining if what we are doing is working and if not, determining what changes we need to make!

Pg28

Pg32 JULY 2014  04/05

CONTENTS ISSUE #66, JULY 2014 – CHINA DRIES UP! COURSE @PLAY Just Fancy This – Golf In Inner Mongolia? Pg38 Would you like to know more about this new outstanding golf course that offers a totally different and challenging experience developed by the Schmidt Curley Design partnership? Asian Club Business was been granted an exclusive preview of a golf course that opens for play this month in Inner Mongolia.

AGRONOMY WITH ANDY JOHNSTON Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan Pg44

Pg38

The greatest asset of a golf club outside of the clubhouse is the golf course. Investment in the course starts with planning. However, before planning can start the club needs to invest in a qualified agronomist who can assess the annual work plan along with the ability to think in terms of decades to steer the direction of the club’s continued success. Make sure the team is surrounded with great consultants who will help review the planning efforts, providing options, challenges, and alternatives for the team to consider. Andy Johnston discusses the importance of “Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan”

PRUSA’S POINT STAFF TRAINING – To Reduce Real Costs While Improving the Play Quality of Golf Course Conditions Pg46 Jim Prusa advocates the great benefits for golf clubs and superintendents conducting effective training and continuing education that are done by integrating classroom teaching combined with good visual materials and finally hands-on practicum.

Pg46 ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

BRUCE WILLIAMS – THE GOLF SAGE Pinehurst with an Attitude Pg54 The showcasing of the US Open and Women’s US Open at the famous Pinehurst #2 Course on a golf course that would show what golf would be like under water conservation was a smart move by all 3 of the groups that had made that decision in preceding years. The events showed that much can be done with little. Surely the future of golf will rest on water conservation. There is always the middle road approach in which golf courses can and should consider turf reduction and course design that will look more rustic rather than lush. Bruce Williams gives his insights.

Pg54

READING THE TEA LEAVES The Business We’re Really In Pg60 Clubs are in the business of selling community. Prospective members talk about buying “stuff” – a clubhouse, dining room or golf course–but what they really want to buy is community. The rest are just details, “stuff” used as an excuse to experience community. Gregg Patterson – General Manager, The Beach Club (USA) reveals all.

JULY 2014  06/07

COVER STORY CHINA DRIES UP!

China has set the minimum to which regions must raise their water resource rates by the end of 2015 to encourage reforms. Beijing and Tianjin are required by 2015 to raise the fees, the highest in the nation, to at least 1.6 yuan (26 U.S. cents) per cubic meter for surface water.

Two-thirds of Chinese cities lack water, with the national resource amount per capita equaling 28 percent of the average globally. The country will punish the exceeding of quotas or plans, at least doubling fees for excessive water usage.

Meanwhile, the River Fen which flows from the northern part of China’s Shanxi province and empties into the Yellow river at the province’s southern-end, has essentially disappeared as water withdrawals upstream in the watershed have lowered the water table, drying up springs that once fed the river.

The great Yangtse River (Yellow River) - the cradle of Chinese civilization, has frequently run dry before reaching the sea over the past three decades. In 1997, the lower reaches saw no flow for 226 days. While better management practices have enabled the river to reach its mouth year round during the past several years, flow levels are still extremely low during the dry season.

China is using up water at an unsustainable rate and rivers reportedly simply disappear. The number of rivers with significant catchment areas has fallen from more than 50,000 in the 1950s to 23,000 now.

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

CHINA GETS BRUTAL ON GOLF! WATCH VIDEO – THE ECONOMIST

WATCH VIDEO – CHINA UNCENSORED WATCH VIDEO – FINANCIAL TIMES WATCH VIDEO – LINKTV

JULY 2014  08/09

COVER STORY CHINA DRIES UP!

The Chinese Communist Party has delivered a massive blow to the golf industry in the Middle Kingdom that could be considered a fatal blow that is expected to hit the golf industry really hard.

This blow will be felt most severely in water scarce regions of China Shortly after the Chinese government announced a new water rate structure, a reliable source told the Asia Pacific Golf Group (publisher of Asian Club Business) that President Xi Jinping, was reported to raise water prices from July 2014.

According to the source, the measures will be draconian and will feature a multi-tiered pricing structure to put more of a burden on heavy business users as it seeks drastic measures to protect scare resources.

The authorities have created a new tax on water in the Beijing region which reportedly works out to 160 RMB per cubic meter. A typical golf course uses 300,000 to 500,000 cu m per year. That is upwards of 60,000,000 RMB per year for water (US $10,000,000) which is going to be impossible to sustain for golf course operators in China. It is not known how this will play out in other regions of China. “This new politburo just hates golf and it is getting grim,” lamented our source.

Meanwhile, China’s national news agency Xinhua said China’s more than 90 percent of households will see prices rise by just 1 yuan

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

(US$0.16) per cubic metre, from 4 yuan to 5 yuan. There will be a much larger increase for big industrial consumers.

Golf courses and ski resorts – many of which rely on artificial snow machines in arid Beijing – will also pay 160 yuan per cubic meter, Xinhua added.

“For those big consumers, we hope the new pricing system will push them to consider upgrading their facilities for water saving and recycling,” Xinhua quoted Liu Bin, deputy head of the Beijing Water Authority, as saying. Beijing’s annual water consumption has reached 3.6 billion cubic meters, “which is at a huge environmental cost”, Liu added.

The city has only 100 cubic meters of water available per person, just a tenth of the U.N. “danger threshold”, Xinhua said.

Underground water levels in Beijing have dropped 12.8 meters since 1998 with some 6.5 billion cubic meters of ground water overpumped, Liu added.

Money raised from the increased charges will be used in a special fund for saving water and be invested in water saving schemes as well as improving public awareness of the issue, Xinhua added.

Situated close to the outlying parts of the Gobi Desert, Beijing can

"While China adopts a stern stance on golf, the global golf industry should perhaps come together and show China that it has the potential to be a great social sport for the masses as it is in many other parts of the world where people of all economic classes enjoy its allure. Done correctly with proper locations, design, construction, maintenance and operations China can be shown how it can bring needed green space and employment for thousands while offering one of the most social sports an individual can enjoy with friends and family their entire life."

Yangtze river go for months without significant rainfall, especially in the winter, while dramatic summer storms flood the streets and overwhelm drains. Despite public concern about China’s rapidly degrading environment, awareness of water conservation is low in many parts of the country, especially in Beijing, where hose-pipes can be left running all day to water gardens and other green spaces.

While golf courses come under the gun, the extravagance of golf in China has taken a new twist. At a time when Chinese golf is under the microscope of being an elitist sport, a Chinese golf course has made it into the World’s Top 100. One wonders if the time is appropriate to start gloating and handing out awards when the central government is on a “hate golf campaign”?.

The course under scrutiny is the CITIC-owned Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed course at Shanqin Bay on Hainan. It is a worldclass site and probably deserves the nod to be ranked amongst the World’s Top 100. But here’s the kicker - the membership fee has gone from US$1,000,000 to US$1,200,000. One observer wryly commented, “Nobody can play it unless you trip over your cash.

Nobody does play it ….. days can go by without a golfer, yet every day it consumes water all the same and just sits there.”

At a time when the very mention of golf courses draws expletives from the authorities who view golf as being a bourgeois, water

wasting sport for only the wealthy, every effort should be made not to shower accolades on its biggest abuser!

Another observer remarked, “It SENDS THE WRONG MESSAGE! …… in a time of unrest and potential pulling off the rug on the entire industry, it is the poster child for haters who can point to all that is wrong with the game”.

While China adopts a stern stance on golf, the global golf industry should perhaps come together and show China that it has the potential to be a great social sport for the masses as it is in many other parts of the world where people of all economic classes enjoy its allure.

Done correctly with proper locations, design, construction, maintenance and operations China can be shown how it can bring needed green space and employment for thousands while offering one of the most social sports an individual can enjoy with friends and family their entire life.

But building elitist clubs for the privileged few is one thing; recognizing them as something to emulate will only give proponents of the crackdown fuel to fan the flames of controversy.

And this is something that golf in China can ill afford!

JULY 2014  10/11

COVER STORY CHINA DRIES UP!

An Architect’s Take On Golf In China

BY BRIAN CURLEY, – PRINCIPAL, SCHMIDT-CURLEY DESIGN

Golf in China has a very brief history, one which jumped past all the various incarnations of courses and their various levels of quality, conditioning, and operations that occurred over centuries. China golf knows, essentially, only the modern course with modern facilities and modern conditioning and, unfortunately, modern costs associated with its participation.

Through its long and storied history, golf has evolved from shepherds killing time by whacking a ball over natural sand dune terrain to the course of today, with its sometimes unattainable high cost. The reality is that many of today’s great players , even Tiger Woods, learned the game on very modest courses and these courses still exist all over the world in their varied degrees of quality. The majority of courses in the world today bear no resemblance to the pristine grounds of Augusta National.

Yet, the game in China seems to only occur on very posh and private courses with a steep price of participation.

The end result is a misconception of the sport, the game, and just what constitutes a proper field of play. The reality is that, all over the world, the game is enjoyed by a wide range of income levels and the sport is played by all ages from the very young to the very old. There is no greater sport for a family to enjoy and no greater sport to play for one’s entire life. In the British Isles, the sport (and lifestyle) is played and enjoyed to this day much in the same way that football is played over the most basic fields of play in some of the most impoverished nations or, the way Americans

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of all incomes enjoy softball leagues. The sport is able to transcend the playing field and be enjoyed by all, regardless of income.

In China, the game ran straight to the high end of the spectrum and has left many willing participants unable to play. It is the equivalent of introducing the automobile to a population and showing them a Mercedes or Rolls Royce. Of course, there is backlash and a call to halt what is seen as something only for the wealthy.

The reality is that many courses, especially in the US, were established and owned by the public or municipalities. These modest facilities nurtured young and beginning players whom then may have moved onto the next level of golf course, maybe even the Augusta's of the World.

China has that potential to introduce young (and old ) players to the game to enjoy a sport and lifestyle that is quintessentially Chinese; a social sport that requires skill and dedication over brute strength, a sport that welcomes a business environment, a sport that gets you into the outdoors , and a sport that families can enjoy to raise, encourage, and send their children into the world with a wonderful skill to enjoy and help them advance in the business world and make friends for the rest of their lives.

I have been working in China for almost twenty years now and, I get it. I understand the concerns to protect farmland, villages, preserve forest, and water sources.

I also know that all these can occur while still creating courses in locations that make sense. If properly designed and constructed in the correct manner on the proper site, a course is able to be built and maintained at an affordable level for many to enjoy.

A golf course is enjoyed by golfers and non-golfers alike for the open space it brings, often times within the City environment.

The upcoming Olympics and the newly reintroduced competition in golf will be a defining moment for China. Will it field a team while still largely denouncing the sport? Or, will it recognize that the sport has many merits and the support of golf will help in many ways to bring a great game to the masses.

I am very hopeful that the latter takes place and that the game finds the support of not only its many existing and willing participants but a government that understands the many , many positive attributes of the game and the impact it can have on the social fabric of a community and nation if properly planned and operated.

China already boasts a female Major championship winner in Feng Shanshan. It is inevitable that one day a Chinese male will win a Major championship. It would be a shame if this player is someone who was plucked from the Mainland and sent at a young age to Florida to train and learn rather than taught the game on home soil because the sport is not openly accepted and embraced.

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

ASIA PACIFIC CHAPTER Take the bold decision to become an active member of the Asia Pacific Chapter of the Club Managers Association of America.

ASIA PACIFIC CHAPTER

Act Now! Download the application form and fax it to us for processing. www.cmaa-asia.com info@cmaa-asia.com

Professional Recognition For The Club Manager Has Finally Arrived In Asia!

©Bruce Mathews

If you are a golf club manager anywhere in the Asia Pacific, you can now become a proud member of the most prestigious association representing your profession – the Asia Pacific Chapter of the Club Managers Association of America.

The Club Managers Association of America (CMAA) is the professional Association for managers of membership clubs. CMAA has close to 6,500 members across all classifications. Our manager members operate more than 2,500 country, golf, athletic, city, faculty, military, town and yacht clubs.

The objectives of the Association are to encourage the education and advancement of members and to assist club officers and members, through their managers, to secure the utmost in efficient and successful operations.

CMAA provides its members with the expertise to deliver an exceptional club experience that fulfills the unexpressed needs and desires of its members and guests consistent with their lifestyles. We enhance our members' success by offering professional leadership development, ethical standards and responsive services.

This mission is accomplished through the following strategic priorities:  Providing state-of-the-art educational programmes;  Representing the members to allied associations, club members and a broader public; and  Providing unique information and resources that increase member performance and career potential.

The Asia Pacific Chapter of the Club Managers Association of America Advancing The Profession of Club Management Suite 06-06, Hong Aik Building, 22 Kallang Avenue, Singapore 339413

Contact: Mike Sebastian +65 9152 8162 (Mobile)

ASIA PACIFIC CHAPTER

SINGAPORE The GLobal LaBORATORY FOR CHANGE.

WATCH VIDEO – A SPECIAl ADDRESS

Helping The Golf Industry TO Help Itself To Deliver The Best!

On-line registration will Open ON June 1, 2014. VISIT WWW.GOLFCONFERENCE.ORG

Singapore, one of the most dynamic and forward thinking countries in the world will be the staging point for the 2014 Asia Pacific Golf Summit. Innovation and cutting edge thinking will lead the thrust of the Summit and it will be powered by a theme that calls for a “New Drive. New Energy. A Revitalised Industry!”

APGS 2014 will push the envelope

change as it is widely regarded as

is perhaps the most spectacular

for change as far as it will go

the global laboratory for change

integrated resorts in the world,

in its continuing efforts to grow

– a nation that is constantly on

the imposing Marina Bay Sands

the game in a rapidly changing

the look-out for a better way to get

which stands imposingly on the

landscape that challenges the

things done!

fringes of the central business hub

growth of the game of golf.

Singapore is the perfect fit for

of Singapore. A true wonder of the APGS 2014 will be staged at what

21st Century.

Asia PacifIc Golf Summit 2014 – NEW DRIVE. NEW ENERGY. A REVITALISED INDUSTRY!

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ASIA PACIFIC GOLF SUMMIt 2014 A SPECIAL EVENt FOR THE CLUB BUSINESS INDUSTRY

"Mr. Murdaya, is one of Indonesia’s most powerful entrepreneurs and is a billionaire in his own right. He owns golf courses in Indonesia and has played a very dominant role in initiating various schemes to grow the game of golf in Indonesia, including the promotion of golf tourism. Under his leadership, golf has experienced exponential growth in the sprawling republic. His flagship company is Central Cipta Murdaya which is a diverse conglomerate and one of its companies is well-known for being the Indonesian manufacturer of Nike shoes."

Tun Dr. Ahmad Sarji bin Abdul Hamid

Murdaya Widyawimarta Poo

Thongchai Jaidee

“Tun Dr. Ahmad, Mr. Murdaya and Thongchai are the leading lights of the growth of golf in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand respectively and what they have done collectively to date, places all three nations on a firm foundation for the growth of the game.”

– Mike Sebastian CEO, Asia Pacific Golf Group

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

Asia Pacific's Most Prestigious Golf Awards Announced The prestigious Asia Pacific Golf Hall of Fame was started in 2010 by the Asia Pacific Golf Group and its primary objective is to recognise individuals who have contributed to the growth of golf in the Asia Pacific region.

PAST Asia PAcific Golf Hall of Fame Honourees

The 2014 Asia Pacific Golf Summit, the eighth in the series, will induct three of Asia’s most prominent golf luminaries into the Asia Pacific Golf Hall Of Fame.

of the 2014 Asia Pacific Golf Summit (APGS) which will be staged at the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore on November 14-15.

The three men who will receive this prestigious award hail from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand respectively.

They are Tun Dr. Ahmad Sarji bin Abdul Hamid, Chairman of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB). PNB is Malaysia's biggest fund management company. Mr. Murdaya Widyawimarta Poo, President of the powerful Indonesian Golf Course Owners Association and Thongchai Jaidee, arguably Southeast Asia’s best professional golfer.

Commenting on the new inductions, Mike Sebastian, chief executive officer of the Asia Pacific Group (APGG), the owner and producer of APGS said, “Tun Dr. Ahmad , Mr. Murdaya and Thongchai are the leading lights of the growth of golf in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand respectively and what they have done collectively to date, places all three nations on a firm foundation for the growth of the game.”

Tun Dr. Ahmad, Mr. Murdaya and Jaidee will be honoured at the Gala Awards Banquet

Tun Dr. Ahmad is one of Malaysia's most illustrious public and corporate officials.

Besides his numerous directorships in

corporations and public organisations, Tun Dr. Ahmad is also the Chairman of the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM).

Under his leadership, PGM's objectives are to promote the sport of golf and to contribute towards its enjoyment and growth in Malaysia.

As a show of confidence in Tun Dr. Ahmad, the Malaysian government appointed the PGM to become the local coordinator of The EurAsia Cup, the annual Ryder Cup format tournament between Europe and Asia.

"Malaysia has benefitted greatly from hosting The EurAsia Cup and it has reinforced Malaysia's capabilities to host a sporting mega-event placing our great nation firmly on the global sporting calendar," is how Tun. Dr.

"Under his leadership, PGM's objectives are to promote the sport of golf and to contribute towards its enjoyment and growth in Malaysia. As a show of confidence in Tun Dr. Ahmad, the Malaysian government appointed the PGM to become the local coordinator of The EurAsia Cup, the annual Ryder Cup format tournament between Europe and Asia."

JULY 2014  16/17

special ASIA PACIFIC Feature GOLF SUMMIt 2014 A SPECIAL EVENt FOR THE CLUB BUSINESS INDUSTRY

Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand celebrates sinking the winning putt in the play off game at the Nordea Masters at the PGA Sweden National on June 1, 2014 in Malmo, Sweden.

" “Thongchai” as he is popularly known in his native country, and the rest of the world, is now an all-round accomplished professional who ranks amongst his country’s greatest sportsmen and golf ambassador. Just on prize money alone, Jaidee has made over US$10 million dollars and he expects to continue to add to his bank account. “I still have a lot to give and I believe that the best in my game has yet to come,” he declared confidently." – Mike Sebastian Ahmad reacted after the inaugural Eurasia Cup clash ended in a draw.

Commenting on his induction to the Asia Pacific Golf Hall Of Fame, Tun Dr. Ahmad said, "I am honoured by the decision to induct me into the Asia Pacific Golf Hall of Fame, and God willing, I will attend the 15th November 2014 occasion."

Mr. Murdaya, is one of Indonesia’s most powerful entrepreneurs and is a billionaire in his own right. He owns golf courses in Indonesia and has played a very dominant role in initiating various schemes to grow the game of golf in Indonesia, including the promotion of golf tourism.

Under his leadership, golf has experienced

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exponential growth in the sprawling republic.

His flagship company is Central Cipta Murdaya which is a diverse conglomerate and one of its companies is well-known for being the Indonesian manufacturer of Nike shoes.

Jaidee, the rugged and naturally talented golfer from Thailand has been for a long time, the region’s best having won on the Asian Tour and the European Tour and currently ranked inside the top 50 best golfers in the world.

For his outstanding achievements in golf and his contribution to society as a whole, Jaidee is being inducted into the prestigious Asia Pacific Golf Hall Of Fame “He is a world class professional golfer and a multi-faceted personality who has matured

For more details visit www.golfconference.org from his humble origins into the best professional golfer ever to have come out from Southeast Asia if not all of Asia and we are very proud to have the honour of bestowing the highest award in the industry on Thongchai,” declared Sebastian.

“Thongchai” as he is popularly known in his native country, and the rest of the world, is now an all-round accomplished professional who ranks amongst his country’s greatest sportsmen and golf ambassador.

Just on prize money alone, Jaidee has made over US$10 million dollars and he expects to continue to add to his bank account. “I still have a lot to give and I believe that the best in my game has yet to come,” he declared confidently.

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

The hunt for the BEST in the Asian golf industry has begun!

Voting for the BEST in thirty-two special categories opens on May 1, and the search for the BEST will close on July 31.

Now is the time to rally your members and club supporters to vote on-line for their favourites. Note that voting is only valid via the 2014 Asian Golf Awards on-line link.

Please note that every completed voting form must include the full name and e-mail address of the person making the submission. This is for verification purposes.

IN CONJUNCTION WITH:

UP-CLOSE WITh TOP HONCHOS AN INTERVIEW WITH DANA GARMANY – CHAIRMAn & CEO, TROON

Flip through the pages of most golf magazines these days and one can’t help but run up against articles which cast only gloom and despair on the state of the game of golf. It is not uncommon to see page after page of editorials discussing what is been commonplace to – day – the closure of golf clubs, declining memberships, dwindling revenues and rounds played heading south. It’s all about problems.

Then, here comes along a company that seems to be bucking the depression. It’s reporting better than ever performance right across the board and its future looks anything but gloomy.

That organization is Troon Golf which continues to attract the industry’s finest clubs to its worldrenowned golf portfolio.

It is the recognised the leader in upscale golf course management, development and marketing and according to a recent company communique, it reports that it has further strengthened its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMA) team with several new additions, key promotions and strategic relocations.

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

Troon Golf ...

A Shining Star!

WATCH VIDEO – TROON GOLF MANAGEMENT

JULY 2014  20/21

UP-CLOSE WITh TOP HONCHOS QUALITY AN INTERVIEW SERVICE WITH DANA GARMANY – CHAIRMAn & CEO, TROON

Troon Golf is obviously doing something right – it has discovered the elusive elixir to pump some life into what is generally a languid and flagging club industry. For the answers to Troon Golf’s success formula, Asian Club Business sought an interview with the man at the helm, the charismatic Dana Garmany, chairman and chief executive officer.

The following is what transpired ...

Asian Club Business: You have come up with a glowing health check on Troon Golf's growth internationally.

What's behind this promising business trend?

Dana Garmany: We have had amazing growth in America with private clubs, and EMEA with both new and existing golf courses coming into our portfolio. We believe challenges the industry faces are causing owners to look for every edge they can find to compete.

In which geographic regions are you experiencing this reported growth?

The international growth for Troon in the last 24 months has been predominately EMEA.

Some observers feel that it is too early to say whether this upward tick in business is a permanent phenomenon. It is felt this is caused primarily by property owners testing the waters to gauge if outsourcing the management of clubs would be a viable proposition in the long run. What are your thoughts on this?

Let me clarify, we are NOT supremely optimistic about an uptick in the facility level, same store comparisons.

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

The doubts and challenges out there actually FUEL our growth, so negativity actually pushes clients to contact us. That said, we are seeing single digit percentage growth, weather adjusted, in almost all regions. It is not a massive shift forward, but clearly is at least some upward movement.

Based on your remarks at Troon's inaugural international conference in Abu Dhabi, it looks like your EMEA operations is a star performer - what is it that this division is doing right to score big for Troon's business?

Our brand is likely stronger in EMEA than even America, and we have a team based there that has worked very hard to cultivate relationships with clients. We expect to continue hiring additional staff in the region to handle the growth we anticipate.

Arguably, Troon's high-flying region is EMEA – against the success of this division, how does the Asia Pacific region stack up?

With the uncertainty of future construction in China, along with other factors in doing business there, we have not yet achieved the traction we would like there. However, in other Asia Pacific countries, we are performing well. We plan to continue to work hard to create a larger presence in Asia.

Your projects in Malaysia have created quite a stir of late and this has most definitely beefed up the awareness level of Troon Golf's services in Asia. This certainly augurs well for the company going forward, wouldn't you agree?

Our Malaysian properties, under the direction of our experienced leadership team, do a tremendous job and serve as a centerpiece for future expansion. It is also great working with Ernie Els there.

"Our brand is likely stronger in EMEA than even America, and we have a team based there that has worked very hard to cultivate relationships with clients. We expect to continue hiring additional staff in the region to handle the growth we anticipate."

Using the Malaysian success and your presence in China, do you feel that Asia is now ready for the type of services offered to the golf and club industry by Troon?

I think it will be some period of time before a profit model is the norm in Asia, meaning efficient construction, smaller clubhouses, and aiming at an upper-middle audience…currently, much of the focus and growth has been in the private club arena, aimed at the top 1%. This is exactly counter to the trend in the Americas and EMEA divisions.

JULY 2014  22/23

UP-CLOSE WITh TOP HONCHOS QUALITY AN INTERVIEW SERVICE WITH DANA GARMANY – CHAIRMAn & CEO, TROON

"With the uncertainty of future construction in China, along wit business there, we have not yet achieved the traction we would other Asia Pacific countries, we are performing well. We plan t to create a l

"Our Malaysian properties, under the direc leadership team, do a tremendous job and se future expansion. It is also great workin

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

th other factors in doing d like there. However, in to continue to work hard larger presence in Asia."

ction of our experienced erve as a centerpiece for ng with Ernie Els there."

"The industry has to remove its head from the sand and simply realize we are not relevant to 20 to 38 year olds, and have lost traction in GEN X as well. We need to make the experience more fun, need to bifurcate rules and equipment, and most important, tell people what THEY CAN DO at our courses, not WHAT THEY CAN’T." As the man widely regarded to be amongst the most influential in the golf and club industry, what message would you convey to club owners and operators relating to the value and importance that can be derived by establishments that appoint management companies like Troon?

A company like Troon, at the very least, is your insurance policy. It keeps a club from being held hostage by one key employee, allows quick change if needed, and provides owners with comparative data about where their operations fit among others. In most cases, it is much more, however, with innovating marketing concepts and proper training of staff, creating revenue growth and quality service.

There's no denying the fact that the golf and club industry faces some difficulties to put it mildly. This varies from region to region and Asia has not been spared. In your mind, do you feel that the industry needs to be put through the wringer and be re-invented to become more relevant to changing times?

The industry has to remove its head from the sand and simply realize we are not relevant to 20 to 38 year olds, and have lost traction in GEN X as well. We need to make the experience more fun, need to bifurcate rules and equipment, and most important, tell people what THEY CAN DO at our courses, not WHAT THEY CAN’T.

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UP-CLOSE WITh TOP HONCHOS AN INTERVIEW WITH DANA GARMANY – CHAIRMAn & CEO, TROON

"A company like Troon, at the very least, is your insurance policy. It keeps a club from being held hostage by one key employee, allows quick change if needed, and provides owners with comparative data about where their operations fit among others. In most cases, it is much more, however, with innovating marketing concepts and proper training of staff, creating revenue growth and quality service."

During golf's heydays, there was only one generation to deal with, the baby boomers who primarily helped grow the game of golf. Today, the industry is faced with multi-generations, namely Gen "Y", Gen "X", the "Millennial" and baby boomers in rapid decline. What in your mind would be the solutions to the challenges faced? Is there one quick-fix or a special cocktail to get the industry fired up towards strong growth?

No quick fix, but as I said above, we have to change. If you go out five to seven years, when the boomers are in retirement, and GEN X is replacing them, they clearly are not spending and embracing the game the way boomers have. And the Millennials are even further behind that. It is a real challenge, especially to those who love things, “as they are.”

Going forward, do you feel optimistic for the golf and club business?

We are optimistic about our business, and someone has to run these clubs. We are somewhat optimistic of some growth in the five to seven-year window ahead, but see real challenges past that if we cannot find new approaches that take less time, are more fun, and create more diversity among our players.

26/27  JULY 2014

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

FIT FOR KINGS! Feel like golf royalty for a day and play like a king!

Long Thanh-Vientiane Golf Club is a rare gem in the exotic Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

Known to most of the outside world as Laos, this is an ancient land that was once a royal kingdom between the 14th to the 18th Centur y. Imagine

playing on a US$100 million golf development fit for kings.

supermarket, restaurants and a host of other facilities.

Long Thanh-Vientiane Golf Club is planned as a 36 hole course and is part of a mega US$1 billion multi-project development plan that will include golf residences, a five-star hotel, hospital,

If you’d like to experience a leisurely round of golf in a natural and beautiful setting, this is a facility that must be on your golfing schedule.

A member of the KN Vientiane Group. www.longviengolfresort.com

Long ThanH–Vientiane Golf Club – Unmatched in Laos!

KN VIENTIANE GROUP CO., LTD: Km 17 Thadeau Road, Dongphosy Village, Hatsaiphon District, Vientiane Capital, Laos P.D.R Tel: (856) 21. 33 50 08 Email: contact@longviengolfresort.com

SPECIAL FEATURE BUSINESS STRATEGIES

StRATEGIC PLANNING AND ITS PLACE IN THE CLUB INDUSTRY Strategic thinking is defined as a mental or thinking process applied by an individual in the context of achieving success in a game or other endeavour.

As a cognitive activity, it produces thought. When applied in an organizational strategic management process, strategic thinking involves the generation and application of unique business insights and opportunities intended to create competitive advantage for a firm or organisation. It can be done individually, as well as collaboratively among key people who can positively alter an organisation's future. Group strategic thinking may create more value by enabling a proactive and creative dialogue,, where individuals gain other people's perspectives on critical and complex issues. This is regarded as a benefit in highly competitive and fast-changing business landscapes.

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

NGCOA president and now as a consultant. DeLozier offers his insights on strategic plans and the impact they can have on business.

Club management guru , Henry DeLozier, a principal of Global Advisors feels that research has proven strategic thinkers to be the most highly effective leaders in any business or organization. Now, he wants to see a private club can encourage strategic thinking and create a strategic culture?

Emphasizing the importance of strategic thinking, DeLozier cited a Management Research Group study in which 97 percent of a group of 10,000 senior executives said strategic thinking is the most critical leadership skill for an organization's success.

"Without strategy and strategic thinking, we could employ all kinds of tactics. We could execute from dawn to dusk. But to what end? And, in the absence of strategy, how would we know if we accomplished the most important things? DeLozier asked.

DeLozier has identified five steps club leaders should take to encourage strategic thinking and culture:  Set aside time to think strategically. Schedule it just as you would any other activity.  Provide information to employees regarding the market, industry, customers, competitors and new technologies. Keep people

informed about what's happening inside the club and then connect it with the outside information. This gives people the background for informed decision-making.  Communicate the club's mission and goals regularly and consistently to make sure key decisions are weighed against the plan agreed to by club management and the board of directors.  Encourage cross-function sharing of information and results.

Meet with your department heads on a regular basis to keep them informed about internal issues and external trends that tie directly to strategy.  Reward strategic thinking. Don't let it go unnoticed when someone anticipates problems or opportunities and devises creative ways of addressing them, all the while considering the consequences to the club.

“In a strategic culture, people are encouraged to dream and to fail productively,” DeLozier said.

He added, “Foster an environment that imagines new possibilities, bigger aspirations and opportunities. Try, fail, learn from the mistakes ... and try again."

JULY 2014  28/29

CLUB MANAGEMENT WITH JAmes Cronk A FIVE-PART Series to help improve your staff, products and profits

PART FIVE– EVERYTHING IS MEASURABLE! In parts one and two of this series we identified the importance of defining our success, and then the importance of having a great plan.

In part three we identified ways to attract the best staff, and in part four we showed some of the systems for success and other best practices that are being used by successful clubs to deliver great customer service.

In this final installment we will consider the most important element to creating success in the club business ... determining if what we are doing is working and if not, determining what changes we need to make!

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

James Cronk – Principal, Cronk Group is a highly regarded speaker and consultant and his work takes him around the globe, helping clubs and organizations improve their people, their products and their profits. His clients include private, resort and daily fee clubs of all sizes and also national and international organizations such as NGCOA, CMAA, CSCM, EGCOA, PGA and GOLF 2020. For more information visit www.cronkgroup.com or contact him at james@cronkgroup.com

 FORM AND FUNCTION EQUALS FREEDOM The golf and club industry is truly a unique one. It attracts all types of people for all types of reasons. If we stood on the first tee and asked the first ten golfers why they played the game, we could easily get ten different answers. Some people love the competitiveness of golf – to get better each game. Others simply love the fresh air and exercise.

Some people join a club to represent their affluence and their status in the community, while others join a club for the social connection to be with others that have similar interests. The reasons are many, and it is because of this fact that the golf club experience can sometimes be considered ‘un-definable’. When you have different customers that all get something different out of your product, it can be difficult to not only market what you have but also to sell it. More importantly, because many golfers or club members can have a different need, it can become a challenge to maintain a consistent level of satisfaction for each and every guest. How often have we heard one group of members talk about how much they love the new menu while another group wants to fire the chef?

We often say that being in the golf and entertainment business ‘is’ more complicated than rocket science. Each visit to our club can include dining, special events, exercise, competition and, of course, social interaction. Therefore, how we measure what we do is a critical tool that is necessary for improvement. We can’t fix something if we don’t know that it is broken. There is a great saying “what can’t be measured can’t be managed’, and many clubs do a great job measuring revenues and expenses and other key performance indicators. However, the best clubs measure everything possible, such as member satisfaction, employee satisfaction, total revenue per round of golf, cost of maintenance per acre and many, many other factors. In our business, with so many different facets, there is no shortage of things that we need to measure to best understand where we are and where we want to go. The more we can measure, the better we can manage!

For the purposes of simplicity, let’s look at the three important areas that require constant evaluation; employee engagement, member/ guest satisfaction and most importantly, business results.

 ARE YOUR EMPLOYEES ENGAGED? The only way to truly get honest and open feedback from your staff is by sending them a confidential survey, either on-line with a program such as survey monkey or through the mail. In addition, hiring an outside firm to create, deliver and analyze the results will also ensure the sense of confidentiality that is necessary to get full disclosure.

Conducting a thorough and effective employee survey process can accomplish many objectives.

First, they provide employees a chance to share feedback on issues that they might not be comfortable discussing in person. While this might seem unfair to the managers or employers, the reality is that many people fear reprisals for speaking out. What’s important is not who say’s what about who, but more often, identifying problems so that they can be resolved.

Second, our front line staff will often have the best ideas on how to increase efficiencies, improve working conditions or better yet, enhance customer service. We hope that these ideas will be shared each and every day, but for many people, they simply aren’t comfortable to walk up to the boss to tell him what would work better in their department. A survey process with lots of open-ended questions will usually produce at least a few brilliant ways to be better.

Third, and most importantly, the survey process simply enhances effective communication. When people share ideas, and those ideas are acted upon, it builds engagement and pride in the workplace. Too often managers will say that they listen to their staff, yet when we ask employees they say they are ignored. An annual and confidential employee engagement survey eliminates the opportunity for negative employees to say the words, “Nobody ever listens to us”.

BEST PRACTICE: When you create your employee survey, make sure you include the questions below from Curt Coffman and Marcus Buckingham in their bestselling book ‘First, Break All the Rules”. If 85% of your employees respond YES to these twelve questions, you deserve a raise!

THE 12 BEST QUESTIONS THAT ATTRACT, FOCUS AND KEEP TALENTED EMPLOYEES 1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?

2. Do I have the equipment and materials I need to do my job?

3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?

4. In the last seven days, have I received praise for doing good work?

5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, care about me as a person?

6. Is there someone at work who cares about my development?

7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?

8. Does the mission of my company make me feel that my job is important?

9. Are my co-workers committed to doing good work?

10. Do I have a best friend at work?

11. In the last six months, has someone talked to me about my progress?

12. This past year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

JULY 2014  32/33

CLUB MANAGEMENT WITH JAmes Cronk QUALITY SERVICE A FIVE-PART Series to help improve your staff, products and profits  ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS SATISFIED? It can be a challenge to gather good feedback from our customers.

Studies show that the majority of people who are unhappy with our products and services won’t tell us, but instead they simply will stop coming. Obviously our business results is our best definitive measurement, but if our numbers are in decline, how do we know if the reasons are caused by external forces or simply that we are performing below average?

Club’s that are effective in gauging member satisfaction will use multiple ways to gather feedback.

Comment cards remain a simple yet effective method for gaining ‘dayof’ satisfaction levels. By including comment cards with the bill or tab in the restaurant, or placing them on the steering wheel of golf carts, or even leaving a few around the locker room, comment cards can be helpful in providing managers with the ‘pulse’ of today’s guests.

Detailed satisfaction surveys are also very valuable, however it is important not to over do it. If your club is embarking on a large capital project, or re-envisioning your strategic plan, then a more extensive survey is justified based on the importance of the project.

Best practices suggest an outside firm is hired, and one of the benefits of using a third party is to have someone that shoulders the blame if things go sideways.

Focus groups are an excellent way to not only gather feedback but also to create increased loyalty from your best customers. By inviting a handful of your happiest (or unhappiest) customers to a focus group you are sending the strong message that you care about your clientele and you value their opinion. Those who attend will often be surprisingly candid and better yet, they will tell all of their friends about their positive experience. It doesn’t hurt if you add some wine and appetizers to the meeting either!

Lastly, one of the most effective means for gathering feedback is to utilize a third-party to complete a site audit, often called a ‘silent shopper review’. In a silent shopper review the ‘shoppers’ rate their experience when visiting your facility. The third-party can be an industry expert, your fellow industry peers or even friends. What

Asian Golf Business – Incorporating Club News

matters is that you get an impartial and detailed summary of what works and what doesn’t!

A GREAT QUESTION TO ASK YOUR CUSTOMERS:

How likely is it that you would recommend our facility to a friend or colleague?

 WHAT ARE YOUR KPI’S (Key Performance Indicators) Having happy staff and/or happy customers doesn’t mean anything if you aren’t achieving your business results, and the only ratings that bankers and owners usually care about are the financial results that are being achieved. In that regard it is critical that we establish some effective measurements that will truly tell us if business is good or bad and if we are trending in the right direction. In addition, we need quick and easy access to this data so that we can consider changing course now… before it’s too late.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) are the quantifiable measurements that will help us determine success and fail in our business. Each level of management and each department within our organization should know how to identify and target the goals that are to be achieved. For example, one golf club may focus on member retention and attraction, number of rounds per month, and food and beverage sales per member round.

Developing effective measurements will be unique to each facility and will be based on their goals and their products. In addition, financial

" ... one of the most effective means for gathering feedback is to utilize a third-party to complete a site audit, often called a ‘silent shopper review’.

In a silent shopper review the ‘shoppers’ rate their experience when visiting your facility. The third-party can be an industry expert, your fellow industry peers or even friends. What matters is that you get an impartial and detailed summary of what works and what doesn’t!

analysis may be more advanced at one club than another. That said, listed below are a few examples of some of the basic, and more advanced, metrics that are being used by club’s to determine their financial health.

Golf Industry KPI’s RevPATT - REVENUE PER AVAILABLE TEE-TIME Calculated by dividing the total green fee revenue (including membership dues) by total theoretical available rounds. This measurement gives a true indication of the revenue generating performance of a golf course year over year, month over month or day over day. Tee-time intervals must be standardized.

RevPUR – REVENUE PER UTILIZED ROUND Also known as Average rate or yield and calculated by dividing total Revenue by total rounds played.

This can be calculated by all departments (retail, food and beverage, etc). For Green fees this can be more beneficial if we can segment this by the different rate categories.

C.O.L. – COST OF LABOUR Weekly or monthly calculation of the cost of labour is critical when determining accurate labour numbers.

We are interested in maintaining or lowering our Labour percentage, not just our labour dollars. Divide department revenue by total fixed and variable labour costs. Other valuable measurements include; Food Cost, Retail Margin, Revenue per Customer, Weather and Average Pace of Play Per Golf Round.

Photo source: golfocd.com

IN SUMMARY Success is never guaranteed, and in our very challenging industry, when this great game of golf can sometimes be ‘un-definable’, success can be a floating target that is constantly just out of reach.

That said, we can improve our chances for success if we implement systems, tools and processes that will create clarity, consistency and most importantly, a commitment to excellence from all of us.

JULY 2014  34/35

PREFERENCES Workability • Trajectory Control • Distance Control • Soft Feel • Thin Sole • Thin Top T Line • Minimal Offset f ffset

IRONS

MACHINED A ACHINED F FA ACE, GROOVES, CA ACE C AVITY AVITY FACE, CAVITY Precise Tolerance T rance Control On Critical Tole Features STABILIZATION STABILIZ T TABILIZ A ATION BARS Improves Distance Control • Equals Course Record Scores VERTICAL CTP DESIGN Optimizes Feel And Trajectory • Elastomer Material For Soft Feel • Provides Clean Appearance 17-4SS/TUNGSTEN 10G Weight For More Compact Head • Increases Forgiveness

COURSE @PLAY A SCHMIDT-CURLEY DESIGN Golf COuRSE IN INNER MONGOLIA

JUST FANCY THIS – Golf in InneR

Mongolia Just in case you’re wondering as to where Inner Mongolia is, let’s first enlighten you. This is an autonomous region of China, very much like Hong Kong and Macau. It is located in the north of China bordering Mongolia and Russia. It is the third largest Chinese province (over 1.1 million square kilometers or 424,736 square miles) and is sparsely populated. The province has about 24 million inhabitants.

Climate in Inner Mongolia is very different during the year and the winters are cold and can be very long, with frequent blizzards.

Summer is usually short and warm.

(we believe that its working name is Dalu Dunes and it has a hotel next to the golf course named: "Yitai Savannah Hotel).

The owner of this new facility is reported to be the Inner Mongolia Yitai Group. The course is located about 90 kilometres away in a small town called Dalu which is about a 90-minute drive from the capital city of Hohhot.

Would you like to know more about this new golf course? Well here goes.

“Construction on this course started in late July 2012 and grassing, was completed in July 2013,” said Lee Schmidt, principal of Schmidt Curley Design (SCD). The course will be open to the public and may offer a limited number of memberships.

To start with, it is another outstanding course developed by the Schmidt Curley Design partnership and has not been named as yet

The target audience will be the population in Hohhot which is home to about 2.8 million people and perhaps one or two other courses.

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

ALL images by RYAN FARROW

Well, we are not pulling your legs! We are stone cold serious because Asian Club Business has been granted an exclusive preview of a golf course that opens for play this month in Inner Mongolia.

“Since the course will be open to the public, we are excited to introduce the Chinese population to a real, links golf setting,” – Lee Schmidt

The course is an 18 hole lay-out that plays to a Par 72, 7,195 yardage.

“Since the course will be open to the public, we are excited to introduce the Chinese population to a real, links golf setting,” Schmidt revealed. The site is located on the edge of the Gobi Desert and along the banks of the Yellow River and features 20 meter sand dunes. This makes for some stunning surroundings and the course consists of non-returning nines to make the most out of this dramatic terrain which feature punch-bowl greens, redans, dramatic fall away greens as well as challenging plateaus.

Throughout the design process, SCD looked at not only preserving the existing vegetation and natural sand dunes but also the micro undulations in the fairways and green contours. According to Schmidt, “In keeping with the great links courses of the British Isles we recognize the importance of challenging golfers with a variety of

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COURSE @PLAY A SCHMIDT-CURLEY DESIGN Golf COuRSE IN INNER MONGOLIA

H1. "Leap of Faith"

H2. "Valley Ho"

H3. "Redan"

H4. "Badger's Den"

H5. "Punchbowl"

H6. "Slide"

H7."Coastal"

“In keeping with the great links courses of the British Isles we recognize the importance of challenging golfers with a variety of uneven lies, partially blind shots, and opening up the golfer's eyes to a variety of ways to play each golf hole.”

– Lee Schmidt

HOLE BY HOLE COURSE DESCRIPTION

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

PHOTO GALLERY OF DALU DUNES

H8. "Watchtower"

H9. "Slither"

H10. "Turnover"

H11. "Short Changed"

H12. "High Light"

H13. "Bottleneck"

H14. "Yaw"

H15. "Marksman"

H16. "Plateau"

H17. "Fox Hole"

H18. "Fissure"

JULY 2014  40/41

COURSE @PLAY A SCHMIDT-CURLEY DESIGN Golf COuRSE IN INNER MONGOLIA

“We hope this design will not only change the misconceptions of the game in China, but also inspire developers to seek out great, natural sites like those found here, on the edge of the Gobi Desert,” – Lee Schmidt

uneven lies, partially blind shots, and opening up the golfer's eyes to a variety of ways to play each golf hole.”

The fairways are wide (70-80 yards in spots) in order to keep a playable golf course during the windy season (Spring-Early Summer) which can see winds upward of 20-30mph. Depending on the days, hole location and wind direction, SCD has provided alternate routes to play each hole with the intention of challenge golfers to find the right section of the fairway or by asking them to run a shot onto the green using the side of a hill or mound instead of flying a green side bunker.

“We want golfers to think about where they want a shot to end up, not necessarily where they want it to land and stop as they have become accustomed to with the overly manicured and lush conditions found

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in places like Beijing or southern China,” Schmidt explained. “We hope this design will not only change the misconceptions of the game in China, but also inspire developers to seek out great, natural sites like those found here, on the edge of the Gobi Desert,” he added.

The course comes fully equipped with a double ended driving range (400 yards), a golf academy, a putting green and chipping green. A five-acre "short game area" with five separate target greens ranging from 40 yards to 170 yards is also being planned.

On the cards for future development is an 18 hole Par 3 course and a "Himalayas" style putting course. This is a golf course that offers a totally different and challenging experience and will be open for play from July this year.

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

AGRONOMY with ANDY JOHNSTON THE IMPORTANCE OF AGRONOMY

"If your team has no plan and shows up to work on a daily basis working from the seat of their paints chances are they will lose direction and have no incentive to improve.

Planning helps identify goals. Goals turn into milestone events as the year progresses. Milestone events turn into improvements which are measurable."

PLAN YOUR WORK ...

AND WORK YOUR PLAN. ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

The greatest asset of a golf club outside of the clubhouse is the golf course.

Investment in the course starts with planning. However, before planning can start the club needs to invest in a qualified Agronomist who can assess the annual work plan along with the ability to think in terms of decades to steer the direction of the club’s continued success. Make sure the team is surrounded with great consultants who will help review the planning efforts, providing options, challenges, and alternatives for the team to consider.

If your Agronomy Program does not have both a long-term plan to accompany the annual short-term plan of a golf course you may be headed for costly problems once father time catches up with course conditions.

The more the team works on planning, the better prepared the team will become. One of my favorite quotes which is the back bone of our program at Sentosa is “Plan your work and work your plan”. If your annual budget or work plan does not mirror your efforts there is good chance the end of year review will not match the bottom line. Often I see work plans created but then put in the drawer and not followed. If your team has no plan and shows up to work on a daily basis working from the seat of their paints chances are they will lose direction and have no incentive to improve. Planning helps identify goals. Goals turn into milestone events as the year progresses. Milestone events turn into improvements which are measurable.

Develop a golf course maintenance standards guideline to accompany the planning. The first draft may not be allinclusive but will be a good starting point, especially for clubs that have no set of standards in place.

The superintendent’s job is difficult enough and is made more difficult when his expectations are unknown. These standards can be helpful to communicate to memberships, committees and boards what needs to occur to maintain a quality golf course and can accompany the planning efforts.

A comprehensive set of standards also sets into motion a process that makes resource allocation much more pragmatic. The superintendent and committee can ascertain a value of each standard and evaluate the need based on membership desires and funds needed to accomplish the task. If superintendents are to reduce expenditures it may be simpler to list the standards, the value of each goal and let the committee or board of directors to make the cuts or gains based on the superintendent’s recommendation.

The standards also justify expenditures based on a quantified level of maintenance. For instance, if a superintendent exceeds the

standards and remains within budget a case can be made for additional compensation for the superintendent based on management expertise.

Your set of standards could include all aspects of your golf maintenance business, from sustainability to golf course etiquette.

If it’s important to you as the golf course superintendent it should be stated in your golf course maintenance standards.

The first part of Planning is to develop a mission statement – Ours is centered around this quote “This is not a practice round—the tournament is today”.

Mission Statement Provide tournament conditions 365 days a year. This is an aggressive and all-encompassing statement, but setting the bar high will also put your team in a position to achieve more than mediocre work.

Next outline the standards of maintenance expected and develop details associated with these basic areas:  Green  Tees  Bunkers Fairways  Roughs  Landscaping  Practice areas  Trees and horticulture  Daily set up  Projects  Weather and related seasonal aspects of the four seasons  Course markings  Irrigation • Equipment maintenance, training and replacement programs & facilities  Budgeting to accompany and reflect planning After your first year plan has been developed, each year the plans should grow to become more comprehensive.

A golf course in China.

JULY 2014  44/45

PRUSA'S POINT BUSINESS OF GOLF

STAFF TRAIN

To Reduce Real Costs While Impr Play Quality of Golf Course Cond

" ... I have been a radical advocate of continual training. I quickly learned that training made the difference between life and death in the military and that it developed critical proficiency in aviation maintenance. There is a reason why the legendary US Navy SEAL Teams are so effective and successful – it’s TRAINING." ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

NING

roving the ditions

In a previous article in this series on best practices for cost savings, it was noted that labor expense is a substantial operating costs for golf courses no matter where a course may be located. And as certain as one can expect that taxes will unlikely diminish, so too is it likely that one can expect labor costs only to increase in real terms.

Throughout Asia many nations are experiencing increasing aging of populations and negative demographics. These trends have and continue to lead to increased labor scarcity resulting in a creeping rise in labor costs. The evidence of these demographic impacts on labor supply and macroeconomics is pronounced every day in the world’s business press from Japan to Korea and to China1.

While the less developed economies of the regions may view labor as still cheap and endlessly abundant, as an emerging nation develops the hard realities of increasing labor costs may soon follow. Those golf courses that do not plan for such evolving labor scarcity by developing effective, best labor management practices will inevitably pay a high price. Trees surely grow, but we do not observe this growth noticeably – so too does the scarcity of labor and its associated increasing costs grow. Thus improving labor productivity efficiencies through ongoing training practices becomes a critical need for maintaining any golf business.

Ever since my youthful years spent training and flying in the US Navy, I have been a radical advocate of continual training. I quickly learned that training made the difference between life and death in the military and that it developed critical proficiency in aviation maintenance. There is a reason why the legendary US Navy SEAL Teams are so effective and successful – it’s TRAINING. It’s a fact that the relatively small cadre of Navy SEALs annually used more ammunition in training than the entire US Marine Corps –

and the latter surely has a stalwart reputation for effectiveness as well.

Over the decades I’ve seen the great benefits of training and have found that continuing education has many golf business benefits.

Just what are these benefits of training?  Increased Productivity. Continual staff training improves productivity to allow reallocation of labor (getting more done better with the same number of people) and not simply chopping people and staffing positions. People simply become more skilled and effective at the various tasks and this allows them to address new areas to further improve golf course conditioning or club operations. Learning from training to manage turfgrass more skillfully to reduce diseases for example allows more time to be allocated on such key revenue areas such as greens.  Builds Teamwork. Training efforts give people a greater self-worth that results in building solid teamwork and high morale.

This goes back to the famous classical studies on productivity of workers by the Western Electric -- Hawthorne Assembly Plant2 and work by Frederick W. Taylor to develop his productivity methodology of ‘scientific management3.’ Both demonstrated clearly and empirically that simply giving people greater attention results in greater productivity.  Eliminates Staff Turnover. When employees see that ownership / management is sincerely interested in investing training in them, they are more likely to stay with such a company.

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PRUSA'S POINT QUALITY SERVICE BUSINESS OF GOLF

 Develops Better Line Managers. Using internal staff as trainers develops better skills for trainers – if you want to really learn a subject, then go and teach it! The more a person teaches or serves as a trainer in any subject, the more knowledgeable and highly skilled they become in that subject. So get as many of your managers and staff to become trainers as possible.

understand emerging technologies risks becoming quickly left in the dust of those who do.

 Profitable. Training encourages improved profitability. This is simply common sense. And using down times to conduct training is better use of time.

 Use Golf & Club Industry Training Events. There are many excellent continuing education and training events, conferences and seminars offered. Use them. Invest in your staff. If you are worried they will leave your company after you spend money for such training then simply have employees sign an agreement to repay the company for all such related expenses if they opt to leave your employment within six months or a reasonable period afterwards.

 A Recruitment Tool. Becoming known as a club / company that provides training to staff and management employees enhances the recruitment of high quality individuals for staff teams.

Golf clubs and professional employees that fall to regularly take advantage of such industry training opportunities are both shortsighted and likely incompetent.

 Builds Individual Confidence. Conducting training of any staff develops confidence and killed competencies in employees.

Knowing how to do many tasks at a high skill level simply builds better people who develop both a healthy passion and pride in their performance.

 Reduces Management Distractions. Finally and most importantly, the more that you conduct training, the less you have to ‘manage.’ This means that instead of constantly babysitting untrained staff or dealing with continual mistakes by people, management can focus its time on business development opportunities. Train more to manage less! With the many obvious business reasons for a golf course organization to establish sound training practices, there are also certain pitfalls to avoid in staff training. What training pitfalls should be avoided?

 Keeps Organizations Up-to-Date. By conducting continuing education and training, an organization encourages innovation and adaptation of new technology. In today’s global business-world, with its rapid-fire advancements in all fields and disciplines, any organization that fails to train its employees to

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 Too much theoretical. In order to keep an enthusiasm for

Reference: 1. Financial Times. 2014. China sports shoe factory halts production as strike escalates. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/99c3713e-ca0c-11e3-8a31-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=intl . [Accessed 20 May 2014].

2. The Hawthorne Works. 2014. The Hawthorne Works. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.assemblymag.com/articles/88188-the-hawthorne-works. [Accessed 21 May 2014].

3. Classical Management Theory Behavioral Management Theory Management Essay. 2014. Classical Management Theory Behavioral Management Theory Management Essay. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/classical-management-theory-behavioral-management-theory-management-essay.php. [Accessed 28 May 2014].

"Conducting training of any staff develops confidence and killed competencies in employees. Knowing how to do many tasks at a high skill level simply builds better people who develop both a healthy passion and pride in their performance."

training by your employees, it is essential to keep things practical and meaningful versus theoretical. Take the information being presented down to a meaningful application level and explain exactly how the information presented will apply to your club or course operations.

Explain the benefits and objectives of the training.  Boredom – keep it interesting. Hand-in-hand with avoiding a theoretical focus you’ll need to avoid boring people. As often as possible do hands-on presentations and explain or demonstrate what happens when the wrong methods are used.

By avoiding boring people with meaningless training they will pay closer attention and assimilate the new skills permanently. If people are bored they will shut down and then the real assimilation of the training will not be achieved.  Spending too much for training. Training does not have to be expensive. Using existing management personnel and technical specialists in your organization for in-house training is the most cost effective. These staff can be assigned training topics and given the advanced time to research, review and prepare training session plans.

One should also call upon suppliers and venders for training support – it is in their best interest to make certain that their products are in the hands of high-quality personnel. This also builds solid relationships, soft-sells and even serves as training opportunities for the staffs of your suppliers.

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PRUSA'S POINT BUSINESS OF GOLF

"The most successful organizations and most profitable business all have an employee training programs for employees in common. Training and continuing education are best done by integrating classroom teaching combined with good visual materials and finally hands-on practicum."

Stressing your employees by requiring unreasonable, artificially mandated hours of training annually only creates a pitfall and bureaucracy that too many can fall into. Train often on the critically needed areas that you’ve identified in your golf operation. Focus on areas that are achievable, but don’t just dream up subjects to artificially achieve some arbitrarily mandated number of training hours.

"What I hear, I forget, What I See, I remember, What I do - I understand" - Confucious

"Avoid doing training just for the sake of saying you are doing training.

Conducting effective training, like every other best management practice, requires hard work to set objectives, plan, schedule and execute well in advance. Have a plan and follow it."

Interruption of productivity in order to do training is counterproductive – do training in seasonal down times and off-peak periods.

Avoid narrow, job specific only training that locks employees into narrow niches. Mix in broad concept subjects such as customer satisfaction and hospitality management subjects that allow employees to gain a bigger picture of the roles they play.

Avoid doing training just for the sake of saying you are doing training.

Conducting effective training, like every other best management practice, requires hard work to set objectives, plan, schedule and execute well in advance. Have a plan and follow it.

The most successful organizations and most profitable business all have an employee training programs for employees in common.

Training and continuing education are best done by integrating classroom teaching combined with good visual materials and finally hands-on practicum.

Remember to train with the wisdom of Confucius: “What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand.”

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ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

Marina Bay SandS速 SinGaPOrE

24/7 Redefined

BRUCE WILLIAMS THE GOLF SAGE A STATUS REPORT

Pinehurs

with an Att

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rst

titude

For two weeks in June the world watched as back to back USGA Opens were held on the famous Pinehurst #2 Course.

But these tournaments would prove to be trend setting for more than being back to back. A conscious decision was made to do a golf course restoration that was completed in March of 2011. Crenshaw and Coore had undertaken the challenge of restoring the Donald Ross gem into what resembled much of the original design from 1907.

WATCH VIDEO – THE HISTORY Most golfers were not around when Donald Ross created this magnificent layout. The local soils are sandy in nature and in those days there were few, if any, irrigation systems to make or keep the golf course green. Golf courses built in such areas resembled many links courses from Scotland but they also had the trees of North Carolina. The only grasses that could survive at that time were bermudagrass species that could withstand the summer heat of North Carolina and the times of drought and also pressure of high humidity.

Expectations of golfers were such that they tolerated some pretty ‘rough” conditions in the rough and even on the fairways.

Bermuda grew where there was irrigation and would often go dormant when less than adequate irrigation was available. The key to the greatness of golf courses of that era was the routing, bunkering and the greens.

Pinehurst #2 is still known for its bunkering, routing and great greens. Now we have seen the retro look return in this latest restoration.

For those who watched the event on TV it may have looked like the current golf course management team might have forgotten to water the fairways. Such is not the case.

Superintendent Kevin Robinson utilized the center irrigation heads to sustain the Tifway 419 bermudagrass fairways. All the turf between the tees and greens was maintained at .40” and there was literally no mowed rough…..just the sandy naturalized areas that have also been planted with wire grasses.

WATCH VIDEO – THE RESTORATION As with most big tournaments water was withheld except for rainfall and some minor touchups on greens to keep them alive during the two weeks of both events.

Greens are bentgrass and A1 and A4 were the varieties planted. Being mowed at .125” the surfaces were plenty fast for the event since the greens of Pinehurst #2 are known for their humpbacks or crowned shape.

Previous comments from Bob Farren, Director of Grounds and Golf Course Management indicated that he was very comfortable with the results of the restoration and also the condition of the golf course leading up to the event and during the 14 days or practice rounds and competitions.

The best way to describe the genesis of the minimalistic approach to the golf course condition would be to say it was a collaborative effort between Pinehurst, Coore & Crenshaw and the USGA. At a time when water conservation is becoming a huge issue in the business and game of golf it was very smart to showcase golf as it could be under reduced water consumption.

So what better way than to host back to back events in the heat of the summer on a course restored to its origins when irrigation was rare on most golf courses.

Some of the things that affected the players in both events were the firmness of the fairways and approaches. A ball that might be hit 265 yards may now roll as far as 300 yards. Strategic choices that Ross had

JULY 2014  54/55

BRUCE WILLIAMS THE GOLF SAGE QUALITY A STATUS SERVICE REPORT

"For those who watched the event on TV it may have looked like the current golf course management team might have forgotten to water the fairways. Such is not the case. Superintendent Kevin Robinson utilized the center irrigation heads to sustain the Tifway 419 bermudagrass fairways. All the turf between the tees and greens was maintained at .40� and there was literally no mowed rough‌..just the sandy naturalized areas that have also been planted with wire grasses."

ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

JULY 2014  56/57

BRUCE WILLIAMS THE GOLF SAGE A STATUS REPORT

"The showcasing of the US Open and Women’s US Open on a golf course that would show what golf would be like under water conservation was a smart move by all 3 of the groups that had made that decision in preceding years.

The events showed that much can be done with little. Surely the future of golf will rest on water conservation ... there is always the middle road approach in which golf courses can and should consider turf reduction and course design that will look more rustic rather than lush." intended were requiring a lot of thought put into each shot.

While conditions were firm the fairways were also widened by about 50%. This added to some shots actually rolling through the landing areas and into the sandy waste areas. 35 acres of irrigated turf was taken out in the restoration and those areas were converted back to natural areas featuring sand, wire grasses, pine straw and native grasses. The number of irrigation heads on Pinehurst #2 was reduced from 1,125 to 450.

The showcasing of the US Open and Women’s US Open on a golf course that would show what golf would be like under water conservation was a smart move by all 3 of the groups that had made that decision in preceding years. The events showed that much can be done with little. Surely the future of golf will rest on water conservation. As with most things a set of events like these swing

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the pendulum to the far side and it is doubtful that many other golf courses could do the same thing. However, there is always the middle road approach in which golf courses can and should consider turf reduction and course design that will look more rustic rather than lush.

For those golfers that think that turning the water down or off will result in a course that will play like the US Opens did…..it is much more than that. Pinehurst spent $2.4 million to do the restoration.

Maintenance practices have been modified to ensure that the original intent of Donald Ross and the restoration by Coore and Crenshaw will allow many to experience a great test of golf. Highly likely that not every golfer would enjoy playing that type of golf course on a regular basis. So before you go down that road be sure you understand what it will take to sustain that condition.

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Golfers d a i r s e a P Come and Discover What Playing Golf in Paradise Really Feels Like Long Thanh Golf Resort is a true paradise for any golfer.

Two world-class golf courses – one that traverses hilly terrain while the other meanders through spectacular lakes.

Both the Hill Course and the Lake Course are fascinating showcases of breath-taking landscapes

populated by a wide array of flora and fauna.

Golfing in Long Thanh Golf Resort is an experience of world-class golf combined with a unique brand of service and the warmth and friendliness of Vietnam.

All this delivered in a tranquil setting located in the southern economic triangle and just 40 minutes from Ho Chi Minh City’s centre.

Long Thanh Golf Resort -A Golf Paradise Like No Other! www.longthanhgolfresort.com National Highway 51, Tan Mai 2 Hamlet, Phuoc Tan Village, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam Tel: +84 61 3 512 512 Fax: +84 61 3 512 513

READINg THE TEA LEAVES

BY Gregg Patterson – General Manager, The Beach club

WE ARE REALLY IN! ASIAN CLUB BUSINESS

Clubs are in the business of selling community.

Prospective members talk about buying “stuff”–a clubhouse, dining room or golf course–but what they really want to buy is community.

The rest are just details, “stuff” used as an excuse to experience community. Huh???

This truth was dramatized to me recently when a family of five, already a member of an area club similar in “stuff” to our own, decided to join our club–a two year process–and to release their other membership once accepted.

During my new member orientation (which included mother, father and three young children and is required before activating a club membership) I asked them why they joined our club given their long relationship with our rival.

Easy decision they said–the member community and the special member / staff relationship at our club provided the “warm embrace” that they were seeking for their growing family. Our “stuff” was good, as was their other club’s, but our community was better.

They were buying community.

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READINg THE TEA LEAVES

BY Gregg Patterson – General Manager, The Beach club

"Communities are groups of peop purposes, identity, values and info relationships. Clubs are special b who have chosen to join

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ple connected by common needs, ormation in a series of interlocking because they’re filled with people n a unique community."

JULY 2014  62/63

READINg THE TEA LEAVES

BY Gregg Patterson – General Manager, The Beach club

Why Do People Buy? The fundamental building blocks of the club community are the need to belong to a group with a commonality of interest and a basic alignment of core values amongst the participants. People naturally want to be with others who share an interest in the same activities--be it golf or books. They seek out a tribe that supports their values.

We in the club business tend to focus on externalities, the tangible “stuff” of buildings, menus, driveways and irrigation systems. But all of this “stuff” is there to facilitate relationships–on the golf course, in the clubhouse, over dinner. These relationships satisfy the psychic needs of people everywhere, the need for tribe, the need for team, the need for community. Those relationships are the ultimate magnet for new members, the ultimate cement for member loyalty.

People may join clubs initially for “stuff” but they stay because of people reasons, that is, they genuinely enjoy the company of their fellow members, they like the way they think on critical issues and

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they enjoy the service community that’s been assembled. Bricks and mortar attract but do not sustain. In the final analysis, the sense of community wins.

What is Community?

Communities are groups of people connected by common needs, purposes, identity, values and information in a series of interlocking relationships. Clubs are special because they’re filled with people who have chosen to join a unique community.

Within a club, there are always multiple “sub-communities” within the membership (tennis players versus bridge players, dining room staff versus golf course staff ). But they are all linked to the larger community–physically, experientially, emotionally–and have a vested self-interest in the success of the larger club community.

GREGG PATTERSON TO SPEAK AT APGS 2014!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH PROMO VIDEO

What Do You Need to Do to Create Community?  Admit the right personalities and you’ll create community. This isn’t about being elitist, it’s about creating a membership that shares common values and interests so that they create an environment that “brings them back for more,” week after week and year after year.  Create shared experiences and stories. You need universal events where all members come together for a special celebration–perhaps a Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza or a grand lighting of the Christmas tree. And each of the smaller tribes within the larger community need the same type of experience on a more intimate level–the men’s locker room for golfers and the club’s tennis championship for the tennis players.

Shared stories highlight the special relationships between people and “things” within a community, distinguishing that community from others that exist in “the other world.”

Shared stories detailing a mythical past, a proud history or an interesting present bind communities together. Members repeat stories that dramatize certain themes–a come from behind victory in golf; a candidate rejected; building the new clubhouse without an assessment; the manager as wedding officiant. Each story tells the listener about the unique culture and, through anecdote, highlights “the good” and “the bad.”  Build familiarity between people. People love to watch people. Great communities provide frequent opportunities for people watching. Members like to see other members, to have their paths cross (in a common foyer or hallway, for instance) to observe others while seated (windows in a dining room that provide a view of members walking by).

Seeing people and speaking to people with frequency creates familiarity. There must be no strangers within the club. Familiarity is critical to community.

Get The Community Club leaders and club managers need to see what we’re selling a little differently. We may think we’re selling food and beverage, but what we’re really selling is the social encounter realized through the culinary experience. We may think we’re answering phones and providing information at the front desk, but what we’re really doing is extending the warm communal embrace to all who call or visit.

We may be explaining rules and regulations to member children when we hold our ten-year-old orientation, but what we’re really doing is socializing the next generation of club members. Once we understand the business we’re really in–creating communities–club managers will change the programs we provide, the emphasis we give to various events, the strategic directions we adopt and the selection criteria we use for the people we hire–as managers and as board members–to “sell” the real club experience. Community attracts and community “sells.” Members join and stay. Staff join and stay. Guests see it when they visit.

Get the community. It sells.

 Acknowledge and embrace the family. Clubs should promote family celebrations, be they weddings or holiday dinners. Most golf clubs will hold clinics for children during the summer months. Since “family trumps everything,” I think it imperative that the family experience be made a more integral part of the club experience, thereby broadening the appeal, increasing utilization and deepening the emotional attachment of members to the club community.

Clubs bring members and friends together in moments of personal celebration or tragedy– birth, graduation, marriage and death. Community is there to comfort and embrace. Clubs “sell” those moments and dramatize their value to members and staff alike.  Encourage public and open discussion of critical club issues. Newsletters should be filled with substantive issues, controversies should be aired each month, conversation between varied member groups should be encouraged, issues should be openly debated. Some would suggest that such “controversy” diminishes community when evidence suggests that it actually builds community through the review of common issues, unique to that community. Hiding information or avoiding dialogue creates suspicions and distrust---the very things which destroy community. Welding produces heat and so too do controversies but the end result are a far stronger product and a far more resilient community.  Use club leaders to amplify community. Clubs need great board members who speak to community when they adopt policies and programs. Clubs need great managers who build staff community by selecting the right people and nurturing their inclusion.  Don’t forget the staff community. Clubs have lower staff turnover than in any other part of the hospitality business. It’s not because of the money–good waiters can do far better in a cash tip environment. Ask them why they stay and you’ll be pleased to know that they stay because of the people they work with and the people they serve–the same sense of community that members enjoy. General managers know this and do what they can to create the right type of relationships among the employee team and between the employee team and the membership. The staff are a critical extension of the manager in every part of the club every day of the week.

Photo courtesy of David Kirkland

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