THE BOOT ST O R I E S F R O M T H E T E X A S H I L L C O U N T RY
A M A ST E R D E P I C TS T H E H I L L CO U N T RY O N C A N VA S
T H E P E AC H STA N D T H AT G R E W I N TO A G LO B A L B U S I N E SS
FO R E V E R C A R S AND THREE MEN T H AT LO V E T H E M
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2021 | ISSUE 2
2/9/21 6:32 PM
BACK AT THE RANCH
A Conversation with Emil Hale The Boot Ranch general manager leads a team dedicated to exceeding expectations
Boot Ranch founder Hal Sutton tapped Emil Hale to be head golf professional when the private club community opened in 2005. Promoted to general manager in 2018, Hale sat down recently with John Koenig, editor of The Boot, to talk about his role and vision for the club. Here are excerpts from their conversation.
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Q: What’s the most important part of your job? A: There are so many things that are important in
my role, but above all is enabling and motivating our 100-plus employees day in and day out to exceed expectations. I strive to instill in them what our vision is, what our goals are. I want them to believe in what we’re doing. At the end of the day, Boot Ranch is about the experience for members.
Q: Describe the experience you want
Boot Ranch members to have.
A: Our members have the means to live any-
where. Our mission, then, is to create the experiences that lead members and prospective members to want to live here, want their families to enjoy Boot Ranch, and to want to call Boot Ranch home. If a member calls Boot Ranch home and calls our team family, we’ve done our job.
Q: What qualities do you look for in job
candidates at Boot Ranch?
A: Obviously, we’re looking for great backgrounds
and great experiences and talented people. But more than anything we’re looking for individuals who have a server’s heart, people who genuinely care for others. If they don’t have that, that’s not teachable. That one trait comes from their parents and their core values. It’s fundamental to what we do, because we’re all here to serve one another— not just our members, but also our co-workers. So that’s priority one for me.
Q: How do you attract and retain such people? A: Attractive wages and benefits are part of our
offering. What I’m most proud of, though, is our culture. We have a fun work environment. We also love to develop our employees and help them grow professionally. They may start in one department and grow into bigger positions. We have many examples of that among the team.
Q: Fathers are important influences for nearly everyone. But yours seems to have been particularly so. Tell me about him. A: My father was a very kind man, a generous
man, a giving man. He was very accomplished in golf. He led the Hardin-Simmons University golf team to winning the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national championship in the 1950s and was the national med-
alist. He loved the game and wanted you to enjoy it as much as he did. I learned how to play and developed my love of golf through my dad. I just watched him give and teach—he loved to teach—and that’s really where the roots started for me in terms of golf. Q: What other experiences shaped you
as a leader?
A: I took a break from college and joined the Army.
I saw how connected soldiers are when they’re willing to lay down their lives for their fellow soldiers. The sacrifice that’s required to be in the military did a lot for me as a young man. I learned it wasn’t about me anymore, it was about “we.”
Q: Any parting thoughts? A: From a collective team standpoint, I feel that
we’re very fortunate to be where we are, especially given the year that we’ve just been through. Our members have always been tremendously supportive, but they’ve been especially so in this past year. We just feel very blessed that we’re here at Boot Ranch.
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