THE GOLF CLUB
MANAGER ISSUE 19 | OCTOBER 2018
THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE GOLF CLUB MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION
EDUCATION
SPECIAL FOCUS: D LEADERSHIP ANS CLUB MATTER
LEARNING FROM FAILURE
HOW GETTING THINGS WRONG CAN BRING BIG REWARDS
INDUSTRY
THE ONLY WAY IS UP?
GOLF’S MEMBERSHIP SLUMP CO U L D F I N A L LY B E E N D I N G INTERVIEW
CROWNING GLORY
LO N G - S E R V I N G R OYA L P O R T R U S H S E C R E TA R Y W I L M A ERSKINE ON THE DEFINING MOMENT OF HER CAREER
ED U C AT E | I N FO RM | I N S P I RE ‘
Le Golf National has been in partnership with Jacobsen since 2011. The quality of machinery, the back-up support, and the shared culture of innovation are the reasons we choose Jacobsen year after year. Together, we have created a world-class golf course that will host the 2018 Ryder Cup. Alejandro Reyes, Golf and Courses and Estate Manager,
Le Golf National
WHEN ONLY THE BEST WILL DO.
To arrange a demo on your course, please contact your local dealer. www.jacobsen.com Š 2018 Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc.
CONTENTS ISSUE 19 | OCTOBER 2018
GCMA
CAREERS
04
GCMA chief executive Bob Williams
26
10
The story of James Braid’s final course
The latest jobs for GCMA members
INDUSTRY
EDUCATION
12
Is the slump in membership finally over?
28
How you can lead from the front at your club
16
Keeping you In The Loop with industry news
56
Why you shouldn’t be afraid of failure
INTERVIEWS
REGIONAL
18
62
Meet the Manager: Prestbury’s David Holmes
64
Coxmoor’s Colin Bee on the club’s new clubhouse
Royal Portrush’s Wilma Erskine
18
56 64
WELCOME
THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE GOLF CLUB MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION GCMA Bristol & Clifton Golf Club, Beggar Bush Lane, Failand, Bristol, BS8 3TH Tel: 01275 391153 | hq@gcma.org.uk CHIEF EXECUTIVE Bob Williams - bob@gcma.org.uk COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Mike Hyde - mike@gcma.org.uk GOLF MANAGEMENT RESEARCHER Jim Cunning - jim@gcma.org.uk EDUCATION COORDINATOR Niki Hunter - niki@gcma.org.uk FINANCE ADMINISTRATOR Shirley Edmondson - shirley@gcma.org.uk COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE Marie Taylor - marie@gcma.org.uk MEMBERSHIP SERVICES Julie Knight - julie@gcma.org.uk PRESIDENT JR (John) Jones 2018/19 CAPTAIN Cameron Dawson BOARD OF DIRECTORS Gary Steele, Phil Grice, Eddie Bullock, Amy Yeates, Andrew Rankin THE GOLF CLUB MANAGER IS PUBLISHED BY: SPORTS PUBLICATIONS LTD 2 Arena Park, Tarn Lane, Scarcroft, West Yorkshire, LS17 9BF, UK Tel: 0113 289 3979 | info@sportspub.co.uk PUBLISHER Tom Irwin - t.irwin@sportspub.co.uk EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Dan Murphy - d.murphy@sportspub.co.uk OPS DIRECTOR Will Shucksmith - w.shucksmith@sportspub.co.uk EDITOR Steve Carroll - s.carroll@sportspub.co.uk CHIEF DESIGNER Andrew Kenworthy - a.kenworthy@sportspub.co.uk DESIGNERS Vicky Jones - v.jones@sportspub.co.uk Becky Clark - b.clark@sportspub.co.uk Paul Barnett - p.barnett@sportspub.co.uk Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, but the publishers cannot accept responsibility for omissions and errors. All material in this publication is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved.The views expressed in The Golf Club Manager do not necessarily represent the views of the company or the editor. Every care is taken in compiling the contents but the publishers assume no responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from participation in any offer, competition or advertising contained within The Golf Club Manager.
THE GOLF CLUB
MANAGER ISSUE 19 | OCTOBER 2018
THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE GOLF CLUB MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION
EDUCATION
SPECIAL FOCUS: LEADERSHIP AND CLUB MATTERS
LEARNING FROM FAILURE
HOW GETTING THINGS WRONG CAN BRING BIG REWARDS
INDUSTRY
THE ONLY WAY IS UP?
GOLF’S MEMBERSHIP SLUMP CO U L D F I N A L LY B E E N D I N G INTERVIEW
CROWNING GLORY
LO N G - S E R V I N G R OYA L P O R T R U S H S E C R E TA R Y W I L M A ERSKINE ON THE DEFINING MOMENT OF HER CAREER
ED U C AT E | I N FO RM | I N S P I RE ‘
001 GCMA October 18 Cover.indd 3
ON THE COVER: Royal Portrush
02/10/2018 14:58
ISSUE 19 | OCTOBER 2018
I
am writing this just 24 hours after watching Europe deliver a resounding victory in Paris to wrestle back the Ryder Cup. Over the next few days I will be visiting a number of regions and attending their autumn meetings, and no doubt there will be so many of us who will have totally different views on team selections, individual performances as well as how it will impact on the game of golf. I recall the decision made to take the Ryder Cup to Celtic Manor in Wales in 2010 and how that provided a great springboard for the game in Wales – will it have the same impact in France? Huge congratulations to Paul Armitage – general manager at Le Golf National and GCMA member – for all his work over the last few years to prepare the club for the competition. Knowing how much work has gone on behind the scenes, you’ve earned a rest! I spent the Ryder Cup weekend in Newquay playing golf on the excellent links that provides some of the best views over the surfing Fistral Beach - and was so enthused to see the work going on with juniors on the Friday evening. There is some great work going on at so many clubs at the moment. It is also that time of the year when another excellent golfing occasion is hosted by our longstanding sponsor Fairway Credit. For the second year running the qualifiers congregated at The Berkshire. They were treated to the ‘Red’ course which, as many of you know, presents a number
of challenges. Congratulations to the triumphant Southern region, well played to all competitors, and sincere thanks to Fairway Credit, their support is greatly appreciated. Looking ahead to 2019, I am pleased to announce we have secured the De Vere Cotswold Water Park for the National Conference from November 10 to 12. Further details will be announced shortly, but the planning group are working on an interactive programme that will inspire many of you to join us once again. The 2019 AGM has also been booked for Monday, April 15, at the Open qualifying golf course Coxmoor, in Nottinghamshire, and is definitely worth attending! Bob Williams – chief executive
“The planning group are working on an interactive programme that will inspire many of you to join us once again“
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GCMA.ORG.UK | 5
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What you
NEED TO KNOW Relevant news, opinion and expert insight from around the industry. Plus what’s happening around the UK in the world of the GCMA
GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
The month in
PICTURES
1
The fabulous surroundings of The Berkshire played host to the Fairway Credit Finals Day for the second time. The competitors, who had won their way there from qualifiers held at GCMA regional meetings throughout the year, received a warm welcome from secretary Michael Newland. This time it was the Red course that was tackled and this fantastic image shows the 17th
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2
Leeds Golf Centre’s Nigel Sweet was in relaxed mood on the course – and with good reason as he took home the individual honours. His tally of 37 points was enough to see him take the prize on countback from Garry Lacy. It’s been quite a year for operations manager Sweet, who recovered from two heart attacks at the end of last year but recovered in time to see his Wike Ridge outfit named Club of the Year in the annual England Golf awards.
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3 4
Southern Region, represented by Alan Davey and Andrew Lawrence, triumphed with 69 points – taking the Fairway Credit Trophy back with them.
Michael Sawicki, general manager at Parkstone, knocks a successful drive down the centre of the first fairway at The Berkshire’s Red course.
5
With the distinctive clubhouse in the background, Clevedon’s Reece Miller tackles the opening hole on The Berkshire’s Red course. Despite it being shirt sleeve temperatures, the competitors had to battle stiff winds, as the remnants of Hurricane Helene hit the UK and made it more than a little breezy for the players. Overall, the seasonlong competition was once again a huge success and thanks are due to Fairway Credit for their support.
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
This GCMA club is famous for…
STRANRAER
This Scottish course, run by secretary Jim Burns, is where the career of one of golf’s most famous architects came to an end...
T
he sumptuous 5th hole at Stranraer would be a fitting legacy for any golf course architect. The glorious par 4 sweeps round the shore of Loch Ryan, at the Dumfries & Galloway layout, with gorse framing the left and the massive swathe of water on the right making it look like you’re trying to hit a mere pinprick of a fairway from a tee high in the clouds. That James Braid followed up with a gorgeous short hole at the next – a small green protected by half a dozen bunkers – was further evidence of his genius. Stranraer’s place in the five-time Open champion’s story is secure. The course was the last Braid designed before his death in 1950 at the age of 80. He visited the course in the February of the year before. Braid had actually retired – having just turned 79 – but was tempted back to Creachmore for one last commission. Stranraer’s previous site had been claimed during the Second World War but the features of the Loch proved a more than adequate replacement. Although the course is a parkland, the trees frame the layout rather
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than coming into play and Braid certainly made the most of the picturesque loch. The par-5 14th, with the water as a companion down the left, is just as spectacular as its equivalent on the front nine. The 18th, the last hole he designed, is a doglegged par 4. It’s the finale to a tough finish that includes a fiendishly difficult par-3 15th and a tough penultimate hole into the wind. Stranraer’s logo now incorporates the ‘Braid’s Last’ insignia in commemoration of their connection with the golfing great.
When you consider Braid either designed or altered more than 400 courses during his lifetime, to know yours was the last he ever drew out is quite something. It’s a badge all at Stranraer wear with pride.
What is it that makes your club special? Every club has something that makes it unique, that sets it apart from everywhere else. Why not let us know what it is? Email s.carroll@sportspub.co.uk
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Are you looking for a solution to add value to your membership and provide protection for your members and golf club? Our brand new policy can cover: • Requests from members to suspend their membership due to injury or ill health • When a member hits an errant shot into the car park, neighbouring road or houses • Your members hit another person whilst playing or practicing golf • The customary round of drinks after a hole in one during organised competition •Members’ personal golfing holidays, cover at any golfing facility up to 120 days worldwide • If a member has their clubs stolen or damaged outside a Pro shop PLEASE NOTE: Terms and conditions apply, for full details of policy cover/benefit limitations and exclusions, please refer to our policy wording and summary of cover, a copy of which is available upon request.
Take this policy out at your golf club today and cover your members as beneficiaries. Stand out from the industry and add these members benefits into your membership package for next season. Call Alex today to find out how: 01527 868160 |golfplan.co.uk Golfplan is a trading name of A-Plan Holdings, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Office; 2 Des Roches Square, Witney, OX28 4LE • Registered in England • Registration Number 750484
GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
Is the membership crisis at
AN END?
12 | GCMA.ORG.UK
ED U C AT E | I N FO RM | I N S P I RE
There was encouraging news from England Golf’s Club Membership Questionnaire. Steve Carroll asks Abbie Lench, the body’s head of club support, where we go from here
I
f this was a recession, we might be cautiously optimistic it had finally come to an end. The latest edition of England Golf’s Club Membership Questionnaire appeared fairly definitive – the overall slump in the numbers of people attached to a club is over. In 2018, the average number of members reported by the 426 clubs who answered questions put to them by Sports Marketing Surveys, rose from 460 in 2016 to 484 in 2018. More than 2 million golfers are playing at least twice a month and golf is still the 5th largest participation sport in the country. Look beneath the surface, though, and there is still work to do. The number of adult women members has remained static, at an average of 70 for the last four years, and the number of junior boys actually fell marginally. The average age of golfers continues to rise – a statistic that is simply unsustainable in the long run. The numbers of golfers aged over 65 rose from 171 in 2016 to 190 this time around. There was also an increase in the 55-64 bracket while, by contrast, the number of 30-34 and 35 to 44-year-olds continues to fall. And even though, as illustrated through the pages of this magazine, there are plenty of success stories to be found in
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flexible membership, only a third of clubs have a package to entice potential customers. Nearly half of clubs still don’t offer 9-hole green fees, while a third are without an online booking system. We quizzed Abbie Lench, England Golf’s head of club support, about the figures and how the body plan to push on even further. The general trend in club membership is pretty positive isn’t it? Are we out of the woods now? I don’t think we can just say ‘that’s it, job done’. I think this is just the beginning of showing how clubs are starting to adapt to the modern world and how people are expecting so much more from their experience – whether that’s golf or any other sport. So in terms of the different types, I think flexible memberships have a huge part to play and I think that will probably account for some of the increase in the male market. Certainly I know from our work with PlayMoreGolf that they are definitely attracting a younger market. I think they are catering for that market that perhaps clubs weren’t with traditional five and 7-day packages. There was another big jump in the number of over 65s in membership. How can England
Golf help clubs increase these other categories? In my view, golf is still very much geared up for people that are used to playing it. That’s historically been guys so the environment is fairly easy to step into. Based on our experience of some of the women’s programmes, and certainly some of the Get Into Golf beginner programmes, we’ve got to give these categories slightly longer to get into that club environment. What we’ve learned from working with clubs around Get Into Golf is it’s about adapting their model. So rather than run a Get into Golf course maybe once or twice and then people join the club, they are allowing groups of women in the programmes almost a year to get involved in a club-type membership. I was a bit surprised to see only 36% of clubs offering flexible membership, 52% offering 9-hole green fees and a third still not using online booking systems… That’s just a case of time. Some of the things we’re trying to change here are cultural, so it’s about plugging away and saying to clubs that when they do go out of their comfort zone and do something slightly differently it’s a case of having a bit of faith and doing it.
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
Sometimes clubs just embrace that. That’s normally the proprietary sector because they can make a snap decision and it can take members’ clubs a little longer to get their heads around it. But, increasingly, private members’ clubs are starting to adapt to these more modern practices and they are getting the benefits of that. Are club simply losing revenue if they don’t adopt some of these options? The number of 9-hole qualifying rounds is massively increasing year-on-year so I think it’s just getting with the times and being a bit braver and making some of these changes. The worst that can happen is you’re going to get
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more revenue. You’re not going to lose money from doing some of these things. Core facilities were also a very important part of the report. Interestingly a club with a crèche saw a big increase in membership… We’re seeing such a big increase in some of those areas because it’s a point of difference. Clubs need to trade on the points of difference because that’s going to get someone who’s undecided to come to their club rather than somewhere else. What’s nice to see is that when we highlighted some of these trends two years ago this survey is reinforcing similar points. It’s just all moving towards being
a little bit more modern and being a little bit more focused on the end user – the golfer. We’re offering clubs other support around that area and we have some customer focus facility guidance. If clubs are thinking about a facility development, revamping their clubhouse or their course, it gets them thinking about ‘why are we making these changes and what’s it like when you turn up at the club?’ ‘Is the signage any good? Are the pathways to the course good? Is it welcoming when you walk in or do you have to find three different doors and pick which one you go through?’ We try to just flip everything we do back to what the customer wants and expects and then get the clubs to try and cater for that.
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Congratulations to everyone who qualified for the Fairway Credit Finals Day at The Berkshire ...and especially to all the winners!
We look forward to running the competition again in 2019. Take part in the qualifying competition in your region next spring for a chance to join us for the finals next year. For more information on the tournament or about fee collection call us on: 01372 746 073
GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
In the
LOOP 1. The R&A sets out its vision to grow golf What’s happened: The game’s governing body has unveiled a new brand identity and a ‘playbook’ outlining its vision, purpose and values. What does it mean? The R&A say this is a culmination of three years’ work to modernise golf and change perceptions of the sport. The playbook sets out the desire to make golf more accessible, more appealing and more inclusive. That will mean upholding the traditions of golf while embracing change and breaking down barriers to progress. The core values are “courage to act in the best interests of the sport; integrity in acting fairly and equally; and inclusivity in growing the sport through achieving greater diversity.” The St Andrews-based organisation also unveiled a new logo – retaining the blue but “utilising a secondary colour palette to present its strategic functions.” These include: governance, The Open, commercial as well as
The news you need to know from the last month in the golf industry…
amateur golf and development and sustainability. Martin Slumbers, chief executive of The R&A, said:“Our new brand brings together everything we have done over the last three years on ways to modernise the sport and take the sport forward. “We listened to our partners and the organisations and individuals we serve to help us determine what we should seek to achieve as custodians of golf. “The message came through very clearly that we have a global
role to play in leading the sport, while working collaboratively with our partners and international affiliated organisations to grow and nurture golf to ensure that it continues to thrive in 50 years’ time.”
reminded occasionally how lucky we are to work in this industry... @MikeHyde
@GCMAUK England vs Rest of the world including @GAF. England losing after day one. #lovegolf @GCMAUKLHCR @mobrooker
2. New rules books launched What happened: By now your club should have the Player’s Edition of the new Rules of Golf, which have been distributed by The R&A and the USGA. What does it mean? 1.4 million
@GCMAUK As good as it gets @ worplesdongolf today for the @SMSInc_UK golf day. Course, golf, company and hospitality were all 100%. Always good to be
16 | GCMA.ORG.UK
Great day @MaloneGC
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We want to hear from you! Send your correspondence, on any subject, to letters@gcma.org.uk
of the books have been printed in the UK and Ireland and it will be the main way that casual and club players interact with the Rules. Formal versions of the full Rules will still be available but the Player’s Edition – with its simplified language, frequent illustrations and shorter format – has been received very favourably since its launch in the middle of last month. It arrives ahead of the implementation of the new Rules of Golf in January next year and brings to an end a six year review and consultation exercise. 3. CSI roadshows return with view of the feature What happened: Club Systems International are about to return to the road to showcase their new technologies and updates to their products and services. What does it mean? CSI take to the road every autumn, travelling around the UK to show customers what they’ve got planned over the coming year and beyond. The leaders in the domestic market, with nearly 2,000 golf clubs in the UK and Ireland as customers, the roadshows have proved a chance
Good news! We’re launching a new SafeGolf accreditation for English golf clubs which meet high safeguarding standards and promote the
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to demonstrate and discuss developments, while also receiving feedback from users. This year’s roadshows start in Aberdeen, at Deeside GC on October 9, and finish in South Wales at Llanwern GC, on November 14. “The format for the show is relaxed and informal, yet still interactive and educational,” said CSI relationship manager Darren Wood. Full list of venues are: Oct 9, Deeside; Oct10, Turnhouse; Oct 11, Haggs Castle; Oct 16, Hexham; Oct 17, Moor Allerton; Oct 19, Manchester; Oct 23, Holywood; Oct 24 Donabate; Oct 30, Stourbridge; Oct 31, Bury St Edmunds; Nov 1, Erewash Valley; Nov 6, Temple; Nov 7, Betchworth Park; Nov 8, Welwyn Garden City, Nov 13, East Devon; Nov 14, Llanwern.
Welcome to our newest GCMA members Liz Cann, at Saunton, in South West region Peter Gallagher, at Betchworth Park, in London & Home Counties region Martin Kay, at Pleasington, in North West region Jonathan Plaxton, at Yorkshire Union of Golf Clubs, in Yorkshire region Nick Tedesco, at Sladdon Heights, in South West region Welcome to our newest affiliate members Stuart Bendoris, at Gullane, in Scotland region Dan Cullum, at Dudsbury, in Wessex region Alasdair Danson-Webster, unattached Thomas Minshull, at Royal Portrush, in Northern Ireland region
welfare of children and young people. @EnglandGolf
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
The interview...
WILMA ERSKINE
T
alk me through the process of getting the Open? It was very much a dream. Peter Dawson (former chief executive of The R&A) came here several times. We knew Martin Ebert was the preferred architect for The R&A so when we all got together, we thought where would we start and where would we finish. We know there is a large tented village at The Open, and there are a lot of stands, so it was about getting the infrastructure right. The way the course was then laid out, the 18th was right beside the
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1st. It wasn’t going to work for the large grandstand. One horrible wet miserable day, Peter Dawson and Martin Ebert went out again and had a look and it was a eureka moment – ‘what about making two new holes and doing away with the old 17th and 18th?’ They were deemed, by journalists and the golfing fraternity, as being the two weak holes. We thought about it and it was all a bit of a shock but, once the plans came together, it seemed quite an obvious thing to do. They took two holes – the old 5th and 6th of the Valley Course – and
created the new 7th and 8th (on the Dunluce). So from a par 4 and 3 on the Valley, they created a par 5 and a par 4. I have to say the new holes have integrated really well. A lot of people are full of praise and they think it is going to make a pretty tough Open Championship course. When was it first mooted? It was way back in 2006 when we started a little sub committee. Holding The Open was the final tick on our wishlist. We knew that, in order to convince The R&A, we had to
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Golf’s oldest major will return to Northern Ireland, and Royal Portrush, for the first time since 1951 next year. Long-serving secretary manager Wilma Erskine talked to Mike Hyde about what it takes to host The Open
prove we could stage a big event and so we held the Irish Open. We had negotiations with the governments in both the south of Ireland and the north to negotiate a date. We wanted it sooner than later and George O’Grady, from the European Tour, was very supportive. His family originated from Portrush and he spent many holidays here. He was very keen to see it return to Northern Ireland and so, as a very last minute thing, we said ‘we can take it in 2012’ – not knowing to what we had agreed.
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It was announced on January 6, 2012, that we were having the Irish Open that summer. We had to get all the stakeholders in Northern Ireland together – public transport, accommodation providers, tourism and the road service. Everybody had to come together. There were meetings after meetings to get everything in place for the Irish Open. The European Tour still say it was the biggest and most successful Irish Open in terms of numbers. They had to stop selling tickets one week before and we had 31,000 on one day.
The R&A had sent some people over to look at the Irish Open – more or less as mystery shoppers – and the park and ride worked very well, the infrastructure worked well as did the accommodation provision. Everything worked really, really well. Even though we had the most awful weather it was deemed a huge success. So we kept moving along towards The R&A and to The Open. They saw there was a great willingness. The government were behind us to provide financial support for infrastructure and the rest is history.
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
Now, in 2019, we are hosting the Open. What was the club’s role in the course design changes? We were very involved. A contractor came in three years ago and carried out renovations on the Valley course, because we were taking two holes away. So there was a lot of work. We had to make sure the members were still being looked after. It was quite a challenge to get everything in the right order. But we had a great team here. That included Martin Ebert, First Golf (under Marcus Terry) and our course manager. We had a small sub committee and we all got together and basically worked as one team. It was important to communicate what was happening.
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There were changes to the course and we needed to let the members’ know what was going on and why it was going on. We communicated regularly with them, all through the three-year process of the works, and they found it interesting. How does hosting The Open affect the members in a practical sense now the countdown is really under way? The members are in charge of marshalling. The R&A have a chief marshall and it is up to the club to secure 1,200 marshalls for eight days. That’s quite a big task. We record the scoring for all the games as well and we are also involved with the environmental programme, which sees children picking up litter (around the site). That is quite a task in itself because
there are hundreds of kids and they have to be organised. The R&A are very professional and they have their own team but the course is the baby and it’s our staff that do all the work on that. There’s quite a big involvement. Who is Wilma Erskine? Wilma Erskine is one of golf club management’s longest serving secretaries, having been at Royal Portrush since the mid 1980s. Growing up locally, she studied in Edinburgh and the former Bristol Polytechnic before applying successfully for a job at Portadown GC. She then spent three and a half years at Masserenne before taking the reins at Portrush and plans to step down from the role – following the staging of the Open – at the end of 2019.
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Your Local Rules are changing... *Some expected changes known about at the time of writing
*
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*
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Eagle will provide a service to help regarding your Local Rules t +44 (0)1883 344244 e info@eagle.uk.com www.eagle.uk.com
GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL Will you be playing off mats and what are the course closures in the run up to The Open? As this is the first time The Open has come to Royal Portrush since 1951, our agronomists are very keen that we showcase the course and they are quite right to say that. We are going to go on mats on the Championship course from November. This is quite an ask from the members. Luckily, we have the Valley and we are not going to go on mats there. As general practice in the winter we use mats for three months every year but we are going to go from November right through The Open. Play stops for the members on June 30.
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We want to showcase this not only for Royal Portrush but for the whole of Northern Ireland. How have you kept the members engaged? We have used email communication and have had special general meetings where members could ask questions. The R&A have also come to talk to the members. They are going to do a lot more of that in this coming year to allay any fears. Has it taken over a little bit? Is there a percentage of your time that’s now Open focused? It’s like having two jobs. There is my job during the day and then there’s The Open.
I have to say it’s really interesting because it could be about anything from agronomy to spectator walkways to tourism, marketing and communications. There are a little team of us and we sit on different committees. There is always a link with the club to all the various committees. Recently, it was 8.30 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon on The Open and then I started my real work. It’s very exciting. It’s something very different and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. How have you prepared personally? Have you spoken to other Open hosts?
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Yes, I’ve spoken to Adam Moule at Birkdale and Michael Wells, at Carnoustie, although it is slightly different there because it’s a links trust, and Tim Checketts, at Royal St George’s. We all know each other. But being honest, with having had various championships here and Irish Open along with the way The R&A structure it all, it is all quite easy. It is more they have to control me. How does The R&A and STRI involvement in the course side of things balance out? Because we are hosting The Open we’re having quarterly visits. We have Alistair Beggs (STRI chief agronomist) and Richard Windows (STRI agronomy services manager)
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who look after The Open venues and they come and inspect every quarter. They will produce a report and they will test for firmness and for various things. It’s very interesting. It’s a great control for the greenkeeper as well. It works both ways. They’re checking on us to make sure we are doing what we should and, for the course manager, he’s making sure he is doing the right things and getting confidence from them. Does it affect the day-to-day preparation of the course? No. We had the Boys’ Championship and we used that as a bit of a test. We had championship conditions, back tees and pin positions and we
worked with the team from The R&A who do course set up. Our course manager learned a lot – just about cutting regimes and getting the speed of the greens right. For tournament conditions, you have to have that speed very consistent. Before the championship we had very odd weather. We had a bit of rain and so it was about getting that consistency. He had a really good run of producing the greens The R&A are looking for next year. Presumably you’ve experienced more business since it was announced you would hold The Open. How do you square that with being a members’ club?
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Royal Portrush Royal Portrush was formed in May 1888 as a nine-hole course and was originally known as The County Club. It gained its royal status in 1892, when the Duke of York was the patron, and became The Royal Portrush Golf Club in 1895. The host of numerous top championships throughout its history,The Open came in 1951 when Max Faulkner lifted the Claret Jug. In 2014, it was announced the famous trophy would return to Northern Ireland and the club, with the help of architect Martin Ebert, went through a renovation programme to the Dunluce Links. Next year’s event is already sold out after around 190,000 tickets were snapped up within weeks of them going on sale.
That is one of the things that is actually becoming quite difficult. Since we had the announcement of The Open in 2014, our business has taken off. I would say we have doubled our visitor green fees. The committee set the policy for when we can take visitors. However we’ve now filled those spots. In the past, there was always a space or two. Now it is fully booked and if you wanted a time today I would say it would be 2020 rather than 2019. One thing that is very important is that the members understand when their times are and the visitors have their times. They are two businesses and the two should never meet. The visitors are very important because they bring in a lot of revenue. The sales in our shop are very
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driven towards the visitor, along with the bar and the catering. Our summer season is very busy and I call it a light switch. At the end of October, it goes off and it starts again at the beginning of May. We’ve already introduced extended tee times from 10 to 12 minutes for visitors. We want to make it an experience for them when they come here. They are paying over £200 so they have got to have a great experience. We have teams of meeters and greeters so when the bus arrives there is someone from Royal Portrush to meet them, show them the shop, where they can change and explain the clubhouse is theirs for the day. We have a halfway house where they can get refreshments.
All these things are costs we bear but we have to make the experience truly enjoyable. What does The Open mean to the area of Portrush and this whole coast? The government have invested £15 million into a new train station, a new streetscape and shop front schemes in the town itself. The town is getting a facelift and it is directly from having The Open. There is more property being built and prices are going up. It’s becoming more desirable. The actual economic benefit being estimated is in the region of £80m to £100m coming into Northern Ireland that week. So everybody can see that this is something quite unique. This is the biggest sporting event coming to Northern Ireland, let alone the island of Ireland.
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Good
PRACTICE Advice on golf club management issues – from finance to clubhouse rules and employment law to staff morale – from our panel of experts
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Leading from
THE FRONT Eddie Bullock, golf consultant and GCMA board member, takes you through his tenets of leadership and how they can ensure you run a successful club
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here are four areas of leadership for a golf club manager. There is the leadership of teams and staff, the leadership of the membership, dealing with boards and showing leadership to the outer community. We’ll take each of these in turn but, in general, the manager now needs so many more competencies and skills to able to deliver the wholesome product for everybody. Each and everyone expects something different. You have to get your staff to work alongside you, to involve them and include them. Great leaders give everyone something to believe in – not something to do. Communicate the purpose where everyone should feel valued. Memberships are so diverse and you must show good communication skills – whether that’s speaking to people who are eight or 88-years-old. We’re always learning to deal with boards and you have to make sure you are very clear and articulate exactly where the business is going when communicating with them. And being a manager of a golf club also means showing leadership to the outer community, whether that’s in local or national situations.
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Teams and staff The key for any leader is to make sure they get the right people around them. That doesn’t happen straight away. You need to share values that people understand and work with you on. They could be personal values but every business should have their own values. The most successful clubs I have been involved with manage to leverage their shared values to shape a positive club business culture. That, in turn, creates a competitive advantage, which the team are going to work behind. Far too often leaders fail to connect and adopt values within their workplace. A good manager is a mentor.You’ve got to appreciate you are there to teach people to move forward. There is no question that people should be completely working together and striving for a perfect result in everything. For example, develop habitual weekly dash meetings, where you get together and assess where you are going and what you want to achieve. It becomes a learning school but you’ve got to get people in a team that are prepared to take responsibility and ownership. If you give those people responsibility, even if they don’t deliver all the time, they
know where they stand and you get a more harmonious approach throughout the whole membership structure. Make sure your teams are proud of where they are working. Give them the opportunity to speak. Organise internal group discussions, promote inclusiveness and create curiosity – there is nothing worse than a manager that doesn’t listen. You’ve got to allow them to think laterally, and be able to listen to every word in return. If they have got an opinion, write it down. Don’t let them get two thirds of the way through and then try to answer it or contradict them. You’ve got to have an opportunity for those people to progress and flourish within your business and so sticking together is important. You’ve got to be able to explain what to do and why. You must get input from your team. Your job is to inspire the team to make a commitment to the brand values. Empower the team to work independently, but to also work together. Motivating diverse teams to perform well is a leadership art. Get your teams together so each of them can understand what everyone does. The greenkeeper needs to know what the waitress does and vice versa.
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The more successful businesses and clubs get those people together because they need to work collaboratively and work together to make it a successful business. You then drive a high performance culture. That sounds very grand but it does work and you will be surprised how effective it all becomes – perseverance being the golden key. Leading the membership There is one clear thing these days. People want to see you. You have got to stand out as the leader in that business. When I look at websites, I want to see to whom I am going to be speaking.
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I’ll get onto a website and I’ll find the captain and the president, but the leader of the business needs to be the name that is highlighted a little bit more with their key support team. You’ve got to be visible and know when your membership is going to be there. You’ve also got to accept that you are not just in the golf club business. You are actually in the golf hospitality business. You are in the golf entertainment business. Furthermore, you are in the people business. Get to know your membership better as they can choose where they want to share their recreation time. They will
share it with a leader that cares! It is not the London Palladium but you are, relatively, on show. You have got to be able to stand up and communicate with each and every member that comes in. You have to be seen to be attending when members are there. Find methods to communicate clearly, but that doesn’t necessarily mean always having an open door. The open door effect means you will get people knocking left, right and centre and there is so much to do now in the day-to-day golf club business. Instead, hold clinics – where you get together and you are there at
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a particular time or day and you’re fairly open. Once every three months, find the opportunity to stage an evening. That could be a wine evening or maybe the golf is on. Whatever it is, find the time to inform people about where the club is, what you are doing and how it is being taken forward. It’s just good, solid, public relations from the general manager or the leader of the club. Dealing with the board You’ve got to get to know your board. One of the questions I think every general manager should ask at an interview is ‘how do you expect me to communicate with you?’ It’s all down to relationships. You have got to get to know what your board members do for a living, learn about their insights into the club and find out how much they know about their club. In terms of moving the club forward, my success has really been to outline opportunities and deliver a white paper. It works in various parts: An
introduction and an outline of the challenge, what the problems are you are trying to solve, the background – including some historical facts or issues that have occurred in the past – and the idea along with the pros and cons. If you feel strong enough, you make a recommendation to move forward whatever the project, or issue, is within the club. I’ve found this clearly gives the opportunity for some great dialogue and conversation and, more often than not, that way of communicating with the board gets to a decision a lot quicker. The board is there to set the policy. The manager is there to deliver that policy and manage the club. Displaying the professional leadership skills in guiding and influencing the board is the job that the club employed the general manager for and they should be used as the resident experts. Good leaders also know how to fail. No one intends to go and fail. I have had failures but it is important to be professional, to accept those failures and learn from them, to
assess them and find the solutions. The white paper is fairly straightforward and, at the end of the day, a meeting is there to make a decision. What I am doing, as a leader, is making the decision pathway a little bit easier. Leading the outer community Effective leadership now goes beyond the actual club boundaries. Club managers that embrace the outer community can deliver a powerful message. Your internal culture is now a core part of your external brand. It is far more critical now, in terms of making the non – or infrequent – golfer understand what the benefits a club community can offer as an escapism. Club leadership means clearly defining your social media stance to the outer community and this must not be taken lightly. Creating close associations with local businesses, business networks and local governments is all a part of displaying the leadership authority for the club business.
Who is Eddie Bullock? Eddie Bullock is a former managing director of Woburn and captain of the PGA. He has served as a non-executive director for Golf at Goodwood and has been a member of the GCMA board since 2014. He’s also a non-executive director of recruitment firm Colt Mackenzie McNair and through Eddie Bullock Golf Consultancy has provided management and staff training for a whole host of golf clubs, preparing them and their people for success. To find out more, visit eddiebullockgolf.com
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Getting the most out of
YOUR STAFF
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HE customer may always be right but no business – whether it’s a golf club or a bank – can succeed without good staff. Appointing people can often be the easy part. Finding the right staff for your business and then keeping them dedicated to your aims and objectives can be a challenge. It’s tough enough when you are a small concern but, if you’re a company the size of Burhill Group Limited, it can be a huge issue if not tackled correctly. With 600,000 rounds played over the course of a year at their 10 centres, Burhill are one of the UK’s largest owners and operators of golf courses. They employ hundreds of people and they all strive towards the same definable goals – no whatever which centre they work at. “We’ve got some fantastic heads of department and some fantastic employees,” said chief executive Colin Mayes.“We’re fortunate to have some really good people.” So how is that done? How does Mayes keep his varied teams all pointing in the same direction? It’s achieved with an innovative appraisal system, which is designed to be a positive experience – rather than the meetings of misery that some can become. That’s backed up with a oncea-year detailed staff survey that encourages employees to think deeply about how they see their roles and the support they are
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How do you keep staff engaged and committed to the business? Colin Mayes, chief executive of Burhill Group Limited, outlines his company’s innovative appraisal and survey systems and tackles the thorny issue of casuals
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BGL Golf Burhill Group Limited was founded in 1926 with the prestigious Burhill Golf Club, in Surrey.The company entered the play and play market with Hoebridge Golf Centre in 1982 and BGL Golf now have 10 properties throughout the UK. They are one of the UK’s largest owners and operators of golf facilities, seven of which are play and play and three are more traditional clubs. The BGL Golf vision is to “offer great destinations for every golf and leisure occasion” with the aim of providing accessible and affordable golf to players of all abilities.
given by the company. “New staff are given a job chat within a month of starting with us, to see whether they are enjoying it and if there are any elements of training they need further support and help with,” explained Mayes. “We have a half yearly job chat about performance and whether they are meeting their objectives and what their training needs are and we do it again at 12 months. “So in effect, there are two formal talks that go on that are documented in terms of what people are doing well, where they need to improve and what further
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help and assistance we can give in terms of training requirements moving forward. “That’s the bones of the appraisal system. We do try and treat it as an opportunity for both sides. “We do pride ourselves on having quite an open culture. We don’t hide things but we try and make it a positive experience. “I am a great believer in making sure staff know what is expected of them. If people know what is expected of them they will generally try and raise their game to do what they think their job is. “Staff don’t get out of bed saying
‘I’m going to do a poor job’. They get to work and they might have had an experience with their supervisor, or somebody else, that has influenced how well they will perform that day. “It is our job to make sure that when they get to our business they know what is expected of them and if they’ve had a bad start to the day they shake that off and start their day with us. “It’s no easy task but that’s what we try and do.” If you’re not confident about the way workers are engaged, or feel about the business, then the
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results of an annual staff survey could be enough to send you cowering to the safety of the office. Burhill’s survey asks more than 40 questions and probes employees about their experience with the company. Are they given enough support? Do they get enough training and equipment to do their jobs properly? It all adds up to, what Mayes calls, a “killer question” at the end. Would they recommend a friend or family member to work at Burhill? Describing the process, he added: “We survey our staff in the summer. Like any business, we have a
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seasonal affect and we do employ a lot of university students and casuals during the summer months. “We judge the level of participation. I think 74% of all the staff, both casual and full-time, filled the survey out in 2017. “That’s pretty good. Anything over 60% is superb. The reason that is important is because you want the staff to be engaged enough to feel ‘I want to share my views, whether they are good or bad’. “We ask them about whether they would recommend us and it’s pretty close to 80% recommendation, which again is
”We do pride ourselves on having quite an open culture. We don’t hide things but we try and make it a positive experience”
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Who is Colin Mayes? Colin Mayes is the CEO at Burhill Group Limited and has been in the role since 2006. He has held a number of high profile jobs in the hospitality trade since starting as a management trainee at Forte Plc in 1972. He’s worked for Holiday Inns, Forte Hotels and Old English Inns during a wide-ranging career and is currently the chairman of the UK Golf Course Owners’ Association, a position he has held for eight years.
very high. We can always do better and we challenge the managers and raise the benchmark for the scores every year. We’ve been doing it about four years now. “It identifies issues. It tells us things we need to focus on, whether it’s feedback or making sure we give people a pat on the back. “It’s good positive feedback for the general managers and the results of the surveys get fed back to the staff. “We issue them in our newsletter and so nothing is hidden. We encourage the general managers to sit down with the staff team every year after the survey to say ‘these are the areas that have been raised and this is what we are going to try and do about it’. So they know that something is happening.” As Mayes indicated, casual and summer employees form a vital part of his peak summer workforce – as they do in many clubs. It’s a challenge, he admits, to find the best people to fill those berths but Burhill use a number of mechanisms to recruit temporary staff who will fit in well with the
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company ethos and values. “We let our members know and a good source of recruitment comes from existing members – their children and grandchildren. “We use quite a few of the colleges around our golf clubs wherever we can. We talk to the college lecturers. When things get really tough, sometimes you have to rely on agencies to provide some staff. We just try and make sure we pick the best agencies to work with – where we have to.” Burhill’s general managers are also encouraged to act quickly if they have an underperforming casual member of the team but Mayes believes the requirements laid down in the recruitment of casual staff often brings the right results. “You’re looking for people with a positive attitude and a little bit of a service culture,” he said.“They need to be in tune with trying to look after people. “We want people that engage with and talk to customers and try and make sure they have a good time. It’s the ability to engage
”It identifies issues. It tells us things we need to focus on, whether it’s feedback or making sure we give people a pat on the back”
that is probably the single most important thing. A lot of the rest of the stuff we can train. “Some are smart enough to recognise that golf clubs are full of interesting people, reasonably well educated, and quite a lot of them are well connected. “Our customers are not stupid as well. When they see a good member of staff, they will talk to them, find out what they want to do. “If you have got a bright, young person who can engage, they can meet some pretty interesting people.”
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From the
DIPLOMA
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We take a closer look at the issue of leading and managing people in a golf club
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ome people are born leaders and others shy away from managing their peers or having personnel discussions. But if golf club management is about anything, it is about people. On an average day, managers will be dealing with staff, suppliers, members, guests and visitors on every topic from tee times to bullying, appraisals, sales, finance and membership issues. Work can focus from the bar takings and supplier contracts to pest issues, blocked toilets and club strategies – such is the diversity of the role.
Some facts around management of people Ineffective management is estimated to cost UK businesses over £19 billion per year in lost working hours 43 per cent of UK managers rate their own line manager as ineffective – and only one in five are qualified Nearly three quarters of organisations in England reported a deficit of management and leadership skills in 2012 While the quality of leadership and management has been improving in the UK over the past 10 years, there is a need to continue to advance – particularly considering the new ways of doing business that are emerging, driven by advances in technology
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and the recent recession (BIS, 2012; HBR, 2013) Defining the skills and attributes needed for leading and managing people Understanding people’s motivations is a key element in ensuring they can be managed effectively, whether that’s members, suppliers or staff. Managing their performance is important, as this will affect interactions on a one-to-one basis or within a team. It is easy to assume people are engaged when, in fact, they are not. How can you spot this? How can you understand what they need to ensure a good performance or positive experience? This is not only pertinent for managing your staff but also to ensure customers, suppliers and members have a positive experience. You need to understand their perspective as everyone has different needs. Do not assume that their needs reflect
“Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others as what he does from day-to-day to lead himself.” So what do you do to invest in your staff, motivate them and ensure they perform to the best of their ability so everyone has a positive experience? It is important to invest in your staff’s development but also to invest in your own personal development. Many managers have never had management training and do what they THINK is right, so self-awareness and personal development is an important step forward. This will give you confidence to take on tasks and issues and talk on topics from a position of strength and knowledge. Investing in your skills may allow you to encourage staff to follow suit. Are you a manager or a leader? Is there really a difference to such terminology? After all, these are just modern buzzwords, aren’t they?
your own. Understanding your own management style is critical. Are you a manager or a leader? Are you fair, encouraging, open and approachable? Are you persuasive – a good communicator? Do you demonstrate trust in your team and others? Many managers have blind spots in their overall management style and are possibly deluding themselves. Some are hesitant to lead the club and would prefer to wait for clear direction from others. Many are weak at communicating ideas and solutions to their stakeholders. A few are scared to speak up for fear of losing their jobs and some are overwhelmed by the scale of various tasks that they face. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin, is quoted as saying “clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients.” Thomas Watson, founder of IBM, has also said:
Goleman’s Leadership Styles Adapted from “Leadership That Gets Results,” Goleman, D. GOLEMAN’S LEADERSHIP STYLES
Commanding
Pacesetting
Democratic
Affiliative
Visionary
Coaching
The style in a phrase
Do what I tell you
Do as I do
Let’s decide what to do together
Let’s do what’s best for everyone
Do what will help us reach our goals
How can I help you do it better?
The leader’s way of working
Demands immediate compliance
Sets high standards of performance
Creates consensus through participation
Creates harmony and builds emotional bonds
Mobilises people towards a vision
Develops people for the future
Underlying emotional intelligence competencies
Achievement Initiative Self-control
Conscientiousness Achievement Initiative
Collaboration Team leadership Communication
Empathy Building relationships Communication
Self-confidence Empathy Change catalyst
Developing others Empathy Self-awareness
When the style works best
In a crises To start a new project With problem employees
To get quick results from a highly motivated competent team
To gain acceptance or consensus To get input from valued team members
To manage splits in a team Motivation during stressful circumstances
When changes require a new vision When clear direction is needed
To help someone improve performance To develop long term strategies
Overall impact on climate
Negative
Positive
Positive
Positive
Strongly Positive
Strongly Positive
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Managers accept the status quo, leaders challenge it. Leaders create and articulate vision, managers ensure it is put into practice (Syrett and Hogg, 1992) A leader adapts the enterprise to whatever volatile environment it does business in by setting a direction, communicating this to the workforce, motivating employees and taking a long-range perspective (The Economist, 1990) An entrepreneur – has the ability to create and build something from practically nothing. It is the knack of seeing an opportunity where others see chaos, contradiction and confusion (Timmons 2013) There are various types of leadership styles which determine how a manager or leader distributes and allocates work, interacts with staff and gives feedback on their performance. Authoritative/Autocratic,
GROWTH NEEDS
commanding and coercive Democratic/Participative – coaching and affiliative Delegative/Laissez-faire – visionary and authoritative As a manager, one of your responsibilities is to develop your team. You will need to delegate and ask a team to make its own decisions to varying degrees according to: Their abilities, the work circumstances or context The nature and scale of the decisions. Goleman’s styles are recognisable to us all and cover most traits but there are no right or wrong styles. Good leaders tend to move between styles according to the situation, and the experience of the staff team, and it is important to recognise your preferred or default style and whether it is appropriate for your circumstances. Understanding people and their
motivations is very important in how to relate to them. Sometimes body language can communicate a message more strongly as opposed to the verbal response. It is also important to listen to feedback from staff to better understand if the management style is effective for that specific situation or person. The ability to self-reflect is essential. Motivating People and understanding their needs The Maslow Theory of Motivation also known as “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” and it demonstrates the basic motivations for people both socially and in the working environment. However, McClelland and Atkinson’s Need for Achievement theory, which is built upon Maslow’s work, focuses on the types of achievement motivation. That can be broken down into three types: Achievement – where a member of staff seeks position advancement, feedback, and
SELF ACTUALIZATION NEEDS personal ESTEEM NEEDS achievement, independence, status, prestige, responsibility
DEFICIENCY NEEDS
SOCIAL NEEDS love, affection, relationship, works group SAFETY NEEDS freedom from war and conflict, protection, security, law and order, rules, limits, stability
BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS basic survival needs such as air, food, water, shelter, warmth, sleep, health
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sense of accomplishment Authority – where a member of staff needs to lead, make an impact and be heard by others Affiliation – where a member of staff strives for friendly social interactions and to be liked An understanding of these achievement motivation characteristics can be helpful in the distribution of work, recruitment, and the management and leadership of staff within the golf club. However, it is important to understand if you are a good motivator. Do you positively engage with staff, members and committees or is your style more dictatorial? How you act will have implications on how the team and individual people within it react. Therefore, self-knowledge and reflection is essential. There are a number of ways of engaging and motivating staff, all of which are highly relevant to the golf club environment and include: Instilling an inspiring purpose Providing recognition Coaching for improvement Building camaraderie Finding solutions Recognising and dealing with poor performance An interesting concept is to encourage staff to work within other departments of the club to help build a greater understanding of the pressures that other departments handle. This helps to develop relationships within the group and to motivate people to be part of a more coherent team. Google operate an 80/20 rule where 80% of their weekly work must relate to their direct job, while 20 per cent may be spent in any other department to help gain insight and knowledge of the other different areas of their
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business. Do you encourage such a philosophy? Does your bar manager work with the greens staff or the office staff man the bar? This would help everyone understand the pressures that other roles around the club are under. Teamwork Several aspects of managing a golf club require many different people working together as a team to reach a common goal. The teams could be staff, such as the bar staff, greenkeepers or the office. Other teams could relate to the committee or sub-committees, which operate within most clubs. There are three key strands to the majority of theories on teamworking: The stages involved in the development of the team The leadership required for teams at different stages of development, i.e. the skills required for situation specific leadership The influence of the context and environment, or surroundings, in that there is a need to recognise that teams do not exist in isolation and that they are affected by factors within and outside of the business or organisation One of the key responsibilities of a golf club manager is ensuring that members of their team have the right skills and knowledge and adopt the right behaviours to undertake their individual role. This is an ongoing process that is a mixture of formal training, mentoring and coaching. It is fair to say that every team member needs to be aware of what is expected of them and effective management of people depends on how well this is communicated
What will you learn from this unit of the Diploma in Golf Club Management? This unit explores different leaderships styles and interaction with others and allows students to reflect upon practical strategies and models to get the best from their teams and an understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses. The learning outcomes for this unit are: • Understand the importance of leading and managing people in running a business • Understand the work and development needs of people in a business • Be able to plan the use of people in a business • Be able to set performance targets for people in a business • Be able to monitor performance of people against targets in a business • Be able to deal with poor performance of people in a business • Be able to maintain awareness of the legal requirements on grievance, redundancy and dismissal procedures In summary, this unit looks at people and identifies that they are a key resource for golf clubs and the importance of reflecting on your own management and leadership styles on an ongoing basis. It is essential to understand the relationship between motivation and performance to get the best of our team. There are valuable sources of support, such as ACAS and the professional golf bodies, which can assist you in leading and managing others.
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Reflect on the outcomes, review improvement and agree new priorities and objectives.
Assess skills, knowledge and experience and identify strengths and weaknesses.
REVIEW AND REFLECT
IDENTIFY
ACTION AND RECORD
PLAN
Action the plan with training courses, coaching and on the job development.
to them. This is regardless of whether they This is an ongoing process that is a mixture of formal training, mentoring and coaching. In addition, it is fair to say that every team member needs to be aware of what is expected of them and effective management of people depends on how well this is communicated to them. This is regardless of if they are paid staff or volunteers and committee members. Everyone can only perform to their best if they are clear of what is expected of them. This begins with making sure everyone has a relevant and up to date job description along with clear personal and team objectives. Reviewing Performance. It is important to review staff performance and give feedback, both positive and negative. This is the most important part of the whole process. Any feedback must be specific, fair and positive to help promote continuous improvement to motivate
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Prioritise development needs and agree an action plan.
employees, correct individual performance. It must also promote learning from past failures and from successes. An effective performance management system will include: Clear business goals and objectives which are communicated clearly to staff, so they are aware of their role and responsibilities and how these contribute to the business Regular updates and two-way feedback about business plans and progress. This can be done at staff meetings as well as committee meetings Regular performance reviews with staff, underpinned with training, mentoring and coaching. Don’t wait for an annual review to give feedback. Clear individual targets and objectives expressed in terms of SMART goals, which are regularly reviewed with staff Regular and clear communication with staff, both in teams and individually.
About the Diploma in Golf Club Management Representing a fundamental shift to the approach of professional education in golf club management, the three partner organisations of the Golf Club Management Partnership – GCMA, PGA and BIGGA – combined forces to create the ASQ Level 5 Diploma in Golf Club Management. Open to all levels of experience, the golf specific qualification is suited to existing managers and those looking to move into the profession. The Diploma covers all the core skills required to manage a club and, notably, is an ASQ externally quality assured qualification, visible on the framework of regulated qualifications. With an emphasis on flexible learning, it is delivered through a combination of online and face-toface workshops. To find out more about the Diploma, visit gcma.org.uk/diploma
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
Dealing with a
CRISIS
Fire has the potential to devastate a club and the golf course. But when the flames flickered at Burnham & Berrow, staff knew exactly what to do, as Steve Carroll reports
S
omerset and Cornwall’s finest were midway through their second round when they saw the smoke and the unmistakeable flicker of flames across the dunes. Had the players not been in the midst of their Channel League battle on a Sunday in early August, the consequences for Burnham & Berrow may well have been far worse. The club’s Championship links layout is a national treasure, always featuring strongly in ranking lists of England’s best courses.
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But when they were hit by a grass blaze in the heat of the hottest summer since 1976, it required some quick thinking and half a dozen fire engines to bring it under control. Remarkably, the course reopened within hours and without any significant damage – with the fire taking out rough ground between the 7th to the 12th holes. It began close to a reservoir behind the 13th fairway and is illustrative of how clubs can respond in the event of a crisis. Burnham & Berrow came through with flying colours. After players on the course
immediately called the fire brigade, the club’s personnel were on hand to open gates to ensure the firefighters could get access to the scene. They then toured the course in buggies to make sure all the players were evacuated and there was no one left on the course. The greenkeepers, conscious that the fire was initially spreading backwards towards the 9th green, went out and irrigated the putting surface to protect it in case the flames reached it. And the club’s kitchen staff also stepped in to take water and sandwiches out to those tackling the fire, given the temperatures were
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topping 30 degrees on that day. “We’d already had a smoking ban in place as a precautionary measure about two or three weeks before,” said Burnham & Berrow managing secretary, and GCMA South West regional manager, Karen Drake. “Sunday afternoons can be very quiet. Had that been the case then the fire would have really got hold before anybody really responded. “I received a phone call from the guys in the pro shop to advise me of the fire. It was about 4pm in the afternoon. There was a game being played – Cornwall versus Somerset in a Channel League match.
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“They were playing their second round and had reached the 8th. They called the fire brigade almost immediately and they were out there – quite a large crew – and contained the fire really quite quickly. It was within about two hours or so.” Unlike a fire in the clubhouse, or the greenkeepers’ facility, it’s hard to plan for a blaze out on the course, particularly given its size and scope. Complicating the issue for Burnham & Berrow is the public access that criss-crosses the course. There are a number of footpaths, while local residents also have
access to the course on their way to the beach. That meant that, even with a smoking ban in place, it was impossible for the club to protect the course entirely. “I met with the fire officer who was on duty at the time, and attended the fire, and he was quite content that we acted as we should have with evacuating the course and so on,” Karen added. “It highlighted the need to ensure that the local fire service are familiar with the site, so we have given them spare keys to our padlocks on our gates. “It was unfortunate, in that the
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL Burnham & Berrow Set among the glorious dunes of the Bristol Channel coast, some of Britain’s most prized golfing events – including the Brabazon Trophy – have been held at Burnham & Berrow. The Championship course at the Somerset venue is considered one of England’s best, ranked at No. 8 by National Club Golfer in their top 100 courses guide. Burnham & Berrow have a proud history and are renowned for helping JH Taylor on his way when they hired him as a youngster in 1890. He became one of the Great Triumvirate of British golf at the turn of the 20th century and won The Open on five occasions. The traditional out and in links is complemented by the 9-hole Channel course, a layout that is highly regarded in its own right.
measure we had taken the week before to protect the access gate from travellers breaking in was a large water drum placed directly behind the gate. That was still there when they tried to get their vehicles in through the gate. “This held up a little time, so we
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had a member of staff direct them to another gate.” Firefighters used hose reels, jets and beaters to put out the fire but not before around 3,700 square metres of grassland were set alight. It damaged around five acres of the rough in total. “I’m told by the fire officer that the speed at which the fire was travelling out-ran the fire officers, who were charged with breaking the fire path,” Karen explained. “They are going to use the example for their own training experiences.” The aftermath left Burnham & Berrow with repair costs of around £30,000, because of damage to the irrigation pond liner and for perimeter fencing around the pond, but it was business as usual the very next day. “I suppose you can’t plan for
something like this because of the nature of fire – there’s no telling how that would proceed,” said Karen. “Our only policy was that the pro shop were on duty and they acted diligently by making sure the fire service were called. “The only section of the course that was really damaged was the edge of the 8th tee. “But there was no impact on playing the course and we were very thankful that no one got hurt, which is the main thing.” If your course was hit by fire this summer, please get in touch with GCMA chief executive Bob Williams by email at bob@gcma. org.uk. The GCMA are looking to prepare a case study on the effects such natural disasters have on golf club businesses and the team at HQ would be pleased to hear from you.
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
What is the role of a regional
CAPTAIN?
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Mike Wells is currently in his second stint as captain of the Yorkshire region. We asked the York Golf Club secretary/manager what it entails… From left to right, national captain and Yorkshire regional manager Cameron Dawson, Ganton captain Peter Kirk, and Yorkshire region captain Mike Wells
I
T was a proud year for Mike Wells when he served as captain of the Yorkshire region in 2012. He enjoyed his stint, and had probably thought that was it. But when the region’s vice-captain advised he would not be able to assume the captain’s role this year, at around the same time as regional manager Cameron Dawson was about to become GCMA national captain, a novel set of circumstances led to a novel solution. While Dawson would remain Yorkshire’s regional manager, he’d need some assistance in his day job as he fulfilled the obligations associated with being the GCMA’s figurehead. So the region’s past captains broke with tradition and asked Wells if he’d consider taking on the key ceremonial role for the second time – and give Dawson a helping hand. He’s the first captain in the last four decades to repeat in one of the GCMA’s largest regions so who better to ask about the role and what it entails? You’re the Yorkshire captain for the second time. So just what does the regional captain do? For me, the primary role is to lead the region – whether that is at matches or at meetings. It is to be there as the figurehead, as it is in most golf clubs and indeed as it is here at York. That’s the role for the captain of the region to play. It is to represent the ‘Yorkshire
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GCMA Yorkshire region Stretching from the seaside in the East to Bradford in the West, the Yorkshire region is one of the GCMA’s largest. It has almost 200 potential members and their spring, autumn and business meetings are widely attended. This year, the region also boasts the GCMA national captain with Cameron Dawson having been elected to the role. Like the other 15 regions around the UK, it was established to give serving and retired members a vehicle to express their opinions and to provide a link with GCMA head office in Bristol.
region’ when I go to other venues, regions and clubs when it is GCMA related. As I suspect it is with most regions, our regional manager has historically done most of the dayto-day organisation thus allowing the captain to concentrate on the public relations side of the role. A significant part of the reason for me coming back on board was that, with Cameron as national captain, he couldn’t do as much of his regional manager duties. We needed to make sure all went smoothly – or at least seemed to as far as Yorkshire members were concerned.
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Since I had been involved on committee before, I was able to take some of the more time consuming tasks from Cameron by looking after the region’s matches this year – selecting the teams, notifying players, arranging meals with clubs, arranging late substitutes when needed, collecting and logging payments – all day-to-day tasks that do take time. Additionally, fellow committee member Richard Green and I ran our annual East Coast Classic Event as a further way of reducing Cameron’s workload. It was clearly exceptionally well run as we won it!
You are a full-time club manager as well. How do you fit all of this in with your job? When the past captains asked if I would take the role, I was happy to do so. My club were keen to support me since they were aware of the time I put into my role – fulltime doesn’t say it all as the hours are far longer than that. In all fairness, as Cameron had things so well organised originally, the day-to-day administrative work was slotted in between club duties – and if that meant staying at work a bit longer to keep up to date then so be it. It is not as onerous as some
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“In Yorkshire region we have always tried to keep our meetings informative and interesting”
people might think. Probably the most difficult part was sorting out players across the season of matches and ensuring everyone got a fair number of games. After that, it was simply keeping on top of where we were for each event. It’s no different than planning and running a club match. I would always say to anybody ‘if you’re given the option to be your regional captain take it and just enjoy it’. To me, it’s great fun. It’s an honour to be the regional captain. You lead the regional meetings.
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How are they organised? In Yorkshire region we have always tried to keep our meetings informative and interesting and thanks is due to our regional managers for doing so over the years. We were aware of concerns that regional meetings could easily become a simple jolly for retired members and not really beneficial to working managers. So some years ago we introduced business meetings outside of our main two meetings of the year – in order to maximise the benefits for working managers in taking time away from the desk by listening to and meeting suppliers.
Our two main meetings – spring and autumn – are a mixture of presentations from key personnel within the industry and reports on what’s going on in golf – things that will be of interest to all attendees whether still working or not – and also about people continuing to network. To be honest, Cameron does most of the pre-planning and organisation beforehand in discussion with the regional committee – then he and I sit down to agree the running order – after which it’s down to me to keep things going on the day. It’s a comfort, however, to have
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL stealing an idea to our cost. We also try and keep ahead of the game so whenever somebody new comes on board, or moves to the region, we speak to them and seek to welcome them to the Yorkshire region.
Cameron next to me at these meetings to thump me in the arm if I don’t follow the running order or get anything wrong. At that point in the day he is there as our regional manager and not national captain! That’s not as easy as people might think. Speakers can go over their time and if there are questions it can get away from you. How much of a challenge is the organisational element of leading meetings? You have to think about ‘how long do they need?’ or, initially, ‘how long do we need them to speak for?’ How much of the day do we want them to fill? How relevant is it? If we’ve have our chief executive with us, for example, you shouldn’t give him half the time of other people because he is the top man and should have the largest slice of the time available. It’s the trick of trying to get the timings right. You don’t want to pack too much in, but you don’t want people to get bored. It’s a fine balance. I think the key thing is actually planning it well and selecting your speakers correctly – then sticking to your schedule come what may. Yorkshire is a big region and there are all different types of clubs represented. How do you lead a harmonious region? Yorkshire is huge. We have members at all points of East, West, South and North Yorkshire who travel to regional events – and we have a host of clubs too who are located just as far apart. They cover the spectrum of golf clubs as well, which often makes for interesting conversations with colleagues at meetings. We try to make sure we move
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“If it’s a first time offer, take it because you will enjoy it. Just don’t get too het up about it.”
our meetings around and also try to ensure all of our matches are played at different venues and, if possible, that we’ve got an event in each part of the region. It’s a way of saying ‘if you can’t come to this, come along to that one: it’s in your part of the region’. When you’re geographically as big as we are, it’s the only thing you can do. You try and create an environment – and I think we have it here in Yorkshire – where people talk to each other. I have lots of conversations with managers elsewhere, and not just as captain but as a part of the region. I’ll talk to people in Leeds or Sheffield or Scarborough about what they are doing to make their club better – the sheer distance between us means we are not competitors and so can talk without worrying about anyone
Have you enjoyed coming back for a second time? It doesn’t happen that often… Yes. In a way it’s been more fun this time. First time around, you are always a bit nervous. You are trying to do everything right and you end up inevitably doing things wrong. You come back a second time and you can remember what you did wrong, hopefully, and correct it. Most of the time I think I’ve managed that so far. Because of the nature of this year, with Cameron’s position, it’s been easier for me in a way as running matches helped me get into the swing of it. From that point of view, if I was talking to a future captain I’d say ‘you do the teams, because you’ll enjoy doing it and you have that much more element of control as you go forward’. I love it. It’s been great fun so far and hopefully will stay that way until I hand over the reins next year. So you would recommend the role? Without hesitation. If it’s a first-time offer, take it because you will enjoy it. Just don’t get too het up about it. If you get asked to come back a second time, it will be easier than the first time, so enjoy it all the more. It’s an honour and I treat it as that. I don’t treat it as a right, or otherwise and am delighted the region said they would like me to represent them.
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
Why you should never be afraid
TO FAIL
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ED U C AT E | I N FO RM | I N S P I RE
Nothing makes Gregg Patterson, former general manager of The Beach Club, in California, and founder of Tribal Magic!!!, happier than failure. Confused? Read on…
I
’M a cheerleader for failure. A big fan. A lover of the big flop. An advocate for failing early, and often. I’m an unabashed, unreformed, unrepentant Failure Enthusiast. You interviewed for the job and didn’t get it. Three cheers! You met with the board. They thanked you for your efforts. They told you they’d changed directions. They handed you your walking papers. They gave you the wave goodbye. And sent you packing. Three cheers! You shot 147 for nine, lost $75 to the competition and hit nineteen logoed golf balls into the pond. Three cheers! You authorised the installation of new accounting software that couldn’t account. Three cheers! You organised and delivered for the first-time-in-the-history-of-theclub a wild and crazy New Year’s Eve party – that bombed. You budgeted for 250, staffed for 250 and ended up with 37 teenagers and seven comfort dogs. Three cheers! And you, a lover of winning, say – huh? Learning to cheer People hate failure for all sorts of painful reasons. The very thought of getting spanked, of falling down, of being publicly defeated gives most people The Big Twitch. I, too, hated failure until, midway through my career, I spoke to my Big Brother who’s a tenured professor, a research engineer,
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a big-time success story in the academic world. I was moaning and groaning about failure, how winning is everything and failing’s for losers. He gave me the look and laughed. “We research types never talk about failure,” he said.“Every test is a data point – neither a success nor a failure but an insight to be used in pursuing one thing and avoiding another. “Think data points, dude. Ban ‘failure’ from your vocabulary. Plan, experiment, record, analyse, re-do and laugh at the gods. Then have a beer, chill out and carry on. Just like us research types.” So I embraced my ‘data points’ and banned failure from my vocabulary. I came to accept that the foundation of success is a catalogue of failures, that the journey to doing good is paved with big flops and little flops and that every flop is a research and development opportunity. Lessons learned After eating slice after slice of humble pie, I arrived at a few ‘see failure the right way’ lessons that should comfort all you up-andcoming (and long in the tooth) professionals who fear failure like the plague. Success can be a fattening dish. Success tastes good, makes you glow, then thickens the waistline. Too much winning leads to self-congratulation, which
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leads to smugness, which leads to complacency, which leads to getting stomped by the competition. An occasional slice of humble pie does wonders for the analytical and creative juices. Admit you failed Acknowledging failure is the first step in failing upwards. Failure Enthusiasts accept that they flopped, learned from their stumbles and moved on. Call failures flops Flops are funny. Laughter lessens the sting, balms the wounds, purges the demons and halts the big sink into the quagmire of existential despair. And when you laugh at your flops the world laughs with you –
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and not at you! The road to success is paved with big flops and little flops – for everyone. The upwardly mobile, glory bound young professional needs to try lots, fail often, fail fast, reflect deeply, adjust quickly, re-arrange the tools, recoup, dust off and begin anew. And laugh at the gods! Failure is the foundation of wisdom and character. The events that most often ‘form’ us are the ordeals we experience, and most ordeals involve – at least in some measure – failure. Wisdom is insight gained from experience. Character is how one responds to experience. Both flourish amid failure. Build a ‘network of caring and sharing’
We all need shoulders to lean on, mentors to advise us, counsellors to guide us. When we fail we turn to those others and in doing so create bonds that strengthen us in the face of adversity. A ‘network of caring’, a ‘failure reference group’, is formed one failure at a time. Team failures are growth engines for the team. People who struggle together and fail and then share the what, the how and the why of their collective failure grow together. Share your personal flops with the team. Analyse the failure journey – together. This is what I did and why. This is what happened. This is what I learned. Learn from my flop and grow.
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Anticipate the big flop Failure Enthusiasts prime themselves for the type of failures they’ll eventually encounter. The failed project. The failed interview. The failed job. Anticipation makes failing easier to digest and opens the mind to the lessons learned. The ‘failure spank’ releases the creative juices. We examine deeply when we fail. Failure is the creative spark imaginative people need to start thinking differently. The ‘failure spank’ accelerates change. Failure Enthusiasts know that failure often teaches us that it might be time to change directions, to re-invent ourselves and to seek out new and possibly more fruitful challenges. Elsewhere. Accountants see risk where Failure Enthusiasts see possibilities. Don’t let the ‘numbers guys’ keep you from trying – and failing. No risk, no return. No guts, no glory. As I look back on my forty plus years in clubdom, I’m forced to admit that 99.73 per cent of all the ideas I’ve ever had have ended in failure. Three cheers! I failed often, failed fast and failed upward – gloriously. I’m a Failure Enthusiast and proud of it! Easing the Pain Failures will happen. Knowing how to ease the pain, purge the demons and grow towards the future are critical must dos for every upwardly mobile business professional. Here are a few of the tactics I’ve used to ease the pain and balm the wounds during my failure journey: Ponder failure before every failure opportunity. Figure out where things can go wrong. The known unknowns and the unknown unknowns. Tell yourself ‘stuff will happen and people will
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be weird’ and there is nothing you can do to plan for it in advance. Knowing that a big downside can happen eases the pain of ‘downside happening’. Create a failure diary Every failure deserves a page in The Book of Success. Writing purges the demons, institutionalises the memories and gives you control (or at least the illusion of control) over the experience. Spank failure with exercise. Sweat diverts the mind, releases the endorphins and gives you the glow. And puts every failure in perspective. Debrief with the team after every failure experience. Digest the failure with good conversation. Share your failure with your peers. They too have failed and will give insight and comfort when insight and comfort are needed. Share your failure with your loved ones. They care about you and will buck you up when you feel down. Share your failure with your mentor. Get a mentor who’s experienced, likes to talk and knows whereof you speak. Connect and reflect after every failure spank.
Failure stings. Know how to ease the pain and rejuvenate the spirit. Give failure its due You’re going to fail and failure’s a cruel teacher. But successful people know you’ll be judged as much by your catalogue of failure as your catalogue of success, that failing upward is the key to wisdom and long-term success. Laugh at the gods when you fail. Spit in the eye of the demons of negativity. Do. Analyse. Grow. Keep moving on and… Enjoy the journey!
Who is Gregg Patterson? Gregg Patterson spent 34 years as general manager of The Beach Club, the iconic private member owned club in Santa Monica, California, before setting up Tribal Magic!!! in 2016. He is now a featured speaker and presenter at club management seminars, and other global forums, and lectures on ethics, staff development, club sense and communications, among various other subjects.
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From the
REGIONS NORTH WEST Thursday, September 6 Late summer meeting, Caldy There was another excellent turnout at Caldy, on the Wirral, where the day’s keynote speaker was Phil Harvey, county secretary of the Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs. He talked about the county’s ‘Women into Golf’ initiative, which had been the subject of a full-day conference they had staged earlier in the year at Mytton Fold, near Blackburn. Attendees had included The R&A, Myerscough College and Jasmine, otherwise known as The Jazzy Golfer. Harvey filled in members with an overview of the day, with statistics showing that the majority of female golfers are over 60 and women and girls represented only 14% of the total number of golfers in England in 2016. With figures for Germany and Sweden at 34% and 26% respectively, it was clear to all that something needed to be done to attract more women and girls into golf in England. Case studies were provided, looking at the actions that had been taken by clubs to break down existing barriers and make clubs a more attractive proposition for women and girls, while the resources available through England Golf and Get into Golf were also highlighted.
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Harvey reported that following the conference, 26 Lancashirebased clubs had now launched Women Into Golf initiatives, while another seven were currently in the planning stages of doing the same. To help clubs, the Lancashire Union had provided 10 matchfunded grants and, while the long-term success of the initiative couldn’t yet be gauged, the early signs were promising. Although the North West region comprises members from several county unions, the information provided on the day, including a step-by-step guide to delivering a women’s recruitment initiative, has been made available to all. Members have also been invited to attend any of the follow up Lancashire Union-organised workshops that are in the pipeline. Other presentations made on the day included a case study provided by David Litster, of Vanderbyl Consult, Design and Build on the recent refurbishment project completed at Ringway and Grant Counsell, sales director at Incom Telecommunications, who gave an insight into the benefits and opportunities afforded by cloud-based telecommunications solutions. North West regional manager Neil Annandale said the meeting had provided a lot of food for thought that yet again justified members making the time and the effort to attend regional meetings.
Regional Managers Full details at gcma.org.uk/ regions Chiltern & Home Counties
Martin Bennet East Anglia
Gary Smith East Midlands
Rod Savage London & Home Counties
Maureen Brooker Midland
Rob Wormstone Norfolk
John Barnard North West
Neil Annandale Northern
Terry Minett Northern Ireland
Jim Cullen Scotland
Bernard Flockhart South East
John Edgington South West
Karen Drake Southern
Paul Gaylor Wales
Mike Rees Wessex
Alex Taylor Yorkshire
Cameron Dawson
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
Meet the
MANAGER
Sponsor of the 2017 GCMA Manager of the Year award
With David Holmes, general manager at Prestbury, in Cheshire
Prestbury
H
ow did you get into golf club management? I started working at my previous club, Royal Ashdown Forest, in East Sussex, as a barman. It was a temporary job for the summer when I’d graduated from university and my best friend was the chef there. I loved working in the golf club and I’d always wanted to work in a sporting environment.
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The golf club ticked all those boxes. A position became available to become a trainee book-keeper and from there I became assistant secretary and then secretary – one of the youngest in the country – when my predecessor retired. So it was right through the ranks – from barman to manager. What do you like most about your role? It’s incredibly varied and you never
really know what you are going to have to do from one day to the next. You quite often find you had certain tasks that you thought you would try and complete and something crops up and you are having to juggle various different things. Ultimately, it’s a place where people come to enjoy themselves and spend their leisure time and you are trying to help them enjoy themselves. Golf clubs are beautiful places as well.
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What’s the best piece of advice you have been given? That’s a difficult one. I’ve been given lots of good pieces of advice over the years that I have used to form my approach to the way I am and work. I would like to think I’m always fair and balanced in my views. I very rarely give knee-jerk reactions to things and I like to give myself time to make decisions. If somebody comes to me with a problem that I don’t know the answer to I won’t try and guess. For me, personally, it isn’t necessarily one piece of advice but more the things I have picked up from lots of different people along the way that have formed my style of management. How do you feel about the state of golf at the moment? There is a lot of negative press out there which is unfair. I think the mainstream media loves to bash golf and jump on the first possible excuse they can – whether it is something over sexism, such as the issue over single sex clubs that hit the front pages of the newspapers. It was such a small minority it wasn’t really fair on the game as a whole but that’s what the mainstream media like to do. There’s also lots of negative press about the popularity of the sport. In my experience, we’ve seen a bit of an uplift over the last couple of years. I’m not saying that’s the case for all clubs but I don’t think it is as bad as some people make it out to be. I think it is down to us in the
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industry to promote the positive side of golf and it is down to us to change the story. Don’t let those who want to knock it be the only people whose voices are being heard. We need to be promoting the positive aspects of the game, such as the health and social benefits. It is down to us to change the narrative.
“It is down to us in the industry to promote the positive side of golf and it is down to us to change the story”
David Holmes
What opportunities exist for the GCMA? The biggest area has got to be education and I believe it is something the GCMA have worked hard on in the last couple of years. They have obviously introduced
various new initiatives, such as the Diploma. It is crucial if we are going to be successful in our roles that we have got a professional body that can support us along the way and help people that are not just new into the industry but have been in it for some time. The more opportunities there are for learning the better. You are never the finished article. You are always trying to improve, trying to further yourself and the only way to do that is through education. That isn’t necessarily sitting on courses – sometimes it is networking and having the opportunity to chat to managers and secretaries and that is something the GCMA has always been fantastic for. I was encouraged to join as soon as I became an assistant secretary and was attending meetings from the age of 25 and 26. I was probably half the age of the other people there but they all welcomed me, took me under their wing, and I felt like it was a big family. Everyone is happy to help and you can always pick up the phone and speak to somebody else. The GCMA have been very important as far as I am concerned and I would strongly recommend any golf club manager to become part of it.
Get In Touch To contact Prestbury, visit prestburygolfclub.com
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My success story...
COLIN BEE
Sponsors of My Success Story
Outside of renovations to the course, one of the biggest things a club can do is alter their clubhouse. Or, in the case of Coxmoor, knock it down entirely as managing secretary Colin Bee explains to Steve Carroll
I
t’s a quirk of architecture that some buildings aren’t meant to last – and yet they endure. The prefab homes built after the Second World War were supposed to be temporary and yet some are still going strong today. When Coxmoor’s new clubhouse was unveiled in 1961 it wasn’t, says secretary Colin Bee, designed to stand the test of time. But the best part of 60 years on, it is still standing. That is, at least, until January. For after nearly 20 years of trying, of meetings and numerous committees trying to bring it to fruition, the club will unveil their new two-storey facility and the wrecking ball will move in to render the old one to rubble. “It’s been a long process but the people who are still heavily involved were the ones who started the (current) ball rolling three or four years ago,” said managing secretary Colin Bee. “Our new clubhouse will have a large balcony around the outside. There will be a spike bar, with all the changing facilities and the club offices downstairs. “Upstairs, there’s a full kitchen with a separate meeting room and a very large open plan dining area
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and lounge.” Coxmoor is part of a golden triangle of superb heathland courses in the Nottinghamshire area that also includes the renowned Hollinwell and Sherwood Forest. But while those two very traditional clubs can boast magnificent buildings to match the splendour of their courses, this was something Bee, his team, and the membership at Coxmoor, lacked. So when the plans for the new building came up in front of the club’s stalwarts – following a number of discussions and having explored the option of refurbishing the existing facility – they were received enthusiastically. Bee explained:“We went to vote in April last year and there was a large turnout of 500-odd people.
“It’s a very good course and the only thing lacking was the clubhouse, which will now be quite special. It’s a unique building”
“Around 87 per cent of the membership voted in favour of the new build. “We got it through and we’ve put in quite a lot of our own money. “We’ve raised quite a bit through lifetime memberships and we’ve borrowed the rest. “We’ll start paying it back shortly – £1.5 million.” There have had to be compromises, of course, with building work largely carried out during a blisteringly-hot summer. It has also been a busy season that has seen Coxmoor host the English Senior Men’s Open Amateur Championship with Sherwood Forest in June, along with a host of big golf days, and they had to install showers in an office and turn the old committee room into a changing room. “I wouldn’t say it has been easy
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Work carries on apace to build the new clubhouse at Coxmoor
at times but, with the efforts of all the staff, everything has gone very well,” Bee added. “We’re all looking forward to moving into the new place. “It’s going to make a massive difference because it’s going to be state-of-the-art new facilities and better organised. “Golf clubhouses tend to start at one size and you get add-ons, and you get little rooms and you get around corner positions. “This will be a big open plan modern building and it will make a difference. “We can promote the club to outside people wanting to hire rooms. We don’t really do that at the moment. “We’re a members’ facility with the view of being able to cater for large societies. “We’ve got a large membership
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and so we believe it will work very well.” The grand plan is to open the new clubhouse on New Year’s Eve and, in place of the old, will be a new practice putting green as the club continues to develop their on-course facilities. Bee explained:“There will be a few dummy runs in December with staff and invited people coming to have meals and to test out the new clubhouse. “It will be fully operational from New Year’s Day and the existing clubhouse will then be shut down and we’ll start the process of demolishing it. “That will be done in January and then work will start on shaping the new putting green. “That will be done by an outside contractor, who will carry out the shaping and the landscaping.
“Hopefully, by this time next year, it’s going to be operational.” And while Coxmoor members will get to see it and enjoy it first, GCMA members won’t be too far behind as Coxmoor will host the association annual general meeting on April 15, next year. “It’s nice to showcase the place,” Bee declared. “We’ve got a golf course that sells itself, in a sense. “It’s a very good course and the only thing lacking was the clubhouse, which will now be quite special. It’s going to be a unique building.”
We want to hear all about the success stories at your club. Get in touch by emailing s.carroll@sportspub.co.uk
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Aug 2018
STATISTICS UK&I 27,286
Hole-in-ones made in qualifying events during August
Total competitions recorded
GENTS:
LADIES:
16,505 10,781
470
862,915 total rounds of golf recorded
LOWEST EXACT HANDICAP
Gents
Ladies
-5.4 -5.3 31,736 total HowDidiDo Order of Merit sign ups for 2018
6,907
eagles or better
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366,665 birdies
3,205,858
Stats provided by HowdidIdo.com
pars
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