The Golf Club Manager: June 2019 by Golf Club Managers Association

THE GOLF CLUB

MANAGER ISSUE 27 | JUNE 2019

THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE GOLF CLUB MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION

GROWING UP AT THE GROVE

BRAD GOULD ON HIS 12-YEAR JOURNEY TO GOLF MANAGER NEED TO KNOW

RETIRED BUT RELEVANT

FORMER MANAGERS STILL HAVE MUCH TO OFFER INDUSTRY

CHANGING GOVERNANCE A CASE STUDY OF A CLUB IN TRANSITION

GOVERNANCE SPECIAL WE SPEAK :T INDUSTRY E O X KEVIN FISHPERT

ED U C AT E | I N FO RM | I N S P I RE ‘

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CONTENTS ISSUE 27 | JUNE 2019

GCMA

CAREERS

The latest from the chief executive

On the move: Andrew Woolley

NEED TO KNOW

GOOD PRACTICE

Keeping the bonds of friendship alive

How Royal Troon are inspiring children to play

INDUSTRY

GRASS ROOTS

How Scarcroft changed their governance

Interview: The Grove’s Brad Gould

Worplesdon’s success story

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 2019/20 CAPTAIN Ian Symington BOARD OF DIRECTORS Phil Grice, Amy Yeates, Andrew Rankin, Judy Barker, Stuart Leech, Brad McLean, Andrew Minty 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 PRODUCTION EDITOR James Broadhurst - j.broadhurst@sportspub.co.uk CHIEF DESIGNER Andrew Kenworthy - a.kenworthy@sportspub.co.uk DESIGNERS Becky Clark - b.clark@sportspub.co.uk Vicky Jones - v.jones@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 27 | JUNE 2019

THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE GOLF CLUB MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION

GROWING UP AT THE GROVE

BRAD GOULD ON HIS 12-YEAR JOURNEY TO GOLF MANAGER NEED TO KNOW

RETIRED BUT RELEVANT

FORMER MANAGERS STILL HAVE MUCH TO OFFER INDUSTRY

CHANGING GOVERNANCE A CASE STUDY OF A CLUB IN TRANSITION

GOVERNANCE SPECIAL: WE SPEAK TO INDUSTRY EXPER KEVIN FISH T

ED U C AT E | I N FO RM | I N S P I RE ‘

001 GCMA June 19 Cover.indd 3

29/05/2019 12:38

ON THE COVER: Brad Gould

WELCOME

ISSUE 27 | JUNE 2019

s I write this welcome note we are halfway through delivering the Governance workshops that are the joint efforts of the GCMA and England Golf. I was fortunate to sit in on the first event, held at Chippenham Golf Club, as well as part of the second one at Frilford Heath. With both workshops attracting a good audience of both managers and volunteers, the facilitator for all the workshops, Kevin Fish, provided excellent interactive sessions, which has been fundamental in maintaining everybody’s attention as well as delivering a way forward for the governance of the golf club on many fronts. It is always interesting to sit next to the volunteers at these events, on this occasion I met with a lady Chairman (who insisted on being called Chairman) who has been in post for just six months, another gentleman who has just taken on the role and, thirdly, the wise owl who has been there for three years. All of them took something away with them that they will see as a benefit for their own club. But this is just the start, as we all know volunteers will come and go, so it is important that we maintain this level of ongoing Governance development. From these sessions we will be circulating a short informative video and it is planned to repeat this exercise in 2020. By the time this magazine lands on your desks our National Golf Day will have just been completed.

For those who attended and participated I sincerely hope you had a most enjoyable time and, of course, played well. I would also like to pass on my thanks to Heather Mulley, and all the committee of Enville Golf Club, for giving up the use of the course. It really is most appreciated. Continuing to look ahead, the conference planning group met again a few days ago and are now beginning to finalise the programme, which I believe will provide a full educational agenda that will not only inform but inspire as well. If you haven’t got the dates in your diary yet, make sure you keep November 10 to 12 free. Bob Williams – chief executive

“This is just the start, as we all know volunteers will come and go... it is important we maintain this level of development“

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MONTH

The first in a series of governance workshops, delivered as part of a partnership between the GCMA

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and England Golf, were staged at Chippenham and Frilford Heath. A large audience attended both

events, with Kevin Fish providing interactive sessions. See page 26 for some of his expert advice.

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nominations are now open! join us in celebrating and rewarding excellence across golf club management

2019 GCMA GOLF CLUB MANAGEMENT AWARDS ■ Manager of the Year

The outstanding manager of the last two years 2017 winner: Amy Yeates sponsored by

■ Newcomer of the Year

First golf club management job, and in post for less than two years 2017 winner Gordon MacLeod sponsored by

■ Team of the Year

Club manager; and at least two from course manager, club professional, bar steward or food and beverage manager 2017 winner: Pyle & Kenfig

For more information, or to submit a nomination, visit:

gcma.org.uk/awards

2019 CONFERENCE

10-12 NOVEMBER DeVere Cotswold Water Park

The biennial GCMA conference brings together golf club managers and industry professionals, offering invaluable networking opportunities alongside a programme of inspiring keynote speakers and industry led break-out sessions. Early bird registrations start from ÂŁ260+VAT, with day delegate passes also available. All accommodation is on site, and Monday will feature the Golf Club Management Awards.

To book your place, or for more information, visit gcma.org.uk/conference

Speakers include: Rob Hill Global Golf Advisors David Bancroft-Turner Matrix TC Stuart Gillett Golf at Goodwood Mark Hunt Headland Amenity Steve Isaac The R&A Daniel Sommerville The R&A Iain Carter BBC Golf Wilma Erskine Royal Portrush GC Colin Burns Winged Foot GC Amy Yeates Moor Park GC Chris Spencer Glasgow GC Karen Drake Burnham & Berrow GC Full programme to be announced soon...

“A great way of networking

with other managers from different regions and exchanging views and ideas, and to understand and learn better practices to develop myself, and to help the club run more efficiently.” 2017 Delegate Feedback

EARLY BIRD DEADLINE: 31 AUGUST 2019

BOOK NOW: GCMA.ORG.UK/CONFERENCE Conference Sponsor:

(L-R) Steve Robinson & Howard Williams

rijo42 – New Business Partnership with GCMA after signing a two year deal The rapid growth of rijo42, who now supply over 800 UK Golf Clubs, is a worthy endorsement of our firstclass product and excellent customer service. Steve Robinson - rijo42 National Accounts and Sponsorship Director - is delighted to announce the new 2019 offer open to all GCMA members, this includes an enhanced rijo42 package with additional free stock, crockery and supporting point of sale items – wrapped up in a unique free of charge customer after-care program. Alongside Howard Williams - recently appointed rijo42 Brand Ambassador, and previous GCMA North West Regional Manager and past GCMA National Captain - Steve will be travelling to as many GCMA regions as possible during 2019, to raise awareness of this superb value for money offer. They will demonstrate the use of the top of the range equipment and invite GCMA members to sample the amazing quality, and wide range of drinks on offer. Howard explains: “rijo42 are securing accounts where other companies are failing to hit a good market standard. A huge factor in their success is the superior product on offer, and the second to none standard of customer service. This is what convinced me to accept the role as Brand Ambassador.” “Today’s golf clubs rightly expect a ‘high street’ coffee experience, which caters for every taste, together with reliable and easy to use equipment. The brand is synonymous with the sport and clubs are gaining additional sales from visiting golfers who are happy to purchase a brand of coffee which fully meets their expectations.”

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Need to

KNOW All the relevant news, opinion, and expert insight from around the industry

Keeping the bonds of

FRIENDSHIP ALIVE The Retired Association of Golf Secretaries aims to continue the link between former managers and the GCMA. Co-founder Bob Ashton tells Steve Carroll why

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side from adjusting to a new pace of life, and the opportunities and challenges that provides, one of the other disconcerting things about retirement – or leaving a job – is the friends and colleagues lost along the way. Some of those bonds may have been forged over decades, while the knowledge built up over time in post can still be a valuable resource for the rest of the industry to learn from – and a shame to be lost. So Bob Ashton, along with London & Home Counties regional manager Mo Brooker, last year founded RAGS – the Retired Association of Golf Secretaries – to provide a conduit for retired, or unattached, GCMA members to get together and keep friendships alive. Their initial run of events proved such a success that they’ve been expanded over this summer. We asked Bob to fill us in on the association’s aims and their plans for 2019… How was the association founded? It started because when you become retired, or unattached, from the industry you walk off into the sunset. Unless you’ve kept your association with your regional group, in essence you can walk away completely from friends and colleagues that you would have made over a number of years in post. Mo Brooker, who is the regional manager for London & Home Counties, and myself thought that we ought to get something together so that former colleagues, and those unattached, could still stay in touch. There is a whole wealth of experience that is still there. I accept that things progress and we might be seen as being

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dinosaurs but, although the industry has progressed, the wealth of knowledge that exists from retired members is still very evident. That manifests itself when retired members go to regional meetings. I can only specifically speak about the Southern region, which has a number of retired and unattached members, and we are regularly inputting at regional meetings and also in the sideline chats we have with colleagues who are perhaps experiencing similar problems to

Did you find that it took off quicker than you anticipated? It certainly took off quite well. Last year, we had a number of events and started at Woodcote Park. We went to Parkstone, Rowlands Castle, Saffron Walden, Faversham and Moor Park held the final. What happens is that, depending on the number of people that are playing at an event, we have qualifiers – for the purposes of handicap – and a number qualify for the grand final. It is all done at a very

those we had. That’s particularly with issues surrounding committees and aspects like that and we can bring our experience to bear and give them a bit of a leg up, so to speak.

social, and leisurely, pace. We are not dress code proud in the clubhouse. We’ve said we would like smart casual but people don’t have to wear a collar and tie. It’s quite informal. We limit the cost of each event to £40 and that’s coffee and a bacon roll on arrival, 18 holes of golf and a two-course evening meal. We fully expect that we will be handing over money, in respect of a green fee, to the club as well.

There’s a human element to this too. When you do leave the industry, and your friends and colleagues behind, it can be an emotional experience… Yes, very much so. The whole aspect was so those friendships and bonds can continue. Last year was our first year. We had a number of different events and we try to work on the basis of having one a month. There are about six during the course of the year.

And the host clubs have clearly been very supportive? Hugely. They think it is a great idea. At the moment, it has been basically been spread by word of mouth.

GCMA.ORG.UK | 15

We’d have, on average, anything between 16 and 20 members at each event. It goes without saying that RAGS is extremely grateful to those clubs allowing us to visit them. Without their support we could not function. What is interesting is that we are being contacted by an increasing number of clubs offering their facilities to RAGS. This year, you are taking some events north too… From the conversations we have had with members in Southern and London & Home, the consensus came back that it was a great idea and they wanted to support it. As a result of last year, Bob (Williams, GCMA chief executive) thought it would be a great idea to take some events north, which is what we are doing, and we’re going to Oswestry, in

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Shropshire, as well as Ormskirk, in Lancashire, and Bamburgh Castle, in Northumberland. We hope that colleagues in the north will support these events. What a great opportunity for retired members, from all over the country, to feel like they are still taking part an active part and remaining in the loop outside of the usual GCMA regional meetings? We have said that to become a member of RAGS, entrants have to be at least 55 years of age and they must have been in a position either as a golf club manager/secretary or an assistant golf club manager/ secretary. We have insisted that they must retain their membership of the GCMA, so we are still supporting the association, and that they must also support their region.

What is RAGS? RAGS stands for Retired Association of Golf Secretaries and was founded last year by Bob Ashton and Mo Brooker. The association is open to all GCMA golf club managers and secretaries, as well as assistants, who are 55 and over. Events have already been held at Worthing, Burley and Burford this year and will also be staged at Bamburgh (June 21), Verulam (July 15), Ormskirk (August 14) and Oswestry (September 17). Players who qualify for the grand final will play at Hadley wood on October 7. Membership of the association costs £20 per annum. For more information, visit retiredassociationgolfsecretaries. co.uk

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INDUSTRY The latest news, insightful opinions and in-depth features from the golf industry

This GCMA club is famous for…

STOKE PARK

This Buckinghamshire club, with director of golf Stuart Collier at the helm, is a regular star of the stage and screen...

ith a striking 18th century mansion and massive gardens, it’s clear why filmmakers have been breaking down Stoke Park’s door. The huge house was the work of James Wyatt – the architect to King George III – and the park was partly produced by the era’s most famous landscaper, Capability Brown. The Buckinghamshire estate was a private home until 1908 when Nick Lane Jackson, who founded the famous amateur Corinthian club that produced 86 England international footballers, turned it into the UK’s first country club and estate. Harry Colt was brought in to design 27 holes and Stoke Park continues to be much in demand today. A three-year project to renovate the Colt, Allison and Lane Jackson nines was critically acclaimed. But as much as Stoke Park is renowned for golf, it’s also a must-visit venue for a slew of movie directors. The mansion and courses have appeared so frequently on our screens, it’s a surprise there isn’t permanent car parking for film crews. Stoke Park was famously the

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fictional Royal St Mark’s – the venue for the match between James Bond and Auric Goldfinger in the 1964 epic Goldfinger. 007 takes part in a game of cheat and double cheat with the villain – switching balls with his opponent to claim victory. That isn’t the only time Bond has been seen on the estate. In Tomorrow Never Dies, in 1997, Stoke Park’s ballroom was converted into the famous spy’s Hamburg hotel suite. No one could have watched Bridget Jones’ Diary, released in 2001, without marvelling at Stoke Park’s magnificence. It was the

venue for Jones’ retreat with the cad Daniel Cleaver. The rowing scene was filmed on the club’s lake, while the Pennsylvania Suite also made a major contribution. Daniel Craig may be the latest Bond but, as the shadowy XXXX in Layer Cake, he was in an extensive number of scenes at Stoke Park for the 2004 film. Not least the dramatic conclusion where he meets his end on the club’s front steps. Guy Ritchie’s cult gangster movie RocknRolla (2008) also sees the club appear once more. With so many starring roles, perhaps it’s time Stoke Park got an Oscar.

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In the

LOOP 1. Would you let juniors play in tracksuits and hoodies? What’s happened: Oulton Hall’s junior golf coach, Thomas Devine, caused a stir on social media when he revealed that youngsters at the Leeds course didn’t have to adhere to a dress code. What does it mean? Devine had posted a picture on Twitter of some of his youngsters practising their putting with the words ‘You let children play in hoodies and tracksuit bottoms?’‘Yeah, we do’, It’s the playing that’s important’. It drew a massive response, with nearly 400,000 likes and plenty of comments, but not all people were in favour. He came under fire for ignoring the sport’s traditional dress code but has maintained there is a need to make young children feel at ease when teaching them the rudiments of the game. “It’s important when these youngsters are six, seven, eight, that barriers to them feeling interested in or enthused about golf are removed - and that involves the way they dress. If they feel comfortable in trainers and a hoodie then that’s the way we

The news you need to know from the last month in the golf industry…

should allow them to dress. “We still teach them manners, respect and the etiquette of the game - that doesn’t come out of a glossy apparel catalogue. “At that age they just want to play. What’s more I believe we should remove the barrier of cost by allowing children to wear their everyday clothing. “We are coaching 21st century children - we are not stuck in the 19th century and only accepting the offspring of the privileged classes.

“As they get older they, inevitably, want to dress as their idols, so they end up buying what McIlroy or Fowler wears. “But when they start out the priority is enjoyment, not conformity. We teach them the things they want to be taught.” Devine regularly teaches more than 170 juniors, aged between five and 16, each way, and has never had any complaints about the dress code. What do you think? Email us at letters@gcma.org.uk

@GCMAUK Great to present alongside @GCMAUK CEO this morning at @EaglescliffeGC showcasing how @EnglandGolf can support affiliated clubs in the North

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Region. @JBuddEngGolf Fantastic start to @GCMAUK Midland Spring Meeting by Ivan Taylor @fairwaycredit @ludis @

ReesinkTurfcare @SouthStaffsgc @ Trentham_Park @DruidsHeathGC Top matches with Irish golf managers v @GCMAUK England

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We want to hear from you! Send your correspondence, on any subject, to letters@gcma.org.uk

2.Grub pesticide re-authorised for use until September What happened: BIGGA announced that authorisation for use of the Syngenta insecticide, Acelepryn, for the control of leather jackets and chafer grubs had been improved until September. What does it mean? The grubs have had a devastating impact on courses, with large swathes of turf ripped up by wildlife such as badgers and birds. They also damage the turf by extensively feeding on roots. “Since the withdrawal of effective insecticides, economic damage from chafer grubs and leatherjackets has been of major concern,” said ICL technical manager Henry Bechelet. “Obtaining this emergency authorisation of Acelepryn enables us to manage the most damaging effects of these soil pests as part of an integrated turf management programme.” The authorisation allows its use where there is an acknowledged instance of economic damage or risk of bird strike on airfields, and where the product has been recommended by a BASIS

qualified agronomist. Course managers should contact their ICL area manager or BASIS qualified agronomist/distributor. 3. Is cutting fees the way to get new members? What’s happened: Tandridge, in Oxted, has reduced its academy membership fee by nearly 40% from £750 to £475 - as it looks to bring more people into the sport. What does it mean? “We’ve never actively promoted academy membership here as an entry point to the sport in the local community but that is changing and it is a change that many of us feel is long overdue,” said secretary Andrew Tanner.“The fee should act as an incentive for beginners to take advantage of the excellent facilities we have on offer - not a barrier.”

Welcome to our newest GCMA members Rudy Hercik, at Gaudet Luce, in Midland region Chris Duffy, at Huddersfield, in Yorkshire region Scott Talbert, at Wiltshire County GU, in South West region James Brockington, at Henley (Thames), in London & Home Counties region Linda Forrest, at Buckingham, in Chiltern & Home Counties region Robert Turner, at West End (Halifax), in Yorkshire region Phillip Allsop, at Worsley, in North West region Steve Sanger, at Ashley Wood, in Wessex region Charles Molony, at Royal Cinque Ports, in South East region Karen Brown, at Henley (Thames), in London & Home Counties region Susie Waldock, at Aberdovey, in Wales region Richard Stilwell, at Mid Herts, in Chiltern & Home Counties region Gary Bonnington, at Longniddry, in Scotland

, great people and a chance to share ideas , best practice and a couple of #guiness @Ballyliffin is a truly perfect venue #golf @johnnydexter

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We’re pleased to be supporting @melanoma_fund’s Slip Slap Swing campaign...despite today’s weather! @GCMAUK

John Kemp, in Scotland Elizabeth Dainty, at Hickleton, in Yorkshire region

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Getting governance right

AT YOUR CLUB Kevin Fish has seen the good, the bad and the highly dysfunctional. The authority on governance best practice shares his insights on how clubs can do better

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he GCMA partnered with England Golf last month to deliver a series of workshops to help managers and committees create solid platforms at their clubs, through effective collaborative governance. Kevin Fish - industry expert, and GCMA Manager of the Year 2004 delivered to around 140 managers and committee members, with satisfaction feedback running at 95% throughout the sessions. Kevin has earned a reputation as an authority on governance best practice, and here he shares some insights developed during his career so far…. In 20 years in this industry, I have seen the good the bad and the highly dysfunctional. I can make a strong case for saying that every aspect of golf club operations have evolved with the times over the last century with one exception, and that is club governance. Governance is often misunderstood, but to better understand it, we can learn from the Greek origin of the word, which is “to steer”. There are some choppy waters in our industry right now, and that is why it is crucial that you have the right people at the wheel steering your club. I can also make a case for saying that there was a time when the main role of the golf club committee seemed to be to keep people out, but in the last 20 years that role has truly turned 180 degrees, and strangely many committees I have met have still not alerted to that fact. As we fellow club managers know, club committees are messy. That is because they involve people, and people are messy!

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Human nature dictates that as soon as someone is in charge, someone else will decide they are doing it wrong, and you, the club manager, are left walking a delicate path. While I admit there are occasionally volunteer committee members who choose to use their powers for evil, these are few and far between. When challenged in a reasonable manner, most committee members will admit that when they first joined the club, it wasn’t with the intention of managing it. They do, however, get carried away with the intensity of their role on the committee and that is because a member at a club is far more engaged than a guest at a hotel or restaurant. This is in part down to the fact that they are part-owners, but also down to the understandable emotions towards the club including pride, prestige and community. In fact, we know that in our industry, a dissatisfied club member is more likely to try and change the executive decision makers than just change the club

at which they play. However, in my experience, committees will generally embrace the recommendations of good governance I offer, particularly when someone can turn the spotlight on the real issues. If your club still selects its management committee members the same way that we select people for jury service then there is a good chance that your meetings will be chaotic. The mix of characters on a management committee will include some The key questions Is recruiting new people for committee difficult? Do your committee meetings drag on for hours? Do you find you spend too much time covering old ground during meetings? Does it seem like one or two people always end up doing the work? Do new committee members struggle to get up to speed? Do you feel that your club muddles by from one year to the next? Do the members criticise regardless?

GCMA.ORG.UK | 27

Who is Kevin Fish? While managing the Glen GC in North Berwick, Kevin was named the inaugural GCMA UK Manager of the Year and went on to be the first European to secure the Certified Club Manager (CCM) designation. He was then selected by Scottish Golf to recruit, train and lead a team to help Scottish clubs take a more business like approach to securing their futures. He has dedicated years of voluntary time to further club manager education around the globe, and is a regular speaker at GCMA education events. He now runs his own training, recruitment and consultancy business, Contemporary Club Leadership, where his aim is to help clubs do the right things, right. This includes effective governance and strategic planning, training front line staff, including customer experience training and benchmarking KPIs. Kevin can be contacted by email on kevin@ccl.services, visit ccl.services or telephone 07398 155908. CAVE dwellers, those who are Consistently Against Virtually Everything ! You may also find that you spend considerably less time debating the merits of a £300,000 fleet machinery renewal than you do the increase of a pound on the price of a sandwich for team meals. The reason for this is that committees are experience rich but theory poor. I like to remind people that while they may use the toilet every day, that doesn’t turn them into plumbers. As you all know, this array of familiar governance challenges can result in lengthy inefficient and ineffective committee meetings. A meeting of three hours is not such a business

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meeting, but more of a hostage situation, and, believe me, the committee members are feeling the same way as you. From the club manager’s perspective, your goal is to create business-like practices in the boardroom that convince your management committee that they are in safe hands, and truly only need to see you for that 90 minute update every month. I like to remind everyone involved that nobody turns up at a committee meeting to make bad decisions. It could be said that due to the regular turnover of board members in clubland, the general manager is always nursing an

infant democracy. Infants become toddlers, and we all know that they are prone to the occasional tantrum. This makes effective induction essential at clubs, if you are to build momentum for “how we do things around here”. If you can create robust business practices these will act as a magnet, which not only attracts the right people, but it also repels the wrong people. To be fair to our willing volunteers there is no Swiss finishing school for club presidents to prepare them for their term of office and it is important to remind ourselves that these “amateurs” are doing it, as the Greeks would also

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tell us – “(Amator) for the love of it”. They should be applauded for doing that, and simply encouraged to adopt the business practices of exceptional collaborative governance, to best serve the club and its members. There are some relatively obvious solutions and my job is to turn that common sense in to common practice. This begins with a session analysing a questionnaire designed to shine a spotlight those common challenges, and then gradually applying the solutions that apply in your club. There is clearly a reason that none of the FTSE 100 companies are run by committees. Governance is too important

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to the club’s success to be done haphazardly and it is time to bring the etiquette of the golf course in to the boardroom. Improvements at your club do not come from a knee jerk pull on an emergency governance lever, but sustainable benefits are achieved with frequent gradual turns of a dial taking your club towards contemporary business practices in and around the board room. By following some simple practices you can achieve the ultimate goal where Directors Direct, Managers Manage, and the Members Enjoy. Kevin Fish will be speaking at this year’s GCMA Conference, held

at De Vere Cotswold Water Park from November 10-12, 2019. Visit gcma.org.uk/conference for more information. Is your club one that… …Makes things happen?…. …Watches things happen?…. ….Or wonders what happened?….. In a well-run modern club – the mantra of DD/MM/ME should be followed Directors direct Managers manage Members enjoy Dick Kopplin. – Kopplin, Kuebler & Wallace

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How we changed our clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

GOVERNANCE

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Altering traditional structures in a private members’ club can be fraught with difficulty. Leeds club Scarcroft are going through the process now. Club manager Mick Thorpe reveals how it was approached and handled

e tell ourselves golf clubs are businesses and should be run as such – free from the emotions, passions and prejudices that can conspire to prevent an organisation from reaching its full potential. But for many members, and those volunteers charged with running the club at a committee level, that’s easier said than done. For them, the golf club is a part of their very fabric. Everyone knows most members and committees have got the wellbeing of the club at heart. Some, though, are also resistant to changing the old ways, even though it could help them both operationally and financially. Mick Thorpe had tried, without success, to change the governance at previous clubs. When he arrived at Scarcroft, though, just over two years ago he realised the club were ready to listen. “I took over the club manager’s role at Scarcroft in April 2017 and sowed the seeds not long after I started,” he explained. “I went to the GCMA conference two years ago and listened to a presentation from Martin Robinson at Fairhaven. I’d also been involved in discussions at Bradford GC, where they’d had a board for years. “I went to clubs, saw how they were run, what they were capable of, how they were managed and how managers were allowed to

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manage. That was my driving motivation behind it all.” Scarcroft was the epitome of a traditional governance structure. It had a committee of 14 people and sub-committees encompassing finance and general purpose, golf, greens, marketing, membership, social and house. Thorpe continued:“A lot of time and effort goes in but there is a lot of duplication and crossover. If you’ve got a structure in place where someone is supposedly managing, you should let them get on with managing. “In a business environment, decisions need to be taken quicker and acted upon promptly and efficiently. “The title has changed from secretary to manager in many places but the role hasn’t. The manager has to be brave enough – if that’s the right word – to make decisions and feel empowered to make those decisions. “I’ve been given the freedom to try and do that but, under that traditional structure, people and faces change. You start again on the cycle and, if you’re a new kid on the block, you’ve got to build trust again and they’ve got to trust you to make those decisions.” So Thorpe suggested a new way. He identified a few clubs that had changed their structures, got England Golf’s then Yorkshire regional manager Richard Brown in to explain the options and then, crucially, took himself out of the decision-making process.

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A small group drawn from the club had the responsibility of assessing whether any change was viable. “I wanted to make sure the club understood what was on offer, how it should be run and it wasn’t me that was pushing or driving for any personal gain – even though it would definitely be beneficial for anyone who would be club manager. “I’d laid the foundations and I had the trust of the people that it was the right thing for the club. The clubs that had already undertaken this structure had proven to be successful. That was quite telling. “But a lot of people still didn’t really want it and still perceived the traditional way of running the club as how they wanted it.” That was the first hurdle, but it

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was a 400-metre race. Next was getting the rest of the committee on board, and the key decision makers within the club. Every section was consulted – and that was before anything went to the rest of the members at an annual general meeting. For what was being proposed was revolutionary in terms of how the club had been governed before. The 14-person committee would be trimmed to a board of eight, with the social and playing side of club affairs split from the administration side. The new board structure would take over everything that concerned running the club as a business. Sub-committees would continue to exist but their responsibilities would be “far more structured and delegated”,said Thorpe.

“The terms of reference would be drawn up so we knew exactly what was going to be expected of those committees and what premises they could work within. “The sub-committees would be made up of people who wanted to be involved but didn’t necessarily want to stand for election and have the expectation of attending monthly meetings. “If we had a particular project on, we would look for the expertise in those areas and try and co-opt those people for that particular project, use their skills and thank them. “One thing that took a bit of getting through was that the manager would be on the board and would have a vote. Some thought a paid employee shouldn’t have a vote. “My response was ‘if you are

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Mike Thorpe, club manager at Scarcroft, in Leeds

concerned that the person you have employed hasn’t got the club at heart then you’ve probably got the wrong person’. “The opposite thought was that the club manager is the only professional on the board with an industry background and you should listen and value them.” If this all sounds straightforward, it wasn’t. Forums allowed anyone with an interest in the proposals to raise their concerns. There were 11 different versions of the governance document before it was finalised. The worries were varied, but the main one was this: Could there be too much power in the hands of too few people? What if three or four friends all managed to get onto the board? They’d effectively run the club. Allaying those fears was

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paramount, especially if the proposed structures were to pass the club’s AGM – where a two thirds majority was required. It went through with 69%, while the changes to the club’s articles passed with 80%. So what’s next? “We will have an Emergency General Meeting at the end of June where seven people, and myself as the manager, will stand for the board,” said Thorpe. “We’ve got a committee of 14, so 50% of the people now aren’t going to be on the new board going forward. They could be on a subcommittee and we hope it is going to be positive going forward.” Thorpe, though, doesn’t expect to come to work on the first day of the new board’s existence and expect a brand new dawn straight

away. He understands the changes, which are seismic within the context of the club’s history, will take time to bed in. But he does believe it will eventually free up more time for him to do the job for which he is employed, as well as tightening the bond between those who run the club and the members who are shareholders. “It will be a slow process but I hope it will make life easier in that it will be more organised. “The problem I’ve had in management is that I’ve been constantly fire fighting. There are so many plates in the air at one time. “This will be structured to be efficient and it will hopefully be a closer-knit committee within the running of the club.”

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The interview...

BRAD GOULD Having worked his way through the ranks at The Grove, Golf Manager Brad Gould tells Steve Carroll that anyone can achieve their dreams in the golf industryâ&#x20AC;Ś

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ou were recently named 59club Golf Manager of the Year. Congratulations on your achievement… It was a genuine privilege to win, especially as it was based on 59club’s customer benchmarking. The award is also great recognition for the hard work put in by our talented golf operations team - everyone always plays their part. I also benefit from great support from Director of Golf & Leisure, Anna Darnell, and The Grove’s owners, which makes the world of difference to me. I felt very fortunate to win, and it was made all the more special by receiving it at the home of golf, St Andrews, and in the Old Course Hotel. We have been working with 59club since 2014 and it is great to be benchmarked against other elite venues such as Stoke Park, Gleneagles, Celtic Manor, The Belfry and Monte Rei in Portugal. How do you use the benchmarking information to improve the customer service experience? When we receive our results after each visit, we analyse them in detail during our monthly communications meetings. We highlight areas that were positive – which more often than not is a 90% mark and upwards – and in areas where we may have under-performed, we address each individually. You have worked your way through the ranks at The Grove to Golf Manager. Give me a brief overview of your role… I oversee Golf Operations, Teaching, Retail and our Sales teams. I am very fortunate to have a great team reporting in to me, who are always willing to go the extra mile.

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You effectively started at the bottom when you joined The Grove and worked your way up. Is that an inspiring example for the rest of your team? It really shows The Grove’s commitment to develop from within. We tell this story a lot when we are recruiting staff because this is a trend that continues throughout the golf team. I always say that we’ve got 70 years of ‘Grove’ experience between five of our senior team - and we are all under the age of 40! You will very rarely see a senior golf role advertised at The Grove as we always aim to have developed a preferred candidate from within our team, thanks to our succession planning strategy. Tell me a little more about The Grove, its ethos and how it has grown over the years… We strive to be the UK’s most welcoming, friendly and opento-all golf club as we do not have any members. You do not need a handicap to play at The Grove and there are no dress codes. When we opened in 2003, the owners saw a trend in the industry where more people wanted to be transient. They wanted to play at various venues rather than the same club week in and week out. They came to the forefront with this new model, where you could play a five-star championship course on any day of the week, and experience the best customer service in the industry. The industry has followed this trend over the last 15 years, but to some extent The Grove pioneered the concept of luxury, open-to-all golf. Our philosophy has always been about making everyone feel welcome, greeting them in a warm and friendly way, effectively making everyone feel like a

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member for the day. The feedback we always receive is consistent, the golf course is fantastic, the conditions are excellent but what really makes the day is the complete guest experience. We’re doing this interview on a spring-time afternoon and the whole complex seems incredibly busy. Is this a normal day at The Grove? We have 130 golfers on site as we speak, and this generally rises to 150 on most Saturdays. The Stables Restaurant is always busy as it tends to be a meeting place for the local community as well as golfers. The Stables is also often used for business meetings, casual dining and celebrations too. We also welcome a lot of golf societies – and larger groups often take advantage of our self-contained Players’ Lounge facility that sits alongside The Stables. Do you have a conventional membership structure here? Handicaps, competitions and so on… We have an internal competition series, where we host a number of amateur events, including ‘Back on Black’ where competitors get to play the golf course from our back tees, effectively how it was set up for the American Express World Golf Championships in 2006 and the British Masters in 2016. We do have a number of competitions, pairs and team events, and a winter series. We are very fortunate in that we get a lot of repeat guests. Because of this, we have also created our Green Book Programme, which is as close to a membership model as we get. With Green Book, guests can pre-pay for a certain number of rounds and receive a discounted rate. The Green Book also includes

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additional benefits including hotel stays, spa discounts and treatments here at The Grove, a dining opportunity and the ability to hold a golf handicap here. We effectively become the guest’s ‘home’ club. We worked very closely with England Golf to make sure that, even though we are not a members’ club, we can have people that maintain their handicaps here. You are pretty much the antithesis of the stereotypical members’ club, and The Grove is much more than 18 holes of golf… The Grove is a large country estate. We are fortunate to have a significant amount of corporate business during the week and then we operate more of a leisure experience at weekends. Our Director of Golf & Leisure (Anna Darnell) has worked tirelessly to improve our activities for families during half-term breaks, and so on, so there is plenty for everyone to do. Beyond the golf course, leisure guests can enjoy our Segway experience, musical trails in the woods, mountain bike riding, fivea-side football, an indoor pool for children, beach volleyball, tennis courts - even a pop-up cinema in our formal gardens is planned for the warmer months! The corporate and leisure markets are very different. How do you service both of these to such a high standard? The most important thing is understanding the market in the first place and what those customers want. We use 59club and other feedback forums to help us understand these different segments, and we are really focused on using feedback to always make improvements. We

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have also recently installed a new CRM system to monitor guest satisfaction more closely as we move forward. Once you understand what a guest wants, you can obviously deliver it. We have the full support of the owners so when we need to make key investments they are happy to do so. To illustrate this, we are currently in the process of refurbishing our Golf Shop and Locker Rooms. The multi-million pound refurbishment of our Glasshouse Restaurant has also just been completed, and that will allow us to increase occupancy by 30%, while making the whole dining experience more theatrical and memorable. In your view, what constitutes exceptional service? A genuine welcoming approach and understanding what a guest wants before they realise they actually want it! You also need to create a certain degree of employment longevity with your team. Building longterm relationships with guests, while also understanding the intricate dynamics of The Grove, is important in delivering exceptional service every day. To illustrate this, we conducted some research with our most loyal customers. One of the key findings was that they want to see the same faces when they visit. When they are booking a corporate event, for example, it is important to them that they deal with the same person, and that’s why we invest in our people. This is also shown in our Gold Status in The Investors in People awards. How do you build a successful team? It starts with recruiting the right people and then it’s all about

learning and development. We’ve really focused on that in the last 18 months. We undertook some research during exit interviews about why people were leaving and what opportunities came up and what might help them to stay. In many cases an employee’s departure wasn’t down to financial reasons, many were just seeking greater learning and development opportunities. Learning was key. We are working very closely with the GCMA and currently have a team member undertaking his Diploma in Golf Club Management. Another employee is also pursuing a CMAE qualification. Other members of the

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Who is Brad Gould? Born and raised in Western Canada, Gould began playing golf at 17 and has a background in sports science – having completed a degree in kinesiology. A former baseball and basketball coach, he moved to England after meeting his partner and arrived at The Grove 12 years ago and worked on the golf reservations desk. He moved on to the role of Tournament Coordinator – running all the events – and was Head of Sales for seven years, gradually taking on more responsibility within the business, before moving on to his present role in heading golf sales & operations. Recently Gould completed the highly coveted Troon LEADer programme which is limited to a handful of selected golf professionals worldwide. The Grove

golf operations team are attending HIT sessions, three PGA Assistants are in their second year of training, and we also have three PGA interns from America working here for the summer.The Grove has recently recruited a new Head of Learning & Development who has implemented a number of new courses as we continue to work on succession planning and engagement. We also have a regular day set aside in the diary where a couple of the team follow a manager and shadow their work for the day. They attend senior team and forecast meetings to understand the business a little more and how

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it impacts the profit and loss. You find exploring different avenues keeps staff motivated? Absolutely. Keeping the environment dynamic is so important. When we recruit a new Guest Services Attendant, they don’t just stay at the driving range picking balls up all day. That’s part of the role, of course, and we need that to happen efficiently, but we rotate our positions. They could be a Player’s Assistant for a day, a Starter the next, work in Bag Drop, or manage Valet Parking. They will also shadow us in the office and learn about sales, how we forecast

Set in 300 acres of Hertfordshire countryside, The Grove was the former home of the Earls of Clarendon but is now a five-star retreat with a championship golf course, awardwinning spa and highly acclaimed restaurants. The course is considered one of the UK’s most prestigious and held a World Golf Championships event in 2006, which was won by Tiger Woods, and the British Masters in 2016. There is no membership policy at the club and it prides itself on its openness and welcoming approach.

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revenues, how we set budgets etc. A lot of our team want to become club managers themselves. So you can pick the right staff, but you’ve got to keep them interested… Motivation is key. In order to deliver the best guest service, you have to keep a happy, welcoming, outgoing and motivated staff. In the last 12 months, we have seen the fruits of our labour in that respect. We’ve got great morale among the team, there’s a real buzz going on and we do a lot of social activities outside of work – 5-a-side football, wine-tasting evenings, spa nights and quiz nights. If the team are engaged outside of work, and are working with friends, they are more likely to enjoy work and increase their length of stay. Aspiring for great customer

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service is one thing, but delivering it is another. So how do you do it at The Grove? Training is so important and we arrange sessions throughout the season. We have one at the start of every year with 59club, where they will sit down and talk about what they expect from a visit. We do our own sessions. We close for five days in August for golf course renovations. It’s the only time we close and we stop any holidays being taken on the first two days of that so we have the whole team in place and can carry out thorough training. No matter what industry you are in, you are going to have some turnover and it’s important the training continues on a regular basis. It is important that they are not just hearing the same voices and we bring in external experts to help along with guest speakers, and then let the staff take over

training too. A lot of the team have experience of other venues and they can add extra pearls of wisdom and also help new starters understand how the process works. After 12 years, you are almost a ‘part of the furniture’! Do you still enjoy it as much? I’ve been fortunate enough to do a number of roles so I have never been in the position where I’ve felt I am getting stale. I have always been able to keep myself motivated within those various positions. The owners are very supportive and because of the continuity within the team, there is a huge level of trust which makes things so much easier when you are going through budgets and expenses, capital expenditure plans and they are willing to put their faith in us to deliver their vision.

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CAREERS Advice and news for golf club managers. Plus, the latest jobs from clubs across the UK

On the move

ANDREW WOOLLEY

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Bromborough’s general manager Andrew Woolley looks at the golf industry in a completely different way to most of us – he’s spent 10 years working in other sports. He tells Steve Carroll how he’s settling in at the Wirral club

ndrew Woolley has more than a decade’s experience in the sport leisure industry – and precisely six months of it in golf. Bromborough’s general manager was appointed at the beginning of 2019 having spent much of his sports career at a Wirral cricket club. He’s charged with bringing his knowledge of business practices and bottom lines to the Merseyside-based club. We asked Andrew about being a newcomer to golf, the challenges and opportunities his new role has posed and how the industry could move forward… You’ve been at the club for six months… I officially started on January 2 but came for a few tasters at the back end of December. This is your first job in golf club management… I was general manager of Neston Cricket Club, which is obviously a different sport. There is also squash, tennis and hockey there but it is, in fact, a similar kind of business - although the membership was probably slightly different in relation to age. There are lots of youngsters coming in to play cricket, squash, tennis and hockey. Was the attraction for Bromborough that you’d worked with those demographics in a very business orientated

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environment? I was at the cricket club for about 10 years but I was also a member as a young boy playing all the sports there. In around 2003 or 2004 it was realised sports clubs of old often remained quite amateurish and sometimes neglected the business side of things. Something, therefore, needed to be done about it. They invested around £1.5 million of which £500,000 was used to build an artificial hockey pitch with floodlights. The remainder was spent on rebuilding parts of the club which is a similar sized building to Bromborough. We created a completely stand alone function room and very quickly it became a focal point for the community. We had a niche in between the top end hotels and local civic halls and very quickly filled our books. It paid off. When I left, and the Bromborough job came up, they were looking at it from a similar sort of position. They wanted to have a look at how they operated and my background had been at a cricket club that had gone through a similar kind of situation. We’re looking at making savings on the bottom Line as well as increasing revenue. How are you finding golf club management? It’s really good fun. I had no idea what it would be like, although I knew a number of the members who were also members of the

cricket club. I also know a couple of golf club managers and so I knew what I was letting myself in for but it is very different. Golf is traditional and I think there is still the scenario of ‘this is how we’ve always done it’ and not challenging that and saying ‘is it right that we are still doing it this way?’ I am really enjoying it. Has that backdrop brought some initial challenges? Cricket clubs can be traditional places... The difference with the golf club is there are a lot of people who have been members for many, many years. The demographics are totally different in relation to age, work, and so on. I’ve found it incredible the amount of people who want to get involved with helping on the course and other things, such as committees. They are really hands on but, in some circumstances, that can lead to the scenario of ‘we’ve always done it like that’. I’m talking to them and saying ‘that’s great. I’m new to all of this so why have you always done it like that? Are there ways we can do it better?’ That’s quite a big challenge as well as also being brand new and taking over from someone who had been there for 10 years, did a great job, and knew every member and process inside out. Is it encouraging the committee wanted to go down a new path? Very much so. A new Chairman started in March last year and I think realised the club needs to

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make more money. We can’t keep going back to the members so the team are very pro-active and very supportive - knowing the guy sat in the office can go out and challenge members, situations, contracts – whatever it might be – and hopefully come up with the right solutions. They are very supportive. How do you see the industry? Other sports are going through similar challenges across the board, particularly with younger people. There are so many more distractions now – phones, iPads, the internet. I am sure my generation would have been exactly the same if those things had been there and could easily have been sidetracked. Having been here for a few months, and seeing that the club is very popular, I actually think there are probably just as many people playing golf but they are not necessarily members of a club. Joining any golf club is a considerable financial outlay and many people will think ‘it’s a big commitment, I might not be able to play during the week but I can go and play lots of different places and only pay around £25’. Golf is not necessarily becoming less popular but it is just different avenues people are exploring to play. You look at the demographics of this club and the average age is around 65. It’s trying to get the 20 or 30-year-olds coming through, as well as families and kids. It would be interesting to see the figures of the pay and play type facilities from 10 years ago to today and how many people, who were members back then, now simply go and play as and when they can. How are you hoping the GCMA can help you progress? When I first started here, my

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predecessor ran through the various bodies and, when I spoke to those I knew at other clubs, the one thing they said to me was ‘if there’s anything you should be part of it’s the GCMA’. What impressed me about the GCMA were the courses and it was also quite comforting to know there were people who aren’t just dealing with those who have been a golf club manager for 30 years. I’m hoping to go on one of the residential courses. What are your ambitions for the club and the next 12 months? There are a couple of areas. The first is the visible improvements and benefits from the financial side. The accounts are ultimately the main game and probably one of my biggest aims. One of things we did at the cricket club was create an environment for everybody – not just the members but staff as well. Golf clubs can be quite stuffy and that might come from the General Manager – the old secretary that used to be exmilitary and all that kind of stuff. It’s just getting the club to be a much more friendly place and everybody getting on with everybody. I do have to say though it’s pretty good here anyway. I always say to my staff you are dealing with people who have generally done their hard graft, whether it be a week’s work or who have now retired. They are coming here to relax and enjoy themselves and it’s therefore great fun to work in that sort of environment. Bromborough has got a really good vibe to it in relation to the social side and the new events’ secretary that started at the same time as me has been brilliant. So those are the two main areas and, hopefully, we will be a much wealthier and even happier club.

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GCMA RECRUITMENT

FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE VACANCIES BELOW, VISIT GCMA.ORG.UK/JOBS

GATHURST ::: SECRETARY/MANAGER

Gathurst is a private members’ club established in 1913 with a vibrant membership of over 600. It is situated in the delightful village of Shevington near Wigan and oﬀers an enjoyable test for all standards of golfer. We now seek a Secretary/Manager with an engaging personality and hands-on approach to leadership with entrepreneurial ﬂair. The successful candidate will need to demonstrate skills to drive new member initiatives, green fees and other income streams as well as leading, developing and supporting a small management team to deliver a high level of service to our members and visitors. To apply, send a covering letter and CV to Mr J. T. Hurst at secretary@gathurstgolfclub.co.uk

Region: North West | Apply by: 30 June 2019 | Salary: Competitive

BLACKWELL GC ::: CLUB MANAGER

The role calls for an experienced and charismatic General Manager with a strong golfing and/ or hospitality background, who is passionate about delivering exceptional levels of customer service. Financially strong, commercially astute, an excellent communicator with the ability to influence and persuade at all levels. Reporting to the Chairman and leading a dedicated greens, hospitality, facilities and administrative team, you will be responsible for the smooth day to day running of the Club and for delivering an exceptional members and guest golfing experience. To apply in absolute confidence, please send your CV to: clientservices@lord.co.uk quoting reference number 371750. Region: Midland | Salary: Attractive Salary & Benefits package

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Good

PRACTICE Advice on golf club management issues â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from finance to clubhouse rules and employment law

Giving youngsters a right Royal golfing

EDUCATION

hen it comes to growing the game, you wouldn’t necessarily put a Royal club at the head of the queue of those volunteering their services. Schemes to increase participation are often seen at clubs that necessarily need

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members – whether that be the hard-to-target 18-to-30 group, juniors or women and girls. Royal Troon is one of Britain’s finest clubs, most recently held The Open in 2016 – when Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson played out a memorable Sunday duel – and wouldn’t be struggling in terms of membership numbers. But the club, which is managed

by secretary and GCMA member Stephen Anthony, has been on a mission of inspiration over the last year and a half. Club professional Kieron Stevenson and his team set up The Royal Troon School of Golf, which is open to all boys and girls aged between five and 12. They’ve donated more than 400 voluntary hours of free golf

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The Royal Troon School of Golf has introduced thousands of Ayrshire youngsters to the game in just 18 months, as Steve Carroll discovers

sessions at the area’s seven primary schools since early 2018 and that has given more than 3,000 children the opportunity to play golf during curriculum time. That was followed by free sessions at the club in the spring, which gave youngsters the chance to experience further aspects of the game in a proper golfing environment.

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The Summer Golf Festival, in May last year, saw more than 220 boys and girls in attendance and, as the year came to an end, a pilot project at Troon Primary School provided all 360 children from Primary 1-7 with a golf lesson each week for four weeks in curriculum time. Eight weeks of after-school clubs followed in the early part of this year. “The initiative is producing some excellent early results and there has been strong interest in membership of The Royal Troon School of Golf,” wrote Mr Anthony. “Seventy children, a third of which are girls, have now signed up for the 2019 programme of events which began in April and take place every Sunday throughout the summer at the club’s practice range. “2019 will also see the introduction of a pre-membership feeder system, where up to 50 children will be participating in weekday coaching sessions, preparing them for membership of the School of Golf.” Royal Troon has also granted full access for School sessions to use its new covered bays facility, which was designed specifically to accommodate group coaching of youngsters, and they will have supervised access to the Craigend and Portland courses as they progress through the three stages of the School. Mr Anthony added:“On completion of this junior programme, and having been

assessed by the professional team, those involved will have the appropriate golfing and life skills to become future golf club members, whether at Royal Troon or at other local clubs. “At Royal Troon, boys and girls can join as junior members at 12 and enjoy the benefits of a supported pathway through to full membership of the club.” The club plan to build on the momentum of this initiative and the professional team will be back in Troon’s primary schools in October for the next series of tasters. Stevenson said:“Attracting young kids into golf is absolutely essential as we as PGA professionals try and compete with other sports and activities. “The idea was to make golf fun, easy to understand and easy to learn. We partnered with Golphin4Kids and utilise their coaching system, MyPathway2Golf. “It’s a holistic approach to golf and includes health, wellbeing, education and life skills at its core, the kids and school teachers love it.” Royal Troon captain, Alasdair Cameron, added: “Junior golfers are the life blood of our sport. It has been a huge commitment for Kieron and his team to get the School of Golf up and running and we’re delighted at its early success. “The rewards for us all are to see so many youngsters having fun playing golf – well done to everyone involved.”

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From the

HELPDESK This month: Intervals for tee times and... what if members want no part of the union? At our club we have always used tee time intervals of 10 minutes for fourballs and eight minutes for threeballs. However, are you aware of any official documented times? The R&A, after their slow play forum, published the following with regard to starting intervals: Allow eight-minute starting intervals for twoballs, 10 or 11 minutes for threeballs and 12 minutes for fourballs. Ensure players start on time to help the flow of groups around the course. Incorporate additional gaps between starting times to allow any delays to clear e.g. give an additional five minutes between tee times once every hour or so. Consider implementing a pace of play policy. Monitor pace of play. Do not overload the course by using short starting intervals – this simply results in players being on the course longer and enjoying the game less. The full reasoning can be found here: randa.org/en/pace-of-playmanual/rules/2-managementpractices/subrules/2-startingintervals I am having an increasing amount of people query the Golf Union Fees when joining. Although still not the majority,

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we have people joining who don’t wish to play competitive golf and don’t wish to gain a handicap. Sometimes they object to paying the union fees. I am of the understanding that as a club we need to charge all members this. Am I correct or can people opt out of paying the union fees and the benefits it offers? Yes, you are correct. As a club affiliated to one of the Home Unions,you must collect and pass on a Union Fee for every playing member of your club. Otherwise the club will not be authorised to issue CONGU handicaps, hold qualifying competitions and administer those handicaps. Individual playing members cannot opt out of the union fee regardless of their desire to hold a handicap. Do the GCMA offer a DBS check to its members and if so, how much does it cost? The GCMA does not have the resources to perform DBS checks, however England Golf does. Follow this link: englandgolf.org/article/ safeguarding-children-and-youngpeople/ for details and costs. In Scotland follow: scottishgolf.org/ club-services/child-protection/. For Wales: walesgolf.org/disclosurebarring-service-checks/. And in

Northern Ireland see: cgigolf.org/ safeguarding/ I heard recently that green fees from tour operators are now exempt from VAT. Is this correct? Follow this link: gcma.org.uk/news/ tour-operators-vat-exemptionon-green-fees-confirmed/ which explains when tour operator green fees can be exempt. Do you have any suggested wording about ensuring that we include ‘same sex’ couples or couples who are not married to be allowed to play and sign up for mixed competitions or those that have traditionally been for husband and wives? It is the key wording to go on a sign up sheet... Wording that has been successful previously is ‘any couple living as partners whilst residing at the same address’. We have a safeguarding juniors policy in place, but it has been brought to my attention that we may need a Safeguarding Adults Policy? Yes, you should have a policy. A lot of clubs combine them both and you can get guidance and help on this from England Golf at: englandgolf.org/article/policiesand-procedures/

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Partner Network The GCMAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Partner Network supports the associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work to professionalise the industry and promote a culture of excellence in golf club management. Thank you to all our partners who continue to support the association.

strategic partners

business partners

official suppliers

gcma.org.uk/partners

Grass

ROOTS All the latest news, views and interviews from across the GCMAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s various regions in the UK

My success story...

CHRIS LOMAS Admin and sales tend to be separate entities at many golf clubs - very separate. But at Worplesdon, secretary Chris Lomas advocated a novel approach. He tells Steve Carroll how the Woking club are thriving as a result

orplesdon have a lot for which to be thankful. The club boasts one of our true heathland treasures – a JF Abercromby classic that is a fixture of any discerning ranking list of English courses. In an industry where the age of participants is getting ever older, they’ve brought the average age down at the club from 64 to 52 over the last decade. And while there’s a unfair stereotype about the way in which some traditional private members’ clubs are run, Worplesdon embraced the modern ways of business and overhauled their governance structures to ensure they were fit for the new age. However, secretary Chris Lomas is always looking for ways to improve the club and how it interacts with members and visitors. So, in a bid to add some new income streams to Worplesdon as well as improve their administration systems and efficiency, he proposed what some might see as a fairly radical shift in the club’s way of working. “Our front of house, like most clubs, was the pro shop,” he explained.“They are the first people a lot of members and

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visitors see and, quite often, the last people too. We didn’t have any control over the training and motivation of the staff in the shop. There also appeared to be large amounts of down time during quiet periods. “That was something that gave me some concern and I thought that it would be interesting to try and utilise both teams more efficiently and productively. The thought crossed my mind about combining each team together – my admin team and the shop team – and how that might work.” With the club’s professional weighed down with the duties and expectations of a traditional role, he was unable to commit the time he wanted to teaching and fitting, which is his true passion, while also dealing with the pressures of manning a shop for 10 hours a day, 364 days a year. So

“The members are delighted with the improvements in service, both from the admin team and the professional staff”

Lomas met with him and gained his support to apply a new focus – dedicating him and another PGA professional to coaching and club fitting, while employing another as golf operations manager to handle the retail side. The club converted an old greenkeeper’s shed by the 1st tee into a modern office and shop building, with a state-of-theart coaching and fitting studio replacing the professional’s old offices. Lomas and his team moved into the new building to provide a much more customer focused approach, while committing his own staff to helping with the running of the shop. Such role changes can sometimes be met with resistance but a willingness on all sides to act in the best interests of the

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Sponsors of My Success Story

The beautiful Tyneside Golf Club is a stiff test of golf

club, along with comprehensive training, smoothed the way. Lomas added:“We have a team that could see the benefits of the change and they enjoyed, and are still enjoying, the change of aspect and their new roles. It took some training but we all had 12 months to ponder it, make sure we got it right, so we could hit the ground running. Our golf operations manager helped with that and with the issues we needed to understand on the retail side.” The new building is open plan – deliberately – with hot-desking allowing staff to move around and

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be easily accessible to members and visitors who need assistance. “Your day is broken up a little bit more by the retail,” he said of the impact on his own position as secretary.“My office overlooks the shop, there are glass doors so everyone can see in, and my door is usually open. That is welcome disruption. It’s nice to see the people who come here to play golf and be able to say hello and answer any questions they may have. Everyone can walk into the office and shop and speak to anybody, but I am a big believer that we are part of the

service industry and you have to be understanding of people who want to say hello and pop in for a chat.” Lomas had the support of the committee and added:“We’re quite a forward thinking club and the committee saw the benefits and we are reaping those now. The members are delighted with the improvements in service, both from the admin team and the professional staff, and the improvements in the offering in the shop. We have improved the bottom line of the club. It has been a win-win situation.”

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The GCMA’s trusted payment solution for golf club membership fee collections Fairway Credit has helped golf clubs and members alike for over 25 years, delivering a market leading, reliable funding service along with our continued support of the golf industry through our excellent long-standing relationship with the GCMA. We are privileged to work with some of the best golf club managers and clubs that the UK and Ireland have to offer, and long may this continue.

monthly direct debits, as well as providing an affordable scheme for those on fixed incomes.

Ganton Golf Club

‘The Perfect Storm’ In early March an event occured in the golf industry with another finance company being forced to cease providing subscription funding to a large number of clubs around the UK at, literally a days’ notice. This left many golf club managers in a very difficult situation on the eve of the busiest time of the year. Who could they turn to, for a quick resolution to the problem of having no option for golf club membership finance? Fairway Credit immediately joined forces with the GCMA and its network of managers and clubs and was able to step in to provide a finance solution at short notice. Through GCMA communication with its members, we were able to relieve the stress and pressure that many felt by providing them the Fairway Credit product that met the needs of both the club and their members. March, through to May are critical membership renewal periods in the golf industry, with subscription fees being the life blood for many clubs, allowing them to budget their expenditure for the coming year. Without this influx of income many clubs would be in serious financial trouble, but the combined efforts of GCMA and Fairway Credit averted this crisis for a significant number of clubs.

“

been using Fairway Credit for over 20 years at a wide range of clubs. It provides “ Iahave modern method of paying subscriptions that suits younger members who are used to

‘The Fairway Credit Solution’

strategic partner

We offer clubs and their members’ bespoke finance options from 4 to 12-month repayment terms at highly competitive rates. We work with you to make sure you and your members get the best offer. We have invested heavily in our product over the last few years, allowing us to provide golf clubs and their members with a robust proposition that can stand the test of time. We are also moving with the times, we now offer a completely paperless application process for all golf members to use, either by using our online application at www.fairwaycredit.co.uk or via the How Do I Pay application process through our integration with, Club Systems.

‘Supporting the GCMA’ We will continue to support the GCMA and the golf industry and will be present at the GCMA National Conference to be held at the De Vere Cotswold Water Park later this year. We really enjoy this conference as it gives us a great chance to have conversations with Golf Managers from around the country whether they work with Fairway Credit or not, so please come and see us. Finally, we look forward to holding the annual Fairway Credit tournament in September, good luck at your Spring Meeting qualifiers. Here at Llanishen Golf Club our subscription renewal is 1st April, and we received notification regarding Zebra Finance on 29th March! Having met Paul at GCMA events, I decided to call Fairway Credit. Understanding the urgency of our situation he set up a meeting within days and made the whole process seamless. By the end of April , we had all of our Members transferred across to a new Direct Debit scheme. I would thoroughly recommend Fairway Credit based on our experiences to date.

Llanishen Golf Club

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For further information about how Fairway Credit can benefit you and your members, simply call, email or visit our website.

01372 746073 | www.fairwaycredit.co.uk | leisure@pcl.co.uk Fairway Credit is a trading name of Premium Credit Limited. Registered office: Ermyn House, Ermyn Way, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8UX. Registered in England and Wales under company number 2015200. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. *Facility is subject to approval, terms and conditions apply. †Credit is subject to status, terms and conditions apply, 18+

Meet the

MANAGER

Sponsor of the 2017 GCMA Manager of the Year award

With David Waite, managing director at Wellingborough, in Northamptonshire

Wellingborough

ow did you get into golf club management? I was a trainee PGA professional but didn’t get through my playing ability. As a consequence, I went into golf club management. That was at Delapre Golf Centre, in Northampton, which was one of the busiest complexes at the time and I went from there.

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I stayed for a number of years and worked as a manager at Rushden. When my predecessor retired at Wellingborough they advertised for a manager and I was lucky enough to get the job.

It’s also the general challenges that it brings. It’s not 9 to 5, it’s more of a way of life than a job. You either love it or you don’t and if you don’t like it then get out, basically.

What do you like most about your role? It’s the variety, the people. I enjoy golf so there is that connection as well.

How do you deal with the challenges? It’s about managing people’s expectations and knowing when to say yes, and knowing when to

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say no. How do you see the state of golf at the moment? I think it’s in a state of flux. We are noticing that more members are joining in the 40+ bracket. They are people who have stopped playing because of a family or job move and are coming back into golf. I’ve got concerns about junior golf. When I was a junior, the game was readily available on TV and you could see it easily. Nick Faldo is famous for saying he took up golf because he saw the Masters and that inspired him to get into the game. If there is a positive, then it is that the Masters is still on terrestrial TV and juniors are able to see it. Tiger Woods’ victory will have a positive impact. There are the time constraints, that I know England Golf have looked at. Golf has got a time issue and that needs somehow addressing. What will golf club managers be doing in 20 years’ time? It’s a good question. I still think the golf club manager needs to be an all-rounder, a Jack-of-all-trades and good with people. I think that’s important. I suppose we need to become a bit more professional. It’s a business and, in some instances, it’s a multi-million pound

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“You might have a great relationship but that situation can change and suddenly you are on your own”

David Waite

turnover business. While it used to be the retired ex-wing commander who used to do it as a bit of a part-time job it is now 40, 50, 60 hours – at least – to keep the thing ticking over. Lots of golf clubs have diversified and not only do you have to know all about golf but you’ve got to be very bureaucratic in finance, admin, and food and beverage in order to make the whole operation sustainable. What opportunities lie ahead for the GCMA? What people forget is that being a golf club manager is quite a lonely

place to be sometimes. Depending on your chairman, your captain, or whoever it is you report to, there’s always the reality that they are not there forever. You might have a great relationship but that situation can change and suddenly you are on your own. In some instances, you could do with talking to somebody. Things build up and, particularly in a golf club, they escalate very quickly sometimes. They might be fairly trivial but they are important to the people that are involved. The GCMA just need to keep us as informed as possible about all the latest developments in the industry and maybe there needs to be something in the future that thinks about the mental well-being of golf club managers as well. What is your favourite golfing memory? My biggest achievement was becoming the first managing director at Wellingborough. The club has been going for 125 years and I thought that was a very big vote of confidence by the board at the time. That’s the main personal attainment that I have had.

Get In Touch To contact Wellingborough, visit wellingboroughgolfclub.com

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April 2019

STATISTICS UK&I 23,131

Hole-in-ones made during April competitions

Total competitions recorded

GENTS:

310

LADIES:

13,285 9.846

756,343

total rounds of golf recorded

LOWEST EXACT HANDICAP

Gents

Ladies

-5.0 -5.0 210,557 Downloads of HowDidiDo app

4,492

eagles or better

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255,478 birdies

2,447,339

Stats provided by HowdidIdo.com

pars

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