THE GOLF CLUB
MANAGER ISSUE FIVE | AUGUST 2017
THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE GOLF CLUB MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION
NEWS
OPINION
A GCMA MEMBER’S ROLE IN THE HENRY COTTON PLAQUE
ARE JOINING FEES SUSTAINABLE?
GCMA COLLEAGUES DISCUSS MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS EDUCATION
LEARNING TO TAKE STOCK
HOW TO KEEP ON TOP OF M O N T H LY F & B C H E C K S
INTERVIEW
JONATHAN LUPTON
C LO S E H O U S E ’ S M A N A G I N G D I R E C TO R P R E PA R E S TO WELCOME THE BRITISH MASTERS
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2017 CONFERENCE 12-14 November 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 packages start from ÂŁ260+VAT, with day delegate passes also available. To book your place, or for more information, visit gcma.org.uk/conference
Why not book the Full Conference Package and arrive on Sunday? You can try and beat your friends and colleagues in a Formula One simulator fastest lap competition, take to the track for an exhilarating Mercedes-Benz Driving Experience, and enjoy a relaxed Evening with Iain Carter.
BOOK NOW EARLY BIRD DEADLINE: 14 AUGUST 2017
GCMA.ORG.UK/ CONFERENCE
Programme Linda Moir | Customer Service Expert
Former Director of In Flight Services at Virgin Atlantic, Linda led the London 2012 Gamesmakers
Rooney Carruthers
Award winning creator of iconic advertising campaigns for some of the world’s biggest brands
Iain Carter BBC Sport
Tales from a golf correspondent
Martin Slumbers The R&A The state of the game
Paul Armitage Le Golf National
Adapting for change & Preparing for the Ryder Cup
Nick Pink England Golf Rob Maxfield The PGA
Industry vision: moving forward
David Rickman The R&A Developing golf
Jim Croxton BIGGA
Working closely with your greenkeepers
Andrew Cooke Golf Tourism England The potential of golf tourism
Andrew Minty Langland Bay GC
Promoting your club without devaluing your product
Paul Williams Topgolf Nick Solski Boomers & Swingers Being different
Dr Laurence Church Priory Group Identifying your stress levels
Jonathan Shorrock KBL Solicitors
Governance: Legislation & Managing risk
Alastair Higgs Rain Bird Intelligent use of water
Sue Tumelty The HR Dept Preventing people problems
James Wilkinson Albatross Digital Golf
Generating income through digital marketing
Martin Robinson Fairhaven GC
Modernising the governance of the club
Stuart Leech Formby GC
Delivering the best food and beverage experience
David Bancroft-Turner Matrix Training Leadership & Political intelligence
CONFERENCE SPONSOR
Mark Hunt Headland Amenity Sustainable turf management
Registration Form To register to attend the 2017 GCMA Conference, complete the booking form below, or register online at gcma.org.uk/conference Delegate details Full Name: Contact Telephone: Email Address: GCMA Membership #:
Golf Club: Job Title: GCMA Region:
Address for Correspondence:
Next of Kin (in case of emergency during the event) Name: Contact telephone number: Their relationship to you: Conference package – Please tick the box(es) to confirm your requirements: Non-residential Full Conference Package Non-residential Short Conference Package Sunday-Tuesday (including social events) Monday-Tuesday (including social events) Day Delegate Rate – please indicate which day(s) you will be attending Monday 13th November Tuesday 14th November Accommodation options – Please tick the box(es) to confirm your requirements: Sunday 12th November Oatlands Park Hotel Monday 13th November Hilton Cobham Single Occupancy Room Twin Room Double Room Name of person sharing Double/Twin Room is: Please note: Should you have to cancel all or part of your reservation, the Hotel reserves the right to charge 50% cancellation fee up to August 20th 2017 and 100% cancellation fee thereafter.
Special Request/Dietary Requirements (e.g disabled room, gluten free, vegetarian etc): Have you attended a GCMA Conference before? If yes, which was the last one you attended?: Please tick here if you DO NOT wish to appear on the delegates list This list will be circulated amongst sponsors & exhibitors for the GCMA 2017 Conference. Only your name and club will be provided on this list and NOT your email address.
Please ensure that you read the Booking Conditions on the GCMA website prior to completing this form. Tick to confirm that you have read and agree with the Booking Conditions
Please send to: Sovereign Conference, Seven Elms, Dark Lane, Astwood Bank, Redditch, B96 6HB Payment: Please include a cheque, payable to GCMA Communications Limited, otherwise a pro-forma invoice will be raised on receipt of your booking form
Conference Details
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2017 CONFERENCE 12-14 November
The early bird booking deadline is Monday 14 August
REGISTRATION FEES EARLY BIRD Non–residential Full Conference Package £320+VAT = £384 £370+VAT = £444 Non–residential Short Conference Package £260+VAT = £312 £300+VAT = £360 Day Delegate Rate – Monday 13 November £175+VAT = £210 £200+VAT = £240 Day Delegate Rate – Tuesday 14 November £150+VAT = £180 £175+VAT = £210 DETAILS OF CONFERENCE PACKAGES Full Conference Package Conference registration Sunday - Social event with buffet meal Monday - Social event with dinner & drinks Daily lunch and tea/coffee
Short Conference Package Conference registration Monday - Social event with dinner & drinks Daily lunch and tea/coffee
Day Delegate Rate – Monday Daily registration fee Lunch and tea/coffee Monday - Social event with dinner & drinks
Day Delegate Rate – Tuesday Daily registration fee Lunch and tea/coffee
ACCOMMODATION TARIFF Single Occupancy Shared occupancy
Per room per night
Per room per night
Hilton Cobham Sunday 12 November £99 £115 Hilton Cobham Monday 13 November £109 £125 Oatlands Park Sunday 12 November £140 £160 Oatlands Park Monday 13 November £140 £160
Mercedes-Benz World Located on the famous Brooklands site in Weybridge, Surrey, Mercedes-Benz World offers an unforgettable experience,. With their Driving Experiences, you can put your driving skills to the test out on the Handling Circuit in a range of Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Or let the Silver Arrows Display Team show you how it’s done. Off the track, you can explore fascinating exhibitions, get up close to legendary MercedesBenz vehicles, and find out more about the championship-winning Formula One team. Just a few minutes from J10 of the M25, within one mile of Weybridge station, and close to Heathrow airport, Mercedes-Benz World offers a number of travel options.
gcma.org.uk/conference
CONFERENCE SPONSOR
CONTENTS ISSUE FIVE | AUGUST 2017
GCMA
CAREERS
08
A word from your chief executive
40
Negotiating a pay rise
14
Nick Pink: How to create satisfied customers
41
The latest jobs from GCMA Recruitment
INDUSTRY
EDUCATION
24
44
Taking stock of the situation
48
How to...discipline staff
English Heritage honour Sir Henry Cotton
INTERVIEWS
REGIONAL
26
A Matter of Opinion: Membership
62
A week in the life: Alec Fernihough
34
Jonathan Lupton on the British Masters
66
The month in numbers
34
44
62
ULTIMATE FINISH FOR THE FINEST GREENS The EclipseÂŽ2 walking greens mower is an excellent machine. We are able to programme the frequency of cut, which means that it always remains constant, no matter who is operating the machine. Things like this provide me with peace of mind and give me confidence that every hole is being maintained in a uniform and precise way. The quality of cut that the EclipseÂŽ2 walking greens mower provides is incomparable to anything I have seen during my 30 year career in the turf industry. I am yet to discover a machine that even comes close.
Chris Haspell, Course Manager, Castle Stuart Golf Links Scottish Open 2016
visit www.jacobsen.com to find your local dealer. www.jacobsen.com
GCM/CSTest/08/2017
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 MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Ann Jones - ann@gcma.org.uk EDUCATION AND MAGAZINE ADMINISTRATOR Debbie Mereweather - debbie@gcma.org.uk FINANCE ADMINISTRATOR Shirley Edmondson - shirley@gcma.org.uk BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Tash Johnson - tash@gcma.org.uk COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE Marie Taylor - marie@gcma.org.uk PRESIDENT JR (John) Jones 2017/18 CAPTAIN Howard Williams BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mike Hoare, Gary Steele, Phil Grice, Eddie Bullock 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 Emmi Parry - e.parry@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 FIVE | AUGUST 2017
THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE GOLF CLUB MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION
NEWS
OPINION
A GCMA MEMBER’S ROLE IN THE HENRY COTTON PLAQUE
ARE JOINING FEES SUSTAINABLE?
GCMA COLLEAGUES DISCUSS MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS EDUCATION
LEARNING TO TAKE STOCK
HOW TO KEEP ON TOP OF M O N T H LY F & B C H E C K S
INTERVIEW
JONATHAN LUPTON
C LO S E H O U S E ’ S M A N A G I N G D I R E C TO R P R E PA R E S TO WELCOME THE BRITISH MASTERS
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ON THE COVER: Close House’s 14th hole
01/08/2017 15:59
WELCOME
ISSUE FIVE | AUGUST 2017
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hile the 146th Open and the amazing final five holes played by Jordan Spieth are now beginning to fade in the memory, it is to the future I have been encouraged to become engaged with. The Irish and Scottish Opens preceded The Open and, this year, Northern Ireland Tourism invited a number of us from various organisations to visit Belfast and both attend and play in the Irish Open Pro-am at Portstewart. Following a full itinerary of the tourist trail throughout Belfast, it was an early start the next day to be drawn alongside Graeme McDowell in the Irish Open ProAm. For many of us working in this industry, we are sometimes lucky enough to play alongside different celebrities or top professionals. This was probably as good as it gets - with the sun beginning to rise and the freshness of the early morning enhanced by the view across the ocean and the final cut on the greens before the day’s proceedings – it was 7am when I teed off alongside G-Mac, needless to say an excellent experience. The Northern Ireland Tourism group are now focused on the 2019 Open which will be staged at Royal Portrush just five miles down the coast from Portstewart. From my own experiences, I can only endorse the area and feel that the passion for the 2019 Open will create a superb event.
The National Conference should also now be on your radar. With just four months before BBC Golf correspondent Iain Carter kicks off the Sunday evening, it is time to start making your arrangements. Please check out the programme in the magazine, it is a conference not to be missed. Last month, I advised on the departure of our Communications Executive Amelia Brice, so it is only fitting to welcome her replacement Marie Taylor. Marie brings a great deal of marketing and communications experience and will certainly be a great addition to the team. Bob Williams – chief executive
“From my own experiences, I can only endorse the area and feel that the passion for the 2019 Open will create a superb event”
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REDEFINED The Berkshire (England)
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MEANS BUSINESS
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
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Chief executive Bob Williams enjoyed a once-ina-lifetime experience when partnering major champion Graeme McDowell in the Irish Open pro-am at Portstewart. ‘Birdie Bob’, as he was nicknamed by McDowell by the end of an impressive round, grasped the chance to spread the word about the association. Bob also enjoyed a glimpse into the work going on to promote golf in Northern Ireland ahead of the Open at Royal Portrush in 2019.
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Despite some difficult weather, the 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale was a huge success. It was steered through by GCMA member, and Royal Birkdale managing secretary, Adam Moule, who was appointed following the sad death of association stalwart Michael Gilyeat last year. Adam is pictured with GCMA national captain Howard Williams, who met him while networking at the world’s oldest major.
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The outside view
NICK PINK How often do you check you’re putting the customer first? Happy customers are satisfied ones, and we can help you find them
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he customer is king! We hear statements like that all the time – but how often do we check to make sure we’re doing everything to put the customer first? At England Golf the customer is right at the heart of our new strategy because we believe that’s the way to grow the game. It’s simplistic, but true, to say that the satisfied customer will keep coming back for more. So, we’re passionate about working with clubs, helping them to understand what their customers want and how to provide them with the best possible experience. We’ve developed some excellent tools which are proving hugely successful with clubs and, more widely, are being used by local authorities and Sport England to match leisure activities with demand. I hope you’ll want to find out more about these and make use of the essential information they provide. Did you know there are 9.6m people in England who are interested in playing golf? That’s 24% of the adult population. We can also tell you about the different types of golfers – ranging from ‘young actives’ to ‘older tra-
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ditionalists’ – and the experiences they seek, whether that’s 18-hole competition or the opportunity to play fun, shorter formats and enjoy a great social life. Even better, we can also tell you where to find these golfers. Our mapping tool will identify the total number of existing and potential golfers living within a 20-minute drive of your club. With that insight clubs can be really effective at retaining their existing members and attracting new ones with tailored packages and targeted marketing campaigns. For example, a club which wants to appeal to ‘younger fanatics’ will know these are people who are mad about golf and very competitive, but pressed for time and very active on social media. So, a club could promote an ability-based 9-hole midweek league
“Our mapping tool will identify the total number of existing and potential golfers living within a 20-minute drive”
Nick Pink is England Golf’s chief executive
for members, and encourage players to invite a non-member/ friend. This could be followed with a member-get-member promotional deal at a later date. Or perhaps your club is keen to hang on to its ‘older traditionalists’, especially if they make up a high percentage of the membership. This group is already sold on golf, it’s their sport and often it’s their only activity. This means it’s important to offer options to those who are ageing and/or losing their ability to play 18 holes. We also know this group enjoys spending time on the driving range and if your club doesn’t have one, you could consider making links with a local range. Typically this group includes many successful people, so has your club thought about making use of their business skills and experience as a way of keeping them interested and involved? Food for thought. I do hope you’ll want to find out more and that together we will create thriving clubs full of satisfied customers. For more information visit englandgolf.org/understandingyourmarket or contact clubsupport@englandgolf.org
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Captain’s corner
HOWARD WILLIAMS
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ne of the honours of being the GCMA national captain is the opportunity to attend the Open Championship. While delighted, I was unsure of how the week would unfold. Here’s a little glimpse into my experience. It started with a drive to the course with friends from my own club, who were to marshal the 13th hole. We ambled to the driving range where Dustin Johnson was hitting the back fence into the breeze! I made contact with the new managing secretary, Adam Moule – a GCMA member – and was privileged to be invited into the clubhouse for a chat. On Tuesday I visited West Lancs for the Sports Publications golf day. Our team finished a creditable fourth and it was a great opportunity to find out more about the GCMA’s media partner’s work outside of our association. On the final practice day, Bob Williams and I attended the British Golf Industry Association lunch as a guest of Stephen Lewis, chairman of the Golf Foundation. John Bushell, of Sports Marketing Surveys, presented some fascinating insights, including data that suggested cycling participation is now in decline. We then went to a PGA reception to witness the award of Master Professional status to four professionals. I caught up with Duncan Weir from the R&A, a
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It was a privilege to attend the Open at a course that is managed by one of our own
With GCMA president JR Jones
great supporter of the association and the North West Region, who was keen to hear the latest GCMA developments. On day one of the Open, I bumped into JR Jones, GCMA president, who was working with NBC Golf as their rules advisor. I am sure the US audience appreciated his extensive knowledge and expertise – though I don’t know if he was lucky enough to be on air during Jordan Spieth’s foray on to the range on Sunday. I also witnessed the sterling efforts of our colleagues at BIGGA. Saturday was a special day as I took my son and my grandson. It brought back superb memories as Nick also came with me to the Open in 1991 when my club professional at Ashton-in-
Makerfield, Peter Allan, marked the card of Ian Baker-Finch, the eventual winner who shot 64 in the third round. My grandson Christopher enjoyed a chipping lesson in the Swing-Zone, then it was on to the course. As we waited to cross in front of the 10th, Charl Schwartzel made his way along the path. Christopher was clapping enthusiastically when Charl stopped and handed him a ball with ‘Charl’ written on it. This was a surprising gesture and one an eight-year-old will never forget. The final day saw links golf at its best. The organisation and infrastructure was first-class. It was a privilege to witness such an event, especially at a club managed by one of our members.
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
Your view...
LETTERS
Modern technology is good... but mobiles are an issue I wish to respond to your views on the image problems of golf clubs (The Golf Club Manager, The Outside View, July, 2017). Yes it is 2017 and we need a relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere – no problem there, but mobile phones are an issue for me and I do not own one for a variety of reasons My antipathy to them began as I stood on the last fairway at Royal Lytham in 1988 when Seve Ballesteros played that exquisite chip across the green to win the Open for the last time. It was a magic moment ruined by some oaf in front of me dialling someone on a device the size of a building brick (they are a lot smaller now!) and claiming a wager off someone. My latter years teaching in further education were regularly disrupted
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by people texting across the room to colleagues or simply taking calls in class. No amount of warnings or disciplinary measures seemed to work because “...but it’s mi phone!” I’ve even had examiners and moderators visiting me at my college’s expense constantly receiving calls that they insist on taking. The mobile has become their god who must be obeyed, as the recipient completely ignores who they are with to take the call in a totally discourteous manner. Frequently it’s the height of rudeness, intrusive on others and simply annoying. Some challenge to this sort of behaviour is not old-fashioned or tradition, it’s merely asking people to be aware and courteous to others. My ultimate example of this mobile obsession in golf clubs involves a person at my own club
We want to hear from you! Send your correspondence, on any subject, to letters@gcma.org.uk
who spends most of his round checking his betting, football scores and social life on his mobile phone. I did not believe that his nickname “I’m on mi phone” was valid until I was drawn with him. Constantly asking “are you ready to putt?” as he stood on the edge of the green checking his phone was irritating and slowed play. Another “mobile worshipper” who I disqualified in a competition for failing to sign his scorecard, subsequently he told me in a very patronising way that this was the 21st century and a call to his mobile, a text or an email should have been sent to him and he would have rectified matters – it doesn’t work like that. Modern technology is important and will not go away. Providing WiFi in clubhouses, using social media for advertising, tee-booking through websites, which are also mobile-responsive, and other applications will continue to grow. Relaxing dress codes, while encouraging family and junior friendly environments is vital to grow the game. Call me “old fashioned” but qualities such as respect and courtesy remain important. Other people have the right to privacy and peace without interruptions or being ignored while someone uses a mobile phone. Roger Stamp GCMA member
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Slow play: The ultimate solution The golf course providing the game should be held responsible for the pace of play at their course on a given day. The delayed golfer should have a mechanism to be let through. The rules of golf should make this role workable by including the procedure in the rules of etiquette. A huge amount of time and effort has been spent trying to speed up play and alter regulations related to the speed of play. This may be relevant for the professional or top competitive golfer, but irrelevant for everyone else. For the average golfer, and the average course, slow play really is not a problem - you can play as slow as you like but must let others pass promptly. When the course is full one has no choice but to play at the pace of the slowest group. So often, however, there is one slow game with a big gap in front and a stream of frustrated players behind. Unlike football, cricket and tennis where each game has their own sports ground, golf shares the ground with many others. Because of this, golfers are likely to be inconvenienced by other’s style of play. The rules of etiquette cover most types of “anti-social golfing behaviour” but leave those held up on the course completely at the mercy of the slow players. The delayed golfer, according to the Rules of Golf, must wait until called through. Although this is very polite and correct, it makes no allowance for the fact that seriously slow players are, by their very nature, slow in everything they do and mostly selfish and unaware of the inconvenience they cause to those around them. At Epping, slow play is very rarely a problem. We encourage faster players to ask to go through. If this
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does not work we ask them to phone the clubhouse and ask for help. Unlike many private members’ clubs where the golfers share the bills and call the tune, we have a business to run and profits to make. If there is a problem we want to hear about it and sort it out while it’s happening. We ascertain the hold-up cause and apologise to those customers whose day has been spoilt and assure them we are trying to help. Then we approach those responsible and explain the rules of etiquette and insist (gently and kindly) they call ALL the faster players through. Unlike private members’ clubs we have less captive audience so cannot risk our product being spoiled by slow players – even if it means sending from the course and returning green fees. Because of these high standards, people at Epping get upset if they take more than 3.5 hours even at peak times! All the newly framed proposed golf rules (intending to tackle slow play) are merely playing with the Titanic’s deckchairs. The nettle must be grasped – delayed players must be given the chance to indicate ‘they are ready to pass.’ Similarly those asked must respond by speeding up, calling through or facing the consequences. A golfer has the right to expect the quality of product they have purchased and so the course must be held responsible for sorting out the hold ups. If slow play is expected golfers should be warned of the estimated round time before they commit to their round and so avoid the potential embarrassment of being late at their next appointment. If the expected pace of play is too long they can decide to play or not before parting with money or changing their shoes. Neil Sjoberg, Epping GC
@GCMAUK Nominations open! Proud to be supporting GCMA Newcomer of the Year. Best of luck everyone. @Coltmm
Fantastic day @RemedyOak playing the @GCMAUK match between Wessex, Sussex & Hants. Well played Hants! #winners Chuffed with round of the day @doghealy Looking forward @GCMAWales events this week including the match vs @GCMAUK England! Great venue @TenbyGolfClub @golfmanagergm Pleasure to welcome all @GCMAUK Regional Meeting yesterday here @KingsHillGolf @KingsHillGolf Overseeing yesterday from above. A huge part of RBGC and the early organisation of @TheOpen ‘17, Mike Gilyeat. Thanks Mike. You are much missed. @RoyalBirkdale_ @RoyalBirkdale_ Mike was so proud to be your Managing Secretary and the @GCMA_ NorthWest was so proud to have him as a friend and colleague @GCMA_NorthWest
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
What’s the role of?
THE PGA
How to get in touch
We ouline the function of the Professional Golfers’ Association and how they work alongside the GCMA
What does the PGA do? The PGA is a members’ organisation aiming to improve the golfing experience and raise standards for hundreds and thousands of golfers across the world of all ages, ability and gender. They do this by educating and training PGA professionals and placing them in the ‘heart of golf’, whether that be at clubs in new territories internationally or at home here in the UK. These individuals perform more than 50 roles, including coaching, retailing and golf management in up to 70 countries. The PGA strive to promote and grow golf through a number of initiatives
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and continue to form longlasting relationships with other organisations and businesses. How does the PGA work with the GCMA? The PGA work with the GCMA as part of the Golf Club Management Partnership, which improves communication and understanding between the partners and their members to achieve strong working relationships. The GCMA, PGA and BIGGA have combined forces to create the ASQ Level 5 Diploma in Golf Club Management. The PGA also deliver sessions on training courses presented by the GCMA. The content of the PGA’s
Visit the PGA’s website pga.info for more information. You can also get in touch by phone – call 01675 470 333.
delivery is around the role of the PGA professional, utilising his or her’s training/education, skills and competencies to drive revenues and the importance of resourcing the role to enable the professional to perform. How would the PGA like to work with clubs? The PGA are committed to working with golf clubs to provide information, support and advice around the role of the PGA professional and the relationships that exist between professionals and clubs.They work to provide clarity around the education, continued development, skills and competencies of members and communicate using industry data and case studies the benefits associated with clubs retaining the right PGA Professional.The PGA are keen to support the recruitment process of professionals in terms of identifying roles and responsibilities, advising on terms and conditions and demonstrating levels and mechanisms of remuneration that will empower a PGA professional to deliver optimum services and support. The association also advertises employment opportunities in the UK and internationally through various platforms.
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Meet the
GCMA Giving a voice to the people behind the scenes who help to run your Golf Club Managers’ Association
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hat is your role? I look after all aspects of professional development for the association and I aim to get as many people engaged with developing their skills and knowledge of the industry. Our main routes for this are the Diploma in Golf Club Management, our Introduction to Golf Club Management course and regional meetings, but I am always on the lookout for new topics and speakers. The current focus at HQ is on the 2017 conference in Weybridge at Mercedes-Benz World. How did you become involved with the GCMA? Having worked for 23 years in IBM, life needed to change! I put myself on the Introduction to Golf Club Management course and secured the position of assistant manager at Letchworth. I was promoted to club manager and never looked back. I am a committed supporter of the GCMA and still attend regional meetings, which offer great networking opportunities. What’s an average day in your job?
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That there is no such thing as an average day is part of the excitement of my role. I am constantly talking to managers and newcomers about our Introduction and Diploma offerings and work closely with Debbie (Mereweather) to organise courses and meetings. I liaise closely with BIGGA, England Golf and the PGA and sit on various cross-industry committees representing the GCMA.
“I love running the residential introduction course and watching the students develop” What do you enjoy most about it? Engaging with managers who want to continue their professional development. I love running the residential Introduction course and watching the students develop and their enthusiasm levels for the role of club manager increase. I attend most of the Diploma workshops and love the interactive nature of these.
Niki Hunter is the GCMA’s education co-ordinator
Have you ever played golf? I took up golf when I met my husband. I am a member at our local club – John O’Gaunt - and I try and play whenever possible. I am competitive by nature and I enjoy taking part in competitions. My best experience is playing golf in British Columbia – having the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop was awesome. What opportunities lie ahead for the GCMA? We need to rebrand our education offerings to ensure they meet today’s requirements and are accepted as an essential part of every manager’s development. It is vital to get committees to understand the value of professional development and actively support and encourage managers to attend GCMA meetings to ensure their knowledge is current and networking opportunities used to the best advantage. How would you like to see the GCMA develop? To have every manager actively engaged in continued professional development and job descriptions for new managers to include the Diploma as an essential criteria.
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Industry
We want to hear from you!
NEWS
Send your correspondence on any subject to letters@gcma.org.uk
GCMA member’s role in Sir Henry Cotton story revealed with plaque The important role played by a GCMA member club in developing one of Britain’s greatest ever golfers was acknowledged when a plaque was unveiled at his boyhood home. Aquarius, in London, was where Sir Henry Cotton learned the game as a schoolboy with his brother Leslie. Jim Halliday, honorary secretary at the club and a GCMA regional member in London & Home Counties, put forward a proposal to English Heritage for a ‘blue plaque’ to go on the door of 47 Crystal Palace Road, in East Dulwich. Aquarius was the original club of Sir Henry, who went on to win three Open Championships and more than 30 international tournaments. The club, a 9-hole course that was founded in 1912, is unusual because it was laid out on the roof and around an underground reservoir, which is still operational today and holds 55 million gallons of water. Cotton’s family first moved from Cheshire to London in around 1913 with Sir Henry attending schools in Peckham and Reigate Grammar, before winning a scholarship to Alleyn’s School, in Dulwich. The family moved to the modest house on Crystal Palace Road when Sir Henry was 15 and he would practise his swing in the
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back garden and in the nearby garages. A special ceremony to unveil the plaque took place in front of an enthusiastic crowd and was attended by the likes of Halliday, BBC broadcaster Peter Alliss and Brendon Pyle, chief executive of the Golf Foundation. Sir Henry was a leading founder of the charity in 1952, which encourages young people from all backgrounds and circumstances to play golf. Pyle said:“Sir Henry Cotton was a vital figure in this charity’s beginnings and growth back in the early 50s and we are thrilled to be here. “When starting the foundation with his friends he summed it up so well when he said ‘we should give the game, without compromise, without intimidation, without prejudice, to as many as we possibly could.
“The Golf Foundation works hard to help youngsters from all backgrounds secure a pathway from golf in schools to enjoying life as a junior player at club level, and we hope Sir Henry would be impressed with our reach and impact as a charity today, while our values still correspond closely with those of the great man.” Halliday added:“Our historical connection with Henry Cotton remains an integral part of the heritage of this club.”
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The GCMA offers a recruitment service for golf clubs to advertise management vacancies, as part of the association’s commitment to providing career opportunities for its members. The GCMA journal and website are trusted channels for golf club management vacancies.
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A Matter of Opinion
MEMBERSHIP
From left to right, Sue Elliott, Gareth Morgan and Pat Murphy
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embers. The lifeblood of a golf club. It’s been a tough time over the past few years for clubs but, having ridden through the recession, how are clubs getting their message out there about how golfers can join and is the return of joining fees the way to curb the ‘problem’ of the transient player? Our panel tackle the key questions....
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“We had 12 members between the age of 19 and 30. I looked at that and thought ‘this is a real problem.’ I then created a Colt membership” – Gareth Morgan
What are the key routes you use to get your memberships out to the marketplace? Sue Elliott: Member gets member is our biggest take-up. We do incentives for members to bring a member or bring a guest along. If someone comes in and says ‘I’ve got a friend who’s looking to join’, we’ll look at a free game of golf for them. We do green free tickets half price – three a year for each member to buy and bring friends
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What initiatives have worked for these three experienced GCMA members, do joining fees still have a place and should new recruits need a proposer and seconder?
along. We’ve got a ladies’ taster day and we’ve got 30 women already who have taken up on that. We’ve tried all the big things – putting things in gyms or post offices or the TV stuff. It doesn’t work. Member gets member is our biggest take. They enjoy it, they talk to their friends or colleagues at work. So you’ve got to make sure they are enjoying their memberships. As soon as they drive up the drive, they enjoy their time when they are at the golf club because then they go and tell everyone how good it is. Gareth Morgan: It’s kind of all in transition with us at the moment. For a long time, the club didn’t do a lot at all. They employed a parttime marketing coordinator about a year ago and but she was flying solo a little bit because it was just the way the club was set up at the time. We seem to just go through a phase of plastering paid adverts into publications all over the place, which, obviously, is very expensive and the return on that wasn’t fantastic. Member gets member does a lot for us. We internally drip that message out all the time that membership is available – please refer your friends. We don’t
MEET THE PANEL Sue Elliott Secretary at private members’ club Henbury
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It didn’t have any electronic presence and that’s what we are growing and it is starting to bear some fruit for us. People are saying that this enquiry has come from a tweet or from something that was shared by a friend on Facebook. So we are starting to get that. The next stage for us are coordinated
online campaigns that might match what may be in one or two publications where we’ve found help. The publications that did well for us were really local and they are cheap. We are still in those. We have now got a full year’s marketing plan – always 12 months ahead – and there’s still a lot we can work on for next year. For memberships, it’s about trying to get a bit more profile. It’s recognised that Kingsdown exists. It was amazing to me that I’d never heard of it before I went there and it’s trying to get a bit more exposure to the people who aren’t friends of members. Our big area of growth is the electronic stuff. Pat Murphy: Four years ago, we had 12 members between the ages of 19 and 30. I looked at that and thought ‘that is a real problem’. I then created a Colt membership, which obviously has got an issue because it’s half the price of the full platinum membership here. And there are some members who are paying the full amount saying ‘why should a 25-year-old pay half the money?’ Well, actually, we want those people is the only answer and we’ve got 113 of them now. SE: Do you grade it, though, Pat? PM: Once they pass 30, if they have
Gareth Morgan General manager at Kingsdown, in Corsham,Wiltshire
Pat Murphy Director of golf for 20 years at The Kendleshire
incentivise them to do that. The statistics are that the members are pretty keen to do that anyway – 75 per cent of new members on their form were referred by somebody in the club. But the club had no real social media presence at all and didn’t even have an email database, even though that kind of thing is now tailing off.
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been a Colt member then they are entitled to go in to the 31, 32, 33. GM: So you still stage it? That’s something we are looking at. SE: We stage ours from 19 to 29 but it goes up slightly each year. So when they get to 30 and they become a full 5-day, it’s not such a big jump for them. But then they don’t pay a joining fee either. PM: They do pay a joining fee here. GM: It’s in its infancy in the South Wales region and what people were finding is that the under-30 market is not the same price as the over 30s. So if you didn’t have that membership, they would quite simply not even look at you. They would go and play somewhere else for t£300, £400 or £500 – whatever it is. One of the problems we are having at Kingsdown is that our immediate competitors are cheaper than us on those particular age groups and they stretch them further – I think it goes up to 35. So it is another area that we’ve got to look at. It is a price sensitive market, particularly at the
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“I fought for joining fees and, in the end, we came to a compromise and we halved it” – Sue Elliott moment. There is no tribe of young members to come in and join at Kingsdown at the moment. PM: We all know, if you’ve got an 18-hole golf course with one tee start and 200 people who turn up every day, you are full. That is another problem that we can’t afford. This is based on a totally different model, because this is membership and groups. The balance is slightly different. If our membership fell really dramatically, I’d have to really focus marketing on getting more people to come and play and re-look at the membership and say ‘where have we got that wrong?’
Do any of you still have joining fees? SE: We still have a joining fee. Ours is £300 at the moment. When I came on board four-and-a-half years ago they were adamant they were going to drop joining fees. That was when everyone was going through sticky times. We had societies whenever we could get them and groups – as many people as you could get on the golf course because membership was falling. We were losing 30 to 40 members a year. They were going to drop joining fees. I came from a hospitality background and I was always taught you give more. Don’t take away value, or lower prices, just give more value for the price you are sticking at. I fought for joining fees and, in the end, we came to a compromise and we halved it. It works really well. If they come through a member they get a little bit more of a discount. If they are a group of guys joining from a club, I will look at a discount for them. The club leave me to
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Marketing Services Sports Publications are, above all else, a company of golfers. The three directors, Will Shucksmith, Tom Irwin and Dan Murphy play off handicaps of +2, scratch and 3 respectively. Will is a PwC trained chartered accountant with a decade of experience working with SME’s, Tom has a commercial background spanning 20 years in customer facing industries and Dan Murphy is steeped in golf with approaching 15 years at the helm of the UK’s highest circulating golf magazine. Between us we have a century’s worth of golfing experience.
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manage it. That works really well. I find that, actually, it helps with transient members. They are not just looking for the deal – ‘I’ll go to Henbury this year because it’s cheap’. PM: There was a group that was based at the Bristol. There were 35 of them and they went and got the best deal they could at the next club. It’s fine if you are a commercial club – a proprietary club – you’ll expect it. But, for a private members’ club, if you are budgeting on those 35 people staying and they just move like the wind you can’t budget for it. And the only thing that holds them, or has a chance of doing it, is that joining fee. SE: And it does work. People say to me ‘is it a barrier?’ I don’t think it is. If you can sell it in the right way, you are giving a lot of value for their membership, it is a talking point. PM: Ours are over three years. SE: I will help anyone to pay. They can pay their membership anyway they want to pay it – as long as it is paid by December 1 because that’s when our accounts need to be done. I’ve got guys that have just had young babies, or they’re selfemployed. Fine. Pay me this on this
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“If you are budgeting on those 35 people staying and they just move like the wind you can’t budget for it” – Pat Murphy month, in three months time pay me the next lot. PM: That’s a totally different way of looking at it. SE: My club let me get on with it. Even though we are quite old fashioned and we have got a committee – so I still have all my sub-committees and management committee – they are happy for me to get on with the day-to-day running. If I have got a problem, I will speak to them. PM: For us, the Colt (joining fee) is £150, again you can pay that over three years, and it goes up to £400, again over three years. For me, I do see every single member as a customer and I want them to stay here for more than three years. Coming as a transient, for one year, I’d put you off rather than say ‘Oh yeah’. I know we had a discussion, a while back, about views of joining a
golf club – that it should be online – but I can’t agree with that. SE: You have to meet them. PM: They are customers of ours and they are worth so much to each golf club. SE: And it’s not just their joining fee, it’s everything else. I always say to my members,‘it’s up to you. You can be the member that drives in the car park, changes his shoes in the car park, walks to the first tee, walks off 18, back in his car or, actually, you can be a bit more sociable and enjoy it. Get involved in different team events, with different groups, go to the clinics that the guys run, come to the quiz nights’. Actually, you get more value out of your membership if you are that type of member and you will stay longer and enjoy it. GM: I am going to go the other way. I think we all agree that, in an ideal world, they do almost force you to be loyal – ‘I don’t want to lose that money’ – because I have done it myself in the past. I always go back to the marketplace and, if you look at my immediate marketplace now and the one I’ve spent the last 11 years in before that, if you look at the people that have them – even though they have got excellent golf products – those are the clubs with the consistently falling membership numbers. If you are in a marketplace where it is a half and half split and the better courses charge a joining fee, that’s what it was in South Wales at one point. The better courses had them and they were fine because the people who wanted the better course, probably considered the more high-end product, would pay it. But, one by one, these clubs start to struggle and, one by one, they drop it. I’ll give you the example in Cardiff. There are two
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clubs left charging one and their membership numbers dropped 30 to 40 net every single year – for the last six years. That joining fee, at the moment, keeps them only losing a little bit every year but that membership number continues to fall year on year on year. That’s despite some really good marketing attempts and because everyone else in the city, including a couple of other very good courses, don’t charge one now. I did (work on) barriers to spending a lot in my previous life working for Castle Bingo when the law at the time was you couldn’t walk into a bingo club that day, join as a member and play that day. The law was you had to join and then come back 24 hours later. What a barrier that is.‘I want to go and do that today’. You sign up and it’s ‘you’ll have to come back tomorrow’. You are not going to do that. Membership is a barrier in itself, because it is a commitment and if you are in a marketplace where most of your competitors aren’t placing that whopping great barrier in the way as well – of a joining fee – then you have got to have something really different to offer them to be able to justify keeping it. I can see how it could happen. If I had half of my competitors with a joining fee, I’d be beating the drum to get one. But if you are the only one… SE: We had this discussion at our regional meeting when we talked four or five years ago about dropping joining fees. I can’t understand why you would drop it and bring it back. I know supermarkets do those kind of things but, to me, I think it’s disloyal as well to your members that paid. We have members that paid £600
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“’What is the joining fee for?’ I am yet to find an acceptable answer. How do you answer it? Honestly, with a straight face and not lying to them? – Gareth Morgan
or £700 in joining fee back in the day and they are still members. Bless them, they are bringing in members that are now paying half that rate and they don’t say a word and they understand why. GM: As a student, I did a leisure management degree. If someone asks you the following question, how do you answer it – honestly, with a straight face and not lying to them – ‘what is the joining fee for?’ I am 20 years on now and I am yet to find an acceptable answer to that question – in the health club industry or golf. I would love to have one. SE: I think it is just loyalty. PM: People do ask. They will say ‘why do we have to pay this?’ I will say it’s a loyalty thing. We want you to stay. GM: Don’t you think the world we live in now, though, is such that if that’s your answer – and that probably is the best answer I can think… PM: It’s the only one I’ve got. GM: But you earn my loyalty, don’t
you? Like you do as a person. You earn my loyalty by giving me the product you tell me I am going to get and I am not going to leave. I shouldn’t have to pay you for my own loyalty, should I? That’s the counter argument to it. I think this is why I have sat on the fence with joining fees over the years. If I am ever asked that question, and I have been in two different industries now, I don’t have a straight face for it. SE: I don’t think I’ve ever been asked it straight out. GM: I have asked it, joining a leisure club in Cardiff, and because I have been through this process, on the other side of it, they want to charge a £200 joining fee and I say ‘what’s that for?’‘Oh, it’s a commitment’. ‘Well, I’m making a commitment, I’ve just given you my bank details. What’s it for?’ They can’t answer it. PM: It’s two, isn’t it? It’s either that all the market place is the same and, therefore, why not? GM: Which I think is fine, then. PM: Or it’s purely as a loyalty thing.
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL GM: If you put yourself in my shoes. Chippenham is five miles from us. Lots of our members live right in the middle of those two clubs and lots of our enquires are ‘I’m looking at Chippenham and you’. Chippenham don’t charge one and Kingsdown does. If I say to you ‘what’s that for?’ And ‘they are not charging one’. How do you answer that? How do you answer in a way that convinces them that: no, you are absolutely right to part with however much money it is in advance when the other competitor I am looking at doesn’t. While, in that area, I think we’ve got the best course and certainly the best course condition from what I’ve seen of the members’ clubs, money talks. In today’s day and age, we have got monthly fees for mobile phones, we’ve got mortgages, gym memberships are monthly, gas and electric are monthly, everything is monthly. We don’t live in a world where that many people have got that much on the hip to just pay a joining fee straight away. Even if you stage it, and that’s where South Wales went – there was one club in the end charging £80 a year for eight years or something like that and desperately trying to cling on to this ‘we’ve got to have a joining fee’. It’s a barrier to membership and it depends on how desperate you are for your members, I guess. That’s probably a good word: desperate. Certainly I could speak for the managers of South Wales, if we could wind the clock back 12 to 15 years when people started dropping the joining fee and not (do it) I think they would definitely do that. Now we are where we are, how do you do it if you are not an elite club that people will pay that money for? I think it’s so difficult.
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“New members don’t go before the board. And they don’t need to have been proposed by a member” – Sue Elliott My board in the last meeting said ‘we’d like to bring the joining fee back at some point’. I said ‘I quite agree’ but there are so many things you’ve got to get in place and, for us, we would have to have a total membership product that we think is so far superior to anything else in the area and that’s the way we are going to try and do it now. What are your application processes? SE: Normally it’s a phone call, or a member has called in and picked up a form. We still have a form you need to fill in - I need their data to put into the membership. I generally then make an appointment for them to come in and have a chat with me, show them around and talk them through what Henbury is all about. I’ll arrange for them to play golf with someone if they are new. They pay their joining fee on that day, with a debit card or whatever, and they are a member as of that time. It’s fairly simple and quick. Normally the captain is around, or someone is around to introduce them to. I pick days when I know it is busy. It’s fairly relaxed. It doesn’t go on the board. We are not overly conscious if they have not been proposed by a member. Sometimes we ask, there’s a space on the form for it, but only because I haven’t rejigged the form, probably. We’ve still got a place for
a proposer and a seconder but it is not a deal breaker. PM: Why leave it on there, then? SE: Some people quite like it. If they are a member bringing a new person in, they quite like putting their name on it. Actually, I then say to that member ‘this guy is new to the club, you need to help him along’. It gives that member a little bit of responsibility. The ladies in our club are absolutely brilliant. We’ve got quite a large section and they have got a great buddy system. They look after them all the way through their first couple of years. We tried to get the men to do a buddy system but they’re not interested. GM: It’s interesting you ask why leave that proposer on the form. I wouldn’t have them on there because, as we all know, clubs will take people without them now. One of the problems is you’ve got long-standing members of members’ clubs who don’t know these things have changed. I sat in a meeting where there was a disciplinary issue with a member it was quite serious - and it looked like he was going to be in a spot of bother. One member of that committee said ‘have we written to his proposer?’ I’m thinking ‘this guy joined nine years ago! How can that man still be deemed responsible for this guy’s actions?’ He was deadly serious. We should have him in as well because he should have known that nine years after proposing him he was going to do something silly. Sometimes, I think we’ve got to be careful that if we take proposers off the forms we have to make sure the whole membership are told and it’s a change in direction. Otherwise, they assume it’s still there and when something goes wrong, they are appalled.
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The interview
JONATHAN LUPTON
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our background is in professional golf. How did you turn to management? I was teaching 40 or 50 hours a week. John Glendinning, our previous managing director, became CEO at The Wisley and, shortly after he informed owner Graham Wylie he was leaving Close House, I was contacted by Graham and asked if I would be interested in the new role. It wasn’t something I was planning for but I understood the business. I knew there was a good team around me. It’s very much a team effort at Close House and I knew I could help lead that team, develop things, and continue the good work that John had done. Drilling down to it, why did you want to do it? Because I was immensely passionate about Close House and I felt that we could continue along the lines we had. Obviously, the business evolves and we are quite a dynamic business. The foundation was in place but it was a case of continuing along the same line – with a little bit of fine-tuning. I thought because I understood the way it had been run previously that it was the best thing for Close House. Was it a bit daunting? It was a role completely new to you… I went straight in at the deep end but there was good support in
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place. There are also good friends at Close House, who have been successful in business. When they found out I was changing role, they were very supportive of me. The members of the club, as well, really helped me through that transitional period. I had built a lot of relationships over the seven years I had been at Close House before changing role and I had some good advice. I was very fortunate to have amazing business leaders from the North East who would spend some time with me. How was that process from being the head professional to becoming the managing director? The first thing I had to do was fully understand the business and make sure we had the team in place. Our internal communication is better between the heads of department and I think we share more information than we did before and everyone buys in more to that. Jonathan Greenwood, who is general manager here – we work very closely and the pair of us are always looking for the next step – the next way to develop Close House. There’s a trend now for professional golfers to move into management. Is that going to continue? I guess when clubs look, hopefully they see talent within the PGA.
When they are looking for a secretary, sometimes the roles amalgamate. Sometimes the opportunity is to change what you do. I would say that the PGA training is quite diverse. You can follow lots of paths and you can specialise. I encourage our assistants to try and specialise if they can. ‘Look at the multitude of roles at Close House. Is it coaching that you want to go down but don’t be scared that at some time, you might take a different junction. You might change direction at some point’. But I do think it’s important to specialise. What are the biggest opportunities you have found since becoming managing director? Building on the brand that was already created. The brand of Close House, and the way it was developed, is so strong. If we can make that accessible to more people I think Close House will become even stronger. And, in opposite, the biggest challenges? We have enormous service levels and that comes at a really high cost. The cost to the business, to offer the levels of service we do, is a challenge. You unashamedly, I think, pitch your membership at quite a high end? How is membership
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Pitched in at the deep end as the key man at Close House 18 months ago, Jonathan Lupton has successfully made the transition from professional golfer to managing director. As the Newcastle club prepares to host the British Masters next month, he tells Steve Carroll he’s loved every second
Who is Jonathan Lupton? Close House’s managing director joined Graham Wylie’s Newcastle revolution the better part of nine years ago when he arrived as head professional. Lupton had a storied amateur career, winning the prestigious Brabazon Trophy and representing England at both junior and senior level before turning professional. Twice a winner of the PGA Assistants’ Championship and still a regular competitor and winner on the pro circuit, he lives in Teesside.
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Close House benefits from breathtaking views
doing? Full members – we are happy where we are. We could still take a few more. Year on year, we are ahead of where we were. I do think individual membership is tough for us. There are lots of people in the region who may pay £2,100 to be a member of a golf club but they probably won’t leave their friends and relationships that they have at other golf clubs. We are confident of the standard of what we offer but those groups and relationships are quite hard. And you have to offer something different. There are a lot of golf clubs in Newcastle and the surrounding area. There’s a lot of competition… There are. but hopefully it’s the standard and the attention to detail, whether it be from the bar and the F&B or the big team of greenkeepers. There is such an
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investment in the facilities that we hope we separate ourselves from the market. Graham spent millions here, and continues to do so… We are continually investing and developing and if we can make a business case in a board meeting, it’s really empowering to have that opportunity to develop and continually develop. We are currently refurbishing the old cricket pavilion – that will become a two-bedroom golfers’ lodge and the lodge house as well. We currently have 16 bedrooms and 17 rooms and we will have 21 by late September. You’ve restructured country membership, which was originally a very high-end offering. There are now a variety of options. How successful has that been? Living in Teesside, I was quite
aware of Ganton’s success and, living in Newcastle, you can look at Goswick and Bamburgh Castle and they are very successful on a country membership basis. Potentially, and previously, the country membership was maybe explained to Graham in the wrong manner. Graham thought if we added more value, people would come. But £2,100 is still an expensive fee whether you live in York or Teesside. Hopefully, we are worth the drive but if it is double what you are paying for a golf club membership where you live then that’s quite a hard leap of faith. What we looked at initially was ‘what would people in our target regions probably pay for a membership?’ and, hopefully, confident that what we offer is better. People would then think ‘well it’s worth the 50, 60, 70-mile journey to come and play golf and be a member of Close House’. We have the different levels and
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it has been very successful for us. The first day we advertised we had seven or eight members straight away through the door.
“Lee’s here that much that we’ve actually put a parking space in for him outside the clubhouse. He played in the club championship”
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A lot of clubs are now putting additional emphasis on country membership. It’s extra revenue but not necessarily an additional burden on your existing membership. You wouldn’t expect them to be here every single week... But also it’s quite reasonable on the other hand to offer them a preferential deal on that basis. That’s really what we have tried to do. Rather than having it at the same level with more value, we’ve tried to reduce the price so it is more attractive for people to make that initial entry into Close House and see what we do. We’ve also brought in a new level of membership called Academy Premium. We had an academy membership in place, which was basically use of the full facilities at the academy and the Yearling par 3 course. A lot of people were signing up to that membership and finding they wanted to go on a golf course but they didn’t want to make the step up to full membership. It was a big step – £160 a month difference. So we put in a membership that’s fairly similar to golf clubs around the area, where you can use the Filly course as well. We have had an unbelievable reaction to that. The country membership has gone well and will continue to do well. But the Academy Premium, which we launched in March, we’ve had 85 new members. We have a ceiling of 100 and they are paying £720. It was really about trying to give more people the opportunity to experience what we have created at Close House.
When I think about Close House, I think about Lee Westwood. There’s a debate about attached professionals and what they bring, but he’s here a lot… He originally came to open the golf course on May 10, 2011. Two days before, we were apprehensively watching the European Tour event because if Martin Kaymer finished in the top four, Lee wasn’t world number one. So we had two plaques ready and we were delighted when Martin finished sixth and Lee was number one when we opened the golf course. Lee came along and was an absolute gent. Someone from ISM spoke to Close House about potentially having an attached tour professional. They suggested a couple of names and Graham said ‘how much is Lee?’ Since then, the relationship has developed. Through the experiences and the warmth of the membership and the North East people, Lee really bought into what we had. We have great practice facilities, we have golf course that can challenge him when he is practising and Newcastle is his home so he uses this as his base. He’s a very visible presence here for the members… He’s here that much that we’ve actually put a parking space in for him outside the clubhouse. He played in the club championship last year, because he was going out to the PGA Championship and wanted to practice for 36 holes. He played in the club knockout last year with the owner and lots of our members have had the chance to play with one of the game’s leading players. That’s something that is brilliant about golf. If you’re a football fan, you are not really going to get the chance to play with a leading footballer.
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Lee has been World No 1, played in 10 Ryder Cups, and had 40-odd worldwide victories and the members get the chance to play with him. It’s amazing. What input did he have into the golf courses? He’s having progressively more. All the changes for the British Masters on the Colt course, Lee has been involved in those. If we go to the 16th for the British Masters, originally that was a very wide fairway – probably 75 yards wide off the tee. There was trouble down the left but you just aimed it right to keep it out. The fairway now is 35 yards wide, there’s two bunkers there, the rough is growing in and we have reshaped the back left of the green. All of that is input from Lee. On our 5th, the 1st for the British Masters, there is a new bunker down the left hand side. There’s a new tee – back 35 yards – again that was Lee. There’s a new tee on the 2nd (our 6th), so it’s a really strong start to the course for the event. I will certainly use Lee in the future to continue to develop the courses. Let’s talk about the British Masters. This has been on the cards for Close House since it was announced Lee would host. Logistically, how difficult has it been to host the tournament? They had the event at Woburn in early October 2015 and, from that moment that it was announced Lee would be hosting the event, we were interested. It wasn’t something we were planning for but it was certainly something that – when the possibility arose – we became very interested in. Lee, early on, expressed his interest to bring it to Close House and we started negotiations with the European Tour. I changed role six
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The Courtyard
“All we could do was prove to the European Tour, every time they came, just how much we wanted it” weeks later and so my first job was to start to convince the European Tour that we could do it. No pressure then… I would say golf course-wise that was pretty easy. Creating the logistical plan that would mean the tournament could work was a little bit trickier. From a management perspective, how hard was that? You can probably argue that, in golf, we’ve never had an event quite so big in the North East.
There have been big events at Slaley Hall but this has a £3 million prize fund and, hopefully, with Lee’s influence we are going to get some of the game’s leading players to attend the event. It was tricky but we passionately wanted to do it. One thing that comes through at Close House, right from the owner and through myself and the staff, is passion. When the European Tour came here and they realised just how much we’d bought into it – there were a few things and potential problems that they had put in the way and very quickly we sat together and found solutions for them. We actually made it difficult for them not to come here. Graham bought 27 acres more land, which will become the tented village and spectator area and that really linked everything together. It helps with the parking. It’s left of the 5th. It was a piece of land that we’d always wanted and the landowner wanted lots of
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Close House The former botanical and agricultural laboratory site for Newcastle University, what is now the Filly Course was the old university golf course. The site, which included a hotel built in 1779, was sold in August 2004 to technology magnate Graham Wylie. The Colt Course, on which the British Masters will be staged, was opened in 2011 along with the No.19 clubhouse and restaurant. An academy and a 9-hole yearling course complete the complex. money for it. Eventually, we did a deal that both parties were happy with and it means, firstly, that we grow the estate but, secondly, that the little bits around the edge were the key areas. We have rented two big fields across the main road. The spectators will walk through, straight into the main village, and they will be by one and 18. As soon as that came together, that was the final piece of the jigsaw. Did you find it a stressful time, or did you thrive on it? I didn’t find it particularly stressful. All we could do was prove to the European Tour, every time they came, just how much we wanted it – how much it meant to us and how much it meant to the region. On the back of that, the European Tour realised if they brought the event to the North East it could be something special. We’ve got to make sure that everybody comes but the Sky Thursday sold out in 34 minutes online, we’ve sold north
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of 1,000 hospitality places already and we weren’t far off that figure in February through the membership of Close House. Did you have any choice but to change the existing configuration of the course? We couldn’t have built the infrastructure because of the water down the right hand side of our current 18th and the big trees. Getting the stands and the build there would have been a challenge. We looked at a few options but the 4th was the one that definitely worked for us. I am genuinely excited about finishing on a par 3. I think it is going to become something really special and, hopefully, separates Close House from other venues. What is your role going to be leading up to the tournament? I never quite understood this when I played but the European Tour don’t own the full rights to
every event. This is one of their key events and, because of that, the level of support and the structure behind it, has been amazing. Rory Colville, tournament director, visits Close House every three or four weeks with his team. We just constantly evolve the tournament plan and brochure. We’ve got a working document on the event and that develops on a six-weekly basis. We just evolve until we get up to the event but the plans have been in place for some time now. It’s a very exciting time… Yes. If we go back 18 months, I was thrown in at the deep end but the journey has been so much fun and we just can’t wait until September. We’ve developed a good reputation in the local region and, hopefully, the British Masters enables us to develop it nationally. That’s the plan. Close House is such a dynamic business that, one thing’s for certain, the future will be exciting.
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Negotiating a
PAY RISE Adam Keable, a director at Colt Mackenzie McNair, looks at how you can persuade employers to increase your salary
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his can often be a daunting prospect. It’s a conversation that’s hard to broach without unsettling your employer. It’s rare for an employer to start this conversation so, if you want to receive a rise, you will most likely need to make the first move. But there are a few useful tips you can use to help you reach the desired outcome. It’s not you versus them Sometimes it’s easy to approach the conversation by taking things personally. By looking at it in this way, the conversation can become awkward, even hostile. Often, it’s an employer’s wish, and in their interest, to reward high-performing staff. Alter your approach and work with the employer to make it happen. Know your worth Make sure you are prepared to justify your worth. Consider your performance, achievements, market value, knowledge and how you have invested in your development in recent times. Take all subjectivity out of the conversation and approach it like you would a pitch to a prospective employer for your services.
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Welcome to our newest GCMA members David Badham, Owner/director at Stockley Park Jeremy Bohn, CEO at Hartsbourne G&CC Paul Lancaster, Manager at Aldenham G&CC Trisha Leonard, Assistant at Old Ford Manor Trevor Golton, Manager at Stowmarket Michelle Morris, Assistant at Wollaton Park Janine Landymore, Manager at Croham Hurst Iain Pearson, Assistant at Tyrrells Wood
Never be the first to name a number In a negotiation, you should never be the first to name a number. Of course that is a likely question that will pop up, but rather than give a figure steer it towards a bracket where you would be happy to accept the lower range. Be ready to discuss more than money In some cases due to budget constraints, an increase in financial compensation will not be possible. However, there are many other benefits you can explore; annual leave, training/education opportunities, improved bonus structure or possibly promotions. Take a medium to long-term view Outcomes to these conversations don’t happen overnight and ultimately you might not reach the desired outcome. Nevertheless it is important you keep the door open so that you can approach the subject again in six months’ time. Always remain professional and don’t get yourself into a position where you could potentially burn a bridge as, if you do decide to move on, you will want them to write a glowing reference.
Sam Burton, Manager at Kidderminster Anthony Haste, Director of golf at Hinckley Jane Alexander, Secretary at Gorleston Lionel Dobson, Manager at Brampton Matthew Arnett, Manager at Sherdons Golf Centre Adrian Cave, Manager at Honiton Stuart McConachie, Secretary at Littlehampton Christopher Purton, Secretary at Horsham Golf & Fitness Jonathan Rees, Manager at Llantrisant & Pontyclun Colin Barr, Associate member and diploma student Members on the move Adrian Cooper has moved from being general manager at Hinckley to general manager at Drayton Park (Staffs) Grant Leggate has moved from being secretary/manager at Sittingborne & Milton Regis to general manager at Chestfield Paul Beresford-Green has moved from being general manager at West Byfleet to secretary at Royal County Down Peter Lowery has moved from being general manager at Weston-super-Mare to general manager at Sandiway Gary Oatham has become general manager at Thorndon Park; Adrian Jackson has become secretary at Wakefield
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GCMA RECRUITMENT
FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE VACANCIES BELOW, VISIT GCMA.ORG.UK/JOBS
BRAMSHAW GC ::: GENERAL MANAGER
The oldest golf club in Hampshire, with two very different 18-hole courses set in the beautiful surroundings of the New Forest, Bramshaw are inviting applications for the post of General Manager. The successful applicant will be responsible for managing all aspects of this long-established proprietary club, in accordance with the strategic direction and policies of the business. Applicants should have sound administrative and financial experience, proven man-management skills and some experience in social media/marketing. It is desirable that applicants will have successfully completed a recognised Golf Club Manager/Secretary course or qualification. Applications via e-mail by Thursday 31st August, together with CV should be sent to brook@bramshaw.co.uk. For full details visit www.gcma.org.uk/jobs/
Region: New Forest, Hampshire| Salary: Competitive | Apply by: 31 August 2017
COODEN BEACH GOLF CLUB ::: GENERAL MANAGER
Cooden Beach Golf Club is seeking an experienced, innovative and enthusiastic General Manager. You will have exceptional communication, leadership, motivation and diplomacy skills and an appreciation of the values of a private members’ club. You will report to the Chairman and will work with the General Committee in developing and implementing a strategy that will enable the club to retain its position as one of Sussex’s premier clubs. Full details of the position and application process can be found at www.coodenbeachgc.com Region: Southern| Apply by: August 21, 2017 | Salary: Competitive
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GCMA RECRUITMENT
FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE VACANCIES BELOW, VISIT GCMA.ORG.UK/JOBS
HALLAMSHIRE GC ::: GENERAL MANAGER Designed by Harry Colt and founded in 1897, Hallamshire is a traditional private members Club, with the course enjoying an outstanding heather clad location on the south west side of Sheffield, with sweeping views over the Peak District National Park, currently ranked inside the Top 100 UK courses, and number 6 in Yorkshire. After a full review of the Club, a new General Manager role has been created, with full responsibility for all core areas of the club activity. The new appointee must have a background in, and deep understanding of the game of golf and a full appreciation of what is needed to manage and lead the staff across the many facets of hospitality, course management, Golf shop, members and finances.
Region: Yorkshire| Salary: Competitive Apply by: August 14, 2017 with covering letter and CV to Robert Liversidge, Chairman, Hallamshire Golf Club – email chairman@hallamshiregolfclub.co.uk (Visit GCMA website for more details.)
HUNTERCOMBE ::: SECRETARY Huntercombe Golf Club is a long-established private members’ club, located in an area of outstanding natural beauty in Oxfordshire near Henley-on-Thames.
PERRANPORTH ::: GENERAL MANAGER
With a full, stable membership and a highlyrated golf course, there is an opportunity to develop income streams and to co-ordinate strategic projects focussed on the successful long term evolution of the Club.
Situated on the beautiful north coast of Cornwall, Perranporth offers some of the finest links golf in the South West of Engand. Firmly established as one of Britain’s top 100 Links courses, it boasts a challenging James Braiddesigned championship layout. Perranporth also hosts corporate events, societies and visitors and offers its own golfing and luxury accommodation.
Region: London & Home Counties Apply by: September 1, 2017 Salary: Competitive
Region: Cornwall Apply by: August 24, 2017 Salary: Competitive
We are looking to hire an experienced manager to lead the management team within the policy framework formulated by the Board.
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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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Taking stock of the
SITUATION Steven Brown, from food & beverage consultancy Inn-Formation, tells you how to keep on top of monthly stock checks
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he most amazing thing happened to me last week. Amid the frantic activity of visiting golf clubs, writing reports, designing training programmes and washing my smalls, I found a moment to consider what single piece of advice I would give to every golf club manager/secretary regarding food and beverage.
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I came to this stunning conclusion – it is to undertake an external monthly stock take and then use it to MAP (Management Action Plan) out the future trading model and the controls needed for this vital unit. The provision of a food and beverage operation has, for many clubs, become a vital part of the service they supply. But, for a number of clubs, it has also become something of a
problem child – a necessary but much misunderstood service the club must have but one whose importance ranks lowly on the totem pole of the many tasks to be managed. While I fully understand this, and the time constraints and complexities of managing and operating a golf club in today’s challenging environment, an F&B unit can, if organised correctly, be an efficient, stand-
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alone profit centre, making a positive contribution to the bottom line and causing few if any concerns to the busy manager. This does not mean total control of the unit should be abdicated to the head bar person or cook/chef. In fact, it’s quite the reverse as you must always keep a handle on the workings and results of the units. But you might just need the help of an independent, external resource to help you achieve your targets. What the club needs are eyes and ears on the operation and a great degree of understanding of results that will help the club’s management to guide the unit towards the desired end goal. What the club can and should do is appoint an external source to be those eyes and ears and who can, using their many years of expertise, provide the club with invaluable independent
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advice, recommendations, and tried-and-tested solutions all designed to improve control, efficiency and, dare I say it, profitability. The role of the independent stock taker is to provide you with an overview of how your unit is, or isn’t, performing within the confines of your club. The physical stock take is naturally of importance, providing you with a raft of data identifying how you are performing against industry norms and your own targets and budgets – but that is only half the job! The key for me is in the detail. Every stock result should be accompanied by a section headed “recommendations and action plan”, or in my parlance, the previously mentioned MAP. My concern is this. While I see many stock results on my consultancy visits to clubs, very, very few contain the
section on recommendations or actions. If you don’t believe me check your latest result and see what written advice was proffered to you – providing tried-and-tested remedies for the problems you may have encountered. Counting stock is easy – understanding and interpreting the data is a whole other ball game. Unless you have entered the world of a golf club manager from a background of F&B control, the results produced by a stock taker may remain a part of the dark arts of F&B control – to be endured rather than understood and managed. Now don’t think for a minute I am suggesting that all golf club managers alone should bear the brunt of this responsibility – absolutely not. The heads of departments for bars and catering that you have charged with their total
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management must, in my opinion, better arm and equip themselves to understand – in minute detail – what story the stock result is telling them, rather than just giving it a cursory glance because they have to go and clean the pipes or place an order. These individuals are paid to manage their respective units, which goes far beyond the dayto-day bar service and food prep. What your heads of departments should be asking to have a better understanding of the results The correct recording of every item of product loss: how it occurred, who caused it, how it compared to the previous two stock results and the impact it will make on the unit’s final results. The meaning and importance of yield and how it should be achieving a 99 per cent figure, illustrating how they can benefit from better control. How to calculate gross margin, and of the industry norms for the golfing community (e.g. minerals
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My own experience tells me that many of them are ill-prepared for this key task. Yes, there are a number of heads of departments who have made it their aim to better understand the important documents provided by their stock takers. They challenge the results, seek answers to previously unencountered concerns and then make changes to their at 75%, wines at 57% draught beers at 65%). How to set a correct retail price to obtain the overall margins set by the clubs administrators.
operating procedures and reduce the impact of those concerns or remove the offending practices completely, leading to improved productivity and profitability. It’s true to say “you don’t know what you don’t know”.I know nothing about organising a club’s competitions but if I was charged with that responsibility I would speak to my many friends and colleagues in clubs to seek their advice,. At the end of that process I would know an awful lot more about the process – ensuring when I undertook the task I made as few mistakes as possible. Why not challenge your heads of departments to get a better understanding of the results they produce by getting a better understanding of these allimportant reports? No stock taker should be allowed to leave the building until a fully extended stock result has been produced on site and discussed in detail with your heads of departments. Acceptable and expected levels of surplus or deficit that every club will of course encounter, but the full range of reasons as to why these large but hopefully occasional blips occur.
Who to buy product from to obtain the best wholesale price and the full range of offers that are available to your club (retrospective discounts, umbrellas, glasses badged with the clubs logo etc).
An identification of possible theft or abuse due to poor operational systems.
The average day’s stock levels for bars and catering to ensure you are not overstocked and experiencing out of date scenarios.
An explanation of the use of PLUs and how they can help you to defeat possible abuse or the carelessness of cross ringing thus distorting the results.
Poor portion controlling as compared to industry norms and accepted practice.
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It is my own experience, having visited with hundreds of clubs when advising them and about what remedial actions to take, that too few bar or catering managers have the level of understanding of stock results needed to be able to instigate wholesale changes to operational procedures that would result in an improvement in the results of the units under their control. My apologies to those among you who have mastered these skills but let me assure you that you are a rare breed. The good news is if they are not in possession of this level of knowledge but are motivated
individuals, and keen to learn how to better control their units, they can obtain this information and apply it relatively quickly. The answer is for them to open up channels of communication with their stock takers and demand that, at the completion of a stock take, the two of them sit down and not only analyse the figures but devise ways of defeating inefficient practice – leading to improved performances. The previously mentioned MAPs, once put in place, will show instant improvements, which will be highlighted in the next results. Taking stock of the situation is a key and crucial part of the
management of an F&B unit. Independent advice offered from a stock taker is an invaluable tool in the fight to make sure your F&B unit is a positive contributor to your bottom line and not a drain on resources requiring a subsidy. If your current stock taker cannot or will not provide you with a written commentary of how the many concerns can arise, and of how to deal with them, you might wish to consider their position. A stock take is not merely a number-crunching exercise, it is meant to be a guiding document to help improve the service you provide to your members and clients. That is, after all, the key objective for today’s busy manager. If you think external stock-taking fees are exorbitant, well, the good ones won’t be cheap, but compare that cost to how much your unit may have lost in the last 12 months. For more information, contact Steven Brown on 07885 276 320, email herinn@aol.com or visit inn-formation.co.uk
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How to ...
DISCIPLINE STAFF
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t’s a step you hope you’ll never have to take but, sometimes, disciplinary action against a member of staff is unavoidable. There are many reasons you may need to go down such a path – and your sanctions can range from something as simple as a ticking off to, ultimately, dismissal. There are clear rules and regulations you have to follow when delving into this complex
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area. How do you issue warnings? For how long will they stay on an employee’s file? Can staff appeal? Follow these guidelines the next time you find yourself in a situation when you need to discipline staff. We want to discipline a member of staff. Do we have to start with a verbal warning? No. You are entitled to issue the most appropriate warning for the offence. Sometimes it may
be appropriate to start with a verbal warning, for example, if your employee is late to work. But, in circumstances where their conduct is more serious, you may want to issue a written warning and, in serious cases, a final written warning. You can only dismiss an employee without any prior live warnings on their record where they have committed an act of gross misconduct. However, if you are taking your employee through
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Fergal Dowling, of employment law experts Irwin Mitchell, helps you understand what you need to know in this tricky area a performance improvement process, you will normally be expected to issue a series of warnings and give the employee time to improve before reaching a decision to dismiss. If your employee has not yet completed their probationary period, you can usually dismiss them before the end and without the need to go through a series of warnings. Extra care must be taken if, for some reason, the disciplinary process is contractual, for that may mean that as a matter of contract you have to follow the stated procedure. A member of staff wants to be accompanied to a disciplinary meeting by a union official. Can we refuse their request? No. The right for a worker to be accompanied applies even if you do not recognise the union and even if the worker is not a union member. The right is not limited to employees and may include casual, temporary and agency workers. The law provides that a worker has the right to reasonably request they are accompanied by a colleague of their choice, or trade union official, at a disciplinary or grievance hearing. A trade union official is someone employed by the trade union as an official or another person employed by the trade union with appropriate experience. The only proviso is the worker’s request to be accompanied must be reasonable. A request
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will be reasonable if it relates to a colleague or trade union official. You must not choose the representative or put any pressure on the worker to be represented by a particular person, even if you think the person they have chosen is likely to be disruptive or otherwise prejudice the hearing. When can we take into account warnings that have expired? In most cases, expired warnings cannot be taken into account to determine new disciplinary penalties. However, they do not need to be ignored for all purposes. If the employee’s behaviour is sufficiently serious to justify dismissal you can refer to an expired warning to explain why you have decided to dismiss this individual in circumstances where you may have applied a less serious sanction to another member of staff. In other words, you do not have to pretend that previous misconduct never happened if you have enough evidence to justify dismissing the individual. If you don’t have
“If you don’t have enough evidence, you cannot use an expired warning to increase the penalty you wish to impose”
enough evidence, you cannot use an expired warning to increase the penalty you wish to impose. If you wish to refer to live and expired warnings when determining promotion, individual pay awards or bonuses etc, it is sensible to make sure your policy refers to the fact that warnings will be disregarded for the purposes of future disciplinary sanctions, but will stay on the employee’s records and may be referred to for other purposes. Warnings amount to personal data and the Employment Practices Data Protection Code suggests that where disciplinary procedures provide for warnings to expire, employees should be informed if these will be removed entirely from the employee’s personnel records. How long should warnings remain on an employee’s file? Normal practice is for different types of warnings to remain in force for different periods of time. The non-statutory Acas guidance (which accompanies the statutory Code of Practice) suggests a first written warning might be valid for up to six months while a final written warning may remain in force for 12 months (or more in exceptional circumstances). Warnings should cease to be “live” following the period specified in the notice. While this is a useful rule of thumb, there is nothing to stop you imposing longer warning periods in appropriate circumstances.
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For example, if an employee’s conduct is satisfactory throughout the period the warning is in force, but lapses soon after, you may want to extend the new warning beyond six or 12 months. Similarly, if the same type of misconduct which gave rise to the warning is repeated after the expiry of the warning, you are likely to be justified in imposing a longer warning – possibly two years, or, in exceptional cases, even longer. An employee has not turned up for a disciplinary hearing. Can we proceed? Yes, but it is normally not advisable to do so and there are risks attached, particularly if you are considering dismissing the employee. In conduct cases, the purpose of a disciplinary hearing is to decide if the employee has committed the offence of which they are accused. The process must be fair and,
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to achieve this, employees must be given advance warning of the allegations and any evidence against them beforehand. Then they must have the opportunity to respond to these and to provide any evidence to support their version of events. Employees with two years’ service have the right to bring claims of unfair dismissal. Employers must have a fair reason for dismissing an employee and additionally to adopt a fair procedure before doing so. The Acas Code of Practice recommends that if an employee fails to attend through circumstances outside of their control (such as through sickness), you should invite them to a further hearing. Even if the employee was not sick and does not give you a good reason to explain their nonattendance, we recommend that you err on the side of caution and offer a further hearing.
Your letter inviting the employee to the hearing should make it clear that if they fail to attend the rescheduled meeting without reasonable explanation you reserve the right to make a decision in their absence. Before making a decision on how to proceed when an employee is repeatedly unable or unwilling to attend a meeting, the Acas Guide suggests the employer take into account the following considerations: Any rules the organisation has for dealing with failure to attend disciplinary meetings The seriousness of the disciplinary issue under consideration The employee’s disciplinary record (including current warnings), general work record, work experience, position and length of service Medical opinion on whether the employee is fit to attend the meeting
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How similar cases in the past have been dealt with. If you do hold the hearing in the employee’s absence, write to them with the outcome and offer the right of appeal. If the employee appeals, it may be sensible to conduct the appeal as a re-hearing to make sure all of the issues and evidence are reviewed. We invite an employee to a disciplinary hearing but they phone in sick. Their doctor has indicated they are suffering from stress and the disciplinary process is exacerbating it. It is not uncommon for employees facing disciplinary sanctions (particularly in circumstances where they fear being dismissed) to phone in sick in the hope the disciplinary process is abandoned. This has to be carefully managed as the situation gives rise to two conflicting priorities. On the one hand, there is a need to ensure matters are dealt with speedily and fairly, particularly if it is a serious case in which other employees’ interests are involved. On the other, the employee may genuinely not be well enough to attend. You will be expected to act reasonably and what is reasonable will depend upon the seriousness of the allegations. If the issue relates to the employee’s performance, you may need to consider whether their stress/anxiety has resulted in their poor performance. If it has - you may need medical evidence to establish this - you should consider postponing the process until the employee is fit enough to continue. If you do not expect the employee to return to work in the near future and the allegation against them is potentially serious enough to warrant dismissal or a final written warning, it is
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“While the employee may be too ill to attend work, they may be fit enough to attend a disciplinary hearing” good practice to consult an occupational health advisor (or other medical professional) with a view to obtaining a report about the employee’s fitness to attend a disciplinary hearing. While the employee may be too ill to attend work, they may be fit enough to attend a hearing. The occupational health advisor will consider whether any adjustments need to be made such as holding the hearing in a neutral venue, by telephone or by inviting the employee to make written representations. It’s also worth remembering that having the threat of disciplinary action hanging over an employee’s head will often exacerbate their symptoms and the occupational health advisor may consider that dealing with the issue will help the employee’s recovery. If you do obtain medical advice you must not ignore it. If the advice is that the employee is not fit to attend a hearing, you should postpone it. If you proceed in the employee’s absence they may be able to bring a claim of unfair dismissal against you and/ or discrimination if their medical condition amounts to a disability. Do employees have the right to appeal against a disciplinary warning (even if only verbal)? The Acas Statutory Code of Practice states employers should allow their staff to appeal against any disciplinary action taken against them. This therefore includes verbal warnings. If you do not follow the Acas Code
and the employee successfully brings a claim against you, the Employment Tribunal can increase any award made to them by up to 25%. While this is clearly good practice, if your employee has less than two years’ service and if the appeal process is non-contractual, you can dispense with an appeal. An employee commits an act of misconduct. Ordinarily, we would impose a written warning but they already have a final written warning under our capability procedure. Can we rely on it to dismiss them? No. The two procedures are distinct and it’s likely to be considered unfair if you rely on a final written warning under your capability procedure to justify dismissal for an act of misconduct. Please note: the fairness of your decision will only be a factor if the employee has the right to bring a claim for ordinary unfair dismissal. It is not usually necessary to start a separate disciplinary procedure in circumstances where an employee has been given a warning for a particular conduct issue (poor timekeeping) and then commits a different type of misconduct (rudeness). Fergal Dowling is a partner at Irwin Mitchell and head of the Midlands employment team, the largest team within the national Employment and Pensions Group. Contact him at: fergal.dowling@irwinmitchell. com or visit irwinmitchell.com/ business/employment-law
GCMA.ORG.UK | 51
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
Accounting
BASICS Can’t tell your income from your balance sheet? Adam Wilkinson, of Colour Accounting, comes to the rescue with a 10-point plan to simplifying what is to many of us a confusing subject 1. Accounting is important Most people don’t like accounting and have never been taught about it. But it’s a critical skill to have. The people that understand the accounts are better placed to make good financial decisions for their business, whether is a law firm or a golf club. The problem is it is based on some abstract concepts that are not usually explained well and it seems complicated, intimidating and difficult to understand. The good news is accounting is really easy when it’s explained properly. 2. Structure, movement and language When you understand how accountants organise numbers, the world of accounting will open up to you. There are three key elements: Structure, Movement and Language. Firstly, Structure. This is the overall framework in which accountants organise information and the rules that govern it. For example, what information is contained on a Balance Sheet, what is in the Income Statement, and what these reports tell us. Secondly, Movement. This is the way accountants record transactions as they happen within this structure.
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It’s how one account relates to another and how the numbers move around within the structure. Thirdly, and most importantly, there is Language. This is the biggest block for most people and for good reason: accountants are terrible with language! Accounting has many words that can refer to the same thing, while
certain words can also mean many different things. When accountants use words, they often mean something different from the standard meaning. The language of accounting is often confusing and this makes it difficult to understand what the accounts mean. Ultimately, accountants are
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storytellers. When you can see how they put the story together, it becomes easy to grasp what is going on. 3. Why accounting is easy… Usually it’s indecipherable spreadsheets, confusing language and jargon such as debits and credits. Underneath that, all accountants are doing is organising. All you need to understand is HOW they organise things. We all understand how to
organise the various things in our lives. It might be the golf clubs in your bag – you will have a way in which you organise them. It could be a functional approach (woods, long irons, short irons all together) or it might be a visual system. When you know how these things are organised, it makes it
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easy to find what you need. But if you go to someone else’s house, and you don’t know how they organise, it’s more difficult to find what you are after. Accountants are organising numbers. They may be organising thousands of transactions, even millions of pounds worth of information, but they are just organising that information in a particular way. This method of organising data has become ingrained over years of training and practice so it is second nature. But it’s not natural at all - in fact it’s quite an abstract system and so accounting appears very confusing to most people. But at its heart it’s actually very simple and elegant. Everything in the world of finance is organised into one of five categories. It’s either an Asset, a Liability, Equity, Income or an Expense. 4. The duality at the heart of Accounting If hold up my iPad and ask the question “What have I got in my hand”,everyone can identify it’s an iPad, but there’s more to it. I will then ask “What makes this iPad unique?” Someone will point out that it is my iPad. On the face of it, this is a very minor change in the description, but it’s fundamentally important to how accounting works. There are two things going on: there is the tangible world of the actual object we can see. Secondly, there is an invisible world of ownership, the world of rights and claims over the objects we can see. There is a duality: of WHAT something is, and WHOSE something is. Almost everything exists within
this duality because most things are owned by someone – whether a person, a company or the state. Why is this relevant to accounting? The critical thing is accounting takes place WITHIN this duality. Accounting is about recording what things are and whose they are. This means there are two aspects to everything in accounting, and this fundamentally shapes how accounting works, and even why a balance sheet will always balance. 5. The butterfly: time to spread our wings Imagine a butterfly spread out so you can see the two wings in front of you. In shape and size they are equal and opposite. The wing on the left hand side is going to represent what accountants call Assets. The wing on the right is going to represent what accountants call Liabilities and Equity. Trust you are starting to build up an image of what’s called a Balance Sheet. Most people, confronted with financial reports, feel while they may be able to make sense of an income statement, they find the balance sheet much more mysterious. But the fundamental principle is very simple. Imagine you own your own house. The butterfly’s left wing represents the asset itself, the house. Let’s say it’s worth £250,000. The right wing represents how you have funded that house. That may be with a £200,000 mortgage (a liability), and with £50,000 of your own investment – your equity. The right wing – your liability and your equity – HAS to add up to the value of the house, the asset, because it is describing the value of the house.
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL So a business has both uses of funds and sources of funds: these will always be in balance.
The left wing is the value and the right wing is how you have funded it. Over time, as the value of your house goes up, the value of your equity in it will go up too, so the values remain in total balance. It’s exactly the same with the balance sheet of a company. It’s describing the value of the assets of the business and how those assets have been funded, so the value is the same by definition and a balance sheet will always balance. 6. Assets are at the heart of every business Every business needs certain assets to operate. What’s interesting is when an accountant uses the word asset, it usually means something different than you think. For an accountant to record something as an asset of a business, it has to meet two key criteria. The business must actually legally own, or control, the asset and they must be able to measure the value of that asset reliably. So what are business assets? Tangible items are the most obvious. A golf club may own the land and the clubhouse. It may also own associated items as well - the furniture in the clubhouse, the stock behind the bar and so on. But assets can also be intangible. Lots of businesses have money
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tied up in Intellectual Property, such as patents, copyrights and trademarks. Assets are the valuable things that a business owns and are what an accountant will record on a balance sheet of a company. 7. Understanding Liabilities and Equity To have assets, a business needs to fund itself. There are two things you can do to get up and running, either borrow money from lenders, such as banks, or get investment, in return for some shares in the company. If you borrow money, that’s what accountants call Liabilities. If it’s invested in return for shares it’s called Equity. Liabilities are amounts that are repayable at a certain point in time, and attract a known return in the form of interest. Equity is not repayable at all - the owners are taking a risk on the company and may never get their money back if things go badly. If things go well, their upside is far greater. Liabilities and Equity have one hugely important feature in common: they are both sources of funding. They are where a business can get money from. Conversely, assets represent how a business is using its funds, and what it is doing with its money.
8. Income: the third source of funds Borrowing money, and getting investment, are two ways a business can source funds. But there is a third way - going out and earning it. There are two main ways this happens - either by selling goods or by providing services. A golf club will earn both of these. For goods, a club earns money by selling food and beverage at the bar, or golf equipment from the shop. For services, the club provides membership which allows people access to the course and facilities. Green fees, society days, are examples of providing services, and how a club generates income. But the definition of income may not be what you think it is. I’ll ask people “What the is the sound of income?” Invariably the answer comes back as ‘Ka-Ching!’ This is the sound that we all associate with the word Income. From an accountants perspective, this association is entirely false. The sound represents the cash hitting the till. Cash is actually an asset and it’s recorded on the balance sheet. It’s the money we have in the bank, and this is separate from the concept of income. The income is actually the value of the work we have done that has given rise to the payment, and not the payment itself. 9. Expenses: how businesses use up funds There is one more category of information that accountants use when recording how a business is performing: their expenses. A club will have a wide variety
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of expenses over the course of a year, though these will likely fall into three main categories - the course, the clubhouse and general administration. The expenses will also relate to certain types of products or services - the club will have various staff and a regular wage bill to pay. These salaries will arise in each of these three categories according to what roles the staff members have. There will be rent, maintenance, depreciation and utility bills. But, just like income is not necessarily recorded at the time cash comes into a business, so expenses are not when cash goes out of a business. Expenses are not expenditure. Imagine you’ve bought a car for £15,000 in cash. Is that an expense? No. You have got a new asset parked outside your house, even though you have spent the money. Over time, though, the value of that car depreciates. In five years, you sell the car for £5,000. The real cost over the life of the asset was £10,000 over five years – or £2,000 per year. This is how accountants see expenses too. Expenses are when you use up or consume products and services, and not necessarily when you pay for them. This can happen on a very large scale, with your greenkeeping machinery being depreciated over many years, or a smaller scale your insurance bill may all be paid at the start of the year. The expense, and the expenditure happen at separate times and accountants will record these events separately to best show how and when a value is truly generating profits, or surplus value, over time.
transaction gets recorded into one of five categories: Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Income or Expenses. These transactions are recorded in the General Ledger - this is the accounting system used to record and track all the things happening, whether it’s paying your staff or buying some new greenkeeping equipment. Based on this information, they can produce two key financial reports that show how the club has performed historically: the income statement and the balance sheet. The Balance Sheet is an overview of all the things a club owns and how it has funded them. The income statement is entirely different: it shows the activities of the club over a period of time. It shows how those activities generate value for the club, through memberships and green fee income, and how much it costs to run the club including the course or clubhouse expenses. The net result of the income
statement, the surplus or deficit for the year, feeds into the Equity section of the Balance Sheet to make it balance, and it is this link that ties the two reports together and makes the whole system work. The income statement is NOT a measure of cash coming into, or out of, the business. It is showing the value generated, or used by, the business. This is because an activity (either income or expense) can take place at a different point in time from the payment and these differences get tracked on the balance sheet either as amounts owed to the club, or by the club to others. That’s why there is a separate report called the cash flow statement, which purely shows the amounts of cash that are coming into, and being spent by, the club. It shows you how the bank account is moving over time, while the income statement shows how your overall value is moving over time.
10. What do the balance sheet and the P&L tell us? We know every impact from a
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From the
HELPDESK This month: Noise nuisance, taking lieu time and...do greenkeepers need to wear hard hats? A member whose house is next to the golf course has started to complain about the noise of greens machinery between 7am and 8am on Monday to Fridays. Where does the law stand? The complaint can be classed as a ‘nuisance’ and this is defined in law as “any continuous activity or state of affairs causing substantial and unreasonable interference with a [claimant’s] land or his use of enjoyment of that land.” He could take out an injunction against you to force you to mow at a reasonable hour with the court likely to define what was reasonable. There is the option to take the defence with the 20-year prescription rule, where if a private nuisance continues for 20 years it becomes legal, so long as the defendant can show it has been continuous and the claimant has been aware. Visit: gov.uk/guidance/statutorynuisances-how-councils-dealwith-complaints We’re a proprietary club going through a change of owner. Our head greenkeeper has accumulated time off in lieu, but can’t take it before the takeover is complete. Does it carry over under TUPE? Broadly speaking, the effect of the TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings
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(Protection of Employment) Regulations is to preserve the continuity of employment and protect the terms and conditions of those members of staff who are transferred to a new employer. For example, contracts of employment will continue after a transfer to a new employer as though they had originally been made with the new employer, and they should as if they had been employed by the new employer all along. In this scenario, therefore, whatever arrangements are in place for dealing with TOIL (Time off in Lieu) with the current employer, will automatically transfer under TUPE. The new employer should be made aware of the situation before transfer. Should greenkeepers be wearing hard hats whilst they operate mowers? If so, is it a legal requirement? It is for the club to address the risks that could result in greenkeepers being injured before introducing hard hats. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and current Health and Safety Regulations both place obligations on employers to protect employees at work. However, whilst there is the Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989, there is no equivalent regulation relating to
golf clubs. Regulations suggest recording formal risk assessments with the greenkeeper, especially as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is advised to be the last resort. It is worth noting if a greenkeeper was to have as serious accident, there is no doubt that an Environmental Health Officer could prosecute if the risk assessment was not suitable. This article can be found in document 1200 in the Information Library. Visit: gcma.org. uk/library/1200/ The club uses two suppliers for wood pellets for the heating system. One supplier charges VAT at 20%, the other at 5%. The club is charged 5% on the fuel it orders for course machinery. What should the VAT rate be? The Government specify if the amount you buy is less than one tonne then it’s at the 5% rate. If above then, as you are a business, it should be at the standard rate. With fuel, you are allowed up to 2,300 litres at the reduced rate, but if it is not sold as road fuel then anything above that is also reduced. Visit: gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vatfuel-and-power An online helpdesk staffed by industry experts offers an advisory service. Visit gcma.org.uk/ members.
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From the
REGIONS NORTH WEST Tuesday, July 11 Hesketh More than 50 members and guests attended the summer meeting and Captain’s Day event at Hesketh. Regional manager Neil Annandale updated members on several issues, with emphasis given to this year’s national conference, the Golf Club Management Awards and actions to be taken to address issues caused by late withdrawal from regional meetings. There were three presentations on financial management in golf clubs, the first provided by Gareth Maddock and Candice Higgins, of Whitehead and Howarth Chartered Accountants. As well as providing information on what constitutes good financial management, tips and advice were provided on the checks and balances that need to be put in place to achieve that and avoid the risk of fraud and theft. Junier Browne, of JBEL Environmental Services Ltd, provided a thought-provoking presentation on managing water resources in the event of a drought - a message that was extremely well received. The final presentation saw James Wilkinson, of Albatross Digital Golf, provide an excellent insight into what is involved in running Facebook advertising campaigns and the benefits that
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can be derived from them. He used the example of how Sam Poole, of Leigh, generated £25,000 of revenue in three months using Facebook advertising. WALES Thursday, July 13 Tenby, Pembrokeshire
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
Wales were hopeful of landing their first win for several years when they took on the England Golf Managers at Tenby. The match was close, with two going down to the last putt on the 18th. But this didn’t dampen the disappointment felt by the Wales Region after falling to a 6-2 defeat. The gloom surrounding the defeat lifted at the post-match dinner when it was revealed the 2018 match would take place at The Oxfordshire. The day was awash with networking opportunities and golf management-related discussion with the odd funny story thrown in. Thanks must go to David Hancock and his team at Tenby for the fabulous welcome which was afforded to both teams and for the use of the links.
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
Joan Raffety Wales
Mike Rees Wessex
Alex Taylor Yorkshire
Cameron Dawson
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A week in the life of...
ALEC FERNIHOUGH We meet the general manager of Gaudet Luce in Droitwich
T
WO courses, FootGolf, a driving range, a bar and a restaurant: Gaudet Luce, set in Worcestershire countryside, is a busy venue. The club, led by general manager Alec Fernihough, have been rewarded for their innovative ways in growing the game. In April 2016, they were presented
Monday 7am I am on shop opening this morning so sort all the buggies out for today’s use and greet our first golfers of the day, along with saying hello to parents dropping children at the childcare part of our business. The rest of the morning is filled with various conversations with members of the senior section explaining why subs have increased this year. Although we have a rolling year for subs, July is when the bulk of our historic subs fall due for payment so June is always a time for interesting conversations. 2pm Following lunch is a meeting with the economics teacher from our local school who wants to use us as a case study for next year’s A-Level students. I am to talk about USPs and
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with the membership gong at the England Golf Awards after the Utopian Golf scheme – a flexible membership package based on a points system – helped to double numbers. “I have a pretty varied time of it with no real pattern to my week other than it involving lots of interesting conversations,” he said of his day-to-day movements. “I normally try and restrict formal
meetings to, at the most, two a day and the rest of the day is spent replying to emails, telephone conversations and informal chats with members and visitors either in the shop or over a coffee in the bar. I also do at least one shift a week in the shop and occasional shifts behind the bar as this allows me to have a better interaction with our members than if I just see them in the car park.” Here’s what Fernihough got up to during one typical week.
communication but it will be a good exercise as it means we can take a close look at what we do and where we can improve.
up this weekend and at the start of next week. We have a look at sales in both departments ahead of our marketing meeting tomorrow.
Tuesday 9am I pop in to make sure everything is okay. The rest of the day is spent on the course at our Accountants Golf Day. I get to play at a course which we have a reciprocal deal with so I can have a conversation with the owner to make sure that we will be continuing the deal over the next year. Sadly, my contribution to the team score was not great but I make it round 18 holes for the first time this year. Wednesday 8am There’s a midweek meeting with our shop manager and hospitality manager to confirm what is coming
12pm Childcare meeting to finalise activities for Holiday Club in the upcoming Summer Holidays. 3pm Prep work for the marketing meeting tomorrow. Thursday 9am Marketing meeting. First up are the head chef and hospitality manager to finalise campaigns for our Christmas party nights, new Sunday lunch offering and the rest of the social calendar until the end of the year – as well as this year’s New Year’s Eve party.
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We are then joined by our golf operations manager to discuss our marketing campaign for societies this winter and for next season. Finally, the hospitality guys escape and the shop manager joins us to talk about Christmas activity in the pro shop. After a quick break for lunch, I spend the afternoon walking around our par 3 course, working out how many cars I can park there for the Trilby Tour event we are hosting in July. Parking will be our biggest problem as we must keep space for parents to pick up and drop off children at the nursery, and for customers of the tenants we have on site. But the course comes in useful for all sorts of things apart from golf and we will be able to park around 100 cars on it.
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Friday There are no formal meetings until lunchtime but there’s a conversation with our hospitality manager regarding the group of people who come to play Petanque on a Friday morning as they all seem to want their food to arrive as soon as they finish playing. I have a conversation with our junior committee chair as she is worried because some of our juniors have joined local clubs offering free memberships, especially some of our lower-handicap girls. We decide to continue as we are as we are still coaching over 150 juniors in our academy each week. 1pm: I have a lunch meeting with our head pro and shop manager to discuss hardware sales, custom fitting and a new trade in option for junior clubs. I escape early but return at 8pm to train a new member of staff on closing
procedures for the bar at the end of an evening shift. Saturday, It’s a day off with the family but I pop in at lunch-time to see how the second round of the Gents’ Club Championship is progressing. Sunday It’s a 6am start to open the shop and it leads to a good conversation with our junior committee chair who has just had the great news of three new recruits to the junior section – one of whom is off 9 – and a victory for the junior team in yesterday’s match. I am relieved in the shop at 10am so that I can sit and write this. Now I am off to smile sweetly at the chef for my Sunday lunch as the roast beef looks pretty good to me.
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
Meet the
MANAGER
Sponsor of the 2017 GCMA Manager of the Year award
With Nikki Chantry, director of golf at Louth, in Lincolnshire
Louth clubhouse
H
ow did you get into golf club management? I have worked in the golf industry since leaving school. I worked for a hotel chain as a golf sales and marketing manager and really loved the buzz of it all and working with a great team was so enjoyable. My role as director of golf at Louth is very involved in that side of the business so I found it a natural progression.
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What are the challenges? There are a few I have found! Dealing with so many different characters at a golf club and trying to please everyone has to be the hardest part of the job but it can be the most rewarding too. What part of your role do you enjoy most? I am a PGA professional so I am lucky enough at my club to still be able to do a few hours a week teaching, which is great fun. When a customer tells you they
won a competition or played the best shot of their life after a lesson, what could ever beat that? What’s the one thing you would change about it? I am really lucky to have a great support network at my club and pretty much have free reign. However, if there are major decisions that must be made I do have to take it to a board of directors, some of whom are not business-minded and can take a long time to action changes.
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What’s the best piece of advice you have been given? A great friend always tells me ‘life is not a rehearsal’. I have taken his advice and I make sure I live life to the max. Time is the most precious thing a person has and it should be treasured as it’s the one thing money can’t buy.
“They managed to talk me into posing nude in a bunker for our ‘Girls Wot Golf’ calendar. We raised an awful lot of money!”
achievement in golf? Passing my PGA course has to be the best thing I have ever achieved. I remember running through the corridors of the hotel I worked at shouting ‘I passed, I passed’ . The customers must have thought I was a lunatic! Where do you see the role of a club manager in 20 years? Retired in the Bahamas? No, joking aside, I would love to be one of those trouble shooters for golf clubs and help out those that are struggling to survive. I think I would really succeed in that sort of role. How do you feel about the state of the game? Golf is such a inclusive game,
these facts and really boosting our general advertising on the TV. England Golf are moving in the right direction getting Sky involved. They need more coverage on all television channels not just Sky, this would promote golf further and maybe get more people playing. Tell us something we don’t know about you? A group of ladies at my previous club decided they wanted to raise money for charity, it was when the Calendar Girls had just come out at the cinema. They managed to talk me into posing nude in a bunker for our own ‘Girls Wot Golf’ calendar. We raised an awful lot of money!
How often do you play golf? I do play golf occasionally, however I have a hip injury that needs surgery so playing is on the back burner at present. I play off scratch normally and I am desperate to get back out there after my surgery. What’s your favourite golfing memory? I was invited to go to watch the Ryder Cup at The Belfry as a VIP. The day was just amazing. We got to have lunch with the players and chat away to them, which is something I will never forget. What’s your proudest
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Louth
people can play the game no matter how old they are, what sex they are and you don’t need to be a millionaire to play it nowadays so we should be advertising
About To contact Louth, call 01507 603 681 or visit louthgolf.com
GCMA.ORG.UK | 65
GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
The month in
NUMBERS 23,138
658,000 rounds of golf recorded and published at HowDidiDo.com
Total June competitions recorded by HowDidiDo. GENTS:
LADIES:
14,463 8,675
439 recorded holes-inone in qualifying club competitions
132 Average playing handicap
Boss watches – awarded for verified holes-in-one – remain unclaimed. They can be claimed with the code at h1club.co.uk.
SEVENTEEN
2,479 eagles or better
66 | GCMA.ORG.UK
118,323 birdies
1,041,773
LOWEST EXACT HANDICAP
Gents
Ladies
-5.7 -5.3 (plus) (plus) Stats provided by HowdidIdo.com
pars
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