T H E S O U RC E F O R P R I VAT E C L U B E X C E L L E N C E
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THE
McMahon Report
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M AY 2 0 1 9
Club Improvements Drive Membership Success at Laurel Creek Country Club
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Miller Dodson McMahon Offering Asset Reserve and Club Transition Studies
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Taming The Two Headed Food and Beverage Beast
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The Big Six. Maintaining an advantage
FROM THE PRESIDENT ABOUT MCMAHON GROUP Our Mission “To be the premier, full service, club consulting firm dedicated to private club excellence by providing clubs and their managements with the best possible facility and strategic planning expertise to promote each clubs well being, to enhance the profession of club management and to assist presidents and boards in their delivery of effective governance.” Family and management owned since 1983 YEARS with a professional staff IN B USINESS of planners, architects, funding specialists, survey/ marketing specialists, graphic designers, PhD marketing/consumer researchers and past club managers.
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We have served clubs throughout the world in all aspects of their facility, strategic planning, clubhouse, golf, membership, financial and dining needs.
WHAT WE OFFER
Some 36 years ago we brought a new approach for facility planning to the private club world. Up until that time, most clubs used a scattershot method to make changes to their physical plants. We felt we had a better way, one that relied upon objective research, clarity of mission and master planning to produce plans that were more impactful and durable. Aligned with a member communication that invites feedback and encourages buy-in, we changed how clubs go about planning for the future. With some $2.5 billion worth of projects in the field, it looks like we were onto something. That’s why we are honored to be selected by BoardRoom as both the Strategic Planning and Member Survey firm of the year for 2018. It seems like what we thought was new in the old days, is still relevant today. We consider these two services the bedrock of our approach. They allow clubs to understand their members and set a direction for the future and then use this clarity as a way to create facility improvement plans that propel the club to new heights.
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2000 CLUBS
SERVED
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You’ll find tools and tips throughout this edition of The McMahon Report® to help you understand where the club industry can and should go in the future and recommendations for how to build a relevant experience for your members. These many years into it, we are glad to know that The McMahon Way continues to be recognized as the gold standard in club planning.
BILLION • Strategic Planning RAISED and Implementation • Facility Planning and Funding • Membership Surveys and Research • Dining Enhancement Consulting • Club Financial Reviews
Let us know if we can help you in your quest for private club excellence.
McMahon Group, Inc.
Frank Vain, President
670 Mason Ridge Center Drive, Suite 220 St. Louis, Missouri 63141 • 314.744.5040 info@mcmahongroup.com www.mcmahongroup.com www.clubmanageraward.com
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“I
n January, I was very flattered when Bill McMahon Sr. invited me to lead McMahon Group’s consulting services in Canada. It was over 30 years ago that I introduced Bill to the Canadian market as a CSCM Speaker at St. George’s Golf & Country Club in Toronto. Shortly thereafter, McMahon Group developed a Master Plan for Royal Montreal and updated the same in 2000. McMahon Group had developed a client list of Canadian golf, city and yacht clubs. Many of these clubs have invited McMahon to return and work, in co-operation with their General Managers and Boards, to develop a new Strategic Plan or a “Refresher” of their current one, to survey their membership, to undertake an operations review or develop a facility plan and successful funding strategy.
Miller Dodson McMahon Offering Asset Reserve and Club Transition Studies Especially For Clubs By William P. McMahon, Sr., AIA, OAA
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e are pleased to announce our association with Miller Dodson, capital reserve specialist for private clubs and gated communities around
Many of you may have received a letter outlining the benefits of our new Strategic Refresher program, to which some clubs have already replied. Others in the Ottawa and Toronto regions will be visited by Bill McMahon and myself in midMay. Should you wish to spend a few moments with us, it would be our pleasure to make a courtesy call on your club. Please do not hesitate to contact me in this regard . . . we would look forward to seeing you. It is rather coincidental that, more than three decades after I introduced McMahon Group to Canada, McMahon now gives me the opportunity to introduce myself to you, your Team and your Board. I look forward to hearing from you very soon.” - Denzil Palmer
Denzil Palmer - Club Consultant dpalmer@mcmahongroup.com Office: 314.744.5040
the nation. McMahon Group has been working with Peter Miller, Architect and Jim Dodson, Engineer for over 11 years doing club asset studies, and we are now developing special programs to help our clubs. Miller Dodson has served over 10,000 clients with their studies, of which include many of McMahon Group’s clients. The Miller Dodson McMahon studies are specially suited for McMahon Group’s comprehensive facility planning services which help managers and boards plan, fund and receive approval for major club improvement programs. Two recent completed studies were for The Baltimore Country Club and The Army and Navy Club. Call Alison McMahon Duffy at 314.744.5040 or email aduffy@mcmahongroup.com to receive more information on the importance of properly maintaining proper facilities.
The McMahon Report®
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FAC ILI TI ES
THE CRITICAL STEPS ASSURING PRIVATE CLUB FACILITY SUCCESS
FIRST IN A SERIES OF FACILITY FOCUSED ARTICLES
Planning That Results in Private Club Excellence by Frank Vain - President
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ne of the chief promises of club membership is access to a special set of facilities and programs. Just thinking about clubs, our mind jumps to visions of a special golf course or classic clubhouse, and more than ever, to a broad set of wonderful amenities for fitness and wellness and places to gather with families and friends. Of course, great programs are difficult to pull off without the venues to house them. This makes clubs capital intensive entities, and by extension, means 4
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two of the chief duties of the leadership are to maintain the physical plant in top condition, and to develop and execute planned improvements that support a relevant membership experience. These are heady responsibilities that take thought, planning and funding. Many clubs struggle with them, often underfunding normal capex and pursuing a random set of projects that lack guidance from a strategic plan and the cohesion of a multi-phase master plan. There are many reasons for this,
such as the ebb and flow of emphasis found among rotating boards or personal agendas from strongwilled leaders who want action now. This often results in spending a lot of money on plans that don’t come to fruition or building things that fall short of member and market needs. With over 30 years of experience in the private club arena, McMahon Group has developed a planning process that surmounts these challenges. Clubs are community assets, where leaders confront a complex set of internal opinions and desires, with many voices that want and need to be heard. On the other side, many members have entrenched usage patterns which may not align with the desires of prospective members.
When club leaders recognize that their capital plan is not working and the physical plant is becoming dated, there is a tendency to think first about a specific building project as in “let’s fix up the pool” or “renovate the main dining room”. This often leads to forming a committee of construction professionals from among the membership, selecting an architect and contractor, and developing an improvement plan for a select area of the club. This is rarely an effective starting point. Over the next several issues of The McMahon Report®, we’ll take you through the key phases of club planning, from the initial stages of building consensus to act among your leadership, to identifying or updating your club’s mission and vision, enrolling your members into refining and adopting the plan and, ultimately, forming that Building Committee and constructing your improvements. But let’s start at the beginning, which is forming consensus among the leadership that there needs to be a plan and then embracing the process that fits your club’s profile and position.
GETTING STARTED
First Impressions Are Lasting:
A First Impression Visit is a oneday site visit from McMahon to review your club’s positioning and facilities, understand its challenges and spend time with the board to discuss key trends in clubs and begin building consensus about both the need to plan and, more importantly, the process that leads to success. We provide a First Impressions Report and outline a customized planning methodology for your club.
It Is All About
THE MEMBERS
Strategy Refresher: For clubs with an existing Strategic Plan a Strategy Refresher can jump start the planning process. In order to develop a truly effective long range plan, the first order of business is to develop clarity about why your club exists and what it needs to become in the future. This workshop identifies the strategic premise for the club and thus, the type of physical plant that will be necessary to support the vision. It allows the board to set the agenda for the Planning Committee, assuring that their work is in support of the overall direction of the club. It can also identify those near-term issues that should be cleared up before dealing with bigger-picture issues. Both of these programs are available at very little cost. They are part of McMahon’s commitment to building a strong club industry. They will help you start the process of refreshing your club and positioning it for success. Stay tuned to The McMahon Report® over the balance of the year as we take you on your journey toward Club Excellence.
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FAC ILI TI ES
Club Improvements Drive Membership Success by William P. McMahon, Sr., AIA, OAA - Chairman
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f you want to see what a great club improvement program can do for a terrific mid-sized club, visit Laurel Creek. With Laurel Creek Country Club having been built to sell real estate in an unbundled development, it delivered and was very successful in achieving an early housing sell-out and thus turn over to its members. Now while
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the Club had a fine Arnold Palmer golf course, it had a quaint, small clubhouse totally inadequate to serve its projected 800 members. Thus, without proper facilities membership was languishing due to an inadequate clubhouse and pool in what was primarily a golf-oriented club. But that all changed due to a very dedicated Board and President, Scott Hill who while passing away earlier
this year, got to see his dream come true. In addition, two key members, Scott Duman and Michael Hughey led the construction process. But lest we forget, there was one very dedicated General Manager, Joel Inman, who worked his heart out to make this project a success as his goal was “making Laurel Creek one of the best clubs in the Philadelphia/New Jersey area”. And he succeeded.
Old Photos Small and poorly located mixed grill room
Limited outdoor dining space
THE MEMBERSHIP GROWTH CAN SPEAK FOR ITSELF
The results in member satisfaction and growth from the $4.5 million project (which was completed this past November 2018) are impressive. From 652 members the Club now has 715 with it expecting to reach its 800-member goal this year. Even though the Club already had a strong food and beverage program, food sales are up 25% and liquor sales up 40%, yet the Club has not felt the impact of its first summer.
THE PROJECT DELIVERABLES
The completed project has provided a golf range upgrade, pool splash pad and snack bar improvements, and a knock-out clubhouse upgrade with a new bar area and adjacent grill/outdoor dining deck, kitchen, women’s locker room, golf simulator area and upgrades to existing areas. The club utilized McMahon’s A to Z survey/strategic facility planning approval process to get the right project approved.
“We are seeing the fruits of our labor. We hit a membership milestone last year and we will surpass that milestone this month with another 85+ memberships still to add. The McMahon comprehensive planning and communication process made the difference in our getting approval of the right project.”
Joel Inman - GM, COO Laurel Creek Country Club The McMahon Report®
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O P E RATI ON S
Taming The Two-Headed Food and Beverage Beast by Richard Lareau, CCM, CCE, ECM, and Christian Clerc - Consultant & Designer
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ood and beverage at clubs is being pulled in two directions. Members are seeking both convenience and a memorable dining experience. Very often these member expectations are not being met at many clubs. The very real demands of these two seemingly competing values are further exaggerated in a club’s dining program as the dining program succeeds. The more members that come to the club, the more strain on the back of the house and food production area. These increases push the back of the house to grow or be redesigned. It often is the case that members want to come all at once. These peak hour meals place demands not only on the back of house facilities, but simultaneously on the methods of communication between
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the service staff and kitchen. The front of the house needs to satisfy the rapidly increasing member expectations for service response times. Club members may dislike the philosophy of technology filling the gap for staff productivity, but food and beverage nationwide is undergoing a re-balancing of automation compared with personal engagement. There are new tools that can be integrated into your food and beverage facilities by McMahon professionals that understand how to improve those facilities at your club. Simply put, the club kitchens of yesterday are grossly underperforming. Don’t try to hobble together an improvement project piecemeal. We at McMahon can help with a comprehensive Food and Beverage facilities update to arm your club and staff with the
weapons they need to slaughter and serve up this two-headed beast of convenience and memorable dining to your members. Learn about the success story of how Legends Golf and Country Club in Fort Myers, FL tamed their two-headed beast in an upcoming edition of The McMahon Report®.
C LU B N EWS
The Big Six by Bill McMahon Jr. - Vice President
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lubs are always looking to maintain a competitive advantage to attract the next generation of members to their club. Over the years of writing about private club trends, we have identified six major trends that affect people’s lives, which ultimately affect how they will use their clubs. It will be important for club leaders to ensure they address these trends in their club’s offerings to remain successful. 1 Time-constrained Society: The biggest enemy in people’s lives today is time. There is less and less time to do the things people want due to work obligations and raising families. 2 Role of Women: In today’s world, a woman has just as much influence on what club the family joins today than ever before. They are working full-time and sharing the duties of raising the family.
3 Sense of Community: The sole reason a club exists is to bring people together who have the same likes and desires. This is done through great facilities, but more importantly through fun programs that encourage participation. 4 Health & Wellness: This important activity in clubs (third most important to members) is continuing to evolve and grow beyond just a fitness center as more people want to lead healthier lives. 5 Environmental Impact: Today’s younger members are putting a strong emphasis on making sure the organizations they are involved with are doing their part to make sure the environment is safe for the future.
6 Communications & Technology: An area that is rapidly changing how clubs operate with the goal of making the member experience frictionless. The technology is out there to make it happen.
We have been providing valuable insight on the trends shaping our industry through Club Trends (published with the National Club Association), Pulse Survey research and our membership benchmark database from thousands of club members. It has become a useful tool for leadership at clubs as they look to enhance their members’ experience. McMahon Group is giving any club who schedules a First Impressions visit a free annual subscription to Club Trends. Contact Alison McMahon Duffy at aduffy@mcmahongroup.com for more information.
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Army & Navy Club Honors John Warnack, CCM, ECM By William P. McMahon, Sr., AIA, OAA
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n April 17th at the club’s annual meeting, Club President, Major General Daniel Wright, Ret. and Bill McMahon (representing the Excellence in Club Management® Award), presented John Warnack with the Mel Rex Excellence In Club Management® Award. In addition, General Wright was presented with the Club of Excellence Award for the Club’s outstanding service to its members. The Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C. was founded in 1885 as a private club serving retired and active duty military personnel, as well as non-military members. It has well over 3,000 members. Of special interest at the meeting was the presence of Lt. General Richard Trefry, Ret. whom Captain Thomas Strutz,
Bill McMahon Sr., and Club President, General Wright, Ret.
in those days and now McMahon’s survey guru, worked with the General on the Worldwide Army Club system report some 33 years ago. General Trefry is 95 years old and is as sharp as ever. Congratulations to a great manager and Club for being one of the finest clubs in the nation.
John Warnack, CCM, ECM
General Trefry and Tom Strutz
General Trefry (center) and Tom Strutz (far right) “In 1986, while an active duty captain in the Army, I assisted Lieutenant General Richard Trefry in an extensive study and review of Army Clubs (officer clubs and NCO/enlisted clubs). The purpose of the study was to make recommendations to the Army Chief of Staff regarding the future of Army Clubs and their role in support of soldiers and the Army Mission. During this year-long review, our team visited dozens of Army installations across the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Europe and Asia.” -Tom Strutz General Trefry with his wife and Bill McMahon Sr.
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THE CLUB FUNDRAISING SPECIALISTS!
OVER $2.5 BILLION FUNDED IN CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS!
MCMAHON GROUP IS PROUDLY SERVING THE FOLLOWING CLUBS NEW/RETURNING CLIENTS
Delray Dunes Golf & Country Club (FL) Grey Oaks Country Club (FL) • Lake Merced Golf Club (CA) Saddle & Cycle Club (IL) • The Golf Club of Avon (CT) Westmoor Country Club (WI) • Windstar Club (FL)
EXISTING CLIENTS Baltimore Country Club (MD) • Bedford Golf & Tennis Club (NY) • Big Foot Country Club (WI) • Boca Rio Golf Club (FL) Bonnie Briar Country Club (NY) • Broadmoor Country Club (IN) • Brookside Country Club (CA) • Canoe Brook Country Club (NJ) Chester Valley Golf Club (PA) • Chicago Golf Club (IL) • Chicago Yacht Club (IL) • Fairfield Glade Community Club & Resort (TN) Fairlawn Country Club (OH) • Farm Neck Golf Club (MA) • GCSAA (KS) • Grandfather Golf and Country Club (NC) • Hidden Valley Lake Association (CA) Jupiter Island Club (FL) • Kalamazoo Country Club (MI) • Mendham Golf and Tennis Club (NJ) • Merion Golf Club (PA) • Montclair Golf Club (NJ) Mountain Air Country Club (NC) • Philadelphia Cricket Club (PA) • Quaker Ridge Golf Club (NY) • Ridgemoor Country Club (IL) Roaring Gap Club (NC) • Rockaway River Country Club (NJ) • Seabrook Island Club (SC) • Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club (CA) Sleepy Hollow Country Club (NY) • SouthShore Country Club LLV (NV) • Spouting Rock Beach Association (RI) • The Honors Course (TN) The Town Club (WI) • Town and Country Club (CA) • Valley Lo Club (IL) • Ventana Canyon Golf & Racquet Club (AZ) • Wellesley Country Club (MA)
McMahon Group First Impressions Our complimentary First Impressions Visit is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of our club expertise. Our club specialist will visit your club, learn about its issues, tour its facilities and issue a First Impressions Report. We will also meet with you and your Board to explain trends, review your club’s issues & recommend innovative solutions. To schedule, contact McMahon Group at 314.744.5040 or aduffy@mcmahongroup.com.
McMahon Group Education Sessions In our effort to continually support club managers and management personnel with good education programs at their CMAA chapter meetings, we offer education programs on trends in the private club industry and more in-depth presentations on issues impacting clubs. Specific issues we speak on include: The Six Major Societal Trends Facing Private Clubs; What is Refresher Strategic Club Planning and How it can Benefit your Club; How to Successfully Address Master Plan Facility Improvements at your Club; Staying in Touch with Members to Assure Club Success; How to Maintain and Grow Membership; How to Provide Successful Club Dining; What is the Private Club of the Future; Biggest Challenge in Clubs Today: Achieving Favorite Place Dining Status for your Members; Property Owners Association: Building Consensus Among Residents/Members for Improving Facilities; and Advantages and Disadvantages of the Management Companies.
If you would like to schedule a McMahon Group presentation, please e-mail Kathy Sevier at ksevier@mcmahongroup.com.
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670 Mason Ridge Center Drive • Suite 220 St. Louis, MO 63141 314.744.5040 McMahonGroup.com
T H E S O U R C E F O R P R I VAT E C LU B E XC E L L E N C E
™
McMahon Group is Membership Survey AND Strategic Planning
FIRM OF THE YEAR!
We thank BoardRoom Magazine for the recognition of our continual effort to make clubs better and more successful. With over 2,000 clubs served no challenge is impossible if we just listen to members