SA Golf Trader; Jul/Aug 2021, Know your PGA Pro, Justin Roux - St Francis Bay GC

1. When did you qualify as a PGA Professional?

2012.

2. What made you choose this career?

I always enjoyed the rules of golf as a junior golfer and through that I wanted to get into tournament organization and refereeing.

Justin Roux; Director of Golf - St Francis bay GC

That led me to do my studies in Golf Directorship through Damelin and the PGA Apprentice Programme. After I started working at St Francis Links, I found my passion for Club Management.

3. Has it always been golf for you?

No, when I left high school, I studied law.

4. Did you ever play or did you ever want to play on tour?

No, I have never played on tour or had any interest on playing on tour.

5. You have been in the industry for a long time, who has been your biggest mentor?

My mentor and friend and someone who I still bounce ideas off regularly is Jeff Clause.

Jeff gave me my first opportunity in the golf industry and I did my PGA Apprenticeship under him and Ryan Dodds at St Francis Links.

6. What are the biggest differences in the management of a Golf Club as opposed to a Golf Estate?

The major difference comes in the what the expectations are. There are wider set of expectations that you need to manage on a Golf Estate as people’s expectations extend to their properties and surrounds as well as the golf course and club house.

7. St Francis Bay GC has got a very “Links” feel to the golf course, how close is it to a true Links?

St Francis Bay Golf Club is as close to a true links as you will find in South Africa. The land the golf course is built on is next to the ocean with the 12th hole playing down to the sea side and the 13th tee box looking across main beach and the bay.

The fairways are undulating and follow the natural land terrain and the bushes are all coastal fynbos.

8. Describe a typical workday for you at St Francis Bay GC?

I start each day by having a coffee with our greenkeeper so I know what is happening on the course and if there is anything that needs to be communicated to the staff and golfers about what is happening on the course.

I then catch up with the staff and if it is a busy day ensure we are all ready for the day and all requirements are in place and equipment set up for the day ahead. Otherwise, the administration side keeps me busy in my office, I spend some time on the course during the week as well and have a weekly meeting with my Chairman.

9. With the golf courses open now, were there any lessons learned from the original lockdown last year, and if so, are you doing anything differently?

The big lesson learnt and carried through is how we are able to rotate staff better and operate on less staff as efficiently as normal.

10. With consumers already being careful on how they spend their money these days (pre covid 19), what is your plan to attract people to the club now that we are on level 4 of the lockdown?

On our quieter days we have specials where we look to add value to what the golfer is paying for. We have been fortunate enough to see a great increase in student golfers.

During this winter period we have always relied on local golfers and under level 4 more than ever, we have group rates and packages with St Francis Links and ensure that the players have a great time and leave as ambassadors to encourage more people to come and play.

11. Slow play is one of the biggest problems in golf today, how do you manage slow play at St Francis Bay?

As a smaller club we don’t have any marshals, so we rely on our members to marshal themselves when it comes to slow play.

A friendly word to someone who may be a little slow at times always goes a long way to solving the problem.

12. The members of a golf club always come first. Do you agree with the phrase “The member is always right”?

I was trained in the philosophy to treat your members like royalty and your guests like members.

13. Does your position require you to be available on weekend, evenings and holidays, and if so, does this place demands on your personal life?

Yes, my position means I work weekends and holidays. St Francis Bay is a tourist town with the December holidays over busiest time.

I am fortunate to have a wife who is in the hospitality industry so she understands what the job entails with regards the hours and days we work.

To balance this, I try and ensure when there is a quiet time and, on my days off, I spend it with my family.

14. What are your short & long term goals?

My short-term goals are to ensure we get through this difficult period of Covid-19 as a club safely and ensure we can keep our full staff compliment through it all.

Long Terms goals are to keep improving and growing our Golf Club to make it a must play destination.

15. Covid 19 aside, what is your opinion on the growth of golf in South Africa?

To ensure the growth of golf in South Africa we need to be attracting the youth to golf.

The effects of Covid are unfortunately something we can’t ignore and have to deal with going forward and for golf to thrive we need to ensure that the juniors that have been introduced and the players that have returned to golf in the last year stay in golf.

We must make visitors and beginners feel welcomed into the game and our clubs.

17. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I spend my free time with my family.

18. Do you still get time to play?

Yes, I try play most Wednesdays in our Club Competition with the members.