Club + Resort Business March 2021

March 2021

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Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Ga. ..................................................48 The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. .......................................................................16, 18-19 Champions Run, Omaha, Neb. ..................................................................50 Coral Creek Club, Placida, Fla. ......................................................................15 DuPont Country Club, Wilmington, Del. ...................................................46 Evansville Country Club, Evansville, Ind. ...............................................37 Greystone Golf & Country Club, Birmingham, Ala. ...........................46 Hickory Hills Country Club, Springfield, Mo. ...........................................32 Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Ill. ......................................................10 North Hempstead Country Club, Port Washington, N.Y. .............37 North Palm Beach Country Club, North Palm Beach, Fla. ..........26 Oronoque Country Club, Stratford, Conn. ............................................41 The Quechee Club, Quechee, Vt. ...........................................................46 Silver Spring Country Club, Ridgefield, Conn. ........................................37 Stone Creek Golf Club, Omaha, Neb. .....................................................30 Sunset Golf Club, Huntingdon, Pa. ........................................................28 The Wilds Golf Club, Prior Lake, Minn. ....................................................37 The Yards, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. ............................................................20 Yellowstone Country Club, Billings, Mont.............................................28 www.clubandresortbusiness.com

THE ROB REPORT

The Ugly Side of Social Media Like most kids, I was told “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything.” While I’ve been guilty of breaking this rule from time to time, I’m very aware of it when it comes to public forums. What I write can have a lasting effect on someone.

During my time as a national golf course rater, I took that into consideration. It was my duty to be honest, but I didn’t have to be mean. If I felt course conditions were poor, I took time to investigate why that was the case. It often came down to budget constraints, but sometimes a superintendent was dealing with an unforeseen circumstance.

The ratings may be black and white, but I made note of the many shades of gray in my comments.

It’s certainly a naïve thought, but I wish more people would take the same approach and think about what they’re putting out in the digital universe before hitting the “send” button.

After Tiger Woods’ car crash in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. on February 23, I initially planned on writing this month’s column on the topic. But as I read more and more online and on social media, I thought, what else could be said?

Then things took an ugly turn.

While the public had a right to question Tiger’s sobriety—in 2017, a toxicology report showed he had five different drugs in his system when he was found asleep at the wheel along a Florida roadway—he was quickly cleared of impaired driving after this accident.

The ugliness, as I see it, came after a touching show of support from his fellow golf professionals.

For the final round of the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession in Bradenton, Fla., several Tour Players donned Tiger’s traditional Sunday look— www.clubandresortbusiness.com

It’s certainly a naïve thought, but I wish more people would think about what they’re putting out in the digital universe before hitting the “send” button. a red shirt with black pants. Annika Sorenstam, playing in the Gainbridge LPGA at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Fla. did the same.

The tribute was seemingly pure and above reproach, right? Well, not on Twitter. Take away people mocking various shirts—they’re going to do that regardless of the color or reasoning— everyone’s a (fashion) critic. I saw one tweet from a fairly popular sportswriter suggesting that the gesture was touching to the public, but would be lost on Tiger. He was wrong, of course, and Tiger’s response confirmed that.

“It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the TV and saw all the red shirts,” Tiger tweeted.

“To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time.”

The bulk of the negativity was directed at those who weren’t wear-

ing red. After all, no good deed goes unpunished.

Max Homa, a lifelong fan of Tiger, won the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles the week before. Coincidentally, Tiger was the tournament host, which was the reason he was in the area where the accident occurred.

On the Saturday before the WGCWorkday final round, Homa tweeted about not packing any red and black for the road trip, but praised the gesture.

That led to a lot of nasty comments about his level of fandom and loyalty to his boyhood hero, with such helpful “suggestions” as “Find a Target!”

It’s not that easy, as Homa explained in a follow-up tweet. He has a contractual obligation to sponsors and can’t just wear whatever he wants.

Social media can be a wonderful thing. I’ve learned so much and have added courses to my bucket list after seeing images and reading comments people have posted. On the other hand, as this situation showed yet again, there’s unfortunately also a dark side to everything, too.

Rob Thomas • Senior Editor

rthomas@wtwhmedia.com

March 2021

l Club + Resort Business l 5

EDITOR’S MEMO

Destined to Succeed Being a “destination” is a status and term usually reserved for resorts or vacation clubs, and not often applied to traditional private city, golf and country clubs.

As part of the positive fallout those latter types of clubs have experienced in the past year of restricted travel, however, they are now being viewed more as destinations in their own right—and ones that people and families don’t have to go very far to experience, or be limited in how often they can be visited.

The term was used in the analysis that followed the recent announcement that The Union League of Philadelphia (Pa.) was acquiring The ACE Club in the Philadelphia suburb of Lafayette HIll (the property will be renamed Liberty Hill), as the latest addition to the portfolio of properties the city club has assembled around its iconic downtown location in recent years, to offer its more than 4,000 members a variety of new options and locations for golf, dining, fitness and other recreational activities, events, meetings, and away-from-home lodging.

(In addition to the sleeping rooms in The Union League’s flagship building, it will now have 120 hotel rooms and a conference facility space that can host 500 by adding The ACE Club, which was originallly built by Chubb Insurance as a corporate retreat and meeting hub.

The 311-acre property also has enough excess land, the Business Journal noted, that The Union League plans to add Indoor and outdoor pools and a fast-casual dining concept—and the addition of facilities including outdoor tennis, pickleball and bocce courts, and even a small riding stable may also be considered.)

The ACE Club will now be added to the two other golf clubs The Union League owns in northeast Philadelphia (The Union League Golf Club at Torresdale) and New Jersey (the Union League National Golf Club, in Swainton). The club also operates the Guard House, after acquiring a popular 18th-century inn on 6

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Clubs are now being viewed as destinations in their own rightand ones that people and families don’t have to go very far to experience, or be limited in how often they can be visited.

Philadelphia’s Main Line, and The Bungalow, a seasonal, BYOB private dining room in the upscale New Jersey shore town of Stone Harbor.

In reporting on The Ace Club acquisition, the Philadelphia Business Journal noted that The Union League “continues to explore other real estate opportunities as part of an effort to build a network of destinations for its members throughout the region.”

With each acquisition it makes, the Business Journal noted, The Union League “ is seeking to provide amenities and a lifestyle club for its members.” It’s all part of an ongoing strategy, current President Craig Mills told the Business Journal, where “everything you like to do, you have the opportunity to do it in the environment of The Union League and with fellow members. We’re trying

to create something so that no matter what you like to do within this area, there is a place you can go.”

Mills added that The Union League regularly receives proposals from other area organizations and property owners, the Business Journal reported. “We can’t pursue them all,” he said. But for the ones that have made sense and have been consummated, he added, “so far it’s working,” and the response from members about The Ace Club acquisition has been “incredible, overwhelming and universally positive.”

The Business Journal report even went so far as to draw a comparison between what The Union League is doing regionally and what management firms like ClubCorp do to offer members access to their full network of clubs, as well as affiliated resort and hotel properties.

That part of the club business has also seen significant gains over the past year, in large part through their success in promoting clubs as “destinations,” too.

And many individual clubs, as evidenced by membership growth spurred by new pools (see pg. 44) and other facilities and amenities, have also demonstrated that journeys to find appealing new destinations really don’t have to involve much distance at all.

Joe Barks • Editor jbarks@wtwhmedia.com

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INSIDE

March 2021 • Vol. 17 • No. 3

THIS

ISSUE

26

The New Retail Realities

Reorganized pro shop spaces are offering enjoyable, safe shopping experiences in a pandemic-restricted world.

(Cover photo courtesy The Club at Grandezza of its The Mark pro shop, designed by Juno & Jove. Photo above by Caronchi Photography and Courtesy North Palm Beach CC)

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Club Feature 20 GOING THE EXTRA MILE

AT THE YARDS

Chef to Chef 32 FIT FOR SURVIVAL

Hickory Hills CC’s Melinda Burrows didn’t let 2020’s challenges slow her drive.

Persistence pays off to revive a given-up-for-dead club.

5

The Rob Report

6

Editor’s Memo

10 15 16

36

Course + Grounds

STAYING AHEAD OF THE NUMBERS GAME

Superintendents are ready for extra work again as a new golf season ramps up.

4 Club Index 8

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Preparing for another big splash of a year.

51 Product Showcase

DESTINED TO SUCCEED

Membership

GIVING SENIOR MEMBERS THEIR DUE Golf Operations

STOCKING THE PRO SHOP FROM AFAR Golf + Fitness Technology

STARTING YOUR PLAYER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WITH JUNIORS

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Golf + Fitness Technology

41

Super In the Spotlight

USING PROGRAMMING TO SHAPE CULTURE

A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

Dennis Petruzzelli’s career has had one constant: a love of the course.

Recreation + Fitness

GETTING BACK IN THE SWIM SEASON

THE UGLY SIDE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

50

Idea Exchange

PUTTING THINGS ON ICE

New winter fun at Champions Run.

56 Ad Index www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Sutherland Plateau Daybed /Sofa shown with Perennials Throw.

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MANAGEMENT

GIVING SENIOR MEMBERS THEIR DUE

By Robert Sereci, CCM • General Manager/Chief Operating Officer Medinah Country Club • Medinah, Ill.

OVER THE LAST SEVERAL years, many club managers have seen some of their senior-aged members (generally defined as 65 and over) become disenchanted and express concerns that the club is not meeting their needs or being sensitive to things they deem important as a member.

When pressed to explain their position, the majority of these members tend to cite the same examples as evidence of their discontent. Here are some that are commonly heard: • You are focusing too much on the young families, and not enough on our needs.

• Younger members pay less than a regular member, yet they have the same privileges.

• I have been a member for 20 to 30 years and like the Associate Junior members, I should pay less dues, especially when I don’t use the club as much as they do.

• You have asked me to pay for amenities I may never be able to fully benefit from.

• Food and service are not up to par.

• T he culture is deteriorating, and the club is no longer the same.

• The club is going too casual, and I don’t like it.

• I cannot play the golf course on a regular basis given length, difficulty, and non-standard tee boxes for the shorter tees.

Member-satisfaction and strategic-planning surveys also often reflect a similar divide. Very often, it holds that the younger the member, the higher the satisfaction score. And for strategic planning, no matter what the initiative or request, seniors are more likely to vote against the proposal almost every time.

In my opinion, yielding to the temptation of justifying or brushing off this unhappiness as “they are getting old” is irresponsible at best, and cruel at worst. We need to take the time to dig a little

Yielding to the temptation of justifying or brush“ ing off unhappiness expressed by senior members

as ‘they are getting old’ is irresponsible at best. Our responsibility to our membership is from ‘cradle to grave.’ Eventually, every member will be in the same situation as our current senior populations.

”

deeper and try to better understand what it is that seniors want, or do not want. All of their responses should be seen less as sentiment towards a specific service or product, and more as an appeal for attention, because they feel we have “left them behind.”

Before starting to address possible solutions in each area, it’s important to first agree in principle that we have legal, ethical and moral obligations to take care of our senior populations. The cyclical nature of a club is no different than the circle of life. We all universally recognize the legacy left by our previous members, which has preserved and sustained the enjoyment of the club by all of our members today.

Conversely, we anticipate that our members of today will do the same for those who will apply for membership in the future, through what I call generational equity.

Also, let’s agree that what we are doing for our seniors is relevant and applicable for the entire club community. No one group is more important than another. Our responsibility to our membership is from “cradle to grave.” Eventually, every member will age and be in the same situation as our current senior populations.

WALKING IN THEIR SHOES Why do many club managers struggle to understand our senior communities? One main reason is that we have difficulty genuinely relating to them. When we consider how we can attract families, we don’t have any problem devising

Golf opportunities for seniors should include reaching out to those with notable experience and accomplishments to have them help present informational seminars.

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Editor’s Note: This article is excerpted and recast for a general audience from a white paper that Robert Sereci wrote for the Board of Medinah CC in June 2020.

An extended version of the article can be found at www.clubandresortbusiness.com www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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In addition to ensuring that seniors have full opportunity and understanding that they are welcome in all club activities, adequate resources and time should also be devoted to developing senior-specific programming.

an effective plan, because we have a good mental model of the many challenges young families are experiencing that helps us come up with strategies and solutions to meet their needs. We can still remember well, or currently relate to, what it is like starting careers and families.

Unfortunately, this is much more difficult with seniors. None of us have yet experienced life as an 80-year-old, and our view of life is quite a different paradigm. The challenges they are experiencing at this stage of their lives can include: financial concerns from being on fixed incomes; loneliness or depression because they live alone and their kids and grandkids are far away; the gradual decline of their health, both mental and physical, that is largely out of their control; and continued loss of their remaining friends, both at the club and elsewhere.

We have the responsibility to exercise the same care for our senior members as we would for our own parents. Every senior is someone’s parent or grandparent. As current members, we are responsible for their well-being and safety, and displaying proper empathy for their needs should be a prerequisite for all managers in the club business.

Here are some areas where special accommodations and programs can be developed to demonstrate that seniors are still seen as a valued and important part of the club community: Food and Beverage—Because surveys often show that seniors may be the most dissatisfied among the membership with the F&B products and services that are offered, efforts should be made, through special committees or other forms of outreach, to give representatives of their group an opportunity to express what they would like to see the food-and-beverage program include, and then to take steps to meet those preferences without compromising the satisfaction of other demographic segments. Simply by extending this opportunity and taking time to discuss and try to act on the concerns that are voiced, most clubs will likely see improved satisfaction scores, because usually the dissatisfaction is primarily more of a signal to management that seniors want to be heard, rather than evidence of genuine dissatisfaction with specific offerings.

Non-Golf Opportunities—Seniors’ expectations for club events are very different, as are their expectations for dress codes and entertainment. They naturally want to be with others who share an interest in the same activities. Clubs that are serious about including seniors in their communities should devote adequate resources and time to develop senior-specific event programming.

While it may seem counterintuitive to try to accommodate this group by segregating events for them from the rest of the membership, it’s really no different than doing the same for children or teens 12

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or other groups. Natural aspects of getting older include loss of patience, an unwillingness to change, wanting to become more isolated, and other attributes that should be recognized and accommodated.

Dinner theaters and dances, guest-speaker luncheons, classic-movie nights, or senior “date nights” are the type of activities that will help those in this group continue to see the club as a conduit for fostering new relationships and feeling engaged in the community.

Golf Opportunities—Clubs can also do more to accommodate seniors who still golf and would prefer to play with others in their age group who also share their continued interest in the game. While many clubs may arrange senior-group play once a week during the golf season, more can be done to drive participation in “Golf for Life” programs that would encourage seniors to play from permanent and properly distanced tee boxes that are not seen as “temporary” or “handicapped” and can help them still enjoy a full round, or arrange more ways for them to enjoy shorter courses or rounds.

Efforts can also be made to arrange special mixed and couples’ events for seniors, as well as Senior Member-Member and Member-Guest tournaments, and to have golf-staff instructors develop senior-specific clinics and schools that would include golf and fitness, which would help to overcome the physical difficulties that often cause many seniors to stop playing.

The roles can also be reversed, because many in the senior community have very high golf IQs from their years of experience and accomplished play—so why not arrange for some of them to present informational seminars on golf rules, handicaps, history, education or other subjects that could be presented specifically to other seniors, or even made available to the entire membership?

Memorial Gardens—It would be easy for many clubs to find and designate a small, quiet parcel of land on their properties as small Memorial Gardens that would not only have flowers and other pleasant surroundings, but that could also have walls or structures with permanent remembrances through plaques or bricks. Benches would be included, and it would be made clear that this was an area reserved for quiet and private reflection, and even for where ceremonies to spread ashes of loved ones who had special attachments to the club could be held.

Oral-History Initiatives—Most club managers often have conversations with longtime members where they learn new things about how the club was operated or functioned many years ago. The best club managers know the value of regularly engaging members from this group to encourage them to share these remembrances and insights, because they can not only spark new ideas for improving the club or enhancing and preserving important traditions, but also go a long way to keeping those who provide them feeling good www.clubandresortbusiness.com

B T

C m o

about their membership and connection to the club.

It wouldn’t take much to extend this into having senior members share interesting club stories and important historical facts in a regular event series that would be available to the entire membership. With many of our clubs having members from multiple generations of a family, an oral-history series would probably have special appeal and be a source of pride when grandchildren and their parents see and hear an elder member of their family make a presentation. While all clubs mark anniversary milestones with history books that capture some of these stories, an oral history project or series could sustain the momentum and help to preserve history on a regular basis.

To help make sure the series has the best possible production and presentation value (and to assist those seniors who might need help with their presentations), staff members could coordinate questions and responses in advance, and video and audio recordings could be made and used if and as needed (these would also help preserve the content for its historical value).

Senior Town Hall Meetings—The reason many senior members tend to speak up at club’s public forums—often to the surprise or even dismay of many—is that they aren’t given, or made aware of, other opportunities where they can voice their concerns or complaints. Much of this can be avoided by scheduling regular bi-annual or quarterly Senior Town Hall meetings geared to older members.

Many clubs currently extend this opportunity to past presidents

and it pays great dividends—so why not also do it for seniors as a whole? An added value of this approach is how it will provide another special event seniors will look forward to, and afford them another opportunity to be at the club and socialize with friends.

Validation and Acknowledgment—Seniors are no different than any member. They too want to be part of the club community. But when they stop coming to the club and no longer spend time with their friends, their sense of community starts to diminish, and they no longer feel welcomed or appreciated by the club they have often called home for over 30 to 40 years. In addition to their physical absence at the club, they also often don’t have much exposure in club publications or websites or social-media platforms, and they don’t get to see their pictures or those of their friends. Because they’re out of sight, it’s also easier for them to be out of mind.

It’s still easy, though, to find opportunities to recognize members of a club’s senior community, even if they’re not at the club or participating in many activities. Make sure those behind your communications efforts still make the effort to recognize them for things that go beyond just how long they have members, such as acknowledging members who reach marriage-anniversary milestones of 40 or 50 years or beyond. It’s also easy to have publications include a regular Senior of the Month feature that profiles a selected member’s personal and professional accomplishments, as well as their connection to the club; these are sure to get high readership and can go a long way to reinforcing that not only the

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MANAGEMENT

club knows they still exist, but that they remain valued parts of the community. Encouraging suggestions for who can be profiled in this way will also lead to further interest and engagement.

Fitness Center Engagement—Seniors often voice the loudest opposition to clubs’ fitness center projects, and the problem is usually that the facility is promoted primarily as an amenity to attract young families, without enough emphasis for the benefits it can also provide for the senior community. If anything, in fact, it should be stressed that for seniors and “super seniors,” exercise is not a fad or gimmick, but an absolute necessity, and the club’s facility will have a significant positive impact on their longevity.

Presentations for what the fitness center will include and provide should include an emphasis on the special equipment, workout areas, programs, hours of access and instruction opportunities that will be made available exclusively for the senior population.

On-Site/Affiliated Retirement Residences—To really take our responsibility to seniors to the next level, consideration should be given to building, purchasing or selling part of a property for the purposes of making it easier for seniors to move into retirement facilities, if and when they might want to. If we genuinely believe that the responsibility of a club is to take care of its members from “cradle to grave,” we need to make sure we put forth the same effort and enthusiasm into this phase of their lives as we do for other members through childcare and babysitting services.

Seniors are living longer, and as a result, there will soon be more

of them than any other age group. But unfortunately, in many areas of the country, the retirement and assisted-living industry has still been largely building typical retirement homes with little or no amenities. This is quickly changing, however, as that industry comes to recognize that more seniors are refusing to be defined by age, and as a result their expectations are increasing exponentially. When shopping for a retirement location, their wish list now resembles more of what can be found at a country club than at a traditional retirement home. They want to be part of a caring and active community, and they want both hospitality and health care.

Guess what? Clubs can be that place. Instead of pushing seniors out, they can explore the feasibility of building a facility or coordinating a relationship with one, to give them a strategic advantage for attracting seniors who would also still retain, or add, a membership component to the arrangement.

While other clubs continue to complain about seniors, those who think progressively in this regard could be in a position to welcome them with open arms. If many of our seniors are going to eventually spend money on a retirement or assisted-living arrangement, why not with us? Then we would really be able to offer a program that would genuinely provide the assurance of caring for members from “cradle to grave.”

Contributions on current issues in Management are welcomed; if you’d like to submit an article or be interviewed for one, contact editor@clubandresortbusiness.com

The Private Club and Hospitality Search Specialists

Scott McNett Midwest 314-854-1321

Richard A. Lareau, CCM, CCE, ECM Gulf States/Texas/ Oklahoma/Kansas 713-557-4287

Ned Welc, CCM, CCE Florida/Ohio/Southeast/ Mid-Atlantic U.S. 440-796-7922

Terry Anglin, CCM, CCE, ECM Southwest/West Coast U.S. 901-550-9338

Andrew Minnelli, USPTA, PTR Tennis/Racquet Placements Northwest U.S. 310-740-4488

Manny Gugliuzza, CCM, CCE Northeast U.S. 732-618-8665

General Manager • CFO/Director of Finance/Controller • Executive Chef • Clubhouse Manager • F+B Director • Golf/Tennis Directors • Membership/Marketing Director • HR Consulting + Training • Golf Course Superintendents

WHERE PROCESS, INTEGRITY AND RESULTS INTERSECT 14

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GSI Executive Search | 5429 LBJ Freeway, Suite 400, Dallas, Texas 75240 | 972-341-8143 | gsiexecutivesearch.com

GOLF OPERATIONS

STOCKING THE PRO SHOP FROM AFAR

By Jim Lohbauer • PGA Master Professional Head Golf Professional • Coral Creek Club, Placida, Fla.

THE PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW, traditionally located in

Orlando, Fla. each January, shifted to a virtual event in 2021 to connect the international golf industry online, allowing PGA Professionals, golf buyers, manufacturers and industry leaders to drive forward the business of the game from the safety of their homes, facilities and workplaces during the ongoing global pandemic.

More than 11,000 attendees from 78 countries, including some 6,500 PGA Professionals, connected online to source thousands of products from nearly 400 participating golf brands. PGA Professionals, golf buyers and industry professionals were able to take part in 192 live and on-demand exhibitor, industry and education presentations.

In total, virtual presentations drew nearly 25,000 participants, with numerous single presentations exceeding 400 viewers. The virtual platform facilitated nearly 5,000 attendee-exhibitor meetings and logged nearly 300,000 interactions, views and connections by PGA Professionals and industry attendees.

Jim Lohbauer, PGA Master Professional and Head Golf Professional at Coral Creek Club in Placida, Fla., spoke with C+RB about the unique challenge of buying merchandise for the pro shop without the benefit of attending the PGA Show in person.

I thought they did the best they could “ with what they had to work with [for the

online PGA Show]. There’s no substitute for an in-person show, so I’m hoping we get back to normal for the 2022 Show.

”

Do you generally attend the PGA Merchandise Show?

I have attended the Show for the past 17 years.

In a normal year, how much ordering for the pro shop do you do at the Show?

Generally, I pre-book most of my apparel with reps at my home club during the year. I utilize the PGA Show as an opportunity to view new products and invest in capital purchases. Traditionally I do budget some purchasing dollars towards new products from the Show.

Did you attend virtually this year?

I registered for the Show, but was very limited in online activity.

What did you think?

I thought they did the best they could with what they had to work with. There’s no substitute for an in-person show, so I’m hoping we get back to normal for the 2022 Show.

Because it was virtual this year, did your strategy change?

Absolutely. Without seeing the products in person and meeting with sales representatives, I did not make any purchases this year.

Have you expanded your personal relationship with vendors?

I have always maintained a strong network with my sales representatives. COVID has altered the way we do business, but it hasn’t disrupted the relationships we have.

Do you generally attend the summer PGA Show in Las Vegas?

I have not attended this show in the past.

Does someone from the club attend the Golf Industry Show, CMAA World Conference or Chef to Chef Conference?

Our General Manager, and possibly Clubhouse Manager.

Like the PGA Merchandise Show, the Golf Industry Show and CMAA World Conference switched to a virtual format in 2021.

The Chef to Chef Conference, generally scheduled for early March, was moved to September 8-10 in Austin, Texas.

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GOLF + FITNESS TECHNOLOGY

STARTING YOUR PLAYER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WITH JUNIORS

By Matt Kilgariff, Director of Player Development, The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe (Calif.)

IF WE HAVE LEARNED ANYTHING over the past year, it is that remaining flexible and open-minded is the key to longterm success in any business. It is no different in the golf world.

Your golf professionals need to be willing to try and test new ideas, and know when and how to pivot if necessary.

For any club’s Player Development Program, that now means having a qualified PGA Professional who is experienced, energetic and excited about building a junior program.

Juniors are the future of golf, and a commitment to quality junior programs must be a large part of your Player Development Program. The more that children are exposed to the game through programs, the more vibrant your club will be.

Investing time and energy in juniors is not only the right thing to do for the longevity of the game, it also serves as a great profit center.

The best approach is to begin with the following programs:

with their parents and friends in a fun and respectable manner.

SUMMER CAMPS Junior summer camps are wildly popular and a big driver of revenue. Camps should be fun and with just enough content to allow kids to fall in love with the game without pressure, because it may be their first exposure to golf. The focus should be on the very basics of the game, with the end goal being to arm juniors with the necessary tools to enjoy time on the course

PGA JUNIOR LEAGUE The league is designed to bring family and friends together, teaching children to compete in a fun, relaxed atmosphere. It is open to boys and girls ages 17 and under of all skill levels, with or without golf experience. The program focuses on learning to play as a team, making new friends, and having fun.

It is played year-round and split into two seasons— summer and fall. Teams play four 9-hole matches in a two-person scramble format. This teaches the principles of teamwork, encourages mentorship, builds confidence, and supports the development of sportsmanlike conduct in a nurturing environment.

Playing the game for more than 30 years myself, I have found that one of the best parts of golf is the lifelong relationships I have gained that all began with the foundation that was built for me as a junior. Good luck in taking the first steps to creating the best junior player development program for your club or resort.

Investing time and energy in juniors is not only the right thing to do for the longevity of the game, it also serves as a great profit center.

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“OPERATION 36” The driving principles behind Operation 36 is to get kids on the golf course, expose them to the game, give them playing time, and provide them with the programming that can help them achieve their golfing goals. The ultimate objective is to strike the right balance of fun and challenge to keep them engaged in this great game for a lifetime.

Starting from 25 yards, students learn how to play the game from the green back to the tee box. The student must shoot 36 or better before moving back to the next yardage challenge.

Operation 36 equips parents and coaches with the multiple development models and tracking and reporting systems that assist in the child’s golf skill development every step of the way.

Matt Kilgariff is a PGA professional who spent much of his career working for Butch Harmon and the Harmon Family. He is currently the Director of Player Development at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Prior to joining The Bridges, Kilgariff was Director of Player Development at The Olympic Club, in San Francisco, Calif. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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GOLF + FITNESS TECHNOLOGY

USING PROGRAMMING TO SHAPE CULTURE

By Keke Lyles, Director of Fitness and Recreation at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe (Calif.)

CONSIDERING WHAT YOU CAN OFFER to club membership will help shape the culture of the club as a whole. As golf continues to lean on fitness gains to help with on-course performance, clubs also need to lean into fitness, to promote members’ health and well-being.

Country club fitness centers filled with cardio machines and lined with selectorized strength equipment have become a thing of the past. Over the past decade, clubs have begun adding popular group fitness classes such as Yoga, Pilates, Barre and Zumba.

However, these types of group fitness classes—though popular and fun for members—do not directly correlate to on-course performance. There are a variety of fitness programs that naturally connect the dots for the members, while also promoting a holistic wellbeing approach.

Strength classes not only provide the basic knowledge of how to perform certain movements, but they also create a fun and energized environment where participants enjoy being pushed beyond their perceived limitations. Strength training is arguably the most important training any one person should participate in if they are looking to lose weight, improve flexibility, reduce injury risk and improve physical performance.

Offering a specific golf mobility and “ flexibility class prior to time on the range or the course would greatly enhance movement, which would in turn prevent injuries and increase quality of life.

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The most effective strength-training classes utilize a variety of training equipment modalities such as dumbbells or weighted bars. Minimal-resistance training classes are also helpful in building strength to improve movement. A very popular version of a minimal-resistance class involves kettlebells, which provides external resistance to a variety of functional movements that translate into better golf.

One of the most talked-about physical issues in golf is flexibility and mobility. As we age, our bodies do not move as well as they once did. While yoga and pilates programming can address the need to develop flexibility and overall body awareness, they tend to be more than what most golfers are looking for.

Offering a specific golf mobility and flexibility class prior to time on the range or the course would greatly www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Minimal-resistance training is helpful in building strength to improve movement. While yoga and pilates classes can help with flexibility and overall body awareness, they tend to be more than what most golfers are looking for. A variety of fitness options—as well as educating members in basic nutritional knowledge—will increase the value of a membership while also promoting the health of the individuals.

enhance movement, which would in turn prevent injuries and increase quality of life. Understanding of golf-swing biomechanics, as well as overall fitness, is a crucial combination for developing specific programs that can help people move better.

In addition to programming that targets strength and physical movements, educating members in basic nutritional knowledge can have a huge impact on overall health. For example, providing a healthy cooking class, where members can learn how to cook a few meals using healthy ingredients, can go a long way in opening doors for a healthier lifestyle.

Clubs can also make food-allergy or gut-health testing available to help members maintain awareness of their internal systems. Gut-health testing reveals the levels of beneficial and harmful bacteria in our bodies. This knowledge can then be used to recommend supplements and specific diet changes that can maximize overall health and well-being.

Recovery-based programming is key to keeping members healthy and returning often. This type of

programming educates members on what the different types of recovery modalities do and when they should be used to ensure appropriate recovery. Without education, recovery modalities such as hot and cold tubs, saunas, infrared saunas, compression garments, and steam rooms will not be utilized properly or to their maximum effectiveness for each individual.

All of these programs can be highly effective for keeping members actively participating in what the club offers, which will increase the overall value of their membership while also promoting the health of the individuals. If a club’s programming is robust enough, it should allow for anyone to come in and participate in any of its offerings and find significant benefit. Providing the right type of programming to target overall health creates a culture of awareness, activity and commitment to an improved lifestyle. .

Keke Lyles is recognized as a leader in human performance. With experience with professional athletes and Navy Special Warfare operators. He now leads fitness initiatives at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe.

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» THE YARDS

GOING THE EXTRA MILE AT

THE YARDS

Undeterred by legal and HOA hassles and then the pandemic, ownership and management of the Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. property pushed through to unveil its innovative golf concept in 2020, with much more planned for the years ahead.

By Joe Barks, Editor After over six years of pursuing their vision for how to revive and repurpose a prime property that had failed under several previous club identities, Owner David Miller (left) and General Manager Mike Miles have finally seen The Yards come to life.

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AT THE END OF OCTOBER 2020, much of the golf and club industry could be heard exhaling with a collective sigh of relief, as it had become clear that what had looked just six months earlier like it would be a year of disastrous proportions was going to end with not just good results, but also promising new potential for the future.

The end of October—October 23rd, to be exact—was also when perhaps the most surprising and encouraging development of the year occurred. A new club opened in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. that marked the revival of one that had failed under several previous identities. And when the first ball was finally struck to start play on the golf course at The Yards, owner David Miller and General Manager Mike Miles could certainly be excused for wanting to add screams of delight and a happy dance to the industry’s prevailing mood.

The opening of The Yards, which is located inside the gates of the Sawgrass Players Club, home of TPC Sawgrass and The Players Championship, marked the end of an odyssey that included over six years of legal and financial wrangling, haggling with a homeowners association, and delivery of a handwritten letter to Arnold Palmer before a bulldozer could even begin to start, in September 2019, to reshape the property into the vision that Miller and Miles had for it. And then, of course, a www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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THE

ARDS

MASTER PLAN

The unique configurations of The Yards’ golf options are just the start of what’s planned for the property, with future enhancements including pickleball courts, a sports pavilion and an events center.

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(Shown without Roof over Courts) e ar Driv Alta M

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Legend of Improvements

A. New Club/Restaurant Entry Drive B. New Entry Signage & Wayfinding C. Parking Lot Improvements Ć Ć Ć Ć

New Surface and Layout Improved Pedestrian Access to Club/Restaurant Additional Parking Spaces New Lighting and Landscaping

D. 15 Pickle Ball Courts Ć 8 Covered Courts Ć Lighted Ć Observation Balcony

E. Sports Pavilion

Ć Pickle Ball Check-in Ć Offices and Multi-use Room Ć Restrooms Ć Multi-use Areas/Seating

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Existing Maintenance Facility to be Relocated Golf Cart Staging/Drop-off and Valet New Putting Green New Parking Area and Service Access Drive

practice range

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Ć New Spaces with Lighting

practice tee

Putting green

CHIPPING green

Entrance to Pickleball Pavilion

practice green

Elevation View of Pickleball Pavilion

NORTH

a pandemic broke out, just to add some extra challenge to the task.

But in the sixth months since that long-awaited first tee time finally became reality, Miller and Miles and the rest of the team helping to develop The Yards have been quickly making up for lost time.

Rounds played on the various course configurations (see box, pg. 24) have been brisk from day one, and membership momentum has picked up for the property, which eventually hopes to see a split, Miles says, with about 30 to 40 percent of golf played by 200 members (there are currently 70), with the rest accounted for by locals and guests who are attracted to the Sawgrass resort area. “We’re fine with being the third destination course in 22

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a destination area, and getting played on the third or fourth day of someone’s week here,” Miles says.

As March 2021 approached, The Yards was planning to maximize the additional exposure it could gain through its proximity to The Players Championship that would be held at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course. The awareness would not only be gained from special events, clinics, corporate and media outings and watch parties held at the new course throughout the week, but also through the connections that Miller and Miles, a former PGA Tour player who still competes in Senior events, have forged from the start to gain help for developing and promoting the property from the Tour and its Commissioner, Jay

Monahan, as well as pros including Patrick Cantlay and Billy Horschel.

The Tour has been supportive of The Yards from the beginning, Miles says, because it has been glad to see investment made in a property that certainly wasn’t reflecting well on the overall Sawgrass image before Miller, a Southern California native whose financial success came in the chemical business, purchased what was then the Oak Bridge Golf Club at the end of 2014. (The property was originally named Hidden Oaks when it was built by the Arvida development corporation in 1973; there was also a chapter of its history when it was known as Ponte Vedra Golf and Country Club.)

At the time of Miller’s purchase, Oak Bridge was in a sharp decline that only continued as legal hurdles were cleared and an arrangement was finally worked out to the satisfaction of Sawgrass Players Club residents for selling part of the 18-hole course for a 55-and-over development (which, in addition to generating funds for the golf course’s improvement and redesign, will also bring 400 doors, and potential members behind them, to The Yards’ doorstep when the facility comes on stream by the end of 2022).

Because the golf course had been redesigned by Arnold Palmer’s company in 1984, there was also the matter of making sure the vision that Miller and Miles, who also came from Southern California after years at Virginia Country Club in Long Beach, had for creating an innovative and flexible short-course configuration would not be viewed as blasphemous treatment of what Palmer Design had created.

Monahan helped here, too, offering to hand-deliver a letter from Miller—which he made Miller rewrite out by hand, after it had originally been typed—the next time he visited Arnold Palmer in Latrobe, www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Pa., which he was able to do shortly before Palmer’s death in September 2016.

Palmer’s enthusiastic blessing cleared the way, once construction could finally start three years later, to build The Yards layout (with a big boost from equipment and agronomic expertise provided through the Tour conection) that is designed to be equal parts challenge and fun, with a premium placed on being able to play as quickly or as long as desired.

“We’re not looking for architectural awards,” says Miles.

“The rewards for us are being able to take an old course that people stopped coming to and making it a lot of fun, so they’ll keep coming back and also tell others it’s something they need to check out, too.”

Elements of the fun extend to whimsical names for the holes (“Lefty Lucy,” “Hairy Coquina,” and “The Commish”—a nod to how Monahan suggested that the tee and green on the par-3 11th be elevated to resemble short holes he remembered from his youth in New England).

There are also unique physical features, such as a railroad car flatbed that serves as a bridge between two of the par-3s, and a bunker in the middle of the green on the par-3 5th, aka “The

Support provided from the start for The Yards project by the PGA Tour has included promotional videos by pros such as Billy Horschel (above), as well as equipment, agronomic expertise and hand-delivery of a letter to Arnold Palmer that gained his blessing for reconfiguring the golf course his firm had redesigned.

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(800) 543-5430 March 2021

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» THE YARDS

The Yards occupies the former Oak Bridge clubhouse (above), where the 3 Palms Grille, operated by an outside party, is open to the public. The property is also home to the Oak Bridge Tennis Center (left).

AT A GLANCE:

THE YARDS Location: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (inside gates of Sawgrass Players Club, home of TPC Sawgrass) Opened: October 2020 History: Originally Hidden Oaks/Oak Bridge Club, built in 1973 with 18-hole, par70 golf course that was redesigned

by Arnold Palmer design in 1984.

Current Golf Configurations: • 12-hole course, par 44 (3,695 yards from back tees) • 9-hole course, par 35 (3,190 yards from back tees) • 6-hole course, par 18 (802 yards from back tees) Additional amenities: • Oak Bridge Tennis Center • 3 Palms Grille • 12-court pickleball facility and events center in development Owner: David Miller General Manager: Mike Miles Director of Golf: Zach Vinal Assistant General Manager: Mariel Fleming Director of Marketing: Beth Mason Operations and Finance: Austin Taylor Tennis Membership Director: Kristi Collins

Black Hole,” that is filled with crushed, black lava. (A sign in the tee marker for that hole warns: “Caution. This is the Black Hole. A surprise awaits you may not escape.”)

Overall, Miller says, the idea for his first venture into the golf business is to capture what he’s seen from the newfound appeal of Topgolf and the more casual atmosphere that is beginning to become more pervasive in golf, without becoming gimmicky or compromising what passionate golfers look for in terms of challenge and enjoyment.

But most importantly, there is an emphasis on making the entire scene as friendly and low-key as a backyard get-together—which is what inspired the name, as suggested by Miles’ wife Stacey, after she realized that the vibe would be the same as when Miller hosts parties at the expansive yard in his own Ponte Vedra Beach home. (The course scorecard carries the theme further by designating “The Front Yard” as a nine-hole course, with an optional three that can be added to play 12, and “The Backyard,” made up of six par 3s.)

COMPLETING THE CLUB With the golf operation finally in full swing, Miles is now ready to plunge into a second phase that will build 15

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pickleball courts—eight of which will be covered—along a pro shop and pavilion, to complement the existing Oak Bridge Tennis Center that still has a thriving presence on the property.

Improvements are also planned for the former Oak Bridge CC clubhouse that The Yards occupies. That building survived the demise of the club, which was down to 30 members when Miller acquired it, in much better shape than the golf course. It is well-positioned for patrons to watch golf action and has a popular, open-to-the-public restaurant, 3 Palms Grille, that is operated by an outside party. Planned improvements will build out more covered patio space to further enhance the clubhouse’s appeal for how it brings those enjoying social activity close to the course (see photos, above right).

Miles’ most ambitious project will be to convert the property’s original course maintenance facility—which clearly does show its age now—into an event and party pavilion that will include golf simulators and a “mini-sports bar” setup (a new maintenance facility will be built elsewhere on the property). A separate member party bar will also be created, and Miles envisions having room for concerts and other large gatherings as COVID restrictions are further relaxed.

In their “spare time,” Miller and www.clubandresortbusiness.com

The Yards’ clubhouse is well-positioned to bring those enjoying social and golf activity together, and has seen steady traffic for both since its opening in October 2020.

Miles eagerly search for ideas from other club properties of all types that they think could continue to add excitement and bring distinction to what they’ve created at The Yards. “We’re not in this as developers,” says Miles. “We’ve always been approaching it as a ‘Mom and Pop’ operation, with the ‘masterminds’ being a very passionate owner/entrepreneur who’s new to the business, and an old ‘been-there, done-that’ golf pro.

“We don’t have a set template we’re following; we’re constantly looking for new things we can try to apply,” he adds. “It’s taken a lot of patience, investment and some luck, too, to finally get to what we have now. But we are taking a lot of pride in being one of the first to be able to repurpose an old, many-times-failed country club into a multi-purpose complex that creates an atmosphere that enhances the already inherent social aspects of golf.

“The industry now knows that fancy course-design aspects aren’t as important as enjoying time playing a game that is naturally difficult,” Miles says. “We think we’ve created a friendly experience that captures that idea, and the way we’ve opened to rave reviews from the start seems to confirm that we have.” C+RB

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DESIGN + RENOVATION

THE NEW RETAIL

REALITIES Reorganized pro shop spaces are offering enjoyable, safe shopping experiences in a pandemic-restricted world.

By Pamela Brill, Contributing Editor 26

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SUMMING IT UP > Maximizing floor space for better merchandising > >

means utilizing otherwise-overlooked areas such as under counters and niche product displays.

Entry and exit points that provide easy access and reentry facilitate potential business from the golf course, fitness center and clubhouse.

Additional amenities like offices and dressing rooms offer more breathing room for members and staff.

“RETAIL THERAPY” HAS TAKEN ON new meaning over the last year. Where shopping was once looked upon as a means of comfort for the average consumer, it now brings a sense of hesitancy in an environment where touchless purchases and sanitized surfaces have become the norm.

Clubs that have recently restructured their pro shops are finding new ways to sell golf apparel and other merchandise to more cautious consumers. From a strategically-laid out sales floor that offers more elbow room, to extra storage and office space for staff, these shops are still making it possible members to return and enjoy a retail experience with a new sense of confidence and trust in their surroundings.

A SHOP THAT’S WORTH A STOP Members of North Palm Beach (Fla.) Country Club have not only benefitted from a new clubhouse, but a refreshed pro shop. In October 2019, the club unveiled a 39,000-sq. ft. building that contains a 1,300-sq. ft. retail venue (pictured on these pages) in proximity to the first tee and golf cart staging area.

When designing the pro shop, establishing a seamless traffic pattern was top of mind. “Having designated entry and exit points for the shop creates a perfect flow, with point-of-sale in the middle of both areas,” says Director of Golf Allan Bowman.

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Photo by Caronchi Photography Courtesy North Business Palm Beach 27 CC March 2021 andClub + Resort

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MAKING THE MOST OF WHAT’S THERE Limited retail and merchandising space need not hamper pro shop sell-through. At Sunset Golf Club in Huntingdon, Pa., where a clubhouse renovation was completed last December, making the best use of its new pro shop’s 250 sq. ft. has translated to a smooth shopping experience.

According to the club’s co-owner Patricia Collins, concentrating on small, but effective design improvements has had a notable impact on the shop’s appeal. “We utilized an accent wall of tongue-andgroove to create the illusion of space and depth,” Collins says. And installing a large window on one wall has given the room a larger, more airy feeling.

Another key to enhancing a modest-sized shop is finding ways to engage customers through all of their five senses. Upon entering the Sunset GC clubhouse, members are greeted by pleasant music. Attention to lighting and color provides visual cues, directing attention to specific products and displays. “Customers also have the ability to touch and feel [different] textures,” notes Collins. “Items are within reach and in their line of sight.”

Tapping into their sense of smell, a calming fragrance in the shop connects shoppers on an emotional level, while offerings samples of seasonal foods and drinks for customers helps to promote additional sales.

A medley of fixture styles, including wall-mounted displays, wheeled units and nesting tables, help to anchor the space and allow the staff to move merchandise as needed. These dark gray fixtures, along with white walls and patterned carpeting, speak to the crisp, modern design of the shop.

Track lighting and built-in illumination in the wall fixtures are bolstered by large windows that provide a glimpse inside. An overhang outside the windows protects the shop from getting too much of the Florida sun, which penetrates the interior in the summer.

As an added amenity, the pro shop boasts two dressing rooms for try-ons, while a seating area containing two leather chairs and a large-screen television provides a welcome respite for those waiting to use them or just wanting to hang out in the shop. Two interior offices and two additional rooms just outside the shop round out the generously sized space.

Undeterred by the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, Bowman and his staff have taken steps to create a safe environment for members and staff. Plexiglass pan-

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Concentraing on small but effective design improvements, such as a tongue-and-groove accent wall to create a feeling of space and depth, and installing a large window on one wall, has helped Sunset GC maximize the effectiveness of just 250 sq. ft. of pro shop space.

Merchandise position and placement is another influential factor for strong sales. “Studies show that 90 percent of customers automatically turn right after entering a store, and most prefer to move through the store in a counterclockwise direction,” Collins says. As a result, she makes a point of featuring key products and displays on the Sunset GC shop’s right-hand side.

els have been added to point-of-sale areas, and fixtures were repositioned to create a line for better accessibility. Painters’ tape has been applied to the carpeting, to ensure social distancing for customers standing in line. to ensure social distancing for customers standing in line.

PRO SHOP WITH A PURPOSE After more than 60 years since its original construction, the pro shop inside the clubhouse at Yellowstone Country Club in Billings, Mont., was more than ready for a new look. In June 2019, an updated facility was unveiled with what General Manager Jeffrie Hunter, PGA, describes as a “purposeful design and aesthetic.”

Although the original footprint was expanded by a modest 25 sq. ft., the shop’s open concept gives a much larger feel to its 1,000 sq. ft. Located in the southwest corner, between the ladies’ and men’s locker rooms, the shop offers an easy pass-through for golfers and shoppers. During peak season, Hunter counts more than 100 people walking through its doors.

With an inviting, well-lit location that looks out over the first and tenth tees, the shop embraces its natural

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

NORTH PALM BEACH COUNTRY CLUB North Palm Beach, Fla.

“Having designated entry and exit points for the shop creates a perfect flow, with point-of-sale in the middle of both areas.”

—Allan Bowman, Director of Golf

lighting and makes good use of multiple access points.

Ladies’ attire is positioned just off a stairway leading from the club restaurant, while a second entrance leads from the men’s locker room into the shop’s array of hats, golf gloves, polos, vests and other seasonal items. A third entrance, which can be accessed from the outside, guides patrons directly to the front desk.

Incorporating the clubhouse’s look and feel into the pro shop, dark wood shelving is balanced out by soft lighting and green plants placed throughout the shop. Slatwalls

MA ST E R P L A N N I NG

A RC H I T EC T U R E

on opposing walls helps to maximize display space, as do built-in cabinets designed with a mix of shelving and cascading waterfall displays.

Noteworthy fixtures include a built-in hat unit and a shoe display that stocks extras behind a set of doors. For added convenience, a 275-sq. ft. storage room is positioned just off the pro shop, while just across the hall is a dedicated area for club fittings and lessons.

Given the shop’s generously sized layout, social distancing has been a no-brainer for Yellowstone’s customers.

I NT E R I O R DE S IG N

P RO C U R E M E NT

Outdoor Dining – Not a New Phenomenon

At JBD/JGA, we have always emphasized the dynamics between a vibrant member dining and drinking destination and its outdoor component. By leveraging modern solutions clubs can not only dramatically extend the outdoor season but at the same time enhance the warm weather experience and engage the membership.

Let us help your club develop solutions, immediate or long term, to expand and enhance your outside spaces.

STUDIO JBD & JEFFERSON GROUP ARCHITECTURE Peter Cafaro / 401.721.0977 / PCafaro@JBDandJGA .com www.clubandresortbusiness.com

March 2021

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DESIGN + RENOVATION YELLOWSTONE COUNTRY CLUB Billings, Mont.

“We are thankful for such a large space to operate in and have had no trouble complying with any pandemic-related restrictions. We have multiple displays placed around the room and our guests are able to comfortably spread out and all still be in the shop at the same time.”

—J effrie Hunter, PGA, General Manager

“We are thankful for such a large space to operate in and have had no trouble complying with any pandemic-related restrictions,” says Hunter. “[Because] we have multiple displays placed around the room, our guests are able to comfortably spread out and all still be in the shop at the same time.”

hole on two of our three nines,” Farrell notes. “Being able to see all that is going on with our practice facilities, starting holes and finishing holes gives us a feeling of control during busy times.”

Having joined Stone Creek in January 2020, Farrell was able to thoughtfully plan out the shop before it opened in May. He also spent a lot of time getting to know his customers before making key buying decisions. As a result, the shop has real estate reserved exclusively for hats and a wall used as a slatwall display.

With space being at a premium, the staff has gotten creative with storage. Extra golf balls, tees and gloves are tucked under countertops, while other overstock items are housed in inventory cabinets located in the shop office. “Our teaching and clubfitting

SERVICE WITH A SMILE Going from a temporary set-up to a permanent structure has given members and guests at Stone Creek Golf Club a reason to rejoice. Having conducted business out of a double-wide trailer for the past 21 years, the Omaha, Neb., facility was ready to make some changes.

“Dreams of a clubhouse popped up every now and then [over the years and then] came true in 2020, when ownership decided to go through with a new building,” explains General Manager Connor Farrell, PGA. A new pro shop was a key component of the design. While small in stature at 252 square feet, the shop’s activity defies its appearance, attracting 85,000 patrons over the past year. And Farrell believes those numbers are due, in large part, to how the layout maximizes the available space.

“Every person who enters our shop has to walk by at least one display,” he says of the shop’s design, which incorporates the same dark wood used in the clubhouse restaurant. Large, black-trimmed windows overlooking the property are not only aesthetically pleasing, but help bring efficiency to Yellowstone CC’s updated pro shop is located between locker rooms for easy pass-through, and a third entrance from outside guides patrons directly to the the club’s operations. front desk and greetings from Head Pro Chad Dillon (above) and staff.

“It is very important that we see the starting 30

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STONE CREEK GOLF CLUB Omaha, Neb.

“Every person who enters our shop has to walk by at least one display.”

—Connor Farrell, PGA, General Manager

bay has room for extra shafts and club heads for us to fit any one of the major club manufacturers we carry,” Farrell notes.

When COVID-19 forced pro shops to rethink their layouts and merchandising strategies, Stone Creek’s floor displays were initially roped off to prevent contact issues. (These barriers have since been removed and shoppers are now only required to wear masks.) Customer service took on even greater meaning, as evidenced by Farrell’s approach to doing

business in a pandemic world: being able to ‘hear’ the staff’s smiles over the phone and ‘seeing’ their smiles in their eyes.

“With masks, people physically can’t see our smiles, but they could see it in our eyes and our body language,” he notes. “While some of our new policies made our jobs more difficult, I feel we did a great job of staying positive and giving people a warm, welcoming place to go during such a difficult time.” C+RB

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CHEF TO CHEF

FIT FOR SURVIVAL

By Gerald Ford, CMC, Contributing Editor

STAYING ENGAGED OVER THE LAST 12 months has created many challenges and opportunities for the best of our chefs in the industry. Executive Chef Melinda Burrows, CEC, CCA, from Hickory Hills Country Club in Springfield, Mo., has been working hard with her team to stay engaged and to grow, while at the same time focusing on faith for the future.

Burrows has no plans to stop, from running a farm that supplies the club with eggs and hogs, to pursuing higher certification levels.

C+RB: 2020 taught us many lessons. What is your number one takeaway from last year?

BURROWS: Resilience. You must be a survivor, being a leader, having faith; that’s an action and a decision. I learned to roll with the punches and at the same time stand firm in what I believe.

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C+RB: After a unique sales year, how have you approached budgeting for 2021?

BURROWS: We are halfway through our fiscal year; we will make it to March 31, 2020 and beyond with our fiscal responsibility and positive vision. Hickory CC is in line for a solid financial recovery in our next FY 2021/2022, with six weddings on the books and rebookings from cancelled events from 2020.

One of the most significant challenges has been the insane amount of paper goods we have been consuming because of to-go containers, gloves and masks. We will probably triple our budget by the end of the fiscal year.

I am delighted that the team has not been majorly impacted, as we are doing everything we can to keep them full-time. Regardless we remain hopeful and optimistic and will review the reality of that around the end of March, and make adjustments as necessary. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

CHEF PROFILE

C+RB: You have a unique passion that relates beautifully to our profession. What sets your culinary program apart from others?

BURROWS: One of our program highlights is that my husband Darren and I have a hobby farm and raise a couple of hogs each year for the club. We use that meat from my farm in our restaurant and at my farmto-table dinners.

This year, we focused on Spain and produced a wide variety of Spanish dishes. We used hogs that we raised from 35-pound weaners and ended up with four halves, which we butchered as a team. My team gets to experience whole animal butchery.

Additionally, I know our Marketing Manager, our membership and the team love to be a part of the story. They enjoy saying that “Our Chef” has a hobby farm where she and her husband raise animals, and provide eggs and small quantities of herbs and produce for the club.

It is a unique piece for prospective members. It is also very responsible. I collect the compostable scraps from the kitchen stations, and they go back to my farm. Instead of going into the trash, it goes to the garden compost or for the chickens and the pigs.

I like that we get to do those things because we live in a world of convenience, leading to a lack of skill. I believe my team appreciates the value and the hard work that goes into the front end. It takes a lot of

MELINDA BURROWS, CEC, CCA CURRENT POSITION: Executive Chef, Hickory Hills Country Club, Springfield, Mo. PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: • Executive Chef, Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel and Hilton Promenade at Branson (Mo.) • Campus Executive Chef, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kan. • Executive Chef and Director of Dining Services, Morrison Management Specialists, California PEO Home, Alhambra, Calif.

• Catering Manager, Morrison Management Specialists, Motion Picture Television Fund, Woodland Hills, Calif.

• Your Personal Chef catering, Hollywood, Calif.

• Executive Chef, Special Occasions Catering EDUCATION: • Ecole de Gastronomie de Française Ritz-Escoffier, Paris, France; Diplome de Patisserie and Diplome Cesar Ritz • Certificate of Achievement, Seattle Central Community College Culinary Arts program, Seattle, Wash.

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Recipe SOUS VIDE PORK CHOP YIELD: 6 chops INGREDIENTS: 2 cups water 1 oz. sea salt 2 ozs. brown sugar 2 ozs. cider vinegar 6 ea., 10-oz. bone-in pork chops, frenched 6 pats butter 1 tbsp. herb mix (1:1 chive/parsley, 1 per chop) PROCEDURE: 1. Mix water, salt, sugar, and vinegar together, making sure the sugar and salt completely dissolve in the brine. Set aside.

2. To assemble, place one chop, one pat of butter, and 1 tbsp. of house herb mix into a cryovac bag. Then add one ¼ cup of work to take care of that animal and raise it. Then it is here feeding the club, and it makes a full circle, leaving a great feeling of satisfaction for everyone.

C+RB: What have you been doing to keep yourself, your team and your members interested and engaged through all we’ve been through in the past year or so?

BURROWS: I worked with the American Culinary Federation to develop the Certified Culinary Administrator (CCA) exam, a project that ran from 2019 into 2020, where I became a part of the taskanalysis committee.

We started in Kansas City and created the task analysis for the new CCA exam. Later, it led to writing the items that will show up among the 100 randomly selected questions for the exam itself.

Trial testing followed. I was a part of all three of those portions to

brine. Be sure to keep bags upright, so they don’t spill. One chop, and its accompaniments, per bag. Once filled, seal the bags with the VacMaster.

3. Sous vide at 145 degrees for 1 hour, being sure to rotate chops in water once during the hour.

4. COOL IMMEDIATELY in a single layer on a sheet tray.

5. Remove prepared chop and grill to desired doneness.

SUBMITTED BY MELINDA BURROWS, EXECUTIVE CHEF, HICKORY HILLS CC, SPRINGFIELD, MO.

get the exam up and running, and now the test is live. I found that a fascinating process to go through. It kept my interest for a large portion of the last year.

A primary goal in my life is passing the Certified Master Chefs exam. For that reason, I am focusing on preparing for it. I started competing, and I had planned a whole trip to do so. I began my journey by spending a day with Master Chef Tim Bucci, a Culinary Arts Professor at Joliet (Ill.) Junior College. I worked on garde manger with him in his class, and then I drove to Michigan to do a freestyle segment practice run with other Master Chefs, including Shawn Loving, Jeffrey Gabriel and Brian Beland, and some other candidates.

This trip happened before the shutdown, and Schoolcraft College was forthcoming with feedback. After that, I connected with Dorsey College and competed in a category F-1 and an F-4, earning two

GETTING PERSONAL with Chef Burrows Do you have any hobbies?

Yes, of course—I cook.

What’s your go-to book?

Jacques Pepin’s “La Technique” What’s your favorite thing to cook?

My grandmother’s flour tortillas and making tacos with them.

What’s your favorite thing to eat?

Homemade pizza with our prosciutto, goat cheese, kalamata olives and yellow onions.

What’s your best seller on the menu?

Shrimp cocktail

If you could have lunch with anyone, who would it be, and why?

My best friend, Susan Turman, because if we had been together on the day she took her life, things might have turned out differently.

What’s your most commonly used phrase?

“Let’s do this!”

“You’re kidding me?!”

“I would like to speak with you in my office.”

“Good job!”

(I try not use expletives) What’s your favorite piece of kitchen equipment?

My 8-inch Messermeister Chef Knife

Favorite fat to cook with?

Leaf lard 34

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The history of Hickory Hills CC dates to 1926, when its original golf course, modeled after St. Andrews Links, was designed by John T. Woodruff.

The club was incorporated in 1934.

bronze medals. I had not yet competed up to that point in my life, but Chef Loving said if you want to prepare effectively for the CMC exam, do F-category competitions, they are excellent practice. I wanted feedback, and if you are not open to criticism, how could you possibly know what you need to change?

In the same vein of preparation, I started taking the online program that you offer, Raising The Bar 2.0. There is currently a group of thirteen of us in the program; we meet weekly and have coursework along with the online content. I want to be the best cook that I can be, and that has been an excellent resource for my growth. Recently we revisited fundamentals, and that helped me recognize that having those kinds of conversations during the exam would not lead to a successful taking.

Going through another recent lesson, I was reminded of one of my chefs from cooking school: Chef John Lewis, an older English

man, who said, “A gravy is made, and a sauce is created.” I remember the words so clearly. That differentiation has always stuck with me about the higher level of cooking, versus not working to develop flavor.

I am motivated to pursue all of this because I feel like I am trying to beat the clock, because time never stops. And as I have been working on certification, I have been pushing my team toward certifications as well. C+RB

Gerald Ford, CMC, is a contributing Chef Editor for Club + Resort Chef and a contributor to Club + Resort Business. He is also the Founder and Culinary Director of Legit Culinary Concepts, an organization that aims to improve the quality of life for chefs and culinarians around the world by providing tools and systems tested and developed with the experience of a master craftsman. Previously, he was the Executive Chef of The Ford Plantation (Richmond Hill, Ga.).

SHADE PRODUCTS & CUSHIONS FOR EVERY LOCATION, BUDGET AND DESIGN www.clubandresortbusiness.com

FLEXIBILITY IS OUR GREATEST STRENGTH™

November 2020 l Club + Resort Business l 35 Toll-free 866.667.8668 www.fiberbuiltumbrellas.com

COURSE + GROUNDS

Staying Ahead of the

Numbers

Game

With the increase in rounds at golf courses across the country last year, superintendents have had to adjust maintenance practices to accommodate the added stress on the turf and properly prepare for (hopefully) more of the same.

By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor

THE GLOBAL CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC MADE a world of difference in the golf industry in 2020. While golf, like everything else, seemingly came to a screeching halt in the early days of the pandemic, more people ultimately made their way to the sport as the year played out. Courtesy of its ability to provide outdoor entertainment in a socially distanced way, the game drew golfers to the links in record numbers.

The National Golf Foundation showed a 14% year-over-year increase in 2020 rounds from 2019, despite nationwide coronavirus-related course shutdowns in March and April that led to a loss of 20 million spring rounds. In a classic case of cause and effect, however, the onslaught of increased rounds in a more condensed period, coupled with more wear and tear on turf from the use of single-rider carts that was mandated or strongly encouraged at many properties, left its mark on golf course maintenance and caused superintendents to quickly adapt their practices to the new realities.

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FIGURING IT OUT At first, uncertainty clouded maintenance operations at some properties as the 2020 season began. “We had a two-week period of not knowing what we could do,” says Joe Berggren, Golf Course Superintendent at The Wilds Golf Club, an 18-hole public course in Prior Lake, Minn. “Luckily, it was early in the season. The grass hadn’t started to grow yet. The turf was in dormancy. Not knowing was the hardest part.”

The Wilds, which averages 24,000 rounds annually, ended up with close to a record number of rounds in 2020, with more than 31,000 played in the seven months from April until November—even though golf outings were canceled. “We went from one outing per week to none, which in reality, increased our rounds,” Berggren says. “We got a lot of new golfers. It was great to see and great for golf.”

North Hempstead Country Club, an 18-hole private property that was established in 1916 in Port Washington, N.Y., had just under 20,000 rounds in 2020. The property normally averages 17,000 to 18,000 rounds per year, and Golf Course Superintendent Tom Kaplun says the number of rounds climbed even though North Hempstead, which has an active membership, lost 90% of its social events.

While play in the fall usually “tails off to nice days and weekends,” Kaplun adds, “from mid-October to early November, the play never really stopped.”

It helped that North Hempstead members started using an app to reserve tee times, which allowed Kaplun to see in advance how many golfers would be on the course, so he could manage his staff and work flow accordingly. Many new golfers came to the course to try the game for the first time, adding a need to educate them about golf course etiquette practices, such as repairing divots, fixing ball marks, and where to drive golf cars.

At Evansville (Ind.) Country Club, 2020 rounds were up by about 22 percent from 2019. Golf outings at Evansville CC declined from about 10 per year to two or three last year, however, resulting in about 700 fewer outing rounds.

“The golf course held up pretty well, all things considered,” says Jeff Sexton, CGCS. “Golf increased because travel sports were shut down, and families were home.” Many families golfed together, and Evansville CC also attracted new golfers. The club

gained about 25 new members during the pandemic as well.

Silver Spring Country Club in Ridgefield, Conn., remained open throughout the pandemic, and its golf rounds increased by about 6,000 in 2020, jumping from an average of 18,000 to 24,000 rounds.

“The golf course was busier than usual, so finding time to get second jobs done on the course was always difficult,” says Golf Course Superintendent Bill Cygan.

While golf outings at Silver Spring were able to move forward, “A lot of our tournaments got shifted to later in the season, so the season dragged out longer,” Cygan adds. “We opened a month earlier than usual and closed later in the season because of the mild winter.”

Normally, the Silver Spring course opens in early April and closes around Thanksgiving. In 2020, though, the golf course operated from mid-March until mid-December. “We saw a lot of members golfing with their college-age kids and their kids in their 20s or 30s who had moved back home,” Cygan notes. “More people and more rounds led to more wear and tear.”

BACK TO THE BASICS To try to alleviate the stress on turf and stay ahead of all the play, golf courses across the country had to adjust their maintenance inputs and practices accordingly.

At The Wilds, the maintenance staff eliminated detail work to concentrate on basic inputs. “We had to get the golf course ready and get out of the way,” says Berggren. While the increased number of rounds led to more fairway divots and more ball marks, the staff was able to spend less time on bunker maintenance.

“The bunkers were a pleasure,” Berggren says. “We didn’t have to take the extra time to put rakes in or take them out.

Hopefully that trend will continue.”

The Wilds staff also was unable to do much topdressing

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COURSE + GROUNDS Many courses reduced the frequency of bunker maintenance to be able to focus more on tending to turf that was subjected to increased wear and tear from the added rounds played in 2020.

because of the number of golfers, but the golf course closed in early October to perform its normal fall aerification.

To handle the effects of increased play at North Hempstead, the maintenance staff managed the golf course from the inside out, concentrating on the greens, tees, and fairways out to the perimeter areas.

“We had to quickly acclimate ourselves to the increased rounds in the spring,” says Kaplun. “We had to be more efficient in how we made applications on the golf course and how we structured our crew. Having to work with reduced manpower required a lot of organization and a lot of communication with the membership. We had to let some of the periphery things go.”

More play at North Hempstead led to more maintenance on the fairway landing areas, repair of ball marks on greens, and filling in divots.

“We do a lot of hand work around the greens, tees, and fairway bunkers,” reports Kaplun. “The golf course is 100-plus years old, and a lot of the features still require a lot of hand work. We have to get to those places in the mornings.”

With no Monday outings in 2020, Kaplun says the property was able to close the golf course completely on those days, so the maintenance staff could work without interruption.

The North Hempstead crew also relied more on its irrigation system. Instead of a 60% – 40% ratio of irrigation to hand-water-

ing, Kaplun says the crew irrigated the turf 80% of the time and hand-watered 20% of the time.

The staff members raked bunkers two or three days a week instead of the customary five days a week, and adjusted their mowing practices.

“With single-rider carts and increased play, we raised the mowing heights in some areas to better withstand the traffic,” says Kaplun. “We did a lot more ride-mowing than usual. We used ride mowers almost exclusively on the greens. We used ride mowers 70% of the time in past years and 90% of the time on the greens [in 2020], because we had so many more rounds.”

Kaplun bumped up fertility applications by 25% last year, and his staff fertilized in the fall to accelerate recovery from the summer. In addition, the grounds crew backed off the use of growth regulators to allow for accelerated recovery of the turf.

“I was asked in March to prepare a bare-bones budget for the season, assuming the worst,” Kaplun notes. However, as the season progressed, he added inputs back in as needed, such as for seeding in the rough, landing areas and high-traffic areas. “The increased play allowed us to be much more efficient and do other things we might have done during downtime on the golf course,” he notes.

In spite of the adjustments North Hempstead had to make in 2020, the ultimate goal never changed from previous years.

“I’m just trying to create a turf that’s healthy and can withstand whatever comes its way,” says Kaplun.

HOLISTIC THERAPY At Evansville CC, divots on the tees were the main issue that resulted from increased play, Sexton reports. The par-3 holes were “especially beat up,” and just before winter arrived, the Evansville staff applied heavy topdressing sand to fill in divots.

In addition, the grounds crew decreased mowing by 20% last year. “We mowed a little bit less and rolled a little bit more,” states Sexton.

Fortunately, the Evansville grounds crew was still able to tend to projects such as irrigation installation and cart-path resurfacing. Staff members were able to maintain detail work as well.

“The members wanted to continue capital investment work into the course,” Sexton says.

“

The locations where people drove on and off the cart paths got really beat up.

We had to aerify those areas more than usual to alleviate compaction. We had every rope and every stake that we own out to try to manage traffic. We had to maintain, trim, and move ropes and vary paths almost daily to reduce wear and tear.

— Joe Berggren, The Wilds GC

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“

We had to quickly acclimate ourselves to the increased rounds and be more efficient in how we made applications on the course and how we structured our crew. With single-rider carts and increased play, we raised the mowing heights in some areas to better withstand the traffic and did a lot more ride-mowing than usual. We used ride mowers almost exclusively on the greens.

”

—Tom Kaplun, North Hempstead CC

Later in the season, Evansville crew members also started placing hand-sanitizing bottles at each water-cooler space.

At Silver Spring CC, the grounds crew prepared the golf course ahead of play as usual, and then performed secondary jobs such as mowing the rough, filling in divots, and string-trimming along the tree lines.

“We didn’t have bunker rakes on the course for basically the whole season,” says Cygan, “and we did less bunker maintenance and filled in divots instead.

A lot of labor is spent on the bunkers, but by doing less maintenance in them, we could focus on other areas that were getting more worn out.” Crew members also spent a lot of time fixing ball marks on the greens, he adds.

In addition, he says, Silver Spring is getting a new maintenance facility, and the grounds crew has been able to continue to relocate power cords in association with that project, which began in December 2019. That job fell behind a month or two because of COVID, notes Cygan, but it never stopped.

KNOWING THE ROPES With more rounds, single-use golf car policies implemented at courses affected turf conditions as well.

At The Wilds, the additional carts created more traffic patterns. “The locations where people drove on and off the cart paths got really beat up. We had to aerify those areas more than usual to alleviate compaction,” notes Berggren.

“We had every rope and every stake that we own out to try to manage traffic. We had to maintain, trim, and move ropes and vary paths almost daily to reduce wear and tear.” www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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“

Finding time to get second jobs done on the course was always difficult. We filled in divots instead of bunker maintenance. A lot of labor is spent on the bunkers, but by doing less maintenance in them, we could focus on other areas that were getting more worn out.

”

— Bill Cygan, Silver Spring CC

While Evansville CC’s course never closed, golfers were not allowed to use carts for a month. When Sexton learned that golfers would have to ride in the carts as singles once they could use them again, he realized that four times the normal amount of cart traffic would go to certain areas. But instead of golfers parking their carts in the same places, they spread them out.

“We used to move ropes on a weekly basis, but I saw [the carts] disperse visually,” Sexton says. “That was a monumental moment, because it’s a lot of work to move the ropes.”

“

We’ve mowed a little bit less and rolled a little bit more. And I’ve spent a lot of time coaching my guys about what to do out of the workplace to protect the workplace. I want to remind them and motivate them that our members need us.

—Jeff Sexton, Evansville CC

”

As a result, the Evansville maintenance staff did not put out ropes to guide golf carts. “We probably will never put them out again,” Sexton says. “The carts scattered at their own will, and it improved turf conditions.”

Although the use of single-rider carts at Silver Spring CC created more wear and tear on the turf, the maintenance staff followed its normal practices when erecting signs and ropes to direct cart traffic. “We had to be more diligent with it,” Cygan says. “We move them around to scatter traffic patterns daily, but we’re always assessing the situation.”

SUMMING IT UP > An increased number of rounds coupled with single-use golf car > >

policies during 2020 prompted golf course superintendents to revisit daily maintenance practices to alleviate additional wear and tear, such as divots and ball marks, on the turf.

With smaller work forces and additional cleaning and sanitation needs, golf course superintendents have had to make adjustments to manage their time and personnel.

Golf course superintendents expect the 2021 golf season to begin much as the 2020 season ended.

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PREPARING FOR DÉJÀ VU For the time being, superintendents expect more of the same as the 2021 golf season shifts into high gear.

“We feel that this spring is going to continue on how last fall ended,” Berggren says. “We will continue with the ‘new normal,’ but we hope that the ‘old normal’ kicks back in later in the year.”

Kaplun believes questions about regulations will remain for the 2021 golf season. “Will we leave the pins in? Will we put the bunker rakes back out? Will we have single-rider carts?

I’m assuming these things will still be in effect, so I’m planning aacordingly, ” he says.

North Hempstead’s grounds crew will take care of details such as bunker work earlier this spring to get ready for play. “[In 2020] we had to prioritize the areas of importance,” Kaplun explains. “We didn’t plant flowers for cost-saving purposes. We had to allocate labor to the important things on the golf course.

The golf course really was the lifeline of the club last year.”

This year at Evansville CC, Sexton expects to increase fertility applications on the greens where the golfers walked on and off the putting surfaces. “They got thin with the increased foot traffic,” he says. He also plans to increase aerifications this summer from once a month to twice monthly. However, with a 2% increase in his budget this year, he doesn’t expect the additional applications to create any issues.

“I hope that after the first quarter, things will go back to where they used to be,” says Sexton. “It will be business as usual, we hope, but we’ll take a wait-and-see attitude.”

He also expects his crew will be able to continue projects such as stone wall work, tee reconstruction, and more irrigation installation. And he will continue a new practice from last year: “I’ve spent a lot of time trying to coach my guys about what to do out of the workplace to protect the workplace. I want to remind them and motivate them that our members need us.”

At Silver Spring, the normal golf calendar is on the schedule for 2021. “As of right now, the club is planning to continue as we did in the fall,” says Cygan. “We seemed to find our groove of keeping things safe. We were super-conservative and paranoid in the beginning, but by the end of July, we had a better grasp on how to keep safe and move forward.” C+RB MORE ONLINE

For more insights into how superintendents have been keeping their courses in shape around all of the increased traffic that 2020 brought, and are preparing for more of the same in 2021, see the online version of this article at www.clubandresortbusiness.com www.clubandresortbusiness.com

SUPER IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A Matter of

Perspective A long and winding path took Dennis Petruzzelli to his current position at Oronoque CC, but the one constant every step of the way has been the special feeling he’s never lost about the allure of the golf course.

By Jeff Bollig, Contributing Editor

DENNIS PETRUZZELLI, Certified Golf Course Superintendent at Oronoque Country Club in Stratford, Conn., is a testament to the fact that hard work, determination and a sense of humor will take you a long way.

Petruzzelli’s 47-year career in the golf course industry has not necessarily followed an orderly path, but that’s been more because of circumstance than of his own doing. Nevertheless, he has made the most of each stop. Even considering how many years this industry warrior has under his belt, the native of Harrison, N.Y., is not ready to slow down anytime soon.

“I like what I am doing too much to stop -- it’s my love and passion,” Petruzzelli says. “My wife keeps on telling me I need to find a hobby. But I like being on the golf course. It’s my hobby. They are going to have to drag me away.”

Lest you feel sorry for Petruzzelli’s wife Pamela, you should know she likes the golf course as well. She serves as Oronoque CC’s horticulturist and helps in other areas as well.

“She’s probably my hardest worker!” Dennis Petruzzelli says. “She takes a lot of pride in her work and is very meticulous in it. I love having her around.”

We pulled Dennis away from the course long enough to have him tell us more about his interesting life’s journey. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

C+RB: Let’s start at the beginning. How did you become

smitten with the golf course?

PETRUZZELLI: I did not have exposure to the golf course

until I was 13, when I joined my friends as a caddie at Willow Ridge Country Club, which is adjacent to Westchester Country Club in Harrison. N.Y. That is when I started to play golf as well. I played a lot of other sports and came to enjoy golf right away.

At the same time, my dad had a landscape and irrigation contracting business, and I had spent some time going to work with him. I didn’t totally enjoy that line of contracted work, but I did want a job outdoors. So working on a golf course appealed to me.

My dad was not really in favor of me being a superintendent, though. He saw the challenges they faced and thought I did not need to deal with all the hassles that came with it.

He knew it could be a tough profession.

Ironically, my dad never played golf until he and my mother moved to Florida as “snowbirds.” He only played because the golf course fees were part of the homeowner’s association dues. The first time he picked up a club was at age 75 and just loved it. He still plays today at 94 years old!

March 2021

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SUPER IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Super in the Spotlight

DENNIS PETRUZZELLI,

CGCS

Current Position: Golf Course Superintendent, Oronoque Country Club, Stratford, Conn.

Years at Oronoque CC: Three Years in Golf Course Maintenance Profession: 36 (27 as golf course superintendent); 47 total years in golf course industry

Dennis with his “hardest worker”—and wife— Pamela, Oronoque CC’s horticulturist.

Previous Employment: • Project Specialist, Oxford (Conn.) Greens Golf Course, 2017-18 • Superintendent, Woodbridge (Conn.) Country Club, 2012-17 • Associate, Trump National Golf Club, Hudson Valley, N.Y., 2011-12 • Superintendent, Putnam National Golf Club, Mahopac, N.Y., 2007-10 • Metro Turf Specialists, 2001-2006 • Superintendent, Lakeover National Golf Club/GlenArbor Golf Club, Bedford Hills, N.Y., 1989-2001 • Superintendent, Redding, (Conn.) Country Club, 1986-89 • Assistant, Brae Burn Country Club, Purchase, N.Y., 1982-85 • Intern, Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamoraneck, N.Y. (three summers) Education & Training: • Bachelor of Science, Turfgrass Science, University of Rhode Island, 1982 • Associates Arts & Sciences – Plant & Soil Science, SUNY-Cobleskill (N.Y.), 1980 Honors and Awards: GCSAA Scholarship; GCSAA/Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf - Merit Award; Golf Course Superintendent of the Year, Billy Casper Golf; GCSAA Melrose Leadership Academy

C+RB: You were a good baseball player

as a youth. Did you consider playing in college?

PETRUZZELLI: My schooling was more important, but I did play at SUNY-Cobleskill College. I was a second basemen, and being in the Northeast, I did get asked on more than one occasion if I was related to former Boston Red Sox all-star Rico Petrocelli. Of course, our names are spelled differently, but at first glance they look somewhat close.

When I transferred to the University of Rhode Island after getting my associates degree (SUNY-Cobleskill College was a two-year school at the time), I considered walking onto the team, but knew the time commitment would be too difficult trying to do both. I was there to learn, study and get my degree.

C+RB: But you were able to continue your

athletic career to a degree?

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PETRUZZELLI: Yes, I did play club rugby at URI and enjoyed it very much. Years later, I got involved with lacrosse through my son.

He started at the youth level, and I helped the coaches. As I learned more, I was asked to coach at the youth level and then at the high-school level. I was the junior varsity coach, an assistant for the varsity team and helped on the freshman level, too.

That was a lot of fun, but a big time commitment, though. I played weekly in a summer men’s masters league -- another term for old-guys league. It kept me in shape and was a bit of a release for me. That was too much fun!

C+RB: Did you have any internships during

college?

PETRUZZELLI: I was extremely fortunate

to be able to work three summers at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. I worked under two legends in the golf

course management industry: first Ted Horton, and then Sherwood Moore, who was back for his second stint. Both were so good to me and excellent mentors.

We hosted some high-profile events and I got to meet many people, including those from the USGA as we hosted the first U.S. Senior Open in 1981. I could not have asked for a better experience to begin my career.

C+RB: You worked as an agronomic con-

sultant for a regional company after being a turf manager for almost 20 years. Why that move?

PETRUZZELLI: I had worked at Lakeover National Golf Club, in Bedford Hills , N.Y., beginning in 1989 and shortly after my arrival assisted in a complete reconstruction of the course. It was quite a project and a tremendous experience.

About 10 years later, the property was sold to a new ownership with new design ideas, so I led another significant renovation. The property was rebranded and renamed as GlenArbor Golf Club, and I had the pleasure of working with Gary Player and his design team.

Once the optimistic workload was completed in a very short timeframe, I was very exhausted, both physically and mentally. So I decided to make the move.

C+RB: You spent six years out of the

superintendent profession, but then got back into it, going to Putnam National Golf Club in Mahopac, N.Y. Why? PETRUZZELLI: I enjoyed working as an Agronomic Consultant. There is no doubt I became a better golf course superintendent because of what I learned visiting so many courses and talking to superintendents. It also made me feel good that I could help them from utilizing my past experiences.

Superintendents face so many challenges, and we appreciate the support we get from the industry and our fellow colleagues.

But the one thing I missed after a while was the camaraderie of the crew. I missed leading a team and the sense of accomplishment. I missed working with other departments as a team, and developing www.clubandresortbusiness.com

friendships with the golfers/customers. I’m a social, “people person,” and too many times I felt alone and on an island. So I got back into golf course management. That’s where I’m happiest.

C+RB: Two times in your career, you took

assistant positions after being a head superintendent. Why? PETRUZZELLI: Both times there were changes in the facility. One of them closed and another time there were two management-company changes in three years.

Both times, there wasn’t an abundance of superintendent job openings. The timing was such that with my kids in college and bills to pay, I took assistant positions to stay connected to the business and use these temporary positions as “stepping stones” back to being in charge of a facility.

I appreciate both facilities hiring me, because they knew I would have a short stay as I continued to look for head positions. It really was a “win-win” for both of us. I think it helped them to have another veteran around to offer support and solutions.

I really did not feel sorry for myself. There was no time for that. You just put your head down, go to work, be a team player, and help make difference.

C+RB: You have been at Oronoque

Country Club since 2018. What type of facility is it?

Course + Grounds Operations Profile

Other Green and Grounds Managers: Michael Crockett, equipment manager/mechanic and assistant; Jesus Monge, equipment operator/crew; Drew Perani, equipment operator/crew; Pam Petruzzelli, horticulturist/crew

PETRUZZELLI: We are a golf-only facility.

It is located within the gates of a planned community, so the other typical amenities such as swimming, tennis and pickleball are located elsewhere within the development.

We do host weddings, banquets and golf outings although in 2020, we were golf only, due to COVID-19. So we were open for member play seven days a week ,and that drove our rounds from the usual yearly average of 19,000 to 26,000. Like many facilities, our rounds increased significantly, with people working from home more and needing something to do.

Our clientele is varied. We get families, business people, young and old. There are so many courses in the area and there is a lot of competition. Most of our golfers come from within 15 to 20 miles.

C+RB: What makes the course challenging

to play, and what makes it enjoyable?

PETRUZZELLI: It is a narrow, mostly treelined layout, so you need to keep it in the fairway. The greens are very undulating. If you don’t place your shots in the right area you have the potential for a big score. So that is the challenge. Golf Digest once had us ranked among the top 50 golf courses.

The terrain is rolling, but the course is walkable. The greens are the star of the facility, because they are so undulating. I have to be careful in their management because if I get the green speed too fast, fair and usable hole locations are reduced and they will be unplayable.

This is a course that is tough to play the first time. Without knowledge, it is very tough. But the more you learn the course, the more fun you have. I think it’s important that you choose the right set of tees to match your ability, or it could be a long round.

Water Source and Usage: Totally domestic (purchased); average 7 to 8 million gallons/year

C+RB: What are your maintenance

Aerating and Overseeding Schedules: Aeration in spring and fall (greens, tees, fairways, roughs); overseeding as needed

have that many challenges. Being close to the Long Island Sound, our temperatures moderate a bit in our favor. But we can get heat stress that can occur quickly, so we have to be on our toes monitoring the

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

challenges?

PETRUZZELLI: Weather-wise, we do not

Golf Course Profile

ORONOQUE COUNTRY CLUB Website: Oronoquecc.com Year Opened: 1972 Ownership: Private (management-company owned) Golf Holes: 18 Course Type: Parkland Course Designer: Desmond Muirhead Par: 72 Yardage: Black Tees, 6,575; White, 6,112; Gold, 5,527; Green, 5,077 Golf Season: Open year-round, weatherdepending; primary season mid-April to late October Annual Rounds: On average, 19,000; 26,000 in 2020 Grasses: • Tees and fairways: Bentgrass/Poa annua/ Ryegrass; • Roughs: Kentucky bluegrass/ryegrass • Greens: Bentgrass/Poa annua Water Features: Two ponds that come into play on three holes.

Bunkers: 59

conditions.

We do face some challenges with the mature trees. We’ll have tree-root competition into the turf areas and obnoxious seasonal leaf drop. The problem is many of the trees are not on our property, but on HOA land. So we don’t have total control of that.

An additional challenge that all golf courses seem to face is finding labor. Competition is difficult in trying to lure potential workers away from air-conditioned workplaces and less physical jobs that may pay the same as us.

I love working on the golf course, but it is not the same for everyone. You have to endure work outside in weather that is not always comfortable—and of course there are some early-morning hours. You have to love what you do! C+RB March 2021

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RECREATION + FITNESS

Getting back in the

Swim Season With families’ travel plans on hold and team sports cancelled, 2020 saw a significant boost in activity around clubs’ pools. The lessons learned from safely handling the added traffic are now being applied to preparations for another active year.

By Rob Thomas, Senior Editor 44

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www.clubandresortbusiness.com

SUMMING IT UP

> Greater numbers at the pool, as many families curtail their travel plans, has led to new safety and sanitation protocols.

> Reservation systems for pool use are now being implemented, to ensure that COVID capacity limits are not exceeded at any given time. > Some swim teams will compete internally or via virtual meets, to keep young members active.

Photo Courtesy The Quechee Club

n www.clubandresortbusiness.com

March 2021 l Club + Resort Business l 45

RECREATION + FITNESS

“

Many families with summer plans to travel found themselves forced to stay local, and we found our membership quickly growing as a result. It was evident that many of them were joining to use our new pool.

”

—Jordan Carey, Aquatics Director, DuPont CC

AS OLD MAN WINTER RELEASES his grip and summer quickly approaches, clubs are busy preparing for another active year at the pool. The global pandemic that swept the nation in 2020 provided a well-documented boost for rounds played on the golf course, but aquatics facilities also saw a jump in participation, as families looked for COVID-safe activities to replace youth sports that were cancelled, or to just get everyone out of the house and into fresh air.

DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Del. celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2020 and opened a six-lane, 25-meter saltwater lap pool that includes a diving well with a 1-meter springboard, and a zero-entry children’s wading pool with a water feature, slide and 12 waterspouts.

Jordan Carey, who started his role as DuPont’s Aquatics Director in March of 2020 and oversaw the pool’s debut in June, says the club learned a lot from how it opened last summer that will help it operate even more effectively in 2021.

“We were one of the first pools in Delaware to reopen during the pandemic, and other local country clubs looked to us for how we would operate and the precautions we put in place to safely stay open,” Carey says. “Many families with summer plans to travel found themselves forced to stay local, and we found our membership quickly growing as a result. It was evident that many of them were joining to use the pool, with many of their summer plans then being cancelled.

“Because of the spike in membership and members wanting to use the pool, we had to use a reservation system to ensure we did not go over our COVID capacity limit at any given time,” Carey adds. “But we wanted to allow as many members as possible to use the pool each day who wanted to.”

With the experience of running a few small-scale member events now under their belt, the DuPont staff plans to add more this year. “[After opening] we had to restrict members from using a certain number of chairs that we had out on the pool deck, because we did not have enough deck space to have them 46

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socially distanced,” Carey says. “With construction concluding last summer, we now have additional deck space and a large grass area, which will allow us to utilize all of our lounge chairs while keeping members socially distanced.

“We will also be rearranging our furniture layout, to have specific areas set up for smaller parties of one and two members and for larger parties of three-plus members, so there will be no need for us to move chairs and tables other than for private parties,” Carey adds.

CLOSING TIME For Bria McKinney, Aquatics Director at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Ala., closing the pool in 2020 was completely different than in previous years.

“Because schools were delayed in opening, we wanted our members to have somewhere their kids could still go and have fun,” McKinney says. “Consequently, we kept our pools open daily until the last day of September, and tried to plan fun and safe activities to keep them engaged.”

Unlike Greystone, the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga. closed its pool for the season on its scheduled date, says Aquatics Director John Broughton.

“If anything, closing was easier in many ways,” Broughton says. “The amount of furniture—such as loungers, chairs, tables and umbrellas—was less, as it was set for social-distancing purposes. And less furniture meant less to move to storage for the winter months.

“In addition, our food-and-beverage team operated a quick-serve meal service, which limited the amount of usage to our kitchen area and made closing it easier as well,” Broughton adds.

OPEN SEASON Scott Bushway, Director of Recreation, Fitness and Aquatics, has been at The Quechee (Vt.) Club for 12 years. The club features an indoor pool, an outdoor pool and a 50-acre manwww.clubandresortbusiness.com

made lake. Opening in 2021 will be quite different from a “normal” year, Bushway says, but very similar to how the club ran its aquatic programs in 2020.

“In 2020, we opened our outdoor pool in June because of COVID restrictions that were in effect,” Bushway says. “This season, we will be looking to possibly open in early May, if the weather is amenable.”

The Quechee Club is a landowners association with about 35 percent of its membership usually living locally throughout the year.

In 2020, Bushway found even more of the members staying local, and this changed how the club has looked at its aquatics operation and when and how it plans to start and run programs.

“

Because schools were delayed in opening, we wanted our members to have somewhere their kids could still go and have fun. We kept our pools open daily until the last day of September and tried to plan fun and safe activities to keep them engaged.

”

—Bria McKinney, Aquatics Director, Greystone G&CC

Treat your members to a winning combination Plush locker room towels with your club’s distinct logo

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March 2021 l Club + Resort Business l 47

The Atlanta Athletic Club is getting creative in preparation for the 2021 swim team season, reports Aquatics Director John Broughton. Options include limiting the number of people in attendance and streaming meets on various social-media platforms.

“This year, prep for opening will begin in April, by uncovering the outdoor pool, power-washing the deck, and cleaning and sanitizing all of our deck furniture and umbrellas,” Bushway says. “Once the pool is ready to be opened, we will start staff training on all of the safety protocols that we put in place last summer and go over how we will adjust them for this year.

“During daily opening procedures, lifeguards and attendants will spray down all deck furniture and stations,” he adds. “This is also done during each cleaning period we have between our reservation blocks and during closing procedures.”

REPROGRAMMING FOR SAFETY The Atlanta Athletic Club is planning to offer a swim and dive team for its members in 2021, but the club is still working out the details to ensure it can operate practices and meets while still following the policies and procedures needed to maintain social distancing and a safe environment.

“Options that are being considered include, but are not limited to, having just the participants and/or just one parent per participant inside the pool area during practices and meets,” Broughton says. “We have also investigated showing the meets via Facebook Live or a social-media platform, to 48

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limit the amount of people gathering on the pool deck.

“As with most pools, there is limited space on deck, and in order to safely space the swimmers out, we have also been looking into having a section of parking blocked off and tents set up as the ‘bullpen’ areas for the teams,” he adds.

DuPont Country Club was fortunate enough to be able to have a swim team last year, Carey says. “I say that with a bit of hesitation, because the groups were unable to compete with the other clubs in the area, so the entire summer was spent training with no real end-goal or championship meet,” he explains.

“Again, last year was our first year in operation,” he adds.

“But we will be returning [in 2021] to our plans of having a true summer swim team, where we have the swimmers compete at least one time per week. It is still yet to be determined if we will be able to compete against other teams in the area, but with the number of swimmers we had last year, we know that we will at the very least be able to hold internal competitions.”

HAPPY—AND SAFE—CAMPERS Greystone G&CC enjoyed a record-breaking year for its summer camps in 2020, McKinney reports.

“To ensure we had proper spacing and cleaning procewww.clubandresortbusiness.com

“

Once the pool is ready to be opened, we will start staff training on all of the safety protocols that we put in place last summer and go over how we will adjust them for this year.

”

—Scott Bushway, Director of Recreation, Fitness and Aquatics, The Quechee Club

dures, we capped our campers at 30 for each week,” she says. “The group was split up into five small groups of six campers, plus one camp counselor. From there, each group was assigned a meeting location when they were not playing golf, tennis, or at the pool.”

Greystone asked the campers’ parents for regular health assessments of their children that included questions about the previous day/morning, to ensure that no camper was under the weather before being dropped off.

At DuPont CC, a brief period of time will be set aside in the early afternoon when the pool is closed for campers. “For swim lessons, we had tremendous success with private lessons, which we will carry into the new year,” Carey explains.

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

“We used face masks for our instructors even while in the water, and if they needed to demonstrate a skill, they would sit their [students] on the side of the pool and wait to take off their mask until they were greater than six feet away.

Then they would put it back on when returning to the lesson after their demonstration.

“When the masks became wet, it would become difficult to breathe, so the instructors would constantly need to grab dry masks throughout their lessons,” he notes. “So we will be allowing instructors to use face shields in place of masks this summer if they choose to do so, hoping that this will alleviate the need for instructors to periodically need to pause their lesson to switch out their masks.” C+RB

March 2021 l Club + Resort Business l 49

IDEAEXCHANGE PUTTING THINGS ON ICE

By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor

THE CLUB AND RESORT BUSINESS has faced countless challenges in the last year surrounding how to offer events that members can do safely, outdoors, and while socially distanced. Cold-weather months have made the task even more difficult.

At Champions Run in Omaha, Neb., though, coming up with outdoor events in the winter wasn’t seen as a challenge, but rather an opportunity.

During the winter, most of the events at Champions Run are indoors. But with the onset of COVID, says Ben Lorenzen, Creative Director and Director of Aquatics & Fitness, “We wanted to offer more outdoor activities.

“The main focus of the last year has been to come up with fun, safe events where people can be socially distant,” Lorenzen adds. “That hasn’t stopped in the winter. In fact, that is when it is even more important to find ways to get people outside.”

Enter the new 35-foot-by-60-foot ice rink that Champions Run opened in late November 2020. While its use depends on Omaha’s fickle winter weather, the property first got members on the ice with a bar curling competition (combining elements of traditional curling, shuffleboard and bowl-

Champions Run’s resourcefulness in offering curling as a new activity included making homemade stones for $10 each (vs. $400 to $500 when purchased).

50

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ing) on a Sunday afternoon in January.

Promoting the inaugural pop-up event on Champion Run’s social-media outlets the night before, the slots filled up within 30 minutes. Members could sign up online for a one-hour time slot for the event, which ran from noon to 7 p.m. Two teams, consisting of four to eight people each, signed up for each hour. Two lanes were created for the event for a maximum of 40 participants, and the teams were made up of families, plus one group of friends.

The curling competition was a spontaneous activity, because the weather dictated the window of opportunity for pulling it off.

However, the staff was ready. About a week beforehand, Lorenzen and Assistant Manager Brogan Kanger spent a couple of days making 16 homemade curling stones that only cost about $10 each. Typically, Lorenzen says, the 45-pound stones cost $400 to $500 apiece, so showing Champions Run’s typical resourcefulness, he plunged into researching how to make them.

Getting mixing bowls from one of the property’s restaurant suppliers, Lorenzen and Kanger bought the rest of the materials at a hardware store. The process involved mixing concrete, drilling holes, attaching steel pipe handles, and surrounding the seam where the bowls came together with rubber hose and red or blue duct tape.

“It was a great event. Our members absolutely loved it,” says Lorenzen. “This was an introductory event to see what worked and what didn’t.”

They learned, for instance, that children required lighter, 10-pound stones. Because the spray-painted targets largely faded away by the end of the night, they also realized they needed to add a layer of water on top to freeze the targets in place.

Champions Run has plans for adult, family and kids’ curling leagues, and the property is working with the Omaha Curling Club to develop an indoor league. Mem-

bers can book time slots to curl with their families as well.

The new ice rink has been used for more than curling, however. Families can reserve time slots for Friday night ice skating that costs $10 per person, including skate rental.

“We have had so many birthday requests for the rink,” says Lorenzen.

In late January, Champions Run also used the rink for curling during an ’80s ski party at the pool deck, which was decorated like a ski lodge. About 75 people attended the event.

“It started snowing heavily a few hours before the event, which affected attendance slightly. But it also made the après ski party very authentic, with the perfect amount of snow,” Lorenzen says.

In addition to curling, the adult party included a DJ, ice luge, shot ski with disposable products, photo opportunities including a ski lift chair, and ice hockey shot competitions. Food included soup and runzas. (For the uninitiated, a runza is a bread pocket filled with beef, cabbage or sauerkraut, onions, and seasonings. “It’s a Nebraska thing,” says Lorenzen.)

Kayla Ryan, Director of Events and Weddings, says Champions Run schedules two or three adult parties a year. However, the property wasn’t able to do so in 2020 because of COVID. “We tried to think of something we could do outside in January,” Ryan says. “We’re a family-based club, and the ski party was a chance for adults to get out and have some fun. We wanted to kick off 2021 on the right foot.”

Lorenzen expected the rink to get lots of use in February, which typically is Omaha’s coldest month, and Ryan said the property’s scheduled events for that month were already sold out.

“The was the only year I’ve ever wished for cold weather,” Lorenzen says. “If we can get five to 10 days on the rink for the year, we would consider that a win.” www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

M����� S������� + A��������� Modular Muscle

Product: Modular Gym Space Features: ▶ 320-sq. ft. shipping containers ▶ Stocked with commercial gym equipment to provide safe, private, modular gym space ▶ Offers trainers and gym-goers the opportunity to book 60-minute private reservations ▶ Pods are outfitted with cutting-edge technology and audio equipment ▶ Members can take pre-filmed classes taught by BOLD’s trainers, stream content from their favorite fitness apps, or FaceTime with personal trainers remotely

BOLD

info@trainbold.com • www.trainbold.com

Streamlined Software

Product: Clubessential Member Experience and Club Management Software Features: ▶ Everything needed to streamline operations in one fully integrated suite powered by real-time data-sharing between website, reservations, accounting and POS modules ▶ MRM—the club industry’s first predictive analytics tool ▶ Payments—one platform for payments and processing ▶ Mobile—enhance member engagement everywhere ▶ Websites—stunning digital representations of your club ▶ CRM—close more membership sales in less time ▶ Reservations—convenient web and mobile booking options

Clubessential

www.clubessential.com

Lift Up Your Logo

Product: Branded Umbrellas Features: ▶ Showcase your club logo with printed umbrellas

by Bambrella ▶ Adding a monogram or logo to your umbrellas is an excellent way to highlight your brand and elevate the look of your outdoor spaces ▶ These can be done on any of our center-pole umbrellas, offset umbrellas and pavilions ▶ With currently over 150 clubs served, Bambrella is the club manager's choice for shade ▶ Send your logo for a free quote today

Bambrella

www.bambrellausa.com

Unlike Any Other

Product: Augusta Umbrella Features: ▶ 1 ¾”-diameter, one-piece pole with a heavy-gauge aluminum core and a textured FiberTeak™ simulated wood finish ▶ Available in five sizes and three wood tones to complement a variety of furnishings ▶ Push up-&-pin or pulley-&-pin lift styles ▶ The canopy is made of marine- and furniture-grade solution-dyed acrylic fabrics ▶ Canopy options include double vents or extra large Aruba vent, multiple fabrics, valances and silk-screened logos.

Fiberbuilt Umbrellas & Cushions

Join the Club

Product: ClubProcure Features: ▶ Program offers clubs 150 ways to save time and money ▶ More than 3,000 clubs nationwide leverage ClubProcure’s strategic relationships with well-known, national companies to gain tremendous buying power ▶ Pick and choose which offerings work best for your needs ▶ This year marks the 25th anniversary of ClubProcure serving the club industry

866.667.8668 • sales@fiberbuiltumbrellas.com www.fiberbuiltumbrellas.com

ClubProcure

www.clubprocure.com

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

K������ E�������� Dual Duty

Product: DT1A-HS One Section Dual-Temp Upright Features: ▶ Engineered to maintain NSF-7 temperatures in 100°F ambient ▶ Stainless-steel exterior front and sides with stainless-steel interior top, sides, back and floor ▶ Environmentally friendly R290 Refrigerant ▶ Cabinet and doors are insulated with 2” CFC-free, foamed-in-place polyurethane ▶ Solid-state digital controller with temperature alarms and LED display (Fahrenheit or Celsius) ▶ Exclusive “stepped” door design to protect recessed door gasket ▶ Spring assisted self-closing doors with stay-open feature and locks ▶ Field-reversible doors

Hoshizaki America

www.hoshizakiamerica.com

Golden Griddle

Product: Legend Heavy-Duty Deluxe Griddle Features: ▶ 30,000-BTU/hr burners every 12” ▶ One snap-action thermostat for every burner ▶ Automatic pilot ignition with 100% safety valve ▶ Larger 4-1/2-quart grease drawer with baffle ▶ A full 24”-deep cooking surface. ▶ 1”-thick, 24”-deep polished cook surface ▶ 4” back splash and tapered side splashes ▶ 3-1/4”-wide grease trough ▶ Stainless steel front and sides with 4” (102mm) legs

Montague Company

www.montaguecompany.com

F��� + B������� Great Balls of Butter

Down-Under Delight

W.Black Australian Wagyu Features: ▶ The natural Wagyu earthy-caramel sweetness shines through.

A silky texture, rich in good fats, Omega 3 and Oleic acid. The white grain-based diet allows the unique flavor profile to shine ▶ Independently graded using the AUS-MEAT Australian grading system that provides rigorous independent grading.

Customers can be confident in the consistency and integrity that W.Black delivers every time ▶ Utilizing a unrivaled lineage of full-blood Wagyu Sires.

Genetics are DNA-tested for marbling, eye muscle area and growth rate, to deliver superior Wagyu cattle ▶ Only the finest cattle are chosen. Twelve months spent roaming on natural pastures, before a 400-day bespoke Japanese white grain diet

Product: Premium Butter Balls Features: ▶ Market leader in premium shaped butters ▶ Made with smooth, creamy European-style butter ▶ These shapes have been a hallmark of the fine-dining experience for decades ▶ Ideal for weddings, special events, or your daily menu ▶ Your members will know that you have thought of everything when you serve these extraordinarily shaped butters

Butterball® Farms Butter www.butterballfarms.com

W.Black Australian Wagyu 256.749.3987 www.wblack.com.au

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

March 2021

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

Outdoor Furniture Wonderful Weave

Product: Nexus Woven Features: ▶ Striking contemporary collection ▶ Modular sectional pieces that can be joined together ▶ Features woven dining and lounge seating ▶ Design uses durable Resinweave frame in two colorways ▶ Endless cushion fabrics to choose from ▶ Available in a premium cushion option

Texacraft

www.texacraft.com

Reach the Summit

Product: Summit Stacking Chaise Features: ▶ Sleek, low-profile teak frame supports an outdoor mesh sling for comfortable poolside lounging ▶ Polyester and poly vinyl sling material is waterproof, fade resistant and resists tearing or stretching. Also available in Cloud ▶ Backrest adjusts to four positions on stainless-steel fittings, and back legs roll on discreet wheels ▶ Measures 26.5 W x 78 D x 11 in. H. Seat measures 23 W x 46 in. D ▶ Teak chaise lounge chair stacks up to six high

Country Casual Teak

www.countrycasualteak.com

ADVERTISER INDEX 2HEMISPHERS info@2hemi.com

31

FORETEES sales@foretees.com / www.foretees.com

11

PREFERRED CLUB 800-523-2788 / www.preferredclub.com

39

CALLAWAY GOLF COMPANY www.callawaygolf.com

17

HOSHIZAKI www.hoshizakiamerica.com

2

RENOSYS 800-783-7005 / renosys.com

49

CLUBESSENTIAL www.clubessential.com/clarity

13

HUNT TEXTILES 800.458.9445 / sales@hunttextiles.com www.hunttextiles.com

47

STRATEGIC CLUB SOLUTIONS Results@StrategicClubSolutions.com www.StrategicClubSolutions.com

57

THE MONTAGUE COMPANY 800-345-1830 • montaguecompany.com

58

STUDIO JBD & JEFFERSON 29 GROUP ARCHITECTURE 401-721-0977 / Pcafaro@JBDandJGA.com

14 ETHOS CLUB & LEISURE 972-341-8133 / www.ethosclubandleisure.com EUSTIS CHAIR 978-827-3103 / www.eustischair.com

33

FIBERBUILT UMBRELLAS 35 & CUSHIONS 866-667-8668 / www.fiberbuiltumbrellas.com “FORE” SUPPLY CO. 800-543-5430 / www.ForeSupply.com

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OUTDOOR LIGHTING PERSPECTIVES 3 804-999-5847 / OutdoorLights.com/hospitality PEACOCK + LEWIS AIA www.peacockandlewis.com PERENNIALS SUTHERLAND www.sutherlandfurniture.com www.perennialsfabrics.com

25

YAMAHA 866-747-4027 / YamahaGolfCar.com

7

9

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

With the right partner, change becomes chance The past year was full of unexpected changes.

Members have lost trust and are fearful.

Now’s your chance to build their confidence in the club.

When you work with SCS, we’ll help you identify opportunities, communicate authentically, innovate solutions and reset with an updated plan.

Because now more than ever, your club needs to Be instill trust and regain control the right way.

Here’s your chance for a free consultation.

Call 262.661.CLUB. Strategic Plans | Surveys | Member Engagement | Operations | Branding | Search

www.StrategicClubSolutions.com Results@StrategicClubSolutions.com

Advisor

302

IT’S NOT A MYTH...

IT’S A

• Heavy-duty Star Burners with raised ports – increased efficiency up to 20% • Innovative oven options – muffled design convection, or front vented standard bake and roast

• World-renowned oven doors with counterweight design and lifetime warranty • Durable robotically welded 1/4” angle iron frame • More usable cooking surface area – 12% greater than the closest competitor

There are many commercial ranges on the market but only one worthy enough to be called Legend.® Montague Legend® Ranges offer incomparable power, precise heat control, consistency and reliability combined with customization options that let you create diverse menus with an unlimited range of possibilities.

It’s time to discover Montague!

MADE IN USA

The Montague Company • 1-800-345-1830 • montaguecompany.com