December 2020
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Answering The Call Clubs respond to the pandemic with award-worthy concepts.
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DECEMBER CLUB INDEX Club and resort properties featured in this issue
Ansley Golf Club, Atlanta, Ga. ..............................................................................36 Arrowhead Country Club, Rapid City, S.D. .....................................................10 BallenIsles Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. ..................................7 Bellerive Country Club, St. Louis, Mo. ...............................................................13 Berkeley Hall Club, Bluffton, S.C. .......................................................................16 The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. .......28, 34 Champion Hills, Hendersonville, N.C. ......................................................................7 Champions Run, Omaha, Neb. ..................................................23, 25, 31, 39 The Country Club of Buffalo, Buffalo, N.Y. ...................................................40 The Country Club at Mirasol, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. .....33, 37, 40 The Country Club of Spartanburg, Spartanburg, S.C. ..........................38 Detroit Athletic Club, Detroit, Mich. ..................................................29, 37, 39 Forsyth Country Club, Winston-Salem, N.C. .................................................26 GreatHorse, Hampden, Mass. .....................................................................................30 The Greens Country Club, Oklahoma City, Okla. ........................................12 Hampton Hall Club, Bluffton, S.C. ..........................................................................18 Keowee Key Club, Salem, S.C. ...............................................................................14 Key Largo Anglers Club, Key Largo, Fla. ............................................................32 Lawrence Yacht & Country Club, Lawrence, N.Y. ..........................................7 Montclair Golf Club, West Orange, N.J. ...........................................................19 Moss Creek Golf Club, Hilton Head Island, S.C. ........................................39 Mount Vernon Canyon Club, Golden, Colo. ..............................................22 Quail Creek Country Club, Naples, Fla. ..........................................................20 The Quechee Club, Hampton, Vt. ..........................................................................24 The Village Club of Sands Point, Sands Point, N.Y. ....................................7 Weekapaug Golf Club, Westerly, R.I. ....................................................................7 Wycliffe Golf & Country Club, Wellington, Fla. .........................................35 www.clubandresortbusiness.com
EDITOR’S MEMO
Saluting Our Own First Responders Certainly, there can be no debate that hospital workers are the handsdown, uncontested and most worthy recipients of any recognition that is due for front-line service and timely, effective and meritorious response, in the face of the immense challenges brought on this year by the coronavirus outbreak. Just as certainly, anything that’s been done at club and resort properties pales in comparative importance to the battles that have been waged on the medical front. Still, we are glad that this special Top Innovators issue gives us a chance, at the end of this trying year, to salute how so many club management staffs stepped up to quickly shake off the initial shock of the pandemic and rally to find ways to make positive contributions towards combating this unforeseen scourge and helping people and communities get through, and recover, from it. As one Director of Communications wrote in submitting Top Innovators entries for her club: “2020 was an unusual year for us all. The pandemic and its spread required creative thinking by our team in every department. We quickly and successfully pivoted from traditional offerings to those that ensured the safety of us all, while maintaining the awardwinning level of services that our discerning members have come to expect.”
The best news to emerge from clubs’ innovative responses to the challenges that this year posed is how they stand to have a permanent and positive effect on operational and strategic approaches going forward. In addition to finding new ways to provide safe and welcomed recreation and socialization opportunities for members and their families, clubs and their staffs also became a strong support system and significant contributor for the larger fight, through their many efforts to raise funds and supply needed food and supplies to those on the front lines. Clubs also played an important role, because many are part of communities with older populations, in helping to protect and provide comfort and needed assistance for that especially vulnerable segment. The best news to emerge from the responses seen this year is how many managers say they not only helped to bolster this year’s business performance in the face of potentially disastrous results, but also stand to have a permanent and positive effect on operational and strategic approaches going forward.
As evidenced by many of the examples provided in this Top Innovators issue, many new events, programs and approaches to facility design and operation that were created out of necessity, to work around restrictions imposed by the pandemic, proved to be so popular they will become permanent additions to clubs’ annual calendars and how they now set up to do business. Virtually every operating department, and especially food-and-beverage, fitness and golf, have developed a variety of new ways to provide value and appeal for their products and services that will be continued as important new revenue streams and attractions, both for existing and potential members. Communication techniques, to both memberships and staffs, have been completely reexamined and made much more efficient and effective through newfound reliance on video and other platforms. While no one wants to see what 2020 brought extend too far into the new year, there’s no denying that clubs are in a far better position to respond to whatever else might come, thanks to all that they learned and accomplished when put to the test this year like never before. And that certainly merits special recognition for everyone involved.
Joe Barks • Editor jbarks@wtwhmedia.com
www.clubandresortbusiness.com
December 202O
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INSIDE
December 2020 • Vol. 16 • No. 12
THIS
ISSUE
2020 Answering the Call
From mobile barbershops to exciting new dining venues to creative new events and activities, clubs haven’t let the pandemic stop them from responding with a full dose of award-worthy concepts to provide needed comfort and services for their members.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
4 Club Index 6
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Editor’s Memo
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The Rob Report
41 Product Showcase
SALUTING OUR OWN FIRST RESPONDERS
GOLF FOR THE GREATER GOOD
46 Ad Index www.clubandresortbusiness.com
THE ROB REPORT
Golf for the Greater Good When I was a kid, three of my buddies and I participated in the “Longest Day of Golf,” sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Not only did I get to play more than 100 holes of golf in a single day, but it made me feel like I was doing it for the greater good. I mention this because as part of our search for “Top Innovators” content for this special issue of C+RB, we came across several examples of some unique “greater good” efforts that were undertaken by club managers across the country. Even with the formidable and unexpected challenges they had to steer their clubs through this year, many managers still jumped at the chance to also find ways, and the time, to continue to give back to others in need. For example, in early November Ryan Walls, General Manager/COO of BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Jeff Fitzherbert, the club’s Director of Golf, played a combined 250 holes of golf to raise funds for the First Tee of the Palm Beaches. Participating in the Fifth Annual 100-Hole Challenge held at Jupiter (Fla.) Country Club, Walls and Fitzherbert raised more than $15,000 for the First Tee through donations and pledges made by club members. The two played 125 holes each, over eight and a half hours, covering approximately 18 miles. At Champion Hills, a Troon property in Hendersonville, N.C., Dana Schultz, PGA, CMCA, Champion Hills’ General Manager/COO, and Scooter Buhrman, the club’s PGA Head Golf Professional, played 154 holes of golf over eight hours and raised more than $26,000 for the Champion Hills Employee Scholarship Fund. Champion Hills members pledged money for how many holes Schultz and Buhrman would be able to play, as well as for each par, birdie and eagle www.clubandresortbusiness.com
Even with the formidable and unexpected challenges they had to steer their clubs through this year, many managers still jumped at the chance to also find ways, and the time, to continue to give back to others in need. (collectively, they made 92 pars and 23 birdies). As impressive as those two-person efforts were, Kacie Mulligan, the 1st Assistant Pro at the Lawrence (N.Y.) Yacht & Country Club, which is managed by KemperSports, took on the marathon challenge all by herself, and threw in a speed-golf component for good measure. Mulligan played 156 holes in 11 1/2 hours by racing around in a golf cart and running to the ball. Also playing for membership pledges, she raised nearly $40,000 for the American Cancer Society and Folds of Honor. Mulligan, who has a family member who is fighting cancer, had discussed the possibility of doing a marathon for charity with her friend Brittany Ferrante, Assistant Golf Professional at The Village Club of Sands Point (N.Y.), after Ferrante played 200 holes in a day in September, raising around $42,000.
Scooter Buhrman, Head Golf Professional, and Dana Schultz played 154 holes of golf to raise $26,000 for the Champion Hills Employee Scholarship Fund.
After four golf pros on the staff of Weekapaug Golf Club in Westerly, R.I. played 54 holes on the club’s nine-hole course and then presented the local Habitat for Humanity chapter with a check for $19,000 that was raised through member contributions, the chapter’s Executive Director highlighted how vital the support provided by these events can be, especially during a trying year like 2020. “Given the times, we just weren’t sure how this year would go, so we were completely blown away as the total kept climbing,” said Habitat for Humanity’s Colin Penney.
Rob Thomas • Senior Editor
rthomas@wtwhmedia.com
December 2020
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Âť 2020 INNOVATION AWARDS
2020
Answering the Call From mobile barbershops to exciting new dining venues to creative new events and activities, clubs haven’t let the pandemic stop them from responding with a full dose of award-worthy concepts to provide needed comfort and services for their members.
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AN IDEA DOESN’T BECOME INNOVATION, management experts say, until it’s executed in a way that creates real value. And in March of this year, a premium was suddenly placed on the need to provide value for club members like never before. Throughout the country, after shaking off the initial shock of a disruption that wasn’t in anyone’s playbook, club management teams quickly rallied to respond with a host of well-executed new concepts and services that not only added real and much-needed value for existing members at their properties, but also caught the attention of prospects who had developed a keen interest in finding a safe and reliable environment where they and their families could eat, pursue recreational activities, and still have some degree of socialization. This special issue of C+RB is devoted to highlighting how some of the most notable of these concepts were developed and put into action, and the benefits that they produced. The collection of examples presented over the next 30 pages, though, really represents just a small sampling of how club staffs throughout the industry cranked up their innovation machines to deliver fresh and welcomed approaches across the full range of their operations. In many cases, creative new programs and services came from the need to fill voids or work around restrictions created by the pandemic. But many others were born out of management teams’ recognition that while this was certainly a year like no other, it was also “unprecedented” in a positive way, by providing an opportunity to reexamine all aspects of their clubs’ operations and to look for new ways to encourage members to fully utilize all available amenities and all parts of the property. As a result, this will also go down as the year that yielded some of the most inspired, and inspirational, concepts the club industry has seen—and we are happy to feature many of them here as Top Innovators for 2020.
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» 2020 Innovation Awards
TOP INNOVATORS: Food + Beverage By Joe Barks, Editor
IN THE SUMMER OF 2020, Eric Sharpe became the new Chief Operating Officer/General Manager of Arrowhead Country Club in Rapid City, S.D. A Culinary Institute of America graduate, Sharpe’s professional resume included a sales position with a wine and spirits distributor, being a founding partner of a seafood company, and management roles with an international bicycle company and a hotel/casino operation, in addition to corporate positions as an executive and private chef. Coming to Arrowhead represented Sharpe’s introduction to the private-club industry, but there was a clear purpose behind why he had been put at the management helm. “I was hired to begin building a new team to lead Arrowhead into the future,” he says. “Our club was established in 1954 and has a long track record of great dining, but in the past few years that had faltered to [primarily] opening boxes from large national companies. “Our vision for the club was to engage families in the area and new members with a fresh approach to club dining,” Sharpe adds. “In the past, ‘local’ in South Dakota dining was not really utilized with the exception of a few fine-dining restaurants. We wanted to engage our local farmers and ranchers, and showcase to our membership what we have right in our own back yard.
Locally focused dishes such as South Dakota Pork Riblets with House-Fermented Kim Chi Rice (above left) and Fois Gras Torchon with Pea Shoots and Flathead Cherries have helped to revive Arrowhead CC’s culinary reputation. 10
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“
Although 2020 certainly has had its challenges, we have increased our dining revenues by over 30% while bringing a fresh face to what was thought of as typical club dining.
”
—Eric Sharpe, COO/GM, Arrowhead CC
“This needed to be done by rebuilding the team from the ground up,” Sharpe says. “We found several new team members both locally and out of state who had the same drive and desire for locally sourced fine dining.” Even amid the pandemic and the shift it necessitated to curbside dining and other approaches, Arrowhead CC’s kitchen team, led by Chef JJ Lee, has already transformed the club’s culinary approach to where over a dozen local producers and sustainable fisheries are now utilized, “including, but not limited to, buffalo, produce and wild foragers in South Dakota and Montana,” Sharpe reports. “To create the whole picture,” he adds, “we also brought on a baker from the Carolinas and a new Food and Beverage director who share in our passion.” Arrowhead’s menus now feature dishes such as “Wild Idea Buffalo and Heirloom Tortilla Tacos,” “South Dakota Pork Riblets with House-Fermented Kim Chi Rice,” “Muddy River Farms Heirloom Tomato and Prosciutto,” and “Dakota Plains Chicken,” and ingredients such as locally harvested lobster mushrooms and housemade kimchi fried rice and breads. “This is an ongoing process, with menus changing monthly and a new on-property garden in the works for 2021,” Sharpe says. “Although 2020 certainly has had its challenges, we have increased our dining revenue at the club by over 30% while bringing new innovative events (with restrictions) and a fresh face to what was thought of as typical club dining.” www.clubandresortbusiness.com
Consistency at every step PLATE AFTER PLATE, DISH AFTER DISH
BARILLA, THE OTHER NAME FOR PASTA The more the world changes, the value of a steady partner like Barilla is clear. You know you can count on Barilla pasta to be consistent in taste, texture, and size – no matter which of our full line of non-GMO pasta varieties you dish out. But more than product, we are committed to being a reliable partner to help rebuild, reopen and reconnect with your teams and customers. A passionate team is waiting to support you all the way. Visit BarillaFS.com to discuss training, marketing, takeout/delivery best practices, and menu development.
“Carbonara” Orzo Pasta Salad with Spring Vegetables and Portobello Lardons Recipe by Chef Michael Israel
BarillaFS.com
» 2020 INNOVATION AWARDS
TOP INNOVATORS: Design + Renovation By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor
CREATING A NEW FOOD-ANDBEVERAGE venue under one roof that combines a popular type of Prohibition-era social establishment, the excess of the 1980s, and 21st-century entertainment options might seem like a daunting feat to pull off. But don’t tell that to the folks at The Greens Country Club in Oklahoma City, Okla. In August, the property opened the “Double Deuce,” an ’80s “speakeasy” for members 21 and older. The room takes its name from “Road House,” the 1989 action film that still has a cult following, about a tough bouncer who is hired to protect a small-town Missouri roadside bar called the Double Deuce from a local crime boss. Highlighting the music, movies, and pop culture of the 1980s was an easy call for Alex Hammill, Founder of Innovative Club Management. “The ’80s era resonates with every demographic,” he says. “I recognized that our membership demographic [at The
Greens] would embrace something creative and unique.” For what Hamill believe is most likely the only “speakeasy”-type concept ever built within a country club, the property converted a little-used existing space into the new amenity in four to six weeks. “The space was a men’s locker room that was grossly underutilized,” he says. “The members were floored, because the space was so bland prior to the transformation.” In The Greens’ version of the Double Deuce, patrons can enjoy a mix of the new and the old, transporting them back to where they can experience a different era. “They don’t feel like they’re at the club,” says Hammill. Attractions include a multi-sports simulator, 10 televisions with 65-inch screens, tabletop shuffleboard, darts, a pool table, a jukebox, a custom poker table, classic arcade games, a craft cocktail program, and a late-night menu. The simulator is a sports junkie’s dream, offering experiences in football, lacrosse, soccer, hockey, bowling, hunting, shooting and golf (on 30-plus courses). The rustic décor of The Greens’ Double Deuce features dark wood, low lights, and a brooding ambiance ,with signs that share advice like “Beware of: Well . . . Just Beware.” Portraits of iconic ’80s actors such as Sylvester Stallone, Clint Eastwood and Tom A men’s locker room that was “grossly underutilized” was transformed into The Greens CC’s “Double Deuce” ‘80s-style “speakeasy,” with decor and a vibe inspired by the cult movie “Road House.”
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Selleck hang on one wall. From a mural on another wall, the stars of Road House—Kelly Lynch, Patrick Swayze and Sam Elliott— watch over the activities of the bar. The 2,000-sq. ft. Double Deuce is open every day except Monday. Special events like “Sunday Funday” focus on promoting live sports programming, from NFL games to UFC fights to golf, on the large-screen TVs. And a “Divas of the Double Deuce” theme encourages ladies to enjoy the new venue. Later hours on Wednesday through Sunday give members an opportunity to extend their evening with a nightcap after dining at The Greens’ award-winning restaurant, the Twisted Oak Tavern. The bar’s craft-cocktail program has included modern, 2020 twists on classic drinks such as the Alabama Slammer, Harvey Wallbanger, and Singapore Sling. With COVID-19 restrictions in place, capacity in the Double Deuce has been limited to no more than 50 people at one time. Still, in the speakeasy’s first 90 days, The Greens added 110 new social members, Hammill reports. Within the same timeframe, food-and-beverage revenues increased by 27%, and private event bookings went up by 21%. “ ‘Extreme hospitality’ is one of the missing aspects of a club experience across the country, and building another brand and unique amenity within the club can provide additional marketing opportunities and separate you from the competition,” says Hammill. “[The Double Deuce] is a small snapshot of what can be done, and the increase in revenues shows how it’s an approach that can work.” www.clubandresortbusiness.com
TOP INNOVATORS: Golf Operations By Rob Thomas, Senior Editor
FOLLOWING ITS HOSTING OF THE 100TH PGA CHAMPIONSHIP in August 2018, Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Mo. club began a 22-month series of projects that included enhancements for its golf course, clubhouse and other facilities that were all completed this year, even with the temporary disruptions of the pandemic. On the golf side, Bellerive rebuilt and reseeded all of the golf course’s greens, expanded the practicerange tee and added a new three-hole short course, called “Tucker’s Trail.” Tucker’s Trail, which can also double as a wedge range and be used for practice and instruction as well as play, was an idea Director of Golf Mike Tucker and architect Bryce Swanson discussed many years ago, says Carlos Arraya, CGCS, Bellerive’s Assistant General Manager. And once things were set in motion to finally make the course a reality, choosing a name for it didn’t take much time at all. “The Board [and] club desired to honor Mike and Jerry Tucker, the brothers who have led golf operations at [Bellerive] for many decades,” Arraya says. “Their short-game excellence and teachings also aided in making the name connect.” Jerry Tucker was the club’s PGA Head Professional from 1987 to 1996 before handing over the reins to his younger brother. “Although the course is named ‘Tucker’s Trail,’ I actually believe it’s 90% for Jerry and 10% for me,” Mike jokes. Situated on approximately three acres, Tucker’s Trail is located to the north of Bellerive’s 18th hole and west of its 10th tee. It can be accessed following a round of golf for a 19th-hole experience, or before starting a round. “The area was previously the wedge range and the location of a nursery green for the club’s agronomy team,” says Arraya, who was previously Bellerive’s Director of Grounds & Agronomy before becoming AGM. “The previous wedge range consisted of greens made of artificial mats—a great idea for winter practice, but that did not fit the championship feel or conditioning of the club.” When it came time to design the new short course, Swanson provided the plan and Arraya designed it on the field with the contractor’s shaper. Tucker’s Trail was designed to be played as a 9-hole course, with a scorecard created for that purpose. The holes range between 20 and 65 yards long. “The yardages fit the ‘Tucker Short Game Test’ that my brother Jerry created many years ago,” Mike Tucker explains. “It challenges all aspects of the short game, which we have espoused throughout the years.”
“
The [course] challenges all aspects of the short game and [its] unique routing eliminates crossfire and a dangerous situation with multiple golfers. It has worked well so far.
”
—Mike Tucker, Director of Golf, Bellerive CC
www.clubandresortbusiness.com
“It’s a unique routing,” Tucker adds of the ninehole design. “You play the first green from three different tees, then move on to the second green, then the third green in similar fashion. With each group on one green at a time, it eliminates crossfire and a dangerous situation with multiple golfers. It has worked well so far.” The course can also be utilized as a warm-up wedge area, Arraya adds, where the yardages can be extended, but only for specific times in peak season. “It’s where our junior golf program will surely grow and also for golf beginners at a later age in life, minus the intimidation,” he says. “In the future it will also be used as a training ground, to make our caddie program even more robust than what Mike and his team have created. “I believe it may also be an avenue where corporate outings can be hosted and golf and business can be conducted,” he continues. “During the pandemic, it has also been used as an outdoor wedding venue. The club plans to run power for lighting and add possible food-and-beverage components, as local COVID mandates permit.” Since its opening, member feedback for however Tucker’s Trail has been used has been extremely positive. “There are several senior members who can now [use it to] walk a nine-hole course, where physical limitations don’t allow them to enjoy the walking portion of the game on our championship course,” Arraya notes. December 2020
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» 2020 Innovation Awards
By Joe Barks, Editor
TOP INNOVATORS: Recreation + FItness By Pamela Brill, Contributing Editor
A CLUB’S PICTURESQUE SURROUNDINGS can do more than just serve as an Instagrammable backdrop; they can also be incorporated into a special event that promotes a healthy lifestyle, both indoors and out. And this year, making full use of everything a club property has to offer became especially important in promoting a safe environment and encouraging existing members to continue to use their memberships, and prospective members to join. At the Keowee Key Club in Salem, S.C., a triathlon held in October boosted member participation and provided an outlet for in-person fitness in a pandemic-friendly format. “We like to hold a big event each quarter,” says Fitness and Racquet Center Director Bryan Coker. “Our goal for these events is to encourage people to get involved and live an active lifestyle while experiencing [the benefits of the] community.” Building upon a smaller triathlon held in 2019, the club decided to host two triathlons in 2020. The first race, held on 14
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a Friday evening, included a 200-meter swim in the pool, a five-mile ride on stationary spin bikes positioned on the pool patio, and a one-mile run around the fitness and racquet facility. On the following morning, a second race incorporated a longer format in a different setting: a 500-meter swim in a lake, a 15-mile ride on bikes positioned at the water’s edge, and a 3.1-mile run on the lakeshore walking trail. To ensure a solid turnout, the club promoted the event via a variety of channels, including the monthly community newspaper and weekly “Friday Flier,” community e-blasts, and brochures. In-person marketing included announcement slides broadcast on club televisions and a large banner just inside the clubhouse entrance. The club also relied on word of mouth to generate some additional buzz. In total, 14 participants completed the mini-triathlon, and five took part in the Saturday event. Given South Carolina’s usually temperate climate, the club did not anticipate having any weather-related hurdles
derail its efforts. But the day before the first race, Tropical Storm Zeta wreaked havoc on the property, scattering tree limbs across the grounds. By the time the competition was to begin, though, “All departments across Keowee Key had rallied to have both the campus and the trail cleaned as if [the storm] had never happened,” says Coker. On the morning of the race, the outdoor temperature registered an unusually chilly 42 degrees. But with the water temperature at a balmy 74 degrees, the team decided to proceed as planned. “As it turned out, the weather was perfect,” notes Coker. “All of the participants said the water was fine, and it was nice that the temperature was on the cooler side for the bikes and run.” To ensure that the triathlon adhered to a socially distanced set-up, the club re-adjusted the bike leg of the race, moving from its original indoor track to an outdoor setting. Spectators could easily view swimmers through the pool’s all-glass enclosure that opens to the outside. With the remainder of the event www.clubandresortbusiness.com
Keowee Key worked around restrictions imposed by the pandemic and a last-minute hit from Tropical Storm Zeta to hold a properly socially distanced triathlon, which included a 500-meter lake swim, 3.1-mile run and a 15-mile ride on stationary bikes set up outdoors (see photo on cover).
being held outdoors, the club was able to proceed without incident. With medals awarded to males and females in each age group and trophies given to first-place male and female winners (second-place winners were included in Saturday’s event), both races saw a strong overall turnout. Members who participated in both races, dubbed a Pro Challenge, earned special recognition, plus a Keowee Key-branded cooler and water bottle.
part of something,” he notes. “We want to continue to offer safe ways that allow all of our members to do both. “The more this happens, the more the energy and attitudes of our members improve,” Coker says. “This becomes contagious to anyone who gets involved. Then before you know it, a culture is created that is recognized by anyone who comes to visit, whether they are a guest or a prospective buyer.”
“Everyone who participated in the event had so many positive things to say,” says Coker. “People who have watched the video say they can’t wait to join us next year.” As the club gears up for its next fitness event in January 2021 and firms up plans to now offer the triathlon on an annual basis, Coker stresses the ongoing importance of promoting health and fitness for existing and prospective members. “People need to be active on their level and feel they are
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» 2020 INNOVATION AWARDS
TOP INNOVATORS: Member Communications By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor
WHEN THE CORONAVIRUS upended life as we knew it last spring, uncertainty seeped into every aspect of our lives. As Berkeley Hall Club in Bluffton, S.C., began navigating the “new normal” and adapting services for its membership, however, one part of its operation remained constant: The staff found effective ways to stay in close contact with its members, to reassure them that the place they call home was still there for them. “At Berkeley Hall, we have a very strong communications network. Our members are very engaged and very interested. They’re used to hearing from us,” says Director of Communications Anne Feldman. “At the beginning of the pandemic, some people felt isolated, so [preserving a] sense of community meant even more than it did before.” To keep members informed, Berkeley Hall normally puts out the Berkeley Experience magazine, a bi-monthly digital publication, and shares it on social-media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as well. In addition, hard copies are available at the clubhouse, and members who live elsewhere, along with prospective members, receive copies through the mail. After the pandemic hit, however, the club was unable to publish its May/June issue. Instead, to keep in touch with members, Berkeley Hall sent out a weekly digital edition that combined elements of its social e-blasts with familiar features of the magazine. Ultimately, the staff combined the magazine’s May/June and July/August issues into a summer edition called “Heart 16
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of the Community” (see cover above) with special content relating to how things had changed for the club and its membership. One story, “Members Making a Difference,” highlighted the ways that members Carol Chillemi and Gary Crandall has responded to the need for masks during the pandemic. Chillemi had assembled a small group of volunteers that sewed more than 450 face coverings for members of the community. “She offered them to anyone who wanted one,” says Feldman. “She offered them to the staff as well.” The article also detailed how Crandall had drawn on past experience to help respond to the current need. During the Gulf War in the early 1990s, he had pivoted his Ohio-based pool company’s manufacturing efforts toward producing camouflage covers for M1 tanks and Apache helicopters. This spring, he had GLI Pool Products turn
from cutting and sewing safety products for the pool industry to creating masksewing kits for the medical community. Volunteers came forward as word spread, and Crandall’s company donated more than 140,000 masks to first responders, healthcare providers, and nursing homes. The club also produced a special Berkeley Hall Sanctuary Video (https://youtu.be/ hNbVJ6G2gaM) to show what the community was experiencing during the pandemic, featuring testimonials from seven couples who collectively represented new members, long-time members, and both current and former Board members. “The video was such a great companion piece,” says Feldman. “People could read about these people and hear the stories from our members. It was so rich and textured. It was a great way to capture what was happening at Berkeley Hall and what a www.clubandresortbusiness.com
A special “Sanctuary Video” was produced to highlight what the Berkeley Hall community was experiencing during the pandemic, featuring testimonials from couples who represented both new and long-time members.
sanctuary it was to members. It turned out to be such an incredible snapshot of these incredible times.” The magazine and the video also showcased the Red Hearts Campaign spearheaded by members Stacey and Al Steinberg. Through the initiative, spread largely by word-of-mouth, Berkeley Hall members could request a wooden red heart to display at their homes in an expression of gratitude for the people who have worked throughout the pandemic, including Berkeley Hall staff members. “Mrs. Steinberg paints and assembles the red hearts, and she personally delivers them,” Feldman says. “It has been such a positive thing to see members display the
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hearts on their property or their mailbox. There are more than 150 now in the community, and it was a great way for everybody to connect and show support.” The video has become an effective marketing tool as well, Feldman notes. “It has been immensely popular,” she says. “We have used it in some of our digital advertising, to show what a sanctuary Berkeley Hall living has been during this time. It gives a timely, accurate view of living at Berkeley Hall through the voices of our members.” The club’s General Manager/COO, Adam
Kushner, reported at the start of November that Berkeley Hall had gained 60 new memberships in 2020. “Fifty-plus percent of [the new] memberships were accelerated due to COVID concerns in [the members’] home states, although taxes and weather remain the top two reasons for relocating,” Kushner says. “Being able to work remotely has also had a great impact. More members are finding themselves ready to make the move and enjoy the golf and private-club lifestyle, while still working successfully from home.”
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» 2020 Innovation Awards
TOP INNOVATORS: special events By Joe Barks, Editor
LIKE MANY CLUB-MANAGEMENT TEAMS, the staff of the Hampton Hall Club in Bluffton, S.C., quickly responded to the challenge of the pandemic by coming up with innovative ideas to help to sustain a sense of community and keep its operation going. In addition to virtual cooking, wine dinners and trivia events, the Hampton Hall team also organized a series of monthly outdoor concerts in the parking lot, assigning spaces by families and practicing social distancing by utilizing every other space, with a minimum of 10 to 12 feet between resident groups. “Residents brought their own lawn chairs and were also provided with a pre-ordered picnic basket menu, which was then delivered to them in their parking space,” reports Loraine Ellis Vienne, CCM, CAM, Hampton Hall’s General Manager/Chief Operating Officer. “These events followed all of the social-distancing guidelines provided by the Governor’s office in the state of South Carolina, and sold out at the maximum participation of 250 residents monthly,” Vienne says. “It provided people with an opportunity to feel engaged while at the same time feeling safe in their own space outdoors.” As the concert series extended into the fall, Hampton Hall tied the monthly schedule into a Halloween “Spooktacular” celebration with individual trickor-treat stations for attending families, and attendees got into the full spirit of things with costumes and all-out decorations for their assigned spaces. “The concerts have been a huge success for us, and we will continue them even after COVID,” Vienne says. 18
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Monthly outdoor concerts held in the Hampton Hall Club parking lot sold out consistently at the maximum of 250 attendees, and proved so popular that the series was extended into the fall and tied into a Halloween “Spooktacular” celebration. The concert program will now become a regular part of the club’s yearly calendar. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
TOP INNOVATORS: Youth + Family Programs By Pamela Brill, Contributing Editor
CATERING TO KIDS isn’t a job reserved only for doting grandparents; at the Montclair Golf Club (MGC) in West Orange, N.J., it’s high on the list of priorities for a dedicated crew that makes up the youth programming staff. Their roster of events is so popular, members often snag coveted spots within minutes of their announcements. “We sell out every event almost immediately,” enthuses Youth Program Coordinator Madison Washer. After starting the program in 2012 with only two or three events per year, Washer and her team have since stepped up the club’s offerings due to high demand, now hosting two to three events every month. Pride in her staff is what Washer believes sets Montclair GC’s programming apart from other area facilities. “We have had the same ‘zone keepers’ and counselors for years, and we create a family feel at all of our events,” she says. Seventy-five percent of the eight-person staff are teachers, all of whom are trained in CPR. Additional coaching sessions provide them with instruction on how to handle behavioral issues and manage different circumstances. With a calendar that is set in the beginning of each season, events are promoted online via the club’s website and through
MGC’s monthly newsletter. Members have the opportunity to pick and choose events and register in advance. While the club hasn’t expanded programming specifically to attract new members, the staff makes a point of keeping the offerings fresh and interesting. (Washer is responsible for creating the majority of the ideas, but she also taps members via a seasonal survey.) Events that have become member favorites include the Family Day BBQ, which has been described as “the next best thing to Disney World” and comes complete with plenty of food and a fireworks display. Another is “Trunk or Treat,” when costumed staff members distribute candy via a decorated golf cart. Other themed events have included a 1950s sock hop with milkshakes, fries, hot dogs and soda pop; a luau with a pig roast and hula dancers; and a Wild West party, complete with a mechanical bull. With the onset of the pandemic, MGC pivoted its programming to adapt necessary safety guidelines. The annual father/ daughter dance was replaced with a girls’ spa day, during which a makeup professional was on hand to demonstrate the
Montclair GC’s spacious and elaborate Kids Zone facility reflects the steady growth in the popularity of programming that began with just two or three events per year eight years ago, but now includes two or three events per month. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
newest makeup techniques and facial care for young members. Each child brought their own makeup and applicators, with everyone positioned 10 feet apart at individual 6-foot-long tables. Campers at MGC this summer were given individual camp bags to hold craft supplies, a deck of cards, Play-Doh and other items for their own personal use. “They could play with them in the morning and once the free play was over, everything went back in their bag, to keep everyone safe,” says Washer. With half the number of campers compared to previous years, participants were divided into three groups and stayed together throughout the session. “Ninety percent of their day was spent outside and at when they were at lunch, two children sat at opposite ends of a 6-foot table,” Washer adds. Youth and family events that have usually attracted between 300 to 400 guests are being scaled back at MGC for the time being, including during the holidays. “Instead of hosting one large Christmas event, we are hosting three events in one day,” explains Washer. “This allows us to maintain social distancing, clean and disinfect between each seating, and still include as many members as possible.” This year’s lineup will include breakfast with Santa, a design-your-own cookie plate for Santa, and a cookie workshop. December 2020
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» 2020 Innovation Awards
TOP INNOVATORS: Design + Renovation
By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor
FOR SOME PEOPLE, SPORTS are a great way to stay in shape. For others, the social aspect is the draw. And for some, competition is the name of the game. Regardless of its membership’s motivation for participating in physical activities, however, the leadership team at Quail Creek Country Club in Naples, Fla., knew it needed to offer fitness programming that could rival that of other properties in the vicinity. “Naples is a highly competitive area,” says Chad Schultenover, CCM, Quail Creek’s General Manager/COO, who joined the property in January. “Trying to compete with other clubs, you have to make sure you have the amenities to attract and retain members.” Quail Creek made a strong commitment to its membership with the December 2019 opening of its new $18.5 million, 33,000-sq.-ft. Sports Center & Spa, which promotes healthy living by linking the property’s Blue Zones-certified wellness offerings with its sports programs. The Blue Zones mission, inspired by the world’s longest-lived cultures, is to help people live longer, better lives in an improved environment by following nine principles for better living. 20
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“Our staff now has the tools at its disposal to create the programs necessary to be competitive in our market and to exceed member expectations,” says Teri Brodie, Membership Coordinator and Quail Creek’s former Fitness Operations Director. Brodie credits architectural and interior design firm Peacock + Lewis, which created the new facility, with having the vision to build an integrated, state-of-the-art golf, tennis, fitness and spa operation all under one roof. Prior to the construction of the Sports Center & Spa, which is unique to southwest Florida, its various components were scattered throughout Quail Creek’s 100,000-sq. ft. campus. Accessible from where all sporting activities are positioned on the property, the facility’s Rotunda features a one-stop retail shop that carries clothing and equipment for all of the sports offered at Quail Creek. Rotunda services also include equipment fittings, repairs and demonstrations. In addition, reservations for tee times, court times, physical therapy and personal training sessions are made by the Rotunda staff, and a marketplace sells salads, sandwich wraps and beverages. The fitness center includes cardiovascular and strength equipment; a Pilates
studio; a TRX studio; sports-specific training such as Titleist Performance Institute instruction, RacquetFit, and Play for Life, which was designed by a Quail Creek employee; an extensive schedule of classes; a Doctor of Physical Therapy who focuses on sports medicine and handles billing for Medicare; and certified personal trainers. An outdoor pool, tennis, pickleball and bocce courts and a driving range are available as well. The new spa features five treatment rooms, two quiet rooms, lockers, showers, and a steam room. Licensed massage therapists and skincare specialists provide a wide range of services, including a menu of facials, various massage therapies, wraps and other treatments. Merchandise includes a skincare line, a makeup line, and gifts. “We used to have a couple of massage rooms off the old gym, but now we have a spa experience,” Brodie says. “The membership loves it. They can put on a robe, take a steam, and go to the quiet room. It’s a wonderful benefit for our members.” Since the opening of the facility, more than 90 new members have joined Quail Creek. In addition, member referrals are on the rise, reflecting the membership’s pride in the new amenity. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
And with the state of Florida not yet imposing many COVID-based requirements, the facility has not been subject to capacity restrictions. However, the county has a mask mandate in place, and Quail Creek has been taking extra precautions for the safety and comfort of its membership. Every other piece of cardio equipment in the fitness center is closed off, and the property sanitizes in the morning, evening and throughout the day. Spa services are offered by appointment. In addition, Schultenover says, “We’re in the process of finalizing our online retail shopping program. It’s almost like a special order.” Schultenover praises the club’s past leadership and the Quail Creek committee that oversaw the project for identifying the reasons to build the new sports complex. “The past leadership said, ‘If we don’t do this, we’re not going to be competitive in
Features of Quail Creek’s new Fitness Center include sports-specific training such as Titleist Performance Institute instruction, RacquetFit, and Play for Life, which was designed by a club employee. The center also includes space for a Doctor of Physical Therapy who focuses on sports medicine and handles billing for Medicare.
the market to attract and retain members,’” he says. “We took on debt during the project, but the membership realized [the club was] struggling to attract and retain members [because] the amenities we had were tired and dated. “It was the right thing to do for the club, and the club is reaping the rewards of
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taking that initiative,” Schultenover adds. “Any time you add something new or do something different, it helps to retain and increase members.” Brodie agrees. “Since the facility has opened, members have hugged me and said, ‘Thank you; we had no idea what we were missing,’” she says.
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» 2020 Innovation Awards
TOP INNOVATORS: Youth + Family Programs By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor
SUMMER OFTEN ENDS on a wistful note for people who can’t soak up enough surf and sun. At Mount Vernon Canyon Club in Golden, Colo., however, one season-ending event— “Woofstock” —is music to the ears of some members. Especially those whose families include some members with furry, floppy ears. For the past four years, Mount Vernon CC, like many properties across the country, has held a doggie dip for water-loving pups on the day its pool closes. The dogs always have their day on the last Sunday in September, and Mount Vernon would double dog-dare any property to match its pedigree when it comes to pool parties for pooches. Not even COVID-19 could stop Mount Vernon from putting on a best in show-worthy event this fall, but the pandemic did create the need for some modifications. “Every year, [Woofstock] has been open to the community as well as to members, but this year we kept it to the members because of COVID,” says Director of Recreation and Activities Leatha Le Blanc. Because Woofstock has become so popular among the membership, this year the property offered two two-hour sessions for 80 people and their dogs at a time. Families brought one or two dogs, and more than 100 pets came to the parties. Other members watched the festivities from a balcony above the pool deck. 22
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A big bucket of tennis balls was provided, and owners tossed the balls from above the pool to lure the dogs into the water. “We have dogs of every size in that pool, and the owners have big smiles plastered on their faces,” says Le Blanc. “We try to discourage people from also going in the pool, but they do anyway. “People really look forward to it,” she adds. “It’s a day of fun with your family and your pets, which are really part of your family.” This year’s doggie swims were modeled after pool protocols that followed health-department restrictions throughout the summer, when Mount Vernon CC also held three pool sessions a day for 80 people per session. The pool was sanitized between sessions, and the property shut down the filters during Woofstock, to keep out dog fur. “Everybody had to wear a mask, and people have been trained to social-distance,” says Le Blanc. While COVID-19 restrictions prohibited an indoor buffet this year, grab-and-go food such as hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches and salads were available for purchase from the grill at the pool. In other changes made to comply with the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, a pet portrait photographer who attended the event in the past didn’t www.clubandresortbusiness.com
return this year. However, a husband-and-wife pet psychic team, “Go Intuition,” made a repeat appearance. For $5 for a 10-minute reading, pet owners could delve into the inner workings of their pets’ minds. “They were busy the whole time,” Le Blanc reports. The Intermountain Humane Society was also part of the festivities again this year, even bringing along a dog that was available for adoption as part of its effort to raise awareness and provide information about pet adoptions. Attendees could also make donations to the organization at the event. And local entertainer Bryce Jackman was back with his “Dog Days of Summer” show that included upbeat music, a dance contest for kids, and canine contests such as jumping through hula hoops and doggie diving. Prizes and giveaways for the pampered pups included toys, treats, dog bowls, leashes and bandanas. “One of our members has a golden retriever that runs off the diving board in a full spread-eagle,” says Le Blanc. But when that dog couldn’t make it to the event this year, Le Blanc took matters into her own paws, donning a Daisy Dalmatian outfit and jumping off the board herself in fine form (see photo at right). “I like wearing costumes. Nothing like a onesie,” she jokes. “We always get a fabulous turnout for Woofstock,” Le Blanc adds. “It’s a great way to end the summer. It’s a great way to have a good, fun time with your pet. Dogs love to swim, and people just love their doggies.”
The pandemic couldn’t stop Mount Vernon Canyon Club from having its fourth straight “Woofstock” pool-closing extravaganza, although a staff member did have to fill in for a pooch that has traditionally jumped off the diving board.
TOP INNOVATORS: member services PANDEMIC-IMPOSED SHUTDOWNS extended beyond club properties, and many clubs found innovative ways to make connections with outside businesses that were also affected, to help support their community’s larger economy while also providing unique and needed services for their members. With barbershops and salons closed in the Omaha, Neb. area, Champions Run partnered with Mygroommoblile to provide parking space in the club’s lot and let the portable barbershop set up to provide its services, at a discounted price, to the membership. “It’s been such a huge hit, they now come every week, and it sells out to our members each time,” says the club’s Ben Lorenzen. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
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» 2020 Innovation Awards
TOP INNOVATORS: Recreation + Fitness By Jim Hammond, Contributing Editor
THE QUECHEE CLUB in Hartford, Vt. is part of a lifestyle community of 1,400 residents that includes a private, four-season resort offering a wide range of year-round recreational activities for members and guests, including skiing, golf, swimming and a variety of racquet sports. But in the spring of 2020, the Quechee Club’s management team, like those at many clubs, was forced to rethink its rules and practices, to ensure that all of the activities it offers could still be enjoyed in a safe and secure environment. For the club’s racquet sports program, that effort didn’t stop with just stepping up sanitizing efforts and ensuring social distancing. Led by Director of Racquet Sports Mike Keenan, Quechee also promoted a variety of innovative racquet-related choices that would encourage members and guests to view the club as a great place for getting away from the concerns caused by the outbreak and to pursue new ways to have fun while remaining active. “Mike wanted to find ways to help people foster a 24
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safe social atmosphere to enjoy little things in the midst of the pandemic while participating in physical activity outside the home, meeting new faces and enjoying time with family and making new friends,” says Brian Kelley, CCM, PGA, The Quechee Club’s General Manager/COO. “He re-energized our tennis and pickleball programs by adding some never-before-seen events to the club calendar.” Working with the Quechee Club food-and-beverage and golf departments, some of the new twists introduced by Keenan and his department included: • A “Pickle Picnic” that complemented pickleball play with an outdoor meal featuring the club’s famous fried chicken and cobbler served in a Mason jar. • “POP-Dog,” featuring round-robin POP tennis matches for novice players, with everyone gathering after the organized matches to enjoy selections from a gourmet hot dog bar (the most popular dog was The Quechee Dog, topped with local ingredients for a true Vermont flair, including maple peppered bacon, smoked cheddar cheese and garlic aioli). www.clubandresortbusiness.com
• “Swingles and Mixed Doubles” where tennis players would pick numbered balls to be matched up with opponents, helping members meet new people. The event finished with everyone enjoying a New Orleans-themed meal. • A “Chip and Volley“ biathlon-style event that joined the golf and racquet communities, pairing POP tennis matches with putting contests, after which everyone enjoyed a grab-and-go street-food buffet. “We saw these events are not just sports,” says Keenan. “We wanted people who liked racquet sports to be introduced to something new. Paddleball, especially, is a really social game, so we aimed to build that up. And we didn’t keep score, to keep the experience fun without being too competitive.” The response to that approach, Kelley reports, was “unanticipated—and inspiring. New interest in racquet play unfurled, registration and waitlists grew, and word around the club spread.” The word spread fast enough, in fact, to generate a 122 percent increase in racquet
play at The Quechee Club in 2020, from 5,400 plays to more than 12,000. The growth also inspired more ideas, such as “Courtship” sessions for beginners, and a Halloween-themed “Screams and Screens” paddleball tournament, with food that included Children of the Corn Chowder, Eyeball Grinders and Almond Finger Cookies. And there’s been no shortage of other new food tie-ins that have been dreamed up, including “Back in the Paddle Again” (combining BBQ and round-robin play), “Paddles and Waffles,” “Paddles and Pai Thai,” and “Smack and Cheese.” All of the innovation and success also inspired Kelley to develop a new “Toot the Horn” staff recognition award, for which Kelley and his team were the first recipients. “In the face of challenge, Mike and his Racquets Department successfully shifted the club into a more social and welcoming community for all,” Kelley says. “Our award will now become part of the club’s fabric, to regularly honor Quechee team members for out-of-the-box thinking and member-facing initiatives.”
A full slate of new fun-focused events that included tie-ins with the golf and food-andbeverage departments generated a 122 percent increase in racquet play at The Quechee Club in 2020—and a new “Toot the Horn” staff-recognition award for Director of Racquet Sports Mike Keenan and his department. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
TOP INNOVATORS: Member Communications SHUTDOWNS CAUSED by the pandemic didn’t mean club members couldn’t still find ways to heap abuse on the club staff— in a good way. “Staying connected with our members was one of the most important things we wanted to do in 2020,” says Ben Lorenzen of Champions Run in Omaha, Neb. “Because people were stuck at home, we developed the ‘Slime the Staff’ series to help keep them entertained during quarantine. “Through the power of video, social media and the Club Passport app, members were able to vote each week for which of our staff members they wanted to see slimed,” Lorenzen describes. “At the end of the week, those staff members were slimed on Facebook Live for everyone to see. It was a great way to communicate and have fun with our members.”
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» 2020 Innovation Awards
TOP INNOVATORS: Staff Motivation
By Pamela Brill, Contributing Editor
MAINTAINING EMPLOYEE ENTHUSIASM on a consistent basis is always a work in progress. Throw a global pandemic into the equation, when it can be tough to just get through a regular day, and it takes the challenge to an entirely different level. But for the staff at Forsyth Country Club in Winston-Salem, N.C., comprehensive training, incentives for growth and a general attitude towards employee well-being all promote a positive workplace environment that translates to productivity and a stronger sense of self. Right from the start, employees become fully immersed in a robust training program. “We know how important the onboarding and initial staff-training process is to the success of our employees at Forsyth,” says Food and Beverage Director Zachary Crum. “Using position-specific training modules, shadow shifts and proper product education and testing ensures [that] our employees are ready to deliver at the highest level of service to the membership at all times.” 26
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Led by Clubhouse Manager Rebecca Ross, Forsyth’s peak-season, 200-person operation (the year-round staff caps at 145) is spread across numerous categories, from housekeeping and maintenance to food-and-beverage and administration. But rather than limit employees to one specific operating area, the club makes cross-utilization a key part of the workplace experience. “Giving the opportunity for employees to work in other departments and obtain new skill sets is vital to uphold our culture of growth,” notes Crum. “Cross-utilization [helps to] provide our consistency of excellent service, member recognition and member engagement— areas that are always critical to success in private clubs, and now more than ever during the pandemic.” To sustain its training focus after the coronavirus outbreak, Forsyth took advantage of supplemental education provided by the local chapter of the Club Management Association of America. “The Carolinas Chapter has done a tremendous job
providing webinars and a plethora of topics since [mid-March], including club governance, health and safety, and member programming during COVID,” Crum says. In addition to offering ServSafe certification for all culinary employees, he adds, the club is also considering a partnership with Gallo University for virtual wine education. Earlier this year, Forsyth employees visited local breweries (see photo above) to gain a better understanding of the beermaking process. In addition to learning how different types of beer are created, they were able to distinguish one style of beer from another and then impart that knowledge to members at the club. “We want our entire team, at all levels, to be able to present extensive information tableside and to have the tools to feel empowered to answer any questions that come their way,” says Event Coordinator Emilie Amunatigui. Another tool that has effectively engaged the Forsyth staff is the “spinning wheel.” Labeled with the names of www.clubandresortbusiness.com
employees who have been nominated by co-workers, supervisors and members for above-and-beyond effort, the team gathers regularly to see the wheel get a spin and land on names that are attached to special prizes. “It has become a fun and interactive way to showcase different employees for their hard work and dedication,” says Amunatigui. Those who don’t earn accolades can still partake of other employee perks. Recent bonuses included a staff meal from a visiting food truck and a pumpkin-carving contest. Also in the works is a fishing-lure casting competition, using de-barbed hooks and kiddie pools. In a more serious vein, with an awareness of the emotional toll that 2020 has taken on its employees, Forsyth Country Club is also a place where staff can get professional help if needed. The club provides an employee assistance program that
A pumpkin-carving contest and local brewery tours (see photo, opposite page) are just some of the special activities that help Forsyth CC promote interaction and a positive workplace environment.
offers counseling sessions and financial assistance. Such attention to the overall health and well-being of its staff demonstrates an eye toward advancement. “Our history of training and development shows in our day-to-day operations and the long tenure of employees here,” says Ross. “Just this year, we have promoted for seven leadership roles from within.”
Investing in its staff for the long haul is seen at Forsyth as a critical component of employee satisfaction. “Building the culinary and hospitality team’s training opportunities allows us to build personal equity within each team member,” says Executive Chef Blair Cannon, CEC, CFE. “We need to reinvest in ourselves to know that what we do every day is worth the stress and emotion that comes with this industry.”
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» 2020 Innovation Awards
TOP INNOVATORS: Golf Operations By Rob Thomas, Senior Editor
THE YEAR OF THE PANDEMIC will also be remembered as a time when clubs invested major dollars and valuable space to provide their members with innovative golf technology centers. One of the most prominent examples came from The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe (Calif.), which introduced its Richard C. Helmstetter Performance Centre in the summer of 2020. The facility, named after the former Vice Chairman/ Senior Vice President of Callaway Golf and creator of the Big Bertha driver, who is a longtime member of The Bridges, is 2,700 sq. ft. and equipped with two hitting bays for instruction and club fitting. In conjunction with the opening of its Performance Centre, The Bridges hired renowned instructor Matt Kilgarriff, PGA, to help equip the facility with the latest in technology, including a Full Swing Simulator, Putt View, Blast Motion and Swing Catalyst. A stocked bar and games such as Zombie Tag on the simulator offer additional entertainment options for non-golfers as well. And once COVID restrictions are eased, the club envisions the space being used after-
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hours for corporate outings, birthday parties and other social gatherings. If Kilgariff conducts lessons as part of those events, The Bridges team can provide video analysis to those who participate—complete with corporate logos at the beginning and end, to serve as a reminder of the host. The Performance Centre has already been a big hit with current members of The Bridges, but the club’s leadership sees its potential going well beyond that. “On the [member] recruitment side, when someone comes and visits the club, they see something [special] the club has to offer,” Kilgariff says. “We’re able to develop a great teaching program and have the amenities to support that program.” The Performance Centre checks all the boxes, adds club President Gerry Douglas, and will help the club broaden its appeal in step with how the industry has changed. Today’s club, Douglas notes, is all about lifestyle and not just about golf, and attracting younger members and families with multi-purpose facilities is critical to how a club can differentiate itself.
www.clubandresortbusiness.com
TOP INNOVATORS: Special Events By Joe Barks, Editor
A FLAGSHIP EVENT on the yearly calendar of the Detroit (Mich.) Athletic Club (DAC) calendar has always been the “Back to the Club” weekend, which has always been planned and presented, according to Assistant General Manager Tai Tran, as “a celebration seemingly without limits.” But when the event could finally be held in September 2020, Tran notes, there had to be limits on the number of people who could gather in a single room or on the grounds around the clubhouse. “And we had to make our space welcoming to members, many of whom had not been back to the club since the pandemic broke out in March,” he adds. So in the year of COVID, Tran reports, the DAC staff took steps to turn the usual Back to the Club event into more of a “Welcome Back to the Club” commemoration. “Instead of a banquet table of temptations, members were served—and ate up—an a la carte selection of events, with a Saturday-night fireworks display from inside Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers [which is located behind the DAC clubhouse and can be viewed from all of its floors and rooftop], serving as the exclamation point,” Tran says. The four days of festivities began with a “hump day” of golf at nearby TPC Dearborn on Wednesday, September 23rd, followed the next day by the first of a weekend series of tastings that included a “spirited lineup” of premium gin, rum, tequila and whiskey. On the rooftop and ground floor of the clubhouse, DAC restaurants created special dinners, such as the popular Seafood Frenzy in the club’s signature restaurant, The Gallery & The Fresco,
and menus in The Stadium Club revolving around libations such as beer and whiskey. Throughout the clubhouse itself, members had the opportunity to learn how to decorate cupcakes under the tutelage of a DAC sous chef, learn to dance the rumba or, for the kids of the club, perfect their moves for TikTok video. There also was knitting and magic and a fortune teller— after all, says Tran, “Who wouldn’t grasp an opportunity for a little clarity in an uncertain time?” All of it wrapped up on a warm Saturday evening on September 26th, with a
cornhole competition and a “silent disco,” before everyone gathered to view the fireworks that were set off over the outfield of Comerica Park. “The DAC brand is not about size and sizzle, it’s about life-enriching experiences that bring members together with other members and with their beloved DAC staff,” says Tran. And the way the club pivoted to still hold a memorable Back to the Club event despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic proved, he adds, that “You don’t need a big room for that—just a big heart.”
Once it was finally able to invite members back for its annual Back to the Club festival, the Detroit Athletic Club staff arranged an “a la carte” selection of well-spaced-out events throughout its multi-story clubhouse and surrounding grounds, culminating with fireworks set off from the outfield of the Detroit Tigers’ Comerica Park that could be viewed from all floors and the rooftop.
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» 2020 INNOVATION AWARDS
TOP INNOVATORS: Design + Renovation
By Pamela Brill, Contributing Editor
AT GREATHORSE, A COUNTRY CLUB in Hampden, Mass., members in search of a relaxed yet entertaining setting have found their outdoor oasis. In August 2020, the club unveiled a pool bar and a professional pizza oven to rave reviews. Occupying previously vacant space on an outdoor patio, the new addition has attracted diners, swimmers and even teetotalers who are relishing its casual vibe and flexible design. Drawing upon GreatHorse’s laid-back ‘no rules’ mentality, the pool bar is designed to mesh with the clubhouse’s overall look and feel. Constructed with safety in mind, it runs along the perimeter of the fence outside the pool, creating a barrier between the pool and patio. Teak high-bar chairs mesh with the patio and pool area furnishings, seating up to 28 guests. The bar itself features a salt-and-pepper, leather-textured granite countertop, with surrounding masonry designed to match the patio. Copper accents mimic the clubhouse design, while custom-built, blackpipe LED lighting adds a rustic element. Overhead, four 65-inch television sets were strategically placed to not obstruct 30
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the view of the Pioneer Valley backdrop. “This was accomplished by using a very untraditional mounting bracket that did not take away from the look and ambience of the structure,” says General Manager Bryan Smithwick. The back bar itself hosts six kegs, a frozen drink machine, a novelty ice cream freezer and a wood-fired pizza oven that cranks out an average of 30 pizzas per day and is arguably the biggest draw. Since the bar opened to members during the pandemic, grabbing a coveted seat hasn’t been an issue. Instead, the club has swapped stools in favor of socially distanced arrangements of tables and chairs, along with padded barrel chairs positioned near firepits. Bar service is offered in this area, allowing patrons to partake of the sunset views with cocktails in hand. In the offseason, GreatHorse has plans in place to protect the pool bar from inclement weather. A set of 32-ft. metal roll doors will prohibit wear and tear and secure all goods stored inside. Before freezing temperatures set in, the bar will be shrinkwrapped and all food and beverage, soda lines and keg lines will be winterized to prevent freezing.
“When building the structure, we made sure the plumbing was set up for easy winterization for when the time comes, making the transition a seamless process,” notes Dave Kopec, who managed construction for the project. But before closing out the calendar year, warm memories of a productive and active inaugural year at the pool bar will sustain the club through the colder months; in addition to the 1,000-plus pizzas that were served from it, over 1,500 drinks were poured. “Even with certain restrictions due to COVID, the pool bar amenity has sig-
GreatHorse’s new pool bar served over 1,000 pizzas and more than 1,500 drinks in just a few months after its opening in August 2020. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
nificantly increased our food-and-beverage revenue,” says Marketing and Communications Coordinator Kayla Turowsky. Just as importantly, she adds, the new venue has helped the club become more of a multi-style dining destination. By truly offering a facility that appeals to all demographics, GreatHorse has seen a tremendous response from parents enjoying a night out, as well as business professionals. “When it comes time to head home, parents order a pizza to go and bring it home for the kids,” says Turowsky. “We have also seen corporate members purchase pizza to-go for their offices and employees, to help increase morale during these unpredictable times.” Taking the long view, GreatHorse hopes to further expand its pool bar menu by making chicken wings, grinders, strombolis, calzones and high-temperature steaks in the pizza oven. The culinary team is looking into hosting kid and adult cooking clinics, and the bar manager is aiming to host mixology classes. “The possibilities are endless with the GreatHorse pool bar, and we are looking forward to more days sipping cold beverages, eating homemade pizza and overlooking the sunset,” says Turowsky.
MA ST E R P L A N N I NG
TOP INNOVATORS: special events WHO SAYS THE PANDEMIC put an end to big events? It didn’t stop Champions Run in Omaha, Neb. from having “Burger Mania,” the largest drive-thru event the club has ever held. Responding to a promotion for $5 burgers, members and their kids drove through the lot to get their dinner—and much more. “We had beer carts, bars, scavenger hunts for the kids, live music, a Dog Food Truck and more,” reports Champions Run’s Ben Lorenzen. “Members were able to enjoy the comforts of the event from their own cars. We sold 1,024 burgers, 430 chicken sandwiches and 420 pounds of fries in just under three “Burger Mania” stacked up hours. It was a wild event.” to be the largest drive-thru event ever held at Champions Run.
A RC H I T EC T U R E
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
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» 2020 INNOVATION AWARDS
TOP INNOVATORS: Staff Motivation
By Joe Barks, Editor
WHEN THE MEMBERSHIP of the Key Largo (Fla.) Anglers Club voted to approve a substantial historic restoration, renovation, and expansion of its existing clubhouse, additional approval was given to support a significant additional project: demolishing the club’s antiquated existing staff-housing complex and building a state-of-the-art facility for the future, at a cost that would be one-and-a-half times what would be invested in the clubhouse improvements. Working with Peacock + Lewis Architecture and Interior Design, a significant design element of the staff housing project was the incorporation of 29 ground-floor, air-conditioned storage units that were sold to Key Largo members to help support approximately 50% of the staff facility’s construction costs. The new facility has 32 individual rooms, a laundry, a common living and recreation area, swimming pool, and a private courtyard that by design serves to minimize off-time contact between members and staff when the members are accessing their storage units. “The story is really about the membership and the longstanding importance they have placed on those of us who have joined with them to steward the club past, present, and into the future,” says Key Largo’s Christopher B. Everhart, CCM, CCE, PCAM. “[Our membership has] always recognized that a core element of a great club and great organization lies in the willingness to invest in its people, and that the 32
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handpicked staff has played a special and integral part in its success. “Much of the club’s continuity and charm is a result of the long-term dedication, commitment, care and personal interest that the team has brought to the organization,” Everhart adds. “This intentional project prioritization for the new staff housing set a precedent that is unique to the club industry, and sent a wonderful message to existing staff while positioning the club for recruiting more of the best talent.”
The new staff-housing complex at Key Largo Anglers Club includes storage units sold to members that helped to support around 50% of the facility’s construction costs. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
TOP INNOVATORS: Member Services By Joe Barks, Editor
THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END of the summer by the School District of Palm Beach County, Fla. that the 2020-2021 school year would begin as the previous one had ended, with distance learning, brought widespread disappointment about the prospect of more in-home learning to many families in The Country Club at Mirasol community in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. After he heard his wife Sharon say, “I just wish we could send kids somewhere,” in reference to their own four homebound school-age children, Mirasol’s GM/COO, Matt Lambert, was inspired to set up a “virtual school” at the club. “Mirasol is home to many young families and we thought it was critical that we offer our community’s children the opportunity to be assisted by certified educators during their online school days in a safe and supervised environment, while allowing their parents to continue their own work,” Lambert says. The club hired a retired school principal and an early-childhood educator to work with students in kindergarten through sixth grade during the school day. The students who reserved space on a weekly basis followed their own online schedules, but all were also able to participate in supervised break time that included physical activity at Mirasol’s family-friendly Sports Complex, complete with greenspace and sports courts and supervision by Mirasol’s experienced recreation staff. School hours were 7:40 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the program was designed to accommodate students with varying schedules. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
The Country Club at Mirasol hired a retired school principal and an early-childhood educator to help staff its “virtual school” that was set up at the club for member families whose children needed a place to attend online classes. Supervised break time at the club’s Sports Complex was included with the service.
Participation was capped at 24 students, and there was a wait list to register. Fees were $135 per week for one child, and $110 per week for families with two or more children. Entry into the Mirasol Virtual School “classroom” each day required a temperature check of students and supervisors alike. Face coverings were also required, and socially distanced desks were assigned to each student for the duration of their enrollment. The 3,500-sq. ft. space was regularly sanitized, and an electrostatic spray was administered at the end of every school day. Individually packaged lunches were provided for participants by the Mirasol food-and-beverage staff. The Mirasol Virtual School was offered from August 31 through October 2, by which time most of the students were able to return to in-person learning. At a cost to families of less than $30/day, and with a favorable student-to-teacher ratio that ensured productive instruction, the school clearly provided added value for the parents who responded “overwhelmingly” to the idea, Lambert says. “But more importantly, we were fortunate to have been able to offer our youngest members a sense of structure and normalcy during these times,” he adds. December 2020
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» 2020 Innovation Awards
TOP INNOVATORS: Golf Operations By Rob Thomas, Senior Editor
WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN. This past summer, between COVID closures, The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe (Calif.) decided to remodel its 20-year-old pro shop. “The Shop” now features a curated selection of golf and lifestyle apparel, gifts, home goods, and health and wellness lines. Even non-golfing members are enjoying this new shopping experience. Steve Wilson, Director of Golf at The Bridges, describes the old space as a “pretty typical golf shop” with dark carpeting, a
large counter, a combination of four-ways and two-ways to display hanging apparel, and multiple nesting tables spread throughout. So what prompted the change? “We wanted to inspire our customers to come to us for most, if not all, of their retail shopping,” Wilson says. “We wanted to be more efficient with our offerings, to create an exciting online and personal shopping experience that blended with items sold on the floor as spontaneous purchases.” The planning process for the shop makeover was fairly extensive, Wilson says. The Bridges hired a retail consultant to help the staff reshape its buying process as they prepared for re-opening the shop with a different business model. A team within the club with extensive interior-design experience was included in the decision-making process, as was a construction team with a great deal of A seating area where members can consult with a experience with high-end, Personal Shopping Stylist was added as part of the makeover of “The Shop” at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe. private-club buildouts. 34
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From start to finish, the process took about five months. The Shop still occupies about 1,000 sq. ft., matching the existing footprint, but is now utilized much differently. And new vendors have come with the new spaces. “Most were from the lifestyle and gift category,” Wilson says. “Vendors such as Alo, Lululemon, Antiqua Farmacista, Oats Cashmere, Beyond Yoga, Lafco, Rails, and Citizens of Humanity denim.” The Bridges introduced new categories as well, such as lifestyle and leisure, health and wellness, home items and gifts. Overall, Wilson describes the new Shop as “brighter, lighter and cleaner, with much more style to it.” “There is much more room to walk around and shop,” he says. “The cash-wrap station no longer acts as a wall dividing our staff and the clientele. We’ve added a seating area where members can have a glass of champagne, bourbon, or sparkling water during a personal shopping experience with our Personal Stylist.” The end result is an “overwhelming success,” Wilson says. “As with anything new, some are slow to change—but our sales show that most of our members and guests love the idea and new look.” www.clubandresortbusiness.com
TOP INNOVATORS: Staff Motivation By Joe Barks, Editor
TO MATCH THE BENEFITS that its recently completed $18 million clubhouse renovation provided for its members (C+RB, April 2020), Wycliffe Golf & Country Club in Wellington, Fla. set out a year ago to budget for an employee breakroom enhancement project in the "heart of the house" that would provide an equally strong impact for its staff. The Wycliffe Board supported the capital expenditure and when the COVID outbreak occurred, the project was accelerated, because employee dining was temporarily relocated to the club’s ballroom, to maintain social distancing.
The project was led by Wycliffe’s talented in-house Engineering team, which fabricated materials in the club’s sophisticated workshop and self-performed much of the construction scope, including layout and design, demolition, cabinetry and countertops, plumbing and HVAC, and lighting and electrical work. To add to the excitement, Wycliffe launched a "Name the Breakroom" contest that “integrated a fun and engaging way to connect each employee to the branding of the space and to gain buy-in from the team,” reports General Manager/COO Rob Martin. A $150 prize was offered for the
winning selected entry. From nearly 50 entries, a winning name was selected: “The Hyve,” which mirrors the new brand, Thryve, of Wycliffe’s renovated Spa & Fitness Center, and also fits “how our breakroom should feel like a home or haven where we all congregate with our worker community, like a beehive,” says Martin. "A beehive is made up of many hexagonal cells, none that are perfect as individual cells, but that collectively lock together and work as one team,” Martin adds. “This embodies our culture here at Wycliffe, as a community and family."
Wycliffe G&CC’s “Name the Breakroom” contest helped to connect its employees to the new space and yielded a winning entry, The Hyve, that matches other branding at the club and also represents how the room “should feel like a home or haven where we all congregate with our worker community,” says GM/COO Rob Martin. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
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» 2020 Innovation Awards
TOP INNOVATORS: Recreation + Fitness By Rob Thomas, Senior Editor
ANSLEY GOLF CLUB, with two campuses—the original in Atlanta’s Midtown region and a second about 27 miles away in Roswell, Ga.—has approximately 400 active families and a robust tennis program. As with most clubs in the Atlanta area, Ansley participates in the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association (ALTA), which in normal years sees roughly 100,000 people play in the leagues each week. When COVID-19 hit hard in March, however, league play was halted, and tennis came to a grinding stop. Ansley brought back its own tennis program slowly in May, with lessons first, says Matt Grayson, the club’s Director of Athletics. Singles play was then reintroduced and eventually, the club got its internal program back up and running. But resuming interclub play was too much of a risk—one positive test from a visiting player could set off a domino effect for too many members and staff. “Without league play, not only do our members lose a lot of their opportunity to play, but our staff with five full-time tennis pros also doesn’t have a lesson base,” Grayson says. “So to help generate that revenue for the club and also restore a full 36
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“I think we could certainly hit 10,000 activity level for the members, we decided hours this year, even with the shutdown,” to try to create our own in-house league.” Grayson said in November. “Lesson and However, Grayson notes, “ALTA is the free-play court bookings have been higher big gorilla in the room here in Atlanta, so than any other fall at the club. We are when that went away, we weren’t sure if people would still want to play in some sort actually hiring another full-time staff pro due to the member demand for lessons of league format.” To generate interest, and programming. the Ansley team devised a plan to make “We have plans to get back into regular traditional league play much more social. ALTA and USTA league play [in 2021],” Each team had all different levels for playGrayson adds. “But members have liked ers, from top level to beginners, creating a [the intraclub program] so much, there’s fresh new appeal for participating. been talk about continuing it next year, “The social aspect has really been even if the risk [of league play] is gone.” great,” Grayson says. “There are ladies who never met each other who are becoming friends.” Roughly 280 Ansley members—men, women and children—ended up participating in the in-house league this year, as the club successfully conducted a seven-week season. The success of the intraclub league boosted total court usage past 2019’s level of just over 8,400 hours, even with a Ansley GC’s new in-house league, created because particishutdown in 2020 from mid- pation in interclub competition was too risky, helped to boost total court usage past 2019 levels. March through April. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
TOP INNOVATORS: Golf Operations By Joe Barks, Editor
AN IMMEDIATE HALT IN SALES due to the pandemic’s closure of the indoor facilities, including the pro shop, at The Country Club at Mirasol in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. triggered immediate and innovative thinking by the club’s enterprising Merchandise Manager, Jordyn Hoar. She created a Shopify website for online sales of Mirasol’s logoed golf goods and other member favorites, which were offered at a discount through the club’s competitive member pricing. Following the promotion of a virtual end-of-season sale and the offer of at-home, contactless delivery, the site generated sales of over $15,000 in the first month, during a time that would otherwise have seen a decline in sales.
The addition of the Lilly Pulitzer brand to The CC at Mirasol’s pro shop helped the club surpass its July budget by 199%, with sales spurred by a special print that was also available in a fashionable Florida-style face covering.
In addition to this new, convenient shopping site, Mirasol also offered personal shopping calls via FaceTime, during which Hoar would walk around the shop and share information about items via video with interested members. This initiative generated an additional $50,000 in the month of May. Over the summer, the club’s members were also treated to the exciting arrival of the Lilly Pulitzer brand to the shop, which helped the club surpass its July budget by 199%, helped by the appeal of items in a new print designed with the lifestyle and iconic architecture of Mirasol in mind. The print was created especially for Mirasol not only for a clothing line, but also in a comfortable face covering (see photo at left) that gave members an opportunity to “mask up” in a fashionable Florida style.
TOP INNOVATORS: Recreation + Fitness IN TODAY’S WORLD OF HOME-EXERCISE equipment and big-box gyms, it’s easy to forget when “working out” more often literally meant doing routines outdoors. But the COVID-19 pandemic, and its restrictions on indoor gatherings, inspired the Athletics Department of the Detroit (Mich.) Athletic Club (DAC) to recall that time, as it found a fitting Motor City solution for how it could still provide a way to help members get in their workouts. The thinking, reports Assistant General Manager Tai Tran, took this route: “We have a place to park cars. Only we don’t have a lot of cars in there right now. So why not move a hefty piece of our fitness footprint—weights, cardio machines, mats and lots of cleaning supplies and social distancing—into the DAC Garage?” The DAC took 6,000 sq. ft. of the ground floor of its multi-story garage and transformed it into an open-air group-exercise studio and fitness center. “This gave our members a venue to ward off any pandemic poundage and work out the stresses of this uncertain world, while allowing our club to serve them and live up to our middle name—'Athletic,’ ” says Tran. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
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» 2020 Innovation Awards
TOP INNOVATORS: Recreation + Fitness By Rob Thomas, Senior Editor
WHEN HAISSAM BAITYEH, CCM, CCE, became the new Chief Operating Officer of The Country Club of Spartanburg (S.C.) two years ago, he knew that addressing the pool, which he described as just being a “box of water” at the time, was a top priority to increase the club’s appeal to families. The shallowest end was four feet deep, so the youngest kids had to be held up by their parents. A $2 million-plus pool renovation plan had been spec’d out, but the club didn’t have that kind of money in its budget. In conjunction with Swim Club Management, a service provider, a much more cost-effective way was found to create what Baityeh says has now become a “magnetic attraction” for the club. Without any demolition, the existing pool shell was used to introduce a zero-entry section with splash pad, while also adding a large slide and maintaining a 25-yard, deeper section for older kids, adults and competitions. “We tried to work with what we had and ended up with an unbelievable project,” Baityeh says. “One of the objectives was to show the membership that we could do this while managing the costs and providing a product they would be proud of and want to tell their friends about. We accomplished that, and it helped to create enough confidence to allow us to immediately go into a dining-room renovation, too.” The payoffs that have come directly from the pool renova38
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tion have included a doubling of average daily attendance, a more than 100% boost in snack-bar drink revenue, and a 70% increase in overall food-and-beverage sales. Another unexpected twist to the project, at least for Baityeh, was the funding support provided by the membership. “This was brand new to me in my 30 years in the business, with members actually voluntarily donating money,” he says. “And a great compliment has been when some have come up to me to say, “It was the best money I’ve ever spent at this club.”
Without any demolition, the existing pool shell at The CC of Spartanburg was renovated to introduce a zero-entry section with splash pad and add a slide while maintaining a deep end. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
TOP INNOVATORS: Club operations HOW DO YOU SOCIALLY DISTANCE a coat? That was the challenge facing the Detroit (Mich.) Athletic Club as it opened its coat-check service when operations resumed this year following a prolonged shutdown because of a state-mandated shutdown during the pandemic. “Knowing that members would ask how we were handling their coats so that they and our employees could avoid any contact with COVID-19, we began by hanging coats one foot apart, on racks that had been marked for that,” says Assistant General Manager Tai Tran. “During busy times, the club also used a bagging system—similar to what dry cleaners use—to cover each coat so they were not pressed up against one another. “During these uncertain times, our members’ outerwear merits as much TLC as we give their owners,” Tran adds.
TOP INNOVATORS: Recreation + Fitness
TOP INNOVATORS: Food + Beverage AS AT MANY CLUBS, the culinary and food-and-beverage teams at Moss Creek Golf Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C. quickly hurdled the dining restrictions imposed by the pandemic by responding with innovative and enticing to-go menus and other marketplace services. In addition, Moss Creek’s Executive Chef, Lenny Giarratano, developed a special following for his meal kits, a “Home Cooking with Lenny” video series, and especially his “Sunday Sauce Menu,” for those who still wanted to maintain their end-of-the-weekend, athome family pasta meal tradition, but didn’t mind getting some help with the bulk ingredient requirements. Giarratano offered housemade alfredo, marinara and tomato sauce with meatballs by the pint and quart, along with extras such as garlic bread, or even a pound of whatever type of pasta might be needed, too.
READY TO HEAT BY THE QUART: ￭House Made Marinara $8.99 quart ￭Tomato Sauce with FOUR (4) Meatballs $14.99 quart ￭Tomato Sauce with TWO (2) Sweet Italian Sausage Links $13.99 quart ￭House Made Alfredo Sauce $8.99 pint
THE POOL OPERATIONS TEAM at Champions Run in Omaha, Neb. came up with unique events that had special appeal to the boys and girls among its member families. For “Mermaid camp,” girls learned to swim with mermaid tails, and the camp also included an underwater photo shoot to fully capture the memories. For “Navy Seals” camp, boys dressed up in military garb as they learned swimming survival skills and competed in obstacle courses and Navy Seal-style challenges. The camp culminated with an in-pool nerf war.
EXTRAS:
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December 2020
￭Garlic Bread for Two $2.49 ￭One Pound Barilla Spaghe� $2.99 ￭One Pound Barilla Penne Rigate $2.99 ￭One Pound Barilla Rigatoni $2.99
￭One Pound Roseli Brand Penne Rigate $2.39
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» 2020 Innovation Awards
TOP INNOVATORS: Member Services By Joe Barks, Editor
MANY CLUBS MADE IMPRESSIVE and immediate pivots to start to provide needed services and new programs to help their members navigate through the disruption brought on by the coronavirus outbreak. The Country Club at Mirasol in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. stands out for how it has sustained its spirit of innovation and continued to come up with fresh ideas as the pandemic has dragged on. Here’s just some of how the club’s staff has continued to find new ways to serve its large and diverse membership through the year: Mirasol Pantry—The online service allows members to purchase over 50 items via a simple form on the club website. As at many clubs, this was a boon during early shortages of items such as paper products and hand sanitizer, and has also helped to assist valued club vendors. At Mirasol, nearly 2,000 orders have been placed since the start of the program in late March. Additionally, the club’s Food & Beverage department has offered regular wine and spirits sales at member pricing throughout the year. And as an historically active hurricane season added to the challenges of the year, Mirasol also presented online ordering periods for important hurricane preparation supplies, so members wouldn’t have to try to go out to get needed items in the event of a storm. To-Go Food Service—In addition to menu items made regularly available for takeout, Mirasol also offered popular weekly themenight meals, with complementary drink specials, for member pickup at the valet area while larger dining events are suspended. In addition to world cuisine, seafood, and comfort-food nights, the club offered Kentucky Derby Day snacks and full holiday meals for at-home gatherings, complete with festive valet-area decor. The service proved to be very lucrative during what would have normally been a quiet summer, the club reports. Complimentary Car Washes—Mirasol’s F&B team offered members complimentary car washes in April and solicited donations that were used to purchase gift cards from local restaurants for area healthcare workers. Over 320 vehicles were washed during the donation drive, from golf carts to large SUVs, and nearly $20,000 was raised. Special videos were sent to members to announce the car wash, and then to highlight the member motorcade that was arranged to distribute the gift cards at local medical centers.
Random Acts of Kindness—This pop-up program shares a variety of special treats on an unexpected basis at previously undisclosed locations throughout the Mirasol property, and has delighted members of all ages since it was started in August. The surprises have included hot cookies and milk after lunch in the clubhouse, lemonade (spiked and regular) served on the Tennis Center patio, beer and pretzels after the 18th hole on the golf course, and snow cones at the family-friendly Sports Complex on a warm weekend day. Local Vendor Assistance—Mirasol has consistently supported its event decor and floral vendors by offering members the opportunity to purchase weekly flower arrangements and holiday décor, such as a Passover centerpiece service, all year long. The change in lifestyle brought on by the pandemic also prompted the club to work with local companies to offer at-home gas delivery and carmaintenance services. End-of-School Yard Signs—One of the club’s most unexpected pandemic-related initiatives was the creation of school announcement yard signs for graduates and parents wanting to show support for students in their families. Mirasol’s Events team reached out to the community to solicit interest for the project and received thirty orders from excited parents and grandparents, some of whom even purchased signs to send to out-of-state family members. Incorporating school colors and logos and students’ pictures, the signs honored everyone from preschoolers to college graduates, and even celebrated a four-legged obedience school graduate. As a community association, Mirasol was able to temporarily relax regulations governing items that can be displayed in yards, and even members who did not participate in the program were pleased to see the congratulatory notices.
TOP INNOVATORS: Recreation + Fitness Like Keowee Key with its triathlon (see pgs. 14-15), The Country Club of Buffalo (N.Y.) also sought to find new ways this year to engage members and maximize how they could make full use of what the club’s property had to offer, even with the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. In CCB’s case, this meant creating a popular new “Tin Man” event that put a twist on an iron-man 40
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competition, by combining paddle tennis and sporting-clay shooting competitions with a two-person golf scramble. The first “Tin Man” event attracted a “broad bandwidth” of participants ranging in age from “mid-20s to 70s,” reports Kevin Clarke, Chairman of CCB’s Shooting Committee—and every participant in the inaugural event enjoyed the experience so much, Clarke
adds, they all “demanded to have the right of first refusal” for when it will be held again. Plans are already in the works for how to expand and elaborate on the event in future years—and CCB’s General Manager/ COO, Nick Markel, CCM, says the interest it generated may also extend to exploring the creation of an interclub shooting invitational tournament. www.clubandresortbusiness.com
PRODUCT SHOWCASE �������� ��������
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Working Man
Product: Workman® GTX Lithium-Ion Lifted Model Features: ▶ The new Workman® GTX Lithium-Ion Lifted model provides an additional three inches of ground clearance, compared to traditional Workman GTX machines ▶ The higher clearance protects golf courses by making it easier for operators to drive over uneven areas without causing damage, while also reducing the risk of accidentally dragging debris that can gouge the turf ▶ The lithium-ion technology powering the Workman GTX Lithium-Ion Lifted model is built to deliver hours of reliable performance ▶ It boasts the largest cargo capacity of any lithium-ion powered model in its class, so it can handle big jobs ▶ Because the lithium-ion power packs are nearly 26% lighter than lead-acid batteries, the Lifted model makes a big impression on productivity without leaving a big impression on course turf ▶ The power packs are maintenance-free, so the machine is always ready to get to work and has a long lifespan
Toro
www.toro.com
The Long Haul
Product: Hauler® 800 ELiTE Lithium Utility Vehicle Features: ▶ 48-volt AC Lithium technology activated by Samsung SDI ▶ Lowest cost of operation for utility vehicles, saving over 35 percent on energy expenses ▶ Zero-maintenance batteries that feature a 5-year warranty ▶ Consistent power that does not fade over time ▶ Lightweight footprint protects turf, eliminating over 430 lbs. of battery weight ▶ Truck-inspired design includes standard headlights, brush guard and practical dash ▶ Standard 8.4-cu. ft. sound-dampening, roto-molded polyethylene bed includes integrated divider slots and tie-down locations ▶ Highly functional dash provides clear line of sight to what lies ahead, and includes a centralized control panel, deep storage pockets and a display lip for iPad or tablet ▶ Four strategically located multi-purpose cup holders accommodate radios, as well as any size or shape cup ▶ Contoured, ergonomic seats and generous legroom offer hours of comfort ▶ Optional sealed windshield and canopy provide protection from the elements ▶ Device-friendly upgrades are available with either an optional 12V or USB outlet ▶ Available with a full line of affordable options and accessories including a floor-mount attachment, perfect for transporting spreaders, coolers and other equipment ▶ Supported by TechForce factory direct-service network ▶ ELiTE line of vehicles includes the Hauler 800X ELiTE, RXV ELiTE, TXT ELiTE, Freedom RXV ELiTE, Freedom TXT ELiTE, RXV 2+2 ELiTE and TXT 2+2 ELiTE
Cushman
Maximum Effort
800-241-5855, ext. 5742 www.cushman.com
Product: UMAX® ONE Features: ▶ FUEL SYSTEM: EFI - Electronic Fuel Injection ▶ ENGINE TYPE: Yamaha-built, 402 cc, low-emission single-cylinder 60° incline OHV ▶ LUBRICATION SYSTEM: Splash-style positive oil lubrication ▶ OIL CAPACITY: 1.16 U.S. quart (1.1 liter, 1100cc) ▶ AIR CLEANER: Two-stage, urethane-foam pre-cleaner, and high-capacity pleated paper cartridge ▶ COOLING SYSTEM: Forced cooling ▶ STARTING SYSTEM: Starter generator with pedal start system
Yamaha
www.yamahagolfcar.com www.clubandresortbusiness.com
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PRODUCT SHOWCASE
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Bringing the Heat Prestigious Shade
Product: Bridgewater Umbrella Features: ▶ The one-piece, 1 1⁄2”-diam. aluminum core with proprietary, textured FiberTeak finish is available in three woodgrain colors ▶ Frame components include eight fiberglass ribs, a heavy-duty hub, and rust-resistant stainless-steel hardware ▶ The canopy comes in five sizes and is available in marineor furniture-grade solution-dyed acrylics ▶ The umbrella can be used in-table or freestanding
FiberBuilt Umbrellas & Cushions
866.667.8668 • www.fiberbuiltumbrellas.com
Product: Adjustable Infra-Red Heaters Features: ▶ Pivot to directly warm objects below the canopy frame ▶ The attachment maximizes desired heat transfer while electrical lines are concealed within the mast, for an integrated, seamless aesthetic ▶ The heaters automatically power off when the umbrella is closed ▶ Heaters available in black or white ▶ Designed for the outdoors, a Somfy® User Control System ensures a simple turn on/off of the highefficiency heaters ▶ Heater system can be applied to parasols and cabanas
TUUCI
www.tuuci.com
K������ E�������� Keeping It Cool
Ice Ice Baby
Product: Sphere Undercounter Ice Machine Features: ▶ First machine to make spherical ice in North America ▶ The demand for unique cocktail design at a reasonable cost is high ▶ Makes clean, clear 1.8-inch diameter ice balls for amazing cocktail presentations with minimal dilution ▶ Eliminates the mess of ice molds or the high price of third-party ice vendors ▶ Sphere ice looks beautiful, is more sanitary and is more profitable than any other option in the market today ▶ Fits neatly under a bar, taking up less than 25 inches wide of all-important undercounter space ▶ Makes up to 50 lbs. (500 spheres) of ice production per 24 hours ▶ Built-In storage bin with 36-lb. capacity ▶ Durable stainless-steel exterior with easy-to-remove-and-clean air filter
Product: KoldCube3 Hybrid Insulated Cold Cabinet Features: ▶ Transport and hold cold food safely indoors or out, with or without a cord ▶ Use indoors with standard 120-volt electric, then unplug and use outdoor cooling system ▶ Cutting-edge battery and solar power hold up to four to six hours outdoors without a cord ▶ Provides capacity up to (22) 12 x 20 steam-table pans ▶ Heavy-duty 8” all-terrain swivel casters, front two with brakes ▶ Smooth interior coved corners prevent food particle/grease buildup ▶ Constructed with sun-reflective coating to shield the unit from sun rays
Cres Cor
www.crescor.com
Hoshizaki America
www.hoshizakiamerica.com
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PRODUCT SHOWCASE
Course + Grounds
Amenities Automatic Antibacterial
Product: NEW Automatic Dispensers Features: ▶ Comes in both wall-mount or floor-stand styles ▶ Easy-to-fill reservoir means no messing with cartridges ▶ Pairs great with our new Club Classic Gold Antibacterial Hand Soap ▶ Also perfect for dispensing our Club Classic Hand Sanitizer gallon refills
Flexing Turfcare Muscles
Product: Greensmaster® eTriFlex™ Series Features: ▶ The new all-electric riding greensmower, Toro® Greensmaster® eTriFlex™, carries no hydraulic fluid and utilizes all-electric components for traction, steering, lift and cutting units ▶ These new “EnergySmart™” models deliver an operationally friendly design with noise reduction, operational cost savings, and other meaningful improvements to complement the ever-important enhancements in cutting performance ▶ The two new all-electric Greensmaster eTriFlex models, built upon the trusted Toro TriFlex® platform, include the Greensmaster eTriFlex 3360, powered by a Kawasaki® engine/generator, and the Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370, powered by a lithium-ion Samsung® battery set ▶ The lower noise levels of the eTriFlex facilitate earlier mowing starts/tee times without disturbing nearby residents, to help the course to be in conformance with local noise regulations ▶ The new engine/generator model, according to end users familiar with the new product, is much quieter than traditional engine-powered models, while the lithium-ion powered model is virtually silent during operation ▶ The individual reel and wheel speed control substantially improves both the aesthetics and playability of the green by greatly reducing the effect known as “Triplex-Ring” ▶ This smart feature standardizes the clip rate of each individual reel to avoid turfgrass thinning on the inside reel during perimeter cutting, and reduces wheel turf scrubbing to greatly improve the appearance of the cleanup cut, which ultimately leads to an increase in operational productivity ▶ The engine-powered eTriFlex with batteryassist technology is up to 20 percent more fuel-efficient, resulting in lower emissions and fuel savings
Toro
www.toro.com www.clubandresortbusiness.com
Fore Supply Co.
800-543-5430 • www.foresupply.com
Air Without a Care
Product: RestorAir Features: ▶ RestorAir uses Advanced Oxidation Cell Technology to effectively kill odors and eliminate viruses and other contaminants in the air and on surfaces ▶ RestorAir has demonstrated effectiveness against microorganisms that are similar to or more resistant to kill than Coronavirus (COVID-19), as well as vegetative bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Enterococcus (VRE) ▶ Designed for locker rooms, hallways, restaurants, spas, meeting rooms and virtually any common-area room. Two unit sizes available to cover small and large areas ▶ The Advanced Oxidation Cells in every unit have a rated life of 25,000 hours (34 Months)
Duffy's Tri-C Club Supply www.duffystric.com
Branded Masks
Product: 2Hemispheres— Custom Neck Gaiters Features: ▶ Made in the USA by 2H Collective ▶ Lightweight ▶ 4-way stretch fabric ▶ Elastic stitching ▶ 85% Polyester / 15% Spandex ▶ Dye-sublimated graphic application ▶ Machine washable ▶ 2 sizes available- S/M and L/XL ▶ Minimum order 40 units ▶ Buy more, save more. Discounts applied for every additional 80 units. ▶ Quick turnaround – 2 to 3 weeks from design approval
2Hemispheres
www.2hemi.com December 2020
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PRODUCT SHOWCASE
F��� + B������� On-the-Go Sweets
Packing a Punch
Product: Protein Punch Bulk Features: ▶ Bold flavor and a variety of textures ▶ Includes edamame beans, papaya, wasabi peas, lemon pepper chickpeas, cheese wicks and peanuts ▶ Good source of fiber ▶ Good source of protein ▶ Low or no sodium ▶ Available in: 25-lb. bulk and 12- / 7-oz. SUR bags
Product: Retail Ready Manifesto® Packs Features: ▶ Packs fold open for an instant display ▶ Ideal for halfway house, beverage cart, bakery/deli and more ▶ All of Sweet Street’s Manifesto Individually Wrapped Cookies and Bars are now available in this self-display carton ▶ Provide one-of-a-kind, wholesome decadence with convenience ▶ Rooted in better-for-you ingredients and comforting flavors ▶ Individually wrapped, safe and tamper-proof
Sweet Street
www.sweetstreet.com
California Drinkin'
Truly Good Foods
www.trulygoodfoods.com
Prime Meat
Product: Chairman’s Reserve® Meats Features: ▶ Beef and pork ▶ Sales and marketing support ▶ No other competitor offers this robust of a portfolio ▶ No other brand delivers this level of consistency, quality and consumer confidence—a two-tier advantage ▶ A dual-protein mix that delivers an unparalleled eating experience with two tiers: Premium and Prime ▶ Provide the discernible quality to meet the specific demands of your business
Tyson
www.choosechairmans.com
▶ Flavors include: Blood Orange, Mango and
Product: Cali-Squeeze Beer Features: ▶ Hefeweizen infused with real fresh fruit is now available nationwide ▶ Juicy, crushable, and a real beer — not a hard seltzer
Tropical P.O.G. (passion fruit, orange, guava)
▶ Available in 12-oz. and 16-oz. cans ▶ Most so-called “fruit beers” (and hard seltzers) are made with extracts and phony flavorings, but Cali-Squeeze breaks the mold by layering real fruit puree on a soft Hefeweizen base
SLO Brewing Co.
slobrew.com • calisqueezebeer.com
Agua Fresca
Product: Infused Beverages Features: ▶ Inspired by traditional agua fresca, this line features eight varieties made with real fruit juice, real cane sugar and natural flavors ▶ Non-carbonated and caffeine-free ▶ S&D Infused Beverages are available in eight on-trend flavors, including Black Cherry Citrus, Blackberry Lemonade, Cucumber Lime, Ginger Pear, Mango Lemonade, Orange Passionfruit (reduced sugar), Papaya, Pineapple, and Strawberry Watermelon ▶ Perfect for signature mocktails and cocktails ▶ Shelf life between six and nine months ▶ Available in half-gallon concentrates and comes in six bottles per case
S&D Coffee & Tea
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PRODUCT SHOWCASE
T����� + C����� Park City Pleasure
Product: Park City Stacking Arm and Side Chair Features: ▶ Stacks up to 10 chairs high ▶ Unmatched 20-year warranty ▶ Made to order in the USA ▶ Generously sized for added comfort ▶ Ideal for member dining chairs, boardroom chairs, grill room chairs and more
Eustis Chair
www.EustisChair.com
Sling for Your Supper
Product: Avana Sling Dining Features: ▶ Comfortable aluminum outdoor furniture made in the USA ▶ Includes dining, counter, and bar-height chairs/stools. ▶ 5-step powder-coating finishing process and outdoor foam and fabrics provide durability ▶ Classic design fits any style
O.W. Lee Co.
Limitless Linenless
Product: Linenless GL Tables Features: ▶ Multifunctional use to activate communal spaces ▶ Designed to execute live action stations, buffets, and mobile bars ▶ Customize the GL for your operational needs with available accessories ▶ Maximize set and strike potential with integrated casters ▶ An array of size and color options to match your design and décor
Southern Aluminum
800.221.0408 www.southernaluminum.com
info@owlee.com • www.owlee.com
Sweet Celia
Product: Celia Model 75/3 Features: ▶ A modern interpretation of classic woodframe dining chairs for mid- to upscale dining environments ▶ High-strength, lightweight aluminum alloy frame for stylish and sturdy low-maintenance construction ▶ Collection of seven dining chairs and five barstools offers a variety of back cutouts, shapes and sizes, including nailhead trim ▶ COMFORTweb® seat for superior comfort ▶ 5-year structural frame warranty
MTS Seating
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Update & Elevate
734-847-3875 • www.mtsseating.com
M����� S������� + A���������
Product: Accounting and Financial Features: ▶ Accounts payable module ▶ Bank reconciliation ▶ Live, intuitive, financial reporting ▶ Asset management and depreciation schedule ▶ Journal entries ▶ Online member statements and payments ▶ Easily view all charge details ▶ Flexible minimum-spending setup ▶ Promotions and discounts ▶ Electronic payments integrated with member accounts and general ledger ▶ Robust financial account-mapping structure
Join the Club
ForeTees
ClubProcure
www.foretees.com www.clubandresortbusiness.com
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 servicing the club industry www.clubprocure.com December 2020
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PRODUCT SHOWCASE
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Rockin’ Chair
Product: Linden Teak Rocking Chair Features: ▶ The Linden solid teak rocker has a generous 20-in. wide by 18-in. deep seat, allowing for spacious relaxation ▶ The 24-in. wide and 31-in. tall raked back is designed for extra comfort ▶ With a curved top rail, sculpted arms, and subtle curve in the front rail, the Linden teak rocker creates a clean-lined, contemporary image ▶ Engraving available on several rails of this teak rocker ▶ Constructed with Grade A teak and mortise and tenon joinery, held together with wooden dowels and combined with stainless-steel hardware to ensure quality construction that will withstand a lifetime of use
Country Casual Teak
www.countrycasualteak.com
Timely Remembrance
Product: Verdin Golf Course Clock Features: ▶ Many two- and four-faced models ▶ Clocks are custom-made and UL-approved ▶ Superior Moonglow backlit dials are shatterproof ▶ Custom headers, colors, and dials with logo ▶ Optional installation and maintenance by Verdin technicians
The Verdin Company
Slinging in the Sun
Product: Southern Cay Sling Features: ▶ Contemporary design ▶ Wide roomy seating ▶ Available in 26 frame finishes ▶ Offered in dining, bar and poolside seating ▶ Available in numerous performance sling options
Texacraft
www.texacraft.com
Patio to Poolside
Product: Corsica Collection Features: ▶ Graceful, flowing curves ▶ Subtle end-of-arm rolled detailing ▶ Complements any decor ▶ Designed by Peter Homestead ▶ Simple and refined styling makes this patio furniture set perfect for poolside lounging, hanging out on the patio, or sitting comfortably in your outdoor dining area ▶ Lightweight aluminum frames can be powder-coated in any of Tropitone’s colorful, yet durable, finishes ▶ Fabric selected from Tropitone’s plethora of fabric offerings
Tropitone
www.tropitone.com
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800-543-0488 • www.verdin.com
ADVERTISER INDEX BARILLA BarillaFS.com
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CLUBPROCURE 800-363-5480 / www.clubprocure.com
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EUSTIS CHAIR 978-827-3103 / www.eustischair.com
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FORETEES sales@foretees.com / www.foretees.com
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GSI EXECUTIVE SEARCH 972-341-8143 / gsiexecutivesearch.com
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PEACOCK + LEWIS AIA www.peacockandlewis.com
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STUDIO JBD & JEFFERSON GROUP ARCHITECTURE 401-721-0977 / Pcafaro@JBDandJGA.com TRI-C CLUB SUPPLY – DUFFY’S 800-274-8742 / www.duffystric.com VERDIN 800-543-0488 / www.verdin.com YAMAHA 866-747-4027 / YamahaGolfCar.com
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www.clubandresortbusiness.com
NEW! BACK OFFICE SYSTEM WITH FORETEES BUSINESS