Club + Resort Business July 2021

July 2021

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Findng a Natural Fit at Tahoe Beach Club Inside:

Patios

Also in this issue: July 2021 www.clubandresortchef.com

Unlocking Potential INSIDE Restoring a Post-COVID Workforce Must-Have Midnight Snacks

Interlachen CC’s leadership team is focused on planning, growing, conquering complexity and further establishing its culinary expertise.

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July 2021

Army Navy Country Club, Arlington, Va ..............................................26 Bay Harbor Yacht Club, Bay Harbor, Mich. ...........................................38 The Briarwood, Billings, Mont. ......................................................................46 The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. ......15-16 The Club at the Dunes, Naples, Fla. ............................................................20 The Club at Mediterra, Naples, Fla. ............................................................9 The Club at Olde Cypress, Naples, Fla. ..................................................12 The Club at Quail Ridge, Boynton Beach, Fla. ...................................27 Club 27 at Sykes/Lady Overland Park Golf Club, Overland Park, Kan. .............................................................................................................22 Country Club of Roswell, Roswell, Ga. .............................................36 Lancaster Country Club, Lancaster, Pa. ...................................................39 Legends Golf and Country Club, Fort Myers, Fla. ..........................24 Oakwood Country Club, Enid, Okla. ......................................................53 Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club, Oklahoma City, Okla. ......53 Pelham Country Club, Pelham Manor, N.Y. ........................................40 Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Okla. ............................................53 Tahoe Beach Club, Stateline, Nev. ...........................................................28 The Union Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio ...................................50 Westwood Country Club, Rocky River, Ohio ......................................14 www.clubandresortbusiness.com

THE ROB REPORT

Centennial Sentiments I WAS RECENTLY TALKING to another parent at my son’s baseball game when he brought up the fact that his club—Chagrin Valley Country Club in Chagrin Falls, Ohio—was celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2021.

Funny thing, I told him: I knew about that, because I had interviewed Chagrin Valley’s General Manager/Director of Golf, Mike Heisterkamp, as part of our “The Road Back/The Road Ahead” video series. Chagrin Valley, along with three other Cleveland-area clubs—Lakewood Country Club, Canterbury Golf Club and Kirtland Country Club—were all formed in the same year and this year created the 1921 Cup—a day-long, annual event that will culminate with the victorious team taking home a traveling trophy and securing bragging rights for the year.

That got me thinking about what was happening 100 years ago and how long ago that really was. After all, the country was in the early years of Prohibition; Warren G. Harding was the President; Major League Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis confirmed the ban of eight players in the Black Sox Scandal; and fast food sprung up with the opening of the first White Castle.

What a time to be alive!

Not to be outdone, the 1921 U.S. Open celebrated its 25th tournament by crowning Jim Barnes as champion— nine strokes ahead of runners-up Walter Hagen and Fred McLeod. Perhaps more notable was that Chick Evans edged 19-year-old Bobby Jones by a single stroke for low amateur. Evans went on to create the Evans Scholarship, which provides qualified caddies with funds for college. Coming full circle, Evans was later awarded the Bob Jones Award—the www.clubandresortbusiness.com

“At a time when some golf courses and clubs continue to lose out to redevelopment, and more new businesses fail than succeed, it’s refreshing to celebrate properties that have been around for 100 years.” highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.

I used to watch the TODAY show with my grandfather. Now would be the time they would go to Willard Scott (or Al Roker in modern times) for the Smucker’s 100-year recognition of Chagrin Valley, Lakewood, Canterbury and Kirtland, to all get their well-deserved spots on the jelly jar. Congratulations!

But they’re not alone. We’ve also seen historic clubs like Copake Country Club in Craryville, N.Y. and The Berkeley Country Club in El Cerrito, Calif. hit the centennial mark in 2021.

For its 100-year birthday, Copake got a well-deserved golf course restoration by architect Mark Fine. Fine’s mission was to preserve, protect and promote

the strategic Golden Age features that Devereux Emmet (the original architect) left behind.

“The long history of Copake demanded that respect be paid to this era of design,” Fine says.

Like many clubs, Copake was almost lost to a real estate developer that was planning to purchase the land for the construction of some 400 townhomes.

In 2006, an initiative led by local resident Jon Urban saved the historic course from destruction and preserved its legacy.

At a time when some golf courses and clubs continue to lose out to redevelopment, and more new businesses fail than succeed, it’s refreshing to celebrate properties that have been around for 100 years. While the “COVID bump” won’t last forever, it has provided a muchneeded boost for the industry.

Congratulations to the clubs that hit the century mark in 2021, and best wishes for the properties looking to celebrate landmark anniversaries in the years to come. Here’s to 100 more years of health and prosperity!

Rob Thomas • Senior Editor

rthomas@wtwhmedia.com

July 2021

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EDITOR’S MEMO

Dealing From a Hot Hand In the wake of how the pandemic has affected working conditions, pay (or non-pay), availablity of applicants, and existing employee’s attitudes and mental health, there’s no disputing that staffing issues need to be taken more seriously than ever in the club industry.

Within the Club + Resort Chef section of this issue, Scott Craig, Executive Chef of Myers Park Country Club in Charlotte, N.C., doesn’t pull any punches in outlining just how critical the situation has become (see pg. 78). And he also prescribes some corrective steps (pg.

80) that everyone in any part of the industry should take note of and act to implement immediately, if an honest assessment shows that their clubs are falling short in the areas of competitive wages, employee assistance, community involvement and continuing education.

But I’d like to add one more thought to Chef Craig’s list: The time has also never been better to promote the advantages of working in clubs, vs. other hospitality segments in particular and other options in general.

I recently interviewed Joe Mendez, CCM, CCE, General Manager of Riverton Country Club in Cinnaminson, N.J., for a segment of our “The Road Ahead” video series. For many years in his career, Joe has been an Adjunct Professor in the School of Hospitality Management at Widener University, teaching a Club Management course, and he still often serves as a visiting professor or guest lecturer for similar programs.

After our interview covered what Riverton has done recently to elevate its culinary program through the hiring of a new Executive Chef, and the details of a new master-plan project that his club has in the works, I asked Joe if his experience as an instructor had helped him gain a better understanding of the new generation of emerging managers and how to work with them effectively.

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There’s no disputing that staffing issues need to be taken more seriously than ever in the club industry. But the time has also never been better to promote the advantages of working in clubs.

“I think so,” he replied. “What I found at the end of the day is that we’re all the same, so you just have to find what motivates people and tap into that. The newest generation has proved they have a lot to bring to the table that I wouldn’t think of myself—so I see my job as getting out of the way to let them be creative, and steering, guiding, supporting and coaching them, vs. directing them.”

I then asked Joe if he thought that there might be better opportunities now to attract talent to the club industry, because of how clubs have fared more successfully during the pandemic.

“Absolutely—I’ve seen it already,” he replied. “The club industry was fortunate to be able to take on a lot of interns after organizations like Disney and Marriott had no choice but to terminate their intern programs, while at the same time clubs saw golf go through the roof and dining and takeout hold its own.

“That gave us a chance to show future leaders how the club industry can be a more stable segment of hospitality,” Mendez added. “And I think the conversation is really growing in schools and other circles that ‘Maybe this club industry thing is something we ought to be looking at and working towards a little harder.’ “ Finally, I asked Joe Mendez about Michael Kim, the new Executive Chef that Riverton just hired, and whether the club industry had proved to have special appeal in attracting him, after a very accomplished career working in high-end restaurants in the gaming industry.

“I think it did,” Joe replied. “Being in more of a corporate world, he’d been carrying a clipboard and had lost sight of his passion for providing great food.

[Coming to Riverton] was an opportunity to scale down but not get too small, and to get back in the kitchen and be creative and hands-on with his team.

“And again there was the stability factor,” he added. “He’d moved eight times in 10 years, opening up and fixing various restaurants. The opportunity to settle in was very important to him.”

And it’s an opportunity we should make sure that many others like Chef Kim know about, too.

Joe Barks • Editor jbarks@wtwhmedia.com

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

We’ve made a lot of friends on the path to success.

3,008 COURSES HAVE SWITCHED to Yamaha Golf Cars in the past 11 years.

“Yamaha outperforms all the others, and I would never consider anything else.”

“Over 30 years, we have dealt with all the major cart companies. We have stuck with Yamaha for many of those, because the service is not over after the sale.”

“We have had all three of the major golf car manufacturers. Yamaha is by far the best from all aspects. The new Drive2, with 4-wheel suspension and sound package, is the top of the line!”

“I have been pleased with the decision to convert from Club Car to Yamaha. We have experienced NO issues and received only positive feedback from customers and my staff.”

“Our Yamaha guy is like superman for us and the competitor guy never really made an attempt to get our account. The service after the sale is the most important in my book and our local Yamaha guy is fantastic.”

NGCOA MEMBER QUOTES

©2021 Yamaha Golf-Car Company

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INSIDE

July 2021 • Vol. 17 • No. 7

THIS

ISSUE

28

FINDING A NATURAL FIT AT TAHOE BEACH CLUB

On top of the challenge of coming onstream during the pandemic, the new Stateline, Nev. club has had to meet special requirements tied to the rare chance to create a new property alongside one of the nation’s most protected and unspoiled treasures. (Photo by Vance Fox Photography and Courtesy Tahoe Beach Club) ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Patios

18

Top Ranked Patios

THE GREATEST OUTDOORS

Club and resort properties with welcoming open-door policies.

+ Renovation 34 ADesign SMALL WORLD

5

The Rob Report

6

Editor’s Memo

9

Management

12

AFTER ALL

Kids’ spaces are becoming popular clubs within the club.

14

July 2021 www.clubandresortchef.com

15 16

Unlocking Potential INSIDE Restoring a Post-COVID Workforce

Interlachen CC’s leadership team is focused on planning, growing, conquering complexity and further establishing its culinary expertise.

Must-Have Midnight Snacks

55 Club + Resort Chef

Course + Grounds 40 SUPREME SOLUTION

Pelham CC’s quest for water independence resulted in an award-winning renovation.

UNLOCKING POTENTIAL

4 Club Index 8

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85 Product Showcase

46

CENTENNIAL SENTIMENTS DEALING FROM A HOT HAND

GIVING TEAM MEMBERS THEIR PROPER SPACE Membership & Marketing

FUELING MEMBER ENGAGEMENT THROUGH “FOMO” Golf Operations

CARRYING ON THE CADDIE TRADITION AT WESTWOOD CC Golf + Fitness Technology

BRINGING FITNESS BACK TO “NORMAL”

Golf + Fitness Technology

SO, YOU THINK YOU KNOW YOUR CLIENT AND THEIR GOALS? Super in the Spotlight

IF IT’S NOT BROKEN...BREAK IT!

50

Today’s Manager

53

Idea Exchange

FINDING SUCCESS ON THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED SHOWCASE OF THE STARS

90 Ad Index www.clubandresortbusiness.com

MANAGEMENT

GIVING TEAM MEMBERS THEIR PROPER SPACE For the original developer-built clubhouse at The Club at Mediterra, staff space was pretty much of an afterthought. As part of a major renovation and expansion project for the building, the Naples, Fla. property made sure to create inviting, supportive and uplifting staff areas with unmatched options for employees to feel refreshed and valued.

A C+RB Staff Report

IN 2017, THE CLUB at Mediterra in

Naples, Fla. launched a major renovation and expansion project to increase the size and enhance the aesthetics of its main clubhouse.

As is typical for developer-built clubs, Mediterra’s original clubhouse had been built with a focus solely on member space, and the space used by staff felt like an afterthought, with small quarters, feature-less facilities and a cramped employee breakroom.

So while pursuing the need to update and renovate its member space, Mediterra wanted to go a step further, and have its renovation and expansion project improve the staff experience as well. Specifically, the goal was to create new space that would show team members how much their dedication to the club was valued and appreciated.

“The biggest motivator for any teammate is that they know you believe in them,” says Carmen Mauceri, CCM, Mediterra’s General Manager/ COO. “I always want Mediterra to be a trendsetter in southwest Florida— [so] when the club embarked upon a master plan for the clubhouse, I was adamant that we were going to expand and create an environment for this team where they knew they were important.”

THINK, LEARN AND RELAX With the help of its architecture partner, Peacock + Lewis, Mediterra pursued that goal by ensuring that the renovation and expansion would include creation of an inviting, supportive and uplifting space for the staff where nothing before existed, with unmatched options for employees to be able to feel refreshed and valued.

This was achieved by starting with a new and enhanced staff employee breakroom offering lunch, dinner and

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July 2021

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MANAGEMENT

The biggest motivator for any teammate is that they know you “ believe in them. When we embarked on a master plan for our

clubhouse, I was adamant that we were going to expand and create an environment for our team where they knew they were important.

”

—Carmen Mauceri, CCM, COO/General Manager, The Club at Mediterra.

snacks daily. Designed with TVs, booth seating, and a counter/bar area, the breakroom gives team members options to mingle with co-workers, watch a TV show, or relax with a view of the golf course while enjoying their breaks.

The renovation and expansion also brought new employee locker rooms that feature an array of campus artwork, showers, facilities and all of the in-suite amenities also found in members’ locker rooms, including single-use toothbrushes, combs, razors, and specific toiletries for the men’s and women’s rooms.

But Mediterra didn’t just stop at providing better creature comforts when enhancing its employee space. An emphasis was also placed on creating a new area that would help to solidify the employee culture as one focused on caring, passion and innovation. That led to the establishment of a “Learning Library” featuring over 800 books, ranging in genres from leadership and hospitality to hobbies and crafts. Staff members are encouraged to check out a book to bring home at any time and to enjoy at their pace.

Designed with booth seating as a counter/bar area, Mediterra’s new breakroom gives team members options to mingle with co-workers, watch TV or relax with a view of the golf course.

Additionally, multiple iPads and “charging chairs” are provided for staff members to be able to check e-mails, catch up on the day’s latest news, or view webinars from the Club Management Association of America University while recharging themselves and their personal devices.

The “Medi Room” was created especially with the team in mind to provide a technology-rich, boardroom-like space that can help to foster creativity, education and professional growth.

The room features a full list of amenities in food, technology, and the ability to virtually connect with peers, webinars and other clubs at a moment’s notice.

Mediterra now also features two creative work centers for the front- and back-of-house staff that are used as “think tank” offices. These spaces were designed to foster collaboration and partnership within the club’s various operating departments.

They include custom high-top counters and cabinetry, and a variety of modular seating, including more “charging chairs” that allow the team members to work both in large groups and independently in smaller committees.

OFF THE SCALE Mediterra has now had its new employee space in full use for most of two seasons, including while the club was dealing with the challenges posed by the pandemic. The space and its features have proved to be so valuable for employee morale, retention and recruitment, as well as member pride, a video on “Building a Culture” was prepared (https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=fIixVKFWn5M) that features staff testimonials about what having the space has meant to them and how they’ve personally benefitted from it.

Here’s a sampling of just some of the comments made in the video: Teammate Tina Santana: “Other places I’ve worked, staff meeting space was kind of makeshift. But at Mediterra we have the Medi Room and it has technology and a glass wall. It’s really cool. The Medi Room really facilitates creative thinking.”

Teammate Christine Meier: “When I first saw the employee area, this huge expansion with a library and iPad charging area,

Contributions on current issues in Marketing are welcomed; if you’d like to submit an article or be interviewed for one, contact editor@clubandresortbusiness.com 10

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www.clubandresortbusiness.com

The new employee space created through Mediterra’s clubhouse expansion includes “think tank” offices designed to foster collaboration and partnership within the club’s various operating departments. “We like to live by the Richard Branson quote: ‘Train your employees well enough so they can leave you. Treat them well enough so they don’t want to,’ ” says COO/General Manager Carmen Mauceri, CCM (at front of room in photo at right).

amazing locker rooms and a lunchroom with a view of the golf course, I was blown away.”

Teammate Paul Wilson: “I usually find a spot where I can sit and watch golfers finish their rounds during my break. It’s great.”

Teammate Terri Cruz: “I don’t really think about, ‘Oh, it’s Monday or Tuesday [and] I‘m looking forward to Friday,’ because I enjoy being here.”

Teammate Diana Clapon: “Mediterra has something special and when I mean special, I mean the way that teams have been built. I feel like you get the feeling they appreciate you. I am happy.”

Teammate Jerry Gershon: “I have been here from the beginning and on a scale of 1-10, it is a 12.”

BACKING UP THE BELIEFS “Our belief is simple: to genuinely support our team to achieve their highest goals, and to keep our promises, both small and large, to all teammates,” says Mauceri in summarizing the reasons behind Mediterra’s attention to providing proper space and resources for its employees.

“When you can consistently achieve that, your culture and your ability to retain your team and attract top talent grow exponentially.

“We like to live by the Richard Branson quote: ‘Train your employees well enough so they can leave you. Treat them well enough so they don’t want to,’ ” he adds.

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

July 2021

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MEMBERSHIP + MARKETING

FUELING MEMBER ENGAGEMENT

THROUGH “FOMO”

By Melissa Hansen • Director of Membership and Marketing The Club at Olde Cypress • Naples, Fla.

“FOMO,” OR THE “FEAR of missing out,” wasn’t of-

ficially a term until 2013. But the concept has existed for decades. Even before the days of social media, no one wanted to be among those who missed out on the fun.

“FOMO marketing” involves creating a sense of urgency in the minds of your members and guests. Whether promoting an upcoming event, selling memberships or increasing attendance at dinner, instilling the fear of missing out will change the way your members react to your messaging.

Here are a few techniques to generate FOMO within your club: Create Urgency. Highlighting that there’s limited supply or capacity for a product or event encourages customers to act immediately. This not only shows that the product is popular, but the scarcity itself makes the offer more valuable.

For example, we have offered Tuesday night dining at our club for years. We have limited outdoor dining space on our terrace, and with more members preferring to sit outside over the past year, we noticed that this particular space was selling out.

So we started to send out communications that 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. reservations were sold out. Every time an e-mail like this was sent, the remainder of the available reservations would start to fill up. Our members were seeing that other members were attending the dinner on Tuesday night, and they didn’t want to miss out on the fun.

Use “Social Proof.” Social proof, the concept that people will follow the action of the masses, can also be used to trigger FOMO. A great way to do this is by posting and sharing testimonials on your social-media pages, website and within your membership collateral. When people read about positive experiences that other members have had with your club, they are more likely to want to join in and be part of it all themselves.

For example, I ran a campaign where we featured some of our members on social media during #Member12

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Whether promoting an upcoming event, “ selling memberships or increasing attendance at dinner, instilling the “fear of missing out” will change the way members react to your messaging.

”

Monday. We e-mailed them a series of questions about their favorite part of the club, why they joined, and what their favorite memory has been. We shared these testimonials and found that the members loved to see themselves in the spotlight—and their friends and family did, too. It made things more tangible for others to actually picture themselves using and enjoying the club in the same ways.

Jazz Up Your Messaging. How you convey messages to members makes a lot of difference for creating FOMO, too. Your words need to push your audience to take action immediately and create a sense of urgency.

When marketing to our membership, I love to use phrases like “Only a few spots remain!” or “Don’t miss out!”—anything that can entice them to take action.

Highlight Awards and Recognition. Awards validate your club’s brand, because they come from a third party that has given you a stamp of approval. The more prestigious and recognizable the source of your award, the more valuable it will be to your members. “Named Best for Club Life” or “Ranked Among the Top 100 of Best Courses” affords your members a sense of pride while also providing prospective members with the confidence that they are making the right decision in joining.

“FOMO marketing” is as real as FOMO itself. No matter how you choose to use it, incorporating it into your next campaign will encourage sales—and prime your members to be ready to react to whatever you are offering.

Contributions on current issues in Membership & Marketing are welcomed. To submit an article or be interviewed for one, contact editor@clubandresortbusiness.com

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Customer Spotlight Club Name:

Conway Farms Golf Club

Member Made Reservations in ForeTees: 92% Members logins through the App: 91%

ForeTees Systems Used:

App, Website, Dining, Simulator, Golf & Caddie Management

ForeTees is the connective tissue between the Conway Farms membership and staff. Fully integrated between golf, dining, the app and website, the ForeTees language is instrumental with our Club’s success – communication, ease of use, and most important – exceptional customer service. No call or email goes unanswered within minutes.

ForeTees is our one stop shop for all things Conway Farms.

- Robin Martin, Operations Director

Club Software Made Simple Reservations Tee Times, Dining, Tennis, Pickleball, Simulators, Fitness and more.

Member and Staff Apps Easy Reservations, Food Ordering, Push Notifications, Club Branding and more.

Club Management Point of Sale, Financial Reports, Member Reports, Banquet Events and more.

Website and Communication Member and Public facing website, email campaigns, custom designs, and more.

www.foretees.com

sales@foretees.com

GOLF OPERATIONS

CARRYING ON THE CADDIE TRADITION AT WESTWOOD CC

By Ken Kozar, Caddie Manager, Westwood Country Club, Rocky River, Ohio

Club + Resort Business: How long has the caddie program been active at Westwood CC? Ken Kozar: The caddie program at Westwood has been a prominent part of the club’s culture and history since the 1940s. The program is of significant importance to our membership, simply because many current members established their start here as a caddie.

C+RB: Has there been any break in service?

Kozar: Yes. The summer of 2020 was interrupted due to COVID. And while Westwood had a record number of rounds last year, our caddies did not start until July 1st.

C+RB: How many caddies do you generally have over the summer?

Kozar: Between 140 and 150.

C+RB: Where do you find caddies, and is it difficult to staff the program?

Kozar: We advertise in the local public and private schools, but we don’t seem to have too many problems getting caddies to apply. We usually have to turn away several applicants each year.

C+RB: What does the training entail?

Kozar: Caddie School runs for four days in the spring. It consists of one day of classroom work followed by three days of on-course training. The on-course training teaches our young caddies the proper techniques and etiquette needed to provide excellent service to our membership.

“ Caddies are now scheduled for loops—alleviating time spent on site—which has become even

more vital in the post-COVID-19 social-distancing environment. It also gives our our caddies added flexibility and opportunities to do other things.

to take a caddie if one is available.

”

C+RB: Have you tried alternative forms of golf-bag transportation?

Kozar: We have not tried any alternative forms. We do offer electric pull carts with a remote, for those wanting a similar experience as a traditional push cart. Luckily, we have a walking membership that supports our caddie program, so we don’t really feel the need to venture into this area quite yet.

C+RB: What does the future hold for your caddie program?

Kozar: I believe the future of the caddie program at Westwood is promising. This summer we brought on 60 new caddies. This will ensure that we keep developing our program to keep up with the demands of our members.

We also moved to a less-traditional approach to assigning caddies. Caddies are now scheduled for loops—alleviating time spent on site—which has become even more vital in the postCOVID-19 social-distancing environment.

Our goal as a program in the future is to grow in this area to save time for our caddies, give them added flexibility, and to provide them with more opportunities to do things other than wait around for a loop.

C+RB: On average, how many seasons does a caddie work for the club, and what are some of the longest tenures?

Kozar: On average, I would say about six years. We currently have a caddie who has been caddying off and on for the last 15 years.

C+RB: Do you offer a fleet of riding carts as well?

Kozar: Yes, we offer riding carts.

C+RB: Do you allow members to carry/pull their own bags?

Kozar: Our policy is that if a member wants to walk, they have 14

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GOLF + FITNESS TECHNOLOGY

BRINGING FITNESS BACK TO “NORMAL”

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

FOR THE PAST YEAR AND a half, the entire world was put into a tailspin by the global pandemic. As a result, many people struggled to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and one of the contributing factors was the absence of a place to go. Gyms have been shut down and remain closed, while others remained open with numerous safety and cleaning protocols in place, limiting capacity and offerings.

As these gyms begin to open and get closer to resuming normal operations, new trends and users’ behaviors are becoming evident.

Recognizing these trends, and adapting your fitness facility to them, will better serve your members and guests.

The first major shift that many gyms are seeing is the lack of the extended use of cardio equipment. Once a staple for many facilities, extended-use cardio is now shifting primarily to warmups or cool-downs after workouts.

“New trends and users’ behaviors are

becoming evident. Recognizing these trends, and adapting your facility to them, will better serve your members and guests.

”

Some in the industry believe this is a byproduct of many people investing in cardio equipment to use at home over the past year.

Some also believe that while gyms were closed, many developed routines of doing cardio-type training outdoors and becoming more creative in their workouts, so the need to return to the gym for just cardio was no longer there.

The past year has also created a desire for more interactive and engaging cardio activities, and companies like Peloton have capitalized on this developing market, creating a way to train at home in a very fun and engaging way.

Resistive training is more popular than ever before. In many gyms across the country, the demand for more free weights far outweighs what most clubs can provide.

Part of this demand comes from the fact that most people simply have not had access to this type of equipment for so long that they are craving this type of training. In addition, more and more research in the field has shown that resistive training is one of the

top ways to build an “anti-aging” program. These studies reveal that to improve longevity and maintain an active lifestyle, people must participate in resistive training programs.

The number-one performance quality that we lose as we age is the ability to develop power. Naturally, the more we use resistive training to gain or maintain a level of strength, the more we are able to maintain some level of power. This translates not just in everyday life, but specifically for members at clubs who play golf or tennis and will soon see results carry over onto the course or court.

Another area of the industry that is exploding right now is movement training. In the past two years alone, over a billion dollars has been invested in startup companies trying to find a simple solution to capture, analyze and improve movement. The main reason is because billions of dollars are spent each year on musculoskeletal injuries, including broken bones, sprains, strains, nerve damage and spinal disc problems.

More and more research has shown that our quality of movement has a greater influence on these types of injuries than anything else. Depending on the type of lower-back injury, research suggests that improving our movement quality has a much higher success rate than any surgery. This type of information is becoming more commonly understood, and people are investing in themselves to learn how to move better.

Unfortunately, most clubs are not fully prepared to help in this area. To be part of this trend, a club must begin by having open space where people can move freely, coupled with a staff or contractors to coach and teach appropriate movement fundamentals.

These are only three examples of major trends that we are seeing across the fitness industry and that are slowly shaping the way clubs should be providing a fitness and wellness solution for their members. The key for any club is to be flexible in facility design and equipment, so it can easily adapt to the demands of the industry.

It doesn’t take much to create an environment that can consistently provide a state-of-the-art facility with state-of-the-art programs, so members and guests know they are getting the best of the best and can participate in the hottest trends. Knowing this, members will want to be at the club more, and not anywhere else.

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

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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GOLF + FITNESS TECHNOLOGY

SO, YOU THINK YOU KNOW

YOUR CLIENT AND THEIR GOALS?

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

COUNTLESS TIMES, I HAVE SEEN instructors make “the assumption mistake.”

They will conduct an hour-long session with a student that is dedicated to swing improvement, only to hear at the end of the lesson that all the student really wanted to do was just work on their putting.

Asking for help is often difficult. Golfers book paid time with a professional because they need help. They have chosen you, and there are many ways you can help.

Whether a student wants to work on one or several parts of their game, it all starts by understanding them and what they hope to learn. Get started by following these very simple and important rules: Rule #1 – Make no assumptions. Do not launch into a lesson with any student thinking you know what your client is looking to improve upon or what their goals are for your time together.

Rule #2 – Do some homework. If you do not know the student, try to do some preliminary homework and research on who they are.

Rule #3 – Ask. The best and easiest way to understand what a student needs is to ask them. Simply inquire about what they hope to gain out of each session.

Rule #4 – Exercise kindness and compassion without judgment. Keep in mind that many students may be nervous. Remember, clients are individuals who come in all shapes, sizes, skill levels, abilities, and personality types. Create a “no-judgment zone” and approach all students with kindness and compassion, as they may be vulnerable, insecure, and struggling with their game.

Rule #5 – Listen and put students at ease. Begin each lesson with light conversation. Ask questions and actively listen to their answers. This shows that you are genu16

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There are countless ‘golfer “personality types’ you will encounter as an instructor. Your goal is to know and understand the needs of individuals and to gear your teaching accordingly.

”

inely interested in learning about them, and it will begin to establish trust and make the student feel comfortable. You will also gain important insight about the reasons they have booked time with you. This will allow you to gear your time together wisely with your instructional emphasis, matching their needs while making them feel heard.

UNDERSTANDING PERSONALITIES There are countless “golfer personality types” you will encounter as an instructor.

Your goal is to know and understand the needs of individuals and gear your teaching accordingly. With all personality types, begin by following the five simple rules above. But then be prepared to make adjustments that best suit these individual types: “The Quick Fix”— With this personality type, move on quickly to questions such as: How can I help you? What is your least favorite shot? Realistically, how much time are you going to devote to practicing? Answers to questions like these will help you know how deep you can go in making changes. If an individual tells you they are never going to practice, don’t go too deep with them, or you could lose their time and attention.

Make a couple of set-up adjustments and introduce one swing thought, such as feel. A good approach with a “Quick Fix” who’s a slicer is to show them how you can

get them to hit a hook in four swings. You will have them “hooked” forever.

“The Social-Hour Kiddo”— This may be a situation of a parent looking to occupy a child for an hour who may or may not be interested in golf. The best approach for this type of student is to build out programs and classes. They are great ways for students to meet other members, socialize, and get better at the game, all while enjoying themselves in a small group setting.

These classes should be kept light and fun.

“The Competitor”— This is my favorite type of student, because they understand that building towards competition is a process. They are willing to put in time and hard work to get to the next level.

With a Competitor, the instructor needs to understand the player’s strengths and weaknesses. The best way to do this is by asking them to keep statistics. If their stats provide data that supports that they threeputt every green, working on the driver is not necessarily an urgent priority.

Competitors are also the perfect candidates for getting involved in a golf-specific fitness program. With the proper fitness and instruction program, the student who’s a Competitor will see progress rapidly.

Make it your priority to understand who is in front of you. Get to know them personally, nurture them, understand their goals and tend to their needs, and your lesson book will fill up quickly.

Matt Kilgariff is a PGA professional who spent much of his career working for Butch Harmon and the Harmon Family. He is currently the Director of Player Development at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Prior to joining The Bridges, Kilgariff was Director of Player Development at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Matt has also been part of TaylorMade’s National Advisory Staff since 2012. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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The Greatest Outdoors CLUB + RESORT BUSINESS HAS RELEASED its list of Top Ranked Patios for 2021.

The table below shows the rankings of club and resort properties that submitted entries, as judged independently by General Managers and Membership/Marketing Managers of several leading clubs.

The rankings reflect the judges’ scoring of data provided on patio square footage, both total and covered; total capacity and seating capacity; features such as outdoor ovens, firepits and outdoor bars/service stations; and average daily meal covers served on the patio.

Entries also included descriptions submitted by the club and resort properties on why their patio area should be top ranked, and a full complement of supporting photos.

The judges weighted the data and material provided to score all entries on a scale of 100.

In addition to the profiles of the Top 5 ranked properties included in this issue, details about all of the Top Ranked Patios will be presented online at clubandresortbusiness.com and across our social-media platforms.

Ranking

Club

Location

Total Patio Area (sq. ft.)

Covered Patio Area (sq. ft.)

Total Capacity

Seating Capacity

Outdoor Ovens

Firepits

Outdoor Bar/ Service Stations

Avg. Daily Meal Covers Served

1

The Club at the Dunes

Naples, Fla.

10,000

2,500

450

220

9

4

2

350

2

Club 27 at Sykes/ Lady Overland Park GC

Overland Park, Kan.

5,715

3,375

270

194

1

1

2

300

3

Legends Golf and Country Club

Fort Myers, Fla.

6,367

6,367

173

173

1

2

1

205

4

Army Navy Country Club

Arlington, Va.

22,000

5,500

1,500

850

0

6

5

300

5

The Club at Quail Ridge

Boynton Beach, Fla.

6,500

5,500

250

195

0

6

14

210

6

BallenIsles Country Club

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

7,800

3,200

600

240

1

2

1

200

7

Menlo Circus Club

Atherton, Calif.

5,645

200

250

180

0

2

0

100

8

We-Ko-Pa Golf Club

Fort McDowell, Ariz.

8,200

7,000

375

125

0

1

0

225

9 10

Desert Highlands

Scottsdale, Ariz.

4,499

600

250

120

0

9

3

60

Philadelphia Cricket Club

Philadelphia, Pa.

9,800

5,800

1,200

520

2

2

2

350

11

Lauderdale Yacht Club

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

8,956

2,417

96

96

0

0

3

150

12 13 14

The Estancia Club

Scottsdale, Ariz.

7,500

3,850

180

120

0

5

1

200

Mesa, Ariz.

3,000

2,000

300

200

1

4

2

199

The Stanwich Club

Greenwich, Conn.

7,200

4,600

250

250

0

1

1

240

15

Addison Reserve Country Club

Delray Beach, Fla.

2,975

1,500

160

160

0

5

1

450

16

Kemper Lakes Golf Club

Kildeer, Ill.

4,201

2,246

300

120

4

3

1

35

17

The Polo Club of Boca Raton

Boca Raton, Fla.

5,095

5,095

320

180

1

8

1

300

18

Pauma Valley Country Club

Pauma Valley, Calif.

5,000

3,000

175

125

1

2

2

65

19 20

Hollywood Golf Club

Deal, N.J.

9,600

3,000

400

150

4

3

0

300

Westfield, Ind.

8,820

3,800

300

150

0

2

1

100

18

Las Sendas Golf Club

The Club at Chatham Hills

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Patios

aily

s d

Ranking

Club

Location

Total Patio Area (sq. ft.)

Covered Patio Area (sq. ft.)

Total Capacity

Seating Capacity

Outdoor Ovens

Firepits

Outdoor Bar/ Service Stations

Avg. Daily Meal Covers Served

21

The Golf Club at Devils Tower

Hulett, Wyo.

4,791

4,791

200

52

0

1

0

60

22

Quail West Golf & Country Club

Naples, Fla.

3,000

2,275

164

161

0

1

1

198

23

The University of Texas Golf Club

Austin, Texas

2,265

2,210

200

70

0

3

1

140

24 25

The Bridgewater Club

Carmel, Ind.

4,900

1,025

153

93

0

1

3

75

Summit Hills Country Club

Crestview Hills, Ky.

3,100

1,299

350

250

1

1

1

125

26

Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club

Lakewood Ranch, Fla.

3,500

3,000

150

75

0

1

2

100

27

The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe

Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

6,500

800

300

215

0

1

0

180

28

Montclair Golf Club

West Orange, N.J.

4,700

1,500

225

120

0

1

1

150

29

Richmond County Country Club

Staten Island, N.Y.

1,300

1,300

40

40

0

0

1

45

30 31 32 33 34

Aldeen Golf Club

Rockford, Ill.

576

50

120

88

1

1

1

100

World Golf Village

St. Augustine, Fla.

2,500

1,000

50

36

0

2

0

35

The Club at High Hampton

Cashiers, N.C.

4,500

2,600

210

155

1

1

2

185

Lubbock Country Club

Lubbock, Texas

1,050

850

100

65

1

0

1

112

Grapevine, Texas

1,200

1,000

100

80

0

1

0

75

35

Reunion Golf & Country Club

Madison, Miss.

3,500

2,500

150

75

0

2

3

100

36

Tampa Yacht & Country Club

Tampa, Fla.

26,618

8,776

1,000

400

0

1

1

500

37

Hampton Hall Club

Bluffton. S.C.

3,000

1,000

200

56

0

2

0

40

38

Champion Hills Club

Hendersonville, N.C.

1,300

0

65

35

0

1

1

12

39 40 41

The Oaks Club

Osprey, Fla.

1,000

1,000

100

70

1

1

1

70

Pleasanton, Calif.

6,900

1,209

130

90

0

5

2

77

Flagstaff, Ariz.

1,641

899

193

58

0

1

1

112

Cowboys Golf Club

The Club at Ruby Hill Pine Canyon Club

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March 2021

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Club + Resort Business l 19

Patios

1

THE CLUB AT THE DUNES NAPLES, FLA.

AS THE PREDOMINANT FEATURE OF The Club at the Dunes, the patio areas define a coastal casual lifestyle. Immediately upon entering on a winter evening, members are greeted with palm trees swaying in the coastal breeze, the sound of four crackling firepits available for full food-andbeverage service, and gently falling waterfalls in the resort-style pool centerpiece that is visible from all patio areas.

Members who choose to sit outside and enjoy the Florida weather have five options to choose from: the covered terrace, poolside tiki patio, indoor/outdoor sandbar, tiki bar and fire pits.

All covered areas are complete with builtin heaters and fans. Portable gas heaters are in abundance for those in the poolside tiki patio seating. Two distinct kitchens operate to cover all patios and fulfill every need of each member and guest.

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Outdoor Furnishings to Add Durability and Style to Your Course When you choose outdoor furnishings from Landmark Golf Course Products, you’re adding style and luxury that withstand the test of time. Each is made from our sturdy Rinowood™ material to elevate courses and clubhouses to world-class properties.

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DINING TABLES AND CHAIRS Create an inviting dining area for guests and members to enjoy before or after their round.

Choose from different designs and color options.

UMBRELLAS AND BASES Provide members a welcome break in the shade.

With its easy-to-use lift systems, these umbrellas work perfectly either through tables or in a free-standing environment.

LOUNGERS AND ROCKERS Highlight relaxation at your course and club.

We offer a variety of loungers, rockers, and chairs to add to your oasis. Fitted cushions are also available in multiple colors.

Patios

2

CLUB 27 AT SYKES/LADY OVERLAND GOLF CLUB OVERLAND PARK, KAN.

THE SYKES/LADY OVERLAND PARK GOLF Club opened an entirely new, state-of-the-art clubhouse in 2019, featuring the Club 27 Restaurant, an indoor/outdoor restaurant and bar with patio seating for 200. The concept for the new facility is a country club-like setting at a public golf course.

The covered upper patio has seating for 110 guests and features a full-service walkup bar. Overlooking the golf course with panoramic views, the scene of the superbly maintained course from the covered upper-deck seating is breathtaking.

Positioned on the east side of the building, diners appreciate the spectacular views of the sunrise in the morning, while enjoying shady, comfortable seating by noon. There are five televisions inside the restaurant and five outside on the patio, for guests to enjoy sports and entertainment while dining 22

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with friends. The “garage doors” are raised in the restaurant to let diners enjoy the open, fresh-air concept.

The lower patio has seating for 90, featuring 20 tables with umbrellas, a firepit with cushion seating, a portable bar and a full view of the golf course. The lower patio is also available for special events and tournaments.

Adjacent to the patio seating is artificial turf used for putting, games, exhibitions, concerts, registration and buffet set-up for events.

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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Patios

3

LEGENDS GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB FORT MYERS, FLA.

THE SUNSET GRILL IS THE place to be at Legends G&CC. The venue has capacity for 173 patrons and features tables both on an outdoor terrace and under cover.

The Sunset Grill overlooks a resortstyle pool, driving range, putting green, and offers vistas of the magnificently landscaped grounds and sunsets over a large lake.

There are 16 televisions strategically positioned along with a large video wall, allowing members to follow their favorite teams and sporting events.

The Sunset Grill also has its own kitchen, so each dish arrives fresh and hot.

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Patios

4

ARMY NAVY COUNTRY CLUB ARLINGTON, VA.

ARMY NAVY COUNTRY CLUB HAS a total of five outdoor patios. Some are used for catered events (both covered and uncovered) while others are used for a la carte dining.

Much of the club’s outdoor patio space overlooks the parapets of Fort Richardson, a Union Army encampment built in September 1861 as part of the defense of Washington, D.C. during the American Civil War. Today the club’s #9 green of its Red golf course is located in the original ‘footprint’ of the Fort and, in the distance, the Washington Monument and the Air Force Memorial can be seen.

Members enjoy this nowhere-else-in-the world view as they dine on The Eisenhower Lounge Terrace or attend an event on the rooftop terrace.

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5

Patios

THE CLUB AT QUAIL RIDGE BOYNTON BEACH, FLA.

THE MEMBERS OF THE CLUB at Quail Ridge enjoy being seated on the patio where they can soak up all of the scenic landscaping, golf views, and the outdoor water features.

The patio area is the social spot to be during the season, as members enjoy the indoor/outdoor space in close proximity to the club’s kitchen, so service is always prompt and dining experiences are always the best in class.

The views in the evening are equally impressive, as the fire pits come alive with color and the uplighting around the clubhouse and golf course is truly breathtaking.

Carefully placed TVs in the patio and outside bar areas make certain that members’ favorite sporting events all receive proper coverage.

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» TAHOE BEACH CLUB

Photos by Vance Fox Photography and Courtesy Tahoe Beach Club

FINDING A NATURAL FIT AT TAHOE BEACH CLUB

On top of the challenge of coming onstream during the pandemic, the new Stateline, Nev. club has had to meet special requirements tied to the rare chance to create a new property alongside one of the nation’s most protected and unspoiled treasures.

By Joe Barks, Editor

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WELCO M E H O LI DAY G U E STS I N

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» Tahoe Beach Club

General Manager/COO Kevin Speer (left) and Director of Facilities Gerry De Young have combined their extensive experience in hospitality and property management to keep Tahoe Beach Club on pace as the first full-ownership lakefront community created in the Lake Tahoe region in over 30 years.

AT A GLANCE:

TAHOE BEACH CLUB www.tahoebeachclub.com Location: Stateline, Nev. Founded: 2020 Members: 145 and growing Clubhouse Size: 28,000 sq. ft.

Clubhouse Design: Swaback Architects General Manager/COO: Kevin Speer Membership Director: Jessica Albee Director of Facilities: Gerry De Young Executive Chef: Dave Lundgren Director of Spa & Fitness: Courtney Larsen Outdoor Pursuits Director: Jocelyn Myers Kids’ Zone Manager: Erin Barter

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GERRY DE YOUNG’S career in facilities management and engineering for various hotel and resort properties on the shores of Lake Tahoe goes back over 40 years, to the days when the area was one of only a few places in the U.S. that offered legalized casino gambling (on its Nevada shoreline), along with Las Vegas and Reno in Nevada and Atlantic City in New Jersey.

The lure of gambling has long since ceased to be a unique distinction for the Lake Tahoe region, with slot machines and casinos now found in convenience stores, airports and small towns throughout Nevada, and half of all U.S. states now permitting some sort of land- or water-based gaming. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the special nature of facilities development and management for any property along Lake Tahoe, which is carefully regulated by two states (the border between Nevada and California splits the lake) and is subject to additional scrutiny and protection by a host of environmental and planning authorities.

So when De Young became part of the management team charged with implementing plans for the Tahoe Beach Club (TBC) in Stateline, Nev., as part of the first full-ownership lakefront community created in the region in over 30 years, he was well-prepared to deal with regulations that have included requirements to pump all effluent a considerable distance away from the lake on existing sewer lines, and restrictions prohibiting construction that involves any movement of dirt between October 15th and May 1st.

However, as the project—which began when 20 acres of land leading up to the shoreline that had previously housed a mobile home park and airport strip was acquired in 2002, and for which construction started in 2015—finally neared completion, a new wrinkle arose www.clubandresortbusiness.com

that even a veteran like De Young and others on the TBC development team hadn’t anticipated. But even with the added challenges of the pandemic, the grand opening of TBC’s clubhouse still came off as scheduled on July 3, 2020—and the club has continued to gain momentum and show growth in the year following that event.

FORTUNATE TIMING If anything, in fact, the pandemic may have proved to be a blessing in disguise for TBC. The Lake Tahoe region had one of its busiest tourist seasons in 2020, with residents of San Francisco, Sacramento and other cities in California, Nevada and the West quickly identifying it as one of the best places to escape COVID-induced claustrophobia, especially on the lessrestrictive Nevada side.

While many of those visitors didn’t match the club’s target demographics, it did open some new eyes to the appeal of the region and the special tax advantages that could be gained by acquiring property on the Nevada side (TBC waives its initiation fee for those who purchase what eventually will be 143 condominiums within its gates, with full completion scheduled for August 2023; resident and non-resident memberships are also available for non-property owners).

Outdoor Pursuits Director Jocelyn Myers directs programs that take full advantage of Tahoe Beach Club’s private breachfront, its setting below the Sierra Nevada mountains, and the year-round appeal of the region, including snowshoe and crosscountry ski excursions in the winter.

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As membership and use of the club grows, Executive Chef Dave Lundgren plans to use the cook-and-hold capabilities built in to TBC’s general store (on wall at back right of photo above) to offer comfort-food items such as soups, chili, roasted chicken and marinated pork loin, as well as take-home dishes for on-site residents.

And for those who were a better fit with the membership profile—and especially those already on board—getting TBC open in the midst of all of 2020’s activity helped to highlight its special appeal as a uniquely private space for enjoying all that the lake and its surrounding area has to offer.

“Our existing residents and members found us to be a sanctuary,” says Membership Director Jessica Albee. “And the club showed especially well to those who had come to the region for the first time and were curioius about what we had created.”

A unique hospitality suite within the clubhouse, which includes bunk beds to accommodate families, has also given the club a special opportunity to showcase its amenities and features to buyers and prospective members while they’re checking on the progress of their properties, or through discovery visits.

INSIDE ADVANTAGE TBC also tapped the expertise of another veteran presence in the region to be able to staff up for its clubhouse opening at a 32

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time when many in the workforce chose to sit on the sidelines. Bobby King, a longtime General Manager of the golf operation at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort that neighbors the TBC property, was instrumental in attracting top talent to the club while serving as its initial GM (King has since moved to the role of Director of Residential Services, with Kevin Speer arriving earlier in 2021 from the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore in Santa Barbara, Calif. to become TBC’s General Manager/COO).

Tahoe Beach Club’s proximity to the Edgewood property afforded it a further boost of recognition when the National Hockey League staged outdoor games in February 2021 on a rink built on the 18th fairway of the Edgewood course. In addition to showing the viewing world spectacular views of the lake and its surrounding scenery, the broadcast of the games created a surreal memory for those in the TBC clubhouse, who could either watch the action on a big-screen TV in the dining or bar venues, or simply turn and look out a picture window to see it live.

As the first full year of operation has unfolded for the club, all signs have continued to point to effective and timely positioning of TBC as a unique option for taking full advantage of all that the Tahoe region has to offer. “It used to be there wasn’t much to do around here for some months of the

When the pandemic drove tourists to the Lake Tahoe area in 2020, TBC stood out as a welcome sanctuary, says Membership Director Jessica Albee. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Kids’ Zone Manager Erin Barter tends to younger members of TBC families in an especially spacious and fun-filled area within the clubhouse.

year, and there were definitely shoulder seasons,” says De Young. “But the region is now being remarketed as a year-round destination, and with the Heavenly Ski Resort [just across the state line in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.] now owned by Vail Resorts, we’re seeing a lot more awareness being generated of how even that property also offers summer activities, like

tubing and hiking.”

And all of that, Speers adds, “plays into our hands perfectly as a club.” At the same time, TBC is making sure the word is out about what it can provide to area visitors and residents that they can’t find anywhere else, such as its spa’s “Wellness Cocoon”—an egg-shaped detoxing pod that enhances relaxation by using infrared

radiant-heat technology, and is “the only one in greater Tahoe,” according to Speer.

TBC is also making sure to position itself as the new arrival that appreciates and wants to help to preserve and present the region’s best face, by partnering with environmental groups for area cleanups, and featuring local talent in its member-event schedules. C+RB

DURABLE. ELEGANT. STACKING. SUSTAINABLE CHAIRS MADE IN THE USA

VISIT EUSTISCHAIR.COM TO SEE MORE

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978-827-3103 SALES@EUSTISCHAIR.COM

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DESIGN + RENOVATION

A Small Worl

SUMMING IT UP > Repurposing underutilized spaces such as a conference room or office can serve as an ideal location for a kids’ club.

> Careful attention to kid-friendly furnishings creates a safe and engaging atmosphere for free play and structured activities.

> Offering the added incentive of childcare services extends the facility’s usefulness beyond traditional hours of operation.

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Photo Courtesy Bay Harbor YC

rld After All

For toddlers and teens, kids’ spaces have become popular clubs within the club, and are proving to be essential for attracting families and a younger demographic.

By Pamela Brill, Contributing Editor

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DESIGN + RENOVATION

COUNTRY CLUB OF ROSWELL Roswell, Ga.

“In the past, children and

staff would have to roam around the club or any available room. Sometimes we would even have to host entire events outside due to limited space, causing us to limit our numbers of children joining the events.

The new renovations gave us a safe and appropriate area for the kids to be free and have fun.”

—Whitney Montgomery, Director of Youth Activities

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AS A PLAYFUL PLACE THAT younger members can truly call their own, the kids’ club has become the main attraction for family membership at club properties. This year-round amenity provides a much-needed service for parents and children alike, allowing adults to enjoy free time on the premises while giving kids a full dose of their own share of fun.

As clubs continue to focus on attracting a younger demographic, the role of the kids’ club has become an essential component that ranks high on the list of must-have attractions.

ROOM TO GROW When the Country Club of Roswell (Ga.) came under new ownership in February 2020, a dedicated space for kids was one of the top priorities. “As part of their long-term vision for the club, Concert Golf Partners wanted to really focus on new amenities for the family,” says former General Manager John Spiess, CCM, PGA (who recently moved to a new position at Sara Bay Country Club in Sarasota, Fla.). Over the course of two months, the club converted an existing boardroom and staff office into a 900-sq. ft. kids’ rec room, which officially opened to members in June 2020.

Adjacent to the family dining room, the kids’ club boasts brightly painted walls, furnishings and carpeting in neutral tones and built-in cubbies for storing toys and games. An array of comfortable seating, including a couch and beanbag chairs, are positioned alongside kid-sized tables and chairs. Three flat-screen televisions can be used for movie watching or game playing. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

BAY HARBOR YACHT CLUB Bay Harbor, Mich

“Members and prospective members are excited that their children and grandchildren have a comfortable and safe place to play, learn and engage with other junior members and staff.”

—Kathleen Muneio, General Manager

While the room is mainly used for free play, the club also holds story time and group activities for ages three and up, with a maximum occupancy capped at 25 (for both kids and staff).

During the pandemic, the kids’ room was utilized with strict safety precautions: routine temperature checks and sanitizing all surfaces several times daily. Presently, the space is occupied two to three times each week for childcare while parents are dining, playing golf or tennis, or exercising in the fitness facilities.

“In the past, children from the kids’ club and our staff would have to roam around the club or any available room to host our weekly events,” says Director of Youth Activities Whitney Montgomery. “Unfortunately, sometimes we would even have to host entire kids’ club events outside due to limited space in the club, causing us to limit our numbers of children joining the events.

With the new renovations, this gives us a safe and appropriate area for the kids to be free and have fun.”

Clubs of Distinction

Sawgrass Country Club - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

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DESIGN + RENOVATION

Bay Harbor Yacht Club’s new 1,200-sq. ft. kids’ club boasts a flexible design and is set in a bright and cheery color scheme, with furnishings set against white walls adorned with beachy prints. The casual vibe is further enhanced by soft seating and a circular couch (see photo, pg. 37) that encourages kids to relax and stay awhile. The space is adjacent to the club’s newly redesigned Quarter Deck restaurant and wellness center.

On the future agenda is a full slate to maximize the kids’ room’s year-round usage, through winter, fall, spring break and weekend camps; movie nights; and themed event nights such as Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day parties.

The club is also planning to expand its weekly hours and install gaming systems for ‘tween members.

“This new member amenity has really allowed us to grow the membership, as we have seen over 100 new member families join our club in the past year,” says Spiess. “These new families are excited about the opportunity to use the club and know that their children can also enjoy the club in this safe and secure child-friendly area.”

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE Prior to August 2020, the kids’ club at Bay Harbor (Mich.)

Yacht Club (BHYC) was run out of a conference room that served as home base for summer camp. “Our junior members needed a comfortable and modern place to call their own,” explains General Manager Kathleen Muneio. “BHYC is a very family-friendly club and over the last couple of years has also seen an influx of younger families moving to northern Michigan and joining the club.”

To give kids a place to call their own, the club created a 38

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dedicated space that was unveiled to members in the summer of 2020.

The 1,200-sq. ft. kids’ club, adjacent to the newly redesigned Quarter Deck restaurant and wellness center (which also opened in August 2020), boasts a flexible design to accommodate children ages 3-14. On one side of the room are games, toys, books and children’s furniture primarily for younger kids, while the other side features three wall-mounted televisions, gaming, large tables and chairs, and a pingpong table designed for ‘tweens and teens.

The room is set in a bright and cheery color scheme, with purples, blue, golds and lime-green furnishings set against white walls adorned with beachy prints (see photo above). The casual vibe is further enhanced by soft seating and a circular couch that encourages kids to relax and stay awhile (see photo, pg. 37). While the free-play area attracts younger kids, a craft station and beam projector with over 100 contactless games help to keep older ones entertained and occupied.

In addition to a host of fun daytime activities, the kids’ club also serves as a safe haven at night. “BHYC offers child care during the evenings, so members can enjoy a dinner at the club while their children play and engage with other junior members,” notes Muneio. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

LANCASTER COUNTRY CLUB Lancaster, Pa.

With a maximum occupancy of sixteen kids and four staff members, the room provides ample space for social distancing, which came in handy during the official opening. While COVID restrictions were in place, the kids’ club ran at 25-percent capacity, with tables and chairs spaced six feet apart.

Now with most restrictions lifted and club operations back in full swing, the BHYC staff expects the kids’ club to be in a fully operational mode. “Members and prospective members are excited that their children and grandchildren have a comfortable and safe place to play, learn and engage with other junior members and staff,” says Muneio.

LETTING KIDS BE KIDS At Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club (LCC), providing a dedicated kids’ club was an essential component to the club’s master construction plan from the get-go. “Through market research, our team understood [that] the importance of a well-thought-out space for kids to be kids would be a major selling point for this next generation of members,” explains Director of Membership & Communications Andrea Zimmerman. “Gone are the days when the country club caters to the male golfer only; we knew it would be important to address the needs of every member of the family, especially the kids.”

With a targeted opening date of early July 2021, the LCC KidSpace (see rendering above) will be part of a 20,000-sq. ft. activities pavilion focused on family and wellness amenities.

(This facility will also include a fitness center, casual family dining, three golf simulators and a resort-style pool with outdoor kitchen and bar area.) Designed as a mixed-use operation, the kids’ room will offer free play for ages three and up and serve as both a hangout space for teens and a childcare facility while parents are using other areas of the club.

To create a space that is child-friendly while also adhering to the modern aesthetics of the activities pavilion, LCC worked with a professional interior designer and a design committee to curate age-appropriate furnishings and accessories. “We stayed away from sharp corners for coffee tables and instead selected round, plush ottomans,” notes Zimmerman. Chairs at the craft table are tip-proof, while a couch is outfitted in a spill-proof fabric.

“[Our new KidSpace opening July 2021] will allow us to put revenue-producing areas, such as ballrooms and other spaces, back into operation [and to] generate F&B rental via banquets.”

—Ryan Granruth, CCM, COO/General Manager

An adjoining kids’ restroom follows the vibrant blue color palette of the activities pavilion, albeit in a modern geometric tile. Toys and games were selected for their developmental and sensory benefits for different skill levels and abilities, and include a Lego wall, craft table and bubble-hockey table. “An intentional decision was also made to create a space outdoors on the terrace gated off from the adult terrace, where kids can enjoy fresh air during the warmer months,” Zimmerman adds.

By reserving space specifically for kids only, Chief Operating Officer/General Manager Ryan Granruth, CCM, believes that decision will, in turn, streamline the workflow of the rest of the club more effectively. “This allows us to put revenue-producing areas, such as ballrooms and other banquet spaces, back into operation [and to] generate F&B rental via banquets,” he notes.

As LCC puts the finishing touches on the KidSpace prior to its grand opening, the team is setting its sights on a strong reception—not only for play and child care, but for future kids’ events and birthday parties.

“Members are excited and eager to begin using this space, especially when they realize [it provides] the opportunity for parents to enjoy a date night and other on-premises adult activities,” says Zimmerman. “To know that they don’t have to worry about getting a babysitter and that everyone can be at the club one night truly creates a one-stop shop for busy families.” C+RB

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COURSE + GROUNDS

SUPREME S

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E SOLUTION Golf course renovations that began as a quest for water independence have distinguished the award-winning Pelham County Club in Pelham Manor, N.Y., as an environmental leader.

By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor

Just 15 miles from Manhattan, Pelham Country Club in Pelham Manor, N.Y., is a green oasis in an urban landscape. Yet as the area around this 100-year-old golf course, where former caddie and local hero Gene Sarazen won the 1923 PGA Championship, built up through the years, the property began to flood on a regular basis. And rather than capturing the stormwater runoff that traveled through 480 acres of urban watershed and across the golf course on its way to Long Island Sound, Pelham purchased potable water for irrigation purposes from local entities.

To remedy these circumstances, the facility engaged golf course architect Michael DeVries for a three-part renovation project, which was divided into phases to minimize the disturbance of play on a tight parcel of land.

“The project started with a desire for water independence,” says Jeff Wentworth, CGCS, who has been at Pelham for 26 years. “The goal was to tick three boxes: improve water independence, improve the quality of the holes and member enjoyment, and decrease the property’s environmental footprint as a whole.”

Wentworth worked closely with DeVries throughout the project, and they developed the master plan together. In March of 2021, Pelham CC won the 15th Arthur P. Weber MGA Club Environmental Leaders in Golf Award. The honor is presented annually to a property that is distinguished in environmental leadership.

“Jeff Wentworth worked hard on this. I think he does an incredible job,” says Gary Merjian, General Manager and Chief Operating Officer, who joined the Pelham team as the award was won. “I think [the Environmental Leaders in Golf Award] elevates our property. To be a finalist was great. To ultimately win says a lot about the club.”

Wentworth agrees. “To me, personally, it’s just nice to be recognized for the contribution we’re making to golf,” he adds. “I feel really happy for the club. It was a long process we started in 2014. It’s nice to be

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Golf Scorecard

PELHAM COUNTRY CLUB Location: Pelham Manor, N.Y. Club Website: www.pelhamcc.com Club Type: Private No. of Members: 582 total; 331 golf Year Opened: 1921 Golf Holes: 18 Course Designer: Devereux Emmet Golf Season: March to November Annual Rounds of Golf: 14,000 pre-COVID; 22,000 post-COVID Fairways: Bentgrass Greens: Poa annua

recognized by people other than those at the club.”

‘A NICER WALK’ The first phase of the renovation, which got underway in 2016, included extensive work on Nos. 17 and 18, where the greens and surrounds were expanded and the bunkers were improved. In addition, a pond was dredged on the par-3 18th hole. Two years later, the second phase included construction of a short-game practice area and a new green on the opening hole.

The third and final phase of the project started on August 6, 2019, and despite COVID-induced challenges, the golf course reopened on schedule on June 6, 2020. Five holes were taken out of play at the beginning of the project, to improve the drainage systems on the holes and create a second irrigation pond. With the new pond, Pelham tripled its water-storage capacity, for an annual savings of $80,000 to $100,000 in irrigation costs.

“Now, 100% of our irrigation water is coming from stormwater runoff. We don’t spend anything on water,” says Wentworth.

“We still reserve our right to buy water, so we pay a meter fee.”

With the renovations, the property now collects and irrigates with 10 million gallons of water before it reaches Long Island Sound. In addition, the expansion of a pond at the north end of the property, along with 42

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the creation of the new pond, increased the golf course’s water-retention capacity from 1.3 million to 4.1 million gallons.

A new 1,200-ft. stream channel through the center of the five renovated holes collects stormwater and recharges the irrigation pond, which is located in a woodland area to the left of the 13th hole. A half-acre wetland was also added on the southern part of the golf course, to collect stormwater and prevent flooding.

Phase three began on Nos. 8, 11, 12, 13, and 16, but the project ultimately turned into a seven-hole renovation, with improvements to the first and fourth holes as well. “[The seven holes] were integral to the re-routing of the new course,” Wentworth explains. “As the plans developed, we were looking to improve their playability.”

In addition to enhancing the design of the course and alleviating drainage issues, Head Golf Professional Mike Diffley, PGA, who has worked at Pelham for 34 years, says the renovation improved the flow of how players make their way around.

“We re-routed the course to bring in the most beautiful parts earlier in the round,”

“

he explains. “It’s a nicer walk now. [Golfers] wind their way through the best part a couple of times.”

A GREENER PRODUCT While water issues were the impetus for the renovations, Pelham has enjoyed other benefits as well. For example, the property installed new breeds of bentgrass, ‘Matchplay’ and ‘Coho,’ which were developed at Rutgers University and designed specifically to resist dollar spot.

The property planted a 50-50 mix of the two grasses on the course, and Wentworth says they grow well together. The top-performing bentgrasses also use less water and require less mowing.

“We’re getting exceptional conditions with lower inputs,” says Wentworth. “The grass has been great. It has done everything it was supposed to do. I would like to add more of these new grasses to other parts of the club.”

In addition, the bentgrasses decreased fungicide usage by 25% in the first year. The maintenance staff also uses integrated pest management inputs. “We monitor populations of pests before we make critical deci-

I think [the Environmental Leaders in Golf Award] elevates our property. To be a finalist was great. To ultimately win says a lot about the club.

”

— Gary Merjian, General Manager and Chief Operating Officer

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sions,” Wentworth says.

As Pelham’s green footprint has evolved, the membership has become more involved in sustainability efforts as well.

“Members were interested to see what else we could do to be green,” says Wentworth. “We were able to piggyback other environmental initiatives on the renovation. A group of members wanted to start a bluebird nesting program. They put up boxes in six sites, and 10 members monitored the boxes throughout the season.”

So far, the boxes have only attracted tree swallows, but the club’s staff hopes to expand the program to also attract bluebirds this year.

A member also wanted to start a beekeeping colony, so Pelham now has two on-site beehives.

The member has volunteered to take care of the hives, and in early

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August, the beekeeper plans to give a harvest demonstration to summer day-campers.

“With everything green now, you want every area of the golf course to be sustainable,” notes Merjian.

And the benefits of these initiatives carry beyond the borders of the golf course. “As a whole, everybody in the industry tries to champion that what we’re doing is environmentally friendly, rather than having a negative impact,” Wentworth says. “It’s important to get the message out.”

‘A LONG PROCESS’ Before the renovations came to fruition, however, Wentworth says the project required significant organization on the front end, through “a long process that was done in stages.”

He, along with Diffley and DeVries, attended multiple membership

Superintendent Profile

JEFFREY WENTWORTH, CGCS Years at Pelham Country Club: 26 Years in Golf Course Maintenance Profession: 35 Previous Employment: Assistant Superintendent, Westchester Country Club, Rye, N.Y. Education and Training: AS, Turfgrass Science/BS, Urban Forestry from the University of Massachusetts Certifications: New York state certified pesticide application Honors and Awards: Pelham Country Club won the 2021 MGA Arthur P Weber Environmental Award; Wentworth is the University of Massachusetts Alumni Turf Group 2021 Distinguished Alumni Honoree.

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In addition to the environmental awards it has received for the sustainability aspects of its course renovation, Pelham CC was also the first country club in the world to receive verification for completing and maintaining more than 360 global health security standards.

meetings to discuss the environmental impact, the financial impact, and the improvements to the golf course.

“We put ideas in front of the greens committee. Then we went to the longrange budget committee, and then to the Board,” says Wentworth. “Members added input as we went through the committees.”

The superintendent also acted as the general contractor and coordinator of the job. He managed materials and the subcontractors, and was the property contact for the project and the lead person for securing all local, state and federal permits.

Wentworth started working with city managers in 2015, long before the property applied for the first permit. “There was trepidation in what we were describing at first,” he acknowledges. “As we progressed, everybody was pulling in the same direction.”

Because 55 acres of the golf course are in Pelham Manor and 65 acres are in New Rochelle, N.Y., there had to be coordination with both municipalities, as well as the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

During the renovation, members came to the golf course to see the progress. Wentworth did three scheduled golf course walks for the membership during construction, including one tour with more than 40 people.

“It has generated tremendous excitement at the club,” he says.

He also continued to run the course maintenance department throughout the process, overseeing a staff that performed 30 to 35 percent of the work in-house. The 44

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grounds crew did a lot of the seeding, filled the bunkers, did the final grow-in, and was responsible for the cleanup. The crew also moved earth, seeded the golf course, and built structures in the fall.

The grow-in started in the spring. “COVID for us [caused] a real struggle for the project in the spring,” Wentworth relates. Because of the pandemic, he split his grounds crew into two teams, and the staff worked shorter days.

Throughout the renovation, the golf course never closed, even though members could play only 12 or 13 holes. Initially, members could get in an 18-hole round by playing 13 holes and then doubling back to complete five more. But the doubling back then had to stop after the pandemic brought increased play.

Wentworth also worked closely with Diffley to make sure the golfers had the best possible experience during the construction process. “We coordinated with each other about what holes would be open and the routing of play,” he says. “We started with 13 holes open, then decreased it to 11.

We had to communicate and be positive through the process and keep the excitement going.”

Shutting down part of the golf course for one spring and one fall was a big ask of the membership, Diffley says, especially when the Northeast playing season lasts only eight or nine months. But he saw his job as “rallying the members around how the renovation would be beneficial for the club.”

“Nobody else knows the membership like I do,” he says. “I’m face-to-face with them

Course + Grounds Operations Profile

PELHAM COUNTRY CLUB Annual Budget: $1.75 million Staff: 7 full-time; 12 seasonal Other Managers: Pete Charles, Assistant Superintendent; Travis Garner, Assistant Superintendent; Santiago Cacares, Equipment Manager; Hector Garcia, Irrigation Technician Irrigation System: Rain Bird; 1,500 heads Water Source and Usage: 100% stormwater runoff Equipment: Toro fairway mowers, greens triplex and John Deere greens mowers.

Mowing equipment is leased with a four-year/$1 buyout.

Technology: GPS mapping of golf features and irrigation system, digital moisture meters Maintenance Facility: 11,000-sq. ft. building of concrete blocks and stucco includes conference room, Carbtrol washpad recycling system, etc.

Aerating and Overseeding Schedules: April/August and October Upcoming Capital Projects: TBA Duties and Responsibilities: All outside property management

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every day. They respect my experience in the game and my knowledge as a teacher.”

He also played an integral role in the meetings with the membership. “The members trust Jeff and I to do the right thing for the golf course and golf operations,” Diffley says. “Our membership knows that we have a high standard of quality, and they know we know what’s right for the place.”

A STRONG RELATIONSHIP How Wentworth and Diffley worked closely together during the renovation reflected the strong working relationship they have developed during their many years together at Pelham.

“We make an effort to accommodate the maintenance schedule and the golf schedule so they’re mutually beneficial,” says Wentworth. “We’ve done it long enough, so we both know what we need.”

Wentworth and Diffley’s offices are about 2,000 yards apart from each other.

“We’re both always out on the course, and we communicate regularly,” says Diffley.

“We have a teamwork atmosphere. It’s about presenting a quality product.”

Merjian oversees their budgets, and Diffley says the new GM has brought a lot of enthusiasm to the operation.

“It’s great to have Jeff and Mike here, and both of them have been here over 25 years,” says Merjian, who came to Pelham from the hotel industry. “That says a lot about our club and our membership. I’m lucky as the new COO to come and work with two true professionals. They’re very dedicated, and they love what they do. My job as COO is to support them and to give them the information they need. The three of us are aligned completely.”

Merjian does a “daily walk-through” with

“

Pelham’s course maintenance crew performed 30 to 35 percent of the renovation work in-house, including much of the seeding, filling the bunkers, the final grow-in and cleanup tasks. The crew also moved earth and built structures at the end of the 2020 season.

everyone who reports to him directly, and with Wentworth, that means meeting him at the pro shop, on the first tee, or at the halfway house.

“If Jeff has a concern, he takes me out on a golf cart to show it to me,” says Merjian.

“Every day I’m looking at the different areas where we can make improvements. It’s all about being proactive instead of reactive.

We want to enhance our member experience at every single touch point.”

A RESORT EXPERIENCE With the completion of the golf course renovations, Pelham has received other accolades as well. In 2020, the United States Golf Association’s Green Section recognized the property for the quality and sustainability of its golf course renovation. In addition, the fourth hole—a risk-and-reward, drivable, 273-yard par-4 – was named the top new golf hole in Westchester County by readers of Westchester magazine.

Other renovations underway at Pelham include the expansion of the pool deck and construction of the Lookout Bar atop the pool house, as well as the installation of a dome over two of its tennis courts.

Last year Pelham also earned recognition from the Forbes Travel Guide and from

We re-routed the golf course to bring in the most beautiful parts earlier in the round. It’s a nicer walk now. [Players] wind their way through the best part a couple of times on the course.

”

Sharecare, a digital health company, by completing—and maintaining—verification of more than 360 global health security standards. Pelham was “the first country club in the world to receive the verification,” Merjian says.

“It’s important to stay ahead of the competition,” he states. “A member has choices. Over 60% of our members live in Pelham Manor. This is their home away from home.”

And Wentworth, Diffley, and Merjian agree that golf is the main draw for the members.

“Without a golf course, we probably wouldn’t have a club,” says Diffley. “The golf is what attracts the members to the club. It’s a great game for life right now.”

Rounds were up by 25% at Pelham during COVID. Diffley believes that people are recognizing the exercise benefits of golf, the ability to be outdoors when they play, and the beauty of the game.

“We had a record number of tee times the day we opened the club, which was on a Saturday,” Wentworth says. “On Sunday, we exceeded our Saturday record. And I don’t think it was just COVID that filled the tee sheet.”

Merjian now wants to ensure that the golf course is playable every day in a safe and secure atmosphere, while also positioning Pelham as a family facility that offers amenities to all ages.

“It’s not about meeting expectations,” he says. “It’s about anticipating them and exceeding them. I look at my job as running a five-star resort without guest rooms.

Service is the ultimate goal.” C+RB

—Mike Diffley, PGA, Head Golf Professional www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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SUPER IN THE SPOTLIGHT

IF IT’S NOT BROKEN…

BREAK IT! By his own admission, Sean Sullivan, CGCS, the Golf Course Superintendent at The Briarwood in Billings, Mont., is a “curious tinkerer.”

By Jeff Bollig, Contributing Editor

SEAN SULLIVAN, CGCS, IS A self-taught golf course superintendent.

Armed with degrees in forestry management and petroleum engineering, he unwittingly got sucked into the golf industry through a weekend job of mowing greens. But that led to a 32-year career in turf management and recognition as an industry leader in the Northwest, after 19 years overseeing the scenic golf course at The Briarwood in Billings, Mont.

“I’m the kind of guy who will try just about anything to improve,” Sullivan says.

“I might have a certain chemical that works for what I am doing, but I might just switch it up to see if it can be done better. Being self-taught, trying new ways of doing something is how I learn.”

Sullivan realizes he is a bit of a relic.

Today, it is rare to find a golf course superintendent who has not earned a degree in turf management from a college or university. In fact, the biggest changes that Sullivan says he has seen over the years, fueled by these programs, is the improvements in science and the utilization of data by superintendents to manage their courses.

Though ongoing education offered by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and its chapters, as well as the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA), Sullivan has supplemented his on-the-job education with the latest techniques and training. His recipe for success has been a mixture of art and science.

“I still think that it’s important for superintendents to rely a bit on trial and error,” he says. “You need to have a feel for your course and experiment a little.

But then again, I like to break things and put them back together.”

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

C+RB: You have an interesting educa-

tional background. Tell us about it.

SULLIVAN: I tell people that I had the worst timing early in my career. I got a degree in forestry management from Texas A&M in 1978. I got a job out of college working for the forestry service, but then there was the election, and a new administration came in and made new appointments. So I was left looking for a job.

The industry was not particularly strong, so I went back to Texas A&M and got a petroleum engineering degree.

Well, a few years after I got out of college in 1986, the oil industry was struggling, and I was not confident about what lied ahead. I was kind of at a crossroads.

C+RB: So you decided to become a golf

course superintendent?

SULLIVAN: I took a job in Atlanta in the

late 1980s framing homes. There was a building boom. I decided that I could earn a little extra money on the weekends, so

I got a job mowing greens for superintendent Steve Wilson at Druid Hills Country Club. That was 1989.

Shortly after I started, they talked me into becoming the spray technician. Two years later they talked me into becoming the assistant golf course superintendent.

I was 32 when I began at Druid Hills, so I got a later start compared to others.

While in Atlanta, I also worked for a business that restored golf clubs. That work matched my personality as a guy who likes to fix things. I worked on clubs for Ian Woosnam and Charles Howell.

C+RB: So the third time was a charm?

SULLIVAN: I liked being on the golf

course. I played a lot with my friends growing up, mostly public courses. My father was in the oil industry and I was actually born in Butte, Mont. When we lived in New Orleans, I played Brechtel Golf Course, a public course that was leveled

by Hurricane Katrina. When we moved to

Super in the Spotlight

SEAN SULLIVAN, CGCS Current Position: Golf Course Superintendent, The Briarwood, Billings, Mont.

Years at The Briarwood: 19 Years in Golf Course Maintenance Profession: 32 Previous Employment: • Golf Course Superintendent, Lane Creek Golf Club, Bishop, Ga., 1994-2002 • Assistant Golf Course Superintendent, Druid Hills Country Club, Atlanta, Ga., 1993-94 • Spray Technician, Druid Hills Country Club, Atlanta, Ga., 1990-92 Education & Training: B.S. Forestry Management, 1979; B.S. Petroleum Engineering, 1986 (both from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas) Honors and Awards: President, Peaks and Prairies Golf Course Superintendents Association (two different terms). Bernhardt Delegate (BTME), 2008.

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SUPER IN THE SPOTLIGHT

C+RB: What changes have you made to

the course?

SULLIVAN: The course had dropped a

bit in stature just before I got here. We don’t have a big population or a lot of golf courses in Montana, but it is a competitive market. We re-did some of the green complexes and then did a bunker renovation. We just needed a little more attention to detail.

Golf Course Profile

THE BRIARWOOD Website: www.thebriarwoodgc.com Location: Billings, Mont.

Year Opened: 1984 Ownership: Private (member-owned) Golf Course Designers: Brad Benz and J. Michael Poellot Golf Course Holes: 18 Golf Season: Year-round (traditional golf season is May through October) Annual Rounds: 24,000 (32,000 played in 2020) Golf Course Type: Front nine, parkland; Back nine, hills and valleys Par: 72 Yardage: Men’s tees, 6,310 to 7,004 yards; women’s tees, 5,458 to 5,916 yards Grasses: Tees, Fairways, Roughs: Kentucky Bluegrass, Rye, Poa annua; Greens: Bentgrass, Poa Annua Water Features: Blue Creek winds through front nine, affecting play on 7 of 9 holes. Two ponds on back nine; one is for irrigation.

Bunkers: 42

Houston, our home was right across the street from The Champions. We’d jump the fence and sneak on and play the back nine.

That was a great course.

So the experience I had later at Druid Hills matched my interests. I took the plunge in 1994 when I became the Golf Course Superintendent at Lane Creek Golf Club in Bishop, Ga. It’s interesting—when I tell people I went to Texas A&M, everyone assumes I was in the turf program. But the closest I got was the forestry classrooms, which were in a building that overlooked the campus golf course.

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C+RB: You moved to Montana in 2002.

That’s quite a change from Georgia.

C+RB: That renovation included using

SULLIVAN: Yes, there aren’t many prairie

black bunker sand. What’s the story behind that?

SULLIVAN: When the Old Works Golf Club opened in Anaconda, Mont., I saw they used black sand that came from their copper smelting. A few other courses in North Dakota had done the same. I thought it might give us a hook to attract new members. And our members had interest in doing it when it came time to do a bunker renovation.

So in 2007 I found some black sand that was a byproduct of an energy plant in Beulah, N.D., and I took the 425-mile drive (one way) to check it out.

We built a bunker at our practice facility and they voted the next year to convert all of the bunkers to black sand.

It has a glossy appearance to it. It’s a dense sand and is about the same price as white sand, so it was a good replacement. The density means you don’t get any fried-egg lies, so the members like that. It also drains well and never loses its color. It’s been a positive.

rattlesnakes, mule deer, brown bears or other predators on the course in Georgia.

You’ll see quite an array of animals here, even while you’re playing on the course.

It’s a completely different environment.

We are in what they call the High Plains.

It’s a semi-arid, desert region. We only get 13 inches of precipitation a year, including the runoff from snow. We need to supplement it with irrigation. We really do not have much disease pressure.

C+RB: What challenges do you face in

managing the Briarwood course?

SULLIVAN: The lack of rainfall is an issue.

There is little humidity. We lose a lot of moisture daily due to evapotranspiration.

And we have temperature extremes daily.

We can begin the morning with a frost delay and it will be over 80 degrees later in the day.

A big issue is our poor soil conditions.

We are on the edge of what was an inland sea centuries ago. That means there was a considerable amount of decomposing shale salt.

We are constantly adding amendments such as gypsum to improve the quality of the soil. We need to regularly flush the greens to move the salt through the profile.

The land was on the edge of a ranch, and the vegetation was bramble.

C+RB: What makes The Briarwood golf

course fun, yet challenging to play?

SULLIVAN: It really is two different courses.

The front nine is flat and a parkland style.

There is very little elevation change, but you have to keep it out of the creek.

The elevation change comes on the back nine. The three hardest holes are 13-14www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Course + Grounds Operations Profile Annual Course Maintenance Budget: $628,000, including labor Staff Size: Two year-round; six seasonal (four more join in mid-May) Other Green and Grounds Managers: Assistant Golf Course Superintendent Geoff Bauwens Water Source: Ponds, Yellowstone River Aerating and Overseeding Schedules: Spring and fall, aerate and/or verticut everything. Solid tines on the greens.

Upcoming Capital Projects: 400 linear yards of concrete cart paths in fall of 2021

15, and they run diagonally up a hill. The members call them “the three bitches.”

Then there is a 200-foot drop to the green on No. 16.

The back side is fairly tight, cut through the hillside. The greens are Mackenziestyle with some challenging contours. That means there are not many areas to cut cups and we can have some long rounds. So you can’t get the greens too fast, or the rounds would really get long.

C+RB: You’ve also had frequent opportuni-

ties to work the British Open Championship—how did those come about?

SULLIVAN: I am a member of BIGGA and one of the perks is you are eligible to work

The black bunker sand used on The Briarwood course “has a glossy appearance to it and is dense, which means you don’t get any fried-egg lies,” Sean Sullivan says. “It also drains well and never loses its color. It’s been a positive.”

the Open Championship. So I have worked 2012 (at Royal Lytham & St. Annes), 2013 (at Muirfield), 2015 (at St. Andrews), 2017 (at Royal Birkdale) and 2019 (at Royal Portbrush).

That is my vacation. I generally go over 10 days early and work at another course and then the Open. I am on the bunkerraking crew. For the Open, you follow the same group. I have had the chance to get to know quite a few of the professionals. I think the conversations between the player and caddie are interesting.

The club gave me $5,000 for the first Open and told me to enjoy myself. I brought back about $4,200 in merchandise for the members. Obviously, it is a great experience. Not

only for the golf, but it exposes me to other ways of doing things. I learn a lot.

C+RB: Didn’t you also develop a hobby

that you’ve turned into an interesting sideline?

SULLIVAN: When I was in Atlanta, I got two Triumph TR7s. Over the years, I did complete renovations on them. One is a convertible. That is where I learned how to do powder-coating; I coated some parts for of both cars.

So when I got here at The Briarwood,, a member gave me his old oven and I began to renovate our accessories such as cups, tee markers and ball washers. My wife wanted to refinish our kitchen, so I took the old oven and that allowed me to do more.

I have been refinishing ball washers for people as a bit of a hobby. I’ve done about 27 different ball washer logos that can now be found in the U.K. I have about 100 located all over the world. I’ve even done some Yeti cups. I have my own powdercoating gun that cost me about $100, so it has been relatively inexpensive.

C+RB: What are your overall thoughts on

the state of the game today?

SULLIVAN: Golf is a great game, but I fear

After learning to powder-coat car parts, Sullivan developed a sideline renovating and customizing ball washers, cups and tee markers. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

we have lost a focus on course etiquette. I think it started when the downturn began in 2008. Courses were struggling a bit and the focus was getting people out to the course, without really teaching the game and how to behave in terms of etiquette. There seems to have been a decline in the respect for the course and property. C+RB

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TODAY’S MANAGER

FINDING SUCCESS ON THE

ROAD LESS TRAVELED 50

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Lawrence McFadden, GM/COO of The Union Club of Cleveland, is the first Certified Master Chef turned General Manager to win The Mel Rex Award for Excellence in Club Management.

By Joanna DeChellis, Editor, Club + Resort Chef

WHEN LAWRENCE MCFADDEN, CMC, General Manager/COO of the private, 148-year-old Union Club in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, decided to trade in his chef whites for a suit and tie, many of his colleagues in the culinary world cautioned him about the move.

But risk in the name of personal and professional growth is an intrinsic trait for McFadden, whose career trajectory was never neatly outlined in an employee handbook.

McFadden, the first Certified Master Chef to have earned Excellence in Club Management recognition (see box, pg. 52), believes that many of the industry’s most competent and effective leaders wear white jackets.

“My mentors held positions outside of culinary,” he notes. “In fact, most were called ‘Mr.’ instead of ‘Chef.’ These individuals offered [proof of the opportunity for] a greater reach and vision for someone like myself.

“Most chefs who transition into management desire not to be awarded, but to be

challenged in new and different ways,” McFadden continues. “I appreciate that there is recognition like this for those of us who seize the opportunity and choose a different path.”

Leaving the kitchen to enter the front office brought with it a whole new set of challenges and opportunities that McFadden has not only overcome, but has used as inspiration to execute innovative new programs and initiatives at The Union Club.

THE PATH TO EXCELLENCE Nonlinear career paths are not all that uncommon. Plenty of club chefs have shifted into management positions, but none have the experience and credentials of McFadden.

After earning his Associates Degree in Applied Science, Culinary Technology from Asheville-Buncombe Technical College in Asheville, N.C., McFadden entered the exclusive apprenticeship program at The

Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. When he graduated from the program, he took on a role as Sous Chef at the resort before moving on to top chef positions at The Intercontinental Hotel in Chicago and The Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

His first position in the private club industry was as Executive Chef of The River Club in Jacksonville, Fla. He then moved into the RitzCarlton organization, holding Executive Chef positions at its Amelia Island and Naples, Fla. properties, before moving to Washington, D.C. to be the company’s Vice President Culinary/ Corporate Chef.

In 2010, McFadden was named Vice President, Food and Beverage for the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, one of the largest hospitality operations in the world, with 7,000 hotel rooms and over 24 food-and-beverage outlets. In that position, he worked with many renowned chefs, including Joel Robuchon, Michael Mina and Wolfgang Puck.

IDEAS + ACHIEVEMENTS Implemented under Lawrence McFadden’s leadership at The Union Club of Cleveland:

• The Union Club today is the only club in America with two Certified Master Chefs (GM and Executive Chef).

• In 2019, the club was named one of the “Top Workplaces in Cleveland” for the first time in its history. The Union Club was the only club included on the list.

• Catering has grown from 15 weddings annually to 31 (prepandemic). These are hosted on Saturdays, traditionally a dark night for the club, and they also give the public a chance to experience club life. In 2020 The Union Club was awarded The Knot’s wedding Hall of Fame award, as the top destination in Cleveland five years in row.

• In March 2020, a COVID-19 plan of action was created, communicated and executed, with measurement for effectiveness.

Through this plan, the club successfully obtained PPP government assistance, while also taking actions in finance and membership value to keep the club moving forward until the pandemic ended. The club reopened in May 2020 during a time of civic unrest, ensuring that www.clubandresortbusiness.com

members and staff members felt safe and welcome at the club.

• Membership grew from 940 members in 2015 to 1,265 at the end of 2019. During these years, the club successfully negotiated mergers with two sister clubs. A total of 265 members transitioned over and in 2019, The Union Club had achieved the largest membership in its 148-year history.

• During the past five years, the club has executed several million dollars in various projects and renovations while operating worldclass facilities with uninterrupted service.

• In 2017, the club embarked on a public advertising campaign featuring four different club-value “scenes.” These were placed in The Union Club magazine and mailed to over a thousand households in strategic enclaves of Cleveland. The campaign focused on the theme, “Membership Has Its Privileges.”

• Successfully negotiated a one-week rental of The Union Club in 2016 during the Republican National Convention. The revenue gained considerable resources for the club that could be put toward future capital projects.

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TODAY’S MANAGER

HONORED

BY THEIR PEERS

Executive Chef Arnaud Berthelier (left) and GM/COO Lawrence McFadden have both earned the Certified Master Chef designation, giving The Union Club of Cleveland a distinction that no other private club can claim.

McFadden then took his career overseas to join the Shangri-La Hotel Company in Hong Kong and to become Chief Executive Officer/Managing Partner for the Al-Sunrice Culinary Academy, a for-profit Global Chefs Academy supported by the Singapore Government. He returned to the U.S. in 2015 to take his current position at The Union Club, which has a rich history and has occupied its current five-story, 92,000-sq. ft. clubhouse building in downtown Cleveland since 1905.

NOT ONE, BUT TWO Much of what McFadden learned in the kitchen positioned him well for his role as manager. He understands the art of service and the dedication and sacrifice it takes to achieve success. He is able to navigate intense situations with a level head and a steady hand. He is calm under pressure and dedicated to the strategic mission.

When he arrived at The Union Club, it counted only 940 members, with an average age of 64. After an impressive series of membership-marketing initiatives, as well as some key hires and new training programs, The Union Club now counts over 1,200 members on its roster, with an average age of 59. representing one of the most significant accomplishments achieved under McFadden’s leadership in the past six years (for others, see box, pg. 51).

An important part of the club’s growth has been its renewed focus on the role of food and beverage in the member experience. McFadden understands how subjective food preferences can be, so he collects and analyzes data through surveys and interviews, to move in a more strategic 52

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direction with the full trust and confidence of the membership.

Another important element in McFadden’s success is the dynamic and trust he has with Executive Chef Arnaud Berthelier, who earned his Certified Master Chef designation shortly after coming to The Union Club. Having two CMCs gives The Union Club a distinction that no other private club can claim—and together, these two culinary powerhouses have developed a variety of innovative concepts, including weekly Community Chef’s Tables, an Epicurean Club, Restaurant Week, Employee Dining Programs, and more.

DEFINING EXCELLENCE For McFadden, the bar can always be higher, and the drive for excellence is never complete. The CMC test, for example, was only part of his journey, and not the destination. It has simply been a tool to help him achieve greater success in his career, and his life. Much of what he has accomplished as GM/COO falls under the same umbrella.

“Excellence is realized through personalized, engaging service,” he says. “This includes simple things, like name recognition, recalling personal preferences and building on historical behaviors. It also means having the desire to please your membership, enjoying the art of service, and being involved at every point of contact.”

“We must never forget that members have choices—and that we must work hard to make their club one of the first things they choose,” he adds. “We do this through consistency, quality and collaboration.” C+RB

The Excellence in Club Management (ECM) Awards were established by the McMahon Group, Inc., the St. Louis-based consulting firm, in 1997 and have been co-sponsored by Club + Resort Business since 2006. The National Club Association became an additional sponsor in 2018.

The annual awards are selected through nominations submitted on behalf of qualified candidates by other parties. Award recipients are selected solely on the basis of their achievements at the club they currently manage.

Awards in four categories are given each year: • The James H. Brewer Award, for a manager of a Country/Golf Club with 600 or more full-privilege members • The Mead Grady Award, for a manager of a Country/Golf Club with fewer than 600 full-privilege members • The Mel Rex Award, for a manager of a City, Athletic or Specialty (Non-Golf) Club • The “Rising Star” Award for an assistant club manager Lifetime Achievement Awards for a retiring club manager are also included as part of some years’ ECM honors.

A Selection Committee comprised of a peer group of leading club managers conducts the judging for the ECM Awards.

A full listing of the judges, in addition to information on past winners and on how to nominate candidates for future years’ awards, can be found at www.clubmanageraward.com.

Because the annual ECM Awards Dinner could not be held this year, the 2020 recipients of the Excellence In Club Management were announced through a special webcast on March 2nd. The webcast, sponsored exclusively by ForeTees, was conducted in an “Academy Award” format that included remarks from the award winners after they were announced. The full webcast can be viewed at https://clubmanageraward.com/ project/2020-excellence-in-club-management-awards-broadcast/

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

IDEAEXCHANGE SHOWCASE OF THE STARS To still provide hands-on learning experiences for its culinary and hospitality students during the pandemic, Oklahoma State University called on chefs from top area clubs to help stage a special virtual Food Art event.

By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor

THERE’S A REASON THAT THE OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY (OSU) School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) is ranked 22nd in the world by CEO World magazine.

The program, part of OSU’s Spears School of Business, holds chef events twice a semester, or four times a year, bringing in specialty chefs from all across the world. Craft beer and wine forums are also offered, and students gain hands-on learning experience in commercial kitchens, as well as university, hotel and event venues. They help to plan and execute high-profile events and build relationships with industry professionals who mentor students. In addition, the program offers study-abroad experiences.

For the Class of 2021, however, the past year was anything but typical. With COVID restrictions in place, Mark Cochran, M.Ed., CEC, CFBE, AAC, Executive Chef and Instructor of Professional Practice at the OSU School of HTM, knew he had to do something special for the students, along with the people who patronize the teaching restau-

rants on the Stillwater, Okla., campus. And he knew he would have to do it virtually.

That led to the idea for a 2021 Showcase of Food Art, a two-hour, live-streamed event held in March, for which HTM students had the opportunity to work with three Executive Chefs from the top clubs in Oklahoma. In addition, the Showcase served as a fundraising event for the program’s Scholarship Fund.

The three participating club chefs were each given a student assistant to help them prepare and plate a two-course meal in the OSU kitchen lab for the virtual event. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

“This was the first time we’ve ever done this,” says Cochran. “We wanted to give something back to our guests who come every semester. And we needed to show our guests, customers and alumni that there was something we could still do.”

SIDE-BY-SIDE EXPERIENCE Club chefs participating in the Showcase included Alex Pierce, CEC, Executive Chef of Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.; Marcelo Miranda, Executive Chef of Oakwood Country Club in Enid, Okla.; and Marc Guizol, CEC, Executive Chef of Oklahoma City (Okla.) Golf & Country Club (OKGCC).

“We wanted the best of the best,” says Susan Anderson, CMP, an Event Strategist and Facilitator of Experiential Learning at OSU Spears School of Business, who helped to coordinate the event.

Back- and front-of-the-house students took part in the Showcase, and each guest chef had a student assistant to help him prepare and plate a two-course meal in the OSU kitchen lab. Graduate student Katherine Ruck and Cochran served as masters of ceremony, interviewing the chefs during the event to ask about their techniques.

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While being interviewed during the preparation of his courses, Marc Guizol, CEC, Executive Chef of Oklahoma City G&CC, emphasized how attention to detail enhances the front-of-house and service aspect of fine dining.

Sturgeon Caviar.

In addition to showing their creativity, each chef wanted to ensure that the students would learn something new.

“I wanted to have good, flavorful food that was a little different with different techniques, so they could take something away,” Pierce says.

To that end, to prepare his New York strip, Pierce used a house rub on the steak before searing it. Then he set a cedar board on fire and put the steak on the smoldering plank to roast it in the oven. “As it cooks, the smoke flavor permeates the skin,” he explained.

A VIRTUAL MEMBER EVENT More than 400 people watched the virtual event, including members from the participating chefs’ properties.

To raise money for the HTM Scholarship Fund, a silent auction was held during the Showcase for each of the three meals. Audience members texted their name, bid, and the name of the club and its chef preparing their meal of choice. The winning bidders received the dinner for six people, to be served at that chef’s property.

People could also make donations at osugiving.com and text questions to the chefs.

A WINNING CONCEPT Cochran has a wealth of ideas for future Showcases, ranging from inviting chefs from resorts or fine-dining and other restaurants, to having themed menus with international cuisine. The initial Showcase was a success because of the “caliber of our students and the chefs,” he says.

And the three club chefs have received plenty of positive feedback from their participation in the inaugural event. Eighty percent of the membership at Oakwood CC, which is close to Stillwater, has OSU ties, according to Miranda. “They want to know when we’re going to do it again,” he says.

Photos by Jess Barnes/Shake, Rattle & Roll

dents, and Cochran chose almost 20 to take part in the Showcase. “I had to take care of the seniors,” he says.

The club chefs planned their own menus.

“We put a guideline down, and they picked their own dishes. We set everything up as a competition,” Cochran says.

For his first course, Southern Hills’ Pierce prepared Thai Roasted Lobster with a Green Curry Emulsion, Grapefruit Avocado Relish, and Crispy Sweet Potato. His second course included Cedar-Roasted New York Strip, Butternut Squash Succotash, Charred Broccolini, Sweet Corn Sabayon, Maker’s Mark Steak Sauce, and Pickled Green Tomato Relish.

Oakwood’s Miranda selected Beef Steak Tomato Salad with Balsamic Caramelized Bermuda Onions, Gorgonzola Wedge, and Local Baby Green tossed in House Vinaigrette for his first course. His second course included Salmon en Croute, featuring Fresh Norwegian Salmon with House Whip Cream Cheese, Sautéed Fresh Baby Spinach Wrap in All-Butter Pastry, Whip Creamy Potato Tomato, and Raspberry Beurre Blanc.

OKGCC’s Guizol’s first course consisted of a Farm Brown Egg Foie Gras Parfait, Port Gelée, and House-Baked Mini Baguette. The second course featured Seared Sea Scallop, Carrot Flower, Spinach, and Mountain

Between the silent auction and the website, donors contributed more than $5,000 to the scholarship fund.

The club chefs believe the Showcase was as beneficial to their properties as it was to the students. “We got more exposure to the community, and it was a way to support OSU,” says Miranda, who also expressed hope that Oakwood CC would be able to invite students to help with large weekend events in the future.

Pierce also saw the Showcase as a way to support students in a program that can help to funnel employees to Southern Hills. “And our members enjoy seeing staff members giving back,” he adds.

“I wanted to show the students something different,” said Marcelo Miranda (left), Executive Chef of Oakwood CC. “It was practice, not theory.” Miranda also enjoyed learning a new technique of his own after seeing Alex Pierce, CEC, Executive Chef of Southern Hills CC, demonstrate setting a cedar board on fire (right) to use as a plank when roasting New York strip steak.

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July 2021 www.clubandresortchef.com

Unlocking Potential INSIDE Restoring a Post-COVID Workforce Must-Have Midnight Snacks

Interlachen CC’s leadership team is focused on planning, growing, conquering complexity and further establishing its culinary expertise.

Dishing

with

DeChellis

ONE OF A KIND THIS PAST SPRING, the U-10 girls

soccer team that I coach was placed in the top division of our league.

Last season, we went undefeated.

Then this season we lost our first game, 7-0. Then we lost the next game, 17-0. And so it went, match after match, loss after loss. We were in way over our heads.

It was brutal. By the end of the season, we had only scored three goals total while letting up 33.

Despite the losses, this crew of 10-year-olds never gave up. They showed up to every single practice determined to improve as players and as a team. We, as coaches, reached out to our local high school’s varsity coach to get more guidance and help. The players doubled down on their technical training, on the pitch and off. And they showed the coaches, the parents and the fans the true meaning of grit and resolve.

We still never won a match this season, but we learned a great deal.

Much of what the team achieved this season can’t be tallied on a scoreboard, but it will serve each of the players for years to come.

Similarly, much of what club chefs are facing right now—as we surface from a global pandemic, only to be faced with labor challenges, supply-chain issues and rising costs—will transform the industry and those in it for the long term.

Chefs are gritty people. Take Law56

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rence McFadden, CMC, GM/COO of The Union Club of Cleveland (Ohio), for example. I’ve known McFadden for years. He’s has been an important contributor to our blogs, podcasts, conferences and strategic plans.

When he won the Mel Rex Award for Excellence in Club Management (ECM), I was thrilled, and Joe Barks, Editor of Club + Resort Business, asked me to write the profile on McFadden that appears on pg. 50 of this issue.

Through this process, I learned about McFadden’s transition from cook, to apprentice, to chef, to Certified Master Chef, to manager, to Excellence in Club Management award winner. Talk about grit—McFadden went from being the guy in the whites who everyone considered a rock star to the guy in a suit who has to make sure everyone is happy all of the time.

Yet he persevered, even when colleagues warned him it wouldn’t be an easy transition. He doubled down. He found strong mentors and took calculated risks that he believed would benefit him in the long run.

As GM/COO of The Union Club, McFadden has achieved immense professional success. He is a kind, tenacious person who views his role in our industry more as a calling than as a career. For him, being the manager of The Union Club is an avenue to give back to the

club community—both to chefs, members and managers alike.

During our interview for his ECM profile, I asked McFadden to share with me why he believed winning this award was important.

“This [Excellence in Club Management] award views success from the accomplishments of the entire team,” he replied. “Without a strong partnership with each of these stakeholders, no leader is successful, and many of the strategic projects this award recognizes would not have been realized.

“Our grand club is 148 years old, yet here we are continuing to re-create excellence on various levels, and thus securing a vibrant future for all involved,” he added.

“We will continue to reimagine our services and our membership proposition, while keeping the legendary traditions of the club alive.”

If we can all be as team-centric and as tenacious as McFadden —and my crew of soccer players —I have no doubt the future will be transformative.

EDITOR Joanna DeChellis jdechellis@wtwhmedia.com 412-260-9233 www.clubandresortchef.com

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N OV E M B E R C L U B I N D E X

Properties J U LY featured C L U Bin this I Nissue DEX BallenIsles Country Club Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. 22 Properties featured in this issue Boca Grove Golf and Tennis Club Boca Raton, Fla. 24 Bonnie Briar Country Club Larchmont, N.Y. Ga. 81 14 Cherokee Town & Country Club Atlanta, Chevy Chase Club Chase, Md. 68 26 The Country Club Chevy of Pittsfield Pittsfield, Mass.

Chickasaw CountryScottsdale, Club Memphis, 70 20 Desert Mountain Ariz. Tenn.

The Everglades National Club Palm Beach, Commonwealth Golf ClubFla. Horsham, Pa. 68 34 Fiddler’s N.J. Country Elbow Club ofBedminster, Maryland Towson, Md. 81 18 Forest Lake Club Columbia, S.C. Fairview Country Club Greenwich, Conn.

81 14 Fort Wayne Country Club Fort Wayne, Ind. Forsyth Country Club Winston-Salem, N.C. 62 30 The Gasparilla Inn & Club Boca Grande, Fla. 10 Frenchman’s Reserve Country Club 14 JW Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa PalmMarriott Beach Gardens, Fla. 74 Miami, Fla. Dunes Club Palm Coast, Fla. Hammock 70 Kalamazoo CountryClub ClubEdina, Kalamazoo, Interlachen Country Minn. Mich.

64 18 Kenwood Country Club Cincinnati, Ohio 26 Lexington Country Club Lexington, Ky. 81 Kings Creek Country Club Rehoboth Beach, Del. 18 L’Hirondelle Club of Ruxton Towson, Md. 81 Myers Park Country Club Charlotte, N.C. 28 Myers Park Country Club Charlotte, N.C. 74, 78 Quail West Golf and Country Club Naples, Fla. 24 Rehoboth Beach Country Club Rehoboth Beach, Del. 81 River Run Country Club Davidson, N.C. 20 Sycamore Hills Golf Club Fort Wayne, Ind. 81, 82 Sedgefield Country Club Greensboro, N.C. 24 Sherwood Country Club Thousand Oaks, Calif.

22 www.clubandresortbusiness.com www.clubandresortchef.com

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CONTENTS July • Vol. 11 • Issue 4

F

- 64 Unlocking Potential

Interlachen CC’s leadership team is focused on planning, growing, conquering complexity and further establishing its culinary expertise.

56 Editor’s Memo One of a Kind

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Chef’s Thoughts

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Spirit Away

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Equipment Club Pastry Chefs Can’t Live Without

Blair Cannon, CEC, CFE, Executive Chef, Forsyth Country Club

Clubs are expanding beverage programs to include a more thoughtful variety of alcohol-free options.

Chickasaw CC’s Justin Hughes and Hammock Dunes Club’s James Guzzaldo offer their takes on the best pastry kitchen equipment for getting the job done.

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The Dos and Don’ts of a La Carte Menu Development Seven club chefs offer their best advice for building successful a la carte menus.

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Must-Have Midnight Snacks

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Restoring a Post-COVID Workforce

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Teamwork and Competition

Clubs are capitalizing on the late-night snacking trend with splurge-worthy dishes members can’t resist.

Scott Craig pens an open letter to colleagues on the labor crisis facing the culinary profession.

Chris Hampton, General Manager/COO of Sycamore Hills GC, believes both traits are critical to F&B success.

Photo courtesy of Interlachen CC

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CHEF’S THOUGHTS

Blair Cannon, CEC, CFE

Executive Chef Forsyth Country Club Winston-Salem, N.C. Prior to becoming Executive Chef of Forsyth Country Club (Winston-Salem, N.C), Blair Cannon, CEC, CFE, worked at a number of impressive clubs, including the Bohemian Club (San Francisco, Calif.), Augusta (Ga.) National Country Club, and Charlotte (N.C.) Country Club.

1. You’d be surprised to learn that my wife and I are expecting our first baby girl this summer.

2. If I could trade places with one chef it would be Thomas Keller.

3. One of my most memorable meals was at Altura in Seattle, Wash.

The tasting menu was 14 courses. We sat at the chef’s table.

The best part was that I was able to share this with Forsyth CC’s former Executive Chef, Michael Mort. He has done so much for me here, so being able to step back and enjoy an experience like this with him was amazing.

4. My go-to drink is Health-Ade Blood Orange, Carrot, and Ginger Kombucha. Drinking half a bottle every other morning has really helped my digestive system.

5. My last meal would be Wagyu tomahawk ribeye, pomme puree, grilled asparagus, smoked horseradish, and a big glass of Opus One Cabernet Sauvignon.

6. My worst culinary creation was not a creation, but a HUGE mistake.

We had a party of 350 guests with other multiple parties going on. I overcooked 200 steaks. No one said anything after scrambling to get more done, but it was very embarrassing to have the team looking at me. We pulled it together, though.

7. If I could change one thing about my club it would be to add more 62

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most important question I ask during the “The interview process is, ‘What are your goals in life inside and outside of work, and how do you want to reach those goals?’

”

fast-casual outlets that are kept simple with low labor costs, such as adding a coffee shop in our fitness center.

8. My favorite junk food is tortilla chips and guacamole. I can eat a whole bag of chips if my wife doesn’t pull them away.

9. If I wasn’t a chef, I’d love to be a video journalist, like an Anthony Bourdain.

10. I knew I wanted to be a chef when my grandmother would take me to the farmer’s markets and fish mongers to gather ingredients, and then teach me how to prepare those ingredients.

11. You’ll never see tripe on the menu at my club, because our members would look at me like I am crazy.

12. The hardest service of my career is right now. This staffing crisis is real, and our team is seeing how valuable stewards and dishwashers are to the organization. Interviews don’t show up, and temp agencies cannot be relied on.

13. I love being a club chef because

I love creating experiences for our guests, exploring other cultural flavor profiles and techniques, and passing along my knowledge to our passionate team of chefs.

14. When I’m not in the kitchen, I’m kayak fishing with my wife, and hiking various mountains.

15. My biggest mistake when I first started as a chef was assuming that respect is gained from the staff just by knowing my experience as a chef.

16. I cook cheap Maruchan Ramen at home, but I’d never cook it at the club.

17. When hiring, lack of details and constant very-short tenures kill a resume fastest for me.

18. The most important pieces of equipment in my kitchen are the combi ovens and my computer.

19. I want to learn more about socialmedia marketing strategies and videography.

View the extended conversation with Chef Cannon at www.clubandresortchef.com. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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COVER FEATURE

unlocking p

Interlachen CC’s leadership team is focused on planning, growing, conquering complexity and further establishing its culinary expertise.

By Joanna DeChellis, Editor

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g potential

CLUB CULINARY PROGRAMS HAVE to innovate to be successful—but the magnitude of change, and the speed at which a club is able to set new ideas in motion, can vary greatly. Success is achieved when leaders are focused, collaborative and driven by the same desire to create a member experience that is nothing short of exceptional.

Over the past four years, Interlachen Country Club (Edina, Minn.) has been on a transformative culinary journey. It began when Joel Livingood, General Manager/CEO, hired a strong new Executive Chef in Aaron Anderson, who then leveraged the club’s $10.5 million campus-wide renovation and worked with Assistant General Manager Carrie Eyler to change everything about how the club defines and delivers its culinary experience.

GETTING STARTED

The club’s flagship restaurant, the Bobby Jones Pub & Grille, saw the greatest change, both physically and conceptually. The dining room was artfully redesigned with rich wood accents and exposed beams. Iron chandeliers hang from the soaring ceilings of the 100-year-old building (see photo, pg. 66).

Members can also enjoy outdoor seating on a newly added, sizable Bobby Jones Terrace that overlooks the golf course.

The Pub & Grille’s menu offers a simple and refreshing approach to cuisine that changes seasonally and is chef-forward.

“Every component of this restaurant was thoughtfully considered,” says Livingood. “Each element of the dining experience, from the moment a member or guest arrives to the moment they depart, feels connected and intentional.

Our goal was to create an experience that rivaled the best restaurants in the Twin Cities.”

As part of a campus-wide renovation, Interlachen made significant changes to its dining spaces and programs. Each restaurant was given its own unique identity, with the overarching goal of creating destination-type outlets with menus to match.

Pictured (left to right): Aaron Anderson, Executive Chef; Kayla Plumley, Executive Pastry Chef; Scott Engberg, Banquet Chef; John Krattenmaker, Sous Chef; Luis Ortiz, Chef de Cuisine; and Carrie Eyler, Assistant General Manager.

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COVER FEATURE

As part of the new concept, leadership decided to have servers don jeans and white shirts, instead of the more traditional black slacks and black button-down shirts.

“A week before opening, I asked [Eyler] if jeans were still a good idea,” says Livingood. “She reminded me that we were trying to create a warm, casual, inviting atmosphere and our team’s uniforms were a part of that.”

In the concept phase, Eyler, Anderson and Livingood noted that the best restaurants in Minneapolis—even those that have won James Beard Awards— have servers who wear jeans. So they went for it.

“Overall, it was well received by our members and a welcome change by our team,” says Livingood, adding that the Bobby Jones Pub & Grill continues to be the club’s busiest member-dining space.

LAY OF THE LAND The main kitchen that serves the Bobby Jones venue is divided into smaller spaces—and, as part of the renovation, it got a brand-new line with new equipment and better flow.

As part of the second phase of its renovation, which focused on the lower level of the clubhouse, the club created the Founders Café and Turn Bar as a casual, quick service-style dining option. A garde manger space in the back

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of the main kitchen acts as a commissary for serving this outlet and the pool.

At Founders, members can choose from a variety of sandwiches, salads, snacks and smoothies. The space is also a full-service bar and coffee shop.

Last, but certainly not least—especially during Midwestern heat waves— the 1909 Pool Cabana offers casual and fresh poolside dining. Members can choose to receive food-and-beverage service from their lounge chairs or be seated on the Cabana’s upper deck.

The venue also features a separate bar with a shaded lounge area.

In addition to the three permanent outlets, the club’s lawn space is transformed into “The Snow Yard” in the winter and “Burgers and Brews” in the summer. The Snow Yard includes cozy seating in 10 igloos and offers Gesino’s Pizza, a New Haven-style pie created

by Interlachen’s Sous Chef, Joshua Gesino. The menu at Burgers and Brews includes five signature burgers, hand-cut fries, homemade ice cream sandwiches, and features a different local brewery each week.

“All told, our members now have four or five different restaurants to choose from at different times of the year, based on how they want to enjoy their club,” says Livingood. “There’s been a ton of ingredients in our success.

While our renovated spaces provided

a platform to create these experiences, our team is the secret to our success.

Everything we do, we do at the highest level—and it starts with them.”

PATH TO SUCCESS Interlachen’s cover counts are up 48% over the last two years. Sales are up nearly $2 million, from $3 million to $4.75 million, and the club’s Net Promoter Score is currently 82, up from 17.

Livingood credits Eyler and Anderson with being the creative masterminds who have led this incredible success and growth.

Anderson came to the club six months before the renovations were complete, having previously served as Executive Chef of Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.

Eyler, on the other hand, came to Interlachen, and the club business, after years in the theater.

“You’d be surprised to learn how much similarity there is between the performing-arts world and the club world,” she says. “In both cases, we are charged with creating an experience, and with doing all of the little things correctly to bring the big things to life.”

After cold-calling Interlachen’s previous GM and landing an interview, Eyler expressed her passion for people and for creating experiences and building a community. She landed a gig as a hostess and in that role, she built relationships with members, dining-room managers, servers and the back-ofhouse staff.

Each subsequent season, she was promoted. She then dabbled in membership, ultimately serving as Membership Director for three years. In this role, she learned the ins and outs of member events and banquets. One summer, she even worked as a pro shop assistant, to improve her golf acumen.

“I wanted to learn every aspect of the club that I could, so I could make myself a more valuable team member,” she says.

In January 2018, Eyler was promoted to AGM, and has since been laser-focused on service and team-building. www.clubandresortchef.com

The menu for Tacos & Tequila features authentic Mexican dishes including tacos, quesadillas, tortas and more.

THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE

TRANSFORMING TACO TUESDAY

“We always strive to find a path to ‘yes,’” says Eyler. “That mantra guides everything we do. We warmly welcome our members and send them off with a fond farewell. We anticipate their needs and are creative in finding solutions.”

When she served as a hostess, Eyler saw glimpses of this future within the staff. “But we needed more horsepower,” she says. “There were individuals on the team that had that service mentality, but we weren’t capable of delivering it at the time.”

Now, armed with a stronger team and plenty of support from the heart of the house, Interlachen is able to crank the wheel fast enough to see positive dividends.

“Chef, myself, our GM and our Director of Member Dining, Alyssa Smith, represent the core of our team,” says Eyler. “Training is central to what we do. We are always looking to identify individuals with the aptitude and desire to grow, and we develop them to set them on a path for career success.”

As part of this process, Interlachen’s leadership encourages managers to run equal parts defense and offense.

“We want our managers on the floor as active participants in the experience, but we also ask them to think ahead and strategize how we can continue to be successful long-term,” says Eyler.

When Anderson joined the team, he was reluctant to run the same prolific theme nights and buffets in the manner that they are often presented in clubs.

“Chef [Anderson] challenged our team to think about traditional club events in a different way, more consistent with our focus on delivering restaurant-quality dining experiences. We have a taco night but it’s more like dining at your favorite Mexican cantina,” says Livingood.

Interlachen’s team goes all-in on the theme. They’ve even created a dedicated brand: Tacos & Tequila.

Interlachen’s variation involves clearing the back bar and filling it with several different types of tequila for a high-end, build-your-own margarita menu. Servers wear custom shirts with the Tacos & Tequila logo on the back, and the menu features authentic dishes. Five different tacos—a chef’s taco that changes weekly, a pork carnitas taco, a green chicken chorizo taco, a short-rib barbacoa taco and a tortilla-crusted walleye taco (pictured above)—are also offered.

www.clubandresortchef.com

CULINARY FIRST For Anderson, “club food” are dirty words.

“We can keep traditions alive without offering a menu with thirty entrees,” he says. “As club chefs, the charge falls squarely on our shoulders to create concepts that are exciting and innovative.

We have to be more creative.”

Take Minnesota walleye, for example.

Livingood told Anderson when he

came on board that walleye is a menu must-have at Interlachen. Anderson translated that into a seasonal walleye special featuring different components, accompaniments and techniques.

“Our menu is hyper-seasonal,” says Anderson. “It changes every three weeks, so we can truly capture the best of what’s in season.

“Members who dine with us a few times a week always get to try something new and exciting, too,” he adds.

“Our menus are tight, so when we make a change, we’re only really swapping four or five dishes. It’s less daunting for the staff and more exciting for the members, and it gives us a chance to source the best ingredients at the best time.”

This philosophy doesn’t mean Interlachen doesn’t serve burgers and chicken tenders. Quite the opposite.

Their mantra—”always find a path to yes”—applies to the back of house, too.

Off-menu items and special requests are a perk of membership. As for the traditional club favorites, Anderson and his team take the same care for those dishes as they do weekly specials, maintaining their commitment to utilizing the highest quality ingredients.

“Having worked in both restaurants and clubs, the transition from restaurant to club can be challenging,” says Anderson. “I am fortunate to be surrounded by a passionate group of culinarians who have embraced the environment and our philosophy—and I have also learned a lot from them.” C+RC July 2021

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BEVERAGE

Spirit Away

Clubs are expanding beverage programs to include a more thoughtful variety of alcohol-free options.

By Megan Freitas, Contributing Editor

AS MEMBERS AND GUESTS seek refreshing, flavorful and more healthful alternatives to stay hydrated, functional beverages, including sports drinks, flavored waters, juices, coffees and mocktails, are stirring up the beverage menus at club and resort properties.

“A lot of research goes into planning what types of drinks we offer members across the property,” says Elisha Cicerone, who recently left her position with Chevy Chase (Md.) Club as Assistant General Manager/Food & Beverage Director, to take on a new role as General Manager/COO of Charlotte (N.C.) City Club.

“Something that might be appropriate at the pool or skating rink is not necessarily going to be as popular in the dining room, at the fitness center or on the golf course,” Cicerone adds. “It’s important to consider what segment of your membership you’re trying to satisfy with your product mix, as well as shelf life, ease and speed of service, and price point.”

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION For members using Chevy Chase’s fitness center as well as most of the club’s outdoor amenities, including the pool and golf course, Cicerone says hydrating beverages that maximize flavor and minimize calories have been popular. Sparkling waters, low-calorie sports drinks and pressed juices sell well in those venues, too.

“Chevy Chase members gravitate toward exotic flavors, such as dragonfruit and açaí, in flavored waters and sports drinks,” she explains. “They also enjoy the line of organic, cold-pressed, high-pressure fruit and vegetable juices and wellness shots, because they’re quick and healthy.”

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At Commonwealth National Golf Club, Beverage Manager and Sommelier Patrice Hewski incorporates immunity-boosting, fresh-pressed juices into the club’s low- and no-alcohol drinks.

cross-utilized in cocktails to minimize waste and create exciting new options on the cocktail menu.

GIVING DRY A TRY

The juices, while popular, tend to have a higher price point and shorter shelf life, Cicerone notes, so Chevy Chase also makes an effort to crossutilize them in its cocktail program, to minimize waste.

At Commonwealth National Golf Club in Horsham, Pa., flavored waters are also trending.

“With flavored waters, it’s all about finding the most flavorful product with the least amount of calories and fake sugars,” says Patrice Hewski, Beverage Manager and Sommelier.

HOT HAUTE HOT Colder weather brings with it a desire to sip more robust, steamy beverages like hot chocolate and specialty coffees.

At Chevy Chase Club’s full-size iceskating rink, a dedicated hot cocoa machine runs nearly non-stop during business hours. “Hot chocolate is the number-one-selling beverage at the rink,” says Cicerone, noting that the club uses a simple, push-button hot chocolate dispenser.

A close second to the hot cocoa is Chevy’s cold-brew coffee, which is sourced locally and, like the juices, is www.clubandresortbusiness.com

At Commonwealth National GC, Hewski is especially keen on developing the club’s mocktail menu with creative ingredients and flavors.

“I think one thing to have come out of the pandemic is the realization that life is not all about burning yourself out and compensating for your stress with alcohol,” says Hewski. “Many of our members are looking to achieve a more balanced lifestyle, and mocktails are really taking off.”

In line with this trend, the Commonwealth National team is incorporating immunity-boosting, fresh-pressed juices that are combined with activated charcoal, aloe vera, tea, and other detoxing agents into bases for beverages with low- or no-alcohol mixers.

“For example, we use ginger quite frequently,” says Hewski. “Not only does the potent flavor replace the need for sugar, its antioxidant compounds play a role in reducing swelling and aiding in pain management, which is an important concern for many of our golfers.”

The team at Chevy Chase often uses the club’s expansive chef’s garden to bring the freshest seasonal flavors, such as mint and aronia berries, to its mocktails.

“Mint season runs from Derby Day to Labor Day,” says Cicerone. “On Derby Day, we go out and harvest a big batch of mint to use in juleps and several other mint mocktails. We also try to use these ingredients to make home-

made syrups, which are super-easy to cross-utilize between cocktails and mocktails.”

Homemade syrups are also boosting beverage sales at Commonwealth National, says Hewski.

“We have an amazing bartender who has a passion for making simple syrups,” she says. “She’s currently working on a lavender syrup and a honeyginger syrup that we’ll use in weekend beverage specials—and beyond.” C+RC

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Equipment Club

Pastry Chefs Can’t Live Without Chickasaw CC’s Justin Hughes and Hammock Dunes Club’s James Guzzaldo offer their takes on the best pastry kitchen equipment for getting the job done.

By Pamela Brill, Contributing Editor

BEHIND EVERY INSTA-WORTHY PASTRY recipe is the place where it all comes together. Pulling off a picture-perfect creation requires not only the right supplies, but the proper space for where it can be prepared.

These club chefs share their vision of a dream pastry kitchen design that takes the cake—and gives them a place to bake it, too.

DESSERT BY DESIGN For Pastry Chef Justin Hughes of Chickasaw Country Club in Memphis, Tenn., working in a shared banquet/ pastry kitchen means doing his best work in an always-active environment.

“Thanks to the club’s well-estab-

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lished kitchen, I’ve been able to showcase my skills to the fullest potential,” says Hughes.

After cutting his teeth at the revered Peabody Memphis and now spending the last two years at Chickasaw, Hughes has been able to put his multitasking talents to good use and make the most of his current setup.

To ensure that his plated specialties turn out well, Hughes relies on fully functional equipment. His necessities include a double-decker convection oven, not only for baking bread and desserts, but heating up sauces; rubber spatulas for scraping the remains out of mixers and bowls, along with adding creams and whipped items into pastry

bags; and a chocolate tempering machine, which he uses to melt chocolate and keep it at the desired temperature. “[The tempering machine] is essential in my line of work throughout my entire day,” Hughes notes. He also praises Kitchen Aid mixers (in lieu of mixing by hand) for helping to save time and labor, while employing pastry-only refrigeration units to hold baked goods without acquiring any off flavors.

Topping Hughes’s wish list of pastry kitchen equipment is a dough sheeter, which he praises for its consistency and mobility. “This machinery decreases the time [compared] to using a rolling pin to get an item to the desired length and width,” he notes.

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PASTRY

Another preferred item is a blaster freezer, which Hughes is fortunate to have at Chickasaw. He lauds the benefit of being able to freeze mousse that would be piped into a mold.

“If one were in a rush, they could pop it into the blast freezer and wait five minutes, [instead of waiting] an hour for the mousse to congeal and take shape,” he says. “Then you could continue onto glazing the dessert and presenting it in a timely manner.”

Trustworthy brands are also an important component of a well-operated pastry kitchen. For Hughes, those include the Escali digital scale, which provides precise measurements that ensure a consistent product; Kitchen Aid’s versatile mixers and accessory attachments; and Dexter-Russell’s knives, spatulas and dough cutters.

“Working with these brands helps me with precision cuts, handling my goods with care throughout the operation, plus dividing dough and cleaning my station to perfection with ease,” says Hughes.

BREAKING THE MOLD Running a one-man show at Hammock Dunes Club in Palm Coast, Fla., Pastry Chef James Guzzaldo knows how to make the best use of his space inside the club’s main kitchen. Having sharpened his pastry-making skills over the years at various points in his career—from a private club in Chicago to restaurant, catering and retail baking jobs—Guzzaldo has been able to draw on all of these experiences to serve 72

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him well in his current gig.

“In my setup, my pastry space is strictly a production space, from which I stock the service spaces in our two kitchens for a la carte service,” he notes.

Working alone, Guzzaldo has designated a four-foot stainless table as his primary workstation and uses several speed racks.

One equipment essential that Guzzaldo keeps on hand are molds in a variety of shapes, sizes and styles. Having a well-rounded assortment boosts creativity and helps to make his desserts even more interesting, he says.

“I could probably produce everything on sheet pans and cut out squares and rectangles—triangles, if I really wanted to get crazy—but that would get boring pretty quickly,” he says.

Metal rings and flexible silicon and rigid polycarbonate molds provide choices for assembling unique creations, including golf ball candies and three-dimensional chocolate golf balls.

Guzzaldo also uses silicon edible lace molds to line the plate with edible lace in his Irish coffee Tira Misu.

“I picked up a set of varied designs and have had a lot of fun toying with them,” he notes (see photos, above).

Down the road, Guzzaldo plans to expand Hammock Dunes’ in-house bread production, and has ordered a steam-injected deck oven for that purpose. “Making bread will also bring us closer to maximizing our 60-quart Hobart mixer,” he notes.

While Guzzaldo is not wedded to

particular brands—if used and maintained properly, they all perform reasonably well, he feels—he has a clear picture of what makes a productive pastry kitchen.

“You don’t want to have more space than you need,” he says, because having too much leads to more clutter.

Close proximity to the mixer, oven and essential tools is paramount for efficiency, he adds. And because Guzzaldo primarily works alone, having all of his equipment within arm’s reach saves him a lot of time, instead of having to track down needed supplies.

Because his pastry kitchen is strictly for production, Guzzaldo stocks the service space in Hammock Dunes’ two kitchens for a la carte service. Preparing banquet pastry calls for expanding into a larger production space.

“If I have something intricate on the plate, I work ahead and put the plates on two plate racks,” he notes. This technique, he adds, was used when airbrushing plates with the logo of a winery for a wine dinner at the club.

To maintain production in close quarters, Guzzaldo makes large batch sizes whenever possible and makes good use of his freezer for preserving pastries.

“Some people balk at freezing pastries, but I think it’s the best preservation method, given it is done correctly,” he says. “Thomas Keller, in his Bouchon Bakery book, says that the freezer is the second-most important piece of equipment. Who am I to argue with Thomas Keller?” C+RC www.clubandresortbusiness.com

BEVERAGE

The Dos and Don’ts

of a la Carte Menu Development Seven club chefs offer their best advice for building successful a la carte menus.

By Joanna DeChellis, Editor

Even the best menus must change from time to time. Whether it’s a seasonal update, removing dishes that aren’t selling well, or adding in new favorites, these dos and don’ts can help club chefs with their a la carte menu development.

DO strive for menu dishes that keep members engaged.

“When we create a menu, we don’t ask ourselves if a dish will make money,” says Matthew Blazey, Executive Chef, Lexington (Ky.) Country Club. “Instead, we ask if our members will appreciate it, if they’ll insist that their friends come to the club to try it, and if they’ll pass on dining elsewhere to come here for this particular dish.

“We don’t cook for ourselves as club chefs,” Blazey emphasizes. “We cook for our members.

That’s not to say you can’t believe in the food you’re cooking—but the satisfaction of your membership has to be the driving factor for what you put on your menu.”

DO follow trends.

“We keep an eye on menus at local restaurants, to see what they are doing that our members might be eager to try,” says TJ Garrish, CEC, Executive Chef, L’Hirondelle Club of Ruxton (Towson, Md.). “Keeping up with trends and staying hyper-seasonal also helps to drive engagement with our members.”

DON’T overdo it.

“We’ve gone away from the whole ‘bigger is better’-style menu and streamlined our offerings to be smaller, but focused on quality, seasonality, local ingredients and creative

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cuisine,” says Anthony Capua, Executive Chef, Sycamore Hills Golf Club (Fort Wayne, Ind.). “If you’re going to run a seven- or eight-entree menu, change it every two weeks, and be sure to keep dishes fresh and well-conceived.”

DON’T forget who you have on the line.

“Keep your menus simple and easy to execute,” says Matthew O’Connor, CEC, WCEC, Executive Chef, Bonnie Briar Country Club (Larchmont, N.Y.).

“Consider the skill level of the staff that has to consistently execute these dishes,” adds Rich Hoffman, CEC, CCA, AAC, WCMC, CDM, CFPP, Executive Chef, Country Club of Maryland (Towson, Md.).

DO bring personality to the menu.

“Get creative with the specials,” says O’Connor.

“I use a grid process,” adds Hoffman. “I start with seasonal produce, proteins, cooking methods, starches and sauces. Then I base the dish off of masculine or feminine profiles, and couple that with sales mixes, price points and regional favorite flavors.”

“All chefs should walk the dining room and talk about the food,” says Jeff Perez, Executive Chef, Fairview Country Club (Greenwich, Conn.). “The successful club chef builds the bridge between his/her creativity, traditional club food and understanding what the membership wants.”

DON’T forget your vendors.

“First and foremost, we look at seasonality and availability of product, especially nowadays,” says Andrew Maggitti, CEC, Executive Chef of Rehoboth Beach (Del.) Country Club. “We build specials based on our own creativity and on what’s available at the market.” C+RC

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BANQUET

Must-Have

Midnight Snacks Clubs are capitalizing on the late-night snacking trend with splurge-worthy dishes members can’t resist.

By Jennifer Olvera, Contributing Editor

WHEN CONSIDERING THE WAY people ate over the last year, an interesting, emerging trend can’t be ignored—the “snackification” of meals. And it’s not just for big events, like the Super Bowl.

DoorDash recently released its Bracket Bites report, which followed American snacking trends from March 2020 through March 2021. It showed that, as Americans settled into the sixmonth mark of the pandemic, snacking was king.

In fact, 56% of Americans reported enjoying a “second dinner” by partaking in a late-night snack.

While the definition of snacking certainly varies by country and generation, a report from global, science-led nutrition company Glanbia Nutritionals (“Snacks: Trends for 2021 and Beyond”) found an increase in snacking throughout the day led to snacks replacing meals. Not surprisingly, late-night snacks leaned to the more indulgent, while also being flavor-forward.

And the club industry has seen first-hand evidence of the trend.

“For many of our weddings and events, we’ve seen an increase in demand for street foods, more spices and bold flavors for those late-night snacks,” says Joe Longo, Executive Chef of Frenchman’s Reserve Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. “At the same time, members continue to look for well-executed, interesting plates that reflect great technique and quality.

“As banquets continue to recover, there is a huge opportunity for growth with midnight-snack menus,” Longo adds. And in all cases, he says, members and guests at Frenchmen’s Reserve want their after-hours eats to be approachable, fast, casual and fun.

Joe Longo, Executive Chef, Scott Craig, CEC, CCA, WCMC, Director of Culinary Operations at Myers Park CounFrenchman’s Reserve CC try Club (MPCC) in Charlotte, N.C., agrees.

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BANQUET

Brisket and pickled cabbage are among the late-night options at Myers Park CC.

“Over the past year, we’ve moved away from shared touch points, and it’s a shift we plan to continue moving forward,” Craig says. “In their place, we’ve created interactive action stations, with fresh items prepared a la minute.”

The new approach gives MPCC’s team more opportunities to engage with members and guests, while serving up some splurge-worthy eats.

“Our late dishes are typically high in saturated fat and/or carbs,” says Craig. “Our members are looking for very relatable and readily identifiable comfort foods, to enjoy after a long evening of formal dining, drinking and celebrating.”

Picture a fried chicken and biscuit bar, with tons of toppings.

“The sandwiches are prepared to order, then wrapped in a foil wrapper for guests to take with them as they leave,” Craig says.

• • • •

Other recent faves include mini-chicken and waffles, snack-size pizzas, sliders, bite-sized hot dogs, and fries with myriad toppings and seasonings. Craig also finds that taco stations are well-received and allow for a lot of culinary creativity.

“Over the years we have had some interesting requests,” says Craig. “One couple met while in school at Virginia Tech and insisted on having bread sticks from a particular pizzeria as a late-night snack. We drove seven hours to pick up and deliver their ‘Gumby’s Bread Sticks.’”

Another couple craved a “McGriddle” sandwich, so Craig’s team spent several days reverse-engineering the recipe to create a similar product on which they could place the club’s initials (instead of the infamous McDonald’s “M”).

Whatever it is that members crave, there is a common theme.

“Midnight snacks need to have a ‘wow’ factor and ‘sizzle’ to attract crowds,” says Longo.

At Frenchman’s Reserve, that means fried chicken steamed buns with cilantro lime slaw and chipotle mayo, “Mama’s meatballs,” orange cauliflower with candied cashews and jasmine rice, or giant Bavarian pretzels with beer honey mustard.

“They should be familiar, but exciting—and delicious,” says Longo. C+RC

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One of Myers Park CC’s riffs on chicken and waffles features a chicken biscuit with hot honey.

MANAGEMENT

Restoring a Post-COVID Workforce An open letter to colleagues on the labor crisis facing the culinary profession.

By Scott Craig, CEC, CCA, WCMC, Director of Culinary Operations, Myers Park Country Club, Charlotte, N.C.

WHILE IT’S ALWAYS BEEN ON THE horizon, we have finally encountered the “perfect storm” of hiring in the food-and-beverage industry.

Some will say our labor shortage was created by COVID-19 and perpetuated by enhanced unemployment benefits and stimulus checks.

I only agree in part.

After all, I remember sitting with esteemed chefs at the 2019 Chef to Chef Conference discussing our respective labor challenges before most of us had ever heard of coronavirus.

What brought us to where we are? Here are my thoughts:

1. RISING COST OF EDUCATION First, the disproportionately rising cost of education over the past twenty-five years, especially in private culinary schools, has created an extraordinary burden on students and parents alike.

While there are some incredible low-cost options for formal education on a local level, some potential cooks have simply felt shut out of the industry by the prohibitive cost of entry. Others were driven out 78

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by the combination of debt and low wages. I was one of them.

After attending a four-year college, I did not feel I could take on the additional burden of student loans associated with culinary school, so I apprenticed.

2. OLD-SCHOOL MENTALITIES The disconnect between the generations continues to contribute to the lack of participation. I know plenty of chefs who reminisce about the rough-andtumble days of old-school brigades. Some still cling to those sensibilities.

But the modern generation does not respond to this type of leadership, and railing against the faults of millennials, and those younger than them, only serves as a barrier to the development of needed new talent.

I, for one, believe the younger generations have dozens of strengths that we should embrace and celebrate. Their ability to multi-task, their desire to serve a larger purpose, and their capacity for empathy are all extraordinary attributes that we must harness and direct. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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MANAGEMENT

Myers Park CC’s Approach • Increase the minimum wage for cooks and stewards.

Regardless of what the government determines to be our national minimum wage, it has been widely accepted by many that $15/hour is now defined as the minimum “living wage.”

At the end of the day, the various opinions surrounding this debate do not matter, if enough people believe it to be true. The market will dictate what the minimum wage should be, and employers will not be able to fill positions without reaching it.

The stewards who do not get the pay increase today can simply find a higher-paying job tomorrow, and their chefs will be left to hire someone else at a higher rate (after they have finished washing the dishes themselves).

3. LOW WAGES

The single greatest contributing factor to the decline of participation in the culinary profession is our industry’s inability or unwillingness to increase wages in proportion to the cost of living.

Based on figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average wage for a line cook in the United States is $13.10 per hour, or $27,250 per year.

While that figure is based on the industry at large, it has been my experience that country clubs generally fall behind the curve on food-and-beverage compensation, even when considering that clubs do offer more • Invest in an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). humane hours and more competitive benefits.

EAPs offer the kind of support most of us are not trained, or Quick math will show that after federal, sometimes equipped, to handle. 2020 was a difficult year for state and local taxes, a student-loan payment everyone, and many of my team members needed to talk through and modest expenses, there is quite literally losses, anxiety, addictions and more. less than nothing left at the end of the year.

I am fortunate to have found a counselor who is effective for I vividly remember those days as a line cook. me, and my weekly sessions make me a better human and, I I was dead broke but on fire for our craft. I hope, a better leader. Employment Assistance Programs make remember my roommate selling weed to make this kind of support available for all of our team members who rent, and I will never forget being jailed for not might be struggling. being able to pay for my car insurance.

Looking back, it makes me angry that we • Become actively involved with community organizations. worked so hard for so little, especially at one of Being involved in something bigger than yourself is a clear the most respected and affluent country clubs in motivation for many in today’s workforce. Let your team assign America at the time. (I also came to appreciate someone to spearhead the club’s community engagement the extraordinarily fine line that exists between and facilitate opportunities to volunteer and donate leftover being a hard-working but underpaid citizen and product. being deemed a criminal.)

These efforts can not only lift vulnerable members of our For too long, too many operations benefitted community, they can reframe country clubs as a resource for from the inexpensive labor of chefs, cooks, and the community. stewards. They were constantly pressing for better Lastly, they allow team members to feel great about their results while failing to increase wages at a rate that roles in serving the greater good. kept up with the cost of inflation and education. The stereotypical image of a screaming chef was glee• Fund the continuing education of our cooks and chefs. fully embraced by the public and too often perpetuThis can be done in several different ways. The most ated within the industry. obvious would be to create a General Ledger line during the budgeting process. However, if the resources for this are not readily available, turn to your vendor partners to 4. LOSS OF SEASONED COOKS help work towards a solution.

The pandemic, once it did occur, has also had a Rebates can be utilized to fund these endeavors, and role in contributing to the declining number of culinary you may also be able to obtain direct donations from professionals. Its biggest impact, I believe, was with the vendors who value your professional relationship. demographic of seasoned line cooks and stewards who exited the industry and are now reticent to return. These key employees had spent years working nights, weekends and holidays, often to the detriment of their health and personal relationships.

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5. DRUGS AND ALCOHOL Based on statistics from Drugrehab.com, our profession “leads all industries in past-month illicit drug use and past-year substance-use disorder categories by a significant margin. Hospitality ranks third in heavy alcohol consumption, behind mining and construction.”

This isn’t news to us. We have all seen it. Alcohol at the end of the shift, oxycodone to dull the pain in your knees from dropping down to check your oven 40 times that evening, then cocaine to pull you through the next 14-hour shift. Many operations have quickly terminated employees for substance abuse without ever asking the question: Why is this person selfmedicating?

THE BOTTOM LINE The COVID-19 era offered many of our long-time culinary employees their first glimpse at normality, and hastened their transition to other industries with higher wages and far fewer sacrifices.

For these employees, you and I are not competing against one another any longer. We are competing against industries that understand what “essential” means, and are paying accordingly.

We are competing with construction jobs that pay $22 per hour for swinging a hammer, with weekends off, and with Amazon, which will pay an unskilled worker $18 per hour.

The bottom line is this: We face a crisis of our own making, and I bear as much responsibility for perpetuating this as anyone.

I made concessions every year on employee pay, especially in my early years as a chef when I had less www.clubandresortbusiness.com

political capital and no bargaining experience.

Despite our collective fault, we are not helpless bystanders with no bearing on the outcome. There is much work to be done, but the opportunity is in front of us to redefine our industry and leave it better than we found it. The challenges that we overcame to make our way to the other side of this pandemic will mean little if we do not take this opportunity to change the system that resulted in our employment crisis.

THE MOST IMPORTANT GOALS AND MEASURES We absolutely must strive to create cultures where employees, current and potential, want to participate.

We must invest in our employees, not only ensuring that they have a living wage, but that we are helping them move toward their professional goals. To do its part, Myers Park Country Club has adopted a multipronged approach (see sidebar, pg. 80).

We cannot measure our success only by how many medals we earn, compliments in the dining room, performance bonuses or social-media “likes.”

We must measure ourselves by the lifestyle, relative comfort, and future success that is afforded to those who look to us for leadership.

Now is the time for leaders to lead. Let’s give shape to a different vision, and truly leave our craft and our clubs better than we found them. The fight ahead to obtain the needed resources may be exhausting, but it is a fight for nothing less than the soul of our industry and the future of our craft.

Thankfully, no single one of us is in it alone. C+RC July 2021

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MANAGER to CHEF

teamwork And competition

Chris Hampton, General Manager/COO of Sycamore Hills GC, believes both traits are critical to F&B success.

By Joanna DeChellis, Editor

SOME OF THE MOST successful club culinary programs work best when leaders encourage a balance of team collaboration and a drive for personal growth.

This is exactly the case at Sycamore Hills Golf Club (Fort Wayne, Ind.), where Chris Hampton, General Manager/COO, has spent three seasons developing a vision for the club’s future and building a team that can execute it, while simultaneously advancing as club professionals.

One of his more successful hires so far has been Executive Chef Anthony Capua, who came to the club shortly after Hampton. Together, the two have built a strong culinary team and successfully elevated a la carte dining at Sycamore Hills.

CRC: You are a fourth-generation club manager. Have you always wanted to be in the club business?

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CH: Actually, no. When I was three years old, my father left private clubs. He re-entered more than a decade later as General Manager of The Country Club in Pepper Pike, Ohio. I always wanted to do something with computers, but I spent the summer after my high school graduation working for him as the expeditor in the kitchen. I fell in love with the business, and the rest is history.

CRC: What brought you to Sycamore Hills GC? CH: I felt I had accomplished everything I could with the resources I had available to me at my last post, at Lakewood Country Club in Westlake, Ohio. I let one of the search executives know I was ready to make my next move. He knew of my family’s desire to stay within a few hours’ drive of Northeast Ohio, where both my wife and I grew up.

It took about a year before he picked

up the search for the GM/COO position at Sycamore Hills. I decided to apply and was blown away that a club of this caliber was in a small market like Fort Wayne. I connected well with the club ownership group and was thrilled when they offered me the position.

CRC: What are some of Sycamore Hills’ F&B strengths?

CH: This team is incredibly creative.

Most private-club culinary programs are built on tradition, which sometimes can be a detriment for long-term growth.

A wise man once said, “If you are not moving forward, you are falling behind.”

And when a club’s culinary program caters strictly to tradition, it stifles the growth of that program for the next generation of members.

Years ago, catering strictly to tradition worked, because there wasn’t as much competition from local dining www.clubandresortbusiness.com

establishments. Nowadays, in an age where chefs are regularly compared to rock stars, why would a new generation of members embrace the old-school philosophy of tradition over exciting, modern concepts?

This, to me, is how so many clubs’ culinary programs have become stale and irrelevant over the last decade.

Here at Sycamore Hills, our goal is to present fresh, modern and constantly evolving culinary concepts and plating, so our program can compete with the many restaurants that have popped up in Fort Wayne in recent years.

CRC: Where do you see room for improvement in your culinary program?

CH: We are an a la carte-focused operation. It’s the nature of the beast here.

When building our culinary leadership team, I sought out individuals like Chef [Capua] with strong a la carte backgrounds. The results of that dynamic have been incredible.

I feel we have room to improve our banquet business, procedures and execution. Whether that’s through simple sit-down functions or innovative action stations, it’s a world that is not as familiar to this club and our young culinary leadership team.

This year, I have challenged our team to grow banquets at the same pace we have successfully grown a la carte.

CRC: What was your first impression of Chef Capua?

CH: I first met him when he flew to Fort Wayne to interview for our Executive Chef position. Two things jumped out at me instantly. The first was how passionate he is about his craft and his desire to succeed in this industry.

I also vividly remember how much he smiled and laughed throughout the interview. He has an upbeat demeanor, which fits perfectly into the culture we want to cultivate.

CRC: What is your relationship like with him? www.clubandresortbusiness.com

CH: It’s probably very similar to a coach whose team drafts someone young with the potential to become a phenom-level player. It is almost harder to lead or coach someone with an abundance of raw talent, because individuals like Chef aren’t looking to just get to that next level—instead, they want to get to the levels beyond that next level as quickly as possible.

From the get-go, I knew that one of my biggest challenges was going to be constantly challenging Chef in a positive way, so he feels internally satisfied that he is making strides forward to achieve his culinary aspirations.

CRC: What skills do you value most in Chef Capua?

CH: Two things quickly come to mind.

He knows how to lift up his team, striving every day to help develop their skills. I have always felt that some individuals in leadership roles don’t embrace instruction, because they fear that the person they are instructing might take their place one day.

My Clubhouse Manager, Alfredo Hildebrandt, is a great example of the type of person I want to bring to my leadership team. He wants the chair in my office so badly he can taste it.

Does that make me nervous? Not in the least. In six years, I have never stopped teaching him. I want him to be the best manager he can be.

I want our Executive Chef to live by that same philosophy and to bring individuals to his team who challenge him to be the best he can be, and who also desire to be Executive Chefs themselves one day.

Every good hospitality leader needs to have a “potent pause.” We work in an industry that can be very tense, and culture can be torn down quickly if everyone flies off the handle at a moment’s notice. Chef [Capua] sets the tone for the kitchen and let’s face it, some of the most adverse and intense situations we face in this business happen in the kitchen.

Having a chef who keeps his cool under pressure and can get through those heated situations, without intensifying it through a negative reaction, helps to set the tone and culture of the club.

This also helps to ensure a strong level of cohesion between the front- and back-of-the-house teams.

CRC: Why is the dynamic between you and Chef important to the success of the operation?

CH: Chef and I, along with Alfredo Hildebrandt, are the tone setters for our culinary operation. If our visions don’t align, our team won’t have a clear picture of what we are trying to accomplish.

It’s amazing how much our team can pick up on the nuances or dynamics of our relationship. Being on the same page with each other helps to give everyone on our team confidence that we are all working together to achieve the same vision.

CRC: How do you personally support the culinary team?

CH: First and foremost, I always push to give them the resources they need to be successful. This includes labor dollars that are allocated each year to the department. I can’t press my Executive Chef to have the best culinary program in Fort Wayne if our prevailing wage doesn’t net us the level of talent we need to achieve such a stated goal.

Second, one of the most valuable resources I can give the department is my time. As the leader of our organization, if I don’t spend time with them, helping them understand the vision for our culinary program and ways to achieve that vision, the team will most likely never succeed.

The third is the time I take to praise our culinary team for a job well done. People expect to catch heat for a job not well done, but we want to foster an environment where our teams strive to be the best each day, because they know they will be recognized for that effort. C+RC July 2021

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See you in

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Product: Relay+ Features: ▶ Connects over WiFi and cellular network for seamless coverage across your course ▶ Eliminates the need for repeaters ▶ Relay survives anything from drops in water to drops on concrete ▶ Small, lightweight—no protruding, breakable parts like antennas ▶ Fewer repairs and replacements translates into more savings ▶ Talk in groups or in 1:1 private conversations ▶ Create unlimited channels ▶ Wired and Bluetooth headset capable ▶ Use the Relay dashboard to track, manage and even communicate with your team

Relay

www.relaygo.com

Focus on the Fleet

Product: Textron Fleet Management Features: ▶ Select from the screenless Shield technology, or a high-definition screen system ▶ Course will see immediate operational benefits and player excitement that will separate it from the pack ▶ The Shield TFM, 7EX and 10EX systems deliver real-time information to monitor pace of play, enforce geofencing, offer vehicle shutdown and monitor the performance of the vehicle fleets ▶ TFM products amplify players’ experience with 3D flyovers for accurate hole yardage, course mapping and GPS, seamless music experiences, digital real-time scorecards and more

Textron Fleet Management www.ezgo.com

P�� S��� Super-Light Carry

Product: SL1 Golf Bag Features: ▶ Superleggera “super light” weighing only 57 ozs. ▶ Water- and stain-resistant with sealed zippers ▶ Attachable matching rain hood ▶ STITCH signature single divider fits 14 clubs ▶ Personalize your SL1 by adding your initials with our Signature Ingot (1.5” x 1.5”) ▶ Gunmetal hardware and finishes ▶ Wider feet for added stability ▶ New comfort strap ▶ Tonal legs and bottom ▶ Durable pocket configuration ▶ Four new colors: blue, black, white and gray

This Cat Loves Water

Product: Lynx 7.0 Central Control System Features: ▶ Improved monitoring functionality ▶ Enhanced diagnostic capabilities ▶ 14th iteration of the operating system has an emphasis on continuous improvement ▶ Seamless compatibility with Lynx Smart Modules ▶ Automatically identify individual smart modules after the initial installation process ▶ Runtime controls to the second and measures inputs to 1/100th of an inch ▶ Upgraded operating system can retrieve voltage and amperage data, which is crucial to understanding the overall health of the irrigation system ▶ Deciphering diagnostic information is also streamlined when using the new express mode

Toro

www.toro.com

Flex the Tech

Product: FlxRez Reservation System Features: ▶ Reservation systems for all areas of the club ▶ Aquatics/Pool ▶ Fitness Centers ▶ Driving Ranges ▶ Golf Simulators ▶ Spas and Barber Shops ▶ Tennis, Pickleball, Handball, Bocce, etc ▶ Gyms and Basketball ▶ Trap and Skeet Ranges ▶ Electronic Scorecards (Mobile App) ▶ And more

ForeTees

www.foretees.com

STITCH Golf

www.stitchgolf.com www.clubandresortbusiness.com

July 2021

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A�������� First Impressions

Product: Durable Podiums Features: ▶ Personalized podiums help set the tone for members and guests from the moment they arrive ▶ Four standard designs ▶ Three material combinations ▶ Multiple plastic colors ▶ Personalized logo options available ▶ Shelved storage space ▶ Umbrella-ready options (umbrellas sold separately) ▶ Lid compartments (on certain models) ▶ Contact your Landmark rep today to meet your branding needs

G��� C���

Landmark Golf Course Products 888-337-7677 • www.Rinowood.com

X Marks the Spot

Product: Royal Basket X-Frame Folding Hamper Cart Features: ▶ Great for storing and transporting towels, laundry and more ▶ Several color options available in solid vinyl or mesh material ▶ Removable, super-strong liner ▶ Easy to clean ▶ Collapsible, lightweight 1” steel tubular powder-coated frame ▶ Made in the USA

Duffy’s Tri-C Club Supply www.duffystric.com

Sustainable, Green Cleaning

Product: Earth Friendly Products Features: ▶ For nearly half a century, EFP has created sustainable cleaning products ▶ Formulated with ingredients that are safer for people and the planet ▶ From laundry soap to glass and counter cleaners, EFP has everything your club needs ▶ A natural clean at a price you can afford

Give Me Liberty

Product: Liberty Golf Cart Features: ▶ Industry’s first vehicle to offer four forward-facing seats in a compact, golf car-sized footprint ▶ Powered by a high-performance, zero-maintenance Samsung SDI lithium-ion battery system ▶ Extensive storage space with a shorter wheelbase than other industry models with four forwardfacing seats ▶ Offers enhanced maneuverability and a tighter turning radius compared to competing vehicles ▶ Choose from a variety of accessories that attach to the Liberty’s 2-inch rear universal hitch receiver, including a cargo storage holder or golf bag holder ▶ Releases zero emissions, requires no battery maintenance, and is backed by an eight-year battery warranty ▶ Charges faster and more efficiently than vehicles equipped with traditional lead-acid batteries ▶ Offered in two tailored packages: Commuter and Explorer

E-Z-GO

www.ezgo.com

Fore Supply Co.

800-543-5430 • www.foresupply.com 86

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www.clubandresortbusiness.com

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

T����� + C����� Tables for All

Product: Picnic-Style Tables Features: ▶ A purpose-driven modern collection of picnic and event-style tables ▶ Designed to be activated between indoor and outdoor use ▶ Effectively outfit outdoor dining, venue or recreational spaces ▶ Made in the USA and constructed with domestically sourced high-grade aluminum ▶ Protected with durable UV powder-coat finishes to withstand inclement weather ▶ Optional sublimated surfaces available to customize any setting, space and landscape

Southern Aluminum

Park It Here

800.221.0408 www.southernaluminum.com

Product: Park Avenue Stacking Wood Chair Features: ▶ Stacks 10 chairs high ▶ Unmatched 20-year warranty ▶ Custom-made in the USA ▶ Available with or without arms ▶ Sustainable solid hardwood frame ▶ Eustis Joint construction for added durability

Eustis Chair

www.eustischair.com

Stack the Deck

Product: Lennox Stacking Dining Chairs Features: ▶ Comfortable wrought-iron outdoor furniture made in the USA ▶ Stacks four high for easy storage ▶ Can be used with or without a cushion ▶ 5-step powder-coating finishing process and outdoor foam and fabrics provide durability ▶ Modern design perfect for poolside dining spaces

OW Lee

800-776-9533 Sales@owlee.com

Satin Dining

Product: Satin Band Damask HD Features: ▶ Elegant Damask napkins and tablecloths ▶ HD (high-definition) pattern with bold, distinct color effect and high contrast ▶ Available in a range of colors and standard sizes ▶ Easy-care 100% polyester ▶ Wrinkles little to none when handled properly ▶ Spun/filament fabric for soft, cotton-like feel ▶ Soil-release finish ▶ Excellent color retention ▶ Lock-stitched hems

Hunt Textiles

www.hunttextiles.com www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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Member Services + Activities

Pool + Patio

Join the Club

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

Mighty Deck

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

Product: RecDeck™ PVC Flooring Features: ▶ Now includes UV inhibitors and a unique composition of materials that allow it to stand up to the most extreme weather ▶ Virtually unaffected by most pool and deck chemicals ▶ Thick reinforced PVC membrane can be used in any recreational area where slip resistance, watertight integrity and long-term ease of maintenance are required ▶ Ideal solution for common deck problems including cracking, flaking, de-lamination, spalling and peeling ▶ Offers an aggressive slip-resistant texture and superior anti-fungal formulation ▶ Can be installed over foam for added comfort in hydrotherapy, active aging applications or wherever extra fall protection is required ▶ Available in three colors ▶ Made in USA

BOLD

RenoSys

ClubProcure

www.clubprocure.com

Modular Muscle

info@trainbold.com www.trainbold.com

800-783-7005 www.renosys.com

Irrigation To INFINITY and Beyond

Product: INFINITY® Series Rotors Features: ▶ Offer innovative features and benefits to help bring outstanding irrigation results to superintendents and grounds managers ▶ SMART ACCESS feature allows crews quick and easy access to internal components, including solenoids, pilot valves, 2-wire control modules and wire splices—all without digging ▶ Provides significant labor and operational savings ▶ SMART ACCESS compartment is designed for future upgrades as new technologies become available ▶ Provides system protection by isolating all electrical components, such as wire splices, from soil and moisture to prevent ground shorts and keep the system operating smoothly ▶ Allows easy access to facilitate troubleshooting and repairs ▶ Incorporates a patented CHECK FLOW feature that allows pilot valve removal without turning the water off

Toro Irrigation www.toro.com 88

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www.clubandresortbusiness.com

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

K������ E�������� Make It a Double

Product: 2by2 Specialty Ice Machine Features: ▶ 2by2 cubes are perfect for chilling and minimal dilution for cocktails or straight spirits ▶ Ice cube size dramatic 1.9” x 1.9”x 2.3” square cubes ▶ Ice is also a garnish-elevating cocktail presentation ▶ Increase your revenue per drink served ▶ Small footprint easily fits under a bar ▶ Up to 50 lbs. of ice production per 24 hours ▶ Built-in storage bin with 22-lb. capacity ▶ Durable stainless-steel exterior with easy to remove and clean air filter

Hoshizaki

www.hoshizaki.com

Golden Griddle

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

Montague Company

www.montaguecompany.com

F��� + B������� Great Balls of Butter

Down-Under Delight

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

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

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

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

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

Butterball® Farms Butter www.butterballfarms.com

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

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

July 2021

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Tents + Umbrellas Sun Power

Product: Wattsun Umbrella Features: ▶ The charging station has two USB ports ▶ Features include wall-outlet charging speed and an eight-hour battery backup ▶ The umbrella’s frame consists of flexible fiberglass ribs, a heavy-duty hub, and a 1 1⁄2”-diam., one-piece aluminum pole available in seven finish colors ▶ The canopy comes in five sizes and is available in marine- or furniture-grade solution-dyed acrylics

FiberBuilt Umbrellas & Cushions

866.667.8668 • www.fiberbuiltumbrellas.com

Made in the Shade

Product: Alize Pavilions Features: ▶ Affordable solution for many of your club’s shade needs ▶ Great for poolside cabanas, shelter for courtside viewing, or as the Starter’s Stand ▶ Available in both natural bamboo or durable aluminum versions ▶ Wind tunnel tested to 90 mph for strength and durability ▶ Multiple sizes and colors available ▶ With or without full privacy curtains

Bambrella

www.bambrella.com

ADVERTISER INDEX BARILLA BarillaFS.com

63

LANDMARK GOLF COURSE PRODUCTS 888-337-7677 / www.Rinowood.com

21

CALLAWAY GOLF COMPANY www.callawaygolf.com

17

MINOR’S FOODSERVICE www.minorsfoodservice.com

57

CHEF TEC 303-447-3334 / www.ChefTec.com

69

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

CLUBPROCURE 800-363-5480 / www.clubprocure.com

59

OUTDOOR LIGHTING PERSPECTIVES 804-999-5847 / OutdoorLights.com/hospitality

29

PEACOCK + LEWIS AIA www.peacockandlewis.com

37

76-77

CRES COR www.crescor.com

25, 92

DUFFY’S TRI-C CLUB SUPPLY INC. 800-274-8742 / www.DuffysTriC.com

31

PERENNIALS AND SUTHERLAND www.sutherlandfurniture.com • www.perennialsfabrics.com

2

ETHOS CLUB & LEISURE 972-341-8133 / www.ethosclubandleisure.com

11

PORTACOOL www.portacool.com

23

EUSTIS CHAIR 978-827-3103 / sales@eustischair.com

33

SOUTHERN PRIDE southernpride.com

91

FIRE WITHIN 888-240-9758 / www.firewithin.com

79

TRUE AUSSIE LAMB www.foodservice.trueaussiebeefandlamb.com

61

“FORE” SUPPLY CO. 800-543-5430 / www.ForeSupply.com

43

TYSON FOODS www.tysonfoodservice.com

3

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

13

YAMAHA 866-747-4027 / YamahaGolfCar.com

7

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www.clubandresortbusiness.com

SEND OUT SMOKE SIGNALS The SPK-500 Mobile offers over 50 sq. ft. of cooking space making it ideal for on-site cooking and catering. This gas rotisserie smoker is the total package between the cooking capacity, price point, and footprint. Family owned and operated, we proudly offer a network of distributors that take care of your Electric, Gas or Mobile configurations from start to finish.

Southern Pride smokers are designed with high-quality components that help guarantee a long life, ease of use, accuracy of controls and consistent heat resulting in unmatched, dependable performance every time.

Visit us online at southernpride.com today!

MADE WITH PRIDE IN THE USA

PASTRY PERFECTION!

THE MONTAGUE® VECTAIRE® OVEN Choose from Montague’s renowned gas-powered, indirect-fired “muffled” design or electric models engineered for consistent precision-temperature baking. Both are built from heavy-duty stainless steel and feature a robotically-welded angle iron frame, solid door trunnion, heavy gauge wire racks, plus a wealth of other design advantages.

Service is a breeze too, with the motor and all controls accessible through the front of the oven. Lifetime warranty on doors adds to the low cost of ownership for this hard-working kitchen centerpiece. With Vectaire, baking is always perfection. It’s time to discover Montague!

Convection Ovens MADE IN USA

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

BOOTH 1481