BoardRoom magazine March/April 2019

EDITOR’S NOTE

Spring Has Sprung!

DAVE WHITE

Dave White is the editor of BoardRoom magazine. If you have comments on this article or suggestions for other topics, please send Dave an email to: dave@boardroommag.com.

Our Spring Equinox, the moment our northern hemisphere winter ended, arrived at 5:58 p.m., Wednesday, March 20th.

Now it’s that annual time of renewal. Spring has sprung and our optimism bodes well as we anticipate warmer weather, sunny skies, long summer nights, and of course finely manicured golf courses that so often seem to lure us into the false sense of security of a scratch golfer.

What’s not to like about spring and summer. And that’s the way it is with our springtime BoardRoom, another issue jam-packed with oodles of information for and about the private club industry.Take, for example – Private Club Status 101, a story from contributor-attorney Michelle Tanzer. It’s a refresher for board members and emphasizes the fact that private club status is one of the most frequently misunderstood concepts in club law.

Tanzer explains the legal basis for treating a club that is ‘truly private’ differently from all other clubs. Make no mistake, there are differences and Tanzer explains why the differences matter, as anyone involved in the private club industry should know.

A 501(c)(7) club that refers to itself as a private club is not necessarily a truly private club for legal purposes. As Tanzer says, “truly private status matters because when a club is not truly private, the right of privacy and free association are far more limited.

This is a matter private club boards must clarify for incoming boards and committee members every year so clubs and their boards fully understand the definition of ‘private club’ along with the risks and benefits.

Unquestionably Tanzer’s thoughts and opinions also have a bearing on those espoused in John Fornaro’s Publisher’s Perspective…What Happens When the Tax Man Comes Calling?

Undoubtedly, how 501(c)(7) private member-owned clubs deal with tax, non-member revenue and other situations can affect profoundly a private club’s operation and survival. From a tax point of view, the IRS clearly states what comprises a 501(c)(7) club, which of course, sets the standard for what private club are allowed to do to remain tax-exempt.

Kevin Reilly, partner with PBMares of Fairfax, Virginia, and Florida’s Mitchell Stump, author of the Club Tax Book and founder of the Club Tax Network, lend their thoughts and opinions. It another must read for boards and senior management.

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Lee Hoke and his University of Tampa cohorts, give us more food for thought with part II of their series, ”Walter Oi, the Most Important Name Never Discussed in the Private Club Board Room.”

In this series, the authors explain Walter Oi’s two-part pricing policy, the kind you see at Costco, Netflix and others. Should private clubs be paying more attention to Oi’s advice? Likely so they suggest explaining that Oi’s analysis represents a paradigm shift in the way strategic issues are approached.

“Value creation and the imaginative use of club resources to change member’s lives is the secret sauce that drives revenue from dues, which are the life blood of the club,” explained the authors. Have a read, do a test run at your club and see if you agree!

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Sometimes clubs do things differently…and today The Argyle, of San Antonio, Texas, stands unique in our world. It’s a club that’s made a difference in its community. Since the club was reopened in 1956, the club’s members have supported the Texas Biomed Research Institute’s battle against diseases, to the tune of $36 million. Does this make a difference in San Antonio? Absolutely, and the club’s five-year wait list attests to that difference.

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Congratulations to all our BoardRoom Achievement in Excellence Awards recipients and our thank you for the excellent response to the call for nominations. And we also offer an interesting take on BoardRoom’s Lifetime Achievement recipient, Linda Pesner of EA Photography, who’s achievements are featured in this issue as well.

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Finally, we begin another look at BoardRoom’s top presidents…for 2018. This issue features stories about Bruce Barfield, President, Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Georgia; Paul Burke, President, Country Club of Fairfax, Fairfax, Virginia; Ted Bloom, President, Lancaster Country Club, Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Thomas Bird, President, Augusta Country Club, Augusta, Georgia, and Todd Bright, President, Brook Hollow Golf Club, Dallas, Texas. BR

Publisher/CEO

John G. Fornaro

Editor/Co-Publisher

Dave White

Assoc. Editor/VP Creative/Co-Publisher

Heather Arias de Cordoba

Innovative Ideas Editor

Meghan Thibault

APCD Executive Director

Bill Thomas

Editorial & Marketing Director

Dee Kaplan

Accounting/Subscriptions

Susan Giem

Contact Information

www.BoardRoomMagazine.com www.apcd.com (949) 376-8889

Featured Columnists

Rick Coyne

Henry DeLozier

John G. Fornaro

Bonnie J. Knutson

Contributing Writers

Joe Abely

Justin Baer

Frank Benzakour

Nancy Berkley

Chris Boettcher

Bill Boothe

Karla Borja

Lisa Carroll

Ron Cichy

Frank Cordeiro

Albert Costantini

Rita B. Craig

Michael

Todd Dufek

Rob DeMore

Dave Duval

Boris Fetbroyt

Steve Green

Lee Hoke

Monte Koch

David W. Lacey

Ross Liggett

Sam Lindsley

Co-Founder/CEO

John G. Fornaro

President Keith

Chief

Frank Gore

Chief Information

Jeff Briggs

Executive

Bill Thomas Contact Information

Melissa Low

David Mackesey

Richard McPhail

Dave Moyer

Peter Nanula

MacDonald Niven

Mike Phelps

Pamela Radcliff

Whitney Reid Pennell

Ted Robinson

Corey Saban

Robert Sereci

Strategic Partners and Allied Associations

Rosie Slocum

Craig J. Smith

Michelle Tanzer

Meghan Thibault

Rachel Todd

Michael Vlad

Dean Wochaski

Gordon Welch

Frank Wolfe

Aaron D. Wood

Kate Zabriskie

PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE | 10

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE TAX MAN COMES CALLING?

BY JOHN G. FORNARO

Taxes…a word everyone dreads, remain a hot topic for many clubs in the country’s private club industry. How do 501(c)(7) private member-owned clubs deal with tax situations, non-member revenue and other circumstances, which can profoundly affect a private club’s operation and survival?

GLOBAL

IS YOUR CLUB TAPPING INTO THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMY?

BY HENRY DELOZIER

Want first shot at hard-to-get tickets to Broadway shows, premier sporting events and popular concerts? Join American Express’s membership program. Planning a birthday party for your daughter? Take everyone to an American Girl store, where your daughter and her friends can outfit their dolls with the latest clothing.

CASE STUDY | 14

REFLECTIONS

BY

RICK COYNE

ON COLLABORATIVE

THINKING

As we entered 2019, millions of resolutions were made and by now mostly forgotten. Many thoughts were turned to “this is going to be the year”, but most will fall short of expectations. Fortunately, our failures to keep resolutions or stay on a path of improvement are not necessarily reflections of our commitment so much as the reality of the need for others to help us find the way. WINNING STRATEGIES | 16

THE IMPORTANCE OF MEMBER COMMUNICATION

BY JERRY MCCOY

If a member doesn’t know the answer, they will make up one they think is most logical! I had a dream last night…that I was in heaven because I saw a board of directors sitting around the table in co-operative unison asking what is best for the total club. Each member abdicating their personal interests to the greater good… Then I woke up.

TRIBAL

CREATING THE MINI IN-HOUSE TRAINING WORKSHOP

BY GREGG PATTERSON

Lots of managers have spent lots of money hiring a “Known by Everyone Who Matters” top dog hospitality consultant to deliver a patented “guaranteed to turn ‘em around in eight hours” all-day, all-staff service workshop. And at the end of the workshop the team cheers, then promptly forgets what the top dog taught. All that money, all those hours, all that free coffee, gone!!!

MEMBERSHIP MUSINGS | 18

THE SHAPE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

BY BONNIE J. KNUTSON

When it comes to numbers, statistics, data, and algorithms, I’m a nerd of sorts. Part of it comes with just being a PhD. After all, a doctoral degree is a research degree, which means a lot of data. But my interest in numbers probably stems more from growing up in a family business. I can still hear my dad telling me that if you don’t understand the numbers, you can’t understand people.

PLIGHTS AND INSIGHTS | 92

REWARDING FULL GOLF MEMBER

BY NANCY M. LEVENBURG

I recently heard a private country club member lament, “When is the club going to do something for its long-term members…? You know, the ones who pay all the club’s bills because they’ve been full golf members for the last 20 years. The ones who’ve paid all the assessments over all the years. The ones who are the biggest spenders.

BOARDROOM BASICS & BEYOND | 78

THE WAR FOR TALENT BY TOM

WALLACE

Human capital is every company’s most valuable resource, but it can be a daunting struggle attracting the best and brightest and keeping them. Strengthen your battlefield by getting the HR committee involved in the war. We don’t typically encourage clubs to increase committee activity; however, when it comes to finding leadership talent, you must be willing to fight the battles that get you only the best for your club and your members.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE | 102

DEAR FELLOW TREASURER

BY PHIL NEWMAN

Club treasurer is undoubtedly one of the most important and influential roles on any board, yet there is nothing really that can fully prepare an individual for the role. While an understanding of business concepts and accounting jargon and a solid orientation process will be of great help, even then we hear of many situations where both the treasurer and club management become frustrated with their mutual relationship.

COMMITTEES SECTIONS

Chris Boettcher

Rachel Todd

PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE

JOHN G. FORNARO

John G. Fornaro is the publisher/CEO of BoardRoom magazine, co-founder/CEO of Distinguished Clubs and the CEO of the Association of Private Club Directors (APCD). If you have comments on this article or suggestions for other topics, please contact John Fornaro at (949) 376-8889 or via email: johnf@apcd.com

What Happens When the Tax Man Comes Calling?

Taxes…a word everyone dreads, remain a hot topic for many clubs in the country’s private club industry.

How do 501(c)(7) private member-owned clubs deal with tax situations, non-member revenue and other circumstances, which can profoundly affect a private club’s operation and survival?

Poignant questions every private club faces today, and the implications are many. So, what are some of the answers?

The IRS states,” Social clubs are exempt from federal income tax under IRC 501(a) as organizations described in IRC 501(c)(7) if they are “organized for pleasure, recreation, and other nonprofitable purposes.” ... Consequently, the exemption for social clubs operates properly only if the club’s income is derived exclusively from members.”

This, of course, sets the standard for what private clubs are allowed to do to remain tax-exempt.

“There is too much competition for the entertainment dollar. It is very difficult to justify the total cost of a club if you only look at costs per round or variety of the menu. There are too many very good daily fee courses and new restaurants opening to justify membership solely on cost. However, there is still a place for clubs. People like the exclusivity, the feeling of security and the comradery that a club provides,” Reilly added.

“I’m a numbers guy,” exclaimed Florida’s Mitchell Stump, author of the Club Tax Book, founder of the Club Tax Network and a CPA who for 27 years has specialized in work with private member-owned clubs.

“I can do the math on the value of my membership. And the club, if not relevant, is going out of business.

“I can eat at five-star restaurants seven nights a week in Palm Beach County (Florida) and not go to the same restaurant twice. Club food and service is not better than five-star.

Protecting your club’s right to freedom of association should be a priority for your club’s board and the club’s members. However, we must be mindful of, and reiterate the IRS definition that “Social clubs are exempt from federal income tax …if they are organized for pleasure, recreation and other nonprofitable purposes.” To be viewed as a tax-exempt private club, we can keep our status because we are ‘private’ without public access. In other words, the club limits the usage of its facilities by the general public and the club must be operated for the benefit of its members.

Actually, this discussion starts with these questions confronting the 21st century private club.

Are private clubs relative to people today? If people feel they are not relative to their lifestyle, why is that? And what’s happened to change this relationship over the years? And what happens in the future?

“Relevance. That’s the question that every club needs to ask. If a club is not relevant to its members then there is no way it will survive,” expressed Kevin Reilly, a partner with PBMares, LLP, located in Fairfax, Virginia.

“Your club members are not friendlier, and if I want friendly people, I go to church. Your club employees are not better that other clubs or restaurants – club’s steal staff from one another regularly. I’m a member of Golds Gym for $26 monthly. Beat that price for exercise.

“What does your club offer that I cannot acquire a la carte elsewhere, without paying club dues? Offer something I cannot get elsewhere without paying dues,” Stump stated when considering the relevancy of a private club today.

Henry DeLozier is a principal of Global Golf Advisors. You can contact him at hdelozier@globalgolfadvisors.com

Is Your Club Tapping into The Experience Economy?

Want first shot at hard-to-get tickets to Broadway shows, premier sporting events and popular concerts? Join American Express’s membership program and be the envy of your friends who wonder how you always score the best seats to the best events.

Planning a birthday party for your daughter? There’s always cake, ice cream and one of those bouncy things in the backyard. Or you could take everyone to an American Girl store, where your daughter and her friends can outfit their dolls with the latest clothing and hair styles and enjoy lunch in the American Girl restaurant, alongside their dolls. Want to change the way you see yourself? That’s what Lean Cuisine encourages women to do through its #WeighThis campaign. Instead of measuring their worth in pounds or body image, videos produced by Lean Cuisine show women talking about their accomplishments in their personal and business lives. The campaign has helped Lean Cuisine transform its image from an ‘80s diet brand into a modern, health food brand.

These are all examples of what’s known as “experiential marketing” whose goal is to create lasting and shareable impressions that reinforce brand loyalty. It’s vastly different from the longstanding product-features-and-benefits marketing approach because you’re creating an association between your brand and the positive vibes of the experience itself.

The popularity and success of the experience strategy begs the question: Is your club tapping into the value of the experience economy?

The TPC Sawgrass resort in Ponte Vedra, Florida, certainly is. Golfers flock to Sawgrass to play the infamous No. 17 with its treacherous island green. But Sawgrass adds to the memory bank with tours (led by docents known as storytellers) of the Mediterranean-style, 77,000 squarefoot clubhouse, which features an expansive gallery of PGA Tour memorabilia. The memories guests leave with turn them into storytellers and ambassadors, effectively pre-selling Sawgrass’s next golf buddies trip.

In our experience, today’s private club members relish an unforgettable experience far more than a bargain. But what’s the difference between an “experience” and a normal day at the club?

Memorable experiences deliver value in the form of hard-to-duplicate memories. They can come in the form of pre-planned activities and events that are packed full of emotional, memorable and shareable impressions. Traditionally, many have been staged around dining and drinking entertainment events.

Clubs within clubs also are the basis for experiential opportunities. The golf crowd schedules trips to iconic courses in Scotland and Ireland. The wine club organizes travel to Napa and Sonoma. Artistic members enjoy elaborate road trips to France and Italy.

The options are as varied as one’s imagination, and the greatest success will be found in innovative ideas and unforgettable experiences. We think the next generation of interesting club experiences will come at the edges – both generationally and by interest segment. Here are three examples:

• Many clubs host parties and activities featuring music and a live band. Why not book a cover band that specializes in music from the college age of many of your members? Cover bands are usually more expensive than the groups that traditionally entertain at club events, but in most cases, they’re worth it because of the memories they evoke.

• Most members are lifelong learners and enjoy opportunities to combine an educational experience with a golf trip. Private clubs are in an ideal position to plan, promote and conduct such learning experiences, whether financial, culinary or academic in nature.

• As aging Baby Boomers confront the challenges of physical and mental health, there is growing emphasis placed on keeping one’s body and mind active, fit and fresh. Private clubs can facilitate opportunities to learn a new language, musical instrument or delve into the history of a foreign land.

The value of the experience economy is immense in private clubs, and so is the opportunity for clubs that want to create lasting memories while reinforcing the value of membership. BR

RICK COYNE

Reflections on Collaborative Thinking

As we entered 2019, millions of resolutions were made and by now mostly forgotten. Many thoughts were turned to “this is going to be the year”, but most will fall short of expectations.

Fortunately, our failures to keep resolutions or stay on a path of improvement are not necessarily reflections of our commitment so much as the reality of the need for others to help us find the way.

In Napoleon Hill’s book, “Think and Grow Rich”, Hill describes one of the first mastermind groups of its kind to promote collective thinking, harnessing the positive power of others’ thoughts and inputs and helping one another focus on solutions not only in industry, but in their daily lives.

In the book he describes the mastermind group as follows; “When a group of individual brains are coordinated and function in harmony, the increased energy created through that alliance becomes available to every individual brain in the group.”

In 2005, a club industry related mastermind group was formed calling themselves P-10, the “power of 10”. Some knew each other, some did not. Their common denominators were background in the club industry, ambition, leadership skills and wanting to make a difference in the industry they served, as well as the lives they led.

As a fortunate and underserving member of the group, I am wholeheartedly convinced that the contributions the group has made, individually and collectively, have positively affected the private club industry, made our personal lives better and have provided the each of us with the confidence to help others.

No one person was responsible. It was the group’s collective belief that all things are possible through thinking clearly and acting decisively. Sharing is that powerful. However, sharing is also open minded, educational and must have a willing participation.

Reflecting on where our industry is today and the various challenges and solutions so many great leaders have provided, there is a parallel to “masterminding” that goes on in each and every club in the country. It’s called the board! Obviously, some have better results than others, likely on the basis of open minds, education and willingness.

Over the past decades our industry has been challenged in a variety of ways. Reflecting back in history with P-10, I asked myself, were one of our group faced with a challenge, how would it be handled. The answer was immediate. Set

aside the agendas, open the mind, objectively talk about the issues and solutions, bring data and known best practices to the table, create a plan, have the courage to execute, enjoy the support of your peers and reap the rewards of objective dialogue and decision making. Pretty simple. Very powerful. Yet, it seems so elusive to so many clubs still struggling to find themselves in a new and changing culture.

Let’s look at each component:

Set aside the agendas – So long as there are non-profit boards without specific strategic objectives passed from board to board, personal agendas and bias will prevail over sustainable direction. Overcoming this obstacle is in strategy development. What must your club become in order be sustainable across age, gender, family make-up and time on site?

Objective discussion on issues and solutions – As Albert Einstein once said, “Reality is but an illusion, albeit a persistent one.” Open discussion requires a reality check. Your club is not an island and is subject to trends beyond your ability to individually ignore. Start there, then do a best practices tour of clubs that have faced and solved the same problems.

Data – As much as we fool ourselves into thinking we know our market and members, without specific, data-driven understanding of the depth of market, member’s wants and needs and the needs of the next generation, what gets to the table is conjecture.

Create and execute a plan – A plan without executable and foundational elements is still a dream. Build the structure with the tools required to succeed, not only today but for generations to come. Your professional staff is skilled and knowledgeable. As a board member forsake your knowledge of your business and acquiesce to the professionals you have at your disposal.

Continually reassess – Is an ongoing and changing set of needs based upon interests, gender, age and family make-up. Do regular surveys. Communicate transparently and often. Seek input from your members. Build loyalty and it will be returned.

Reflecting on the very successful clubs versus those that are not, in most instances the winners have engaged in a similar process as I’ve described. To be successful today requires objective and collaborative education on local and regional factors mitigating your success. Become the masterminds that boards are meant to be and most importantly, Trust the Process! BR

Rick Coyne is president, Club Mark Corporation and can be reached via email: rcoyne@clubmark.com

EXECUTIVE SEARCH

“The executive search process was well-executed with timely updates and coordination. I was very impressed with the communication, updates, and accessibility. Any club would benefit from their contacts, resources, and experience in the business of golf.”

GBN recruits the most accomplished General Managers, Directors of Golf and Head Professionals from across the golf industry. Our search team diligently researches, plans, recruits and coordinates all aspects of the recruitment process which ensures exceptional results. We have intentionally combined the highest level of industry experience with global expertise in executive search. The result is an unparalleled outcome for our clients.

Patrick Seither PRESIDENT/CEO

Bob Ford PARTNER

Dave Ransom PARTNER

“We retained Golf Business Network (GBN) to assist us in the search for our new Director of Golf at Mediterra. The professionalism, knowledge of the industry, and timely communications that the GBN team displayed throughout the process contributed heavily to the success of our search. The firm’s great database of talented candidates and the team’s attention to detail were key in providing the most comprehensive selection of finalists for our property. I would confidently recommend GBN to anyone looking for a top tier search firm for any golf staffing needs.”

Carmen

J. Mauceri, CCM The Club at Mediterra

For more information, please contact Patrick Seither at 919-372-8220

Nick Jacovides, Club President - Bayville Golf Club

WINNING STRATEGIES

JERRY MCCOY

Jerry N. McCoy, MCM, is the President of Clubwise, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, master planning, operational audits and governance issues. Clubwise is the 2017 Strategic Planning Company of the Year and 2018 Strategic Planning and Capital Funding Company of the year. Jerry received the Lifetime Achievement Award for BoardRoom Magazine in 2018. He can be reached at www.clubwiseconsulting.com or CMAAMCM@msn.com

The Importance of Member Communication

If a member doesn’t know the answer, they will make up one they think is most logical!

I had a dream last night…that I was in heaven because I saw a board of directors sitting around the table in co-operative unison asking what is best for the total club. Each member abdicating their personal interests to the greater good.

They thoroughly discussed all the major issues or policies. Even though they sometimes disagreed, they were able to do so without being disagreeable. Eventually when a decision was made, they were able to speak to the membership with one voice, supporting each other, to ensure that the decision regarding the issue or policy would be successful and understood. Then I woke up.

For decades clubs have dealt with disgruntled members who can’t understand why everyone doesn’t think like them. Most every member of the club, and that includes most committee and board members, believes they know what the members are thinking. They know what is best for all members.

Unfortunately, members only know what their individual social circles think, which normally makes up five

to 10 percent of the total membership. They talk to their friends, discuss the issues and come up with a logical answer that fits their understanding of how the club should operate and where the club should invest its capital dollars.

Why does this situation take place? POOR COMMUNICATION! There are three areas of concern. They include communication between the members and management, communication between management and leadership and the communication between leadership and membership.

And what’s the result? All kinds of problems based on lack of trust including membership attrition, revenue reductions and uprisings against what is perceived as unwanted or unneeded capital programs.

So why are some clubs so successful, when many others struggle? It would appear much easier to solve problems for big clubs with large budgets and harder for smaller clubs with small budgets, too much debt and great immediate need. However, you may find that there are many large clubs with the same problems because of arrogant leaders with personal agendas. They have not asked the membership their opinion. They are some of the members who think they know what the members want because it is the same thing they want. So, what is the solution?

There should be strict guidelines and communication systems in place for soliciting member opinion, communicating majority opinions, communicating strategic goals, disseminating operating initiatives, discussing long term capital plans and insuring everyone knows where the club is headed and why.

Consider the following 10-point plan when developing your guidelines:

1. Complete a comprehensive survey at least every three years and communicate the results to the members.

2. Do regular targeted mini-surveys by area.

3. Create an instant message app for members to contact management with issues – leave messages.

4. Communicate the club’s strategic and operational initiatives to the membership. Give detailed reasons why certain things are priorities. Make sure that at least some of these initiatives match with member priorities from the survey.

5. Use these initiatives to give direction regarding priorities to the committees.

6. Give member quarterly updates on completion of initiatives and anything that has been added.

7. Regular targeted email blasts with letters from the president, committee chairs where possible and the GM.

Bonnie J. Knutson Ph.D. is a people watcher. A professor in The School of Hospitality Business, Broad College of Business, Michigan State University, Dr. Knutson is a member of the Country Club of Lansing and the Michigan Athletic Club. She can be reached via e-mail: drbonnie@msu.edu

The Shape Makes the Difference

When it comes to numbers, statistics, data, and algorithms, I’m a nerd of sorts. I suppose part of it comes with just being a PhD. After all, a doctoral degree is, in essence, a research degree, which means a lot of data.

But my interest in numbers probably stems more from growing up in a family business whose success depended on numbers. Customers. Sales. Inventory. Costs. I can still hear my dad telling me that if you don’t understand the numbers, you can’t understand people. And if you can’t understand people, you can’t succeed in business. It’s as simple as that. Dad only had an eighth-grade education, but he graduated with honors from the school of common sense. In other words, he had what we call street smarts. He got it.

Years later, management guru Peter Drucker told us the same thing in a different way when he supposedly said that, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” Actually, what he really said was that if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. Or as American statistician W. Edwards Deming quipped, “In God we trust, all others must bring data.” That mantra should be on the wall in every GM’s/COO’s office.

Given this background, then, you can see why I’m somewhat of a numbers nerd – especially when it comes to demographics. I want to understand the numbers, so I can understand people. Consumers. Members. Staff. So, it probably isn’t surprising that one of my “go-to” websites is the U.S. Census Bureau, particularly the pages that look at projections of the population.

Not long ago, on one of those first snowy evenings when you know winter is here, I was clicking away on my laptop when I came across of graphic on the U.S. Census website that put a lot of data into perspective. The graphic, From Pyramid to Pillar: A Century of Change, showed the difference in demographics between 1960 and 2060. It was one of those Ahah! moments that brought into focus the dramatic transformation that is taking place in the U.S. population. And in some ways, in other industrial countries too.

What really hit me, however, is what will happen in 11 short years from now when the U.S. population reaches a tipping point. For 2030 will mark the point when all Baby Boomers will be at least 65 years of age – pushing that pyramid into a pillar. Think about this: 20 percent of our population will be of retirement age. That is one in every five.

Jonathan Vespa, a U.S. demographer, puts it this way: “The aging of Baby Boomers means that within just a couple decades, older people are projected to outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history. By 2035, there will be 78 million people 65 years and older compared to 76.7 million under the age of 18.” (And you wonder why social security is called the “third rail” in politics?)

So, what does this have to do with clubs? A lot.

With our infatuation with all things Wall Street, many boards are more likely to be focused on the next quarter than the long-term future. But the future has a way of creeping up on us faster than we think. Eleven years ago, home entertainment was ruled by DVDs. Netflix, YouTube, Uber, Instagram, Amazon, and Twitter hadn’t made it into our daily lexicon yet. Hulu meant you had just booked a vacation to Hawaii. And the 2007-2009 bear market has us all anxiously looking at our 401Ks.

But as we look ahead 11 years, we all know there are momentous forces that will shape the future of the club industry – technology, automation, finding skilled employees to name a few. However, none of these are as “inevitable and invisible as the sheer march of time for today’s adults.” Because this shift is gradual, it can often go unnoticed when we think about opportunities and threats in the club sector. In short, the move from a demographic pyramid to a demographic pillar will affect everything and everyone. Including your club.

It is projected that the Baby Boomer generation will control at least 70 percent of the U.S. disposable income and they will also stand to inherit 15 trillion dollars over the next 20 years. In addition, they will have more time to enjoy club activities. We have all read articles or attended workshops on how to market to this aging population.

The first rule, of course, is don’t call them or even think of them as old. Similarly, eliminate the concept of seniors or elderly is any part of your marketing strategy. This is particularly important in your messaging because growing older no longer means not being active. Look, for example, how Depends has positioned itself as underwear, not as adult diapers.

It’s The Great American Try On campaign was right on target. Then there is Walgreen’s Keep Doing You television commercial featuring a spry, petite, active white-haired woman lacing up her athletic shoes and going on her daily speed

BoardRoom’s Excellence in Achievement Awards

RECOGNIZE THE BEST IN

THE PRIVATE CLUB

Twenty years ago, with BoardRoom magazine still in its infancy, publisher John Fornaro hit upon an idea: Why don’t we recognize the vendors who offer so much service to the private club community?

And that marked the start of BoardRoom’s annual “Excellence in Achievement” awards.

“The BoardRoom Awards are the only awards in the private club industry that recognize private clubs’ business partners, and every year we see increasing innovation, achievement, a vision and dedication from BoardRoom Award recipients,” remarked Fornaro recently while reviewing the many entries in this year’s competition.

“And of course, private clubs are the beneficiaries of the outstanding work of the industry’s vendors. Clearly each and every one of them is the leader in their respective field and we’re absolutely delighted to recognize their contributions.”

BoardRoom magazine’s industry peers review and select these outstanding suppliers and consultants, which represent various aspects of course and club operations.

Winners, each year, are selected for overall excellence in their respective fields, achievements, innovation, vision for future growth and continued impact on private club operations. Over the years and because of the innovation and expanding capabilities of vendors, many of the BoardRoom award catego-

INDUSTRY

ries have been expanded to become much more specific for vendors who offer different and expanding services to private clubs.

A prime example of this is the design categories where, at one time, the design firm of the year was recognized. This now has expanded to include separate awards for companies who work in specific areas of design such as a fitness rooms, or furnishings and different dining areas etc.

And unquestionably, more specific categories will rise in the future.

BoardRoom also recognizes ‘special’ people awards who have contributed so much to the industry. This year the recipients include Linda Pesner who receives BoardRoom’s Lifetime Achievement Award; Paul Levy, past president of the PGA of America who is being recognized with the BoardRoom Award of Dedication, and Mitchell Stump and Whitney Reid Pennell, both of whom are being recognized as BoardRoom’s Gary Player Educators of the Year

The BoardRoom magazine is the only publication of its kind that is designed to educate the board of directors, presidents, owners, general managers and department heads of private golf, city, yacht, tennis and country clubs about issues concerning all aspects of the club, golf course management and operations.

The magazine is distributed through paid subscriptions to clubs, organizations and businesses throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia. Our 2018 winners are featured on the following two pages. BR

17. CONSULTING COMPANY FIRM * Denehy Club Thinking Partners

18. CLUB PHOTOGRAPHY FIRM EA Photography

19. WINERY OF THE YEAR Flora Springs Winery & Vineyards

20. F&B MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE COMPANY FOOD-TRAK/System Concepts, Inc.

21. FURNITURE MANUFACTURER Gasser Chair Company, Inc.

22. GOLF COURSE ARCHITECT George Golf Design

23. INNOVATIVE PRODUCT Golf Life Navigators

24. CUSTOM DESIGN CHINA COMPANY Graham Marquis

25. APPAREL PROVIDER * High-End Uniforms

26. REAL ESTATE SERVICE FIRM OF THE YEAR Hilda W. Allen Real Estate

27. INTERIOR DESIGN FURNISHING AND FINISHES HINT | Harris Interiors

28. LOCKER COMPANY OF THE YEAR Hollman, Inc.

29. MENU COVERS COMPANY OF THE YEAR Impact Enterprises

30. MOBILE APP COMPANY OF THE YEAR

30. BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SOFTWARE Jonas Club Software

31. CLUB PROGRAM KE Camps

32. EXECUTIVE SEARCH FIRM Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace

33. CLUBHOUSE DESIGN FIRM * Lichten Craig Architects

34. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Linda Pesner, EA Photography

35. MASTER PLANNING FIRM *

35. ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER * MAI | Marsh & Associates, Inc.

36. STRATEGIC PLANNING COMPANY *

36. MEMBERSHIP SURVEY COMPANY McMahon Group

37. WEBSITE COMPANY MembersFirst

38. GARY PLAYER EDUCATOR* Mitchell Stump

39. GLASS WALL SOLUTIONS COMPANY Nana Wall Systems

40. MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT TOOL Newsstation.com

41. CLUB MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

41. MOBILE POINT OF SALE COMPANY Northstar Club Management Software

42. OUTDOOR FURNITURE COMPANY OW Lee Company

43. INTERIOR DESIGN FITNESS ROOM INTERIOR DESIGN SOCIAL/CASUAL DINING * Peacock + Lewis Architects and Planners

44. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT Paisano Performance Partners

45. BOARDROOM AWARD OF DEDICATION Paul Levy, PGA Honorary President

46. ASSOCIATION PGA of America

47. ASSOCIATION PROGRAM PGA of America: PGA Education

48. PRIVATE CLUB BRANDING FIRM

48. PRIVATE CLUB PR/MARKETING FIRM Pipeline Marketing

49. RESORT AND HOTEL MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE ResortSuite

50. ACCOUNTING RSM US LLP

51. SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM SES Lighting

52. CLUB SIGNAGE FIRM Signera

53. LINEN PROVIDER COMPANY Something Different Linen

54. AMENITIES PROVIDER Sports Solutions

55. BANQUET SUPPLIER FIRM Spring USA

56. SERVICE FIRM Talent +

57. FITNESS EQUIPMENT COMPANY Technogym

58. MANAGEMENT COMPANY Troon

59. CLUB ENHANCEMENT PRODUCT The Verdin Company

60. PYROTECHNIC COMPANY Volt Live

61. TENNIS COURT BUILDER Welch Tennis

62. GARY PLAYER EDUCATOR* Whitney Reid Pennell

62. CLUB SERVICE FIRM

62. CONSULTING COMPANY FIRM *

62. STAFF TRAINING COMPANY OF THE YEAR RCS Hospitality Group

63. CUSTOM DESIGN OUTDOOR FURNITURE

63. PURCHASING COMPANY OF THE YEAR XHIBTZ Contract Furnishings

64. CHAIR MANUFACTURER Daniel Paul Chairs

Are You Thinking Big Enough for the Next Decade?

IF YOU ARE A LEADER OF A SUCCESSFUL PRIVATE COUNTRY CLUB (OR ONE THAT WANTS TO BE), YOU’LL LIKELY NEED TO PLAN FOR AT LEAST $10 MILLION OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE NEXT DECADE. WHY?

The answers are many:

• With depreciation often running $1 million or more per year at many country clubs, you’ll need to invest $10 million in the next decade just to keep your capital base from eroding.  That’s a key ingredient of success and a primary responsibility of boards.

• Your competition is upping its game.  Breadth and quality of facilities matter more than ever. Playing catch-up is never a good thing.

• That new or upgraded clubhouse, pool, fitness center, or spa (or fill in your own) that your club modernized six, eight, 10 or more years ago will be showing its age.

• Annual attrition of 4-7 percent of your membership is normal.  That means you’ll need to replace more than 50 percent of your membership in the next decade.  The profiles of the new members will in the majority of cases be very different than those departing over the next decade. Prospective new members with children want different amenities than older members. Tastes and interests are changing.

• You’ve been successful!  Members love your club!  They use it all the time! The increased volume exposes pinch points; inadequate kitchen sizes, seating areas, fitness and spa areas, racquet courts, storage areas, etc.

• If you are not thinking about long-term success as a top-tier club, you are planning for the club’s demise.

CLUB MODERNIZATION AND IMPROVEMENTS

Modernization trends among the most successful clubs include upscale spas and locker rooms, more child-friendly spaces, multiple attractive dining and socialization options, high-end fitness and wellness centers, more prepared outdoor areas, more racquet sport options (tennis, squash, platform tennis, pickleball and pop tennis are all in play), yoga and Pilates studios, golf training centers, outdoor lawn games and multiple golf simulators set up for leagues and socialization (not just for training).

Some will ask how to pay for all of the improvements.  The funds will come from members in the form of capital levies including capital fees, assessments, initiation fees and perhaps the judicious use of debt.  Capital funds must be planned separately from operations to run your club effectively. It requires consistent, long-term thinking and careful planning.

It’s also critical to think in terms of funding the long-term plan, not just a project.  Successful implementation of large-scale capital improve-

ments will almost always increase operating costs as well.  Long-term operating budgets must be planned separately and simultaneously.

The funds for investment or to repay debt will not come from operating surpluses or profits in food and beverage operations.  Industry data show these “sources” are not, and should not be, meaningful if the club leaders are doing their jobs; especially when it comes to F&B, which is a primary amenity that touches nearly every member.

Your F&B operation is not a stand-alone restaurant. It is expensive and vital to run multiple venues, offer broad menus, operate at off-peak times, accept walk-ins, train and staff for uneven use and do whatever it takes to increase membership satisfaction. Member satisfaction must be the primary goal of club leadership.

Minimizing F&B “losses” in a country club setting is a fool’s errand when it runs contrary to increasing membership satisfaction.  F&B financial contributions are simply not meaningful (it is not uncommon for a club to lose nine percent of its F&B revenues) in the larger scheme with the largest “losses” often registered at the most successful clubs.

These clubs truly embrace membership satisfaction and understand its impact on retaining and attracting new members – the lifeblood of any club.

Think big and think long term. Think strategically. Understand the profiles of your next generation of members.  BR

Joe Abely and Dave Duval are co-founders and principals of Club Board Professionals LLC. Joe can be reached at (781) 953-9333 or via email at jabely@cbpros.com ; Dave at (617) 519-6281 or dduval@cbpros.com

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

F. H. (Frank) Benzakour is a Cornell graduate, professor of Contemporary Club Management at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Contact Frank at www.frankbenzakour.com.

To read more about the 12 Golden Keys of Hospitality Excellence pick up a copy at Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/

The 12 Golden Keys of Hospitality Excellence

Editor’s note: 12 Golden Keys of Hospitality Excellence is a recent publication authored by Frank Benzakour. His book highlights insights and expertise on superior management earned from 25 years of hospitality experience as COO of several prestigious country clubs.

Hospitality is a challenging industry, but I love it. The 12 Golden Keys of Hospitality Excellence helped me make the most of all the hard work I put in as a GM/COO and they can do the same for you, starting with Golden Keys one and two.

Golden Key 1: You Can’t Grow as A Leader If You Don’t Develop Others and Golden Key 2: Over-investing in People are the keys to success. Your business is shaped by the people you hire. Plus, successful leaders bring out the full potential in others. It’s important for employees to feel secure and valued. To celebrate mistakes and learn from them, I created a saferoom where anyone could say anything to a supervisor without retribution.

Then there’s Golden Key 3: Celebrate Diversity, the key to creating a business culture of camaraderie and fraternity. We held a talent show and international dining event with students in the H2B program representing their countries with their national dishes. It was a huge success.

Next, Golden Key 4: Embrace Change is the key to initiating new and better ways to do things. Wearing denim in the dining rooms was once considered too casual, but upon adopting it, dining reservations went through the roof and overall member satisfaction rose to an all-time high.

Then, Golden Key 5: The Power of Social Media is the key to boost brand awareness, loyalty and member engagement through well-structured, well-thought-out social media campaigns.

Followed by Golden Key 6: Be A Student of the Obvious, the key to clear, forceful, and convincing marketing.

Next, Golden Key 7: Member Satisfaction in a Club Environment is the key to making your members feel special. Empower your members to establish their expectations. I invited 12 members on a rotation basis for “Cocktails with Frank”, to get to know each other and discuss club affairs as if we all owned the business. I made it clear that no personal agenda would be discussed, and all ideas should be aimed at benefiting the membership. It was an amazing opportunity for me to interact directly with the members, crush any rumors and increase dinner attendance on what was considered a slow night.

Then, Golden Key 8: Be a Master of Game Theory is the mathematical key to predict how staff, members and competitors will react to specific actions. In calculating outcomes for two competitive clubs, both will get the best results when they cooperate. During my tenure at Middle Bay Country Club, the president, executive committee and I, met weekly to discuss these exact strategies. We were the most successful club in the neighborhood. The competing clubs didn’t understand that it would benefit us all to work with each other. If they’d cooperated, we might have had better results together. Oh, well!

And, Golden Key 9: Swim in Blue Oceans is the key to fulfilling a fresh need in the market—making your club rivalry-free. Initially, country clubs were a blue ocean strategy. In the 1800s, wealthy, urban Americans wanted grand country manors. But most plots on the outskirts of large cities weren’t large enough for the sports of the day—tennis, cricket,

horse racing, fox hunting etc. The solution was private country clubs. So, you can see, industry boundaries aren’t fixed. Reshape them by meeting a new demand.

Next, Golden Key 10: The Pareto Principle 80/20 Rule of Management is the key to focusing on the actions that produce the best results. This 80/20 rule helps you establish effective solutions for club membership, personnel, and resources.

Then, Golden Key 11: Innovate or Die is the key to survival. Employ new and innovative steps to adapt to the changing times and needs of your members or they will go somewhere else.

And last but not least, Golden Key 12: Every CEO Should Have a Coach is the key to advancing from admirable to remarkable. CEO coaching is often the difference between a good organization and an amazing one. BR

FRANK BENZAKOUR

The newest addition to the award-winning FOOD-TRAK System’s mobility platforms.

With the FOOD-TRAK Mobile App (FMA) for Android or Apple devices, our clients eliminate printing, filling out and entering data from paper forms. Collect data where it lives, or look up information from wherever you are. Mobility equals efficiency! FMA Features Include:

Use your device’s built-in camera to scan barcodes, saving time and improving accuracy for all types of data collection. Print routing slips, invoice reconciliation reports and recipe right from the device to your network printers.

Join the leaders in the club industry who use the FOOD-TRAK System to manage and control their F&B costs and reduce or eliminate subsidies. Easily affordable and suitable for clubs of all sizes.

So leave your desk, hold the phone and call your FOOD-TRAK Account Manager at 800-553-2438 for more information.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Becoming ADROIT

RON CICHY

Dr. Ronald F Cichy, O.M. is professor, The School of Hospitality Business, Michigan State University

ADROIT. A word that you do not hear every day. ADROIT: what does it mean and how does it apply to private membership clubs?

Let us begin with the A, which stands for three related practices. A A means to Affirm people. Affirmation leads to positive feelings in others and you. Affirmation confirms that what the person is doing is the right thing to do.

A is Appreciate. Appreciation is under-utilized. We know how great we feel when we are Appreciated by others. Let us practice Appreciating others. There is power created in the bond. Appreciation leads to engagement.

The third A – Attitude – makes the difference. It is the positive Attitude that creates good vibes, authentic outcomes and stupendous results. When given the choice, who would you rather be with – one with a positive Attitude or one with a negative Attitude?

Some of us take flight when encountering a negative Attitude. We do not want it to “rub off” on us, drag us down, or cause us to join in the negativity. A positive attitude goes a long way to brighten the day and the moments we share with others. A private club can be a collection of positive attitudes, beginning with the board of directors and including the paid leaders, that attract new members and sustain seasoned members.

Shifting now to the D, which is Determined and Dedicated to learning skills and gaining knowledge. Think about what the club purchases – your skills and knowledge. Skills development is ongoing if a person is going to continue to improve. Acquiring knowledge helps the person deal with the ever-changing world. Determined people have a plan.

ADROIT people Rely on group norms to deliver positively memorable experiences for both members and talent. One key group norm is participation; participate to give your ideas and listen to other ideas. Participate in club activities and events; stay engaged.

Another norm is contributing. That is, contribute to the end result that the team is producing. Contribute your ideas, your understanding, your experiences to make the function of the team more effective and the end results more desirable.

Listen to each other with your ears, your heart, your eyes and your entire being. Listen to understand. And, of course, listen to practice empathy.

Empathy is, to the extent possible, placing yourself in another’s position, shoes, role. There is a difference between sympathy and empathy. Sympathy is feeling sorry for a person. Empathy is feeling with a person, that is, feeling their feelings as nearly as they do.

Realizing that it is literally impossible to be and feel like the other person 100 percent, those who practice empathy get as close to the other’s feelings as possible. Take every opportunity to practice empathy.

O is Of course, practice to make permanent every day.

I is Improve every day. Without continuous Improvement, successes fall flat. By keeping the focus each day on ways to get better, the club and the people will do so. Your dedication to Improving each day motivates others to join you. They see by your example what are possible Improvements.

T – Train to be curious. Curious people continuously ask why? Why does something happen, or not happen? Why is the outcome what we planned, or did not plan? Use why instead of who? The goal of curiosity is to identify why. This promotes understanding. Train yourself to ask why? You will be amazed at the results.

ADROIT. A word not used often. Yet ADROIT is at the heart of leadership – leadership of ourselves, of others and of the club. The club requires its leaders, volunteer and paid, along with its talent to be ADROIT regardless of the person’s official title or place in the club. Practice becoming ADROIT.

Continue to improve yourself and your club by being ADROIT:

A = Affirm people/Appreciate people/Attitude

D = Dedication and Determination to learning skills and knowledge

R = Rely on group norms (e.g., participate, contribute, listen to each other, practice empathy)

O = Of course, practice not to make perfect, but to make permanent

I = Improve every day

T = Train to be curious BR

Is Empathy Everything?

What’s in your

boardroom?

Rita B. Craig, president of Top Tier Leadership, is a leadership consultant, trainer and keynote speaker. She can be reached at (561) 775-3396. www. TopTierLeadership.com

For some execs, it’s a revolutionary idea. For others, it’s a no-brainer they’ve always tried to employ, if by a different name.

It’s empathy, and while enthusiasts call it a foundation for business achievement, at the very least, it’s an important tool, a vital skill that belongs in the modern boardroom.

What, exactly, is empathy? It’s the ability to understand and feel the experience of others. Here’s what it isn’t: weakness, people-pleasing, a touchy-feely, mainly female capability.

What’s important for those with a close eye on their company’s future: Studies show empathy makes leaders stronger.

It does that by fostering boardroom essentials – positive attitudes, respect for others, appropriate deportment – the keys to high-quality performance. It’s the leader’s job to instill these elements, modeling them, setting a tone that inspires others.

Boardroom etiquette – good manners – boils down to courtesy and respect. Punctuality is important. So is focusing one’s full attention on a meeting’s subject and speaker, not checking a cellphone every few minutes. Preparation, doing the homework for a meeting, is basic. So is speaking up with your ideas while not crossing the line into monopolizing the conversation.

Is it really necessary to mention that certain jokes, gestures and comments are inappropriate? Consider it done. A slip-up in this department can damage, even end, a career. Remember that such gaffes are like toothpaste: easy to squeeze out of the tube but hard to put back in.

The Center for Creative Leadership has found that empathy predicts better job performance. Competence in what’s also called emotional intelligence makes leaders more effective at managing relationships. It helps them read facial expressions and tone of voice more intelligently to gain insight and recognize perspective.

Empathy skills include listening attentively and trying to see things from the viewpoint of others. They promote positive interactions as members feel “heard” and valued. Yet many corporations are led by people who are not skilled in such dynamics. Those who are tend to be female.

For many women, an empathy deficit in boardroom behavior is one of the reasons they find it difficult to thrive in corporations. As a result, they’re likely to take their skills elsewhere, which can be a big loss. A study by the Wellesley Centers for Women found that female board members make contributions their male colleagues are less likely to make. They take a more collaborative approach to leadership and put more emphasis on strengthening communication.

Women today earn as many if not more advanced degrees as men. They hold at least half of all management jobs. So why, according to Catalyst Inc., a global non-profit that fosters workplaces that work for women, are fewer than 15 percent of board seats at major companies held by women?

Catalyst has found that companies with the highest board representation of women, indicating a more inclusive culture, have greater financial performance than those with fewer women – by large margins. Which raises the question: Do women on boards make companies better or is it that good companies add women to their boards?

What’s certain is that more women taking seats at the table is a plus. Representatives of both gender and ethnicity bring a variety of thought and viewpoints, a diversity expected to be even more important in the future.

Most corporations take great care in establishing their brand, the impact or impression on customers of what they see and experience. The failure to understand its message can affect the drive for both diversity and retention.

Sharon Allen, former board chair at Deloitte, sees what happens in a boardroom as a social enterprise.

“Visualize about an hour before a board meeting,” she says. “As each person enters, the chemistry changes, takes on the collective personality of its members. Everyone has a part to play, and how the parts play out depends on intangibles that can’t be touched but certainly can be felt.”

Her message: Each individual makes a personal decision, and those who are disciplined and diplomatic are head and shoulders above those who are disinterested and distant.

Remember your mother saying, “Mind your manners” when you were a kid? Old sayings aren’t always old. Behavior -- words and actions – matter.

The bottom line is that empathy may not be everything, but it’s definitely something important, a basis for respectful boardroom conduct that enhances both achievement and congeniality. BR

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Rob DeMore is president of Troon Privé and can be reached at (480) 477-0558 and via email: rdemore@troon.com.

Real Long-Term Value Lies in the Vision

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” –Helen Keller

Every board at a member-owned club understands the complexity of the challenges they face. Volunteer board members are tasked with the monumental job of stepping up to join the team responsible for leading the way to sustainability – a payless effort that requires intelligence and fortitude.

Without the critical eye for detail and countless hours contributed by these stewards of camaraderie, there would be no club. But many times, that’s just not enough.

Solving for the long-term is a puzzle made up of dozens of inter-related pieces that must fit precisely together on all sides. If a board finds itself unable to see its way through the hurdles, the winds of change will inevitably howl for a shift in strategy.

Regardless of circumstances, any club at a crossroads has options in today’s environment. Options include the sale to investors, change the management or hire a management company to support the efforts. Although any of these options can deliver shortterm relief, how can a club know which direction would be best for the long term?

It begins by understanding what the true root of the problem is. Rarely is it a lack of available capital from its stakeholders in a member owned club, but rather a lack of alignment.

When the timeless values of any organization are lost to more pressing priorities, the best choice may be to sell to investors who can capitalize on the opportunity.

With this transactional solution, the club and surrounding real estate is converted into an asset meant for delivering investor fiscal return as quickly as possible.

There will be immediate cash relief, but what about the next generation of inevitable capital needs? The benefit of a club owned by the members is that ownership always prioritizes the value of its members.

An investment owner rightfully prioritizes the vision and values of its investors first, then the members. In either case, success is rooted in the preservation of the values of the members.

Unfortunately, when an equity club’s stakeholders can’t agree on how to move forward, very little can be done to make it better –even selling.

The best chance of saving an equity club from stressed asset investment consumption is when the members take pride in a shared vision and retain control over the future.

Many times, regardless of its financial position, the holistic support of a board with the right management support can help an equity club not just survive but thrive for generations to come, by helping reshape a vision inspiring investment.

No club can survive on hope or tradition without a long-term plan that aligns with its culture and identity. With the right tools, a member owned club has the power to bring all the pieces together so it can flourish once again.

The board must learn how to develop a strategic short and long-term plan which, in turn, will provide direction for each committee’s annual charter and a clear course of action for the general manager and their ability to execute.

It’s essential to collectively address every area of the operation as a whole, including food and beverage, agronomy, IT, marketing, and ongoing capital improvement.

Human resources must be able to offer the opportunity, benefits and compensation that attracts associates who understand the preferences and needs of the club’s members.

Members will stay because the experience is meaningful and new members will join because they have confidence that the club will enhance their lives for generations, not just years to come. BR

ROB DEMORE

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

RICHARD MCPHAIL

Richard McPhail, CCM, is a founding partner of “Club-Edge”, offering analytics and operational technology to the private club market. He can be reached at (239) 223-2741 or at rmcphail@club-edge.com. For more information visit the company website at www.club-edge.com.

The Elephant in the Club - Part IV

The Club Gift Policy

Does your club have a formal gift policy?

Some years ago, most clubs had formal written gift policies in their employee handbooks and in their club bylaws that outlined and limited the type of considerations, dollar value amounts and circumstances under which club management, department heads and staff, as well as members, committees and board members, could accept gifts from club vendors.

These policies evolved as a historical result of what had been widely seen as conflicts of interest in some vendor/club business relationships.

As numerous HR policies and club bylaws have changed, expanded and evolved over the years, many clubs concentrated their focus on processes and rules to address more pressing issues in the club business. However, in many cases, these changes involved the use of master templates and legal language that sometimes inadvertently reduced the time spent on other topics that were not the primary focal point of the discussions and club business updates.

As a result, reviews and updates of formal club gift policies at many clubs have fallen by the wayside. In some cases, club gift policies no longer exist in writing at all.

Why is a formal club gift policy important? Clubs purchase significant amounts of food, chemicals, equipment, furnishings and various supplies to operate. Major capital expenses include products and related services to plan, design, schedule and complete club property projects, large equipment purchases, and sports and clubhouse renovations.

The club management team (and sometimes members) are often bombarded by multiple vendors and their own business/personal contacts, each of whom is actively competing for a category of your club’s business. Creating these mutually beneficial “relationships’ is often important to obtain the products, pricing and services a club team uses on behalf of the membership.

During the last recession, nearly everyone was primarily focused on the price/quality equation – both vendors and purchasers alike. However, we are currently enjoying a more prosperous economy. Vendor gifts to client club individuals (whether they are a member or staff) can be meals, tickets, travel, accommodations, gift cards, discounts on personal purchases and a variety of other incentives.

While this corporate/vendor gift giving can be a legitimate way to recognize and appreciate a business relationship, your club should review, discuss and clearly establish your policies. What is acceptable? What is extreme or too elaborate and under what circumstances and what types of gifts are appropriate to avoid a real or perceived conflict of interest?

A “gift” to any individual, whether it is staff or member, should be viewed in the context of whether that amount or the gift itself should more appropriately be “directed” to the club’s general coffers or for better overall pricing on behalf of all members and/or staff.

I believe that we all agree that business gifts should never affect a club’s purchasing decisions. Setting clear policies in writing for both club staff and members can help keep things transparent and professional for all parties. The club’s decision makers need a clear policy that they can consistently rely on to know when they can accept and when they are required to decline or redirect offered gifts.

The club needs to ensure that each vendor relationship is transparent and kept to a very professional level without excessive individual self-interest by members or staff while conducting the business of the club.

So, each club’s written gift policy for staff and members alike should be completely transparent to identify the amount, circumstances, exemptions and who may/may not accept a vendor gift in both the employee handbook and in the member bylaws. This should also include disciplinary action for violations of the policy. BR

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Epic [Strategy] Fail And Why it Happens

WHITNEY REID PENNELL

Whitney Reid Pennell, president of RCS Hospitality Group, is a celebrated management consultant, educator, and speaker. RCS has been recognized eight times with a BoardRoom Excellence in Achievement Award, most recently in 2018 in the categories of Staff Training Company, Club Service Firm, and Consulting Company. RCS continues to offer innovative solutions through RCSUniversity.com, an online virtual training portal for employees and managers. For more information, phone (623) 322-0773; or visit the RCS website at www.consultingRCS.com.

Research shows that 60-90 percent of strategic plans fail. Developing a strategic plan takes discipline, brutal honesty and requires foresight with trends, the economy and society. Consider, for example:

Club 1, 2008: Built a ‘formal dining room’ significantly larger than its casual dining in a new clubhouse even though club trends and their consultant advised against it. The dining room is now closed except for private events while the casual dining space is overwhelmed.

Club 2, 2012: Invited only one woman to be on the strategic committee for an upcoming renovation plan. In 2015, club had to make ‘adjustments’ to the renovated space to accommodate young families and women’s needs to remain competitive.

Club 3, Any year: Club decides to expand its food and beverage offerings and triple seating capacity but does not expand kitchen facilities. Members remain displeased with the slowness of service and lack of consistency.

Before the committee becomes tactical it must be disciplined, honest and have the forethought to make good decisions for your club by doing some homework.

• Understand current and future membership needs. Use surveys, focus groups, club trends and market studies.

• Identify ‘hot button’ issues – topics tend to be divisive or sensitive.

• Complete a financial analysis to identify behavioral and transactional trends. With the rapidly changing membership needs and new club types popping up, doing a deep dive by membership type, length of membership, gender, age, children, employment status, zip code, etc. Members typically use the club along predictable lines based on certain factors and the deep dive will show you how the club is being used and provide tools for attracting the target market of prospective members.

• Conduct an operational analysis to inform leadership if the club has the organizational structure, service culture, management skills, employees, equipment, IT systems and operational procedures in place to effectively execute a strategic plan. Without this, the plan is largely doomed once it reaches the implementation phase.

• Perform an inventory of the physical plant and determine capital needs in rank and order of priority and importance.

A realistic timeline of three to six months is necessary to achieve these items. Once the information has been collected, you will be ready to work out your plan. Throughout the process it is critical to

communicate the process and progress to membership. This effort helps maintain realistic delivery expectations among the membership. Periodic updates provide transparency and keep members engaged and informed, thus avoiding opportunities for rumor and mixed messages.

There are myriad reasons plans fail, so club leaders must be diligent to achieve implementation success. Here are a few of the top offenders to a club’s strategic success.

1. Unrealistic goals. You can’t say, “I want it to be better, faster, shinier, more consistent, and innovative” but then fail to invest in development or people to achieve the results you want.

2. Failure to embrace the times. Yes, those trends ARE going to affect your club at some point. The decisions you make today will create your club of tomorrow.

3. Having the wrong people involved. It’s important to hear a diverse set of opinions and needs when making future plans, so the committee should well represent the target market for prospective members, as much as the existing membership.

4. Unwillingness or inability to change. The outdated beliefs, thoughts, and strategies are likely why you feel the need to update your plan to begin with. Don’t revert back to your comfort zone. Be realistic about available resources, the need for membership buy-in, and the investment necessary to make any wholesale changes.

5. Having the wrong organizational structure or the wrong people in leadership positions. Management must be willing to make tough decisions, be advocates for the plan and champion the cause.

6. Lack of accountability and follow-through. Have ongoing meetings to keep your plan on track and moving forward. BR

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Diablo Country Club member, chair of the 2018 strategic planning committee. He is also president, Chevron North America Exploration and Production.

Now I’m A Director

Diablo Country Club member, vice-chair, 2018 strategic planning committee and retired president, The Wine Group, Inc.

How Do I Leave My Club Better Than I Found It?

Editor’s note: In the January/February 2019 issue of BoardRoom, the writers introduced the Diablo Country Club member-approved Corporate Hybrid Governance Model, a more functionally sound governance model with underpinnings from corporate best practice and business literature from around the globe. This model reflects the evolution of governance in the context of the modern role of the highest-level senior manager in the organization (i.e. CEO/COO), changes in the private club industry and advances in corporate governance.

The most common governance model currently found in private clubs across the nation, can best be described as a Social Board Model. This model is often based on outdated bylaws, past practice and traditions, fails to recognize the increasing complexity and scope of the CEO/COO, and has not kept pace with current corporate governance standards. Comparing the two models provides a platform for thoughtful dialogue and consideration. Is past practice best practice? Is there a better way to govern?

The introductory article focused on four tenets of the Corporate Hybrid Governance Model: (1) Qualifications, (2) Manager Operates (Misnomer), (3) Continuity, and (4) Micromanagement.

Director Qualifications is the focus of this first in a series of articles that will explore each of the four tenets in more depth.

The operative and important phrase is qualified. The standard Social Board Model criteria often defines qualified as member tenure, participation, popularity, won the club championship, owns a restaurant, family legacy, retired and has the time.

Although these criteria represent the qualities of a great member/ customer, they have little to do with one’s qualifications as a DIRECTOR and FIDUCIARY. Is a member qualified because they are active users of the club and “good customers?”

Follow the logic… would you consider a patient who has undergone several root canals as qualified to perform one on you, or would you seek a qualified dental professional? Seems silly, but we see the nominating committee employing this rationale in clubs every day.

So what qualities and experience should be considered?

How well a member understands the concept of a fiduciary, is a key indicator, and an important place to start. Most directors, including at Fortune 500 companies, consider fiduciary in the narrow context of liability and within the strict definition as it applies to legal theory.

Oversight, compliance and risk management are important duties of any board, but it doesn’t advance the enterprise, it rightfully protects it. It’s defensive not offensive. Innovation, an urgency for thoughtful

Frank Cordeiro, CCM is chief operating officer, Diablo Country Club and can be reached via email: frankc@diablocc.org

change and growth strategies come from insight and foresight. This is where the board adds the most value and governs as fiduciaries.

A fiduciary in the corporate hybrid model relies on facts, professional advice and places the interests of the enterprise ahead of self-interest in analyzing alternatives, applying judgment and in decision making. Imagine how productive a board can be if all decisions (strategy, innovation, growth, investment, etc.) were informed and based on the fiduciary standard as we’ve defined? Fact over opinion, data over anecdote, professional advice and expertise over social status and self-interest?

How much of the dialogue and decision making in the board rooms of today’s clubs is data-driven? How much influence is injected by social considerations, emotion, ego and self-interest? Why? Because a club is a “social being” and the social component is inherent and inseparable from the member experience, including the nominating process.

A director will often hear from their playing group on the first tee, they may hear from the members in the boot camp class, and it’s not always positive. Ideally, members would separate the fiduciary duty from their social considerations but doing so is not intuitive. This is simply part of the human condition.

Think about it, what other organization has directors who are simultaneously the owner, director and customer. An inescapable conflict of interest. Although the point of this article isn’t legal theory of a fiduciary, think about the forgoing conflict of interest and then apply the legal definition of fiduciary. Not good!

The social component not only leads to emotional decisions, it also tends to shift focus to operations. An enlightening exercise that reveals if your board is governing as fiduciaries involves a quick review of last year’s minutes to determine

STEVE

Melissa Low is the senior director, communications & advocacy, for the Club Management Association of America. For the latest information on these and other issues affecting the club industry, please visit CMAA’s Legislative Report blog at www.cmaa.org/legislative.aspx.

What to Watch For in 2019

It’s a new legislative year with a new balance of power in the 116th Congress. Unfortunately, there is unfinished budget business from the 115th Congress, which is preventing effective government operation.

Without a budget and appropriations, the partial federal government shut down officially began on at 12:00 p.m. midnight on December 22. More than 800,000 workers have been furloughed nationwide. While some operations like national security are deemed necessities, nine of 15 regulatory agencies are closed until further notice. To date, the shutdown has stretched to January 25, 2019

Here’s the latest overview of issues affecting the club industry, and what to watch during the first quarter of the year.

EPA Proposes New Waters of the US Rule: On December 11, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army proposed a revised definition of the waters of the United States (WOTUS) that clarifies federal authority under the Clean Water Act. This is the second step of the process to repeal and replace the 2015 WOTUS rule that dramatically expanded federal jurisdiction over waters and wet areas in the U.S., including most water bodies on golf courses.

The proposed rule is designed to provide clarity, predictability and consistency so that the regulated community can easily understand where the Clean Water Act applies –and where it does not. Under the proposed rule, traditional navigable waters, tributaries to those waters, certain ditches, certain lakes and ponds, impoundments of jurisdictional water and wetlands adjacent to jurisdictional waters would be federally regulated.

The following would not be federally regulated:

• Features that only contain water during or in response to rainfall (e.g., ephemeral features)

• Groundwater

• Many ditches, including most roadside or farm ditches

• Prior converted cropland

• Stormwater control features, and

• Waste treatment systems.

Public comments will be accepted on the proposal for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. However, publication has not yet happened due to the government shutdown. Once the comment period opens, CMAA and our allies in the golf industry will be submitting comments on behalf of our members and stakeholders.

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE

H-2B Visa Demand Continues to Outpace

Supply: On December 11, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the H-2B visa cap for the first half of the 2018 fiscal year had been reached. The final receipt date was Thursday, December 6. This is approximately three weeks earlier than the cap was hit in FY2018.

Currently, the H-2B visa cap set by Congress is 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 to be allocated for employment beginning in the first half of the fiscal year (October 1 - March 31) and 33,000 to be allocated for employment beginning in the second half of the fiscal year (April 1 - September 30).

Based on the current pace, it is expected that demand for H-2B visas for the second half of FY2019 will far outweigh supply and that they will be exhausted earlier than last year’s February 28 date.

Coming Soon: New Overtime Rules: In the fall, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued its regulatory agenda and indicated its expectation to issue the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the changes to the overtime rules in March 2019. This will give the public the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime exemptions.

It is expected that the salary threshold will increase, and estimates have put that threshold in $33,000 - $38,000 range. The last official action by the DOL on these rules was its Request for Information (RFI) in July of 2017.

Stay tuned! BR

Walter Oi, the Most Important Name Never Discussed in the Private Club Boardroom - Part II

Editor’s note: In Part One of this series, the authors explained Walter Oi’s two-part pricing policy, the kind you see at Costco, Netflix, Amazon Prime and the major cell phone carriers, just to name a few.

In this pricing model, consumers pay an upfront flat fee to become a consumer of a firm that is offering membership perks like discounts and free shipping and they then pay to purchase individual goods, as well.

But the words, “two-part” price, are never mentioned by club consultants, by executives for management companies, in the boardroom or at a CMAA meeting. Is the private club industry paying the price for ignoring Oi’s advice?

In Part II, the authors outline the problem for private clubs and how Oi’s analysis should represent a paradigm shift in the way strategic issues are approached.

THE PROBLEM

“Before a member sets foot in the club, including dues and all other fixed charges including capital assessments, operating assessments, food and beverage minimums and mandatory services fees, the average full member spends a total of $20,400.” (2018-2019 Trends in Private Clubs by RSM, the preferred accounting firm for the Club Management Association of America). This report summarizes the data the firm has collected from clubs in the state of Florida.

Is this a small number or a big number? Relative to what? What do most consumers spend on entertainment? The Bureau of Labor Statistics in its 2013 Consumer Expenditure Survey reports that the average household spends $2,500 on entertainment while the highest income earnings households with an average income of over $238,000 spent $6,484 on entertainment. Entertainment includes fees and admissions, pets, toys, audio visual equipment and other entertainment expenses.

In order to induce even the highest income families to spend three times the average amount on entertainment, the club has to create a significant value to the individual or family members of the member. Only if the members are actively participating in club activities multiple times a week does it make sense for the member to pay this annual fee for membership privileges.

Remarkably most clubs force their members to pay a “minimum” on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis. This is essentially a penalty for not using the club.

A casual conversation with any group of club professionals, whether from the CMAA or the HFTP, will produce the inevitable discussion of how only a small group of members do most of the participating in club activities, along with the story about the member who paid dues and minimums over the “last eight years” (true story) and never had another charge on his account.

A little chuckle then follows, but given what is happening to the club business, it may not be that funny.

Whether this issue is a problem in your club can be documented by asking the club’s chief financial officer to create an Excel worksheet and corresponding chart showing the member expenditures on food and beverage for a particular month. Figure 3 below shows an example of a real but anonymous club’s member spending for a typical month.

In this club, only 60 of 600 members spent more than $200 a month.

How can a club get into this situation? The answer is easy and too prevalent. The club loses money in food and beverage and the manager reports the problem to the board. The board responds by raising prices and reducing the hours and days of operation.

At higher prices, members participate less, and the productivity of the food and beverage staff declines. With the decline in productivity, the cost of production rises and

FIGURE 3: MONTHLY SPENDING AT AN ANONYMOUS PRIVATE CLUB

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

PETER NANULA

Peter J. Nanula is chairman of Concert Golf Partners, an owner, operator and all-cash buyer of private golf and country clubs. CGP specializes in recapitalizing member-owned clubs carrying too much debt, converting them to non-equity status, and maintaining the clubs as fully private. www.concertgolfpartners.com | (949) 715-0602 | pnanula@concertcapital.com.

Business Models for Private Clubs

Options to Remain Successful

Why do hotels operate under a different business model than golf and country clubs? The 52,000 hotels in the U.S. are nearly 100 percent privately owned, for-profit businesses. In contrast, most private golf and country clubs (3,300 out of approximately 4,000) are non-profit, tax-exempt entities.

Both hotels and country clubs are part of the hospitality industry and they share many similarities:

• Customer service is at the heart of the businesses

• Utilization levels determine success

• Location and demographics are critical

• Many disparate businesses reside under one roof – food and beverage, merchandise and many others

• Capital funding needs are relentless, both for regular maintenance as well as growth.

Given their similarities, it would seem logical for both hotels and clubs to share similar ownership and funding models.

History partly explains why clubs largely operate as non-profit entities. Private clubs began to spring up in the late 1800s, not as businesses at all – but rather as charitable social organizations. However, as clubs grew and became multi-faceted hospitality businesses, their non-profit “co-operative” history led to a divergence.

There are some 1,000 elite golf clubs in the country which still thrive today on the old self-funded, tax-exempt model with a nucleus of affluent members and a wait list to join. These clubs are able to assess their membership for any and all needs and wants without incident.

For the other more than 2,000 private clubs still using the nonprofit, co-op model, maintaining membership levels and raising funds for capital improvements can be an uphill battle.

Before Blue Hill Country Club - located in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts - struck a deal to partner with a professional club hospitality firm, members had paid an additional $4,600 annually in assessments and surcharges to finance a $5.9 million golf course and irrigation renovation completed in 2004. When the club began discussing a $3 million clubhouse renovation in 2015, the proposal never even made it to a vote because the membership was so divided.

Equity clubs like Blue Hill often find that borrowing heavily to finance today’s capital projects saddles future boards with less funding flexibility down the line. Some boards of part-time volunteer members,

despite their best efforts and proven success in their careers, often lack the expertise in club operations or ownership to compete with the club around the corner run by a full-time hospitality firm.

To be clear, there are equity clubs that are succeeding with the right club manager who is able to provide full-time leadership and strong financial guidance. These clubs also have found that board training and leadership education have become fundamental in helping to compete in today’s environment.

Boards have some other options to consider to remain successful:

• Hire a third-party management firm to help run club operations. This is the most common solution for many clubs and hotels. It can add up to $200,000 in annual costs, but these management companies have years of experience running public and private golf clubs.

• Get a small group of wealthy members to fund the club. This path relieves the pressure on all members to contribute financially and thereby reduces attrition. However, it can create a dynamic where some members feel like second-class members.

• Partner with a professional club hospitality firm that has capital. To some clubs, this can seem like a bigger, riskier step. The members give up their equity - often hard to value - and some control, but their capital needs and operations are solved permanently – the same way that most of the hotel industry works.

Often, permanently solving capital funding issues and paying off debt results in increased member satisfaction and membership gains. In the case of Blue Hill Country Club, membership increased 38 percent in just the first year after recapitalization. BR

ON THE FRONTLINES

Sick Leave Required

What Would You Have Done?

ROBERT SERECI

Robert A Sereci, CCM is GM/COO of Medinah Country Club, located in Medinah, IL. He can be reached at (630) 438-6825, or via email: rsereci@medinahcc.org

Editor’s note: During the summer of 2018, Robert Sereci, general manager of Medinah Country Club, and a regular contributor to BoardRoom magazine, made a decision to undergo heart surgery. This is the message he sent to his club members before the surgery.

I believe the strength of any club community is determined by the degree of intimacy that exists between the membership and staff. That’s what makes a club, and particularly Medinah Country Club, so special.

As a community, we celebrate births and achievements, we mourn deaths and we rally behind those who are sick. In three short years I have forged close relationships with many of my members and this is why I chose to be transparent and tell them about my open-heart surgery.

Sure, I had other options. I could have been vague about my medical issue or simply say that I will be out for personal reason. What would you have done if you were in my shoes?

Dear Members

One of my reoccurring messages to my team since my arrival over three years ago is that: We are one family serving another and to be kind to each other because many of us are fighting a battle we know nothing about.

I am no different, very soon I will be fighting a battle of my own. On Tuesday, August 28, I will be undergoing open heart surgery to replace my aorta and valve. This is not a new development, but a genetic condition I have had since birth. While I have been advised that I could postpone the surgery for another year or two, I have elected to do it sooner rather than later – given that the consequences for waiting are significantly worse.

So, why am I telling you this? Back to my first message to my staff. We are a family serving a family. I feel very blessed to belong to our close-knit community where we look out for one another. That’s what makes a club, and particularly this one, so special.

As a community, we celebrate births and achievements, we mourn deaths and we rally behind those who are sick. Given the close relationships I have forged with many of you, I could not bring myself to simply tell you that I will be away for five weeks, without any explanation.

While my surgery is a private matter, my preference is to be as open and transparent with you, the membership, as I would be with

my friends and family. Absent of facts, members could begin to craft their own story as to why I am not at the club.

So, here is the plan. With my surgery taking place on Monday, August 28, I will spend one week in the hospital and then four additional weeks recovering at home. With my wife Jennifer having once been a nurse, I will be in great hands. My goal is to return to work on a part time basis, on Monday, October 8, and transition back to full time around mid-October.

As most of you know, I am very blessed to work with a strong management team and a caring board who will ensure that things are running smoothly during my absence.

Certain members of my team will work closely with club president, Mike Scimo to ensure that all club matters continue to be managed on a timely and effective basis. Because I will have limited access to my email or phone, I suggest you contact the individuals below should you need anything from me.

Mark Jablonski - mjablonski@medinahcc.org: Questions or comments regarding food & beverage, clubhouse, tennis, security or events.

Marty DeAngelo - mdeangelo@medinahcc. org: Questions or comments regarding golf or golf courses.

Thank you in advance for your positive thoughts and prayers. I look forward to seeing you at the club soon. BR

Post-script: Robert came through his surgery with flying colors and is back at his post as general manager of Medinah Country Club.

“The process could not have gone better. Your connections, expertise and guidance were the foundation for our Board’s ability to evaluate the best candidates and to think clearly about securing a bright management future for our club.”

Patricia Thirlby, President Sand Point Country Club, Seattle, WA

Specializing in General Manager/COO, Director of Golf, Golf Course Superintendent, Executive Chef, Racquet Sports Professional, Community Association Manager, Assistant General Manager, Clubhouse Manager/Food & Beverage Director and Fitness Director searches, as well as Strategic Planning and Consulting Services for private, resort and developer-owned properties.

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CMAA Governance Leadership Summits

Register today to attend a truly remarkable “one of a kind” day of education , which continues to receive rave reviews from previous attendees. Visit www.cmaa.org and click on events.

September 5 th at Philadelphia Country Club – Gladwyne, PA

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ON THE FRONTLINES

The Argyle

A

BY MICHAEL VLAD

Michael Vlad is the general manager/COO at the Argyle Club in San Antonio, Texas and can be reached at (210) 824-1496 or via email: manager@theargyle.com

Past with a Present for the Future

The Argyle!

Born from an exciting and imaginative idea, nourished by countless hours, days and years of dedicated selfless service, supported by the enthusiastic patronage of an active membership, The Argyle in San Antonio, Texas, stands unique today in all the world.

It’s a successful and dynamic private dining club providing one of the finest dining facilities while contributing to the welfare of mankind through meaningful support of biomedical research and the battle against infectious diseases.

Originally built in 1854 by Charles Anderson as the headquarters for a horse ranch that extended for over 30 miles, the house was an outpost of frontier hospitality, entertaining early San Antonians. Through a succession of owners, The Argyle was purchased in 1893 by Robert O’Grady and his sister Alice, who reopened the Argyle Hotel on St. Patrick’s Day as a gracious dining establishment and overnight stopover for travelers.

For the next 50 years The Argyle enjoyed the reputation for fine southern cuisine and tasteful décor. It was a favorite dining establishment for leading senior officers at nearby Fort Sam Houston such as General Bullis and John J. Pershing.

The Argyle Cookbook, published in 1942 by Alice O’Grady features some of Mrs. Alice’s recipes, such as the seafood gumbo, on the menu to this very day. By the 1950s, with the O’Gradys deceased, the property was serving as a boardinghouse and fell into disrepair.

In 1955, Betty Slick Moorman and her brother, Tom Slick, Jr., put up $32,000 to purchase the building. They renovated it and turned The Argyle into a private club that supports the life-saving research at the institute founded by Mr. Slick. In an unusual arrangement, each club member makes a minimum charitable contribution annually.

With more than 1,500 members, The Argyle and its membership supports Texas Biomedical Research Institute with financial support of more than $1.2 million annually and more than $36 million since it reopened in 1956. To keep the members informed about the research their money supports, the Argyle hosts regular fireside chats by researchers. Scientists explain their work that improves human health, from technologies to save premature infants to the development of vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics for some of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases.

The Argyle’s primary purpose for the past 60 years has been to foster and support Texas Biomed, which in turn is finding answers to complex health problems around the globe. This simple yet intricate arrangement between two institutions has served both well. In addition to culinary excellence, nice facilities and great service, The Argyle’s membership serves a greater calling by saving lives.

As the general manager, I am grateful to be in this leadership role here at The Argyle. In many ways, it is the perfect place for me. I miraculously survived the World Trade Center disaster on 9/11 and that, of course, changed my life dramatically. My view of the world and my place in it changed.

I gained a much-needed dose of humility and gratitude. I realized life is not about me, but about selflessly serving others. The Argyle instills the same core values in our staff members. The journey of leadership is about investing in the lives of those we serve.

(pictured L-R) Corbet Christie, VP Advancement and PR, Texas Biomedical Research Institute; Jody Lutz Argyle Member and Texas Biomed Forum 2019  President; Whitney Solcher Miller, Argyle Member and Texas Biomed Forum 2nd VP/2019 Gala Chair; Larry Schlesinger, MD, President/CEO, Texas Biomedical Research Institute

MARKETING COMMITTEE

ROSS LIGGETT

Ross Liggett is director of marketing & revenue management for Landscapes Unlimited. He supports property-level sales, marketing and revenue-generation strategies for the firm’s portfolio of more than 40 golf properties.

Without Communication Fundamentals, Innovation Fizzles

We spend so much time and effort coming up with new concepts, rarely do we execute on the fundamental communication strategies that will make or break success.

Working with dozens of clubs over the years, I’ve seen a consistent trend – boards and managers are always looking for something new and unique to try. And I get it: Coming up with new and innovative ideas to engage your membership base is an important effort, and it’s pretty fun too.

But in many cases this focus on what’s “shiny and new” takes precedent over the nuts-and-bolts activities that will make something actually succeed and deliver superior results.

What activities are those? Let’s call them “fundamentals.” Sometimes clubs need to get back to basics and ensure the fundamental elements of member communication are in place.

Let’s start by defining a concept for the fictional Shimmering Landscapes Golf Club (SLGC), and then we’ll apply some fundamentals to it.

After reviewing use of club amenities, the management team at Shimmering Landscapes identified an opportunity to host more member luncheons and business meetings. Early in 2018, the club created a new flyer for these small meetings and sent it out to the membership.

Upon reviewing the initiative, the team found their efforts resulted in a few additional meetings hosted by members, but overall didn’t move the needle much. So now the team is working to find a “shiny new” idea for 2019.

But is that the best use of club resources? Did the 2018 initiative really have a chance to succeed? I’d say no.

The fundamental communication planning strategies around the initiative were weak; the campaign never had a chance to be successful. One, two or three emails are simply not enough to drive changes in behavior.

In order for an initiative like this to be successful, SLGC needed a much more consistent and well-rounded communication plan. And it needed to be executed on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

See here some fundamental communication tactics that should have been deployed at SLGC to ensure success:

• Monthly dedicated emails promoting the booking of meetings and luncheons

• Blurb or graphic in the club newsletter promoting meetings and luncheons

• New, dedicated page added to the website with engaging photos and videos of meetings and luncheons (in addition to home page tease of said page)

• Social media posts highlighting actual meetings and luncheons at the club

• Member testimonial videos promoting the great meetings they’ve held at SLGC

• Signage around the clubhouse promoting meetings and luncheons

• Individual calls to members who are business owners and managers, to personally pitch the idea (their yays and nays will teach you a lot about what could make this effort more successful)

I know what you are thinking – that’s a lot of work! It is. But someone once told me, “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” That could not be more true for marketing and communication.

Notice that none of this communication revolves around pricing, specials, promotions of free stuff. Limited-time offers and incentives absolutely drive humans to take action, but oftentimes simply reminding your members of what is available to them is all that needs to happen.

Here at my management company, we have a process and templates that help our team clearly define the plan for every “shiny new” idea. We start by defining our objective, then we define what we’re going to promote and at what price. From there we define our target market. Finally, we determine what communication channels and frequency is best for that market. It’s detailed. It takes a little extra time. But by going through the process for each and every new concept we are able to refine our communication plan – then it’s just about executing. What’s more, by applying the same rigorous vetting to each idea, we also establish a reliable testing process for those ideas, the ability to more or less predict ahead of time whether this idea has what it takes, or not.

The process also enables us to review what types of communication have worked well for similar campaigns in the past. Finally, we are able to aggregate these learnings across the portfolio of clubs, using “big data” to make educated decisions.

With a little additional thinking, planning and tracking, you can do the same. BR

MARKETING COMMITTEE

COREY SABAN

Corey Saban is the founder of Newstation.com, voted the Membership Engagement tool of the Year by The Boardroom Magazine. A former Emmy nominated and Associated Press winning journalist Saban and his team help clubs tell their story through affordable short form videos, which are highly produced in just 48 hours.

Video Marketing Gives Clubs an Option

Member engagement is more than just a buzz word. Every interaction with your members, whether a compliment or a complaint, is engagement. But are you engaging correctly?

Many clubs are caught between the new and the old. They have a dynamic website, an app and several social media channels, typically Facebook, Instagram and/or YouTube. They encourage interaction, but also print paper flyers and newsletters, which are counter intuitive to getting the member to visit the other platforms.

The end result is more work for their staff and members still insist they never knew the event was happening.

At some point the full shift away from paper has to happen. Flyers get lost and left behind whereas information found on our phone is always with us. It’s why clubs are embracing short form videos.

“Launching this new form of communication to move away from printed materials was a leap we had to make. We use the videos as regular communications to introduce new services, promote events, updates on projects and so much more in an economical way. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive” says Thorsten Loth, general manager and COO of Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, CO.

Dozens of clubs like Cherry Hills use short form video the same way. Why video? It tells a story, makes a connection and is easy to digest on smartphones. Plus, every generation responds to it. It’s why one-third of all internet users are on YouTube.

About 500 million hours of video are watched each day on YouTube and it’s not just funny dog videos. For example, take the NY Times.

The Times realizes that while many people enjoy reading, it’s become a necessity to have a complimentary video next to each article. The Times uses videos on their website (producing 75-plus a day) and has a robust following on YouTube with more than one and a half million subscribers of their core demographic of people, 45 and older.

When it comes to generational marketing, Pew research says video is the most effectively way to share your message.

Fifty-six percent of Baby Boomers are video regulars. They appreciate the convenience of a simple click, because they remember a time when accessing information was not so easy.

Gen X’ers (born between 1965-1984) consume a ton of video – sixty-nine percent of users in that age group, according to Pew, prefer to watch a video to learn about an event or service, as opposed to read about it.

For this group it comes down to time. Many take care of older parents and their own kids, so for them video is easy to understand and three times more likely to be remembered.

“We view the use of video as a critical piece to both our internal (members) and external (future members) marketing efforts. The ability to explain complex items ahead of a vote or bring events alive through video marketing to our members always insures a high participation rate.” says Bill Langley the COO/GM at Quail Ridge Country Club, Boynton Beach, FL.

As humans we are visual learners. Our memories are visual, our stories are visual and our brains respond to it. Using videos to effectively engage members and prospects allows you to build a relationship and creates a feeling much more than text can ever do. BR

BoardRoom magazine Recognizes the Private Club Presidents of the Year

By Meghan Thibault

BoardRoom magazine annually recognizes the world’s top private club presidents, captains and chairs as Private Club Presidents of the Year, for their outstanding work, their understanding of the industry, and role and responsibilities of the club’s board of directors. In this continuing series, BoardRoom introduces five of the top 25 presidents for 2018. The Distinguished Club President was featured in the January/February issue.

Private club board presidents play a huge role in professional operations of their clubs as a volunteer working diligently with their board of directors and general managers, striving for well informed, but not emotional decisions.

This recognition by BoardRoom magazine has attracted board president nominations from clubs and other nominators around the world.

These outstanding presidents exemplify the focus on the leadership responsibilities, the accountability and the management of the board providing a healthy respect for the club’s macro management. They are cognizant of the importance of working, effectively and efficiently, with their volunteer boards and the dedication required from everyone with whom they work.

Key elements of a “good” board include commitment, competence, diversity, collective decision making, openness, transparency, effective communication with the management and the membership, fiscal responsibility, development and establishment of the clubs’ mission, vision and policy direction, especially through establishment of a strategic plan.

A successful board president draws upon the expertise of other board members, the club’s institutional memory and stewardship of the club’s resources. As well the board president provides new board members and future board presidents with information they need to perform effectively as board members.

Congratulations to these outstanding private club board presidents.

BRUCE BARFIELD, PRESIDENT | ATLANTA ATHLETIC CLUB

JOHNS CREEK, GEORGIA

A successful executive search for a new general manager/chief operating officer is among Barfield’s chief leadership accomplishments over the past year. He spearheaded a significant update to the club’s strategic plan and also spent countless hours working with the club’s attorney to protect zoning and designation of 77 acres of undeveloped property belonging to the club, at risk of rezoning from the City of Johns Creek.

In this effort, he represented the club at city council meetings, met with community leaders and avoided having the property rezoned as part of the 10-year, comprehensive land management plan set forth by the Johns Creek City Council. His efforts have kept the club’s development options open while protecting the land values.

Barfield also advocated for an increase in the club’s monthly capital dues and through his collaboration with a subcommittee and the club’s senior management, he developed a detailed and comprehensive communication plan that included videos and presentations used to lobby the member vote. Barfield’s efforts resulted in the first capital dues increase at the club in 22 years. The resulting increase in revenue was used to expedite needed capital improvements.

Bruce Barfield, a member of the Atlanta Athletic Club (AAC) since 1992, has served on the club’s board of directors since 2012. Before his election as the club’s president last year, he chaired the tennis, grounds, golf and finance committees.

“Bruce Barfield is an outstanding leader due to his strong character and positive energy, which inspires confidence from the members and staff in his ability to lead our club. He also has the unique ability to listen and trust others, which helps build confidence in the club’s management staff, board, and committee members,” said David Sheppard, the AAC’s new GM and COO.

By empowering the club’s management and staff and focusing on compensation and training programs, the club has seen significant improvements in staff morale and retention and improved member service.

Bruce Barfield is the chairman of The Rainmaker Group, Inc., an Atlanta-based revenue optimization firm he co-founded in 1998 that uses data-based strategies to set pricing for multifamily housing and hotels. As CEO, Barfield led the company to achieve the INC 5000 list of fastest growing companies in the U.S. for seven straight years. Barfield lives in Alpharetta, GA with his wife Bridget. They have two grown daughters and a granddaughter. BR

Inspire

and

Support Excellence

In Board Governance Through Collaborative Governance

Your board is critical to organizational success!

APCD believes that effective board leadership and governance requires an ongoing commitment to board development and to a healthy board/staff relationship. We work to effect positive change with club boards and their committees. APCD helps your club:

• Reduce micromanagement

• Minimize board member liability

• Nurture tax-exempt status

• Create a shared playbook

• Focuse on collaborative governance

• Do you believe effective club governance is critical?

• Are you looking to reduce micromanagement in your boardroom?

• Are you concerned about your club’s legal exposure?

• Are you concerned a board members may violate privacy issues?

Contact APCD today!

We can strengthen and support your board! Gordon Welch: (918) 914-9050

BRUCE BARFIELD, PRESIDENT

DAVID SHEPPARD, GM/COO

| AUGUSTA COUNTRY CLUB | AUGUSTA, GEORGIA

Last year marked a historic year for Augusta Country Club, a club already renowned as one of the most celebrated golf courses in the nation.

Thomas Bird has been a member at Augusta Country Club for 20 years, and a board member for the past six years, was at the helm overseeing a number of significant changes and improvements throughout 2018.

Bird chaired a search committee to replace Henry Marburger who retired as the club’s general manager after 24 years of dedicated service. This significant transition, with newly-hired GM Brett Ninness in place, began just a week before the start of Bird’s tenure as president in January.

TED BLOOM,

Together, Bird and Ninness served on the club’s golf course construction committee, which spearheaded a significant restoration of the club’s historical and beloved course including the construction of two brand new golf holes. Bird also assisted with another significant transition as the club introduced Joshua Dunaway as the new director of grounds.

Bird has demonstrated his commitment to the improvement of the member experience and more specifically, to “taking the club to the next level.” He has been committed to investment in personnel to improve member service and golf course conditioning and aesthetics. Through his vision, Augusta Country Club has focused on refining important details of the club’s operations and the small touches they’ve been adding through his tenure are helping define the club as one of the best in the southeast.

“President Bird understands, perhaps better than anyone, that the club has an outstanding management team and he allows us to do our do our job and act like the professionals we strive to be. He knows when to offer an opinion and guidance and stays committed to the big picture. Micromanagement is simply not in his nature,” said Brett Ninness, Augusta Country Club’s GM.

Additionally, under Bird’s leadership, the club engaged the McMahon Group to complete a strategic plan in July of 2018. This process enhanced the board’s strategic vision and brought true purpose to their monthly meetings. Under Bird’s leadership, board meetings have made a transition from simple committee reporting to discussing strategic objectives.

Thomas Bird is an Augusta State University graduate and has made his career in the banking industry. He and his wife Michele have been members of Augusta Country Club since 1999 and have two grown children. BR

| LANCASTER COUNTRY CLUB | LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA

Under Ted Bloom’s leadership as president in 2018, Lancaster Country Club has made strategic advancements on many key initiatives, which have boosted staff and member engagement. Before his time as president, Bloom served on the green, executive, hybrid and nominating committees at Lancaster Country Club (LCC), as well as on the executive committee of the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open.

In making strategic advances, the club reclassified its membership categories to an age-based system that has had an immediate impact of lowering the average age of the club’s membership by nine years, to 44 years of age. Secondly, the club implemented a new governance model for committee and board interaction, now with increased transparency in both processes and operating

procedures. New governance practices have resulted in a high level of alignment between management, the board and the club’s committees, adding clarity and focus to roles and responsibilities of each constituent.

This significant change has required strong leadership from Bloom and the board members, who have remained on message and focused on what is best for the club.

“Rewriting an entire governance policy and manual for a very traditional institution takes courage and foresight, and President Bloom was vital in leading this charge from the board level and setting the tone for how we will operate in terms of governance moving into the future,” said Ryan Granruth, LCC’s general manager.

Bloom’s third major accomplishment has been the launch of a master facility planning process designed to move away from one-off capital projects and into a comprehensive strategic plan that positions the club’s amenities and physical footprint to be increasingly relevant in today’s club market.

Under Bloom’s leadership, LCC has attracted high-level executive talent –recruiting a new course superintendent, membership and communications director and an assistant general manager – all of whom are improving the day-to-day member experience. Bloom was also instrumental in negotiating with the USGA for the return of the U.S. Women’s Open to LCC in 2024.

“Having the courage to stand up in front of fellow members and announce a strategic pivot for the club and then be willing to put forth the effort needed to see those initiatives through is something I truly admire about Ted Bloom. Never once have I doubted his courageous leadership,” added Granruth.

A graduate of Cornell University and a former analyst at Goldman Sachs & Co., Bloom relocated from New York City to Lancaster where he currently lives with LJ, his wife of 20 years, and their two children. Bloom is the president of his family’s business, Bird-in-Hand Farms, Inc. BR

THOMAS BIRD, PRESIDENT

PRESIDENT

BRETT NINNESS, GM THOMAS BIRD, PRESIDENT

RYAN GRANRUTH, GM TED BLOOM, PRESIDENT

CLUB | DALLAS, TEXAS

Todd Bright and Brook Hollow’s board of governors have a long-standing tradition of setting policy through committee structure and allowing the staff to implement their vision. Better communication and continuity between committee chairs and successors have led to tightening of policies and procedures and have provided more consistent leadership. Bright, during his tenure, outlined a detailed vision for all areas of Brook Hollow Golf Club, with a focus on attention to detail. His vision empowered the club’s management to address areas of maintenance,

Generations of the Burke family have been members of The Country Club of Fairfax (CCF) and Paul Burke took the helm as club president at a very challenging moment in the club’s history.

In 2017, following an $11 million clubhouse renovation that experienced a six-month construction delay and cost overruns, the club had reached a financial crisis. Dissatisfied members were voting with their feet and revenues were so dire, the board feared for the club’s survival.

Seeing the writing on the wall, Burke took on the role as president to help set the club on the road to solvency, saying, “The Country Club of Fairfax is more to me than a place to golf, play tennis or eat. It is where my parents raised me and I raised my kids. We knew we had to and would rebuild our club’s finances and member trust.”

service and member experience. By clearly communicating the board’s vision, there’s been immediate improvement in many aspects of the club’s operations.

During Bright’s tenure, the club completed a five-month executive search for a new general manager. The search, led by a committee chair, involved multiple ‘meet & greets’, interviews and meetings with staff, committees and members for feedback.

Todd Bright, a member of the Brook Hollow Golf Club since 1996, has been elected to the board three times for a total of nine years. Bright was elected president in 2018 and also has served as the board treasurer and vice-president.

“Todd Bright’s the consummate professional, and I can’t think of a more deserving president for the 2018 Top Private Club Presidents’ awards. His leadership, collaboration and overall respect for the executive management team have been valued by all. He provided a clear vision and direction to lead our respective operations in the manner desired by leadership, that enhanced the overall club culture and member experience,” said Simon Buckle, the club’s head golf professional.

Chris Kaskow, the club’s director of tennis, said, “Todd Bright’s leadership as the board president has been insightful, impactful and instrumental in achieving higher standards and greater excellence for our membership and staff. I have been most impressed by his dedication in maintaining the legacy and values of the past while showing great foresight and vision for the future.”

Bright graduated from Duke University and obtained an MBA from the University of Texas, Austin. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and the owner of Bright and Bright L.L.P. BR

Burke and his board proceeded to make bold moves to improve the financial position and enhance the reputation of the club. Their first order of business was recruiting for five management roles. “My association with CCF began in April 2018 when I became the new GM/COO. With the other four key positions already in place (executive chef, golf course superintendent, head golf and tennis professionals), we embarked on an aggressive sales campaign to develop membership and grow the catering department,” said general manager Kurtis Pitcher.

“President Burke was instrumental in maintaining a united front to quiet resistance to the aggressive position the club was taking. Together, we improved services while controlling expenses, addressed needed maintenance issues not completed during the renovation, increased communications with the membership and rebuilt member confidence and enthusiasm,” Pitcher continued.

By the end of 2018, CCF was back in the black for the first time in seven years, with a revitalized and growing membership. Member satisfaction improved over 20 percent. Clubhouse usage, event bookings, employee morale, service standards and food and beverage profits were all up – with an overall revenue increase of half a million dollars over the previous year.

With the crisis under control, Burke led two recent board retreats designed to streamline the club’s governance. Advocating for a structure that supports the GM/COO, all roles and responsibilities were clearly defined, and a long-range planning committee was formed to develop an asset replacement schedule to ensure the newly renovated club remains pristine.

“Paul Burke is a decisive leader and problem solver that always keeps the best interests of the club in the forefront,” said Pitcher. “The rebirth the club is nothing short of remarkable and is due, in large part, to the efforts of Paul Burke. I could not have asked for a better first-year president.”

Originally from Massachusetts, Burke has been a Fairfax resident since early childhood. He graduated with a degree in economics from George Mason University and is the owner of a Nationwide Insurance agency. BR

PAUL BURKE, PRESIDENT | COUNTRY CLUB OF FAIRFAX, FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA

CHRIS BONVIE, GM TODD BRIGHT, PRESIDENT

PAUL BURKE, PRESIDENT KURTIS PITCHER, GM

ON THE FRONTLINES

Budgeting: Let the Good Times Roll

Just after 9:00 PM Jane and Sam Smith smiled at John as they sat on the nearest bar stools. The Smiths have been members of the club for years and were always very pleasant to staff. Bartender John could see that this would not be their first beverage of the evening. “Johnny old boy……. briiiing us a bottle of your finest rad wiiine….”

“Mr. Smith, how about if we start out with a glass?” Bartender John was concerned about the current level of the Smith’s alcoholic consumption and was in a bind. John has a responsibility to himself, the club and to the Smiths. He needs to protect the club from members making bad decisions.

Bartender John’s decision is important and difficult. It is common amongst states to require certification through training for intervention procedures (TIPS) for bartenders and while it appears to be a cut-and-dried solution of cutting off the members who appear to be intoxicated, the actual cutting off is far more difficult.

We asked a group of managers from across the country to weigh-in on this issue and there was little doubt that cutting the members off from further consumption was a must. However, there was a broad range of solutions ranging from a zero tolerance policy that strictly adheres to stopping service, to a more generous solution that simply gets the person home before passing out!

Avoiding confrontation if at all possible surfaced as a common theme. One technique was to change the conversation. “Mrs. Smith, are you celebrating a special occasion? Looks as if your night has been fun, where have you been?”

John breaks Sam’s focus by interjecting Jane into the conversation in hopes that Jane will be more reasonable and allowing her to enter the conversation might give Sam some time to relax. It was also important that John not take the bait and allow his emotions to escalate in concert with Sam’s.

While a bit riskier, another technique is to take a break in the situation, “Mr. Smith, I need to get that bottle, excuse me just a moment while I get it.”

Many staffers have outstanding knowledge of their members standard fare and John was familiar with the Smiths. John could ring-in one of the Smith’s favorite appetizers or desserts, then place two glasses of water in front of the Smith’s and leave the bar in search of help rather than that bottle. Upon return, he could place the appetizer in front of the Smith’s as a sort of peace offering.

Calling in support management to help with the situation was another common theme. The plan is that time – but not too much time – would allow Sam Smith to calm down a bit and a manager might help to diffuse the situation, as well.

In the end, all respondents suggested either a taxi or Uber/Lyft, some form of transportation to get Jane and Sam home. Several suggested that either John or the manager drive the member(s) home, although this solution, while incredibly service oriented, has a dire possible downside should something happen to either the member or staff person during the round trip. Allin-all, every person had club/staff protection as the top priority while continuing to provide outstanding service – all with as limited confrontation as possible.

A situation where staff is directing members is a very difficult one. The good news is that a situation such as this, that is handled professionally, was fully supported by the club’s officers. All respondents reported that their directors support the policy to “cutoff member” and protect them and the club. BR

Albert Costantini, CCM, CCE is the COO of Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, NJ and can be reached at (908)-277-0100 or acostini@canoebrook.org. MacDonald Niven, MA, MCM, CCE is with Niven Research and CEO of Lakewood Country Club, Rockville, MD and can be reached at (510)-439-8522 or via email: mac@niven.cc.

MACDONALD NIVEN

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

GORDON WELCH

Gordon Welch is the president of the Association of Private Club Directors (APCD), the only association representing the club’s board. He can be reached at gordon@apcd. com or by calling (949) 376-8889.

Leadership is Everything!

This is a time of year that many clubs face changes in club leadership.

There are two types of club leaders that are transitioning – Board members and general managers. Is that just a coincidence? I think not.

Many clubs have either just had, or are preparing for, their annual meeting and a change of leadership. Most clubs will have three new board members and many new committee members to bring up to speed. With board change some clubs will change management as well. This time of change must be managed correctly.

As you’ve read in many of John Fornaro’s Publishers Perspectives, common board problems include underperforming boards, weak management, poor member retention, lack of recruitment and poor member experiences! All of these issues can be fixed!

who have emotional intelligence. These are the people you want managing and directing your club.

The truth is, you can’t learn anything positive from negative people. Strategically, you need to protect your club’s reputation. You can’t build a good club with bad people. Protect yourself and your club from collateral damage by asking those negative members to leave the board, committees or even the club.

Leadership is everything and the win-win is to have a great leader in your president and a great leader in your GM! I want to congratulate Mike Scimo, BoardRoom’s Distinguished President of the Year from Medinah Country Club! Medinah has a great GM/COO in Robert Sereci and their communication is strong. Having two strong leaders and communicators is a win-win for the club.

Trust is also a main factor in the relationship between Mike and Robert. They speak often and are very open and

If a GM doesn’t feel they have the backing of the board, they may become quiet or reserved around the board members. This does nothing to gain trust. The clubs that have the monthly executive session, please stop. That does nothing for the club – it tears down the trust and will sabotage the relationship.

The old saying goes, “The fish rots from the head down”, and it is true. Clubs have to be more deliberate about their board members and general managers! The Association of Private Club Directors suggests using an application process for board members; just as you do for your management team!

The days of the ‘Good Old Boy’ network are over. You must be deliberate about who is on your board and what strengths the individual brings to the table, similar to a forprofit board.

In any case, make sure you are working with and for people that you trust. You wouldn’t want to sign a joint venture with a shady character, do you? If you wouldn’t do that in your own business, why would you want to work with questionable characters at your club? This includes directors! Though some measure of luck plays a role, there is one thing you can do to nudge your luck in the right direction … make sure you associate yourself with good people. People who tell the truth and honor commitments. People

clear with each other. There are no secrets and no surprises. Robert is also clear and concise with his board.

So why can’t all clubs be like this? Why can’t directors and GMs have this open relationship? Again, it is all about leadership. Trust is a close second!

If a GM doesn’t feel they have the backing of the board, they may become quiet or reserved around the board members. This does nothing to gain trust. The clubs that have the monthly executive session, please stop. That does nothing for the club – it tears down the trust and will sabotage the relationship.

Please take a moment to read our January/Februarycover story about on the President Mike Scimo. I believe you will learn allot from this president and his relationships!

APCD is here to help your club build positive relationships and to operate successfully. Please let me know how we can help you be more successful! BR

CRAIG J. SMITH

Craig J. Smith is a partner and co-creative director at C2 Limited Design Associates, an award winning Clubhouse Design firm with an extensive list of distinguished club clientele located throughout the US, Bermuda and the Caribbean. Craig can be reached at (203) 259 2555 or email csmith@c2limited.com

Inside Out! The Keys to Planning Successful Outdoor Member Spaces

As a club designer, I always enjoy discovering new approaches and trends that can aid our country club partners.

For the past several years our firm has been taking the indoors out. That’s right, we have literally been creating outdoor environments that mimic spaces previously only envisioned to be on the inside of the clubhouse. From covered outdoor bars overlooking the 18th tee, enhanced alfresco dining areas with sophisticated chef grill stations, to openaired covered lounge areas with TVs, fireplaces, and communal fire pits. All strategically conceived to create what I call the linger longer phenomena!

FOUR REASONS TO SUPPORT THE NOTION OF CREATING SPACES TO PROMOTE MEMBERS TO “LINGER LONGER…”

1. Enhances the Impact on the Member Experience

2. Results in Increased Member Usage

3. Enhances the Impact on Generating Revenues

4. Enhances the Potential for ROI/ROE

To truly redefine exterior spaces it takes more than just setting out furniture. It really comes down to you successfully integrating the furnishings into the specific area – setting the stage so to speak. Relating them to your strategic programming and unique offerings. Finally, designing the space is set in context with the adjacent landscape, views, and architecture. Remember, failing to plan is planning to fail. Creating a Clubhouse Design & Décor Master Plan will serve as your guardrails to stay on track to implement positive change at your club, for your club’s value proposition, and the member takeaway. BR

AMISH COUNTRY GAZEBOS

For more information visit AmishGazebos.com or call (800) 700-1777 for a 120-page catelog, 2019 price guide and their Wedding Gazebo Marketing Kit.

CASE STUDY

JUSTIN BAER

Justin Baer is CEO of MemberText. MemberText is a simple and easy texting platform built exclusively for golf and country clubs. For more information, please visit www.membertext.net, call (240) 630-4653, or email Justin directly at Justin@membertext.net. To see how MemberText works, text BoardRoom to 71441.

Email Ain’t What it Used to be

When it comes to email communication, Toby Keith may have said it best with his hit song “I ain’t as good as I once was.” Email, just ain’t what it used to be.

Email is now 30 years old, and while it’s great for one-on-one conversations, we have seen a severe decline in effectiveness for mass communication.

Statistics are showing that email open rates and time people actually spend reading and comprehending emails are going down. Why is this happening? Well, one of the reasons is that club members are overwhelmed with the amount of email they are receiving. It’s tough to filter through their cluttered inbox.

According to a recent DMR study, the average person receives over 3,500 emails a month! Combine that with the Gmail and Outlook’s new feature where they automatically syphon out mass emails into promotion folders, clubs are now facing a serious communications crisis.

Club managers have tried various methods to combat the communication divide. Some try push notifications which have a worse open rate than emails. This is due to the fact that only about 40 percent of people turn on notifications and only a fraction of those people turn on alerts.

Some club managers are even going back to mailing paper newsletters or flyers.

There are however, some new technologies and platforms designed specifically for clubs that are not only fixing the member communications breakdown, but improving it!

One of those technologies that is taking off is texting.

Brian Pizzimenti, general manager of Woodmont Country Club was asked about using the MemberText platform at this year’s CMAA conference and he said. “You wouldn’t believe how many members come up to me and say Brian, I didn’t know you were doing the clambake tonight, thanks so much for the text blast.”

He continued, “They will read that (text) much more than they will read an email.”

The statistics agree. According to a Tatango study, text messages have a 98 percent open rate. This is most likely due to the fact that people check their phone almost 150 times a day according to an Experian Marketing survey.

If members are texting 150 times a day, clubs should be there in some capacity. I wouldn’t recommend everyday, but being in the text inbox once or twice a week where friends and family members communicate is huge. We’re seeing clubs dramatically increase event participation, club usage, revenues and more.

For those unexpected delays, weather events, frost delays, club closures, emergencies and more being able to reach members in minutes is crucial.

With texting, open times are close 3 minutes. It’s no wonder club manager are turning to text messaging for their urgent messages.

Mark Petzing, general manager of Kirtland Country Club noted, “Our membership loves it. When we’ve had issues of closing the pool down for weather or when we had a delay on 4th of July, we can send a text out to membership saying we are still on, it will alleviate all the phone calls coming in because we can message everybody through MemberText.”

Texts aren’t just for announcements and emergencies either.

A growing trend is for club’s to enable their landline number and let members actually text the club.

With MemberText, club’s can let members know they can text snack shop at the 9th hole, text the front desk simple questions that would normally require a phone call or even text the valet stand to have their car ready.

“Being able to get texts when my order is ready from the pavillion restaurant will be extremely convenient. Anything the club does to save me time is a huge win. I love it,” said Woodmont Country Club member, Robert Katz.

There are many cases that make having a texting platform compelling for a club, whether it’s to let members know about an unexpected kitchen fire which will shut down dining for the evening or just reminding members not to forget to make reservations for the July 4th family carnival. Texting is by far the most efficient way to get your club members to tune in.

For more information and video testimonials from other club managers, visit www. membertext.net. BR

Waialae Country Club

Built in the early 1970s, Honolulu’s Waialae Country Club serves as a premiere golf club with luxurious appointments, even providing a home for the PGA’s annual Sony Open golf tournament.

However, decades of decay and a clubhouse design that made little use of its superb beachfront location in Kahala, necessitated renovations that would lead to the inclusion of a sizable NanaWall installation.

According to Rick Myers, project manager for the renovation with WATG, the client hoped to enhance the experience for club members and guests by bringing the spectacular views of the waterfront setting from the enclosed lanai all the way into the dining room.

A SYSTEM TO WITH STAND HARSH MARINE ENVIRONMENTS

The original installation featured wood bi-fold doors to enclose the lanai, these had become more difficult to operate over time mainly due to the corrosion of the hardware. “These doors stayed closed more often than not,” recalled Myers. “The client wished to replace them with a more durable product --one that would be easier to operate and could withstand the salt corrosion.” Myers and his team concluded that NanaWall’s SL73 Thermally Broken Aluminum Framed Hurricane Approved Folding System would best serve the project.

PERFORMANCE AND DURALBILITY

Though competitor systems might have saved the client slightly in initial outlay, NanaWall’s solid, tested construction offered the best long-term performance

and cost-effectiveness, largely owing to first-of-its-kind engineering as a monumental folding wall system for low and mid-rise applications with both Miami-Dade and AAMA Hurricane certification.

“We knew the Nana Wall system was probably more expensive than other similar products,” Myers related. “However, we wanted a more reliable product, a more durable product, and one that was more user-friendly.”

In all, the NanaWall system installed at Waialae achieved every one of the client’s wish list items for renovating the space, and even created an opportunity for additional openness and transparency.

UNOBSTRUCTED VIEWS AND NATURAL DAYLIGHTING

“We really want to open things up, bring more light in,” said lead architect Sidney Char in the run-up to the renovation. The NanaWall system’s performance in durability and weather-resistance created an opportunity for the removal of an entire interior glass wall separating the main dining area from the enclosed lanai, delivering unobstructed views of the exterior and generous natural daylight to the entire space.

“Being on the waterfront, we did wish to take advantage of the views,” affirmed Myers. “The client wanted to take advantage of the indoor/outdoor dining experience, and NanaWall helped them achieve that.”

EASE OF USE

Now the country club patrons enjoy views of outside yearround in any weather, even when the seven openings and their 28 bi-fold panels are fully closed. And the ease of operation associated with all of NanaWall’s products have transformed the space from being “closed more often than not” to being open during most hours and days of operation.

“We also liked the construction of the product,” Myers added. “It was more solidly built.” NanaWall’s engineering assured the stakeholders that the system would perform well for years to come, no matter how often club staff opened and closed the doors, and no matter what abuse the tropical weather patterns would launch against the panels.

“NanaWall is well known in Hawaii,” said Myers. “We will use NanaWall products again and would recommend them to clients and other designers.” BR

Linda Pesner

RECOGNIZED FOR BOARDROOM’S LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

By Rachel Todd

Entering EA Photography’s Anaheim office, one immediately experiences a familial quality. Like a club, the warmth is not unplanned, but rather something that has been carefully nurtured and developed as part of its customer-oriented mindset. That familial atmosphere was only strengthened once I met the owner, Linda Pesner.

Possessing a selfless, caring demeanor, Linda is extremely personable. It was very easy to build a relationship with her, and after spending some time with the company, I quickly found that part of what made EA Photography so successful has been its ability to build these relationships with the local Club Management Association of America Chapters, private clubs and their membership.

Elson-Alexandre was established in 1945 in Los Angeles with its purpose to photograph business executives by sending photographers and apprentices from office to office. A “proof passer” would then go back to the offices and offer the highest quality portraits available.

Linda’s father Stan joined the company in 1962 and since 1969 the company has been run by his family members. Stan and his team expanded Elson-Alexandre nationwide and concentrated on business associations including country clubs, medical, dental, and bar associations. Along the way they have photographed luminaries such as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Honorable William Rehnquist, Jack Nicholson and Tom Selleck, to name a few.

Linda graduated from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo in 1981, receiving her Bachelor degree in Agriculture Business Management. Five years later, she received her Master of Business Administration in Finance from University of Southern California. Shifting gears, Linda decided to take an academic approach to the field, becoming a professor at California Polytechnic State University, Pomona. There, she taught aspiring undergraduate students the ins and outs of agricultural business management. However, her family’s photography business was never far from mind.

Linda returned to the company part-time in 1991, raising her family and continuing to teach. The flexibility in hours allowed her to build a stronger relationship with her family, something she undoubtedly valued and would pay forward later. She turned away opportunities in favor of raising her three sons: Adam, Matthew, and Bryan.

In 2002, she began working with the company full time. Seven years later, Linda and her husband Robert took over the company, renaming it EA Photography and focusing on the private club industry.

Their membership recognition program has served over 700 clubs by providing the digital images and other products that the club management uses to increase their member experience.

Under Linda’s leadership, EA Photography began focusing on building real relationships with its club partners in hopes of creating membership value to clubs that use their services. The program helps foster a deeper sense of community among the membership by providing tools that help the staff recognize members, aid in member retention and facilitating relationships among the members themselves.

As the clubs have embraced technology, she has added digital images and smart phone directories while supporting over 25 different club POS systems. This relationship with clubs does not end with the initial customized session.

If any club needs any copy of images, such as new portraits for board displays or past presidents’ walls, EA happily provides. While EA supports the club, the production facility continues to provide the very highest quality portraits, emphasizing hand art work – including the finishing of portraits – in the Anaheim, California studio.

Utilizing tight controls on the production process, they are the only photography company guaranteeing its work against fading for 10 years.

The change in ownership also came with a new approach to hiring employees; an approach that is still valued at the company today and is reminiscent of the reasons Linda joined the company in the first place: allowing flexible work hours for students.

Linda noticed that her son’s high school classmates could not hold employment because of the time constraints that came with participating in high school sports. Part time became full time for some, as their college schedules would allow, and since then, those initial employees have grown up moving on to becoming successful professionals.

Some have entered the military (one became a Judge Advocate General’s Corps lawyer), one became a museum curator, several have become teachers and physical therapists. One former employee even roasts his own brand of coffee! This dedication to long-term relationships is what makes Linda unlike any person they have met, and her kind nature stands out to her colleagues, employees and customers.

As the years have passed, the business model has changed, adapting to accommodate a growing list of clubs and their membership. Thanks to well-heeded advice

from her mentor, Crystal Thomas, EA Photography started working with the CMAA at the local level.

EA Photography is currently providing support for over 17 local CMAA Chapters. This support, which is provided free of charge for the chapters, includes but is not limited to: photographing foursomes at charity golf tournaments that support Autism Research, Toys for Tots, Wounded Warriors, AABR, Barbara’s Place and other worthy charities; providing free-of-charge professional head-shots of managers, support staff and membership directors; layout and production of chapter directories, and providing images of the managers for their professional use.

The network of support that Linda has built and carefully maintained over a lifetime continues to thrive. Professional or platonic, her kind-hearted nature has led to a great many relationships. For these many reasons, Linda Pesner is truly worthy of being bestowed BoardRoom’s Lifetime Achievement Award. BR

Rachel Todd is a psychology student at Cal State Fullerton, graduating in May. She has worked at EA Photography for about a year and a half. She will be pursuing a doctorate in psychology abroad this fall. She is fluent in English, Japanese and French.

Orient and Develop your Board of Directors

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Robert Sereci, GM/COO Medinah Country Club, Medinah IL

John G. Fornaro BoardRoom magazine

Kevin Reilly PBMares

Jim Fedigan Jonas Club Software

Randy Addison Addison Law

Gordon Welch APCD

Rhett Evans GCSAA

Jim Butler Club Benchmarking

Michael Scimo President, Medinah CC

Tarun Kapoor Kapoor & Kapoor

Jerry McCoy Clubwise Consulting

Rick Coyne ClubMark

Phil Harvey Venture Insurance Programs

John Embree USPTA

Robert Sereci GM/COO, Medinah CC

Gregg Patterson Tribal Magic

TECHNOLOGY PERSPECTIVE

BILL BOOTHE

Bill Boothe is president and owner of The Boothe Group, LLC, an independent consulting firm that helps clubs understand computer technology, make good decisions and receive the highest value from their technology investment. During his 28 years in the club industry Bill has assisted more than 400 private clubs. Bill can be reached at bboothe@boothegroup.com.

The Future of Private Club Technology What to Expect in 2029

Over the years I’ve presented education sessions about Technology Trends in the Private Club Industry that have generally looked two to three years out discussing what we might expect on the tech horizon in the near future.

Here, however, we’ll look much farther out – a decade in fact – to see how technology will be used by private clubs in ways that are not even imagined by the industry today.

Who will the club members be 10 years from now? Who will the board members and committee chairs be? Who will the movers and shakers in the memberships be? One thing is very clear. These folks will be a whole new generation.

GENERATIONAL CONTEXT

To understand what club technology will be like a decade from now, you need to know just three facts:

1. In April 2016 Gen X (77 million) surpassed Baby Boomers (76 million).

2. 10 years from now the YOUNGEST of the Boomers will be 65.

3. 10 years from now almost all new club members will be Gen X or younger (Millennials).

We know quite a bit about the tech characteristics of Gen Xers. For instance, they are the first generation to grow up with technology. They use technology as a mainstream activity. They conduct most of their business and social interaction on their mobile devices.

In club governance they will expect technology to be used throughout the club’s operations. And they will expect to have access to robust business intelligence and data mining.

This Gen X tech-savvy orientation is a sharp departure from the current ruling class – the Boomers. While Boomers are embracing technology and are receptive to new advances, they are not completely comfortable in a tech environment. Gen Xers are not only comfortable with technology, they are comfortable with new and cutting-edge technology – and they are constantly seeking ways to use technology in every facet of their lives.

Fast forward a decade and we might imagine a technology environment very different from what we see today in most private clubs. Here are three concepts to consider for 2029.

Technology will focus on enhancing the individual member’s club experience: Currently the primary focus of club technology is on “operations“ such as accounting and billing, POS and inventory, sales and activity reporting, payroll and timekeeping. And that technology focuses on either the membership as a whole, or on subgroups of members (golfers, tennis players, members who frequent the fitness center or spa, members who spend a lot in F&B).

However, notice the word “individual” in the introduction to this section. Future club technology will be person-specific. The focus will be on using technology to enhance the individual member’s club experience. A number of technologies will be deployed to accomplish that task.

Member name recognition: Greeting members (and their family members) by name has been the Holy Grail of club management since the first club opened its doors hundreds of years ago. High priority, yes. Good results, no. Technology will change all that.

Using simple member recognition devices called beacons, club staff will see photos with names of members as they approach – at the valet, bag drop, front desk, dining room podium, golf and tennis shops. Staff may not initially know the approaching member, but they will surely act as if they do. And over time this repetition of coupling photos/names with live bodies will solidify staff’s memories.

Member preferences: Greeting members by name is a good start. But how about taking recognition to the next level by anticipating member needs and knowing in advance their preferences. Again, technology will make this a reality.

Clubs have been gathering member preference data for decades, mostly through their POS systems. What’s been missing is an ability to mine that data in a meaningful way to create robust preference profiles for each member of the family. An array of technologies including member opt-in groups on the club’s website, instant surveys (a version of Net Promoter), and social media data mining will combine to establish a robust preferences profile for each member, spouse and child.

These preferences will influence staff actions and decisions at POS and reservations and will customize staff-tomember interactions.

Club-to-member communications: Blast emails to the entire membership promoting every club activity under the sun? No more. A decade from now each member will receive customized communications from the club tailored to their individual interests and tastes. In the form they prefer. To the platform they prefer (text, email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) At the frequency they prefer. Unwanted and irritating communications will be a thing of the past.

Social media metrics: Members have opinions – about everything – including their club. And they are expressing those opinions on a variety of social media platforms. Existing technologies can gather member opinion data from social media sites, analyze that data to determine member sentiment, and advise club management on appropriate responsive actions.

This technology is so advanced it can analyze the text in an individual member’s social media postings to understand the meaning behind that person’s statements. The

• Future impacts on infrastructure: Predicting allocation of space (expansions, additions, retractions). Clubhouse design and utilization. Timing of capital projects.

• Future needs for capital funding: Forecasting the funding needed for individual capital projects. Timing of spending. Adequacy of current funding mechanisms.

MOBILE APP

The club’s mobile app will be the focus of off-premise member activity. Ten years from now virtually every private club will have a robust mobile app that the membership values and depends upon. Members will use the app as their offsite gateway to the club.

They will make reservations for events and dining, golf, tennis, wellness, fitness and lodging. They will access the club’s calendar of events and conduct member-to-member communications. They will manage their billing account and conduct member-to-club communications.

In today’s world of club management, the focus of business intelligence is on data from the past. Departmental revenue and expenses, activity levels (covers, rounds, visits), membership changes (adds, changes, resignations), year-to-year trends, KPIs, ratios, benchmarking. All pointing backward, leaving club management to forecast the future using very limited projection tools, or simple guesswork based upon past experience.

A decade from now clubs will be using advanced technologies to accurately predict

their futures – on a variety of fronts

club industry is still a few years away from having access to this technology, but by 2029 the more advanced clubs will be utilizing social media metrics to learn what their members are really thinking – and will be reacting accordingly.

Business intelligence will focus on predicting the future: In today’s world of club management, the focus of business intelligence is on data from the past. Departmental revenue and expenses, activity levels (covers, rounds, visits), membership changes (adds, changes, resignations), year-to-year trends, KPIs, ratios, benchmarking.

All pointing backward, leaving club management to forecast the future using very limited projection tools, or simple guesswork based upon past experience. A decade from now clubs will be using advanced technologies to accurately predict their futures – on a variety of fronts, including:

• Future membership composition: Predictive data will be generated to forecast membership trends. Members by category, age, activity, and family demographics.

• Future member activity levels: Forecasting membership amenity usage. Dining and club events. Golf. Tennis. Fitness. Wellness. Social Events.

Conversely, clubs will use the app to communicate and transact business with the members. Websites will remain but will be used primarily by prospective members and guests, or by members seeking detailed information such as board meeting minutes or governance documents.

In 2029, the club’s mobile app will be the membership’s offsite lifeline to the club.

What does all of this mean for your club? Big picturethe private club industry will need to get serious about providing advanced technologies for staff and member use.

The Gen X board members, committee chairs and members-at-large will demand that technology take center stage at your club. Technology budgets will double or even triple. Club IT expertise will be greatly enhanced – either through hiring IT professionals or outsourcing to qualified companies. Start preparing now because 2029 will be here before you know it. BR

MICHAEL CRANDAL, CNG

The letters after our author’s name Michael Crandal, CNG stand for: Certified Nice Guy. Self-certified, by the way. But, a nice guy nonetheless. Michael is co-author with Gabriel Aluisy of the groundbreaking book, The ABC’s of Plutonium Private Club Leadership. www.plutonium.club He can be reached directly at (760) 464-6103.

Plutonium Private Club Leadership

Your New Mission, If You Choose to Accept It

I have a great professional passion for the private club industry, and an even greater personal affection for the people that bring it to life.

A calling to private club leadership is an honorable one. I believe it represents the highest and very best opportunity to continually bring out the very best in people — board, committees, members, management and staff. Within their own unique sphere of authority and influence – all should be Plutonium Club Leaders in their own right.

There are many very capable individuals in positions of leadership at private clubs: presidents – board and committee members, GM/COOs, de-

partment heads and staff. Yet, the collective creativity and drive of all are oftentimes “capped” at a certain level, even at so-called top-level clubs.

The future of any private club is 100 percent contingent upon the success of the people (volunteer and paid) that lead it. Thus, the clubs with the brightest future are those who understand that the two most important committees in all of clubdom meet very seldom. Very seldom, indeed.

These two committees are: 1. The nominating committee –meets but once or twice a year. (Tasked with identifying the very best available volunteer leadership.), and 2. The search committee – meets but once in a blue moon, hopefully! (Tasked with identifying the very best available professional leadership.)

If both of these committees are successful, going forward, the focus of the club is kept on people: members and staff. All of the other things like desired numbers and achieved goals are simply predictable by-products of having the right people in the right places.

The truth is, numbers and goals don’t drive people. Instead, it is people with creativity and drive that hit numbers and achieve goals.

My visits across the map have convinced me that the most effective private club leadership teams have no “cap” or distractions that take their focus away from consistently achieving the single goal that matters most: Membership satisfaction. Everything (everything!) else spins off this!

It is here that we have the cause and effect for everything else that happens at a club. Clubs that are renowned for consistently delivering outrageously favorable member / guest experiences have no difficulty in attracting great new member candidates as well as top quality staff.

It is the uncapped pervasive creativity and drive of the leadership team, seamlessly working together, that keep the greatest private clubs focused on the mission at hand.

Membership satisfaction is “mission critical.” It is the only reason people join, the only reason they will stay, the only reason they will invite others to become part of it all. Actual member experiences MUST be the focus in order to see clearly!”

Basically, all problems are people problems that ultimately morph into a leadership team overly focusing on numbers, ratios, percentages and key performance indicators (KPIs). These are

the same clubs who think their mission statement is different because it includes the words “Championship” and “Olympic” in describing their golf course and swimming pool.

The focus needs to get back to the mission at hand: People — members and staff.

It makes no difference whatsoever how good something sounds, looks on paper, adheres to budget or even seems logical. In an absence of membership satisfaction – you can forget everything else. Period. An over emphasis on other things creates a mission impossible.

Many individuals (or entire clubs, for that matter) do not position themselves to be promoted, fired or to quit. Huh? That pretty well covers the gamut, doesn’t it? No. Instead, they unwittingly “cap” their own creativity and drive – seemingly content to perform at what could be called adequate, yet not very exciting levels of membership satisfaction.

Question: How do successful private club leadership teams deliver remarkable membership satisfaction and stay on mission?

Answer: They remain focused on having their collective creativity and drive consistently perform at such exciting levels of quality and service that they become, “Our members very favorite place to be.”

Stop! Look no further. All you need is these seven words. This is your new mission statement: “Our members very favorite place to be!”

Now that you know your new mission – it all comes down to having a plutonium leadership team to bring it to life. BR

USTA Accredited

My visits across the map have convinced me that the most effective private club leadership teams have no “cap” or distractions that take their focus away from consistently achieving the single goal that matters most: Membership satisfaction... It is the only reason people join, the only reason they will stay, the only reason they will invite others to become part of it all.

To Elevate the Standards of

Professionals and Coaches

Is your teaching pro USPTA-Certified? USPTA Professionals...

Provide the highest level of tennis-teaching instruction and programming.

Provide worthwhile teaching experiences that will increase tennis participation.

Have the training and education necessary to grow the sport of tennis within your community and become an integral part of your management team.

BOARDROOM BASICS AND BEYOND

The War for Talent

Thomas B. Wallace III, CCM, CCE, ECM, is a partner of Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace, the most trusted name in private club executive placement. He can be reached via email: Tom@kkandw.com

Get Your Human Resources Committee Involved

If you look after your staff, they’ll look after your customers. It’s that simple. – Richard Branson

Human capital is every company’s most valuable resource, but it can be a daunting struggle attracting the best and brightest and keeping them. Strengthen your battlefield by getting the human resource (HR) committee involved in the war.

We don’t typically encourage clubs to increase committee activity; however, when it comes to finding leadership talent, you must be willing to fight the battles that get you only the best for your club and your members. Just as a leader development committee will do the hard work of vetting potential leaders for healthy club governance, the HR committee is invaluable in doing the hard work of cultivating the right employees and developing a working culture for your team.

Every club has a membership roster that no doubt includes top professionals from top companies that you should leverage. Their expertise in human resources is of utmost value because HR is the foundation of a solid operation.

While other committees are vital in their ability to provide counsel and feedback in their advisory role regarding the needs, concerns and wants of the membership, the HR committee is essential in creating the foundation for delivering on club strategic goals like nothing else can. Neither bylaws nor membership plans are as important as your HR plan.

Leverage the member resources you have by filling your HR committee with business professionals from top public companies that have a firm understanding of the eight major functions of HR Management (see charter below).

Very few clubs have the resources to employ a fully staffed HR team that can fully deliver on all eight functions adequately.

You simply must engage an HR committee. When you consider the risks associated with not having a strong HR program, you simply have no choice but to examine this aspect of your club and begin implementing the strategies that work for your culture.

Your team and your future teammates will judge you not only on your operation, reputation and membership levels, their first impression will come from the HR experience.  The stronger your human relations, the stronger your club.

SIX KEY FIGHTING STRATEGIES TO HR SUCCESS

1. Recruiting: First, you must recruit from only the best sources. You must know where you’re going to look, how you’re going to market and when. Build your plan of attack for the “war on talent” whether it’s specific job posting websites and apps; your website, networking, job fairs or word-of-mouth.

2. Vetting: Your application process must be streamlined so you can track applications and input resume vitals into a database that has reliable information from which to mine. Too often we gather applications and resumes from a variety of untested sources, scan them with no consistent vetting; grade them for next steps (interview, save or discard) and then move to the interview stage with our selected few without creating a valuable recruiting source that this information can provide.

3. Onboarding: The new teammate orientation and onboarding should consist of not only a full campus tour but a full day of introduction: an introduction to the team; to your club’s culture and history, a comprehensive review of rules and regulations, and the club’s vision and mission or branding. It is vital that each new hire has all the tools necessary to succeed. If an employee leaves or fails because of a lack of resources, that is the club’s fault.

4. Culture setting: The orientation is the blocking and tackling. Culture setting takes place when the team has a clear understanding of the club’s mission, vision and core values. The teammate must have an internal understanding of why they work at the club, who they work for and why they love what they are doing.

5. Training: Training and development is the heart of a successful organization. The seriousness and consistency of how your organization trains and develops its team is the key to a strong reputation, which in turn leads to being viewed as a great place to work and a hard place to leave.

6. Reward and recognition:  Making sure your team understands that it’s part of your culture to recognize the great work that they do as an invaluable tool to ensure their tenure and long-term enjoyment. There are hundreds of programs and ways to make sure you do it. The important thing is to create a culture that encourages and inspires the leadership team. Seek out opportunities to give positive feedback to your team and thank them for being the most important part of what makes your club great.

EFFECTIVE HR CHARTER OUTLINE

As with any committee, you must have a charter for human resources that definitively spells out the expectations and scope of work. The HR committee is an important ally in the fight for your best troops, so give them their marching orders by managing the process through an effective charter. Each year review the charter and create strategic goals with measurable success criteria with your committee chair.

PURPOSE

Help COO or CEO ensure that the club is an employer of choice in your region through the delivery of the eight major functions of HRM.

MEMBERSHIP

The human resources committee shall consist of at least three members but not more than seven.

RESPONSIBILITIES/SCOPE OF WORK

1. Job Analysis and design

1. Help COO or CEO create a hierarchy with an organizational chart and job profiles.

2. Recruitment and selection

– Recruitment: Identify best sources.

– Selection: Help create application process SOP

3. Onboarding/orientation/culture setting

– Support management in creating and communicating the right welcome strategy

4. Training, development and succession

– Encourage and support ongoing team development

5. Performance management/recognition and retention

– Develop review and recognition programs

6. Compensation and benefits

7. Labor relations

8. Managerial relations BR

FRANK WOLFE

Frank Wolfe, CAE, is a writer, speaker, and CEO of Hospitality Financial Technology Professionals, a global nonprofit association. Wolfe serves as a director on several boards, is an advisor to a hospitality investment fund and has won numerous industry awards including being inducted into the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame. He can be reached at frank.wolfe@hftp.org.

Steps to Take When Your Club’s Data Is Part of a Third-Party Breach

Much of the day-to-day management and administration of our club operations has been simplified with the addition of outsourced tools.

Behind the scenes, club staff depend on the online-accessed services for banking, payroll, inventory management, website administration, golf and spa scheduling – you name it, the data is available in the cloud. While the simplicity and convenience are a boon to efficiency, there is also the risk to the club’s sensitive data.

A lot of education and discussion centers on the prevention and reaction to a breach at your club. But what do you do if your club’s information is part of a breach at one of your service providers? This is a likely scenario with countless breaches happening on a regular basis. Prepare your club operations with a response plan. Here are some tips to get you started.

When a data breach occurs, by law in every state in the U.S., the organization has to notify its customers of the incident. Unfortunately, the reality is that there is a large gap of time between the actual incident and when you are informed.

A July 2018 study report by Ponemon from IBM showed that the mean time it takes companies to identify an attack is 197 days, and 69 days to contain it. Incredibly, this figure is actually an increase from the previous year because of the more stealthy nature of recent malicious attacks.

So at the first hint of a compromise, club management needs to take action to lessen impact. First step is to identify what information was stolen, which determines response. The type of information commonly sought includes: payment information, account passwords and other organization identifiers. Specifically, for a company, and more complicated, are member and employee data, financial records, inventory records and more.

If there is a suspicion that a password and/or account access detail has been stolen, turn to the company that had the breach to see if your information matches identified stolen records. Part of the notification process usually includes a website set up by the compromised company for its customers to confirm yes/no.

There are also consumer protection sites to help you verify. One example is the site, “Have I Been Pwned,” run by security expert Troy Hunt as a free resource for anyone to quickly assess if they may have been put at risk.

When you do confirm yes, take advantage of the services offered by the company rectifying the breach. Services commonly offered

range — including an extension of identity theft protection, monitoring services and monetary retribution.

It is in the best interest for the breached party to make things right, as customers’ loss is one of the largest costs in the case of a data breach (in 2018 the cost was $4.2 million in the U.S. according to the IBM study).

Beyond this, take some additional measures to protect club information. Register with the FTC through its site identitytheft.gov, which will help the club outline a recovery plan. Also any staff members who had access to the account need to update their passwords and security questions related to the service.

This is a good time to put in place access control and a password management system if the club administration does not already have one. It is imperative that everyone is up-to-speed on security and uses a strong password and twostep verification, if available.

At the same time, no doubt the club management team has multiple log-ins to access online services – making password fatigue a reality (we are all too familiar with the annoyance of having to remember a password). To lessen the frustration and increase security, subscribe to a password manager and encourage staff to keep up with secure passwords in the encrypted utility.

An additional option is to place the operation’s larger apps under a single sign-on service (SSO), which consolidates log-ins. Once the employee logs-in, they can access multiple tools under the one. In the case of the breach – passwords are changed in one place. In respect to continued security, administrators can reduce human error by restricting access and setting up rules to lessen vulnerabilities.

HR COMMITTEE

KATE ZABRISKIE

Kate Zabriskie is the president of Business Training Works, Inc., a Maryland-based talent development firm. She and her team help businesses establish customer service strategies and train their people to live up to what’s promised. For more information, visit www.businesstrainingworks.com.

One-on-One Meetings Matter More Than You Know

There are only two of us in my department. Why should I bother with a formal meeting? We sit right across from each other.

I tried meeting individually with my direct reports, but they had nothing to talk about. Besides, we’re all adults. We know what we’re supposed to be doing at work.

I work in a matrix environment. I see my direct report about once a month and that’s usually at a larger meeting or when we’re passing each other in the hallway. I have no idea what he does. At review time, I rely on other people to tell me.

Without trying too hard, it’s easy for many managers to compile a long list of reasons not to meet with the people they supervise.

And guess what? The volume of reasons does not outweigh the value and importance of a regularly scheduled tête-à-tête with a direct report.

THE BENEFITS

If used correctly, over time managers and employees can enjoy many benefits by meeting one on one.

• Visible appreciation: Time is currency. If managers carve out time for their people and are prepared when they meet, they show they value their direct reports.

• Better thinking: Regular one-on-one meetings give managers and employees space to step away from the urgent and immediate and to think more holistically and strategically about work, goals, and development opportunities.

• Stronger results: Accountability tends to improve when people have an opportunity or a requirement to report on their progress.

THE PERFECT ONE-ON-ONE

Once a manager has bought into the value of one-on-one meetings, the next step is to execute them in a way that works for the manager and the

employee. Good one-on-one meetings are not one-size-fits-all activities. That said, there are a few guidelines that can make a one-on-one meeting successful.

1. Pick a schedule and stick to it. One-on-ones shouldn’t regularly disappear from the calendar simply because something else suddenly comes up.

2. Choose a frequency that makes sense. For some people meeting once a month may be enough. For others, meeting weekly may be more appropriate. Every relationship is different. Furthermore, circumstances evolve. Depending on what’s happening inside and outside of the organization, an employee’s needs could change drastically. Meeting frequency should be looked at from time to time. If the rate of meetings is correct, managers and employees should not routinely find themselves with no reason to meet.

3. Follow a written agenda. Well-run one-on-one meetings are not free-for-all conversations. They follow an agenda just as any other good meeting does. A one-on-one meeting agenda might include such topics as current projects, progress on yearly development goals, current challenges, and so forth.

4. Put employees in the driver’s seat by having them manage and document the agenda. As a manager, you may create the initial agenda format. But once you do, your employees should take ownership of the documents associated with their one-on-one meetings.

TROUBLESHOOTING

One-on-one meetings rarely go from non-existent or dysfunctional to perfect overnight. For that reason, managers should prepare to overcome a variety of obstacles.

Obstacle 1: Employees question the new meeting.

Solution: Reduce the surprise factor. If a manager has never held one-on-one meetings, they might come as a surprise to employees. To avoid feelings of uncertainty, confusion, or worse, socialize the idea before loading the calendar with unexpected surprises. “This year, I would like to focus more on individual development. Within the next week or two, please expect to see a meeting request from me on your calendar. I believe we will all benefit if I spend time with each of you individually at regularly

scheduled intervals. How often we will meet will depend on each of your needs and what we decide together.”

Obstacle 2: An employee doesn’t take charge of the meeting.

Solution: Show them how. A good agenda can go a long way toward making the conversation flow. Although employees should have ultimate responsibility for keeping the agenda, this may take time. In the beginning, managers may have to model what they want to see. “For our first few meetings, I’ll prepare the agenda. Once we’ve found our groove, my plan is to turn it over to you to own. This means you’ll add to it between meetings and bring a copy for you and me when we meet.”

Obstacle 3: An employee gives short or general answers to questions.

Solution: Get specific. The more focused a manager’s questions are, the better the conversation tends to be. For example, instead of asking, “What are you working on,” a manager might say, “Tell me about the project that is going best right now and why that is.”

Obstacle 4: An employee seems unresponsive. Solution: Leverage silence. When managers don’t get immediate feedback, they sometimes mistake silence for non-responsiveness. It’s important for managers to remember they already know the questions. The employee is hearing them for the first time and may need some time to digest and think about what’s being asked. Instead of rephrasing questions that don’t produce an immediate answer, managers need to get comfortable with letting silence sit in the room.

REEVALUATE

FROM TIME-TO-TIME

Like anything, one-on-one meetings can get stale. It’s important to look at the format and frequency from time to time and to solicit feedback regarding what’s working and what isn’t.

If you’ve fallen out of the habit of holding regular oneon-one meetings or if you’re not getting all you could from them, now is the time to take another look. After all, can you really afford not to? BR

Clubs of Distinction

DAVID W. LACEY

David W. Lacey is a member of the Philadelphia Cricket Club and served two terms as a member of the board of governors. He also served as tennis committee chair. He can be reached via email: dlacey@hirshorn.com, or by phone at (215) 298-0047.

Surviving a Tight Labor Market What Your Club Can Do?

The evidence is everywhere! The overall unemployment rate of 3.8 percent is a record-setting low. More jobs are now available for new hires since 2000. For college graduates the rate is 2.1 percent and the Northeast and Midwest sections of the USA are reporting rates less than 3 percent.

All of these percentages for the leadership team at a country or private club are daunting as they consider where their new hires are and how to access them.

These low percentages are especially problematic if the club’s leadership team is addressing one or more of these three business issues: 1) maintain, even enhance, service excellence for members; 2) add new members, or 3) manage growth either by adding new facilities or expanding current ones.

Low unemployment rates co-exist with pressing business issues. The latter – the growth of a club – require the leadership team to think differently about talent and its acquisition. Here are four actions that country clubs need to be good at and start doing immediately:

1. View recruiting talent as never ending. The evidence for this view means: a) non-stop posting of jobs on the club’s website where you always have a need, e.g., dining room service professionals, facilities, etc.; b) redouble your recruiting efforts at very effective websites like Indeed to access new talent; c) learn how to tell your recruitment story so it fits with mobile-friendly applications, and d) ask your best performers who is in their network of professional contacts and go after them.

When recruiting is a continuous process, I recommend that you set aside one day a month, roughly five percent of your working time to interview and build your candidate slate.

2. Expect more from your current team members. You may reasonably expect 10 – 15 percent more from those professionals, already aligned

with and committed to the club’s hospitality purpose. You are following the theme of “More with your current team.” As you benefit from more productivity, make sure your compensation rates are market-tested and competitive.

3. Retain your best people. Make this statement more than a slogan. Your “A” level talent wants to work at a club where their work is varied and challenging; where compensation is competitive and fair; where they are given timely recognition for their many and varied contributions, and where the club invests in its talent, thus adding to their capabilities. “A” professionals want to continue to get better at their hospitality craft. These four features create a club culture where the As want to work. As a club leader you can assess the presence of these four cultural features; and implement actions to increase their visibility and reward the As.

4. Partner with local high schools and colleges/universities. Such a partnership gives the club an early advantage of accessing talent. With high school juniors and seniors, it can take the form of part-time employment or with colleges, a summer internship. At the high school and college levels, your employment offers effectively become a “try-out” opportunity or a rehearsal for future permanent employment at the club. Partnering requires focused work that will pay off for the club.

The likely high school and college candidates will learn about your club through the internet. It is especially important that your website is engaging, informative and accurate. It is best to display examples of recent successes or breakthroughs at the club. It is okay to brag!

I have urged you to take action on these four themes:

1. Recruit talent continually.

2. Expect more from your team and reward their contributions.

3. Retain the best or “A” players.

4. Partner with educational organizations.

These four will help your club not only to survive a tight labor market, but to flourish in it, with the club’s leadership team directly managing and leading all four. They represent your pathways to winning in the current tight market. Let’s win! BR

Pamela Radcliffe is the HR Director and executive assistant at Countryside Golf & Country Club in Naples, FL. She can be reached at pradcliff@csgcc.net.

The Secret to Becoming a Trusted Leader

Perhaps you’ve noticed that many of today’s leadership articles talk about transparency. To me, it’s the buzzword-ofthe-moment for being authentic. But how can you be sure enough about who you really are?

Here’s a little-known secret: Having a 360 transparent view of yourself, really knowing yourself is the answer to becoming a trusted leader... and how do you do that? Feedback. An honest to goodness, never-ending quest for feedback about yourself.

Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham developed an illustration called “The Johari Window”, designed to show the dynamics of the interpersonal feedback process. Let me briefly explain:

The model quadrants compare the dynamic of information that is known to you or known to others about you (that you don’t know), and information that is not known to you, and not known to others, i.e., the Unknown.

A trusted leader has a very large open area/arena and this is attained by shrinking the windows of the blind spot and the façade.

To shrink your blind spot, you must actively solicit feedback. To shrink your

façade, you must disclose information about yourself and be more transparent to others. The aim of the trusted leader should always be to develop the open area because this is where we are at our most effective and productive, where good communication and cooperation occur free from mistrust, confusion or misunderstanding.

Let’s focus first about shrinking your façade. This is information known to you but is not known to others. There’s only one way to expand your open area into this hidden area, and that is for you to disclose information.

When you tell and share information, it feels like you’re taking a risk, and yet, when you do, it builds trust. The good news is that, once you disclose information and a little trust is built, it is easier the next time and the Trust/Risk Cycle builds.

Now let’s unravel the rest of the secret to truly becoming a trusted leader: Opening your arena. The best way to do this? Answer: Solicit feedback. But before we explore how to solicit feedback, I first want to share what feedback is not

1. Feedback is not going up to someone and saying, “Hey, I want to give you some feedback.” No, that is called confrontation

2. Feedback is also not going up to someone and saying, “You’re doing that wrong. Let me give you some feedback.” No, that is called criticism.

Feedback is ONLY feedback when you ask for it; when you solicit it. For example, “I’d like to ask for your feedback on how I delivered my presentation.” Even more valuable when soliciting feedback is to be specific about what you want to achieve: “Was my pace of speech appropriate? Did I explain my concepts clearly? Did you feel engaged in what I was speaking about?”

Here is an easy five-step process when soliciting feedback:

1. Let the providers know what kinds of information you want - be as specific as you can.

2. Show appreciation for whatever feedback you get – even feedback that is given improperly. Even it can be of value. Avoid responding in a defensive or punishing kind of way.

3. Ask whatever questions are necessary for clarification to be sure you understand what is being said. Avoid explaining or justifying your actions.

4. Get several viewpoints whenever possible. Don’t rely on a single source of information – others may have a different point of view.

5. When you have received all the information you want, let the giver know –avoid overload.

Adjusting to a new process can seem daunting at times, so here’s a way to help your feedback-givers provide you with what you need. Simply ask them to fill in the blanks for these three questions:

“I think that you can increase your effectiveness if you would

1. Start doing, or do more of . . .

2. Stop doing, or do less of . . .

3. Continue doing . . .”

Soliciting genuine feedback from those around you is the secret to becoming a trusted leader because it helps provide you with a richer perspective of how others perceive you. BR

MICHELLE TANZER

Michelle Tanzer, Esq. serves on the National Club Association board of directors and is legal counsel to the Club Spa & Fitness Association. Michelle arbitrates club related disputes for the American Arbitration Association’s (AAA) National Golf Industry Panel and authored TheClubLitigationBook:KeepingClubs outofCourt . Ms. Tanzer is chair of the Residential, Resort and Club section at GrayRobinson, P.A. and can be reached at (561) 866-5700 or via email: Michelle.Tanzer@Gray-Robinson.com.

Private Club Status 101

A Refresher Course for Board Members

Private club status is one of the most frequently misunderstood concepts in club law. So, this explains the legal basis for treating a club that is “truly private” differently from all other clubs, identifies the key characteristics of a “truly private club” and explains why the difference matters.

The first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution grant several important fundamental legal rights, commonly known as the Bill of Rights. Among these are the rights to privacy and to freely associate, particularly in one’s own home.

While courts have interpreted these rights to extend to various places and times, they have not extended them to all places and times. Particularly, courts have made a distinction between places that are open to the general public (a public accommodation) and those places that are an extension of one’s home.

When a club is operated in a manner that allows access by the general public and is not for the exclusive benefit of their members, it is not viewed as an extension of one’s home. In that case, the club would be a public accommodation and application of fundamental rights as if it were a private home would not be justified.

Thus, courts will consider the following characteristics to determine whether a club is truly private:

1. Use of the facilities solely by members

2. No advertising for members

3. Genuine selectivity of the group in the admission of its members

4. Membership’s control over the operations of the establishment

5. History of the organization

6. Formalities observed by the club (e.g. bylaws, meetings, membership cards, etc.), and

7. Non-profit social and/or recreational purposes for the club’s existence.

To be clear, non-profit purposes are not the same as a 501(c)(7) tax exempt status election

made for tax purposes. When determining legal private status, there are no 15/35 percent thresholds as with tax exempt status. Any divergence from the foregoing characteristics, no matter how small, could result in a determination that the club is not truly private, that is, it’s a public accommodation club.

A club that is a 501(c)(7) and refers to itself as a private club is not necessarily a truly private club for legal purposes.

Truly private status matters because when a club is not truly private, the rights of privacy and free association are far more limited. Any use of club facilities by general public could jeopardize private club status. Of significant importance is that federal and state anti-discrimination laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap, familial status or religion or other protected class, in clubs that are not truly private.

The American with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation.

Thus, public accommodation clubs must consider and comply with all of these laws in their membership and operational matters.

Example of activities that could be problematic at public accommodation clubs are men’s only grills, preferential blocks of tee times reserved for particular genders, and failing to provide accommodations for persons with disabilities, such as single rider golf carts and swimming pool lifts.

In contrast, activities of concern for truly private clubs include any non-member use of the club facilities, internet marketing for new members, corporate outs and reciprocal use agreements. Many times the reciprocal club usage is overlooked as a characteristic that jeopardized private club status.

Nevertheless, there are strategies that can be adopted to bypass the reciprocal use agreements and achieve the same end result.

Regardless of whether your club is truly private or not, understanding the risks and benefits of each is essential. Careful analysis and proper documentation remain the key to successfully avoiding any potential problems in connection with your private club status. BR

TRIBAL MAGIC

Gregg Patterson is president of Tribal Magic and can be reached via email: GJPAir@aol.com

Creating the Mini In-House Training Workshop

One and Done—Don’t Get It Done!!!

Lots of managers have spent lots of money hiring a “Known by Everyone Who Matters” top dog hospitality consultant to deliver a patented “guaranteed to turn ‘em around in eight hours” all-day, all-staff service workshop. And at the end of the workshop the team cheers, leaps around and shouts hurrah, then promptly forgets what the top dog taught. All that money, all those hours, all that free coffee, gone!!!

I’m sure Mr. Top Dog delivered the service wake-up call these managers paid for, inspired the employee team with the service vision, injected ‘em with the service buzz and road-mapped a lot of service how-to’s needed to make great service happen.

But the fact is training doesn’t “stick” unless there’s follow-up to make sure the one-off training experience becomes muscle memory.

People learn in small chunks, one morsel at a time. Training done right is continuous, it’s incremental and it has to be done, forever.

If a manager is looking for a quick and easy, fast and foolproof training regimen, they’re going to be mighty disappointed because training “done right” takes time, patience and commitment.

A one shot, one day, professionally delivered training program is a good first step in priming the team for a rahrah forever learning training mindset. But if managers want to create, deliver and sustain a high-octane service culture, and if they truly want the marginal to get good and the good to get better, they need to develop an ongoing forever learning training program that’s cheap, quick, fun and EFFECTIVE.”

Here’s how!

TRAINING DISLIKES

When it comes to education, first graders, college freshmen and staffers have a lot of “don’t likes” in common, and managers best remember those don’t likes when it comes to educating the staff. Here’s a sampling of those don’t likes.

Don’t do boring. Don’t do long, windy and wandering. Don’t do abstract. Don’t do too much too quickly. Don’t embarrass the trainees. And don’t tell ‘em to shut up and just listen.

LEARNING LIKES

When it comes to educating kids, Millennials, Boomers, old geekers and sacred cows, there are a number of learning likes that underpin successful on-the-job education. Here are a few.

Staffers like trainers who have The BUZZ for the stuff they’re teaching. Staffers like learning stuff they can use. Staffers like education that’s quick, pithy and FUN.

Staffers like interactive question and answer sessions. Staffers like talking about stuff they’ve done that day.

Staffers like hearing stories with messages that matter. Staffers like watching videos of stuff done right featuring people they know. Staffers like teaching others stuff they’ve already mastered. Staffers like play acting opportunities. Staffers like short “you won’t lose your job if you get this wrong” tests, and staffers like being rewarded and appreciated for learning and doing.

THE MINI IN-HOUSE TRAINING WORKSHOP

There are dozens of mini workshops managers can use to deliver big stick training. Each of these mini workshops needs to embrace the training likes and avoid the training dislikes of the employee team. Here are a few quickies managers can use to make training-that-sticks happen.

Prep: The notepad. Require staffers to carry a notepad and to write lots, often – member names, stories, things that went well or poorly. Debrief the notepad impromptu during the coaching walk-around and during the daily debrief.

Prep: This is the job Questions. Every job is made up of dozens of specific tasks, each of which can become a question. Each question, once written, can then be asked, answered, videoed, explained and taught. A five-minute One Question Workshop can then be delivered.

GREGG PATTERSON

Prep: This is how we do the job video series. Each task becomes two-minute loving hands at home video shot by the team, of the team. Consider showing one of these videos each day at the start-of-shift upbrief.

Prep: Teacher of the day. Each day one staffer is chosen to explain ONE of the dozens of tasks an employee is required to do. This teacher “staffer” can deliver the lesson during the upbrief, the walk-around or the debrief.

Workshop No.1: The start of shift upbrief. The team gathers at the start of every shift. The day’s events are discussed, and questions asked and answered. Then, one of that department’s “this is the job” questions is pulled from the “hat” (i.e. How do you open a bottle of vino???), an employee (possibly the teacher of the day) answers and discusses the question, gives an example from reality and demonstrates how that task gets done.

After all that show-and-tell, a short video is shown of a staffer doing “that thing” right. The team is reminded that the question will be discussed during that day’s coaching walk-around.

Workshop No. 2: The coaching walk-around. The manager or supervisor walks the floor, gathers employees, reviews the morning’s pulled question and asks another question from the list of “how to” questions for that job. The staff are then asked what’s right or wrong with the room/work space.

Workshop No. 3: The daily end-of-shift debrief. At the end of each shift, the team’s gathered for the daily debrief. That day’s pulled question will be reviewed. An employee will be asked their question of the day and another will be asked to give their story of the day. Both are discussed. Then the team’s asked WWW-EBI (What Went Well, Even Better If) during that day’s shift.

These mini-workshops work. Education will happen without the staffers knowing that education is happening. Painless. Cost-effective. Quick. Entertaining.

START THE MINIS

Never-ending training is a must-do. Training that sticks needs to be done often in small, bite-size pieces. Once a manager and the supervisors accept the virtues of the mini-workshop, once they understand the Don’t Do’s and the Must Do’s of training, they can generate their own how to’s customized to their club operation.

In-house mini workshops work. They’re fun, quick and effective and a great team building exercise to boot. Become a mini workshop training convert. Brainstorm with your supervisors. Identify tactics. Create workshops that are personalized and customized to your operation. Start delivering lots of mini workshops and…enjoy the journey! BR

NANCY BERKLEY

Nancy Berkley is an expert on women’s golf and junior girls golf. Nancy shares news and her opinions about women’s golf on the www.lpgawomensnetwork.com, www.womensgolf.com and on her own websites: berkleygolfconsulting.com and nancyberkley.com. You can also follow Nancy on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/nancy.berkley.98 and on Twitter @NancyBerkley.

Sales Tips for Your Pro Shop

Women are probably responsible for most of the sales in your club’s pro shop. So, here are some tips to make sure more women are your “best” customers.

1. Hire female salespersons. If you don’t think this is important, just try it –especially on ladies’ day. Perhaps hire a woman at an hourly rate for those days and times when you know there are more women playing. But, hire a salesperson with a fashion sense that is comfortable helping women make flattering selections.

When a woman tries on a shirt and wants to know whether it’s too tight, or too big or the wrong color, she needs to be comfortable asking the salesperson for her opinion. And, that’s usually going to be a woman. Just listen to your women customers shopping together and hear how often they ask each other: “How does this look? Is the top too tight? Is the skort too short?” That’s a clue why women salespersons are so important.

2. Know your customers: Every female that walks into your pro shop is potentially a good customer. Most likely 80 percent of purchases (including those made for men) are made or influenced by women. Your staff should know your most frequent women golfers by name – and even by style preferences. They are among your best customers.

And keep your eye on guests of your members at special women’s events. A new 2019 LPGA initiative – #inviteHER – is aimed at encouraging women to invite friends to learn the game at your clinics or regular tee times. Guests are important new customers. Consider adding names of guests to your emails for special promotions. Track the frequency of play at your facility using your handicap software or just brainstorm the names of best customers at a staff meeting. Do you know what sizes your most avid golfers wear? Does your sales staff recognize them by name? Most women will be overwhelmed when a sales clerk says, “We just got in some new items from that line you liked.” Consider a reward program for “best customers.”

3. Schedule equipment demo days for women at times convenient for women – probably not the regular women’s golf day. (Most women have plans before or after the regular women’s day.) Select a time in connection with women’s clinics or leagues. Better yet, ask your women golfers (or chair of women’s golf) what time and day they think is convenient for demo day. The answer may surprise you.

Women may not be into all the technical information like swing speeds and launch monitors, but they know what “feels” good in a demo and what works! And I don’t know a woman that doesn’t want to be a better golfer. If I were scheduling a women’s demo day, I’d be sure to bring in a guest female instructor if your facility does not have one.

4. Make the sales representatives do their job for women golfers. I think that most pro shops do not demand enough service from their sales reps serving the women’s golf segment. It’s just not good enough for a rep to take an order – anyone can do that.

A good sales rep should supply photos of the female golfers that wear their brands or swing their clubs. Hang those photos up in the dressing rooms. (Any customer of Callaway should see a framed copy of Annika somewhere in their shop.) Really good pro shops know how to “feature” a new product.

Every newsletter should have a “what’s coming” style or golf equipment section. Be a demanding customer of sales representatives to make sure you know the news. The field is getting bigger, retailers have choices and women’s golf clothing has never looked better.

I was at the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida, and the women styles have never looked more fashionable!

5. Think promotion!! Here are some suggestions: Change displays often. Successful shops rotate merchandise every two weeks. Use a mannequin or a bust-form to display merchandise, and at least five items must be worn or featured on the mannequin: shirt, skirt, sweater, hat, pocketbook, belt, shoes, socks, clubs. Women like to see “outfits” even if they buy in pieces. If there is a regular ladies’ day, consider a different promotion each event. Perhaps one time it’s “buy two socks and get one free,” or specials on a new line such as “10 percent off on a particular brand today.” Maybe it’s specials on Father’s Day. The primary goal is to get women into your shop and they like specials!

Offer promotions to all women in your new golfer clinics – from key rings to gift cards. The teachers teach them how to hit the ball, but the pro shop has to help them buy merchandise. Welcome new golfers to your pro shop as soon as possible with “new golfer” promotions. Use digital photography to promote your new lines. Take a picture of a display and put it your facility website or in an email campaign. Go digital!

6. Say Thank You: Saying “thank you” goes a long way. I suggest that every shop have an easy-to-send “thank you” note that goes out to all first purchasers and to frequent purchasers. Insert a “come-back-coupon”, such as a discount on special items, with your thank you note.

7. Dress up your dressing room. Unlike men, who usually simply buy the size and color, women shoppers are much more demanding in style and fit. That means that items must be tried on. So, your dressing room must have: A full length mirror, at least two hooks (one for the clothes they take off and another for what they are putting on), a shelf (or available chair) for keys, glasses and pocketbook.

For a bonus, hang a photo of women golfers in. Maybe even the pictures of your club’s golfers from a ladies’ day or special event. I guarantee you that most people using your dressing rooms will be women. Happy sales! BR

Nancy Berkley’s book, Women Welcome Here! A Guide to Growing Women’s Golf, was published in 2003 … a landmark in its field. Nancy is currently an active golfer at Frenchman’s Creek Beach and Country Club, her home course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida where she serves on the marketing committee. Nancy is a member of the women’s committee of the World Golf Foundation and member of the Women’s Task Force and enjoys a close relationship with LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan and the LPGA media

PLIGHTS AND INSIGHTS

NANCY M. LEVENBURG

Nancy Levenburg, Ph.D., is a professor in the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is the President of Edgewater Consulting, and is a member of Spring Lake Country Club in Spring Lake, Michigan. For more information, contact Nancy at: levenbun@gvsu.edu or (616) 331-7475.

Rewarding Full Golf Members

I recently heard a private country club member lament, “When is the club going to do something for its long-term members…?

You know, the ones who pay all the club’s bills because they’ve been full golf members for the last 20 years. The ones who’ve paid all the assessments over all the years. The ones who are the biggest spenders. It seems like everything the club is doing these days is aimed at either recruiting somebody new to join the club or involves spending on new members who actually pay the least in dues, because of all the incentives, discounts and promotions.

“But when is the club going to do something for people like me… the long-time full golf members? Did the club forget about people like me?”

Upon hearing this, I had to admit that he had a point. Most private clubs today are focused on recruiting new members… seasonal, social, junior etc. But since we all know that it costs far more (some say five to 25 times as much!) to acquire a new member then it does to keep one you already have, cultivating members’ loyalty makes sense… particularly those that are full golf members.

So, what are some ways to engender loyalty? How can the club reward its longtime members like the gentleman above described?

TIERED SYSTEMS

From Princess Cruises to Starbucks coffee, a simple tiered system is an easy way to reward loyal customers. With Princess, every cruise is recorded and the cruiser works their way from Silver status to Gold, Ruby, Platinum, and Elite levels with more “rewards” associated with each cruise and progressive tier… from a

Gold member recognition pin, to preferred check-in at embarkation and free internet at sea (Platinum), to complimentary shoe shine, laundry and dry cleaning services (Elite).

So, applying Princess as one example (or model), what would it actually cost your club if it offered free golf shoe cleaning services to those folks who’d been golf members for X number of years? A hundred dollars per golfing member, perhaps?

Yet, what would the payback be worth in terms of the member’s satisfaction with the club, including the club’s recognition and appreciation for the member’s loyalty? How does $100 per golfing member compare with their annual dues and contribution to club revenues? And how difficult would this be to implement? (At most clubs, its difficulty in implementation would be extremely minimal, assuming the club already offers shoe cleaning services to its members.)

Or, if no shoe cleaning service is offered at your club, could you partner with a local shoe repair shop? And speaking of partnering, there’s…

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Aside from reciprocal privileges at other clubs in the area, strategic partnerships with local businesses (coalition programs) can be extremely effective in encouraging and rewarding members’ loyalty

(or coalition programs). For example, is there a local bakery/cafe (one that supplies your club with baked goods?) that might become a strategic partner? For example, if your club is closed on one particular night of the week (so there’s no lost revenue to your club), could it partner with a local restaurant to offer BOGO breakfasts or lunches to golf members?

MEMBER-CENTRIC PROGRAMS

Does your club truly understand what’s important to and valued by its long-time golf members? It may turn out that rather than a reward pin or discount, what those members value might actually be an exclusive event or program. For example, a free wine and cheese party? Or (ever better!) a free champagne and chocolate party?

Or what about offering preferred seating in the dining room? Most clubs use a FIFO (first-in-first-out) system throughout the club… when assigning tee times, accepting dining reservations, and so on. Even the parking lot typically operates as a FIFO system with the earliest to arrive getting the best places to park, regardless of membership category.

TESTIMONIAL

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Michael McCarthy, COO/GM Addison Reserve , Delray Beach, FL

But does it make sense that a summer social member that pays $1,200 for the season would have the same rights and privileges throughout the club as a full golf member whose annual dues run nearly six times that amount at $7,000 annually?

Shouldn’t there be “preferred” parking (or valet service?) for golf members?

Preferred tee times?

Preferred seating in the dining room?

Or “golf members only” designated lounge chairs at the pool?

Best of all, what would this actually cost the club? Little to nothing!

I recently read that loyalty programs that are truly generous stand out. Why? Because they won’t be viewed as simply another scheme to get members to spend money at the club. But more importantly, they will let your long-time full golf members know that they’re truly valued. BR

CUSTOM OUTDOOR FURNITURE

IDEAS

Focus on Fitness

The Country Club of Virginia Invests in Well Being of Its Members

It’s sometimes difficult to know where to make capital investments at a private club to keep pace with member demand and consumer trends. Will your membership 10 to 15 years from now have the same interests as your current membership? Will they be entirely different?

Getting ahead of industry trends and member desires, The Country Club of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia recently announced the completion of a 90,000 square foot fitness and racquet sports complex that carried a $19.6 million price tag. The debut of the complex is the latest chapter in the club’s 30-year commitment to fitness and family-centered activities, and the third iteration of the club’s health and fitness facility. The entire project, designed with growth and flexibility in mind, creates a footprint to foster social connections.

Construction for the three-phase project broke ground in early 2017, and the club celebrated a grand opening party in the fall of 2018, just in time for members to enjoy the new facilities over the holidays and set them up for success in keeping their New Year’s resolutions.

Members now enjoy a total of five squash courts that feature enhanced lighting and a state-of-the-art scoreboard system. The club reports that squash participation has increased by 50 percent and lesson revenue is up 60 percent since the new facilities debuted. The club has also welcomed a second squash professional to its staff to keep pace with member demand.

For tennis players, the club’s indoor tennis courts have been resurfaced and cushioned and the courts now boast new baseline viewing windows and LED lighting. In addition, two of the club’s outdoor courts were converted to hydro courts, also with upgraded LED lighting. The expanded fitness center also includes a new youth lounge, a spa and a fast-casual café.

The additional 11,000 square feet of fitness space includes a fitness center, a popular Pilates center, more room for personal training, stretching, private physical therapy and functional space for dynamic workouts. New studio formatting allows for increased group exercise options, from Orange Theory-inspired classes and TRX to a new cycle studio with classes that are consistently at capacity.

In the first month of operation, the expanded fitness center experienced a 56 percent increase in visits compared to the same month in 2016. This increased participation extends to CCV’s wellness program, which has experienced the highest member use in club history.

One of the most popular aspects of the new fitness/racquet sports complex is the club’s fast-casual restaurant, which averages 240 covers per day. The Cool Springs Café, named after the former farm on club land, meets member demand for a casual, family-oriented dining option with fast, friendly service and a broad menu with wide variety and appeal.

The café offers early-morning grab-and-go menu items, custom-blended coffee from a local roaster and smoothies. A robust to-go

program is also part of the operating model for this new club offering.

Junior members are now able to enjoy a youth lounge, which offers a fun and relaxed space to hang out with activities such as video games, ping pong, and foosball. While the space was designed with youth in mind, the club immediately noticed a trend of parents joining their children for activities. The area has also become popular for private events, with members calling to reserve the location as soon as it opened.

In the words of CCV General Manager Phil Kiester, “We continue to learn that ‘build it and they will come’ should really be ‘build it and they will come in such numbers that you will build again.’ Our members vote with their feet and the members’ response since the new building opened is nothing short of amazing.” BR

MEGHAN THIBAULT

Meghan Thibault, Innovative Ideas editor, is a professional writer and communicator with a passion for storytelling.

A writer at heart, Thibault has been involved in the hospitality and club industry in Canada, the Caribbean and Hawaii. She is currently a member and on the membership committee, at Mid-Pacific Country Club in Kailua, HI.

To submit an idea or story for this section, please email ideas@boardroommag.com

Reggae Music Video Highlights

Club’s

Junior Summertime Calendar

Summer is almost here and as we look forward to warm weather and summer programming, you may want to break out your 4K video camera and start filming.

Champions Run in Omaha, Nebraska is showcasing its summer youth programming with a high-energy, hilarious music video featuring footage of the club’s junior members engaged in summertime fun.

The club is well known for its programming for junior members. With 350 kids in the club’s swim program alone, plus junior golf and tennis programs, there’s plenty of great material to capture and choose for the video.

“We wanted to highlight all the epic things we do over the course of the summer,” said Ben Lorenzen, the club’s creative director and self-proclaimed chief memory officer.

Lorenzen adeptly handles all of the club’s creative, as well as managing the aquatics, fitness and youth programs. Always innovative and cutting edge, Lorenzen sought out an appropriate artist on Fiverr.com, an online service where you can hire freelancers for almost any need. He landed upon just the talent he needed to provide the vocals and musical production: G Steel – No Coast Reggae Studios

The club put together the basic lyrics and commissioned the vocals, mixing and production. Lorenzen then set about filming the club’s various summer activities, even teaching the lyrics to the kids in their junior programs. The kids can be seen throughout the music video happily singing along to the reggae beats.

The lyrics are meaningful to the club’s members, referencing kids at the club, their swimming abilities and a number of other summertime favorites like ice cream, chicken fingers and margaritas. Wait…margaritas?

The song references a unique event Lorenzen introduced at the club’s sizable pool. At rest breaks, which are 10 minutes out of every hour, the club wanted to keep members occupied in the gap between pool sessions. To fill the 10 minutes, they enlist one junior member and one adult member to take a half-court shot across the empty swimming pool and into the poolside basketball net.

When a junior member makes the shot, the club offers free slushies and popsicles to all the kids around the pool. When an adult successfully drops the ball in the net, they offer free margaritas for all the adults at the pool.

“It’s pandemonium when someone makes the shot, but our members absolutely love it!” proclaimed Lorenzen, who noted that there are often as many as 300 people poolside, resulting in a very busy bunch of bartenders.

Once the song and footage were in place, Lorenzen edited the resulting clips into a short, entertaining music video, which the club uses to help promote their highly popular juniors programming on social media.

The video, which has proven an effective tool in recruiting new member families, was uploaded to the club’s site. If you’re looking for inspiration and some good reggae beats, it’s available for viewing on YouTube https://youtu.be/HlcURBCDUNQ BR

IDEAS

Fitness Then & Now Engages Members of All Ages

Kansas City Country Club introduced a fun and unique fitness class taught by two of the club’s instructors – one a millennial and the other a Gen Xer.

Karen Sullivan, the club’s director of fitness and wellness explained, “I like to put together programming that involves the less active members of the club and that engages club members of different age groups.”

While these two groups are usually attracted to different class formats and schedule times, the club’s Fitness Then and Now was a mash-up of several trends in fitness over the last several decades – incorporating high-impact and step aerobics with the more contemporary barre fitness, functional and kettle bell training.

The result? A memorable Saturday morning class that left members clamoring for more.

Prizes were awarded to participants who sported the best retro look in exercise gear. The class was set to music that spanned the decades. If you’re thinking high-cut, one-piece leotards paired with terry-cloth headbands set to a soundtrack of Donna Summer and Olivia Newton John’s “Let’s Get Physical” – then you’re probably not far off the mark. The one-time offering proved a good laugh and a good workout for all participants.

If you’re looking for member mixers that encourage the various demographics of your club to interact and engage, this just might be a solution for you. “This was a great way to bring the two groups together in a fun, non-competitive environment” said Sullivan. “Our membership enjoyed it so much that they’ve asked for it as an annual offering.” BR

MEGHAN THIBAULT

Meghan Thibault, Innovative Ideas editor, is a professional writer and communicator with a passion for storytelling.

A writer at heart, Thibault has been involved in the hospitality and club industry in Canada, the Caribbean and Hawaii. She is currently a member and on the membership committee, at Mid-Pacific Country Club in Kailua, HI. To submit an idea or story for this section, please email ideas@boardroommag.com

Handcrafted, Freshly Squeezed & Seasonal Beverages Offer More Than Just Health Benefits

Inspired by member requests for fresh grapefruit mimosas, the North Shore Golf Club in Menasha, Wisconsin is now offering a bevy non-alcoholic beverages and cocktails using freshly squeezed juices to their members.

What may seem like an impractical choice for a cocktail list has been streamlined with an investment in an industrial juicer, whose visibility behind the club’s main bar helps to keep these higher-priced offerings top of mind with the club’s membership.

“When the membership sees the juicer on the back bar, it not only raises awareness that we now have the capabilities to ‘hand-juice’ fresh cocktails, but it opens an entirely new dialogue about fresh and seasonal beverages,” said Michael Jernegan, assistant club manager.

Apart from the health boost they provide, they’re simply delicious. The club has used them to create a demand for upscale, resort-style cocktails. At a higher price point, handcrafted beverages have become especially popular at the club’s poolside bar and at large member functions.

The added sales revenue has boosted profitability, while the efficient use of produce from the club’s kitchen has served to minimize waste, adding even more benefit to the club’s bottom line.

Fresh juices are rich in antioxidants and vitamins, of course, but they also contain health-inducing enzymes found only in freshly-juiced fruits and vegetables. Health-conscious proponents of juice cleansing claim these enzymes are what make fresh juices far better for our health and wellness, since they are purported to improve the digestive process and increase the body’s ability to absorb nutrients.

As for the cost of the new juice – it has paid for itself within a few short months. The bartenders are making fewer trips to the kitchen and each custom, handcrafted beverage requires less effort from the culinary team.

These days, the club’s bartenders have incorporated juicing into their daily duties, making small batches of the most popular items to last through the busy periods of the day and storing these in squeeze bottles in the bar cooler, where they stay fresh for a few hours until another batch is squeezed.

“The membership has embraced the freshly juiced cocktails wholeheartedly, and we have been able to follow their satisfaction directly down to the revenue line,” reports Jernegan. BR

HOUSE COMMITTEE

Cooks are from Mars, Servers are from Venus - Part I

If cooks are from Mars and servers are from Venus, is there ever a time when the planets can be aligned? How can we focus more on our similarities and shared goals rather than our different backgrounds and work environments?

We have some ideas!

First, define the culture of your food and beverage department with core values, mission and vision statements that will launch your starship toward collaboration and service excellence.

Does your club have articulated core values, mission and vision statements that are relevant to the current club culture?

If yes, great, you have foundational pieces in place. If not, there is an opportunity for some serious team building between FOH and BOH. There is no better way to forge common bonds than to conduct whiteboarding exercises to define CVM&V with your entire F&B team.

Once finalized, make these messages come alive by posting banners in the employee breakroom, kitchen and service areas.

Print cards or armbands with these messages for the staff to carry or wear, discuss these values daily in q-time/ line-ups and department meetings and celebrate employees who demonstrate these core values.

Take every opportunity to demonstrate and reward these behaviors because, when the meteorites hit the fan, you want your team focused on the foundational pillars that hold up your club.

Secondly, break down barriers between the FOH and BOH by establishing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and behavioral standards for everyone to follow. We recently conducted a survey of 174 FOH and BOH staff members and GMs and asked respondents to list the top issues and best practices they had for working with their counterparts.

Not surprisingly, the FOH scored lowest on “knowledgeable about the menu” and “orders and fires tickets properly.” While we weren’t surprised that the BOH scored the FOH lowest here, we were surprised that the GMs scored the FOH lowest here as well.

On the other side, the BOH scored lowest on “actively involved in training the FOH” and “great attitude.” Again, the GMs rated the BOH lowest on “actively involved in training the FOH.”

If we put these lowest scoring issues together with the issues of the FOH, we find a real opportunity to get the BOH involved in actively training the FOH on the menu. We received some great best practices from all respondents.

For training best practices we received the following recommendations:

• Comprehensive on-boarding of new employees using a defined training program

• Menu tastings – comprehensive menu training, general food training and featured menu items training

• Menu testing – ingredients and techniques

• Liquor, beer and wines by the glass training and testing

• Memorialized SOPs of service

• Memorialized allergy protocol

• Menu item allergy alert document

• Quick reference guides

• Use service areas as communication centers

• Employee breakroom TV monitors to scroll club events, menu specials and relevant club information

• Q-times/line-ups must be motivational, educational and inspirational

• Include vendor partner subject experts

• Use videos to train

• Cross-training for better use of staff as well as the opportunity to “walk in their shoes”

• Managers must lead by example.

We also received useful recommendations for controlling the seating flow at dinner time. Best practices included:

• Control the flow at the host stand (15-30-minute increments)

• Stagger seating

• Controlled clearing and re-setting of tables

LISA CARROLL

• High manager and staff visibility and member engagement

• Continual conversation to encourage reservations

• Have nosh plates ready for tables that have waited.

Best practices for firing tickets included:

• Servers must control their tables (include this in training)

• Take the complete order at one time

• Jump on early tables and move them

• Have a holistic view of the dining room

• Look for ways to buy the kitchen five minutes

• Introduce amuse bouche course

• Stay visible and engaged

Finally, communication best practices during service included:

• Be patient with BOH/FOH during busy periods

• Maintain a teamwork mentality during rush

• Speak only to the expediter

• Be available to run food

• Strive to understand the pressures in the DR

• Managers run the floor and check in with chef and FOH staff continuously.

In the next issues we will share tools that increase collaboration and engagement between departments outside service times to avoid the communication black hole.

Stayed tuned earthlings! BR

Lisa Carroll, SHRM-SCP, is a search executive and consultant with Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace, LLC, a consulting firm providing executive search, strategic planning and data analysis services to the private club industry. She specializes in executive chef and general manager searches. Lisa can be contacted at (561) 596-1123 and at lisa@kkandw.com.

Sam Lindsley is a search executive and consultant with Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace, LLC. He specializes in assistant general managers, clubhouse manager, general manager and food and beverage director searches. The company has offices in Scottsdale, Jupiter, Denver, Cleveland, and Naples. Sam can be contacted at 216-509-2250 and at sam@kkandw.com

HOUSE COMMITTEE

TODD DUFEK

Todd Dufek is the president of the Locker Room Managers Association (www.yourlrma.com) with over 250-member clubs in nearly 40 states. He has been a locker room manager at The Country Club at DC Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona for 20 years. Todd has authored four locker room related books and a 6-month training program that is currently being used by several clubs across the U.S. Contact him about a free membership in the LRMA at yourlrma1999@gmail.com.

Do You Know Your Club’s Damaged Shoes Policy?

“As a board member, how would I know what my club’s policy is regarding damaged shoes? In fact, I had no idea our club even had one.”

It’s a question that’s certainly been asked more than once, and it needs an answer.

Several months ago, I received a frantic phone call from a locker room manager working at an eastern club.

“I have a problem,” said the manager. “One of our attendants applied a product to a pair of light brown dress shoes that darkened them considerably. When the owner saw the shoes, he was so upset that he demanded we buy him a new pair. The shoes we’re talking about here are handmade, constructed with the finest leather and cost $1,000.”

The manager added that this had never happened before, and he was flabbergasted about what to do next.

So, what in the world does this have to do with board members?

One of the concepts I’ve written about more than once over the years is to be proactive when it comes to customer service. In short, each day in the locker rooms where I work, my staff and I do our best to anticipate the needs of our members and guests and meet them before they have a chance to ask.

For example, if I or a member of my staff sees a member getting a robe and a shower towel to put by his locker before his daily workout, we let him know we’ll be glad to provide both and put them in his locker when he leaves each day.

What happened to the manager that called me was simple: A set of circumstances – shoes getting damaged – that rarely comes up in a

shoe room at a country club – caught the manager and his staff flatfooted. They faced a situation that had never happened before.

The reason I suggested that board members need to know about their club’s policy in a case like this is because a pair of shoes may never have been damaged in your club’s history. And if it happens, the matter may be brought before the board to determine what your policy for damaged shoes should be. Or more broadly, what your club policies are for lost or damaged items.

Having these policies in place are imperative so that these scenarios can be properly handled at the management level rather than rising to the level of the club’s board.

If neither board members nor golf staff don’t know what happens in a case like this your board should take some time and decide exactly what the club will do if the locker room staff damages or loses a pair of shoes. Every so often it is important that management and the board review their board policy manual to make sure that it’s up to date and relevant to your current club setting.

Once you have done this, it’s important to then pass the information on to your locker room manager and the golf shop staff. By doing so, stressful situations can be avoided.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t provide you with a shoe care policy to consider. What most clubs do in this case is to replace them with a new pair, no questions asked.

The member gets a new pair of their favorite brand of golf or street shoes (hopefully they’re a little less than $1,000!). The club writes the pair of shoes off as a loss and both parties can put the situation behind them. Anything short of replacement will result in a disgruntled member likely sharing dissatisfaction with other members.  BR

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Dear Fellow Treasurer

Please Learn from My Mistakes!

Philip G. Newman, CPA, CIA, CGFM is a partner with RSM US LLP and is the firm’s national industry leader for private club services. In that role he works exclusively with hundreds of private clubs across the United States. Newman is also the recipient of BoardRoom magazine’s Award of Dedication for 2016. He may be reached at Philip.newman@rsmus.com

Club treasurer is undoubtedly one of the most important and influential roles on any board, yet there is nothing really that can fully prepare an individual for the role.

While an understanding of business concepts and accounting jargon and a solid orientation process will be of great help, even then we hear of many situations where both the treasurer and club management become frustrated with their mutual relationship. While we can certainly offer our own observations on what works best in these relationships, we know that messaging is often more powerful when it comes from peers and not consultants.

business, just remember that at a club, running the operation is management’s job.

• Lead your team. Club managers and controllers want their treasurer to be successful and, in most cases, ultimately see them become board chair or president. There are things that your club financial management team is good at, as well as things they don’t get excited about. It will be the same for you as club treasurer.

Help your team find ways to help each other with their weaknesses and capitalize on their strengths. Always remember how small, in a typical club, your team is. Prob-

Ultimately as your club’s treasurer your overall goal is to promote financial decision making and practices that benefit the membership as a whole. You won’t be able to please everyone, but with well documented transparency and consistent communication with members and staff, you will safely steer your club financial performances forward.

In an effort to determine what do’s and don’ts high performing clubs believe help their treasurers succeed, we contacted some of the most successful clubs and treasurers around the nation and sought their advice. Perhaps not surprisingly, consistent themes emerged rather quickly from our discussions. Here is the advice we heard from club treasurers like you…

• Be a “balance sheet” treasurer to the board, the finance committee and management. The treasurer’s goal should be to help grow the club. Resist your initial inclination to try to manage the operating statement. While you no doubt are or were very successful doing just that in your own

ably, unlike in your corporate life, there isn’t an army of data analysts ready to mine an enterprise reporting system for a key trend 20 minutes before a board meeting. Have a sense of scale when working with your team and try to avoid creating “busy” work.

When requesting additional analyses and reports, think first if the knowledge gained could potentially result in a change in operation or direction – if not, then why are you asking for it?

• Don’t try to change how everything is being done in terms of your club’s financial reporting just because it

might not work for you initially. Be upfront with your team and proactively discuss what you’re not getting and collaborate to come up with a solution that takes everyone’s thoughts into consideration, including the time and effort it’s going to take to make those changes. Don’t reinvent the wheel just for the sake of making it more round!

• Recognize that your team wants to learn with you. They know how lucky they are that you have been an incredibly successful person in your chosen field but don’t try to relate every aspect of the club operation to your career - not everything translates apples to apples. Your club financial personnel want you to help them grow as a professional by working with you and not feeling like they are working for you.

• In addition to working with your management team, you will also need to manage your fellow board members and finance committee members proactively. When it comes to the finance committee, remember that you are in charge. You need to set the tone, vision and direction of your committee.

You will need to provide your committee members with an understanding of the purpose of their work so that meetings are more productive. If your committee doesn’t

have a charter, then develop one! Refer to it often – at least annually, but don’t be hesitant to begin every meeting with a reference to it in an attempt to guide the meetings and, if necessary, to rein-in “rogue” members.

• Establish a sense of purpose for your committee members. Set goals for them and yourself that are congruent with the board’s goals. Stop committee members from bringing personal agendas to the committee and constantly remind them of their obligation of confidentiality to their fellow committee members and to the debate that takes place in the meeting room.

For those committee members with an eye on your job one day…show them how it is done and memorialize your approach – it’s a great leadership trait to be able to groom a worthy successor.

• Ultimately as your club’s treasurer your overall goal is to promote financial decision making and practices that benefit the membership as a whole. You won’t be able to please everyone, but with well documented transparency and consistent communication with members and staff, you will safely steer your club financial performances forward. BR

DAVE DOHERTY

Dave Doherty is president/CEO and founder of the International Sports Turf Research Center, Inc. (ISTRC) and holds three patents regarding the testing of sand and soil basedgreens. He can be reached at (913) 706-6635 or via e-mail: daveistrc@hotmail.com Web page: www.istrc.com

Budgets and How We Use Them

Budgets! I cannot think of one board or green committee meeting that I’ve been part recently where budgets were not discussed. Of course, they should be.

And everyone involved in making a decision about how a golf course spends its money needs to know what the budget consists of. For example, how much do we have to work with and where is it going?

It doesn’t make any difference if the budget is for a Fortune 500 company or a golf course, normally we do not properly reward the people who are able to bring their department in under budget.

Let’s assume that a golf course superintendent had a budget of $800,000 and because of the economy this budget was cut by 20 percent, along with other departments. Now the golf course superintendent had a budget of $640,000 and in most cases is expected to continue to maintain the course in the condition that the golfers have come to expect. Let’s pretend that the superintendent and staff are able to meet the expectations of the golfers and

out how the superintendent and course staff performed this remarkable task.

Some years a large part of North America has ideal weather for growing grass. Yet there are years when club clubs suffer financial hardship because of lost revenue on weekends because of rain or other weather-related issues.

For many courses their labor costs were down because of closed days. Many courses saved tremendous amounts of money by needing to use less water for irrigation, because weather plays a tremendous role in the amount of money required to keep a course in good playing condition.

Now, as I’ve suggested, we do not normally reward those people who do a wonderful job and come in under budget.

So, if the maintenance budget comes in $40,000 under budget, I’d like to suggest that the $40,000 be split in half, with half or $20,000 going into the general fund to help other departments and the other $20,000 going into a reserve for the maintenance side to cover unexpected costs.

I believe that this type of sharing goes a long way in creating a team atmosphere throughout the entire club.

In the golf industry, as in most other industries if a department does not spend its budgeted amount, it’s taken away from them and in most cases never to be returned. So where is the incentive to perform under budget? “Spend it or lose it,” is the saying in most industries in this country. Let’s change that stinking thinking and use budgets to create team work and cohesiveness.

some of the people on the board and green committee. We say, “Wow, keep up the good work”, and in most cases do not inquire as to how the superintendent and staff performed this amazing feat.

Let’s also assume that the superintendent did this marvelous job and finished the year $40,000 under budget. As management, what do we do now? At this point someone will suggest that the next year’s budget for maintenance be lowered to $600,000.

A mature, intelligent board or committee would, at this time, investigate (if they had not already done so) and find

In the golf industry, as in most other industries if a department does not spend its budgeted amount, it’s taken away from them and in most cases never to be returned. So where is the incentive to perform under budget? “Spend it or lose it,” is the saying in most industries in this country. Let’s change that stinking thinking and use budgets to create team work and cohesiveness. BR

Why Can’t Green Speeds Remain Constant?

Putting green speeds fluctuate because of factors such as temperature, humidity and the different maintenance practices.

It’s a beautiful fall day with cool temperatures and low humidity and you are playing golf and marveling at the condition of the course, particularly the pace of the putting greens. Some golfers might be inclined to just enjoy the moment. Others will wonder why the greens can’t play like this all the time. There are myriad variables that affect turfgrass growth and putting green speed and what is possible to achieve at one time of year under certain conditions may be impossible at other times.

Unquestionably, the biggest variable affecting turf health and playability is weather. Air and soil temperatures both have a tremendous impact on turfgrass growth rates. So do moisture and humidity.

Rain or irrigation events, particularly when combined with a fertilizer application, can stimulate extra growth. This effect can be magnified under warm conditions with the result being increased surface resistance and reduced ball roll.

Similarly, hot, humid conditions cause turfgrass leaves to retain moisture and remain fat, and this also may result in reduced green speed. Conversely, dry, windy conditions can cause the turf to wilt, which can reduce surface resistance and increase putting green speeds.

Putting green speed will vary from day to day merely as a result of weather influences and the seasonal changes turf undergoes. Maintenance practices also have major effects on putting green speed. Mowing and rolling operations increase putting green speed. Applications of topdressing, needed to dilute organic matter and smooth putting green surfaces, can initially slow putting green speeds.

A day or two after a topdressing application, putting green speeds often get faster than they were before the application. The same often is true of vertical mowing and brushing.

Practices that stand the turf up aid in controlling the development of grain and can improve the quality of cut, but these practices can slow putting green speed for a day or two before stimulating an increase.

Many other factors affect turfgrass growth. Growing environments, soil conditions, and applications of plant

growth regulators, plant protectants, and fertilizer are just a few. Anything that affects turf growth is likely to affect putting green speed.

Golf course superintendents constantly juggle maintenance practices with the weather to maximize playability and maintain consistency. Despite our scientific training, modern equipment and experience, it is impossible to maintain a consistent putting green speed every day of the season.

The question is, why would we want golf courses to play the same way every day? Adjusting one’s game to the conditions and varying setup are some of golf’s greatest attractions.

Golf courses cost a lot to maintain, and if consistency is so important, a cheaper alternative would be to move the game indoors. Golfers could use simulators and hit off of artificial surfaces into nets in climate-controlled environments.

This would ensure absolute consistency and eliminate the variable effects that come from wind, rain, temperature, maintenance practices, course set up, etc.

Fortunately, most golfers believe that playing the game outside in a natural setting is part of golf’s charm. Varying how courses play through setup and having to adjust one’s game based on the weather and playing conditions makes the game infinitely interesting and challenging. Rather than considering green speed and other aspects of playability as factors that should be kept as constant as possible, look at their changing effects as a blessing that continually adds interest and new challenge to a wonderful game. BR

Story courtesy of the USGA

Special to BoardRoom magazine

DEAN WOCHASKI

Dean Wochaski CGCS is president/agronomist with Golf Maintenance Solutions. He can be contacted at his regional office. (757) 222-0025 or cell (757) 685-5556 or at dean@golfmsolutions.com Website: www.golfmsolutions.com

Think Like You Own the Golf Course Developing an Entrepreneurial Superintendent

Through my career working alongside CEOs, vice-presidents of operations and directors of agronomy, I have learned to think differently on how to balance agronomy with the financial responsibilities of a golf course operation.

The combination of leadership and entrepreneurship has allowed these mentors to be successful by engaging as “owners of businesses.” Taking ownership should be no different for a golf course superintendent. I believe it is important to understand the definition of entrepreneurial leadership before discussing how you build this internally at your facility.

In 2004, Chris Roebuck defined entrepreneurial leadership as “Organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal using proactive entrepreneurial behavior by optimizing risk, innovating to take advantage of opportunities, taking personal responsibility and managing with a dynamic environment for the benefit of the organization”

This is easier to define then it is to embrace, and this is where mentoring leaders into business entrepreneurs is so important.

It’s critical that you get the golf course superintendent to manage as a leader by getting them to operate as an owner of the business. How a leader responds to various situations that occur can be the difference in success of an extensive course renovation project or a successful member guest invitational. This same quality will influence how you lead your team by portraying strong interpersonal skills to motivate the team’s performance.

Wow, this can be a tough one because as I continue to be a part of performance reviews that talk about interpersonal skills (communication, public speaking, etc.), this is a challenge for many superintendents. The best way to improve these leadership skills is to take this person out of their comfort zone.

Get them to interact and have conversations so they have to be involved. Ask what are the goals? How do we get there? What is the plan if we are not successful the first time? A superintendent must think past the initial objectives, anticipate other options and remain flexible. This is where experience, innovation and creativity assist in meeting the intended goal.

It takes commitment and time to be an effective entrepreneurial mentor. However, when the person you are mentoring flourishes by taking ownership in how the business operates, there will be notable progress in the short and long terms success of the club. The following is a list of leadership and entrepreneurial skills that can be used for coaching and mentoring:

Integrity/self-awareness: Self-confidence resonates through your entire operation. Say what you mean, do what you say. Can I count on you to do the right thing? Dependable, trustworthy, committed

Listening/communication: Identify problems and fix them with practical solutions. Motivate, develop and improve people’s performance. Surround your people with positive attitudes and successful people. Build strong and effective teams. Get people the resources to do their jobs-measure their outcomes. Train, coach and mentor

Know your stuff: Gather good information and other perspectives to draw insight and make good decisions. Reduce the noise-focus on what is important to the decision. Use your knowledge and experience to meet course objectives. Confidence in what you do. It does no good if you are technically advanced if you have not shared and mentored the people around you with your technical knowledge. Read books, resource articles and educate yourself beyond what you know. Clear and concise communication skills (written, verbally, socially and personally). Plan a road map for success (agronomics, budget, construction, personnel, etc.)

Positive attitude: Expect positive results and outcomes to your initiatives. Attitude is often tested during times of adversity. Consistency in how you manage your team will impact attitudes. Do the “little things” that make people feel good. Take care of your people: Spend time learning all your departments and how they operate with their people. Put others before yourself. Servant leadership – help others be successful. Employee involvement (engage your team in decision-making). What each person does is very important. Do they know and understand that? Motivate your people. Hire the right people that fits your team (surround yourself with successful people). Do the right thing: Be solutions focused in your approach. Find the balance of agronomy and financial success. Work hard and do whatever it takes. Is this the same decision you would make if you owned the company or your owner was standing next to you?

There are usually subtle ‘indicators of ownership’ that you hear from supervisors that let you know they are now thinking like an owner. You, as the mentor, will be able to take great pride when your team leaders adopt the ownership mentality and you can see it beginning to bring about better results from their team. This is when you know you have the best people in the industry at your golf course! BR

DAVE MOYER

Dave Moyer is the director of tennis at The Country Club at DC Ranch and can be reached at dmoyer@ccdcranch.com.

TENNIS COMMITTEE

The Top Five Qualities of Every Great Tennis Program

Clubs around the country are continuously looking for ways to keep members engaged and using their facilities. The tennis program has long been one of the lifeblood amenities at a country club but without the proper structure it will go underutilized.

A tennis program should be one of the cornerstones at the club and a way to keep current members and draw in new ones.

So, what makes a tennis program great? In my 25 years in the tennis industry, I’ve been involved with tennis programs that are downtrodden and need to be built up and programs that are good that need to go to the next level.

I’ve always been interested in what makes a tennis program great and why some programs struggle and have been drawn to clubs that want to be great but currently aren’t there yet.

In my experience, there are five key qualities that every program has to have in order to be highly successful. If one or more of these elements are missing from the program it will keep it from sustained growth.

Enthusiastic and professional staff: Without the right staff, it will be hard for any program to be the best they can be. A tennis professional staff should consist of certified professionals who are interested in continuing education.

If your staff is not learning and growing then they won’t be able to keep your program fresh. A good tennis staff will be consistently adding new wrinkles to the program which will keep members engaged.

League play: In order for any tennis program to succeed there has to be league play in the form of interclub or intraclub. Without match play opportunities and members having the ability to test their skills in a competitive environment, there won’t be enough incentive for them to participate more in the program. The more competition means the more lessons and clinics will be attended as members try and improve their skill level.

Programming, programming, programming: The type and amount of programming your tennis club has will be a major determination in the health of the program. As important as league play is to the health of the tennis program, your tennis staff should have a wide variety of social and competitive events offered on a monthly basis. These should include member-guest, club championships, mixed doubles socials, holiday events, drop-ins and specialty camps.

The more fun the members are having the more they will come back! Make sure that tennis and food and beverage are working close together on these events and make everything affordable.

A wide variety of lesson and clinic opportunities for adults and juniors: Members come from all walks of life and not all of them will have the same wants and needs when it comes to tennis instruction.

A great tennis program will have offerings for everyone regardless of ability and competitiveness. For adults, this should include clinics for beginner players as well as for more advanced players and everything in between. Clinics should be both instructional and fitness oriented and should cater to the needs of your membership.

A good junior program will use the developmental balls with classes for red, orange, green and yellow ball. If your club pro only uses the yellow ball to teach all levels and ages then your program is doing a disservice to your members.

Support from management and the board: This can come in many forms and all of them are equally important. There needs to be financial support not only in employee expenses but also in tennis equipment and continuing education.

There needs to be facilities support in the form of upkeep and upgrades to the courts and amenities offered at the tennis facility. And there needs to be moral support in that the staff needs to know that management and the board will always have their backs. BR

TENNIS COMMITTEE

BORIS FETBROYT

Boris Fetbroyt is the director of tennis at the Country Club of Fairfax and is certified by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) as well as the Club Spa and Fitness Association (CSFA).

Building Successful Fitness Programs

According to National Golf Foundation (NGF) statistics, the number of golfers peaked at 30 million around 2003 and rounds have declined almost every year since 1999. NGF estimates that there are now about 25 million golfers in the United States, a decline of nearly 15 percent from previous highs.

So, while golf may have been the driving force for country club memberships, health, fitness, wellness and recreation programs that have year-round usage (tennis, pickleball, squash, indoor swimming) will be the identifying characteristics over the next 20 years.

There are some club struggling, and not all clubs have traditions like Augusta National or waiting lists like Congressional Country Club, and many of the reasons clubs are struggling come as a result of:

• Golf industry overbuilding

• Younger people have more athletic diversions that in the past and golf must compete for players

• Economic malaise is reducing income and wealth. Younger people are unable to join clubs at the same rate their parents’ generation could.

• Cost increases and environmental restrictions cut into golf course margins

• Millennials, burdened with loan debt often can’t buy homes, much less drop thousands of dollars on club initiation fees and dues

MAKING IT WORK

So as a fitness director of a private club that is struggling you don’t have all the equipment like an LA Fitness, Life Time, Equinox or the latest trend such as Orange Theory. But you do have some components of a country club that work in your favor that most commercial fitness clubs can’t provide.

Invested customer: One important component is the invested customer. Unlike commercial fitness clubs that charge from $25-$125 monthly, members at country clubs pay high initiation dues along with monthly dues. These customers are paying top dollar to be at the club so if possible, they rather have a one-stop shop for all their activities.

Time Constraints: Another component, unlike commercial fitness centers, country clubs provide various activities for all ages. For example, if you’re a young mother with kids in the junior golf or junior tennis programs, you can use that time to work out or join a fitness class while the kids are in class. It’s important for

the director of fitness to communicate with other department heads to make sure fitness programs run at the same time as tennis/golf classes. This is a perfect example how time management works in favor of a country club over a commercial club that doesn’t provide other amenities.

Relationships: Country club members build lifetime memories with other members and the same can be said with employees. It’s a lifestyle that lasts a lifetime.

Members at country clubs work out for various reasons, however, no one member is the same.

Some members like to work out in group formats with their friends only and the private club provides that option. Some members workout with their trainers because they want to stay healthy and get in better shape. Some members like working out with trainers just because it gives them a break from the outside world, and they feel comfortable with their trainer because they grown that relationship.

Demographics: Private clubs know who their customers are. Unlike commercial clubs that market to everyone in the outside world, the country club has a specific membership that the fitness director markets too. It’s the job of the fitness director to understand what type of demographic they are dealing with and to create fitness programs based on that specific membership. This type of target marketing provides a high success rate for class participation.

Leveraging country club sports into your fitness program: Believe it or not, country club sports such as tennis, golf and swim

can be super competitive in their respected interclub leagues. Members invest plenty of time and money trying to improve their skill in their respected sport and look for ways they can improve.

A fitness director can leverage these sports by communicating with tennis, golf and swim department heads to create sport specific training programs for members involved in competitive country club leagues.

Using tennis – a lifetime sport– as an example, country clubs would have interclub tennis teams consisting of different levels and ages, and often these teams would have one practice per week before their match. Depending on the demographics of the team the fitness director can develop specific programs, if the team is full players in their 50s a fitness program can be designed to focus on injury prevention, whereas if the team has members in their early 30s, a fitness program can be designed to focus on movement and agility. These programs can be marketed through the tennis department as mandatory classes to take in order to participate on interclub teams. The same can be done for golf and swim interclub teams.

If you can’t build it, they can still come: As a fitness director the ball is in your court. You have the invested customer, the benefit of time constraints, lifetime relationships that can be built, knowing who your target audience is, and leveraging competitive sports that the country club provides.

Communicate effectively with golf, tennis and swim department heads for scheduling etc., market it consistently and they will come! BR

Recruiting

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

BallenIsles Country Club

There’s

Something for Everyone

It’s all about getting the master vision right!

Rosie Slocum, MCMP is director of membership, BallenIsles Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens Florida | www.ballenisles.org | www.facebook.com/ballenislescountryclub https://twitter.com/ballenislescc

BallenIsles Country Club located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida recently completed a $35 million-dollar clubhouse renovation project that redefines 115,000 square feet of expanded space with modern décor, bright elegant style and forward-thinking flare focusing on dining venues for every taste.

The architectural changes maximize both indoor and outdoor space and views. The redefined Grand Clubhouse is a new landmark in the club’s celebrated heritage and a benchmark to be admired.

These remarkable changes will play a major role in how the club, with redefining facilities and changing culture, markets itself to attract future members.

What makes this massive project so different? It’s the original vision of general manager/COO Ryan Walls, who set out to create different experiences in each of the four dining locations in the main clubhouse and two in the 65,000 square foot sports complex. Focusing on dining themes began on the blank white walls of an executive office where managers shared ideas for story boards, which started the realization of Ryan’s vision. The team then concentrated on branding pillars and member experience.

In an interview Ryan shared his thoughts on vision, process, inspiration, buy-in, obstacles, team and success.

Question: Where did the inspiration of using a blank office wall to create a vision for the club’s dining venues come from?

Ryan: The scale of construction, for five new dining venues and re-imagining one including building two new kitchens and two we already had, needed to be unique. This would serve more than 275,000 meals to a membership that loves to dine and socialize. That was the task. So to get there . . .

This needed to be visual, in my workspace, where we could walk in anytime, write down random ideas, share the vision and balance the variation we were looking to create. It was an easy way to sit a member down and take them through our vision. Everyone generally enjoyed seeing an idea, name or thought they had shared make it up on the wall.

Q: What role did the staff play, who assisted with your vision and how long did it take?

R: As many team leaders as possible participated, along with regional food and beverage support from Troon. We invited our board, house and marketing committees, to show them what we were cooking up. We worked through concepts, hours, pricing, menus, food features, tableware, signature drinks, uniform styles, lighting, sound and music. We could feel the space, see it all clearly. Visioning and fine tuning went on for the better part of nine months.

Q: What obstacles did you overcome?

R: I’m not sure we did. Balancing the input and demands from a club as diverse and on the scale of ours is difficult. We had to determine how to plow ahead and be decisive. If we tried to take on everything we heard, every feedback, every personal reference, we would never get done. Overall, we showed we had a vision, a plan, and once people understood that, they let us do our thing.

Q: How did you get buy-in from the board of directors?

R: We had secondary vision boards similar to the wall we took to meetings so they could participate, offering feedback as members. Eventually, ideas made their way from the wall to an operating plan. The board was always invited to my workspace and they were kept informed on the big stuff. We are fortunate to have a strong board that trusts us, and a participatory culture to bring out ideas with a vision to set a path.

Q: What is the one thing most relevant in this process and realizing the end result?

R: It’s all for naught if the food isn’t great! And ours is. It’s recognizing the depth of the teamwork to make ➤

Ted Robinson is a partner with Private Club Associates and can be reached at (478) 741 7996 or via email: tcr@privateclubassociates.com

Starting from Scratch PART IV

Hiring the Right Membership Director

The competency of people you mobilize to work with will determine the output you will receive. As a leader, always look for people who buy into your vision.

– Israelmore Ayivor

Know your core competencies and focus on being great at them. Pay up for people in your core competencies.

– Mark Cuban

With the development of the Membership Director’s Job Description explained in Part III (Boardroom November/ December 2018), the fourth part now delves into the required qualifications – the core competencies needed in the ideal candidate.

Competencies are the measurable or observable knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors (KSABs) critical to successful job performance.

Each club position has certain physical requirements, and these should be spelled out and clearly understood during interviewing process. For a membership director we believe the following are required and should be included in the job description along with this disclaimer language:

Physical requirements (The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by the candidate to successfully perform the essential functions of the membership director’s job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)

• Must be able to lift up to 40 lbs. to waist height

• Frequent bending turning, kneeling and stooping

• Exposure to hot and cold temperatures

• Must be able to stand for extended periods

• Repetitive motion required including computer entry

it happen from everyone involved and the wants of the end users that go into the end result.

Q: Is there anything else you would share about your success?

R: We are halfway through opening six dining venues, all unique in every way. From a poolside cabana to a

• Must be able to operate a golf cart in a safe manner

• Normal vision and hearing ranges required.

Here are the core competencies we recommend as required of membership marketing leaders:

1. Customer focus is first the ability to meet or exceed customer service needs and expectations and provide excellent service in a direct or indirect manner. Secondly, it is the ability to effectively transmit and interpret information through appropriate communication with internal and external customers.

2. Team player - Shares credit, emphasizes team over self, and defines success collectively rather than individually.

3. Drive/energy – Having an innate, biologically determined urge to attain a goal or satisfy a need and being physically and mentally fit so as to succeed.

4. Results/goal oriented – Being able to set SMART goals and be committed to accomplishing them.

5. Functional skills include but are not limited to: Writing and verbal communication, listening, selling, asking questions, presenting and more.

6. Industry knowledge – Requires becoming become acquainted with the private club industry stakeholders; regularly read major industry publications to learn the market’s language and have a comprehensive understanding of your club’s local market.

7. Position specific competencies include creativity and innovation, interpersonal skills, planning and organizing skills.

8. Strategic thinking involves the generation and application of unique business insights and opportunities to create a competitive advantage. Should be able to create more value by enabling a proactive and creative dialogue thereby gaining other people’s perspectives. BR

large-scale dining room. To do this, you have to have a strong team and include them in every step.

This marks a great collaboration. There are so many victories. Don’t take it too seriously, have fun, make the most out of the experience, be prepared, open minded and flexible. I

said to every group we presented to, regardless of what I say here today, something will change along the way or after we open, so let’s not kill ourselves in every little decision. Let’s get the master vision right and everything will fall into place. BR

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

MIKE PHELPS

Mike Phelps is principal and co-founder of Pipeline, a marketing agency for membership clubs, residential communities and unique experiences. www.pipeline-inc.com.

How Long Will It Take to Start Working?

“So how long will it take for us to start getting new members to join?”

In order to know how soon any marketing effort will start working, there are five core questions your club must answer first:

1) What percentage of awareness in your market – in all the different channels combined – is being made by your club? This is your share of voice.

2) What percentage of the population will actively be in the market for membership this month? This is your purchase cycle.

Food has a very short purchase cycle. The shorter the purchase cycle, the quicker your campaign will reach maximum ROI.

Cars have a medium-length purchase cycle. The average American trades cars every three to four years (42 months.) Consequently, 2.38 percent of us will buy or lease a car this month. (Does this mean that car companies are wasting 97.62 percent of their marketing investment?)

That’s right. Three to four years is a medium-length purchase cycle. What do you suppose the purchase cycle is for furniture? Real Estate? Private club membership?

Products with longer purchase cycles require more time for their marketing to ramp up to full potential (assuming you aren’t offering massive discounts). These campaigns usually show modest results during the first 90 to 150 days then begin to deliver increasingly good results until the growth curve begins to flatten out about halfway through the purchase cycle.

If the purchase cycle is four years, the campaign will start slow, then generate increasingly good results until it levels off in about two years. You will then have to continue marketing just to maintain the market share you’ve achieved.

Of course, if relevant new creative is not injected into the campaign every 60 to 90 days, you will become frustrated and disgruntled and begin to say things like, “Our marketing isn’t as good as it used to be,” or “I don’t think we’re reaching the right people.”

3) How many people will ever be in the market for membership?  A high percentage of the public will someday need a place to live, a car, furniture, etc. But what percentage of the public will ever consider club membership to be relevant? Private clubs are only supported by an estimated 2.1 million members (approximately 0.75 percent of the U.S. population). That’s why the best marketing strategy for clubs (aside from wordof-mouth) requires a relevant, hyper-targeted approach in order to become the club that people think of first and feel the best about.

4) What degree of credible urgency does your marketing campaign contain? Is there any reason for someone to take action now?

By definition, club membership is quantity-limited, which can help shorten a purchase cycle when positioned correctly. Still, it can be hard for many clubs to resist the temptation to offer discounts that will likely move a number of people into the market who may (or more dangerously, may not) otherwise have purchased at a later date.

If your offer is powerful and credible, you’ll see success. But the more often you do this, the less well it will work, and the more you erode the brand equity that your sustaining members bought into originally. Sadly, the success of this velocity technique makes it highly addictive.

Almost without exception, the club that makes a oncein-a-lifetime offer will choose to make a similar, oncein-a-lifetime offer within a year. Soon the club loses all credibility and trains prospects NOT to buy unless they’re promoting a discount. The slope gets even more slippery when your members start to compare the discounts they received.

5) What is your competitive environment? In other words, how well are your competitors known? How good are they at what you do? Your marketing is not the only marketing your prospects will see and hear. Is a competitor making a more powerful impact with your prospects?

Share of voice can be purchased.

Share of mind must be earned.

Club Members Lose Court Battle To Recover Their ‘Refundable’ Membership Deposit

The North Carolina court of Appeals has rejected a married couple’s attempt to recoup their refundable membership deposit from the Jack Nicklaus designed Club at Longview.

The membership agreement provided for a full refund of their $75,000 deposit after they had been members for 30 years. In the event they terminated their membership sooner (which they did), they could wait for the 30-year mark and receive 100 percent or take an undefined smaller amount at the earlier date. Opting to cash out sooner, the members were advised as to the process. The director of membership explained that once the members sold their home in the golf community and paid their final statement, she would “then put in a check request for [their] initiation refund of $75,000”, which “normally takes 30 days to process.” Another club employee explained that “the refund of $75,000 would be processed and ready for pick up 30 days from the . . . closing date.”

Lo and behold, the members did not receive $75,000. Instead, they were provided with a $40,000 check and a letter from the club’s general manager indicating that they were entitled to the $40,000 refund instead of 100 percent of the $75,000. The members deposited the check, and two years later sued for the $35,000 differential.

The trial court rejected the claim, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the rejection. As the appellate court explained, “There existed a disputed debt—the Rosens’ claimed they were owed the full $75,000.00 refund deposit; the club claimed the Rosens were only owed $40,000.00—that the club tendered the Rosens a $40,000 check with an accompanying letter explaining it intended the check to be the Rosens’ final refund; and that the Rosens received the $40,000.00 check from the club.

And given that the Rosens filed their complaint two years later, alleging that the club “refused and failed to refund the additional $35,000”, and seeking only $35,000 in recovery for their claims, the allegations of the Rosens’ complaint establish that they cashed the $40,000.00 check.”

These facts, for the court, established an “accord and satisfaction,” i.e. an agreement by the parties to compromise on the amount claimed.

But what about the statements by the club employees, suggesting that they would receive $75,000? As to the statement by the membership director, the court found she promised only that she would “put in a check request” for $75,000, not that the members would be receiving the same amount.

And as for the less equivocal “confirmation” by the employee “that the refund of $75,000 would be processed and ready for pick up 30 days from the . . . closing date”?

The membership documents set forth the refund policy and also stated that “No person is authorized to give any information or make any representation not contained in this membership plan, and if given or made, such information or representation must not be relied upon as having been offered by the club.” Ouch. BR

A cloud based club membership enterprise resource planning software program. ClubMTeCh is a management tool integrating all business operational systems under one comprehensive platform. ClubMTeCh solution enhances the membership portal to drive more revenue to the bottom line.

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A single solution that includes: LEGAL COMMITTEE BY ROB HARRIS

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Monte Koch, PGA is the PGA Career Consultant serving the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain PGA Sections and can be reached atmkoch@pgahq.com

Make a Huge Impact with Business Renovations

What is a business renovation versus a capital project?

Let’s view a business renovation as a review/reset of a club or facility’s operation, their focus and similar, which results in a much healthier bottom line. Often the business renovation is more about who’s operating, who is leading. With that in mind, hiring “the right leader” is not just a cliché.

The truth is, not every PGA professional is going to be a fit at every facility, or in every situation (just as it would be with a club manager or superintendent.) By accepting this view, we can free ourselves from a paradigm that can paralyze our effectiveness. We can now accept that a “right fit” will produce “better results, better outcomes and result in a better bottom line.” This is the yard-stick I believe we should be measuring by.

Does your facility need a business renovation?

1. Facility top-line of revenues are not maximized.

2. Opportunities for new lines of revenue have not been leveraged (or even explored).

3. Bottom line is impacted by issues of wasted resources and a lack of business controls.

4. Significant employee turnover, difficulty recruiting talent, poor hiring practices, low morale, etc., and

5. Concerns the facility “can’t afford” a quality PGA professional, because of these points above.

Here’s how it can be done. Flipping threats into opportunity and a winning business renovation – A SOAR story with PGA Professional, Dan Harrington, PGA –Glen Acres Golf and Country Club, Burien, WA.

Think differently about possible business renovations at the facility you own, manage or influence. Ask these “what ifs” within our own facility.

• What if you can work hard on your viewpoint, so that you see abundance and opportunity (and not just threats) in situations?

- The reality: Many in golf don’t see the low hanging fruit or the fruit that is within reach on a ladder. Why? Maybe they’ll fail (and fall off the ladder.) Business renovators see the situations with clarity. They see the threats and challenges, but they also see the abundance in the challenges.

• What if you can find a better leader, manager and employer so you can retain (and attract) the best people and not have debilitating employee turnover?

• What if your facility really needs “the right PGA professional, who fits right?” What if this right hire can lead your facility to more effectively inspire, engage, convert and retain others (like customers, golfers, members) to become customers (or more engaged customers) at your facility?

- To be successful, a typical private club need 500 members who “get it”, pay dues and support their club.

- Similarly, a typical public facility needs about 3,000 golfers who “get it” and are

losses in food and beverage rise yet again, prompting calls for more increases in prices to the members.

The problem of food and beverage losses in the private club industry is ubiquitous and pronounced. The average subsidy (loss) of the food and beverage operations for clubs in Florida as reported by RSM is over $1.1 million per club. Losses in food and beverage in private clubs are well documented all across the country.

Viewed through the lens of Oi, the problem faced by private clubs is and was inevitable. If the private club business is to stop the bleeding and regain market share, a new strategic approach is necessary.

THE OI PERSPECTIVE

For board members, management company executives, general managers and consultants to the industry, Oi’s analysis should represent a paradigm shift in the way strategic issues are approached. In particular, matching public alternatives is not good enough.

Value creation and the imaginative use of club resources to change member’s lives is the secret sauce that drives revenue from dues, which are the life blood of the club.

Some analysis and examples:

The paradox of the food and beverage operation is that the club is already losing money. Facing losses, how can the member be offered a bargain? That is, how can consumer surplus be created? The answer? By attacking the fundamental productivity problem.

Because of low volume, the food and beverage staff have low productivity. A bartender with a small number of customers cannot have high productivity and this means that serving a drink is expensive to the club. If the volume is increased, cost per unit will decline. If the club can create high levels of activity at least some nights of the week, prices can be low and the club can at least break even.

One idea that has worked multiple times is “WOW Wednesday.” Briefly, the strategy involves choosing a night when the club typically sits almost empty, e.g. Wednesday. On that night, the club offers a comfort food buffet, typically including items like fried chicken, spaghetti and meatballs and meat loaf, as well as a salad bar.

The price is set at $5.99 and drinks are discounted with $1.25 drafts, $2.00 longnecks and comparably priced mixed drinks and wine. Children under eight are free and it is $3.99 for children up to 14. The chart below shows covers for 49 weeks of and actual but anonymous club with 600 members.

WOW Wednesday creates a consumer surplus that is difficult to calculate, but it is easy to see how appreciative a working mother is, to come home after work and not have to plan a meal, prepare it and clean up afterward. Likewise, it is easy to observe the value created for the retired mem-

bers who look forward to the weekly event and the chance to mingle with friends they have known for years.

In the case of the club shown in Figure 4, the club went from losing money on food and beverage to making a small profit on Wednesday night. Further, the staff enjoyed another night with significant tips driven by the volume provided by WOW pricing.

FIGURE 4 WOW WEDNESDAY WEEKLY COVER COUNTS SINCE INCEPTION (REAL BUT ANONYMOUS CLUB)

Of course, there are other options to enhance consumer surplus. For instance, the club can pursue a similar strategy for Friday night happy hours, it can offer free weekly memberships when a member has an out-of-town house guest, cart fees can be waived for children when riding with a parent, and pricing for special holidays can be focused on creating consumer surplus and rewarding members for paying dues all year long.

The trend of adding fitness centers at private clubs across the country is an example of the benefits, which accrue to clubs when member value is increased.

Some board members and some general managers will read this article and think, “We don’t have to worry since our club is surrounded by affluent families living in upscale houses, ensuring that we can continue to raise dues, assessments and minimums all while raising prices on all food and beverage products.”

However, this monopoly power granted to you by fate does not guarantee that the members will be satisfied with inflated prices and the lack of value added for the dollars that they’re paying. In any case, exploiting the opportunity to extract monopoly profits in a non-profit private club seems the antithesis of what a club should be.

Likewise, those boards and staff protected from competition by mandatory membership may not feel the urgency to create value for members. Ironically, the board of a mandatory membership club is the one that should most heed Oi’s advice.

The success or failure of a mandatory membership club drives housing values. In Florida, real estate agents are advertising the properties with “no mandatory membership” prominently displayed.

OI’S STRATEGY

The golf industry is in decline as the number of participants has fallen from 30 million in the early 2000s to 23.8 million today. At the same time, the number of golf courses continues to decline from 15,007 in 2005 to 13,937 in 2017 (18-hole equivalents), as reported by the NGF.

The number of golf facilities declined by 220 in the year 2017 with no indication that the rate of decline is diminishing. Private golf as a share of the total market (60 percent in 1950) has declined secularly each subsequent decade, and currently at an alltime low of 25 percent.

from On the Frontlines | 50

The decline in private clubs continues even during the latest upturn in the business cycle. During the period 2013 to 2017, the number of private clubs declined at a rate 38 percent faster than the rate of decline in public courses. Does it make sense for the private club industry to continue to do the same thing over and over again and expect the results to change? Why ignore the pricing strategy, which was designed for private clubs while it is and has been so successfully implemented in other industries?

Testing Oi’s two part-price strategy is easy. All the club has to do is pick a day when activity levels in food and beverage are low, Wednesday usually fits the bill, and as suggested earlier, offer a buffet at a ridiculously low price.

Lower all drink prices to a 50 percent cost of goods; you will be shocked to see the price of a glass of

For example, one of our former employees fell into a financial crisis recently and through the spirit of hospitality and generosity, The Argyle Board and staff came together to create a Go Fund Me page. Within weeks our campaign raised over $6,000 to provide our former employee resources he needed, and hope.

This simple act of kindness made a huge impact on his life and ours, more evidence that giving blesses both the giver and the receiver. We have learned from experiences

from HFTP | 80

Once you take care of the immediate issues in response to the breach, stay diligent. While it is advisable to respond quickly to move the club out of a vulnerable position, use of stolen information can be a slow burn. Cybercriminals often belatedly use

from PGA - Executive Committee | 118

wine at this markup. Fight the urge to make a big profit on a dessert, you can sell one for a dollar or two. Advertise the “Wow Wednesday” buffet and see what happens.

Experience tells us that this experiment will be wildly successful. You will be glad you invited Oi into your board room. BR

Lee Hoke holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pittsburgh and is a full professor of economics at The University of Tampa. He served three terms as president of Buckhorn Springs Golf and Country Club.

Karla Borja is an associate professor of economics in the School of Business at the University of Tampa, in Tampa, Florida. Dr. Borja is an active scholar currently exploring economic development issues in the region of Latin America. Dr. Borja is also consulting small businesses in the Tampa Bay area.

Aaron D. Wood, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Tampa, where he specializes in microeconomics and game theory.

like this one that creating a culture of mutual support builds trust and team unity.

The Argyle’s five-year new member wait list is a true testament to our purpose. The values we have created form a culture that is sustainable over time and that resonates strongly with our members. We are making a difference and standing out.

What is your higher purpose? And, how can you tie that purpose to your organization to make a difference in the world? BR

the stolen data, especially if that information is sold off to other parties on the black market. Keep in touch with your customer services contact at the compromised company, to make sure it follows-through on the promises made post breach.

Consider the option to audit the

loyal (playing seven-12 rounds/season) at that golf course.

-A single golf professional, who can effectively inspire, engage, convert and retain (like Dan Harrington, PGA) can be more effective than any advertising you can buy. •What if you can take your why and make it work for the situation you’re in? How? Make it work for the demand

security measures promised by the firm, and if you continue to find issues with their security, move along. Our club’s data is constantly in a precarious position and the best approach to its security is to be as proactive as possible. BR

decision of the target customer, member or client you are seeking. That’s how.

For your sake and your facility, don’t put off asking these “what ifs.” If you’d like help in finding a path to a successful business renovation, we in PGA Career Services are here to help you. Contact PGA Career Services to learn more today. BR

8. Insure that all of the leadership and management/department heads are thoroughly versed on the logic behind the initiatives and priorities. It is very destructive for rogue board members or unknowledgeable department heads to communicate a different set of facts.

9. The GM should aggressively go to rumor hot spots such as the men’s grill to talk with members and discuss the issues.

from Membership Musings | 18

from Winning Strategies | 16 walk. Sherwin Williams, without a lot of fanfare, simply enlarged the size of the fonts on its paint cans so no one must squint when they come in to buy paint. By just tweaking this one element, the label is easier for everyone to read; after all, most people start reaching for their glasses by age 40.

And even the venerable hallmark of retirement, the AARP, has figured out how to promote itself to more than just those in their so-called golden years. Its website is an impressive example of marketing to a new generation of an aging population. The term senior citizen has been replaced with phrases like “life re-imagined,” and “you’ve still got it.”

As one of AAPR’s publications states, “The Longevity Economy is…busting perceptions of what it means to age.”

These cases will serve as a model of how clubs can develop strategies to show members how “to use their prod-

from Exeuctive Committee | 38

the percentage of time allocated to operations (monthly operating statement) versus the balance sheet.

Operations at the average club has an annual run rate of between $6-8 million. The average value of a club’s assets is between $100-500 million. Seems intuitive that the focus should be on the latter, but how many directors at clubs all across the country want to discuss monthly cost of goods sold and the price of a beer versus member equity and growth?

The contrast between the Social Board Model and the Corporate Hybrid Governance Model is glaring. Which

from Marketing Committee | 114

Share of voice is the percentage of awareness in the market that is yours. Share of mind is the mental real estate you have purchased in consciousness of your prospects.

Share of voice times relevance equals share of mind.

10. Make sure that in this process there is no ambiguity with what is true and factual. Everyone may not like the direction but at least there are logical arguments for the position.

No, you are not dreaming. Following the 10-point plan should pay real benefits. Get the club involved. Get your board involved and on the same page with the process! Communication won’t be an illusion, it will be a fact. BR

ucts in a progressive yet user-friendly way, and by not using labels that limit them to a certain age group.” The lesson here is simple. Don’t be a lemming when it comes marketing to this new population pillar. Don’t look at what other clubs are doing. Look outside the club industry to the Depends, the Walgreens, and the AARPs for inspirations.

I once read somewhere that in the realm of longevity, “Grey is the new black.” The data are showing us that the number of people reaching their golden years will skyrocket in the coming decades. They also show us that they will have the freedom of an open calendar, and projected income levels to fulfill their bucket lists.

And biologist Charles Darwin showed us that all species must adapt to changing environments in order to survive. The longevity revolution is the next frontier. Be sure your club is ready.

Your Bottom Line will thank you! BR

of the two would your members apply in their business? Which should they apply at the club?

As a director, how do I leave my club better than I found it?

The key is director qualifications criteria and the selection process. Your board policy manual (BPM) should have clearly articulated qualification criteria for the nominating committee. The criteria should align with corporate best practices and modern governance principles.

As governance in clubs advances to modern standards, support for the professionals will increase, the experience from member volunteers will improve, our clubs and our memberships as a whole, ultimately will be the beneficiary. BR

Marketing will earn you a higher share of voice. But a big share of voice times zero relevance equals zero share of mind…and zero results. Most clubs talk about what their prospective member should care about, what they ought to care about, instead of what they actually care about. This is relevance

For private clubs, relevance is a clear, distinct story (what we call a club’s brand story) that resonates with both existing and prospective members. It’s the critical ingredient to earn share of mind – and ultimately new members.

Of course, you could always speed things up by discounting. BR

Some of these arguments might ring true, but the fact is, as Reilly suggests, “People like the exclusivity, the feeling of security and the comradery that a club provides”, and that means giving consideration to factors that can help a club be successful…and one of these is revenue.

Some private member-owned clubs, in an effort to increase their revenue, open their club to non-member revenue and this brings pitfalls that can dearly affect a member-owned club’s tax-exempt status.

Reilly, who been working with private clubs for the past 25 years, says, “While a club may be tax-exempt, it may be subject to tax on its unrelated business activities. A club’s unrelated business income includes all gross income except:

1. dues, fees, charges, or similar amounts paid by members for services provided them, their dependents or their guests;

2. investment income set aside for charitable purposes; and,

3. gain on the sale of property used by the club for exempt purposes to the extent that the proceeds are reinvested in similar property within a period beginning one year before and ending three years after the date of sale. The gain may also be used for capital improvements to other club property used for exempt purposes.

“For clubs to retain tax-exempt status, the club must not receive investment and non-member income exceeding 35 percent of the gross receipts, which are defined for this purpose as receipts from normal and usual activities of the club including charges, admissions, membership fees, dues, assessments, investment income (dividends, rents, etc.), and normal recurring capital gains on investments, but excluding initiation fees and capital contributions,” Reilly added.

He says further restrictions apply. “No more than 15 percent of the club’s gross receipts may be from the use of its facilities or services by non-members. If exceeded, a facts and circumstances test is applied to determine if the club’s tax-exempt status should be revoked. Receipts of unusual amounts from the sale of a clubhouse or similar facility are not included in calculating the 15 or 35 percent limitations.

“Income received from members of other clubs using your club under a reciprocal agreement is non-member income and is subject to the 15 percent limit as well as UBI tax.

“Clubs may not engage in a non-traditional activity. This can, in and of itself, jeopardize the tax-exempt status. However, the IRS has provided an unofficial five percent safe harbor for non-traditional activities. This

five percent is part of the 15 percent mentioned earlier,” Reilly explained. For an example, the sale of alcoholic beverages by a club for off-premises consumption is non-traditional revenue.

“Generally, the more a club pursues non-member revenue, pushing the 501(c)(7), tax-exempt limits of 15 percent, the closer a club is to going out of business,” Stump opined. And there are implications for both clubs and members.

“If I can use your club as a non-member, why should I join and pay dues?” Stump queried. “And when serving non-members, guess who club employees are not serving? Yes, they’re not serving a member.

“When all related costs are considered, non-member revenue is not very profitable at most clubs,” Stump maintained.

“Based upon the analysis of one club controller, if 100 or more are in the party, yes, pursue the non-member function because it is relatively profitable. If less than 100, it may be dicey. With between 20 to 40 people, it’s not profitable at all…only keeping employees busy.

“And are clubs really calculating the profitability of non-member activities properly? I say not. The only ones that make money are the employees. It’s nice that employees are happy, but the members suffer.

“And where are the non-members when it’s time to do a club renovation? Has anybody been successful in tracking down non-members to help pay for the assets they helped use up?” Stump questioned.

He also offers another word of caution. “Most 501(c) (7) tax-exempt clubs that are approaching the 15 percent non-member revenue limitation are going out of business. There are exceptions to this rule but not many,” he expressed.

There’s also another consideration…the effect of non-member revenue on private clubs and public accommodation. Are private clubs still private?

“Privacy is very important and goes much further than just who you let into the club. It may impact operations, the application of certain federal laws and how the club is viewed in the community,” outlined PBMares’ Reilly.

“States or municipalities with public accommodation laws, as well as the federal government, may be more willing to treat your organization as a ‘private’ club if it is tax-exempt and limits the usage of its facilities by the general public. A private club should be operated for the benefit of its members.

“Public usage must be limited to be considered infrequent and irregular. If the club is hovering around the 15 percent mark, what is the maximum business it could generate from the community that the members will tolerate?” he asked.

“Remember, many members prefer to maintain exclusivity, and by attracting too much non-member business or by conducting too many non-traditional activities, the club may lose what makes it unique. The demand for usage must also be considered,” Reilly said.

Private clubs must also consider the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which became law in 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.

“When pursuing non-member revenue, clubs think that their club is still private. They’re looking for the quick dollar and do not consider what they are doing to their private club status,” Stump explained.

Why? “Because pursuing non-members is dealing with the general public. General public and public accommodation sound very much alike.”

Stump is also of the opinion that “pursuing non-members opens a club to discrimination and ADA issues.”

One other touchy scenario for clubs is discounted memberships or paying members a referral fee to bring in new members.

“Paying members a referral fee to bring in new members is not an issue. It is taxable to the members and a Form 1099 must be issued,” said Reilly.

“Ideally, your members enjoy the club so much, they will bring in members with no incentive. Members should always be the principal recruiters for other members.

“However, discounting membership is a slippery slope. You cheapen the club and cut back on the amount of revenue that is available for capital improvements and the club’s long-term success. Also, it makes it much easier to leave the club if the member has no financial incentive to stay,” Reilly added.

“Bob Dedman of ClubCorp fame stated that clubs are in the ‘dues collecting business.’ Deviating from this formula is a sign of approaching financial danger,” Stump injected.

“Adding new members paying half dues and giving existing members’ dues credits for recommending a potential member gives a club one more member, while not adding one dollar to the dues line. Adding a new member to the roster without increasing the dues line just adds additional club losses since clubs lose money in food and beverage. F&B losses are only covered by collecting members’ dues income.”

Stump also suggests “club members do not want to pay tax on the compensation they are receiving to bring in a new member.” However, IRS Form 1099 is required if the value of the payment is $600 or more annually.

And Stump gives a thumb down for discounting dues.

“Discounting dues for some and not all members sends a message to the non-discounted member. How would you like to be the fool paying full dues while everybody is being discounted? It’s a member responsibility to bring in new members. No cost required,” Stump maintained.

So, what can clubs do to attract more and younger members? How do golf clubs grow their membership?

“It goes back to the relevancy question,” offered Reilly. “How can you attract families and become a destination point for the whole family. While I do not agree with discounting the initiation fee, it’s important to make the cost more palatable for the younger families to join.

“Younger people are looking for a fit to their lifestyle. They don’t all have the time for a four-hour round of golf. They want a place to socialize where their peers are. They want a casual environment and activities that will keep their children stimulated and entertained.,” Reilly expressed.

“If this golf industry wanted to grow the game, it would provide complementary golf lessons to all members,” intoned Stump. “Better golfers play more golf. Jeff McFadden, GM of The Union League of Philadelphia, listened to me 13 years ago and has now implemented the theory.”

“If you want to stay in business, offer something nobody else is offering. Teach your members to play the games you offer. Can you tell I believe this is the salvation for most private golf clubs, yet the PGA Professionals do not get it? I want the private club to survive.

“Golf professionals seem to only see a loss of lesson income. My theory can put more money in the pro’s pockets, but they do not understand the theory,” Stump explained.

And amenities…is it a kiss of death for clubs to work on the premise that ’if we build it, they will come? Question is, will they come and stay.

“No”, emphasized Reilly. “Clubs need to spend what is needed to have a well working and nice facility. One issue clubs run into is the feeling that they need to compete with the ‘A’ club down the street. Instead, what they should do is identify their niche and be the best club in that universe.

“One of the worst things a club can be is ‘a wannabee’ when they have no chance to get there. Rather they should be the best ‘B’ club in the area,” Reilly added.

“Clubs definitely need to spend some money to avoid looking dated but there is a happy medium between fix only if broken and break the bank trying to impress. It’s a kiss of death to build something on the premise that if we build it they will come.

“Clubs have a limited membership base to select from and at some point the facilities will no longer be new. However, that’s not to say they should do nothing,” Reilly said.

“If a club is not building the correct assets, build it and they will come only if it happens in a corn field, in Iowa, in the movies,” Stump opined.

“Yes, building and renovating is important. However, I think it is astonishing how clubs can find $12 - $20 million for renovations but cannot spend $100,000 to teach members how to play the games clubs offer.

“I’m of the belief that ‘build it and they will come’ is the kiss of death, especially if they borrow money to do it,” Stump lamented.

Yes, the time-tested action for growing is to have members bring in new members.

“Put your newest members on the membership committee,” suggested Reilly. “They know why they joined, what attracted them to the club and equally as important, probably have friends who are not members of clubs. Also, ensure membership orientation is thorough and there is follow-up. Exceed expectations and make sure that you define what type of club you want to be and have a plan to reach and maintain that vision,” Reilly added.

PUBLISHER’S FINAL THOUGHTS:

Protecting your club’s right to freedom of association should be a priority for your club’s board and the club’s members. However, we must be mindful of, and reiterate the IRS definition that “Social clubs are exempt from federal income tax …if they are organized for pleasure, recreation and other nonprofitable purposes.”

To be viewed as a tax-exempt private club, we can keep our status because we are ‘private’ without public access. In other words, the club limits the usage of its facilities by the general public and the club must be operated for the benefit of its members.

The U.S. Supreme Court defined what is NOT a truly private club. There’s no genuine selectivity in membership. Clubs do not limit the size of club memberships. Clubs do not limit the participation by non-members. Clubs allowed advertising of membership openings and club events, and The clubs were used for business purpose by members.

Know where you stand, know that your club is private and operates for the benefit of its members. Educate and inform your board members, because it is they who must lead the way.

At least, that’s the way I see it. BR

John G. Fornaro, publisher

HERE ARE KEY POINTS, WHICH I BELIEVE ARE IMPORTANT

• Quit thinking non-member revenue is the salvation of the club.

• Non-members open the club to discrimination and the ADA

• Non-member revenue is not profitable for the members

• Complimentary lessons (of any type) to members are a reason to join.

• Clubs are in the dues collecting business. Everything else is an amenity.

~ Mitchell Stump

Christopher Boettcher, CCM, CCE is general manager/COO of The Beach Club of Santa Monica, California. Chris can be reached via email: Christopher@TheBC.com

What We Have HEAR, Is a Failure to Commiserate!

I know, a little play on words here but a good goal for all board members and club presidents is: making time to communicate, and HEARING your manager as well as listening to the troubles, trials and tribulations they are facing.

Working on the front lines of battle, your general manager should be in the trenches listening and hearing what your members and staff are saying and doing. Even the huge clubs like Matt Lindemann’s Boca West Country Club have lines of communication that the manager can stay in touch with.

I’ve worked at more average sized clubs, so my mantra has always been to be “on the floor.” I don’t see how a manager can keep their job otherwise, but that’s an article for another time.

A much more comprehensive and communicative club would take a more inclusive approach by sifting issues through the committees.

The committees can act as your soldiers and spoke persons in times of “need and want.” We used to talk about “needs and wants” and the differences between them: needs are like the roof is falling in and needs to be fixed; or we want to repaint the roof to match our wedding colors.

Finding a way to communicate the issues, perhaps through your club leaders and their soldiers/committee members, so the members will hear and understand the issues, is a key. I think culture dictates that.

The autocratic club could rule that way: House committee consisted of one person. It worked for that culture.

Most members really want to be included. It makes the experience of being a member much more fun and enriching. That’s why they call it a membership: part of a greater good! When you stand in the lobby during a busy shift, or work through the tables in the restaurants and bars when it’s slamming, or making a point to get to every committee meeting, you hear stuff. All kinds of stuff!

I would always implore club leaders, board members and especially presidents, to listen to your club manager’s issues and be commiserative. A manager with good committee relations can do this at that level too – invaluable to get good vibes out.

One club I worked with had a very autocratic board and a policy of no committees. The membership was conditioned to this rule. We had little comments from members on occasion about how they felt things should run and policies that we set. But overall, the fear of getting a “letter” in our file and purposeful autocratic rule the board projected, worked for that club’s culture.

Another club I worked with had a similar air, but the committees were much more involved, often picking out operational issues and micromanaging them.

The board in that situation took a little more heat for arbitrary decisions and actions that were instilled.

Most clubs don’t work like that and their cultures are much more interactive – different, not better or worse just different.

Most members really want to be included. It makes the experience of being a member much more fun and enriching. That’s why they call it a membership: part of a greater good!

When you stand in the lobby during a busy shift, or work through the tables in the restaurants and bars when it’s slamming, or making a point to get to every committee meeting, you hear stuff. All kinds of stuff!

Some needs to be filtered and others need to be vetted. Whatever it is, we, as your executors-of-policy, need the direction, support and steadfast focus from boards and club presidents for us to continue to lead-on! BR

contact us.

Oakland Hills Country Club

Chris Boettcher, CCM, CCE, GM/COO, The Beach Club of Santa Monica, CA

Frank Cordeiro, CCM, COO, Diablo Country Club, CA

Albert Costantini, CCM, CCE, COO, Canoe Brook Country Club, Summit, NJ

Steve Green, Diablo Country Club member

Jim Gusella, CCM, COO/GM, Fairmount Country Club, Chatham Township, NJ

Lee Hoke, past president of Buckhorn Springs Golf and Country Club, Tampa, FL

Michael Jernegan, assistant club manager, North Shore Golf Club, Menasha, WI

Phil Kiester, GM, The Country Club of Virginia, Richmond, VA

Dr. Bonnie Knutson, the Country Club of Lansing and the Michigan Athletic Club , MI

Nancy Levenburg, member, Spring Lake Country Club, Spring Lake, MI

Ben Lorenzen, creative director Champions Run, Omaha, NE

David Mackesey, Diablo Country Club member

Dave Moyer, director of tennis, The Country Club at DC Ranch

MacDonald Niven, MA, MCM, CCE, CEO, Lakewood Country Club, Rockville, MD

Pamela Radcliffe, HR directorexec. asst., Countryside Golf & Country Club, Naples, FL

Robert A Sereci, CCM, GM/COO, Medinah Country Club, Medinah, IL

Rosie Slocum, MCMP, director of membership & marketing, BallenIsles Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Karen Sullivan, director of fitness and wellness, Kansas City Country Club,

Michael Vlad, general manager/COO, The Argyle Club, San Antonio, Texas