Meet Fulwell’s Ese Okperin

Meet the MANAGER

Sponsor of the 2019 GCMA Manager of the Year award

With Ese Okperin, Assistant Secretary at Fulwell, in Middlesex

Fulwell

How did you arrive in the world of golf club management? I’ve been assistant secretary for about three years now. Before that, I was the administration assistant. It was my first proper job after university, I didn’t know much about golf or the industry but Fulwell seemed like a nice place to work and a nice environment. I love sport and

I thought I would give it a try and see what it was like. I started in administration and the club really looked after me. It felt like home. When the previous assistant secretary was promoted to secretary, they felt I was the right person to fill those shoes. It was a challenge for me.

After being in administration, I knew a little bit more about golf but there was a lot I didn’t know, so I had to learn the ropes quickly and now I run all the competitions and events.

How do you find running competitions – you’re right at the sharp end there? You are at the deep end and if there are problems, and people are unhappy, they let you know. That’s how you learn and how you get better.

But, by and large, things have gone very well and it’s lovely to

be able to provide a really great experience for people.

Some of the best days to work are the member-guest days, because you welcome everyone when they come in and at the end they are so thankful and they’re showing the fun and joy about their experience. You feel like ‘yes, we nailed that today’.

You clearly like people then, and giving them a memorable experience... It’s a joy of the job to be able to do that for people.

How do you feel about the state of golf at the moment? It’s often portrayed as a sport in trouble. Do you think it’s in better shape than that when judging it by your own experience? I’m pretty focused on the world of Fulwell to be honest so I don’t worry too much about how others are doing. We’re doing well and we do feel like we are growing all the time.

I completed the Principles of Golf Club Management course at Harrogate, in January, and what was lovely earlier in the course was hearing from Jerry Kilby, the GM at Woodcote Park.

He was really great at opening our eyes to the fact that golf is great for people’s lives, not just in terms of enjoyment, but their health as well.

People get so much from walking, particularly in that older demographic, and it’s a great

“It was fantastic and I learned so much (Principles course). I had so many notes and filled a book full”

Ese Okperin

way to improve their health and fitness, their mental well-being, the stimulation of being out with friends for a couple of hours and being in the fresh outdoors.

There is that positive story that golf can tell and we can do better at telling it.

Was the course an enlightening experience for you and what did you learn? It was fantastic and I learned so much. I had so many notes and filled a book full.

It goes through different areas of club management life – finances, marketing, customer service, the legal aspect, food and beverage, committees and working with them.

F&B consultant Steven Brown was absolutely fantastic in showing us how to optimise our bar and catering operations and putting in processes and controls to make sure that you don’t get caught out.

There were lots of different areas that I liked and I’m conscious you can’t do everything straight away, but I feel there were lots of different things I could take back to the club.

Is it your ambition to be a golf club manager in the future? It’s funny how that has emerged. It’s not something that I was necessarily thinking of years ago. If someone had told then I might be a golf club manager, I would have said ‘really?’

But I’ve got a great boss, who is thinking ahead and thinking about specifics within our club, and he is introducing that area. The more I think about it, the more I think ‘why not?’

There are things I would like to do as a manager and, if I continue to develop myself, there are things I’ll be able to add to a club if I get there.

Get In Touch To contact Fulwell visit fulwellgolfclub.co.uk

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January 2020 STATISTICS UK&I

8,604 Total competitions recorded

247,685 Total rounds of golf recorded Holes-in-one made during January competitions 41

Total holes-in-one (all time) 15,505

186,344 Downloads of HowDidiDo app on Apple devices

2,081 eagles or better

87,618 birdies

770,228 pars

Stats provided by HowdidIdo.com Stats provided by HowdidIdo.com

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12 GREENKEEPers. 900 MEMBERS. 500 ACRES. 45 HOLES. STIHL LIFE. ƒ

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