The Golf Club Manager: September 2017

THE GOLF CLUB

MANAGER ISSUE SIX | SEPTEMBER 2017

THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE GOLF CLUB MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION

NEWS

FINALISTS REVEALED

WHO IS IN THE RUNNING FOR MANAGER OF THE YEAR?

OPINION

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

G C M A M E M B E R S D E B AT E T H E I R S W E D I S H PA R T N E R S

INTERVIEW

ALAN HOGG

THE KINGSBARNS CHIEF REVEALS WHY T H E Y E XC E L AT C U S TO M E R S E R V I C E

E D U C AT E | I N F O R M | I N S P I R E ‘

’

’

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The biennial GCMA conference brings together golf club managers and industry professionals, offering invaluable networking opportunities alongside a programme of inspiring keynote speakers and industry led break-out sessions.

Early bird packages start from £260+VAT, with day delegate passes also available.

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who attended in 2015 would recommend attending the Speakers include: conference to a colleague Martin Slumbers The R&A Paul Armitage Le Golf National Nick Pink England Golf David Rickman The R&A Dr Laurence Church The Priory Group Jonathan Shorrock KBL Solicitors

The biennial GCMA conference brings together golf club managers and industry professionals from across the UK and Europe, offering invaluable networking opportunities alongside a programme of inspiring keynote speakers and industry EARLY BIRDMore DEADLINE: led break-out sessions. speakers to be announced soon...

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GCMA.ORG.UK/ CONFERENCE

Early bird prices start from just £260+VAT. To book your place, or for more information, visit gcma.org.uk/conference

Programme NEW Linda Moir | Customer Service Expert

Former Director of In Flight Services at Virgin Atlantic, Linda led the London 2012 Gamesmakers

Iain Carter BBC Sport Tales from a golf correspondent Martin Slumbers The R&A The state of the game Paul Armitage Le Golf National Managing change Nick Pink England Golf Rob Maxfield The PGA Moving the game forward David Rickman The R&A Developing golf Jim Croxton BIGGA Working with your greenkeepers NEW Andrew Cooke Golf Tourism England Marketing through tourism Andrew Minty Langland Bay GC Best practice Paul Williams Topgolf NEW Nick Solski Boomers & Swingers Being different Dr Laurence Church Priory Group Stress management Jonathan Shorrock KBL Solicitors Governance NEW Alastair Higgs Rain Bird Intelligent use of water James Wilkinson Albatross Digital Golf Digital marketing Stuart Leech Formby GC Food and beverage David Bancroft-Turner Matrix Training Leadership

CONFERENCE SPONSOR

Mark Hunt Headland Amenity Turf management Final speakers to be announced soon...

CONTENTS ISSUE SIX | SEPTEMBER 2017

GCMA

CAREERS

06 The latest from the chief executive

36 The latest jobs for GCMA members

12 The outside view: SMS Inc’s Richard Payne

INDUSTRY

EDUCATION

20 Famous Prince’s nine gets revamp

38 Woburn reveal how to create an experience

21

42 Linda Moir: Delivering great customer service

Manager of the Year Awards finalists

INTERVIEWS

REGIONAL

22 A Matter of Opinion: Foreign affairs

60 Meet the manager: Leigh’s Sam Poole

30 Kingsbarns’ Alan Hogg

66 The month in numbers

20

30

60

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THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE GOLF CLUB MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION GCMA Bristol & Clifton Golf Club, Beggar Bush Lane, Failand, Bristol, BS8 3TH Tel: 01275 391153 | hq@gcma.org.uk CHIEF EXECUTIVE Bob Williams - bob@gcma.org.uk COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Mike Hyde - mike@gcma.org.uk GOLF MANAGEMENT RESEARCHER Jim Cunning - jim@gcma.org.uk EDUCATION COORDINATOR Niki Hunter - niki@gcma.org.uk MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Ann Jones - ann@gcma.org.uk EDUCATION AND MAGAZINE ADMINISTRATOR Debbie Mereweather - debbie@gcma.org.uk FINANCE ADMINISTRATOR Shirley Edmondson - shirley@gcma.org.uk BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Tash Johnson - tash@gcma.org.uk COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE Marie Taylor - marie@gcma.org.uk PRESIDENT JR (John) Jones 2017/18 CAPTAIN Howard Williams BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mike Hoare, Gary Steele, Phil Grice, Eddie Bullock THE GOLF CLUB MANAGER IS PUBLISHED BY: SPORTS PUBLICATIONS LTD 2 Arena Park, Tarn Lane, Scarcroft, West Yorkshire, LS17 9BF, UK Tel: 0113 289 3979 | info@sportspub.co.uk PUBLISHER Tom Irwin - t.irwin@sportspub.co.uk EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Dan Murphy - d.murphy@sportspub.co.uk OPS DIRECTOR Will Shucksmith - w.shucksmith@sportspub.co.uk EDITOR Steve Carroll - s.carroll@sportspub.co.uk CHIEF DESIGNER Andrew Kenworthy - a.kenworthy@sportspub.co.uk DESIGNERS Vicky Jones - v.jones@sportspub.co.uk Emmi Parry - e.parry@sportspub.co.uk Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, but the publishers cannot accept responsibility for omissions and errors. All material in this publication is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved.The views expressed in The Golf Club Manager do not necessarily represent the views of the company or the editor. Every care is taken in compiling the contents but the publishers assume no responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from participation in any offer, competition or advertising contained within The Golf Club Manager.

THE GOLF CLUB

MANAGER ISSUE SIX | SEPTEMBER 2017

THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE GOLF CLUB MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION

NEWS

OPINION

FINALISTS REVEALED

WHO IS IN THE RUNNING FOR MANAGER OF THE YEAR?

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

G C M A M E M B E R S D E B AT E T H E I R S W E D I S H PA R T N E R S

INTERVIEW

ALAN HOGG

THE KINGSBARNS CHIEF REVEALS WHY T H E Y E XC E L AT C U S TO M E R S E R V I C E

ED U C AT E | I N FO RM | I N S P I RE ‘

001 GCMA Sept 17 Cover.indd 3

30/08/2017 15:38

ON THE COVER: Kingsbarns

WELCOME

ISSUE SIX | SEPTEMBER 2017

W

ith the summer holidays behind us and, hopefully, an autumn period that will provide an Indian summer, I would like to reflect upon the world of women’s sport and the increased television exposure it has received of late.

Starting in June, the England cricket team proceeded to beat India in a nail biting finish that was watched by a record 1.1 million people, which is more than watch the average premier league game.

This was then followed by the women’s European Championships and a record four million viewers to watch the England Lionesses fall at the semi-final hurdle against Holland.

More recently, we were treated to the live television coverage of the Solheim Cup from Des Moines Golf and Country Club in Iowa.

Unfortunately, on this occasion, Annika Sorenstam’s European team were not able to return victorious from the US – and now as I am writing this the Women’s Rugby World Cup final is about to be televised live on ITV. In golf, so many of us will decry the decision taken not to show the Open on terrestrial television and how this will have a knock on effect on the number of people being influenced by the delights of Jordan Spieth and co. With the increased coverage of women’s sport on television, is there a view that more and more women will become involved in one of these sports? Interestingly, I recently

attended a football tournament that my niece was playing in and was pleasantly surprised at the number of teams competing which ranged in age from six to 16 – does television influence them to start playing their sport?

We recently undertook a bit of research at HQ to see how the growth of women managing golf clubs has developed. The results were quite positive with the percentage growing from just 10% in 2012 to just over 20% five years later. This is one of the topics that we will deliberating at the National Conference in November – another reason for you to be there!

Bob Williams – chief executive

“With the increased coverage of women’s sport on television, is there a view that more and more women will become involved in one of these sports?”

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MEANS BUSINESS

What you

NEED TO KNOW Relevant news, opinion and expert insight from around the industry.

Plus what’s happening around the UK in the world of the GCMA

GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

The month in

PICTURES

1

Just five weeks after hosting The Open, Royal Birkdale has recovered impressively from the impact of the record 235,000 visitors to the championship.

With the final pieces of

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infrastructure removed, only golfers who deviate severely from the immaculate links would know that the tournament had been completed so recently - a testament to the hard work of Adam Moule and his entire staff.

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2

Sixteen managers from across the GCMA regions travelled to Ekerum to take on their Swedish counterparts in an international match over three days.

Alongside the golf there was

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much opportunity to network and debate the similarities and differences between golf and club management in the two countries. For more, see A Matter of Opinion (p22) and Around the Regions (p62).

3

This sunset scene was preceded by 16 hours of walking as The Golf Club Manager’s editor, Steve Carroll, completed 100 holes in a day at the club where he is captain, Sandburn Hall in York, to raise money for his chosen charity Bloodwise. For anyone interested, he took 480 shots and completed his final round in 80!

GCMA.ORG.UK | 11

GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

The outside view

RICHARD PAYNE Golf isn’t broken. Far from it, in fact. There are many positives and the efforts of tours and governing bodies fill me with optimism

I

n recent years, it would appear that golf’s only time in the spotlight among mainstream national media was to focus on a supposed decline in participation or an attempt to vilify the sport based on the outdated opinions of a small minority that oppose change.

As an industry, our job is to debunk these negative perceptions - be that through innovative new initiatives designed to widen the appeal of our sport, talking about how people are playing in different locations or formats, or shouting aloud about the positive impact that golf has on society - and using facts to back up these claims.

I was horrified when listening to the recent Radio 4 programme “In The Rough: Golf’s Uncertain Future” at just how one sided a supposed independent review could be and how easily inaccurate stats were quoted from industry “experts”to paint golf in the doldrums. YES participation on a full length golf course has fallen in recent years and YES there have been golf course closures.

But NO participation hasn’t dropped every year since the early 2000s (SMS INC’s GB Golf Participation figures show that there has

12 | GCMA.ORG.UK

been an annual decline of total participation on a full length golf course since 2011 but there was a rise between 2008 and 2011) and there certainly haven’t been hundreds of golf courses that have ceased trading (EGA figures would suggest that there are 32 fewer courses in England now than there were in 2010).

In the same period we have seen the opening of several Adventure Golf courses and alternative golf venues such as TopGolf and city simulator locations. So let’s turn our heads to the positives of NOW and the future, starting with the fact that, for the first half of 2017, SMS INC’s Rounds Played analysis has shown that the average number of rounds played across GB is 6% up compared to the first six months of 2016. This equates to the second highest rounds played

“Golf as an industry is not resting on its laurels, we are not standing still and we are striving to drive our sport forward”

Richard Payne is a director of SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS INC and head of golf

average for the period in the last five years. An alternative gauge of the level of golf being played is the number of golf balls being bought and Golf Datatech’s UK Retail Audit figures indicate that golf balls sales for the same six month period are up 10% compared to 2016.

In addition to these participation barometers, interest in the sport is evident with the recent Open Championship at Royal Birkdale witnessing the highest level of attendance for any Open venue outside of St Andrews.

While these are clearly encouraging figures, it is perhaps the efforts of the professional tours, governing bodies and commercial outfits within our sport that fill me with the most optimism.

Ranging from the GolfSixes event launched by the European Tour in May, and initiatives such as Girls Golf Rocks and the Golf Foundation’s HSBC Golf Roots, right through to Glendale Golf renaming its par 3 courses as FUN Courses and TopGolf utilising technology to broaden the appeal to a new audience, it is clear to me that, contrary to what many may say, golf as an industry is not resting on its laurels, we are not standing still and we are striving to drive our sport forward.

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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

Captain’s corner

HOWARD WILLIAMS

I

have been lucky my captaincy coincides with the biennial GCMA conference, as one of the responsibilities of the role is to sit on the planning committee. The group, made up of staff, members and the organisers, meets every month, starting about 15 months before the next conference.

While I have attended six GCMA conferences, it has still been fascinating to see the work that goes on behind the scenes to put it together. The initial meetings were concerned with taking on board feedback from the 2015 conference. While it was a sell out, the team still identified lessons to be learned. From the format of some of the social events, to whether it should be a residential conference, everything was looked at with fresh eyes.

Then it was onto the simple matter of finding a venue. Or so I thought. Everyone who attended St George’s Park last time was impressed with the surroundings – an inspiring centre of sporting excellence, with great conference facilities. Unfortunately, the success of that edition meant we had outgrown the FA Centre, and a new venue was required. A huge amount of research, backed up by site visits and studies of the locations of GCMA members, went into finding an exciting venue that could cater for around 350 people, and I think the team have managed to find one that might trump Burton-on-Trent.

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I can’t wait for conference in November and I hope to see many of you there...

Attending conference in 2015

In particular, I’m looking forward to the friendly competition of the Formula One simulator competition, and seeing some adrenaline fuelled faces return from the Mercedes-Benz test track.

The programming of the conference was perhaps my favourite stage. Some weird and wonderful names were bandied about – Donald Trump was pencilled in before his unexpected victory – alongside obscure (to me) industry experts with unparalleled expertise in niche fields. There is something there for everyone and I’m excited about the keynote speakers. To have the chief executive of The R&A Martin Slumbers in attendance demonstrates the strides the association has taken to raise its

profile, and the regard it’s held in the industry. As club managers we talk a lot about trying to motivate staff and volunteers, and the London 2012 Games Makers are perhaps the finest example of getting the most out of your team. Linda Moir was given that responsibility and I’m looking forward to hearing how she did it.

For many the closing session is the one they remember. If anyone can make a suitable impression, it’s Rooney Carruthers – the man behind some of the most creative marketing and advertising campaigns of recent times. Who can get the Compare the Meerkat adverts out of their minds? I hope as many of you as possible will be attending. I look forward to seeing you there!

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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

What’s the role of?

SCOTTISH GOLF How to get in touch

We outline the function of Scottish Golf and how they work alongside the GCMA

What does Scottish Golf do?

Scottish Golf is the national governing body for the sport of golf in Scotland. We represent golfers and golf clubs to champion the sport in our country and maintain Scotland’s position as the Home of Golf. Our role is to lead our clubs, develop champions and provide the opportunity for everyone in Scotland to play golf for life. Around half a million people in Scotland play golf whether as a member of a club or on a social basis. There are 587 clubs with a combined membership of more than 211,000 golfers and over 50,000 people playing competitive golf

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on a weekly basis throughout the season. And it’s not all about 18 hole competitions these days either. Golfers can pick and choose how long they want to spend on the course and what fun formats they’d like to play – either as part of a club competition or with friends.

Golf is a sport for all and Scottish Golf exists to make sure it’s a great experience for everyone.

How does Scottish Golf work with the GCMA? The GCMA propagates our best practice articles as much as possible, especially when the articles are on topics that

Visit Scottish Golf’s website scottishgolf.org for more information. You can also get in touch by phone – call 01334 466 477.

are extremely relevant to the association’s clubs. There also a number of GCMA members in Scotland who are supported by Scottish Golf.

How would Scottish Golf like to work with clubs?

We support our 587 affiliated clubs, and so working with them is simply a part of our day-to-day runnings.

How we work with these clubs is on the ground through our regional club development team offering where applicable, business planning support, membership marketing, or participation programme advice.

We are also heavily involved with our national adult ‘Get into Golf’, and junior ‘ClubGolf’ programmes.

The club scene in Scotland continues to be buoyant, with over 50,000 people playing competitive golf on a weekly basis through the golfing season.

But we know of the continuing challenges facing clubs, so here in Scotland we continue to invest in the necessary support to help club managers and volunteers to grow the game.This can be achieved through a variety of means, including the Management Development Programme designed to build industry knowledge and apply best practice.

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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

Meet the

GCMA Giving a voice to the people behind the scenes who help to run your Golf Club Managers’ Association

W

hat is your role?

As GCMA chairman - a role I’m proud to hold - it’s my job to ensure the meetings of the board of directors run effectively and that our head office operates efficiently and complies with legal obligations. I also chair the national committee – consisting of the 16 regional managers and national captain, acting as a crucial link between the membership and the board. I also act as the line manager for the GCMA chief executive, Bob Williams - with whom I have developed a very good working relationship.

How did you become involved with the GCMA? When I was a appointed manager of Ely City Golf Club, in 1994, the committee inserted a clause in my contract that I should take an active part in the (then) AGCS. Having been an active member of the region, I was nominated, in 1998, to be the regional representative on the national committee.

I have also served as both honorary treasurer and national captain.

18 | GCMA.ORG.UK

What do you enjoy most about your role?

We’re in exciting times right now.

The GCMA board is highly skilled and proactive. Having been in place for three years, their work is really beginning to bear fruit, providing excellent support services for managers so they are better equipped to run their golf clubs effectively.

Properly trained managers are vital. Continuing professional

“We are breaking new ground in terms of education and professional development” development and excellent networking opportunities are key to having successful leaders in the industry. You do hear of clubs getting into trouble because managers haven’t followed through on something important - the association offers access to expertise that can help prevent that happening.

What opportunities lie ahead for the GCMA?

Mike Hoare is the GCMA’s chairman

We are breaking new ground in terms of education and professional development. The diploma, a collaborative project between the PGA, BIGGA, and GCMA, has started very well and is fast becoming the must have qualification. Much of the work is based on distance learning and there is probably an opportunity for the association to develop even more online training in the future.

How would you like to see the GCMA develop?

There is potential for the number of GCMA members to grow further and for us to work closely with those in the proprietary sector.

More members equals more resources which can then be used to provide even better services and support for our members.

As club managers become time poor, due to the demands of the job today, online training and professional development will become more important, time away from the office will be harder to take. Under Bob’s leadership, the association has made significant progress but there is still much more that he, the board and the regional mangers wish to achieve.

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SLOW PLAY, THE PACE FACTOR

PACE OF PLAY IS ONE OF TODAY’S TOP GOLF EXPERIENCE INFLUENCERS. COULD IT ALSO BE A MATERIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR GOLF OPERATORS?

With 74% of golfers stating pace of play is

A better pace is an opportunity to create

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golfers stating they would play more golf if it was played in less time (2016 USGA

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AVERAGE ROUND TIME VS EXPERIENCE Average round times, while a useful indicator, only tell part of the pace story.

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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

Industry

We want to hear from you!

NEWS

Send your correspondence, on any subject, to letters@gcma.org.uk

Work under way to transform Himalayas nine at Prince’s Prince’s have started work to redevelop their Himalayas nine.

The Kent club, based in Sandwich Bay and the host of the 1932 Open, hired renowned international architects Mackenzie & Ebert to handle the reconstruction.

Work is already under way and the Himalayas will remain open through the project with minimal disruption.

Mackenzie & Ebert advise seven of the 10 courses on the Open rota and, having overseen major changes at Royal Portrush and Turnberry, were also behind projects at Royal Dornoch and Royal Porthcawl.

Having produced an historic report, which analysed pre-war and wartime RAF photographs, several interesting features were unveiled that will also be reintroduced.

Rob McGuirk, Prince’s general manager, said:“The entire club is

@GCMAUK GCMA have won the Knalle Trophy @ekerumgolf in Sweden by 8 1/2 to 7 1/2. Well done all. @GCMAUK @gafsverige @mobrooker England @GCMAUK team all set to go v Scotland golf managers @johnnydexter

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very excited by this project. We believe Mackenzie & Ebert’s plans will transform the Himalayas nine into one of the finest stretches of links golf in the country.

“We’re committed to continuous improvement at Prince’s and this is certainly the most ambitious phase of development the club has seen for decades.”

The redevelopment includes the current 2nd and 3rd holes

combining to make a long par-5.

The new 2nd will play as long as 615 yards. A short, signature par-3 fifth hole will then be built - playing towards the sea. These changes will increase the par of the nine to 36. The 8th will become a short, drivable par-4.

Work started with the new 5th and it’s planned for the new holes to be opened in the late spring or early summer of next year.

We look forward to welcoming the @GCMAUK to the Club today.

We hope you enjoy your round on No. 1. #golf #gullane

Fantastic @GCMAUK Young Managers Group Meeting @ LondonGolfClub. Dan Naudo leading a great discussion around Event Management #Education

@GullaneGolfClub

@Coltmm Looking forward to a great day @ LondonGolfClub with @GCMAUK Young Managers group.

Great discussions so far and thanks for hosting! @FittChris

@GCMAUK Young Managers receiving a great #education on the beverage side of F&B thanks to @EnotriaCoe @lintonneill @FittChris

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Shortlist revealed for Manager of the Year gong The finalists have been revealed for the 2017 Golf Club Management Awards.

At a glittering prize evening on November 13, during the GCMA conference at the spectacular Mercedes-Benz World, in Surrey, the prestigious Manager of the Year Award, sponsored by intelligentgolf, will be revealed.

The four-person shortlist is: * Alan Davey, managing secretary at Pyecombe. Alan knows the club inside out having been a dedicated member. He has invested in junior development and dedicated himself to communicating at all levels of the club. * Stuart Gillett, general manager of Golf at Goodwood. Has established a first class golfing experience and revolutionised membership. He empowers his team to find innovative solutions that please members and guests. * Martin Robinson, general manager at Fairhaven. His ‘You Said, We Did’ member communication initiative has been hugely successful. He leads a traditional club looking to modernise. * Amy Yeates, director of golf, spa and leisure at Fairmont St Andrews. She has driven through new concepts such as flexible membership and is an inspirational leader for her team.

Langland Bay’s Andrew Minty took the prize two years ago.

The Awards also recognise the

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finalists for Newcomer of the Year and Team of the Year.

The newcomer prize, sponsored

by Colt Mackenzie McNair, sees Theydon Bois’ John Reeder and Gordon MacLeod, of St Ives (Hunts), up for the award.

Up for Team of the Year are Pyle & Kenfig’s Simon Hopkin, Dylan Williams and Paul Johnson. Strong marketing techniques brought in 65 new playing members, while also increasing green fees yearon-year by 7.5 per cent. Norwood Park’s Paul Thornton, Rob Macey, Jackie Macey and Lee Grant have also been shortlisted. It’s a club that has more than 750 members and currently enjoys a waiting list.

Now, following a site visit to every club, the final stage will see the judging panel, made up of experienced GCMA staff, fellow members and industry experts carry out a selection weekend in October. They will spend a day with the nominees before an interview in front of the panel.

Bob Williams, GCMA chief executive, said:“After many tough hours pouring over the detailed nominations we were all proud and encouraged to be reminded of the high standards that exist in our industry. Choosing between such high calibre candidates wasn’t easy. I expect more of this as we head out to visit the shortlisted clubs and meet with the nominees at our final selection weekend.”

Welcome to our newest GCMA members Michael Grace, assistant at John O’Gaunt, in Chiltern & Home Counties region James Levick, assistant at West Essex, in East Anglia region Simon Williams, manager at Edwalton Golf Centre, in East Midlands region Laurence Greatley, honorary secretary at Sutton Coldfield, in Midland region John Fisher, manager at Huyton & Prescot, in North West region Trudi Reeves, owner/director at Marsden Park Golf Course, in North West region George Smith, honorary secretary at Kinross, in Scotland region Richard Mobley, secretary at Cotswold Hills, in South West region Jason Pheasant, manager at Bigbury, in South West region Alistair Adams, secretary at West Sussex, in Southern region Stephen Nicholson, manager at Oxford, in Southern region

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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

A Matter of Opinion

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

From left to right, Mats Candinger, Jon Hall, Jasmine Rawsthorne and Karen Drake

T

he GCMA play a number of matches against golf club managers from other countries throughout the year and a team recently travelled to Sweden – as part of a long-standing relationship with the GAF, the association’s Swedish counterparts. They took on a team from across the country at Gronhogen Golf Links and Ekerum and, as well as offering friendly competition, there was a

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“I think a lot of clubs in Sweden were too slow to adapt to the different pattern of buying golf. When we had the boom, it wasn’t a problem” – Mats Candinger

chance for representatives from the two nations to network and discuss the state of the game. In the first of a two-part Matter of Opinion, our quartet discuss how golf has been affected by the recession and the consequences…

Obviously there has been a slump in golf over the last decade. How has that affected your jobs and what have you done to try and arrest that slide?

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Golf is a world game. But are the issues faced by clubs in the UK the same as those experienced by our European neighbours? Four managers, two from England, two from Sweden, consider the issues...

Mats Candinger: I think Sweden is recovering from that now. We have increasing numbers of members but historically, for the last 15 years, we have had fewer golfers attached to clubs.

In a couple of surveys done in Sweden during that time, more and more people are calling themselves golfers. So they want to play golf, they still play golf, but they are not attached to a club.

That’s quite interesting. That points to golf clubs not having the product that the golfers want to buy.

Karen Drake: We have seen that in the UK, in that golf clubs had to become far more creative in the ways they attracted members and those nomadic golfers to enable them to still play golf on their courses and pay a smaller fee as a membership with an opportunity to pay as they play.

A lot of golf clubs did that and lots of other more economic ways for people to play golf. The numbers have started to increase since that decline.

MC: I think a lot of clubs in Sweden

were too slow to adapt to the different pattern of buying golf.

When we had the boom, it wasn’t a problem. All golf clubs had a queue. They had one membership – full time membership – and they thought that would go on forever.

30 years ago, you could start buying very cheap memberships and then just pay weekly as you played.

That got very popular. The golf clubs didn’t realise that was the future of how people wanted to buy so they changed the product.

But now, most clubs, having done that change, have a variety of memberships. Clubs are marketing themselves to a certain category of golfers, and that’s a good thing I find.

You can join companies that own 21 courses in the Stockholm region, so you can play a lot of golf.

Not the quality we deliver to our members but you don’t pay that much per round.

We want to attract a high quality, social, members club where you pay for your membership and the possibility to play – not x amount

of golf rounds for a low cost.

Jon Hall: Up until about 20 years ago, most golf clubs had waiting lists. You had to wait for a long time and you even had to pay to be on the waiting list. From the end of the last century, those started to die away. It was always easy in the old days.

All the clubs in the UK were run by committees and it was very easy to balance the books, because if you lost some members you just took more in.

In fact, the more members you turned over the more money you made because you charged a joining fee.

When that’s gone, and most clubs in the UK don’t any longer charge a joining fee, they look at the start of the year and say ‘how are we going to get the money in?’

We are all competing then. There are more golf clubs – a lot more proprietary clubs have been set up in the UK over the last 20 years – and they are competing for a declining marketplace.

There aren’t that many people taking up golf.

MEET THE PANEL Mats Candinger Club manager at Saltsjobadens Golfklubb, Stockholm

Jon Hall Secretary at Headingley, in Leeds

Jasmine Rawsthorne Club manager at Varbergs Golfklubb, in Varberg

Karen Drake Managing secretary at Burnham & Berrow and GCMA south west regional manager

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The pathways to golf are still not that easy, or accessible, in the UK. It’s become very difficult suddenly.

Nothing is certain anymore, and golf clubs have had to change.

Some have.

Some of the top clubs are still doing okay – there is always a demand for the high-end.

But the clubs in the middle have had to decide – do we try and become better at what we do or just accept that we are going to have to have lower green fees and try and get more people through?

All golf clubs are different, have their own little unique features that are their own, and it’s just a question of clubs doing what’s best for them.

There’s a lot of advice about what you should and shouldn’t do but every club is different. They have had to be more creative, but really build on their own strengths and be more self-aware and make sure

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“When I started playing 40 years ago, you were considered mad if you tried to play golf in winter” – Jon Hall

they are doing the best things for their club.

KD: The consequences of that, though, have been quite dramatic to clubs because getting more people on the course has an effect on the presentation of the course and the need for the greenkeepers and fertilisation.

The demand from individuals to make that course look highly presentable all year round, and the cost of that, is quite considerable.

What’s happening is membership fees now are no longer covering the cost to run a course, so clubs are having to cheapen themselves and attract more and more people but there are consequences of that.

So they are having to diversify in the clubhouse and do weddings and funeral wakes and various other opportunities to improve their revenue.

That’s been the struggle for a lot of golf clubs and those particularly

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that have gone down the route of cheap and cheerful, and get lots of people in through the doors, have been short sighted in terms of the costs that have impacted on their bottom line.

Jasmine Rawsthorne: That’s what happened in Sweden. Everyone started to lower their membership fees, instead of adding stuff to the membership and making the members more loyal, rather than changing the club.

JH: When I started playing 40 years ago, you were considered mad if you tried to play golf in winter.

Nobody played in winter. It was very much a seasonal, summer, game.

Now, all the people that are taking up golf in their 30s, 40s and 50s are ex-footballers or cricketers, rugby players and when families take up the game they want to play all year round.

There are demands for the course to be at a decent standard all year round. We also used to have lots of members of the club who never played. They just paid their £1,000 every year.

After the recession and, especially after 2008, anyone who was only playing a few rounds realised ‘this is not good value’ so they resigned.

We are run on fewer members but have to generate the same money from fewer members.

We’ve had to increase our prices and, as Karen says, all those members are far more active. They play two or three times a week all year round.

People keep asking me now ‘are you full?’ Well what’s full?

Full means can we get any more people on the course on a Saturday in January. And the answer is ‘no, I can’t. We are full’. I can’t get everybody in the car park on a Saturday.

KD: That’s where your creative

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”The problem in Sweden, I think, is that most clubs are very dependent on green fees.

We are the other way round from you guys” – Jasmine Rawsthorne

thinking comes in, in terms of re-categorising – getting people to have membership off peak.

How have your clubs reacted to these developments?

JH: It’s been a really dynamic 20 years and the clubs that are doing well are either those at the top end that are always going to do well or people that have changed in ways that have suited them.

Which I am pleased to say we have done.

We have just looked at everything we do. We try and do everything better, to a higher standard, and, particularly, we try and excel at year round golf. We never close.

MC: In Sweden, when we had the recession, every club tried to do everything for everyone. You won’t get good at anything. You need to lower your prices.

The way forward, and the key to success, is to be very clear to your members – or potential members – what you are offering.

This is our product and then you can price it higher.

You attract the people that want your product - if it’s a cheaper club with a lot of golfers and less money, or a high-end club focusing on members and their guests, which we are.

We are trying to be very clear now and communicate that.‘Do you want to be a member at our club?

This is what we offer. This is what you buy. This is how much you pay’.

Then you get the people who are looking for that. So it is easier to please them.

If you become a member at our club and you want something other than what we offer? Tough luck. We are offering this.

Don’t bother to try to get us to do something else because this is what we have decided, this is the kind of golf club we are.

JR: The problem in Sweden, I think, is that most clubs are very dependent on green fees. We are the other way around from you guys.

You have most of your income from your members and are not so dependent on green fees. A lot of

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“You can tell that a lot of people find it a bit anachronistic and stuffy and a little bit daunting when they come” – Jon Hall clubs in Sweden are the other way round. So if it is a bad summer, or a bad winter...

JH: Percentage-wise, how much income is green fees?

JR: I think we have about 60 per cent from members and then the rest is green fees. Last year was a good year and this year was also good. But the year before…

My course is in a summer town, so if the weather is good people go to the beach instead.

Bad weather, or not so good weather, is better for us. I think that’s the problem, and that’s why the big thing now in Sweden is that a lot of clubs have different prices at different times of the day – to spread the amount of people on the course.

If you have a lot of people, and you know the course is attractive, you increase the price. The demand on quality in Sweden is now very high.

KD: I think that’s because we are so exposed to seeing high-quality golf courses on the TV and everybody travels to different places.

While that has had a positive effect in terms of encouraging people to play golf, it also means we all expect our greens to look like they do at the Open and the fairways to look like they do at the Open.

You model yourself on Augusta because that’s what people see on their TVs. That’s raised the bar

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as far as course presentation is concerned.

JR: Golf courses in Sweden are built for 20 to 25,000 rounds a year. They are not built for 60,000 rounds a year.

MC: You can do those rounds for, maybe, seven months.

JR: But the maintenance still has to be done…

JH: In the UK, another challenge that we have – even though there have been many positive changes in terms of the game being accessible to all people – is that it is still perceived, wrongly in my opinion, as being an elite game. For stuffy old men.

You can tell that a lot of people find it a little bit anachronistic and stuffy and a little bit daunting when they come to a club – people who are trying it for the first time.

They don’t see it as fun. They almost see it as a test. In Sweden, you have a very high percentage of your population – is it five per cent? – playing golf. That’s a phenomenal amount of people playing. So it’s obviously a much more accessible sport.

MC: It is more considered a sport than in the UK. It’s easier to attract people. It is still considered expensive.

But we have done loads of comparisons and it is one of the cheaper sports, especially for juniors. The club supports them in everything.

They obviously have kids and they are building houses. If you look out, there are hardly any juniors and only old people. It should be the other way round.

That’s a big challenge for us.

MC: And actually, the increase in numbers in the Swedish Golf Federation in the last two years is in the category of above 65, I think.

KD: The challenge with attracting that age group – 25 to 45 – is the time factor.

We are seeing a lot in the UK that more and more 9-hole courses are being built to try and encourage people to play golf for a shorter timespan because the five hour

What are some of the common issues that you all face?

JR: Another thing that is a big problem in Sweden is the average age of members. In my club, 60 per cent of my members are over 60 years old.

The big challenge in Sweden is to attract people between 25 and 45.

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round and the hour in the bar afterwards is just out of people’s limits.

JR: It’s also a money factor because if you play four or five rounds a year – and are paying £600 or £700 – it is not worth it. They think it is too expensive.

MC: We have a big junior section, of 200 to 300 that actually practise all year round, and we say we are building for the future when we have that big junior section.

But if they leave the golf club on the day they turn senior, in Sweden that’s 22, we don’t build for the future.

So we need to make it possible

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“We all expect our greens to look like they do at the Open and the fairways to look like they do” – Karen Drake for them to stay on at the club until they are settled with their careers and their families.

So we have a discount on the annual fee for the category between 22 and 36.

That’s very popular. They don’t play that much. They don’t need to book times in advance. They are more flexible.

JR: But they are loyal if you make them stay.

MC: If we get them to like our club, hopefully they will stay. This is the second year.

Last year we only had one who turned 37 this year.

He joined. Bought a share and joined. We will see how that turns out.

Next month: In the second part, our foursome consider the support they have had from governing bodies.

GCMA.ORG.UK | 27

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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

The interview

ALAN HOGG

K

ingsbarns is very interesting because you have no members. How does that work?

We don’t have any full stop. It’s a public golf course.

The owners are American and they brought some of their ideas across. They looked at St Andrews – the pinnacle of which is the Old Course – and they saw the supply

and demand, with more demand than supply. It was all about trying to enhance the St Andrews experience.

It was giving those who couldn’t get onto the Old Course another place to play in St Andrews. It’s been about accessibility from day one and no restrictions. It’s not a private members’ club that might only allow 20 or 30 visitors.

We say ‘let’s make everyone a

member for the day’. Part of our concept and marketing is ‘let’s do something slightly different’.

That was a very risky call back in the day but, 17 years down the line, it’s proved successful.

Our daily mantra is, purely and simply, what does the customer expect and can we meet and exceed this? If they come for a once-in-a-lifetime visit, you think of the excitement that some

Kingsbarns is blessed with a fabulous setting

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E D U C AT E | I N F O R M | I N S P I R E

A day at Kingsbarns is more than just a round of golf – it’s designed to be an experience. Winners of the ‘Best Golf Experience’ prize at the Scottish Golf Tourism Awards for the last three years, chief executive Alan Hogg reveals to Steve Carroll what sets the Fife club apart

adults and children have going to Disneyland.

Golfers who come to St Andrews have the same mentality. They are going to play the Old Course. They are going to Kingsbarns and it’s about what we can do to make that golfer feel welcome – from the meet and greet areas to the first tee giveaways. We were one of the first courses that started giving welcome packs with a pouch. So rather than

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having to pay £5 for your trolley or a course guide, it’s all included.

We are able to charge enough for a green fee that we can do that.

You get nothing for nothing but the customer is happy paying the green fee and there are no add ons.

It isn’t ‘can I get a pencil? Can I get a course guide?’ You get a bag tag on the first tee. If we know your name in advance, we’ll print it and it’s credit card sized. It’s not an

expensive giveaway.

But as soon as you put someone’s name on it they think ‘someone has thought about me’. You see lots of things that don’t necessarily have to cost a lot of money but you have to make the effort to get the golfer’s name in advance and pass that on to your staff.

You have to make sure they have arrived, and make sure the packs are in the starter’s hut at the correct

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“Customer service is everything. It’s three letters - yes.

We will do whatever it takes to satisfy each customer”

Who is Alan Hogg?

Born in Scotland, Alan Hogg grew up playing golf and was the former Lothian Boys champion. Once a PGA touring professional and European Challenge Tour member, he spent a lot of his career in Germany.

Hogg was named coach of the year by the German PGA 15 years ago and gained Master Professional status in 2007.

He joined Kingsbarns from Golf & Vital Park, in Bad Waldsee, in 2011 – replacing Stuart McEwen who had led the course since its opening.

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time. It all makes you feel special before you hit the first shot.

We get that coming back to us all the time – that journey of experience and that allows us to be in a high end green fee position.

In the shop, we don’t retail Callaway drivers, Vokey wedges or Scotty Cameron putters. We retail sweaters or a cap and it has to have a crown on it. People are looking for a memory or a memento.

Kingsbarns are renowned for being forward thinking in terms of customer service. Can you give us some examples of this?

When I started, we used to be fantastic at getting people off the first tee but we did not have a post play concierge.

In my remit, to take us to the next level, I felt we were missing part of the circle. When you came off the course there was no one there to welcome you.

Now, someone will ask you if you enjoyed your day, if you need taxi back. There is always someone there when you finish a round.

When you go into the clubhouse and have a beer or a burger, our F&B team take it on from there.

Are you looking for a table downtown? Can we reserve you a table?

As well as using our restaurant, we would like people to go back to St Andrews and populate the restaurants there.

You are trying to complete the journey. We are continually looking at ways to say ‘we can do this better’ and what can we try.

Not being a members’ club, no one is criticising you for trying. If it doesn’t work, it gets shelved pretty quickly. We can try something new every day. If we get feedback that people enjoy that, let’s keep it in. At

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members’ clubs, you get criticism.

They say ‘you haven’t got a clue because it’s something new every day’.

You shut the course for around six months in the winter. Why do you make that decision?

We shut from the middle of November until the last week of March. It is basically on condition.

At the end of May, I could have shown you divots from last year’s Dunhill in October. There is no growth on the coastline until the middle of May and the start of June. With the volume of golfers we have through the season, if we continued that over the winter, we would ruin the course - or we would have to make compromises and ask golfers to play off mats.

If we do that, we can’t command our green fees and it would be discounted rates. We feel it would be a secondary experience.

You have to be in a strong financial position to make that statement but, when you come back at the end of March, it is the best it can be.

Our maintenance team stay for 12 months of the year and they have had five months working away, making sure every possible thing is done so, for the first golfers coming through, it is ‘wow’.

We see and hear from our colleagues and competitors in the market that they are looking at us with a little bit of envy.

Presumingly, opening day is a big deal each year…

We are there to make a big fuss of everyone walking through the doors on the first day. We are opening the doors up and we have always done little tweaks affecting the clubhouse or the driving range. We don’t just sit back over those five months. We

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are continually investing in the property without changing the dynamic.

It’s a great atmosphere and it gives us a great opportunity to manage our staff. Our core staff work really hard during the summer, and they are working on annualised hour contracts and have the winter off.

Everyone can have a certain amount of holiday in the summer, which is no problem with people working hard and an above average working week.

They know, in the middle of November, we can down tools and pick them up in four months time.

Only the core team, reservations and maintenance, are working 12 months.

How much has the course evolved since opening?

In the six years I have been here, from course condition, this place gets better through the years. We have 20,000 golfers playing in a six or seven month period and the turf has become stronger and tougher. We work very closely with the guys from the STRI and our course manager works really closely with that team. It’s very important to us and we have

individual course maintenance programmes for each hole.

The condition has improved immeasurably over six or seven years. Before I arrived, there was no development of any holes.

In the last six years we have added a small shelf to the back side of our 9th green, a bunker on the 11th two or three years ago and two new tee boxes on the 3rd and 16th. In the main, the course has stayed the same for roughly 17 years.

What makes great customer service?

Customer service is everything.

It’s three letters – yes. We strive for a satisfaction guarantee, which comes from our owner Art Dunkley. We will do whatever it takes to satisfy each customer.

When there’s a situation – maybe your coffee cup was cold or maybe pace of play might have been a little bit slow – we make sure that we have a policy that we do what it takes to make that customer happy. We have our Kingsbarns guarantee. We look at all the different departments – from our journey - and each head of department knows their place and their function within this customer

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service journey. We want to say we do everything to make the customer happy.

Take when we serve a cappuccino. If you go into Starbucks, it is served with a little template. Ours is the Kingsbarns crown and, when you serve it, you make sure the crown is in the correct position. People look at that and go ‘wow’. Every cup of coffee we serve, the crown is there.

We top it up. If you want a second coffee, it’s on the house.

If you get a ½ pint of coke, your second is included.

We try and make sure we touch as many golf bags as we can. We don’t want the customer picking his clubs up out of the boot of his car. When they get back into their

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“If someone wants to wear their cap in the clubhouse, let them wear their cap.

We want what the customers want” car, we make sure we touch your clubs. In restaurants, this is called the golden touch – where they touch your chair before you sit down. We want people to have a great experience from the start, go through that journey and we keep re-evaluating that. There are no financial limitations – that say we

are not allowed to do something.

It’s the opposite. We do what it takes to make that person feel involved.

When I arrived, the rack green fee was £165. The rack rate is now £240. But because we operate to keep people happy, our rounds have grown by over 50 per cent.

It shows you that it is still possible, in a fickle market place, if you provide a quality experience which, of course, you are paying for.

We can say that’s our main driver for our rack rate green fee. We try and make sure everything has been included in that price.

When you look at all our social media, and the feedback I get from customers post play, no one talks about the price. Everyone talks

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Kingsbarns Golf has been associated with Kingsbarns for centuries, with the forming of the Kingsbarns Golfing Society in 1793.

The current course, designed by worldrenowned architect Kyle Phillips, opened in 2000.

A regular co-host of the Dunhill Links Championship, along with the Old Course and Carnoustie, Kingsbarns have also staged the St Andrews Trophy, the Jacques Leglise Trophy and, in August, made their major bow with the Women’s British Open.

about what a great experience they had - from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave.

We have a special rate for our Scottish residents – we charge them 50 per cent of our rack rate. It’s still £120, which is a lot of money to charge the average Scottish person to play golf.

We accept that Scottish golfers coming to play and paying £120 will be our most critical of clients.

But it is the exact opposite.

Scottish golfers have voted Kingsbarns for the last three years as the best overall experience in Scotland. That’s from critical Scottish golfers, so we must be doing something right.

One of the things some

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customers say holds the sport back are stringent rules and regulations – like on dress codes, for example. Where do you stand on this?

We have no dress codes, on or off the course. You can come and play.

We draw the line at bathing suits.

People look at each other and you know how golf fashion has evolved over the last few years.

Nike now have their collarless shirts and Tiger had the turtle necks.

We have had no one playing in vests, and no one in hot pants.

That’s without having a dress code.

There are no signs that say no jeans, no training shoes. At the end of the day, maybe a handful have walked on in a pair of jeans. If that’s how they feel comfortable we are

fine with that.

If someone wants to wear their cap in the clubhouse, let them wear their cap. We want what the customers want. If they come in wearing flip-flops, if that’s what they put on after a shower, great.

If you walk into the clubhouse, it’s a nice, relaxed environment. We have got free wifi – there are no passcodes.

If you want to speak to your wife on the phone – and the mobile is down – we will give you a landline.

If their phone isn’t charged up, we give them a charger. We try to get into the mindset of how to make them feel special. They then walk away and say ‘Kingsbarns was fantastic’. And no one talks about paying £240 to play the course.

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GCMA RECRUITMENT

FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE VACANCIES BELOW, VISIT GCMA.ORG.UK/JOBS

LANCASTER GC ::: SECRETARY/MANAGER Lancaster, a magnificent James Braid-designed course, is seeking an experienced Secretary/ Manager (Full Time).

The successful candidate will manage the affairs of the club, oversee preparation and development of budgets and financial plans, ensure facilities are presented to highest standards and club is compliant with all laws and regulations, and manage media and other external communications.

RIPON CITY GC ::: CLUB MANAGER

Key skills: Track record of providing service exellence, proven management skills, financial literacy, marketing expertise, IT literate.

Founded in 1908, Ripon is a private members’ club enjoying a beautiful, peaceful, location on the northern edge of the famous Cathedral city.

The successful applicant will play a critical role in supporting the management committee.

They will be dynamic, looking to deliver the highest levels of customer service, a strong communicator and have sound interpersonal and commercial skills.

Region: Lancashire Apply by: September 15th. Apply to golfops@lancastergc.co.uk

Region: Yorkshire Apply by: September 20, 2017 Salary: c. ÂŁ15,000 (24 hour week)

EVENT AND MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR In preparation for another busy season, Saffron Walden Golf Club is seeking an Event and Membership Coordinator (Full/Part Time) The successful candidate will manage all group, society, event bookings and club matches together with being the main liaison with the members. Be the point of contact on the day to ensure events run smoothly and reconcile payments in conjunction with the administrative office.

Key skills: Previous experience in office role, IT literacy, customer service skills, financial acumen, knowledge of golf desirable.

Region: Essex Apply by: September 15th. Email application & CV to GM@swgc.com

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Good

PRACTICE Advice on golf club management issues – from finance to clubhouse rules and employment law to staff morale – from our panel of experts

GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

CREATING

AN EXPERIENCE

W

hat brings a customer through your doors?

A simple question, isn’t it?

But understanding the answer is key to being successful.

It’s a poser Woburn continually ask themselves.

At first glance, you might wonder why they would. With three beautifully designed courses – the

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Duke’s, Duchess and Marquess – and a history of hosting some of golf’s biggest tournaments, they enjoy an envied reputation.

But that’s not how they think at the Buckinghamshire venue.

For managing director Jason O’Malley, success is about creating an experience, not merely providing “a ‘product’ that someone wants to buy”.

“Our first priority is to ensure that the golf courses can always

be found in great condition,”he explains.

“If we have a good product in good condition, we know we have given ourselves a great chance to attract a customer (member/ visitor/corporate).

“From here, we have the ability to turn a visit to Woburn into an experience that is worthy of repeating and worthy of telling your friends about.

“If we create that positive

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At Woburn, great customer service is vital to everything they do, as general manager Jason O’Malley tells Steve Carroll

“I’m a firm believer in delivering hospitality over service. We want to ensure there is genuine warmth that comes across” experience and people return and recommend us to their golfing friends then our ‘reputation’ grows.”

Key to that, in O’Malley’s mind, are Woburn’s people – “the greatest asset and opportunity that we have to deliver an experience”.

We asked him how he views customer service, how that’s monitored and how you balance providing excellence to visitors with the needs of the membership…

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Why is customer service so important?

Simple – because at the prices we wish to charge, providing a great product isn’t enough. The product has to be supported by the delivery of great customer service – on a consistent basis.

Delivering a great product with great customer service (an experience) creates value, reputation and loyalty.

While we have a great club and a

great name within golf, we simply couldn’t survive if we had to attract a new set of customers every single year.

So the delivery of an experience ensures we have a very healthy base of customers across all of our customer profiles that remain loyal to the club year after year.

I am a big believer in delivering hospitality over service. We want to ensure there is genuine warmth that comes across when dealing with members and guests, rather than just an efficient, but sometimes cold, transaction.

We encourage the team to learn the customers’ names and use them as appropriate; to learn their preferences and habits, so we can personalise the hospitality we deliver and make them feel like they belong to the club.

Woburn is a relaxed environment. How do you create that while also maintaining standards you wish to set?

It’s a very difficult balance to strike.

We have standards as a club and we wish for our members and guests to adhere to and uphold these standards. The last thing we wish to do is upset a visitor who might not meet our dress code standards so it is imperative that we approach the customer in the right way and are very professional when delivering the necessary message. I am sure we can all recall situations when we have been asked to do something; either

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the right way or the wrong way and, depending on the way we were spoken to, either obliged with the request or felt put out or aggrieved by the manner in which we were spoken to.

It is about the way we support our staff and train them to ensure they are armed with the expertise and confidence to approach people in a professional manner.

When you have genuinely warm welcoming staff, you can get the message across in the right way.

How do you monitor service standards?

Again, the essential place to start is with great people. Trying to really understand and measure the standard of the hospitality you deliver is a challenge all clubs face. It is a very difficult area to gain sound, reliable and consistent feedback as it is such a subjective point. For example, two members could give you a very different rating/score or feedback, upon receiving identical hospitality.

While customer feedback is absolutely essential, we also have to measure our teams from an internal perspective, against an agreed set of goals that are underpinned by a set of standard operating procedures that have been written by team members and management, in order to deliver the standard of hospitality we wish to achieve.

The goals have been written by the ‘team’ so they are owned and adhered to, and not presented by or dictated by ‘the management’.

Then, I believe, you have to ensure there are relevant communication networks in place in order to derive the very best feedback and information that you can to gauge the standard of hospitality you are delivering.

You have to have MEASUREMENT

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in place. This starts with supervisors recognising positive and negative behaviours and reacting accordingly within a timely fashion. On a weekly basis we circulate all the written correspondence received over the previous seven days regarding the ‘Woburn Experience’. This is obviously discussed within team meetings and inter-departmental weekly staff briefings to ensure we are recognising excellence and reacting and learning from any shortcomings. We believe that measurement is so key to our success that we commit to a quarterly, documented one-to-one meeting with each team member - that references our hospitality and our goals, is relevant to role and department, but linked to an overall ‘club’ plan.

These conversations culminate in an annual appraisal, and the cycle starts once again.

How do you balance the needs of the membership with those of visitors, societies and corporate parties?

Our model at Woburn is one that requires a strong membership base that is supplemented by visitor and corporate green fee revenue. We ensure that during the membership application process, potential new members are made very aware of the club’s desire and need to offer availability to non-member golf. We feel that this is the most sensible place to start so members join our club with their eyes fully open. We are lucky at Woburn that we have three championship golf courses and the opportunity to host member and non-member golf alongside each other is made easier by the fact that we can manage the three.

Obviously at an 18-hole venue,

“It is essential your pricing strategy ensures both parties can see the value and worth of your club” a large society will mean that the members’ access is restricted to the golf course. Communication to members is essential so they are aware of when and where the courses are busy in advance.

Attaining the correct balance between member and nonmember golf volumes is always going to be challenging.

It is essential your pricing strategy ensures both parties can see the value and worth of your club. If you are charging several thousand pounds for membership subscriptions, then you need to ensure that visiting golfers are charged accordingly and not at a rate that undermines the membership offering.

Too often I see clubs offering

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CASE STUDY

LONG ASHTON

heavily discounted green fee rates that when viewed by a member, must bring them to question why they pay their subscriptions.

It is essential to create a feeling within your membership that there is a great benefit to ‘belong’ to your club. It is right members feel a strong sense of belonging to their club and, if you can create great worth and value to membership, then you will, of course, attract more members. If your pricing does not support this goal, then you will only encourage transient and nomadic golfers to visit on the occasional basis, as people will not see the value of paying their subscription.

In my opinion, successfully balancing the demands of the membership versus that of visitor golfers is ensuring both have a great experience but also that members are fully aware that, due to the club accepting visitor and corporate golfers during the year, this additional revenue allows for an improved membership price point than if you were a member only club.

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You don’t have to be Woburn to deliver outstanding customer service.

At Long Ashton, small things have made a huge difference.

When you think about takeaways, you might have a curry – or a dodgy kebab – on your minds.

At Long Ashton, though, anything goes and their members and visitors love it. The Bristol club have been swamped with people making off with a takeaway cake while their menu service, which allows members to order anything and go home with it, has also proved hugely popular.

“We have a number of older members who regularly use that service,” said general manager Vicky Rose.

“People can pick up anything on the menu and take it away with them.

“The takeaway cakes are a runaway favourite. All the players coming from Opens and functions know they can pick up takeaway homemade cakes and I think the girls are sick to death of making them!”

The girls, Lucy Dinham and Tig Nichols, along with head chef Glenn McNaughton, have been empowered

by the club to get to know their customers and anticipate their needs.

They designed a healthy eating menu, which has also been very popular - trialling it first and engaging with customers before fully implementing it into the every day club offering. It may not sound like re-inventing the wheel but excellent customer service was at its heart. It anticipated a need and responded to it. Importantly, it was an initiative that came from staff, who felt important, valued and motivated to make it a success with the members.

“Their input was encouraged and they felt like they were invested,” added Rose. They’ve now designed a second one. They had a look at what was going well and designed it again.”

Key to Long Ashton’s progress has been knowing their market and, most importantly, their people.

Rose explained: “It helps if you personally know your customers greeting people with names when you take food out. They (staff ) know who their food is for and identify that person. That personal touch has a big impact.”

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How to... deliver great

CUSTOMER SERVICE Linda Moir, who was leader of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games Makers and Virgin Atlantic’s Director of In Flight Services, reveals how you can make your customers happy

P

ut the customer first.

It’s a mantra trotted out so frequently by businesses it’s almost become a stereotype.

But if you base your principles on delivering outstanding customer service, you can enjoy spectacular results.

Just look at the career of Linda Moir.

She was hired by Sir Richard Branson in 2003 to ‘make flying fun’

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“You might have some very grand ideas, but if you have got someone grumpy delivering that service then it is not going to work”

at Virgin Atlantic and transformed their operation and reputation.

Virgin’s customer service was award winning, and saw significant business growth, based on the promise of ‘Brilliant Basics, Magic Touches’.

She then led the 15,000 Games Makers that turned the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012 into one of the most successful in history.

The Games Makers were an

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absolutely pivotal part of that – the first point of contact for spectators making their way into the venues and creating the wonderful atmosphere that captivated the capital over that summer.

Linda has enjoyed unparalleled success in HR and customer service and here are her guiding principles…

How do we deliver outstanding customer service?

Two things I’ve learned during all my career, but particularly at Virgin and which I tried to put in practice at the Olympic Games, was that, first of all, it is your people that deliver great customer service and you are only as good as the weakest link in that chain.

You might have some very grand ideas – in the case of Virgin it was the quality of our seats and our meals – but if you have got someone grumpy delivering that service then it is not going to work.

The second thing, and it is really important and sounds very obvious but not too many do it, is to walk in the shoes of the customer.

You only really understand what issues the customer faces when you literally walk through the customer journey step by step and understand where the journey works, really works and where the weak points are.

That’s how I would start. Often, organisations focus on their product. In the case of golf club managers, it’s the quality of the

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course or the quality of the leisure facilities. That’s very important but, for me, it is just as important to focus on the human wrap that goes round those products.

Virgin Business Class was top end £ wise, but what did they do differently to set themselves apart?

Virgin Business Class – called Upper Class – was high end. When I was there we launched flat bed seats in business class.

Three months later, Singapore Airlines came up with something better. They were wider, the pillows were squidgier, and so on. They beat us.

But we had wrapped our service round the product so we beat them in terms of overall recognition.

That all came down to the crew being really clear about what they had to do.

It’s what we called our ‘Brilliant Basics’. They had the freedom to deliver magical

touches and go and enjoy themselves. That’s how Virgin service became known for warmth, cheekiness and friendliness.

Our rivals were very professional but lacked authenticity.

What can we learn from the Olympics, where you worked with people who weren’t being paid?

That sense of pride is so important to delivering great service.

You can’t tell people to be proud.

You have to encourage them and give them that opportunity to be proud of what they are doing.

When I got this sizeable job to lead the spectator experience at the Olympic Games, I knew I had nine million spectators and 15,000 volunteers.

I am not a proud person and I went to ask the team who ran the Sydney Games in 2000.

Everybody had said that Olympic Games couldn’t be beaten in terms of the atmosphere and friendliness.

They said there were three golden rules for engaging volunteers…

People like being busy. If you have volunteers turn up for their opportunity and say ‘there is nothing for you at the moment, go have a cup of tea and come back in an hour’, they can really switch off.

Rotate people and give them a lot of different tasks. What I learned at the London Games

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is never underestimate their appetite and energy for learning – at any age. We made sure our volunteers did a lot of different jobs and moved them round all the time and that made an enormous difference.

Reward and recognition. This is not about money. It is about team leaders saying ‘thank you’.

It is about very small tokens of recognition. We gave out a lot of badges and shift gifts. That’s so important in building that sense of pride.

Those were our three main rules to build pride and recognition.

Why is customer service important?

As consumers, we all have phenomenal choice.

If I have a bad experience I don’t just tell my nearest and dearest, I tell the world.

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“Customer service is more important than ever and getting it right is more important than ever”

My children, if they are unhappy with a service experience, don’t think about phoning up or writing a letter. They are on Twitter or put something on Instagram and they tell the world.

Customer service is more important than ever and getting it right is more important than ever.

Customers are more demanding than ever.

What’s the biggest mistake people make when delivering

customer service?

The biggest I have observed people making is that they focus on their product and don’t think about the service or the people.

I have worked with a lot of organisations who are really proud when they have managed to improve something for the customer, they launch it and then they don’t engage or collaborate with their people – and it could be so much better.

As managers, don’t think you know it all because you probably don’t.

Linda Moir will be delivering the opening keynote presentation of the 2017 GCMA Conference Driving a memorable customer experience - on Monday, November 13. To book your place visit gcma. org.uk/conference

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Do we really need to

LENGTHEN OUR COURSES? The golf ball is going ever further – or so we are being told. But is it really getting out of hand and, if so, is the only solution to make courses longer? Steve Carroll reports

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A

s an exercise in pure power, it was something to behold.

And it all seemed so effortless.

The measuring tape came out and the result brought a gasp even for those of us used to seeing the world’s best launch the ball into orbit: at the WGCBridgestone Invitational Dustin Johnson drove it 439 yards off the 16th tee.

It was the longest shot seen on the PGA Tour for four seasons and it brought the predictable chorus of concern and condemnation.

How can courses defend themselves against such brute force?

It feels like the top professionals are playing a different game now, but the trickle-down perception – that we are all hitting the ball out of our socks – has worked its way into club golf.

Stick a search term into Google and you’ll see rank and file courses across the nation that have ‘sensitively lengthened’ or ‘remodelled and redesigned’ in a bid to ‘stay relevant’ in the modern game. It’s a Chinese whisper that has become an indisputable truth.

But is it really the case? Is bringing in the bulldozers inevitable as average golfers strike the ball ever longer?

“We have been going out since 1996 getting very cold,”said Dr Steve Otto, the R&A’s director of equipment standards, at the industry-leading BTME conference in Harrogate last January.

“We do this at six locations around the UK. We do the same weekends year in and year out.

We look at how far normal golfers drive the ball. So for men, I am able to tell you that the average driving

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distance on a Saturday morning monthly medal is around 210 yards.”

It’s 213 to be precise, a figure gathered after collecting numbers over a 20-year period, with a data set of between 1,600 and 2,000 shots a year.

The findings were published in an R&A report titled ‘Analysis of Amateur Driving Data 1996-2016’.

For ladies, the figure is around 145 yards.

“It’s not what golfers perceive they drive the ball,”Otto added.

“That’s really what they drive the ball.”

That figure of 213 yards was 13

lengthening might not be the major priority for clubs.

It’s the effects of dispersion, length of rough and placement of hazards they may actually want to consider if they’re looking to alter their layout.

“Really, it is trying to have golf courses to be set up to play shorter games,”added Dr Otto.

“It’s not about just moving the tees up – and you’ve still got to hit over that lake to get on to the green.

“It’s actually looking at golf, and perhaps the challenge to the business is looking at how you can make golf courses easier, not

“If putting in another 300 yards means you can land a prestigious event, is that worth the additional challenge for members?” further than when statistics were first taken two decades ago.

And narrowed down to when shots were considered using only a driver, that gap narrowed even further. The average driving distance rose from just over 205 yards to a shade over 214 – an increase of only nine yards.

That might put into perspective some of the demands to rein in the ball across many sectors of the game.

What was also interesting was that driving accuracy decreased, but that players were grabbing the big stick far more often.

When the R&A first started collecting data, only 73 per cent of shots recorded were hit with a driver. Ten years on, that figure had risen to around 90 per cent.

What this all reveals is that, despite the commonly held beliefs,

thinking of tricking them up.”

The lure of the ‘championship’ tag has led many courses to seek to extend their properties.

If putting in another 300 yards means you can land a prestigious event, is that worth the additional challenge for members week in and week out?

Dr Otto told his audience:“I’m not quite sure what a championship golf course entails.

“My favourite thing was when I was in a golf course architects’ meeting and he said ‘what I tend to do is I show them a picture of a helipad and say ‘if you’re having a championship golf course where do you want the helipad?’ ‘Why do I need a helipad?’ ‘Well you’ll need that for the players coming in’.”

Interestingly one of the world’s most prestigious and lauded courses have taken Otto’s message

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“In order to win golf tournaments, you don’t need to hit the ball a long way. You just need to take fewer shots than anyone else” to heart. Royal Dornoch (below) weighs in at 6,748 yards from the furthest tees – the blues – with the traditional ladies red tees measuring 5,940 yards. But the Scottish course went one better, introducing new green tees of 5,359 yards and a par of 76. The aim of the tees, which can be used by anyone irrespective of age, gender or handicap, was to make the links more enjoyable and accessible.

“The Championship Course is there to be enjoyed by everyone,” said general manager Neil Hampton at the launch.“Players can still use the back tees, but introducing the new positions

opens up the course to a broader range of people.

“The biggest challenge and the most fun at Royal Dornoch is around the greens. Some higher handicap players can take three or four shots to get to the green, but with the new tees they can get there quicker and have a much better all-round experience.”

This is course planning in action – finding a way to keep the layout challenging but without necessarily bolting on more yards and longer tees.

“In order to win golf tournaments, you don’t need to hit the ball a long way. You actually just need to take fewer shots than anyone else,”quipped Dr Otto in Harrogate. “I’m sure you could have probably got that one by yourself. How do you take fewer shots than anyone else? You hit more fairways, which leads you to hitting more greens and you take less putts. How do you hit more fairways? You actually don’t hit it quite as hard.

“So, actually, it does all kind of make sense.”

WHY DOES TECHNOLOGY MATTER? Chris Beaumont, golf club marketing manager at Titleist, reveals what advances in design have meant to average golfers “There is no question that modern drivers, using modern technology, have allowed all golfers to experience forgiveness and performance that was not possible in persimmon heads. Quite simply, the much larger clubhead has dramatically increased the size of the sweet spot and thus allowed more shots to hit fairways than ever possible with persimmon.”

Is modern technology making golf easier for the average player, rather than the assumed measure that everyone’s hitting the ball a lot farther?

“I’m not sure I would agree that the game is now so much easier than it was in previous generations.

“You still need to get the ball in the hole, and that takes a number of different skills to accomplish.

“However, there is no doubt that modern technology has allowed manufacturers to make larger club heads that increase the sweet spot and MOI (moment of inertia), thus meaning more off-centre shots perform similar to a good shot.

“It’s simple, allowing more off-centre shots to hit fairways and perform like a good shot will mean more golfers hit it further more often.”

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E D U C AT E | I N F O R M | I N S P I R E

Marketing Services Sports Publications are, above all else, a company of golfers. The three directors, Will Shucksmith, Tom Irwin and Dan Murphy play off handicaps of +2, scratch and 3 respectively.

Will is a PwC trained chartered accountant with a decade of experience working with SME’s, Tom has a commercial background spanning 20 years in customer facing industries and Dan Murphy is steeped in golf with approaching 15 years at the helm of the UK’s highest circulating golf magazine.

Between us we have a century’s worth of golfing experience.

WE HAVE A PROVEN REPUTATION AS MEDIA PROFESSIONALS. In recent years, the company have worked closely with governing bodies, like the Ladies’ Golf Union and England Golf, tourist boards, such as Visit Scotland and Visit Wales, major equipment manufacturers, including TaylorMade, Callaway and Ping, and produced several course rankings lists.

Along with unparalleled knowledge of, and familiarity with, the golfing world comes a contacts books built up over several years.

From Cornwall to Cape Wrath, we understand golf clubs, their members, visitors and their communities.

We can help you maximise your clubs full potential, tapping into your latent asset base. If you are looking for help in any of the areas listed below, please get in touch: • • • • • • • • •

Course photography Corporate video creation Social Media Drone Footage Email newsletters Governance & structure PR advice Member engagement Marketing

For a free consultation please get in touch with our Director, Tom Irwin: E: t.irwin@sportspub.co.uk Tel:+44 (0) 1132 893 979 Mob:+44 (0) 7973628781

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From the

DIPLOMA Developing and managing a socially responsible golf club.

We look at the tools a club can use to develop the right strategy

“O

f course we are socially responsible!

We are the guardians of beautifully maintained areas of forest, parkland, wetlands, heathland or links environments. We engage with the local community when we want to and look after our members...don’t we?”

Or do we? Who within our clubs truly know about socially responsible practices or even care?

Social responsibility is a new focus area within golf club management, and something that has not formally been recognised before the inception of this diploma.

Greenkeepers would argue they have been socially and environmentally responsible for years, but we just take it for granted and don’t give ourselves enough positive press on this topic.

It is something that everyone does to varying degrees.

To some, social responsibility is part of their basic fabric, such as ethical buying decisions at the supermarket or who you choose to socialise with or support politically.

It is a subject that can polarise

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people. To some it is rubbish and to others it is highly relevant and part of day-to-day decision making.

What is the role of the golf club within the community and what is it that they do?

Sometimes managers and their committees are so busy with the day-to-day running of their club they do not stop to reflect on why the club is in business or how it should engage with its membership and local community.

The process of starting, developing and managing a business will impact upon others, both within and external to the business (Down, 2010).

Very few businesses operate in isolation in terms of the impact on the community in which they are based. This impact may be economic (the creation of jobs), social (the use of business facilities by local communities), environmental (management

“To some it is rubbish and to others it is highly relevant and a part of day-to-day decision making”

of the physical environment) or cultural (investment by a business in local arts and cultural facilities).

This impact on the community can be seen with the management of golf courses.

Unlike many other types of business activity, golf courses need to manage the integration of the environment with the community in which they are based.

The access to green space within, or close to, urban areas, the protection of coastal areas, the use of water and energy in the maintenance of the course, pollution control and effective management of the supply chain may lead to environmental, social and cultural benefits for others.

As concerns and expectations around the need for sustainability and environmental management become more prominent within certain segments of society, there will be need for a response from golf clubs.

The Social Responsibility Act (2011) and the Equality Act (2010) are affecting the golf arena with policies for environmental management or ethical business practices.

Such policies are forcing clubs to be more aware and responsible and failure to do so could result in hefty fines if working practices are

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proven to contravene government policy.

Another influence could be engaging with businesses who work within apprenticeship frameworks.

The tentacles of these acts will continue to affect golf clubs and how they function, ultimately encouraging socially responsible businesses who implement policies without the need to legislate. This should be embedded within every business and not forced upon them.

Some clubs are beginning to implement social responsibility policy statements, which is formalising what many clubs do naturally, but maybe subconsciously.

There are lots of good reasons to do this.

It is morally a good thing to do, it helps give people a sense of personal fulfilment and creates a positive image for the club and their employees.

As an innovative manager this can help you motivate others positively and have good employee relationships and encourage happy staff. It can help embed the club into the local community and it can make better economic sense and help with

supplier relationships. Ultimately prevention is better than cure and a positive stance can avoid governmental regulation.

The key benefits to being socially responsible include a positive tool to approach increasing productivity by making decisions that reduce the cost of transacting with suppliers and stakeholders.

It aids decision making that enhances the perceived value of the business with the local community and stakeholders who are external to the club.

Just to balance the debate regarding social responsibility, there are arguments, mostly posed by economists, against this trend.

Some of these arguments say that running a business is about making money and profit and the cost of social responsibility is borne by us and society and not the business itself.

However, the economists perceive there is a lack of skills among businesses in solving social problems. Ultimately, this is an investment but the financial and moral returns may not be seen for several years.

There are many examples of large companies that have developed socially responsible activities and some of these are

POSITIVE Contribute to the local business community Positive perception of the business in the community

Personal ethical values Desire to give back to others

EXTERNAL

INTERNAL Loss of customers Response to competitors

It is about me and not the others It is about money

NEGATIVE

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What is this unit about?

This unit reviews the motivations, relationships, approaches and tools that can benefit a club to enable it to become a more socially responsible and relevant business.

The learning outcomes are: • Understand the principles of socially responsible business • Understand the relationship between socially responsible behaviour and sustainability of a business • Be able to develop a socially responsible strategy for a business • Be able to review the impact of socially responsible behaviour in a business The Diploma in Golf Club Management, the result of a partnership between the GCMA, PGA and BIGGA, covers all the core skills required to manage a club.

It is a level 5 ASQ externally qualified assured qualification, visible on the framework of regulated qualifications.

It is suitable for, and open to, all levels of skills and experienced and is perfectly suited for existing managers, and those looking to move into the profession, from related roles in the golf industry.

If you would like to know more, visit the GCMA website at gcma.org.uk/ education/diploma

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explored within this unit to help draw parallels to the golfing industry, such as Nike, the Nicklaus group of companies or Innocent drinks.

These examples help us understand the characteristics that drive individuals or companies to do things and develop a certain resilience to help drive such plans through in the face of criticism.

However, it will also identify the practical qualities to deliver projects or plans. Further, there are the benefits in terms of what the club can achieve by being socially responsible and understanding these help understand what you need to deliver.

It may help attract the right type of employee or member, or merely allow for a social legacy or foundation.

A policy can make an explicit statement that demonstrates what

you do implicitly.

Available evidence suggests the extent and nature of socially responsible business activity varies between different groupings of businesses. For example, a survey of 1,700 small businesses in the UK undertaken by the Federation of Small Businesses highlighted that: • 92% considered their businesses to be socially and environmentally responsible • Nearly half cited ‘putting something back’ or altruism as their key motivation to being socially and environmentally responsible • 45% of the surveyed businesses considered social and environmental responsibility could be a useful marketing tool • Nearly 40% were of the view that a business that is socially and environmentally responsible was more likely

DISCRETIONARY BEING A ‘GOOD’ BUSINESS CONTRIBUTE RESOURCES TO THE COMMUNITY

ETHICAL BE ETHICAL OBLIGATIONS TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT, JUST AND FAIR

LEGAL OBEY THE LAWS LAW IS SOCIETY’S CODIFICATION OF WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG

ECONOMIC BE PROFITABLE THE FOUNDATION UPON WHICH ALL THE OTHERS REST The pyramid of Social Responsibility, derived from Carroll 1991

52 | GCMA.ORG.UK

to be successful in the current business climate • 83% of the surveyed businesses were actively engaged in waste minimisation and recycling and 41% of businesses bought products that were more environmentally friendly • 42% of the surveyed businesses reported having measures which promoted the health and well-being of staff There a number of frameworks which outline approaches and strategies which can be used to develop a socially responsible business. They help to visualise, plan and measure activities looking at both relevance and competence: • The World Business Council for Sustainable Development: Ackerman’s model of social responsibility

“It may help attract the right type of employee or member, or merely allow for a social legacy or foundation” This model demonstrates how you can practically shape your policy and how to introduce the notion of social responsibility when your stakeholders don’t understand the concept or its benefits.

This also helps understand what the policy would look like, position it, understand how it can be introduced and executed both internally and externally. Finally, it will need to be monitored and reviewed to ensure effectiveness.

Sometimes policies and strategic

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INTRODUCE CSR

IDENTIFY KEY FEATURES

MONITOR PERFORMANCE

IMPLEMENT MANAGEMENT ACTION PLAN

POSITION THE ORGANIZATION STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

DEVELOP MANAGEMENT ACTION PLAN

Source:World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2000)

plans fail and this can be for several reasons. The internal politics of the club and their staff can be an inhibitor if the strategy is not well considered or communicated. The attitudes of staff can kill a strategy before it has a chance to mature and the overall culture of the business must compliment the strategy.

External influences, which can prove to be inhibitors, can include the expectations of the local community, the media, local competition and even the legislative processes.

These can be difficult to change as they are frequently outside your sphere of influence. All these influences, both internal and external to the organisation, are important to reflect against to ensure success.

In summary, there are no single set of social responsibility indicators that can be used.

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Vision, Strategy, Policy

Alter Course, Modify

ENGAGEMENT LOOPS

Operational Principles

Monitoring, Reporting Source: World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2000)

The following may be useful considerations - but they must be relevant to your club: • Values and governance in the golf club • Regulations and controls • Business operations • Accountability and disclosure • People management • Product/service impact • Social impact • Impact on the environment

Indicators are important as they help you know if your social responsibility policy is working by generating evidence - potentially to unlock more resources or funding. They can be used to help shift relationships to a more positive two-way communication by evidencing situations.

Ultimately, social responsibility can be used as a lens for looking at the impact of the golf club.

GCMA.ORG.UK | 53

From the

HELPDESK This month: Course bag tags, VAT and competition fees and...data protection A complaint has been made by a 19-year-old’s mother regarding the way her son was spoken to when challenged by our captain on the course about him not having a bag tag. Should this be treated as though he is a junior? As the member is 19 do we have to discuss this with his mother (who isn’t a member)?

As the member is now an adult then he should be treated as one - a ‘child’ is defined as any young person under the age of 18 – and you do not have to involve his mother. He could be given the option to discuss the matter with you and in the presence of a friend, which may be his mother but that would be up to him to decide. It may be that he did not want to complain at all.

While completing our annual return/confirmation statement, we have been asked to submit our ‘people with significant control’ report. What is the standard for clubs to report?

We were only going to register the club chairman, who runs our general committee.

There is no standard as there are many different management structures out there with varied PSCs. The chairman may well be the

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only one depending on how much control he actually has without committee approval. You may need a PSC depending on your responsibilities.

The Government states that: “You need to consider whether anyone has significant influence or control over the activities of your club. Statutory guidance provides guidance on the meaning of significant influence or control over the activities of a trust or firm. You must have regard to this guidance when considering whether a person meets his conditions.”

We have looked through the guidance and suggest it is entirely up to you to decide within their parameters.

Visit: gov.uk/government/ publications/guidance-to-thepeople-with-significant-controlrequirements-for-companies-andlimited-liability-partnerships Please can you simplify and clarify 01/15 sheet for VAT and competition fees in the Information Library...

As long as you are not siphoning off competition entry fees for different competitions or other projects then they are exempt. If you do take some as an admin fee, for trophy engraving and so on, then make sure it is for covering

the costs only.

You need to include all your competition entry fees as exempt in any partial exemption calculations but if some of the fees are for standard rated supplies (bar catering for example) then they must be separated out and accounted for either individually or as one lump. In the past, entry fees for non-members were vatable but since the Bridport case they are now exempt so HMRC are saying that you can claim the VAT back for them if you wish.

Do we need a data protection license even though we have CASC status and deemed ‘not for profit’?

It is not that simple. Please check whether you are exempt by completing the online self-assessment: ico.org.uk/ for-organisations/improve-yourpractices/data-protection-selfassessment-toolkit/.

This will double-up as a type of risk assessment should the ICO pay you a visit. This article can be found in document 5009 in the Information Library. Visit: gcma.org. uk/library/5009/ An online helpdesk staffed by industry experts offers an advisory service. Visit gcma.org.uk/ members.

GCMA.ORG.UK | 55

GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

Ask the

EXPERT Simon Wordsworth, director of 59club, answers questions on customer service Why should a golf club prioritise excellent customer service?

If a club doesn’t prioritise service, it may well go out of business. Big statement, but true in my view.

It costs a fortune to make changes to the golf course; even then, there is no guarantee that the experience will be received any differently. It costs a fortune to build, to extend, to decorate, and to renovate buildings, and even then this may not be to everyone’s tastes or indeed may not be well received. However, it costs very little to develop your team and change their attitudes towards the person in front of them. Good customer service is not about changing the staff member, it’s about changing the way they think and behave. All you need is information and your time.

How do you ensure a consistent level of service throughout your staff?

Golf is horrendous at managing and training its staff. They often don’t know what is expected of them. If you want consistency (humans aren’t consistent by the way) then they have to understand firstly what is specifically required.

Secondly, they have to be rewarded when they succeed, and, of course, there has to be a downside with regular failure.

56 | GCMA.ORG.UK

Thirdly, they have to be led. Your example is critical to any service level improvements, no matter how natural or unnatural it comes to you. Once you accept that position as club manager you have to excel in service, you have to lead by example.

How should a golf club monitor service levels?

If we took a typical golf club I think the whole picture looks like this: Annual snapshot: A comprehensive member survey, delivered with a real focus from all staff to encourage people to supply their own views. As a club you can’t rely on “loud voices”in AGM’s as being reflective of the majority.

New member: A series of integration surveys at various touch points during the initial joining period (e.g. after weeks one, four and eight) allows managers to take actions that will ensure members are embedded deep into club life. For those members who have been identified as vulnerable to leaving, having not yet established any friendships or felt that they belong at the club per se, the survey will sound the alarm bells that ‘project retention’ isn’t being delivered as one had planned and would hope.

Reasons for leaving: Exit surveys

determine why members choose to leave the club, they provide clarity on what went wrong. It’s impossible to build a contented and loyal membership base without this information.

Direct feedback: As a manager, ensure you have one gathering a month where you invite a cross section of members (seven to eight) to discuss issues over a bite to eat. It’s your meeting to facilitate but not to conduct and control.

Play golf: You have to experience what you deliver. Get out and play every week, two lots of nine holes with three different golfers, simple calculations will tell you that’s probably 1/2 the membership.

Targeting low users and new members to facilitate friendships will all help with ‘project retention’.

Other surveys: You need to seek feedback from society organisers, from corporate golf bookers, your casual visitors - in fact every

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identifiable revenue stream needs focus and nurturing.

Continual feedback: Customer service tracker surveys are easy to implement and easy to measure and grant you a guarantee of engagement with customers who will return, spend more and recommend you to their friends.

What are the universal principles of excellent service?

My principles are simple; - Charge fairly for what you deliver - Consider what ‘warm and welcoming’ should be at every customer touch point, even prior to their arrival - How can you do that better?

What’s the most common mistake people make when delivering customer service?

The universal code of business goes something like this; trainee starts, learns the ropes, members

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love him, customers love him, he’s doing a great job, let’s give him more responsibility. Staff attitudes changes, less time spent engaging with members and guests and more time spent at the screen. I am not saying that staff shouldn’t be given extra responsibility, but we should consider the areas that staff are good at. Putting a people person in the back office to run reports is not a good use of our service people.

How powerful can social media be for golf clubs?

If you have a club that keeps customers coming back and an offer that is right for your audience, social media and, especially Facebook advertising, has the ability to transform a club in a matter of months by getting new customers through the door.

customer service seriously?

The battleground for a golfer’s spend is all about the experience, rather than what it costs. We all have less time so the requirement to enjoy our valuable time is greater. If you do have more time, expectations are even higher as we are more aware of service levels.

How many committees have a little section looking at customer service? So many clubs, managers and committees are scared of what detailed information in this area will show. The not knowing and not addressing customer service is a risk clubs shouldn’t take, and especially not when there are so many ways they can be helped. Very simply, address it or lose.

59club provide bespoke mystery shopper performance measurement results for the golf industry, visit 59club.com

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GCMA.ORG.UK | 57

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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

Meet the

MANAGER

Sponsor of the 2017 GCMA Manager of the Year award

With Sam Poole, general manager at Leigh, in Warrington

Sam Poole with Masters champion Sergio Garcia

H

ow did you get into golf club management?

My first role in golf club management came at my home club Sale, where I have been a member since I was 14 years old.

My route into golf club management is fairly unique as I managed to unknowingly gain valuable knowledge vital to my success as a club manager.

Firstly I trained as an accountant and gained AAT qualifications,

60 | GCMA.ORG.UK

giving me the financial skills which have been extremely useful in setting budgets and maintaining sound golf club accounts.

While I was working in accountancy I still had a burning desire to work in the golf industry so I took the difficult decision to leave a well paid job and solid career path to pursue this passion.

I enrolled on the two year Golf Management Course at Myerscough College while taking on a full-time job as a bar manager at a local sports club.

This was another role that gave me valuable skills, with an understanding of the F&B side of golf club management. After graduation I worked at local driving ranges before becoming general manager at Leigh Golf Club. I toyed with the idea of taking on the PGA qualification while working at the ranges.

Ultimately, though, I love to play competitive golf and I knew I wouldn’t be good enough to compete at professional level‌so here I am at Leigh Golf Club.

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What are the challenges?

There is a lot of negative publicity surrounding the sport and we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot with the likes of the Muirfield vote. The main challenge I see day to day, particularly for a younger manager like myself, is the constant battle with the old school mentality and reluctance to change. The barriers put in place by this mentality is a huge challenge for the golf industry as a whole and it is vital managers continue to breakdown these barriers within golf clubs.

What part of your role do you enjoy most?

I really enjoy being around like minded people who love to play golf and I enjoy the variety that the role brings. More than anything I enjoy the challenge and doing my bit to help modernise the industry.

What’s the one thing you would change about it?

Is it possible to invent more hours in a day? Also if someone could invent more tee times on a Saturday morning that would certainly help as well!

What’s the best piece of advice you have been given?

The obvious but simple advice of always being yourself and putting 100% into something you are passionate about can often be overlooked. I was fortunate enough to have great parents who engrained this into me and they’re

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the main reason I am where I am today.

How often do you play golf?

My handicap has suffered this year as I haven’t played as much as I would like and I’ve just crept up to five. I want to make sure it’s back down to four by the end of the season.

“I feel more has to be done to develop the governance of golf, especially private members’ clubs who are reluctant to change” What’s your favourite golfing memory?

When I was at Myerscough we went on a trip to work at Sergio Garcia’s home tournament, the Castello Masters.

I was fortunate enough to be the scorer for the final group on the Sunday and walked with Sergio as he broke the European Tour record for the lowest four round total.

What’s your proudest achievement in golf?

Probably winning the Shotsaver Match Play, a competition run throughout the North West. I had to play about ten rounds to get to the final and went on to win.

Where do you see the role of a club manager in 20 years?

That the golf industry will have seen a significant shift and that club managers have more freedom to express their talents and are given the opportunity to embrace change and develop the golf industry as a whole. I hope club managers will be working in a new modernised golfing landscape and will have been the architects of that landscape.

How do you feel about the state of the game?

I have real concerns over the state of the game and the culture that is still prevalent in clubs across the country. I feel that more has to be done to develop the governance of golf, especially private members’ clubs who are reluctant to change.

I think The R&A missed an opportunity to set an example for clubs with the Muirfield saga.

Once they changed their minds they were put straight back on the Open Championship rota while small clubs are left reeling once again from the negative publicity.

Tell us something we don’t know about you?

My career ambition is to become the chief executive of England Golf.

About To contact Leigh, call 01925 762 943 or visit leighgolf.co.uk

GCMA.ORG.UK | 61

GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

From the

REGIONS INTERNATIONAL MATCH August 8 to 10 Ekerum Golf Resort,Oland, Sweden Sixteen GCMA members travelled to Ekerum, on the island of Oland, to take on the Swedish managers in a three-day match.

A 36-hole complex with apartments, and two restaurants, golf isn’t the only sport held at Ekerum – with the resort also having four courts of paddle tennis.

Ekerum CEO Magnus Lagerlöf, who gave a substantial introduction on the development of the complex from its conception, welcomed the GCMA team. Oland measures around 100 miles in length and it is the only golf complex.

On the first day, fourballs went out to the delightful Tall Erik course – a good test of golf with greens that were some of the largest most of the party had ever seen.

The two courses were named after lighthouses and, at dinner that evening, the pairings for the following day were read out by national captain Howard Williams and GAF CEO Torbjorn Johansson.

The games were played at Kalmar, a very traditional course with a par three opening hole, which was totally over water.

Everyone admired the new clubhouse, which was only opened this year, and an in depth account of the proceedings at the club, visions and costings were delivered in a presentation.

62 | GCMA.ORG.UK

After lunch, the players took to the course and – as the results came in – the match was very balanced. The Swedes led 4.5-3.5, which was a good result for GB&I having lost 15-1 last year at St Andrews.

Match day 1 results: Jasmine Rawsthorne & Lars Andersson (Sweden) halved with Howard Williams and Jon Hall; Marten Olander and Torbjorn Johansson lost 1up to John Edgington and Paul Rogers; Mikael Thornberg and Caroline Mollesand halved with Dougie Neave and Peggy Maher; Karl-Martin Harstrom and Johan Bjerngren beat Mo Brooker and Rolf Gustafsson 8&6; Christian Tiden and Marcus Tegstam halved with Niki Hunter and Ali Gilhome; Andreas Andersson and Hakan Pettersson beat Will Sjoberg and Douglas Montgomerie 2&1; Fredrik Thiis and Conny Harlesand lost 7&6 to Karen Drake and Jim Cunning;

Eva Tigerman Enckell and Mats Candinger beat Joy Pickard and Charlie Gowrie 1 up.

The third day saw golf start at 1pm so the teams attended the pentathlon games put on by the resort in the courtyard, which turned out to be a great team bonding exercise as the teams – divided with Swedes and Brits all mixed up – completed a series of tasks.

The serious task of trying to win The Knalle Trophy came after lunch at Tall Jan, the newer of the two courses.

This course has been remodelled and now has large sand waste areas that define the grass fairways.

The greens were very large and undulating and one player, on a par 4, hit driver and hybrid before using the latter club to putt – leaving a gimme for par.

No-one was allowed to give the result of their match until dinner

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that night.

After the first course in the Champagne room, a presentation was made to Eva Tigerman Enckell by the GCMA. She played in the very first match and all subsequent ones and will be retiring this year as a golf club manager.

Earlier in the year, she was given honorary membership of GAF, the Swedish equivalent of GCMA. The results were staggered with the lead chopping and changing throughout the courses.

The result came down to the captain’s match and no-one had expected it to be this close.

Jon Hall’s speech advised that he and Howard Williams had prevailed and the GB&I team had taken the trophy back from the Swedes 8.5-7.5.

It was a fantastic result and the second time the GCMA team had won on Swedish soil.

Match day 2 results: Mikael

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and Will Sjoberg 3&1.

Thornberg and Conny Karlesand lost 3&2 to Howard Williams and Jon Hall; Marcus Tegstam and Eva Tigerman Enckell lost 2 up to Niki Hunter and Ali Gilhome; Andreas Ljonggren and Lars Andersson beat Mo Brooker and Douglas Montgomerie 5&4; Karl-Martin Harstrom and Torbjorn Johannson lost 3&2 to Jim Cunning and Joy Pickard; Fredrik Thiis and Joakim Pettersson lost 4&3 to Dougie Neave and Karen Drake; Hakan Pettersson and Christian Tiden lost 6&5 to Charlie Gowrie and Peggy Maher; Jasmine Rawsthorne and Mats Candinger beat John Edgington and Rolf Gustafsson 5&3 and Robert Hipling and Marten Olander beat Paul Rogers

It was an excellent match and the experience gained from each other, our different types of golf clubs, along with the bonding, meeting of old and new friends and the network that is carried out during all three days, was second to none.

The hospitality of the Swedes was excellent and a lot can be learned and garnered by visiting their delightful clubs and courses.

We look forward to hosting GAF next year and enjoying the relationship and friendship that has been built up over the years.

Next year will be the 20th anniversary of this match and the 16th renewal. Let us hope it is as friendly and as enjoyable as this year. Thank you GAF. If you wish to take part in one of the GCMA’s international matches, contact John Edgington by email on hq@gcma.org.uk

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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

A week in the life of...

ED RICHARDSON We meet the general manager of Broadstone in Dorset

S

et in Dorset’s glorious heathland, Broadstone regularly hosts big events and is also a popular tourist destination for many golfers who play the other top courses in the area, such as Parkstone, Ferndown and Isle of Purbeck.

Ed Richardson, who started out as a PGA professional, has been at the club since February 2015.

Prior to that, he spent 12 years

Monday The day starts at about 7.30am when I phone the head greenkeeper on the way in to work. We speak most days at this time to discuss plans ahead and seeing if any early morning changes have been made to existing plans.

With the challenging nature of the course, we have a very competitive membership who love playing in competitions, so Monday morning begins with processing the 130-odd cards from the previous Saturday’s medal. The rest of the morning is catching up with the various departments to ensure no issues have occurred over the weekend.

In the afternoon, I have a meeting with a countryside officer who own a neighbouring piece of open space land that, along with the golf course, form an SSSI site of rare heathland.

64 | GCMA.ORG.UK

at Newbury & Crookham in Berkshire and nearly five of those as club manager. A member of the Wessex region, and recently helping out on the Southern region committee, Ed is a great advocate of the GCMA and especially the young managers’ group he has been involved in.

While now past his 40th birthday and feeling he is beyond the title of ‘young manager’, he thoroughly enjoys his job. But what does a week for him entail?

We work together to ensure we meet Natural England regulations but also share resources and information.

Tuesday After a morning meeting with the ladies’ captain planning some competitions, I have a meeting over a cuppa with my fellow managers Michael and Ian from Parkstone and Ferndown. Being a popular tourist area, we work closely together to ensure we are offering a great service for anyone visiting the area. As with GCMA regional meetings, I find these types of networking meetings and information sharing opportunities immensely valuable.

Wednesday I watched a demo of a new grillo cut and collect machine in the morning,

which we believe will help us improve how we manage our large heathland areas. The afternoon was mostly taken up with a handicap and competitions meeting. Unlike some others, I actually really enjoy meetings - even the long, difficult ones. I do not, however, enjoy trying to organise them and doing the minutes!

Thursday While no two days are the same at golf clubs, it always intrigues me how each day has its own ‘feel’. Thursday is ladies’ day at the club and our ladies section are great fun and are some of our keenest volunteers to help at big events. After their golf, the ladies have a committee meeting and following this we go through some changes they wish to make to their championship format.

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Friday Always a very busy day and this was no exception. Our agronomist Gordon Irvine was visiting for the day and we meet at the start and end of his visit to discuss how things are progressing.

We are on a sward conversion programme on the greens and are working towards a more sustainable route of greenkeeping.

This year’s meetings have been pretty easy as the greens and general conditions have been great.

I have been fascinated during my two years here to get to know far more about agronomy and how the course is managed.

My meetings with Gordon and the head greenkeeper are always a fascinating insight into just how much needs to be considered when planning the maintenance

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of the course. I only wish I could get this across to the 600 expert greenkeepers/members who love to think they know what they are talking about!

tales of woe (and thankfully not too many whinges!) as they tuck into sausage baps and cups of coffee. I, of course, stick to cups of tea and salad my body being a temple.

Saturday.

When you are in the office all week, you get to know the weekday golfers really well but can sometimes lead to not knowing the weekend ‘working’ golfers quite as well. So many Saturdays, I try and come in and see them.

This Saturday was no exception where I was able to get to Dan’s, our fantastic halfway hut, fairly early where you get a pretty special view.

With a competitive membership and a medal on this day, between 9am and 3pm, I get to see nearly 130 players as they come through with their various

Sunday A day with the family for me.

Sometimes work brings me in on a Sunday for County or big club events but, where I can, I like to try and get at least one proper day off with the family. It is sometimes hard to balance a demanding job with having two children and all that entails, however, with modern technology allowing me to log in to my computer in the evenings and tidy up some email traffic when the children are in bed and the wife is watching TV, it helps get the balance right. It very much helps when you enjoy what you do.

GCMA.ORG.UK | 65

GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL

The month in

NUMBERS 27,582

963,094 rounds of golf recorded and published at HowDidiDo.com

Total July competitions recorded

by HowDidiDo. GENTS:

LADIES:

17,366 10,216

430 recorded holes-inone in qualifying club competitions

92 Average playing handicap

Boss watches – awarded for verified holes-in-one – remain unclaimed.

They can be claimed with the code at h1club.co.uk.

SEVENTEEN

7,155

eagles or better

66 | GCMA.ORG.UK

408,458 birdies

3,674,590

LOWEST EXACT HANDICAP

GENTS LADIES

-5.4 -5.3 (Connor Syme)

(Olivia Mehaffey)

Stats provided by HowdidIdo.com

pars

E D U C AT E | I N F O R M | I N S P I R E

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