THE GOLF CLUB
MANAGER ISSUE THREE | JUNE 2017
THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE GOLF CLUB MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION
OPINION
MEMBERS’ PERCEPTIONS
GCMA COLLEAGUES ON HOW TO M A N AG E E X P E C TAT I O N S EDUCATION
HIRING CASUAL STAFF
R U L E S A N D R E G U L AT I O N S T H AT YO U N E E D TO K N O W
INTERVIEW
MARTIN EBERT
COULD THE MAN WHO REDESIGNED TURNBERRY TRANSFORM YOUR CLUB TOO?
E D U C AT E | I N F O R M | I N S P I R E ‘
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CONTENTS ISSUE THREE | JUNE 2017
GCMA
CAREERS
06 Chief executive Bob Williams
39 The latest jobs for GCMA members
12 JR Jones: Get involved in rules consultation
40 More jobs from GCMA Recruitment
INDUSTRY
EDUCATION
22 Reflecting on our recent AGM
46 How to...renovate bunkers
24 What worldwide handicapping means for you
54 Learn the rules on hiring casual staff
INTERVIEWS
REGIONAL
26 A Matter of Opinion: Members’ perceptions
62 Meet the manager: Frank Spenceley
32 Renowned architect Martin Ebert
64 All the news from around the GCMA regions
22 32
46
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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 Amelia Brice - amelia@gcma.org.uk PRESIDENT JR (John) Jones 2017/18 CAPTAIN Howard Williams BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mike Hoare, Gary Steele, Barry Hill, 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 THREE | JUNE 2017
THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE GOLF CLUB MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION
OPINION
MEMBERS’ PERCEPTIONS
GCMA COLLEAGUES ON HOW TO M A N AG E E X P E C TAT I O N S EDUCATION
HIRING CASUAL STAFF
R U L E S A N D R E G U L AT I O N S T H AT YO U N E E D TO K N O W
INTERVIEW
MARTIN EBERT
COULD THE MAN WHO REDESIGNED TURNBERRY TRANSFORM YOUR CLUB TOO?
ED U C AT E | I N FO RM | I N S P I RE ‘
001 GCMA June 17 Cover.indd 3
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ON THE COVER: Trump Turnberry
WELCOME
ISSUE THREE | JUNE 2017
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ithin this world that we all operate in, it never fails to fascinate me how the weather forecast is never very far away from our thoughts. Before my appointment at GCMA, I would religiously watch the weather forecast after the 10 o’clock news in preparation for my following day at work. It took me nearly a year before I realised that my CEO’s duties would not be influenced by what the Met Office had to say. However, here we are at the beginning of June and, until the last two or three weeks, the majority of golf clubs and course managers have been praying for rain. My own club, Clevedon in North Somerset, held their pro-am in mid-May, but were fortunate to have had a couple of days of rain before the event – saved by the bell comes to mind! Looking ahead with a positive mind, how good it was to see the success of GolfSixes at the Centurion Club. It may not change the way golf is played at your club but it will be interesting to see if any clubs incorporate the concept into their golf calendar – I would love to hear of any attempts. Onto the more traditional golf once again, I will be joining the thousands of spectators for the annual visit to Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championships albeit by the time you read this the event will be completed and the winners crowned amid contrasting stories and tales of glory, woe and bad
luck. For me though, it is one of those excellent occasions that is enjoyed by spectators of all ages and gender, some maybe aspiring golfers, others will be there just to enjoy one of those great British sporting events. Continuing on the same theme, it is only weeks until the Open returns to Royal Birkdale. On behalf of all at GCMA, we wish GCMA member Adam Moule and his team a most successful tournament. Hopefully the weather will be kind – but not too kind! Finally, just a gentle nudge for the 2017 Conference and nominations for the Manager of the Year awards. Bob Williams – chief executive
“(GolfSixes) may not change the way golf is played at your club but it will be interesting to see if any clubs incorporate the concept into their golf calendar”
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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
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The month in
PICTURES
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National captain Howard Williams started his year in office in fine style when he hit the opening drive at Chesterfield following the annual general meeting. Howard, and many of those who attended, competed for the Captain’s Cup in the afternoon. It wasn’t to be for Howard, who didn’t get to win his own trophy. However, if his tee shot was any indication, he’s in for a very successful 12 months.
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2
Yorkshire’s Cameron Dawson was voted in as national captain elect at the AGM and what started as a good day for the regional manager got even better - and also rather more expensive - when he managed a hole-in-one at the 12th. He recorded his perfect shot with a 5-wood from 181 yards and bought everyone a drink in the bar afterwards before receiving a memento of his achievement from Howard Williams, the man he is set to succeed next year.
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Chesterfield, known locally as Walton, were the perfect hosts and the course was in excellent shape. Huge thanks to them for staging the AGM.
It took a serious display of golf to take home the Captain’s Cup, but the North West’s Geoff Butterfield and Alan Green came home with 41 points and were presented with the trophy by Howard Williams.
5
Galway Bay and Galway golf clubs were the hosts for the first international match of the season against the Irish Golf and Club Managers’ Association. It was not an experience for the faint-hearted with the weather failing to behave but the GCMA team enjoyed some excellent Irish hospitality. There was little quarter given on the golf course but it was the Irish who prevailed, taking a 9-3 victory – and bragging rights – following a keenly contested match-up.
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The inside view
JR JONES It’s the first fundamental review of the Rules of Golf for more than 30 years, so it’s imperative club managers get involved and have their say
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s this issue rolls off the press, the UK is preparing to go to the polls for the General Election, and it’s often said that those who do not vote have little right to complain about the actions of their elected representatives. In my role as president of the GCMA I encourage you, as golf club managers, both to engage in the consultation process of the proposed new Rules of Golf yourselves, and also to encourage your members and customers to do so. To recap, in March, The R&A and the USGA unveiled a preview of the proposed new Rules of Golf as part of a joint initiative to modernise the Rules and make them easier to understand and apply. This is the first fundamental review since 1984, and was established to ensure the Rules fit the needs of today’s game and the way it is played around the world. Imagine if there was only a general election every 30 years – you would do your utmost to have your voice heard! The announcement kicked off a six-month evaluation period during which golfers were invited
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to learn about the proposed changes and provide input during this evaluation period, while they are still being discussed before their proposed implementation in 2019. It’s imperative that golfers give feedback on the proposed edition, which has been written in user-friendly terms, and includes a reinforcement of the reliance on the integrity of the player. Golf club managers should also benefit from the more relaxed bunker and putting green rules, which, I suspect, are often a source of heated clubhouse discussion. I have seen the development of the new Rules first hand, and David Rickman, executive director – governance at The R&A, has worked hard with his team, along with the USGA, to create a proposal that suits the modern
“lmagine if there was only a general election every 30 years - you would do your utmost to have your voice heard!”
JR Jones is the GCMA’s president
game. However, I know David isn’t arrogant enough to think that they’ve definitely got it all right, and I can assure our members that this will be a genuine consultation, and that the feedback received will absolutely be taken on board. Last year’s ‘Time for Golf’ is an excellent recent example of a report that was based on survey data and qualitative responses to reflect what was really happening on the ground, and the Rules consultation will be no different. The revision should benefit both managers and players as it aims to make golf simpler to play, which should make the game more appealing and have a positive impact on participation. Indeed, David recently said:“Our aim is to make the Rules easier to understand and to apply for all golfers. We have looked at every Rule to try to find ways to make them more intuitive and straightforward and we believe we have identified many significant improvements.” The consultation process is simple. Just visit www.rules.golf to review the proposed changes, and submit feedback online by August 31, 2017. I’m also happy to discuss this further – just get in touch at letters@gcma.org.uk
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Making an impression
starts well before the 1st tee... t +44 (0)1883 344244 e info@eagle.uk.com www.eagle.uk.com
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Captain’s corner
HOWARD WILLIAMS
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s the golf season swings into action, the national captain has a very busy diary in May and June. I have already visited eight of the regions and captained my first International match – but more of that later. As I was travelling back from the East Anglia regional meeting, the Beatles’ Long and Winding Road came to mind for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is a lovely melancholy ballad and it reminded me of my schooldays at Quarry Bank High, in Liverpool, where John Lennon attended. And secondly, thanks to Highways England closing what seemed like every motorway in the Midlands and North, my satnav took me on several long and winding roads! I have been warmly welcomed by every region and have been intrigued by the variety of contributors and the way each meeting has been run. It has been a relief to arrive and not have the responsibility for the organisation of the meeting and golf. With increasing demands on the club manager/secretary on a daily basis, it is imperative that such meetings are relevant to the issues we all encounter. I know regional managers work very hard to ensure that such meetings are planned accordingly. Many of these issues were discussed at the recent regional managers’
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A busy start to my year as national captain has seen me take the long and winding road
conference in Bromsgrove. It was also evident that the regional structure requires a fresh look. In some areas, the sheer size of the region has precluded some members from attending and I know that regional managers are seeking to address this aspect. The Southern region held their excellent Spring meeting at North Hants where Justin Rose is an honorary member and a room named after him houses some memorabilia of his victories at the US Open and the Olympics. Aweinspiring! In addition to attending the regional meetings, I have been involved in the planning of the national conference and I would urge you to ensure that the dates - November 12-14 - are
in your diary. You should make every effort to attend as I know that an interesting and exciting programme is being planned. Remember that a discount is available for early registration. The first international match of my year was against the Irish Golf and Club Managers’ Association, held at Galway Bay and Galway. It would be fair to say the weather was not kind but, as you can imagine, the hospitality was excellent. My personal thanks to Michael Walsh and our own John Edgington for their first-class organisation. The result: a narrow (!) 9-3 win for our hosts. Please feel free to contact me to discuss anything to do with our association at howardwilliams@ gcma.org.uk
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Your view...
LETTERS Keeping things in perspective Overall, I thought the magazine was a marked improvement. In particular the “A Matter of Opinion” section was excellent. I didn’t agree with all of it, and they didn’t agree with each other in places, but that is of course the point. One thing I find about some golf club managers is a lack of perspective. We aren’t curing cancer or working in A&E and we aren’t Lord Sugar running a conglomerate. There is no need for a manager to whinge about their lot, or exaggerate their importance. It’s a very nice job and we are all lucky to have it. We work in a great environment, in a job that offers good flexibility and relative job security, we have networks, a wealth of resources and external bodies to assist us. Those who moan about being hamstrung by committees are generally ineffectual and are not
doing their job properly or aware of how to manage upwards. I read throughout the magazine that “the job has changed”. We will know it’s truly changed when we don’t have to keep pointing it out, particularly in a magazine directed at our own members. Who are we trying to convince? The fact that we still need to, means for many, that it hasn’t yet. I don’t blame committees, or golfers for this, the blame if this still goes on should be with the manager themselves for failing to change it or putting up with it. While sharing difficulties and challenges is key, the magazine should not act as a moaning station. We should talk the career up not down. Congratulations on the new magazine, I look forward to future issues. Ryan Coles club manager Knowle Golf Club
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Send your correspondence, on any subject, to letters@gcma.org.uk
@GCMAUK @eddiebgolf Arrived in the historical market town of Chesterfield for @GCMAUK AGM @ ChesterfieldGC looking forward to meeting up with Golf Club Managers @Lancashiregolf Congratulations [incoming National Captain] Howard, hope you have a very enjoyable year @Golf_Kent A great morning at the SE @ GCMAUK Spring Meeting. Lots of engaging discussion & a lovely venue in Wildernesse GC. @james_e_fuller Another good read @GCMAUK @MikeHyde @ClubSystems May 11 Great presentation from @ JBuddEngGolf @Durham_Golf at the @GCMAUK North Region spring meeting at the stunning @ClevelandGolfCl #lovegolf
Getting good feedback I had excellent feedback from Southern region members regarding issue two of The Golf Club Manager, and I can see why the accolades were so forthcoming. One manager told me the article relating to pesticides has already been put up on the club noticeboard. An excellent edition, with plenty of well written interesting, topical and educational items. I feel
We want to hear from you!
confident the publication will go from strength to strength, and there should be plenty who will be proud of their Association’s publication. Joan Raffety Southern regional manager
@drcarlisle5656 A great 2 days in Galway, the team just fell short against the Irish GCMA Golf Club Managers. Well done. @ GCMAUK
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GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
What’s the role of?
GOLF FOUNDATION How to get in touch
Everything you need to know about the Golf Foundation and how they work alongside the GCMA
What does the Golf Foundation do? Golf Foundation is committed to helping any young person enjoy the playing and personal benefits of golf, through our Golf for All approach. We believe those benefits will benefit them for the rest of their lives. We call this ‘Skills for Life’ and it is core to all of our work. We have two key strategic aims: To make golf more accessible by taking our innovative formats, Tri-Golf for four to 10 year olds, and StreetGolf for teenagers, to the young people in their own environments such as schools, youth clubs, doorstep clubs, parks, leisure centres and Premier
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League football clubs; and to help young people to ‘Start, Learn and Stay’ in the sport. We support clubs, set-up our Junior Golf Passport curriculum, and creatively incentivise retention through our ‘Box of Tricks’. Our work is delivered by a dedicated team of regional development officers, supported by staff at our head office in Hertfordshire. How does the Golf Foundation work with the GCMA? Whilst the Golf Foundation has worked with the GCMA in the past, and has contact with the majority of clubs run by GCMA members, we are looking to forge even
Visit Golf Foundation’s website - golf-foundation.org - for more information. You can also get in touch by phone - calling 01922 449830.
stronger links in the future. We were pleased to welcome a number of GCMA staff to our President’s Awards that took place during the BMW PGA Championship, giving them a chance to see first hand the work that we do. We are in regular contact with the association to put plans in place to help continue to raise the profile of the Golf Foundation, and we are looking forward to working more closely with the association. How would the Golf Foundation like to work with clubs? Club managers are absolutely key to the success of the Golf Foundation, as we want to encourage more youngsters to sample golf at golf clubs, learn the game and then stay in the sport. We currently work closely with England Golf and the PGA through our ‘club-centric’ approach that focuses on supporting golf clubs to give a great customer service experience for newcomers to the game. Whilst we have these close ties, our interests increasingly lie with developing better working relationships with club managers and supporting them in providing the best environment for young people getting into the sport.
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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
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hat is your role? My main role is education. I am responsible for continuing professional development (CPD), recording members’ educational training undertaken or events attended, with an annual summary provided as evidence of updated skills and knowledge. I am involved in the preparation of the Introduction to Golf Club Management training courses, working closely with our educational coordinator Niki Hunter, and take on various large projects.
reports to produce throughout the month. Our chief executive, Bob Williams, also has a variety of meetings that require arranging and correspondence, with any available time left given to ongoing projects. I am also currently taking a SAGE accounting refresher course.
How did you become involved with the GCMA? I was taken on nine years ago to develop CPD in the GCMA - my post being originally Lottery funded as it was education based. In 2013 I became responsible for the members’ section of the previous association journal.
What do you enjoy most about it? As well as the variety and challenge, I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment with each job successfully completed. It is satisfying knowing that I am helping with the promotion of the professionalism of managers in the golfing industry. Our offices at Bristol & Clifton Golf Club also provide beautiful scenery which changes with the seasons.
What’s an average day in your job? I work three days a week so have a lot to fit into each day. It’s hard to describe an average day as this will vary depending on the time of year, with different analysis and
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“The GCMA is continuing to develop in new areas to benefit golf club managers”
How is your golf? I am in the process of learning, having just completed a beginners
Debbie Mereweather - is the GCMA’s education and magazine administrator
course at Bristol & Clifton which I thoroughly enjoyed. There is a lot to remember and learn, but hopefully with much practise the balls will begin to go more often to where I’m aiming. What opportunities lie ahead for the GCMA? The GCMA is continuing to develop in new areas to benefit golf club managers, especially with regards to educational benefits. The GCMA recently acquired funding from The R&A which, in collaboration with the Club Managers Association of Europe, they are using to target UK university golf scholarship students and promote golf club management as a future career. How would you like to see the GCMA develop? I would like to see the GCMA become well known to everyone involved in managing golf clubs (from managers to committees and greenkeepers) in the UK and beyond, as the first place to go in providing assistance to managers, up-to-date legislation developments with information and new ideas, and for all new managers to have completed our training course or diploma.
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GCMA 2017 Golf Club Management Awards ■ Manager of the Year sponsored by
■ Team of the Year
Club manager; and at least two from course manager, club professional, bar steward or food and beverage manager.
■ Newcomer of the Year
First golf club management job, and in post for less than two years. Prizes include golf breaks, tickets for The Open Championship and BMW experiences. To submit a nomination, simply complete the form on the website by Monday 31 July. The awards will be presented at the GCMA 2017 Conference on Monday 13 November at Mercedes-Benz World in Surrey. The prestigious Golf Club Management Awards recognise excellence in golf club management. Once the rigorous process of narrowing down the nominations has been completed, the judging panel of industry experts will undertake site visits to shortlisted candidates, before the panel complete the judging with a nervewracking final interview. For more information about the GCMA Club Management Awards, please visit:
gcma.org.uk/awards
GCMA | INDUSTRY | CAREERS | EDUCATION | REGIONAL
GCMA’s
AGM 2017 Chesterfield Golf Club was the venue for the GCMA’s Annual General Meeting on April 24
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round 70 members, from regions around the United Kingdom, attended to hear the annual reports from chief executive Bob Williams and finance director Gary Steele regarding the performance of the GCMA in 2016. Communications manager Mike Hyde and education coordinator Niki Hunter later joined the chief executive to provide an insight into the direction and future strategy of the organisation. After the formal reports, there was the annual election of directors and officers. Mike Hoare stood unopposed and was elected for a further four-year term on the board and JR Jones was unanimously elected as national president for his 11th term. Howard Williams, from the North West region, was elected national captain, while Cameron Dawson, of the Yorkshire region, was confirmed as national captain elect. The past captains Frank Clapp, John Dinsdale, John Edgington and John Smith were all elected as life members of the association. Following the meeting, 44 members contested the Captain’s Cup on the challenging Chesterfield course. Geoff Butterfield and Alan Green claimed victory with 41 points.
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Chief executive’s report Bob Williams referred to the recently launched Diploma in Golf Club Management, which was going from strength to strength – the culmination of a project that took nearly three years to come to fruition. With 41 students enrolled and studying, as well as a continual stream of interest, the future of members’ professional development is extremely healthy. Attendees were told of the board’s work to review the strategy of the association. Nick Watkins - a business consultant who has recently
carried out a similar task with the Motor Sport Association (MSA) - has been employed to work with the board and staff to provide an overview of the association’s future strategy and direction. Bob also reported meetings with the Swedish and Danish golf club managers associations to see what they could learn from each other and the possibilities of creating an annual sharing of knowledge summit. He made reference to recent meetings with the UKGCOA (UK Golf
Course Owners’ Association), who primarily look after the interests of UK proprietary clubs. Finally, Bob spoke of the continued attendance at The R&A forum, as well as various meetings with Sport England and the Sport and Recreation Alliance over the last year. He praised the invaluable partnership with the PGA and BIGGA that has produced the Diploma and the more recent association with the CMAE to access funding from The R&A for education awareness projects.
with a steady stream of entrants, and that he was convinced – in time – this would be a market leader. With Niki Hunter remaining the driving force of education and professional development, attendees were told of her plans to make further improvements to the Introduction to Golf Club Management course, which has been in place for more than 25 years. David congratulated communications manager Mike Hyde for his hard work on overseeing the launch of the new journal, The
Golf Club Manager. The scale of the operation had required the enlisting of further staff and Tash Johnson and Amelia Brice were welcomed. A new company, GCMA Communications Ltd, has been set up and it is through this company that all the financial activity, relating to the magazine, will be handled. Finance director Gary Steele and Mike Hyde had spent considerable time fine tuning the accounts and separating out costs, which will now be shown in the accounts of the new company.
higher than 2015 and that amounted to a £22,000 increase. A successful recruitment drive had helped to boost subscription numbers and Gary stressed the need to focus on members. Training courses remained popular and, with one more staged in a nonconference year, there was a surplus of £12,000 on those held. Salary expenditure was up £9,400, reflecting a wage award and the hiring of additional staff. CEO expenses increased due to
increased travel but costs for the board of directors and regional managers were down because of fewer meetings. The national captain’s expenses were considerably up due to his location in the far south of England. Other expenditure items were in line with the previous year. Gary stressed the need, going into 2017, to keep a tight rein on expenditure. He expected many challenges to be faced in the coming year, not least the launch of the new magazine and the association’s conference in November.
Captain’s report David O’Sullivan stressed that members’ education and professional development remained important and it was pleasing to hear, via regional managers, that more and more regions were investing time in offering informative business meetings, seminars and workshops. He conceded the issue could sometimes be how to attract members to the events, with time out of the office seeming harder and harder to achieve. He added that the new Diploma course continued to make excellent progress,
Finance director’s report Gary Steele informed the meeting that the year ending December 31, 2016, was the association’s second year as a limited company and a profit of £4,039 had been made against a loss of £11,271 in 2015. Staff had made every effort to reduce costs while preparing for the launch of the new magazine as part of GCMA Communications Ltd. Income was up against last year, after allowing for Conference income, by some £32,700. Subscriptions were eight per cent
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Coming soon:The new worldwide
HANDICAPPING SYSTEM A worldwide handicap system will be one of the biggest club golf shake-ups in decades. England Golf’s handicap and course rating manager, Gemma Hunter, explains to Steve Carroll what we can expect
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f the old idiom says that two’s company and three’s a crowd, then what about six? That, in a nutshell, is why change is coming – and why we’ll soon all be administering a single world handicap system. A sextet of models, with different criteria, govern the digits that represent the ability of players around the world. The R&A and USGA have decided it’s time to simplify the system, announcing in April they were working with golf’s other authorities to develop a universal arrangement. So if a member plays in a competition in Spain, their performance will directly affect the mark they play off back home in the next monthly medal. Firm proposals are expected to be announced later this year and, while we are in limbo, clubs are rightly considering how the major changes will affect them. How will it be administered? Will it require more work? Which systems will be used? Gemma Hunter, England Golf’s handicap and course rating manager, will be at the heart of the project – disseminating
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information to club committees and managers when details of the new system are published. But why is a change needed at all? “You can’t do the same thing forever. It doesn’t work,” she said. “You have to change with the times and, with handicapping, people now travel a lot more than they used to.
“We don’t want to get it wrong. The USGA and The R&A have said that. We don’t want to make mistakes” “We play far more in international competitions and if we play one global game under the Rules of Golf why do we play under six different handicapping systems?” The potential disparity in ability between players using different handicap systems in different countries appears to be a driving force, as Hunter explained. She added:“The best example is with elite players. If you look at the
entries for a Brabazon Trophy, for example, the handicap limit used to be 1 or 2. Now it’s scratch and, in some cases, we are getting players coming into it who are off +4 or +5 in other systems. They shoot scores that don’t reflect those of a +4 or +5 handicapper. “We’ve got to look at it from the wider point of view and work for a fairer system that’s more reflective of a player’s ability. If you can get the elite level right, that works its way through the grassroots and into club golf.” For the last two-and-a-half years, England Golf have been using the USGA Rating System to determine the difficulty of courses. Some 500 courses have been completed so far. Alongside that, once the new system is announced, the organisation will embark on an education process that will set out the new regulations in detail. “We have looked at a 12-to-18month education process – from the point that we get the go ahead, ” Hunter said. “We are looking at ways to get the message out and that’s not just England Golf. That’s all the home unions.” Clubs should not expect a quick implementation process, Hunter continued.
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Welcome to our newest GCMA members Jane Langford, secretary at Rushcliffe in East Midlands region Haydn Lunn, manager at Birstall in East Midlands region Alasdair Hay, manager at Farnham in London & Home Counties region Daniel Hacker, manager at Stratfordupon-Avon, in Midland region Sean Owen, manager at Bolton Old Links in North West region Graham Chambers, owner/director at Longhirst Hall in Northern region George Bruce, director of golf at Westhill in Scotland region Brendan McDermott, director of golf at Kirkcaldy in Scotland region Rupert Hunter, director of golf at Poult Wood in South East region Mark Portsmouth, assistant at Langland Bay in Wales region
“Look at the changes to the Rules of Golf. There are so many stages to get to the key moments. “Towards the back end of the year, we will see more detail and, hopefully, that will be the point where we think about starting to plan the education system and talking to people in more detail. “We’re under the impression it might be (introduced) sometime around 2020. I can’t see it being any earlier. “We don’t want to get it wrong. The USGA and The R&A have said that. We don’t want to make mistakes.” So what can clubs do at the moment? Hunter advised that awareness is the key, along with
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an expectation to keep handicap committees in place so they are well placed to act when the time comes. She said: “Don’t worry about the changes to the worldwide system at this point in time. Be aware of them and then you are thinking about your handicap committees and things like that. “As soon as the announcement from The R&A about what is going to happen arrives, clubs can start thinking about the long term. “The more I learn about this, the more convinced I am that it’s the right thing to do. To think we can all play on a level playing field and play wherever we like and return a score is absolutely brilliant.”
David Palliser, assistant at Longley Park in Yorkshire region Alec Fernihough, owner/director at Gaudet Luce, who has rejoined the GCMA
Members on the move John Holmes has become general manager at Ifield in Southern region Ryan Pudsey has become general manager at Hunstanton in Norfolk region Josh Moses has become golf secretary at Rye in London & Home Counties region Clive Bailey has become general manager at Burnham Beeches in London & Home Counties region
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A Matter of Opinion
MEMBERS’PERCEPTIONS
Neil Annandale and Tracy Rawlinson
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hen tradition stands all around you, and you’re in the shadow of a prestigious Open-Championship-hosting club, what are the challenges, and opportunities? Ormskirk’s secretary manager Peter Bowen, Warrington general manager Tracy Rawlinson and GCMA North West regional manager Neil Annandale share their experiences.
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“We have just gone onto online booking and, in two or three weeks, we have taken £600 of business for Open week. That might never have come” – Peter Bowen
Peter Bowen: At Ormskirk, the members probably think one way and visitors coming in think another. We sit 15 minutes from Royal Birkdale. The club thinks we should get a lot more money for visitor rate than we can actually get. My discussions at this moment with the Council are that they want more money but, realistically, if I charge more – I can’t get people in. We’ve got a visitor and society rate, which is very reasonable to me, but the members say I
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THREE managers, three different opinions and one table – all coming together to debate issues that matter to members. It’s A Matter of Opinion, where GCMA figures talk openly about their experiences
am undercutting it. That’s my challenge. When I got Childwall Golf Club, we were the third tier, like we were at Woolton. I looked at the next tier, which was Ormskirk and Warrington. Hesketh sneaks in, because of where it is, at the first level. But we’re a million miles away from the Southport clubs, because they can play all year round without thinking about it. I’m only 15 minutes away but I am on clay. We are a number two sort of club. Tracy Rawlinson: Don’t you think you are a number two/ three, though? I couldn’t consider Warrington as a number two club under a Royal. Ahead of Warrington, if I look at Cheshire clubs, you have got Wallasey. I’d be saying we are a two/three. If I look at what the green fees are at a Royal, I couldn’t consider charging anything like that. PB: I think that’s our opinion. Members of Ormskirk and Warrington would see themselves as a two/one – because it’s their club and they don’t see the outside opinion. Neil Annandale: You’re right. I go back to my Hesketh days and every member considers themselves just below the Royals. That’s because they get the opportunity to rub shoulders with all the other clubs on that England’s Golf Coast. Because they do compete against them and they revolve in the same circles, it’s an automatic impression that they are as good as they are. I’ll be honest, they paid my wages and my job isn’t to knock them,
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but if I was to look at the seven clubs that I used to rub shoulders with when I was at Hesketh, you had Royal Birkdale at the top of the ladder. Really, even putting us on the bottom rung of that ladder, compared with the other clubs we are actually associating with, would be wrong. We should be maybe halfway up the next ladder along. But that is the problem if you’ve got member perceptions.
PB: I get quoted Hesketh each time I talk about anything. TR: That makes your job that much harder, because you have to overcome that perception and, to some extent, you are almost working to try and match that perception. How do you match that aspirational view of where your members think they are? TR: The answer is we don’t try and match it on behalf of the members.
At Warrington, we’ve got a mission statement and it’s to be the best club in Cheshire in terms of member and visitor expectation. We want to be the best that we can be. That’s what we strive for and that’s how we’ve succeeded and improved year on year in the four years I have been at Warrington. I was very lucky because I inherited a good club, as did my course manager two years ago, but we have just built on that. If you set your expectations to a Royal, or just under a Royal, you are setting yourself up for a fall. NA: There’s a different structure within the Royals. Some of the bigger clubs are fortunate enough to have someone who will look after IT, have dedicated house managers and so on. All of us, in the jobs that we are doing, wear all those different hats at one time or another. The problem is they do place incorrect aspirations on themselves and goals. Hesketh very much used to think that, to bring us up to the standard, it was all about building a new green, lengthening holes and things of that nature. But they wouldn’t go out there and just look at the basics. What is the first impression when you roll up to the car park? When you get to the front door, is the paint all falling off? When you go to the 1st tee, does it look like a rabbit warren with all holes dug in it? Is there litter all over the place? All of those elements, they cost nothing apart from a change in perception from your staff, and also
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your members. If they see a piece of litter, pick it up. Do you have to provide a visitor experience that is as good as those Royal clubs, while tempering the expectations of members? PB: The level should be the same for both, whatever anyone is paying. I can use the example of when I was going to be interviewed at Ormskirk. I went and played the course, and it did have a bad reputation. Even the Ormskirk members will say that. I went to play and I thought ‘If anyone has a go at me, I’ll walk away’. We had three very good interactions with staff, members and the pro and it changed my whole opinion. That bad reputation is still there – two and a half years later. We are working on it, but I would like to think the member gets the same experience as the visitor. I wouldn’t like to put one above another. NA: Your members are there 365 days a year. If you start giving visitors something the members don’t get they, rightly, should shout foul. The easiest way is to have a level playing field to make certain that you are trying your best.
“If we get any passing trade, it’s because there’s a football or rugby match on” – Tracy Rawlinson TR: Your member and visitor experience should be the same. Members will tell you differently. They’ll say ‘you treat visitors better than us’ because members are incredibly critical. The staff don’t see themselves as treating anyone any differently. But the members will say ‘those visitors are getting a better deal than I am’. NA: There are some who do engage with the visitors – not because they are particularly interested but because they want to know ‘what sort of deal have you had today?’ If they find out that they’ve had that two-course lunch for £12 and their internal society paid £15, they’ll come knocking on your door straight away. TR: If we have a society, I will always talk to them and say ‘how did you get on? Did you enjoy the course? What was your overall experience?
Can I book you in for next year?’ Equally, it means my working week is that much longer and I will also take time out of my day to go and speak to the members as well because I don’t want them to have the view that we do treat people differently. There are challenges with the positioning. What opportunities are there in being around such a rich culture of golfing heritage? PB: At Ormskirk, you can look on a map of all the golf courses and the Southport eight clubs are there and everyone has got to pass through us – near enough. That’s where we are lucky. People coming from Wales, coming from Scotland, from down south, will pass us on the way in. We are cheaper than them. So it does create the ‘we’re driving up in the morning and we will play in the afternoon there and we can pay the bigger bucks on the other days’. Location-wise, it’s brilliant. We have just gone onto online booking and, in two or three weeks, we have taken £600 of business for Open week. That might never have come before online booking but we have taken £600, which is in our bank account. That’s because the Open is at Royal Birkdale. TR: You are lucky. Because of where we are positioned, if we get any passing trade like that it is because there’s a football or rugby match on and they are going to Manchester. That tends to be where we would pick up business but the Royals don’t give us that opportunity, really. Do you target those two markets? PB: We’re in with Golfbreaks and Your Golf Travel, linked to Birkdale
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in particular, so we do target but only in that way. Prior to us getting a new website, that’s the only thing we did. We expected them to come to us. To expect them to come to us, you have to tell them you are there and I still go from my previous employment and say ‘why do Mars advertise? Because no one would buy their chocolate if they didn’t’. That’s what we are trying to do at Ormskirk – by getting our name back out there. NA: I think location was the situation for Hesketh. We were very much riding in on the shirt-tails of the bigger Southport clubs. That stretch of coastline is very much a golf destination and the people weren’t just playing one course, they were there for two or three days, staying overnight and putting packages together. You used to have your parties where money was no object. Other societies, they are working on a budget and, because Hesketh’s green fee rates were that bit lower, we were very much the makeweight in the budgeting process. So if they had £350 to spend and they’d already spent £300 of it on two of the bigger clubs, they would pick up the phone and I would do them a deal to come and play Hesketh. I’ll be honest. No one would say ‘I’m going to Southport on a golf trip and I’m going to play Hesketh’. No. They will say ‘I’m going to play the Royals, Hillside, West Lancs, S&A. But we’re also managing to get a game at Hesketh’. That’s not being defeatist. That’s being a realist about the situation. You obviously get to spend a lot of time in the clubs we are discussing. Is there anything you’ve picked up from them? PB: I think they do exactly the same
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“I’ll be honest. No one would say ‘I’m going to Southport on a golf trip and I’m going to play Hesketh. They will say ‘I’m going to play the Royals, Hillside, West Lancs’” – Neil Annandale
job as us. They’ve all got history. They’ve all got that something. I can put a picture up of who built the course, and things like that, but I’ve not got much more to do. I think as clubs we are all doing the same job. They might have a few more noughts after everything they do but it is all the same. Yes, they will have a bigger catering team, a bigger party, but we manage with what comes through our front door. TR: It’s a different scale, isn’t it? When you go to a Royal, or another club like Formby, you can walk through the door and there are things that you can pick up wherever you go. NA: I don’t think they should fall into that idea of whatever they do is the best. I would hope their managers, when they walk into other golf clubs, should always be open to the fact that there’s nothing you are doing that you can’t do better. The interesting thing from the bigger clubs is although you’d think
they have more a divine right to exist – because they host Open Championships and their phone is ringing off the hook – they don’t take that for granted. They still put a lot of time and effort into that customer service and that first impression. It isn’t a case of ‘they’ll come no matter what’. They still have to work equally as hard at maintaining their place in the market. We all aspire to them but treading water and keeping where they are in the pecking order is equally as difficult for them. They’ve got to keep impressing The R&A if they want to continue to be an Open venue. So I think it’s all too easy to fall into that trap of bigger is better. There are some really small clubs out there that are probably more efficient than a Royal Birkdale or whatever. That’s the great thing about the golf club market. No matter what size you are, it should all be about ‘what is my USP and how can I use it to my advantage?’
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The interview
MARTIN EBERT
Y
our reputation has been forged on delivering spectacular changes to Open venues. How big a role do club courses play in your day-to-day work? Turnberry and Portrush have been such big projects so the last two years have been extraordinary in that respect. We do new courses as well, although they are few and far between, but 15 per cent of our work is the Open venues, 10 to15 per cent is on new course projects
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and 70 per cent is spent on wider clubs. Word of mouth is the key. A restoration project leads to an enquiry from another nearby club and I’m hoping our name is out there enough. We don’t want clubs to say ‘they go to Open venues. They are too grand and too expensive. Their proposals will be too great for our budgets and our course.’ That’s one potential danger but that hasn’t really happened. On the whole, I think there are some other projects that do bring
us some good reputations. Tom (Mackenzie) is working at Trevose and is making a huge difference to the look of the course and the bunkers. He did a good job at Delamere Forest and that led to other enquiries in that neck of the woods. So I’m at a club that’s looking at embarking on a redesign or modernisation. Explain to me how you could go about tackling that? It depends very much on the
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His work at Open Championship venues like Turnberry and Royal Portrush have brought Martin Ebert worldwide acclaim. But, as he guides Steve Carroll through his methods, he reveals that club golf is where his heart really lies nature of the club. At a club that has got a great history, our first recommendation to them is that we should really try to understand how the course has evolved from the early days. Our means of doing that is to search for historical aerial photographs, look at the club website and find any history books we can look at. We look at any old photographs and ground photographs the club might have in their possession. You can build up a little picture of how it has evolved and what
“We don’t want clubs to say they go to Open venues. They are too grand and too expensive” features the course may have had through its history. Sometimes, it doesn’t throw up that much that will affect the proposals but, more than not, it actually does – bunker shapes or even different routing for holes.
These can provide inspirations for proposals. You don’t necessarily implement the way the hole was back in 1882 or 1923 though, because the game has moved on. Turnberry is a great example. The photos, after Philip Mackenzie Ross’s redesign of the course, showed such a dramatic difference in the bunker shapes. We were doing so much new to the course, and to make use of the spectacular setting, but to find these photos and reinstate the shapes and the styles and the fairway bunkers proved to people
Turnberry
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that we had a respect and a regard for the history of the course as well as looking at how it could be improved for the modern game. Why have some of these layouts changed so much? So much has been lost at some of our great courses through the years. Well-meaning committees, greenkeepers and captains have produced change – sometimes for the better and sometimes not. There are so many opportunities to go in the wrong direction. This is an opportunity to rewind as well as restore and that can help shape our proposals. We can show the membership – people often object to change – and we can make the case to them – on occasions where it is not change but restoration.
Who is Martin Ebert? Inspired as a teenager reading through the World Atlas of Golf and designing imaginary courses, Martin Ebert graduated from Cambridge University, where he studied engineering. Having organised the university golf club’s tour of America in 1989, the experience made him determined to work in golf and he was soon offered a position to assist Donald Steel in 1990. A member of The R&A, Ebert professes to being inspired by the work of Harry Colt, Alister MacKenzie and Seth Raynor among others.
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So what happens when you meet a club for the first time? We will understand the brief we have been given and the club will generally have a brief. Perhaps it is one particular hole, or the whole course. Perhaps there is a health and safety issue – it is getting to understand that. Generally, we are just looking at a few particular proposals on the course and we might say it would be best to review the whole course rather than take on the changes in isolation. They might not fit in an overall masterplan. It is making that suggestion and, if it is a course of great heritage, we should understand the history. Then we will go out and have a good look at the course and the issues that have been discussed. I always look to do that with club officials or the course manager. It is great to have their input and we welcome input from anyone who knows the course.
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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: • • • • • • • • •
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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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Do you like to involve club representatives throughout the process? You can only benefit from other people’s ideas. We look to come up with our own and that’s one reason why clubs employ us but what we also need is to use our experience in judging every idea that gets through to us when we arrive at a club. Normally, they have got some good thoughts themselves. If we are appointed, we would get moving with the report or masterplan for the whole course or the specific area or feature. If we make a proposal to expand what we would do, and what the course would be, then we would do a full masterplan for the course. After an initial and very thorough look around, we are in position to produce a draft. We now go back to the club to check things out and, once we have delivered that to the club, they can take some time to think about the proposal. The next stage is to come to the club to discuss through the proposals with them, which should end up with the start of the final masterplan. It’s something the club can follow for the next five to 10 years depending on how quickly they want to implement something. Normally that can be compressed. A project like Turnberry, for example, saw the whole golf course rebuilt in a period of one winter. Why is the masterplan so vital to what you do? There is a lot in it but we think it is such an important part of a club’s planning. While it may be implemented over 5 to 10 years, hopefully that course will be set up for the
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The 13th hole at Fulford, a course which is being remodelled by Ebert
next 20, 30 or 40 years. It’s a wise investment. We now have another means of demonstrating proposals. At Hamilton Golf and Country Club, in Ontario, we took drone footage of the course and superimposed visuals over that. They give members a chance to catch a glimpse of what’s going on as well… Whether it is a proprietary or a members’ club, members’ approval brings them along. That’s why we have developed in the way we have in terms of procuring visuals as good as we can. The counter point to that is if we are not confident the visuals are going to represent what we are proposing it is then difficult to make it as good as it needs to be. Sometimes, it is difficult if you are trying to remove trees. That can be
Mackenzie & Ebert Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert worked together for 15 years as lead designers at Donald Steel & Company before starting Mackenzie & Ebert in 2005. Between them, the duo have more than 50 years’ experience in golf course architecture and boast a stunning portfolio. They have advised six out of the 10 Open venues and around 30 of the top 100 courses in Great Britain & Ireland since their establishment. Prominent projects have included Skibo Castle, Turnberry and Killarney.
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Royal Portrush
awkward. But it is far better not to have a visual than a bad one. How involved would you be while work is going on? Do you produce the plans and then step back? We want to stay very closely involved. Occasionally a proposal is implemented without our involvement with occasionally negative results. But we recommend that we are involved and the amount depends on the nature of the project. A great example is Fulford. We have implemented a masterplan over the past five years or so and the club have employed a shaper or a contractor. There has been great staff support. I would make a visit. If you are there to approve work as it is going on, you just make sure it is all going in the right direction.
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“You come across different attitudes. Some are a bit resistant and there are others who love the creative exercise” Once you get an understanding with the shaper or contractor it gets easier. Even with the shapers, it is a team effort. They are providing input into the design process. I can’t live without them and they can’t live without me. Even with the most experienced people, it is essential to approve at every stage. What’s the key thing when
working with a club? You come across different attitudes. Some are a bit resistant and there are others who love the creative exercise and don’t feel you are making any negative comments about what they have done to the course. We are helping them make their course, and their members’ course, as good as it can be. Diplomacy is very important. It might have been a greens chairman’s pet project that doesn’t quite work and you are edging them away from that. You’ve got to get the right results for them and they are as anxious as we are to make it as good as it can be. For more details on Martin Ebert and his course design portfolio, visit mackenzieandebert.co.uk
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CASE STUDY
FULFORD
Fulford, regarded as one of Yorkshire’s premier clubs having hosted countless elite tournaments, is in the midst of a Martin Ebert renovation. The course was designed by Major Charles MacKenzie and opened in 1935. It was originally a largely open heathland but, through the decades, changes from successive greens chairmen and committees altered the architect’s intentions. “We had flyover pictures from 1947, 1954 and from the 60s, 70s and 80s and you could match the pictures against each other and see how the changes had come over the years,” said Gary Pearce, the club’s general manager. “Martin’s portfolio was fantastic, obviously. We met with him and he’d convinced us in the first half hour that he was the person to go with. “We didn’t want any drastic changes to the course. We just wanted to refresh it and look at what had been put in over the past 70 years and whether they were the right ones.”
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Key for Fulford was being able to carry out the work with minimum disruption to members. That meant a timescale of between six to eight years for the project. “We recognised that we would try and do between two and three holes each year and, because we needed to keep the course open as much as possible for members to use, we’d pick a time of year to do it when business slows down at the end of September,” Pearce added.“We start the work then turf it and leave it for the whole winter to settle.” Critically, members were involved from an early stage in the process. Pearce explained:“Right at the very start, we had a masterplan drawn up by Martin, which gave a view of the full 18 holes. We put that on the website, sent it out to members and invited them to a forum. At that meeting, about 50 to 70 pitched up, and they all had an interest in the golf course. What we wanted to achieve, and it became our joint
goal, was to recreate some of the heathland aspects of the golf course, which had been lost over the years. The obvious place for that is the holes between the 6th and 13th. Over the years, a lot of silver birch had infiltrated the course. We had lost a lot of the heather and the bunker shapes had just been lost. The work he has done round there is quite special.” For those clubs considering whether to embark on their own redesign, or modernisation, Pearce has some clear advice. “Do your homework. I would go and visit other courses that have had work done and ask them which architect they had used and invite them up for a chat. “Get the costs right. The important thing for us was to get the members bought in to that scenario so that we could justify the cost of doing this work. When you’ve got the buy-in of the members, and of the greens staff and committee, then it is going to be a success.”
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Good
PRACTICE Advice on golf club manager issues – from finance to clubhouse rules and employment law to staff morale – from our panel of experts
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Coping with the...
UNEXPECTED When HS2 threatened Whittington Heath with extinction, chiefs had the choice of surrendering or negotiating a new deal. Steve Carroll finds out what clubs can learn from their trials and tribulations
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t was a simple line on a map. But the red mark brought devastating news for Whittington Heath. Cutting like a knife right through the heart of the Harry Colt layout, which was first founded in 1886, it threatened to signal the club’s extinction. There was no way of avoiding HS2, the new high-speed rail route that will sweep up the country linking London with Birmingham and the East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester. Whittington Heath, found in Lichfield, lies right in its path. “At first it tipped the corner of the course and then it (the line) was moved because of parliamentary pressure,”says Keith Ridgway, the club’s vice captain and the chair of their HS2 committee. To say it came as a shock was an understatement. Crashing through the 18thcentury clubhouse, once the grandstand of the former Lichfield racecourse, it took out a number of holes – exiting by the 7th green. There was anger – “some members wanted to lie in front of the train”,remembers Ridgway – and anxiety. Would the club have to close?
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Would they be a shadow of their former selves? How would the drama affect the membership? Ridgway explains:“As an entity, the club had no choice but to cooperate and try and get the best arrangement. “We were very fortunate that one of our members is a farmer who had some land next to the club. We took an option to buy that land.” That would prove key, as one of HS2’s early solutions to the dilemma was to see Whittington Heath carry on as a 9-hole course. The club feared that could force them out of business – with the loss of more than 30 jobs. “We had to demonstrate we had a viable solution to HS2 and we employed architect Jonathan Gaunt to do some schematics,” says Ridgway. “We showed we had 18 holes of golf and were using a subway that went under the railway. “HS2 is a commercial enterprise and they have to make commercial decisions. “We were covered under equivalent reinstatement, so we had to meet three criteria including viability and that you are a going concern.
“Having taken the advice of a land agent, we had discussions with HS2 and they wrote to the club saying we were covered. They would replace what had been taken away. “We got that through lengthy negotiation and, obviously, HS2 have to go through a process and present business cases to their superiors. “They would present options:
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Early plans for Whittington Heath’s redesign
that the course closed, that it became a 9-hole course, or our proposal of an 18-hole golf course with a new clubhouse. “They agreed to our option and we had to go to similar business cases about costing. Only then do you have some level of security.” That agreement finally came in September last year – some five years after the club were first told the potentially devastating news.
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Those 60 or so months of waiting could have had the potential to seriously unsettle the membership, or curtail an influx of new blood put off by the uncertainty of whether the club would survive. Ridgway, though, believes membership numbers were largely unaffected by the crisis, with the club’s readiness to communicate at the heart of that stability.
“We did exit meetings and no one left because of HS2 – because it was several years down the road,”he explained. “Whittington Heath is one of the better courses in the area and people don’t leave for something that might be six years down the line. Everyone was on board to cooperate to get the best deal. “There may have been a few who wanted to take the money
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Design brief Key for the Gaunt Golf Design team briefed with planning the new holes was delivering a plan that was achievable and caused the least amount of disruption. “You’ve got 500 to 600 members and you’ve got to keep everyone happy throughout the process,” said architect Jonathan Gaunt. “When you’ve got a railway line going through the middle of your golf course, it is pretty radical. There’s the purchase of 60 acres and putting in five holes and a new practice range. You can’t put those holes in without any impact on the main course. “Then you’ve got to go back onto the main course and remodel another five or six holes to incorporate the new design.” How do you make five new holes link with a course that’s been in place since Harry Colt extended and remodelled the layout in 1929? Gaunt admits:“It’s really difficult. Whittington Heath was a heathland course but a lot of that has been lost because of the establishment of woodland. Quite a few of the holes are tree-lined and some of the members love the fact the course is framed by trees. “We are going to restore and recreate the natural heathland and create a landscape for a number of holes that’s very similar to what it would have been like in the 1940s. “For these new holes, we can’t recreate the woodland characteristics. It’s going to be distinctly different but the style will be as close as possible.”
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and run. “We have tried to keep the members informed with bulletins, open meetings and presentations by the professional teams. “That’s been to try and keep them as informed as possible. All we have done with HS2 is agreed and employing professionals is the final part. You can’t do it on your own.” Ridgway found his way on to the project partly as a result of his background. He’d spent a career in the construction industry and his knowledge meant Whittington Heath were never tempted to try to micro-manage the huge and spiralling scheme. From the start, they got in those professionals and that’s a piece of advice he would give to any club who find themselves in the same situation, or are about to embark on their own major redevelopment project. He explains:“I come from the industry, having worked in senior positions, and you know your own limitations. We’ve probably put in thousands of hours, and we are not there yet, but we haven’t got the expertise you can get from a team of professionals. “Planning consultants, project managers, commercial
Whittington Heath’s clubhouse
representatives, architects and mechanical, ecological and agronomical, we have had whole rafts of experts working to try and get the solution.” They’ve made the best of a bad hand. However the course is redeveloped by Gaunt, a number of historic holes are set to be lost forever. The clubhouse, part of the area’s history, is to be reduced to rubble.“You can only regret it and no one wanted it to happen,” Ridgway concludes.“It’s a great regret this is happening to your own course and club. But you have to accept it is happening, there’s nothing you can do to stop it.” With the scheme, which is projected to cost more than £55 billion, recently finding new commitment from prime minister Theresa May, it will soon be full steam ahead for the new rail link – and for Whittington Heath.
Glorious scenes at Whittington Heath
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One of Europe’s leading golf course and sports field constructors. The company undertakes a wide range of projects including alterations and refurbishment of existing courses along with the construction of new developments.
‘Greasleys have produced a seamless upgrade at Stoke Park. 21st century product fitted perfectly into an 18th century landscape’. – Alex Millar, Estate Manager at Stoke Park
office@johngreasley.co.uk | 0116 269 6766 www.johngreasleyltd.co.uk
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How to... renovate
BUNKERS
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re your bunkers relevant? If you’ve got a bunker on a fairway, can you justify changing it? If you can, is it within the fairway or does it not come into play? Should you bring it into play? With greenside bunkers, you are looking at what kind of impact it has on pin positions on the green. With rear flanking bunkers, we have generally taken them out and created a lot of grassy run offs. These days, we are bringing bunkers more into the approaches of greens. With a lot of bunkers towards the rear of greens, greenkeepers have said to me – and I know I should believe them because they A bunker under construction at York Golf Club, who have engaged Gaunt Golf Design
What should you consider if you want to give your bunkers a makeover? Internationally renowned architect Jonathan Gaunt reveals his top tips for clubs thinking of embarking on a redesign
maintain the course – ‘this bunker is hardly ever used’. There’s an argument towards removing these bunkers if it improves maintainability and doesn’t affect challenge or aesthetics negatively. In general terms, there are too many sand bunkers on courses. On projects we have worked on, we have taken about somewhere between 10 and 20 bunkers – on average – and then reduced the sand areas in a lot of bunkers. Avoid elliptical shapes The last 30 to 40 years, there has been mechanisation of bunker maintenance. If they (clubs)
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mechanise raking their bunkers, they don’t want any awkward shapes. That’s why they end up with oval-shaped bunkers. They are consistently easier to maintain but they are really dull and look really unappealing. Consider the size of your bunkers There are some courses where the bunkers are absolutely enormous. A lot of golf courses in the 80s and 90s built bunkers that were in excess of 150 to 200sq metres. In today’s economy, they are not very cost-effective. You can’t justify maintaining bunkers of that size. Even at Royal Lytham, in
recent years they have filled in a significant amount of bunkers. It was partly to do with playability but also quite a lot to do with the cost of maintaining those bunkers. If Open venues are doing it, then other clubs should consider doing the same. Consider using bunker liners I say to any club that contacts us about a re-bunkering process that the biggest issue is whether you go for a liner or not. Some clubs can’t afford to put a liner in their bunkers. But when you start to do the maths and work out how much you spend raking sand back up
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“Get your architect involved. Commission a masterplan and get it costed accurately and then you can phase the work” the faces, replacing contaminated sand, and so on, you see the lining more or less justifies the costs.
Whether it’s working with a committee, a captain or a greenkeeper, as long as it is drawn up and agreed then you can start work as and when. Use a good contractor Make sure you get a good shaper to do the bunker work. Some clubs do it in-house and manage the work while other clubs are prepared to bring in a shaper. There are different architects and different styles
Make sure you commission a masterplan The important thing is getting the masterplan in place. There are some golf clubs where I have come in after a contractor has already started and they have done things the wrong way round. Get your architect involved. Commission a masterplan and get it costed accurately and then you can phase the work. It could be over three to six years if that’s what clubs want – it depends on their different finances – as long as there’s something to aim for.
What happens in practice... “At Howley Hall, we have finished a total bunker remodelling in the last year. It’s an Alister MacKenzie design but the course had not really retained any of its original characteristics. They wanted to get a completely new look for the golf course and the greens committee asked three or four architects to give thema quote and do a masterplan on the entire course and advise on bunker improvements. We were appointed and every single hole was carefully studied and assessed.We came up with a new design and it wasn’t just remodelling existing bunkers but taking bunkers
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of courses but these guys adapt to the situation. A lot of greenkeepers I work with nowadays realise the benefits of bringing in an architect and a contractor. Jonathan Gaunt is a director at Gaunt Golf Design, whose team have delivered more than 35 courses throughout Europe, Africa, North and Latin America across three decades. For more information, visit gaunt-golf-design.com
Drainage goes in at the 17th at York Golf Club
out that were redundant. Amasterplan was produced, we came up with some costings, got agreement and the club appointed Martin Crompton, of C&CGolfscapes, in Leeds. The work was done in three phases – six holes a year – and we kept all holes in play by shortening those (where work was carried out).That was acceptable over the winter period and we worked between September and December over a series of three winters.We did some serious remodelling. We were reinstating a MacKenzie
style, with reasonable size bunkers and making sure that they were sitting up and looking at you.You can stand on the tee and look down the fairways and see the bunkers.You can see the hazards presented to you. We had some really interesting discussions with the greens committee in relation to some of the proposals that we had made.We managed to persuade themthat what we were doing was right and I’mdelighted to say that, since the golf course was brought back into play, all the new bunkers have been really well received.”
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Ask the
EXPERT Howard and William Swan, of Swan Golf Designs, answer your questions on course safety
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t seems that there are a significant number of injuries on golf courses from errant balls. Do you consider that the safety of design is increasingly focused upon by clubs? It is apparent from the number of enquiries which we receive relating to incidents on or around golf courses that there is a problem relating to the layout of predominantly older golf courses on smaller acreages where the holes are close together or they are close to the boundaries of the land. Regrettably, not only are people injured in such incidents but insurance claims and subsequent court cases often ensue. Do clubs generally pay lip service to safety when it comes to the layout of the golf course? Often clubs do not consider that they may have a problem with the layout of the golf course and the dangers which are associated with it, relative to incidents occurring to either golfers or members of the public on or around the course and the adjacent land, until there is a problem and there is an incident. Then, of course, it is simply too late for the person who was hit. Are there any guidelines in existence about the safety of
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design? Yes there have been a number of publications over the years. Various United States golf course architects have written books on golf course design - Bob Graves, Mike Hurdzan, Desmond Muirhead included - and, around the turnof-the-century, the British Institute of Golf Course Architects put together design considerations for its members which related
to how golf courses could be safely designed. These included recommendations relating to the separation of golf holes, the juxtapositions of greens and tees and measurements which were considered the minimal distances to external boundaries. These vary greatly dependent upon the sensitivity of the hazard to the exterior, and clearly the likes of buildings, roads and public
thoroughfares, but are paramount in the consideration of laying out or revising the layout of any golf course safely. In certain regions of Spain, laws have been enacted which relate to the safety of courses, particularly with respect to residential accommodation which surrounds many of the resorts. The margins which are specified in those statutes are considerably more than have been considered elsewhere and do state that a nine-hole golf course cannot be accommodated on less than 20 hectares with an 18-hole golf course taking up not less than 70 hectares! Can the increased safety concerns on golf courses be related to the advances in technology in the playing of the game? Technology has had an effect, of course, and if clubs and balls make golfers hit the ball further then those shots that were previously off line will most likely now be further off line. Just as important is the higher trajectory that is common with modern equipment which has negated the effect of trees and netting that may have previously made golf courses more safe. What steps do you think need to be taken to highlight any safety
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problem on the golf course? Every golf club needs to take the safety of their course very seriously and should carry out formal risk assessments for play throughout the course. There is no doubt that insurance companies would be happy to see this happen and, who knows, perhaps premiums might be reduced. Such risk assessments in the calculation of risk factors for play on any particular part of any particular golf hole need to be comprehensive and thorough and based upon identification of the hazard, assessment of the sensitivity of the hazard, evaluation of the probability of the hazard coming into play, the calculation of the risk factor and finally the identification and establishment of management measures to mitigate those risks if they are considered to be too great. Absolute security can never be guaranteed but we have a moral responsibility, as well as a professional responsibility, to ensure that risks are minimised. Is there any research about the trajectory of balls and where they might end up if a shot goes in the wrong direction? The R&A has done much work on ball trajectory and has, in a study commissioned by Swan Golf Designs and supported by them, the home unions and various associations, including the GCMA, identified where balls might go and what needs to be done to mitigate the results of those currently struck projectiles. Having undertaken the safety market research conducted by SMS Inc two years ago, there is still significantly more that we need to do as a golf industry to improve the awareness of safety of design on the golf course and to manage
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“Often clubs do not consider they may have a problem with the layout of the golf course and the dangers associated with it” it so that incidents are, as much as they can be, avoided. We would like to see all the associations and the administrative bodies doing more.
If you are looking at the safety of golf courses, either new ones or existing ones, might you take a different view if the course was part of a real estate or residential development? Without doubt yes. The sensitivity of real estate around the golf course is clearly higher than open fields or non-developed land and therefore one must increase the safety margins. Having said that, what may be deemed as
a non-sensitive boundary now may be compromised by future development and so it is best practice to accommodate all perceived risks within the golf course site. Howard and William Swan are second and third generation golf course architects working for Swan Golf Designs, who undertake projects at home and abroad and focus extensively on the renovation of existing courses throughout the United Kingdom. Howard Swan is chairman of the
Golf Consultants Association, representing some 30 experienced golf advisers and acts as an expert in golf course safety matters. For more information, and contact details, visit swangolfdesigns.com. Coming up: Digital marketing expert James Wilkinson, of Albatross Digital Golf
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ADVERTORIAL FEATURE
Waste not,
WANT NOT
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s a golf club manager, keeping golfers and visitors happy inevitably means you’re juggling a dozen different operational priorities at any one time. And money management is one of the trickier aspects, even if you have a treasurer managing your cash flow and tightly controlling your budget.
Courses have significant opportunities to save money by using water, energy, equipment and staff resources more wisely, with a change in emphasis. Typically, the ins and outs of course irrigation are managed by your head greenkeeper or course manager, responsible for all the hard work that goes on day to day, keeping your greens and fairways in the best condition possible.
Although irrigation appears relatively straightforward on the face of it; simply controlling the application of water to achieve the optimum playing surface, and managing it more efficiently can present challenges. According to the European Institute of Golf Course Architects, without efficient irrigation, fairways and greens are typically overwatered by 30 to 50 percent.
But let’s take a fresh look at irrigation in the broader context of the club as a business and how you could begin to be more effective in monitoring, managing and reducing repair and running costs.
As well as the agronomic impact of inefficient irrigation, especially overwatering, there’s also the impact on your club’s stakeholders – golfers. The aim of improving irrigation efficiency has to be centred on creating and sustaining top quality playing surfaces that deliver the best experience possible.
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Irrigation System Performance A good start is your course manager who can help you get a detailed understanding of the potential of your system and linked controls in place. How much does irrigation cost your club each year? Having robust business metrics means measuring costs and working out where efficiencies could be made. An alternative approach, measuring in
millimetres rather than minutes, combined with new technologies that respond in real time to changing weather conditions, is current best practice. What do you spend on preventative maintenance and upgrades? Is there a planned approach to maintenance or does repair and replacement only tend to happen when something breaks down? How does the club measure water used and electricity used to power systems? Would having a separate meter for water or for powering your irrigation system enable you to more accurately measure consumption? What is your approach to risk management and disaster planning? Have you planned for any unforeseen or unusual weather events such as system failure, drought or water source disruption? What might futureproofing involve? How can new technologies drive irrigation system efficiencies?
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How more efficient irrigation can save your golf course thousands
Many systems are not being used fully and have a raft of features. If your software’s working harder for you, staff time and expertise can be given over to other priorities. What new technology and best practice could benefit us and save time and money? As technology and business practices change, how does your course manager find out what’s new when it comes to getting more from your system? Look out for CPD and training events about improving irrigation system efficiency. Innovation and Best Practice If you’ve first understood the current operational capability of your irrigation system, you
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can then turn your attention to best practice and future cost efficiencies. As technology advances, being more precise and scientific gives the course manager the opportunity to reduce overwatering and any associated costs. Alastair Higgs, Golf Sales Specialist at Rain Bird Europe, says:“Every golf course manager wants to achieve the best possible playing surfaces. With the latest irrigation and control technologies, it’s all about simplicity of installation, maintenance and ease of use. Next generation irrigation systems combine computer-aided design with GPS geo-referenced images and state-of-the-art ET-based scheduling which
reacts instantly to changes in the weather and field activity. With training and support, they really are easy to install and use.” Course irrigation is actually a more complex subject that it looks, involving a costly combination of equipment, products, people, water and energy. Maintaining high quality surfaces without wasting water, energy or nutrients, merits a closer look. Chances are there’ll be a good payoff.
For more information, contact Alastair Higgs, Rain Bird Europe, by emailing ahiggs@rainbird.eu. Visit www.rainbird.eu and follow the UK team on Twitter @rainbirdgolfuk
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Taking on
CASUAL STAFF
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any clubs rely on casual staff to cover seasonal fluctuations in demand for their services, staff sickness or holidays. Casual workers may only work for you for a short period of time, or on an occasional basis, but they have important legal rights. This guide will help you to understand the rights available to casual staff and to make an informed decision about how to engage them. Employment law recognises three categories of person: employee, worker, and those who are self-employed. The status of an individual is important because employees and workers have employment rights (although workers have fewer rights than employees) that are not available to those who are genuinely self-employed. Workers have the following rights: To receive: the national minimum wage, paid holiday, rest breaks, be protected against unlawful discrimination and not to have deductions taken unlawfully from their wages. Employees have the following additional rights: Not to be unfairly dismissed, to receive a minimum amount of notice to terminate the contract, to receive a redundancy payment if they are made redundant and to take time off for family leave (such
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Fergal Dowling
as maternity, paternity, adoption and so on). The right to claim unfair dismissal and receive a redundancy payment are dependent on the employee having worked for a continuous period of at least two years for the same employer. Will all of our casual staff be considered to be workers? Not necessarily. A casual worker can work under a number of different types of contracts
including: a zero hours contract, a contract for a specified period of time or a general contract of employment. Many employers assume that casual staff will be workers rather than employees. Whilst that may be the initial intention of both parties, it will depend on their actual relationship, which can change over time. It is not enough, therefore, to simply describe your casual worker
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Fergal Dowling, of employment law specialists Irwin Mitchell, outlines the rights of casual staff, how to hire them and the rules and regulations you need to follow as a “worker”. You must also ensure that you treat them in a manner that is consistent with this. For example, if you are dissatisfied with the timekeeping, or performance, of a casual worker you do not need to go through the disciplinary process you follow for your employees or issue a series of warnings before dismissing them. Instead you can warn the worker that you expect them to improve and, if they don’t, you can dispense with their services (or just get rid of them).
you engage the individual on a zero hours contract Whether they can turn down the offer of work Details of their duties Duration of the agreement (if known) such as from December 1 to December 31 and the notice you can give to terminate it early Who to contact if they have any problem or issue they wish to raise And any other relevant issue.
What is the best way to engage a casual worker? It is important to get the right contract in place. Most casual staff can be properly taken on as workers if you anticipate that your requirements for them will be irregular or relatively informal. You should not issue your casual staff with a contract of employment - or what is known as a section 1 notice - as these documents will provide strong evidence that you intend to appoint them as an employee and not as a worker. Instead, you can create a simple agreement (which can be in the form of a letter) setting out the following information:
“Most casual staff can be properly taken on as workers if you anticipate that your requirements for them will be irregular”
Place of work Rate of pay and their entitlement to paid holiday Hours of work (if known) unless
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Should we use a zero hours contract? A zero hours contract is an agreement between an individual and an employer where the employer sets out the terms under which the individual will be engaged but provides no guarantee that it will offer any work. The agreement may require the worker to accept any work that is offered, specify that they can turn down a certain number of offers
for work or allow them to turn down any work offered. To confuse matters further, a zero hours contract can be used to engage an employee as well as a worker (although they are more commonly used to recruit workers). They are frequently used by organisations that require casual staff to assist them during busy periods but do not know, in advance, how many hours (if any) they may need the individual to work each week or month and should only be used in these circumstances. Therefore, if you know that you will need an individual to work, for example, 16 hours a week for a set period of time (even if the days may change), avoid using a zero hours contract. Most people need to know how much money they are likely to receive each month in order to meet normal costs of living and are likely to look for more reliable work. This can result in you having to train lots of new people and that can lead to inefficiencies and loss of morale. Are casual staff entitled to holiday pay? Yes. All workers are entitled to the equivalent of 5.6 weeks holiday per year, pro-rated for part-time or casual staff. Please note: you cannot pay the worker an additional sum to represent their holiday pay as a top up to their hourly rate (a practice
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known as ‘rolling up’ holiday pay). As it is not known in advance how long a casual worker will be engaged for and given they do not have regular working hours, it can be difficult to work out the holiday entitlement for a casual worker. It is usually easiest to calculate their holiday entitlement on the basis of the number of hours (or days) worked. Workers accrue holiday at the rate of 12.07% of the hours worked, which is calculated as follows: 5.6 weeks divided by 46.4 weeks (which is 52 weeks less 5.6 weeks). For example, a worker who has worked 112 hours over the summer period is entitled to 13.5 hours paid holiday. Casual staff can request to take holiday in the same way as your permanent staff. However, in reality, unless you are offering regular work to your
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“Most people need to know how much money they are likely to receive each month in order to meet the normal costs of living” casual staff, it is more likely that they will not have taken any holiday during their assignment. In these circumstances, you can pay them an amount representing their accrued holiday. This is because the Working Time Regulations 1998 (which regulate holiday and holiday pay) permit employers to make a payment in lieu of untaken holiday where the working relationship is terminated
(but not otherwise). How do we calculate holiday pay for casual staff? Holiday pay should be calculated on the basis of the worker’s previous 12 weeks pay. This will include all pay received, including any enhancements paid, for working particular shifts and any ‘overtime’ worked. Weeks in which the worker did not receive any pay should not be included. Fergal Dowling is a partner at Irwin Mitchell and head of the Midlands employment team, the largest team within the national Employment & Pensions Group. Contact him at: fergal.dowling@irwinmitchell. com or visit www.irwinmitchell. com/business/employmentlaw
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From the
HELPDESK This month: Ladies in men’s competitions, back to work interviews and...juniors in the sweepstake We have a member whose daughter would like to play in men’s competitions. We do not have a ladies section... As far as the handicap system is concerned there should not be a problem, especially if you use a software package and you have a measured course for ladies. With regard to competing against the men, this is also OK as long as the conditions of competition are agreed and the correct SSS adjustments are made. How do I conduct a return to work interview for an employee who has been off for nearly three weeks following an injury at work? ACAS provide a step-by-step guide with advice on how an interview should: welcome the employee back and check they are well enough to resume duties and update them on any changes to the business; if they have a fit note, you will need to discuss this in detail, discussing the exact wording of the note and managing new working arrangements if necessary, such as avoiding lifting, depending on the injury; grasp a clear understanding of their issue. In this case, discuss how they obtained their injury and what has been put in place to prevent a similar
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incident occurring. Ask them if there is anything you can do to move forward with this matter. Refer to: www.acas.org.uk/index. aspx?articleid=4204
up with a condition for their competitions. Clubs have been noted to use a 50 per cent rule in non-trophy matches and refund the competitors who did not finish.
Is there a policy that states what percentage of players constitutes a completed (18 holes) competition, in the event of a competition being abandoned due to bad weather? There is no standard suggested by The R&A or other organisations. Here is an excerpt from The R&A on guidelines:“If it is not possible for all players to complete their stipulated round, the round will be cancelled. There is no authority within the Rules of Golf for a Committee to determine that a competition result will be declared if a certain percentage of the field e.g. 50 per cent/75 per cent have completed their rounds. The Committee has no power to reduce the number of holes of a stipulated round once play has commenced on that round (Decision 33 -1/2). The Committee must determine the procedures for any given situation and must try to be as fair as possible to all competitors in any competition field. No one solution fits all situations.” It leaves it to the individual club to assess the situation and come
Our bylaw has been challenged which states that juniors can enter adult competitions but not the sweepstake. For example, they may enter the 2s Sweep but not the sweepstake. What rules apply, and at what age? Under 18s are banned from most gambling in the UK and under 16s are further banned from the lottery. Although this type of sweepstake is not seen as gambling by the authorities, as it is based mainly on skill, some still see it as morally wrong. Neither The R&A, nor England Golf, have any published advice, but promote ‘best practice’ in advising juniors against gambling. The most advisable course of action would be for your club to formulate a policy, taking into consideration the duty of care you have towards the juniors and the repercussions of entering them in the sweepstake. An online helpdesk staffed by industry experts offers an advisory service for queries. Visit gcma.org. uk/members to submit them.
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From the
DIPLOMA What is marketing? We take a closer look at this powerful tool for golf clubs
T
here are myriad views on what marketing is. There are thousands of quotes regarding it, but it is generally recognised to be a process where companies create a conscious pre-planned campaign that requires the management team to set a specific measurable objective for the golf club. Golf clubs are typically slow adopters of marketing - believing their membership are happy with the product being delivered without any real data, other than anecdotal, to support this view. It is essential to consider what your customers think about you and the club to get a different perspective. It is not uncommon to become fixated on the ‘what’ or the ‘how’ of marketing. WHY we are marketing and remembering to engage with
customers is increasingly very important. Focus is a major challenge and understanding what your club is trying to deliver, why and to whom is an essential starting point. In the broadest sense, marketing is about facilitating change. There is a difference between marketing and selling. Marketing will raise awareness but then you need a strategy to convert awareness to a sale. It is important to engage with people to get their opinions. Perception is important, and can become reality, so customer interaction is essential. How can you become effective and successful if you never engage with your customers? Among many things, marketing should be seen as a proactive process: creating value, positive perceptions and understanding
what is impacting on your customers. It is the power of observation! Over the next five to 10 years, understanding WHO our customers will be, what their requirements will be and how clubs will change to meet these new demands is the challenge. Golf clubs will need to fundamentally re-think the processes and their value propositions by which they identify, communicate and deliver value to customers. There are some key questions that the workshop focuses on to start to engage with marketing processes and understand value propositions: Why should people bother to buy from a golf club? What makes your club different
CREATE VALUE FOR CUSTOMERS AND BUILD CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS
Understand the marketplace and customer needs and wants
Design a customer valuedriven marketing strategy
Build an integrated marketing programme for superior value
CAPTURE VALUE FROM CUSTOMERS IN RETURN Build profitable relationships and create customer delight
Capture value from customers to create profit and customer equity
Source: Kotler and Armstrong (2015)
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from other clubs? What do customers think of you? Are you giving customers what they want today…and tomorrow?
GROWTH RATE
So what is the marketing process? There are two models that will help you consider marketing and how to engage it. The first, shown in the table opposite, is a traditional view which encourages investigating and understanding the marketplace in which you operate and those customers within it. This would then lead to the creation of a strategy and programme that delivers value to customers, ultimately ensuring they are delighted and are actually expecting to purchase your ‘product’. This maybe an ‘intangible’ experience as well as a ‘tangible’ good golfing facility. If all this is done well, we will capture value. Many large businesses adopt this ‘considered’ approach but it is still highly applicable to smaller organisations. The second, shown below, is a more fluid model. Namely, understand your issues and act fast! It suggests trying pilot schemes with little investment and seeing what happens. Sometimes the
best ideas happen from wacky ideas or from experiments. The key to this model is that you can learn quickly from mistakes and successes. It is interesting as it helps us understand how to make decisions quickly without too much time or cost investment. Don’t be afraid to try things! Lots of people are scared of starting something as there is a perception that marketing costs a lot of money. All too frequently, this approach of trial and error is not adopted by golf clubs as they tend to be managed by committee, which implies management by consensus. Running a scheme as a pilot allows for flexibility and a lack of formal process, whilst collating information on the results of the pilot prior to presenting a more formal proposal to a committee or management board. The concept of entrepreneurial marketing Regardless of the approach you take, you need to review the marketing activities of the golf club against four factors which may also help understand any customer segmentation: Be innovative by understanding what is different about the product or service in comparison
What is this unit all about? This unit covers key aspects of marketing by reviewing the processes and practices that clubs need to understand. How do you get more people into the club and what is your value proposition? Over the last five to 10 years, the focus in most clubs has significantly changed to a more focused business model. In trying to understand marketing and become more aware, this specific unit enables the learner to reflect on how marketing contributes to the delivery of the value proposition of the golf club and develop plans for utilising research to create action plans. Marketing is full of myths but understanding this area will help a club and their management teams become more focused, understand the external business environment and be aware of how it impacts what you can do. The learning outcomes are: Understand the impact of the business environment when developing a marketing strategy; research a market to identify the customers for the business; analyse markets and customer needs; align customer needs to business targets and produce a plan for marketing the services and products of a business.
LEAN ANALYTICS STAGES
“GATES”NEEDED TO MOVE FORWARD
EMPATHY
You’ve found a real, poorly met need that a reachable market faces.
STICKINESS
You’ve figured out how to solve the problem in a way that users will adopt, keep using and pay for.
VIRALITY
Your users and features fuel growth organically and artificially.
REVENUE
You’ve found a sustainable, scaleable business with the right margins in a healthy ecosystem.
SCALE
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Source: Croll and Yoskovitz (2013)
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to others in the market Identify who is the customer(s) of the business Interactive marketing by engaging with customers in marketing the business (e.g. word of mouth marketing) Informal marketing by understanding the customer by gathering information through more informal rather than formal methods (e.g. attending networking events, spending time with customers rather than commissioning by others) Additionally, understanding the external influencers which shape the environment is vital to ensure golf clubs remain compliant to legislation and receptive to change in areas such as social and technology advances. These will also affect your customers, suppliers, staff and organisations that give support and help. Awareness can help generate free support via grants. A PEST(LE) analysis (political, economic, social, technical, legislation and environmental), reviewing these influencers, will be of help. Golf clubs are more aware of targeted marketing campaigns which focus on different audiences
within their customer and membership audience. Customers usually choose from a tremendous variety of products and services to satisfy their specific need or want. The route to market a golf club engages is also important depending on the customer. More frequently technology is now becoming a very important medium. By undertaking market research, and analysing both the market opportunities and your customer’s needs, you should be able to define and shape your target markets and develop an appropriate marketing plan. There are more tools that can be used to help create marketing plans and campaigns such as market research, understanding buying behaviours, creating a positioning statement and understanding your value proposition. The marketing plan is a tool to transform the marketing strategy into action. Another commonly used tool or framework to assist in providing structure to the marketing plan is the marketing mix and the 4Ps of marketing (McCarthy, 1960) The 4Ps are:
Product Price Place Promotion As a golf club manager, you will have a network of stakeholder relationships to manage. This web of relationships is your business environment or ‘task’ environment (Rosenbusch et al, 2013). Understanding your task environment is important because there are greater levels of uncertainty and change in the business environment, which generate both opportunities and challenges for managing a club. The trends we see will help us learn from these relationships and react to your competitors. The Diploma will help the learner explore all these tools and assist them in becoming competent in the marketing arena and fully aware of all the tools available to help make informed decisions and develop successful marketing plans for the golf club. If you would like to know more about the ASQ Level 5 Diploma in Golf Club Management, visit the GCMA website: www.gcma.org. uk/education/diploma
PUSH examples of change which threaten the business
PULL examples of change which offer opportunities
Your customers start thinking your product and service offerings are old-fashioned
You find new ways to do things better
Your ‘star’ products and services reach the end of their life cycle
New markets want your products
Competitors do what you do better or cheaper
You find ways to do new things
Your customers’ requirements change
New techniques change what you can do
New products and services make yours unnnecessary
Government policy offers incentives and subsidies
Regulation increases your costs
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Meet the
MANAGER
Sponsor of the 2017 GCMA Manager of the Year award
Frank Spenceley, honorary secretary at Cleveland Golf Club, in Redcar
Cleveland
H
ow did you get into golf club management? I spent 35 years in the steelworks but I ran two or three golf societies a year. When I left there in 2010, I took over here as assistant secretary and it was just a natural progression. It was something that I felt comfortable with. Having been at the steelworks - which is hard work - I really enjoy this. As my wife says to me, every day :‘That isn’t a job you do, that’s enjoyment’. She’s right. I
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What are the challenges? Dealing with someone and saying that I’m not happy with their performance isn’t easy for me. It’s about getting the right things across and making them understand – without using the wrong language – what I want to get across. That’s been the hardest part for me. I’d also never dealt with the public.
Seeing people come to Cleveland Golf Club, have a good day and a good experience on the golf course. For me, there’s nothing better than someone coming in and saying ‘what a golf course, thank you’. Giving us great recommendations and saying what they enjoyed, that the package has been great. That’s the most enjoyable part – seeing someone having a good experience and thinking that we have got repeat business.
What part of your role do you enjoy most?
What’s the one thing you would change about the job?
enjoy coming here and it’s never drudgery.
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In my seven years, we’ve made a natural progression. We’ve gone from 40 to 50,000 green fees a year to 73,000. I thought that was great but, to move things forward all the time, I now need tranches of time where I can say to the members ‘that’s your time and this time is for the visitors’. I spoke to Mike Wells at York, recently, and he told me ‘I have that time for visitors on a morning and that time for visitors on an afternoon’. I never thought I’d get to that position but I’d now like to know what I’ve got – and the members know what they have got – and that’s the thing I would like to change. I didn’t think busy would cause trouble. But busy does cause trouble. You don’t realise, until you’ve got it, what it actually means. What’s your favourite golfing memory? Going to Pennsylvania, in 2009, for the Walker Cup with my son. I have family in America and Chris Paisley (in the GB&I team) was there. Rickie Fowler was playing for the USA and his mother was walking in the fairways and she gave us a golden lion badge. My son was probably only 13 or 14. He was into golf but to see Rickie Fowler’s mother giving things out - it was just an incredible thing to get. It was at Merion, too, which is a great place. You are clearly a keen golfer. What’s your handicap?
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I’ve gone back to six in the last two years. I was down to as low as 3.7 but I am just spiralling backwards. The only reason is I am that busy and I never get time. When I first took the job on I said ‘every day I am going to go and practise’. You can count the times on two hands I have actually gone and done that.
You have got to keep driving the business and so much has changed in the last seven years. You have got to get in people’s faces to do that. People don’t just come anymore. Social media is driving a lot of business – and definitely our business – massively.
“If you want things to go right, you have to put the time in. Things don’t happen by chance. That is something big I have learned”
Where do you see the role of the club manager in 20 years’ time? I don’t know what is beyond social media. The internet is a massive thing and is driving everyone’s businesses. I do all my shopping on the internet. I just don’t go to shops anymore. To me, it’s going to be digital. It’s going to be whatever comes after the internet.
Frank Spenceley
Most days, I stay in the office and get work done. We’ve got a lot coming up with our 130th anniversary celebrations and, if you want things to go right, you have to put the time in. Things don’t happen by chance. That is something big I have learned.
Tell us something we don’t know about you? I was a boyhood soprano. I sang for a group in Redcar called the Clare Singers. I lived at the top of Redcar and I used to go. I used to enjoy it. But I used to walk past a big playing field and all the lads would be like ‘Frank, are you coming?’ I used to get money in my pocket from the Clare Singers but my mother got a phone call:‘Why isn’t Frank coming any more?’ She went one night and there I was playing football on the field. Get In Touch To contact Cleveland, call 01642 471798 or visit cleveland-golfclub.com
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From the
REGIONS WALES AGM Tuesday, April 6 Pennard Outgoing captain Keith Wilcox thanked members for their support before handing over to his successor, Glamorganshire GC general manager Russell Thomas. Ray Chilten (Newport) was confirmed as the region’s new vice captain. Russell spoke of his desire to ensure that the higher quality training and focus on development, which the region has enjoyed in recent years, continued throughout his year of captaincy and beyond. The launch of the region’s own website, www.gcma.wales, and twitter account, @gcmawales, were announced. The website now shows all of the region’s events for the year, future training plans with presenter biographies and results of all golf competitions. The twitter account will keep followers up to date with all things Wales GCMA. GCMA chief executive Bob Williams’ presentation delivered some great insight into the 2017 conference and how the association is continuing to develop, while Premium Credit also made a presentation to members. Retired member David Janes walked away with the President’s Cup, which also counted as the
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qualifying event for the Premium Credit National Finals at The Berkshire. He scored 39 points. Richard Brookman (Creigiau) and Damion Gee (Ashburnham) qualified as the best placed serving managers. WESSEX AGM Tuesday, April 11 Ferndown, Dorset More than 30 members attended the AGM, which saw the final meeting for ‘Mr Wessex’ Eddie Robertson. Declan Healy, of Rushmore, took over as captain from Bishopswood’s Kevin Pickett but the day was all about Eddie, who stepped down from his role as regional manager after 21 years. He had been in post since the inception of the region in 1996. Corhampton’s Alex Taylor will be taking on the role. CEO Bob Williams gave a detailed insight into the GCMA’s education programme, while national captain Howard Williams outlined the work being undertaken to progress the association. After lunch, 30 players competed for the Maurice Hutchings Trophy along with the two places which were up for grabs at the Fairway Credit Finals at The Berkshire later this year. With 16 holes played, because of ongoing renovation work, Burley’s Jane Harfield won with 34 points. Stoneham’s Richard Arnold was
the runner-up. MIDLAND Wednesday, April 19 South Staffordshire A total of 32 members and guests attended the Spring Meeting, of whom 11 were serving managers. There were 19 apologies. Chief executive Bob Williams spoke about the Diploma In Golf Club Management and reflected on regional participation levels and the geographical size of some regions. Short presentations were made by representatives from Fairway Credit and Golf Management Group, which is a purchasing organisation. Frank Newberry was the day’s principal speaker and he conducted two separate sessions. The first was concerned with motivation, both of oneself and of others. The question of what motivates people should be at the forefront of every manager’s mind and factors such as autonomy, relationships and recognition, along with several others, have relevance for all. It also appears that the relative importance of these factors tend to change over the years with age. Frank’s second session concerned the potentially thorny problems associated with the criticism and correction of people at work.
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It was clear, as many of us have discovered, that quite frequently the most effective criticism comes from other members of the team, provided effective ground rules are in place to prevent counterproductive behaviour. Again, the meeting was reminded that when performance is measured it generally improves. With fast and true greens, the afternoon’s golf was won by the home club’s Phil Sims. The Fairway Credit finalist was Patshull Park’s Steve Kimball. EAST MIDLANDS Wednesday, April 26 Northamptonshire County National captain Howard Williams and club captain Colin Miles were among more than 40 members and guests. Smart Energy Solutions, attending a GCMA meeting for the first time, were presenting their cellar cooling equipment and beer miser systems and the huge savings that could be made by installing these systems at clubs. Five club managers who attended arranged to have a free survey and a no obligation quote with more in the pipeline. Terry Walker, manager at Kirby Muxloe, has already had these systems installed and can confirm the savings being made. James Wilkinson, of Albatross Digital, showed us just how effective a structured and well targeted membership recruitment campaign could work by using Facebook at a very minimal cost. Norwood Park manager Paul Thornton, who was present, is able to confirm how well this works. Norwood have closed their membership to full 7-day members as a result of working with Albatross.
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The Brader Trophy was played in the afternoon and Mick Mulhern, now retired but formerly at Mapperley, took the honours. Fairway Credit qualifiers were Paul Thornton and Longcliffe’s Brian Jones. SOUTH WEST AGM Thursday, April 27 Burnham & Berrow, Somerset President David Weston welcomed newcomers Steve Dance and Gareth Morgan, both recently appointed at Chippenham and Kingsdown respectively, along with Minehead acting manager Stephen Kaye. The meeting welcomed national captain Howard Williams, who expressed his delight at being elected and shared some of the association’s progressive aspects – such as the Diploma.
GCMA Regional Managers Full contact details can be found at gcma.org.uk/regions Chiltern & Home Counties
Martin Bennet East Anglia
Gary Smith East Midlands
Rod Savage London & Home Counties
Maureen Brooker Midland
Rob Wormstone Norfolk
John Barnard North West
Neil Annandale Northern
Terry Minett Northern Ireland
Jim Cullen Scotland
A notable apology was received from SW region committee member Tim Aggett, who had been at Burnham & Berrow the previous two days playing in the West of England Seniors Championships. He claimed the title thanks to a spectacular exhibition of golf, shooting 71 and 72 gross for a 1 over par total. The AGM was conducted without issue. David Weston stepped down as president following the adoption of the new constitution and was thanked for his long service, which also included a year as regional captain in 2006/07.
Bernard Flockhart South East
John Edgington South West
Karen Drake Southern
Joan Raffety Wales
Mike Rees Wessex
Alex Taylor Yorkshire
Cameron Dawson
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Afterwards, Junior Brown, from JBEL Consulting, gave a brief overview of the water resources, environmental sustainability challenges and environmental protection requirements. It certainly gave clubs food for thought as to contingency planning for the future as demand continues to grow and water resources become more scarce. Paul Mould, from Material Matters, provided a case study on cost savings using Burnham and Berrow’s own statistics. He presented savings opportunities in the thousands, together with a comprehensive supplier management system to keep supplier prices and contract term details at the fingertips. Linda Ruskin discussed health and safety and gave a lively demonstration of her H&S pack, which is designed to reduce the time and effort needed for compliance. The meeting finished with an update from Paul Shields, of Premium Credit. The Spring Cup, which was also the Fairway Credit Finals South West qualifier, was won by East Devon’s Julian Reynolds with a hard fought 32. He won on countback from the GCMA HQ’s Jim Cunning. Ian Griffiths, from Ross-on-Wye, was the 2nd qualifier with 31 points.
Mo Brooker was re-elected as regional manager for the 11th year. After the meeting, Liam Francis, of Alto Digital, gave a presentation starting with a quick quiz asking members to identify old technology by either sight or sound.
The new captain came out on top and was awarded two tickets to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The other pair went to Roger Carr, from the RAF, after winning the AGM Trophy in the afternoon.
YORKSHIRE Monday, May 8 Cleckheaton With an audience of 37 at the Spring Meeting, all but five of which were serving members, regional manager Cameron Dawson gave a report covering the common issue of serving secretaries either not able to find the time to attend meetings or clubs not willing to release them.
LONDON & HOME COUNTIES Friday, April 28 East Berkshire The annual general meeting saw Patrick Dawson, of West Hill, appointed captain for 2017. Stephen Murphy, of Shirley Park, was elected vice-captain and Scott Patience was named as members representative.
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He revealed that the week prior to the meeting, he’d had six serving members cancelling attendance – all giving work related issues – along with 16 apologies received. Many gave
work as the reason. Steve Robinson, of Rijo42, gave an update on their product and benefits to the region when buying/leasing one of their machines. Simon Price and Adrian Ashworth, of Meltham, gave a presentation on how they had been very successful in a membership recruitment and retention campaign at their club. Over a two-year period, they had seen 230 new people through the Get Into Golf programme. 50 took up three month trial membership, 32 took up the nine month trial membership and 27 took up and maintained full membership - generating over £36,000 for the club and professional. Nigel Bennett, of String Systems, talked about current IT issues, including a detailed warning and description of ransomware. The FBI have advised there is no software that will secure your computer from all these threats and the only defence is a stringent, daily double back up (online and unattached hard drive). Nigel also gave details of new legislation and issues with public wifi. Clubs, or anybody offering wifi, can now be prosecuted for illegal use of the internet by whoever is using it if you can’t prove it was a guest and not the supplier doing it. The only way to avoid this is to have a sign in system that enables the IP to identify the user perpetrating the crime. Gina Topping then gave an update on the services of Fairway Credit. The two qualifiers for the Fairway Credit Finals, from the afternoon individual competition, were Graeme Pryde (Dewsbury District) and Malcolm Huddlestone (Pontefract & District).
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“Before I joined On Course Foundation I was in a very bad place in my life after being diagnosed with PTSD. Since I became a member, my life has changed so much for the better. With their help I have also started work as a greenkeeper and I look forward to the future again.” On Course Foundation Member
On Course Foundation supports the recovery of Wounded, Injured and Sick Service Personnel and Veterans through golf. They also help beneficiaries to find meaningful employment in the golf industry. Support the GCMA’s supported charity by playing in the National Golf Club Challenge. For more information, please visit ngcc.uk
oncoursefoundation.com |@OnCourseCharity On Course Foundation, 28 Falstaff House, Bardolph Road, Richmond TW9 2LH A company limited by Guarantee registered in England. Registered No. 7267733 Registered Charity Number 1136618
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