GMA Journal (Summer 2020)

Golf Management Australia

JOURNAL SUMMER 2020

Official Journal for Golf Management Australia Ltd.

ALSO INSIDE THIS EDITION

STATE GMA NEWS

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EVENTS BACK UP AND RUNNING

INDUSTRY NEWS

18

A TRIBUTE TO BIG “BAD” JOHN

BMI PROGRAM

INDUSTRY NEWS

PUBLIC FLOCKS TO NEW SANDY

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A BMI LIKE NO OTHER! Page 22

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Golf Management Australia

JOURNAL SUMMER 2020

Official Journal for Golf Management Australia Ltd.

CONTENTS 4

FROM THE CHAIR

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FROM THE CEO

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GMA & STATE NEWS

Cathy Neagle

Paul Vardy

GMA Speaker Series, GMA events back up and running, GMA Podcast

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INDUSTRY NEWS

22

GMA EDUCATION

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GOLF AUSTRALIA NEWS

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GMA EDUCATION

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INDUSTRY NEWS

BMI PROGRAM

AN EVENT LIKE NO OTHER!

A Tribute to Big “Bad” John

BMI Program, The Impact of COVID-19

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GMA STATE NEWS

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QLD MINI CONFERENCE FINISHES ON HIGH

Rounds Data & Membership Reports, Get Into Golf Program, Vision 2025

Time to reintroduce entrance fees, Making depreciation your friend

GMA GOLF EVENTS

DEFENDING CHAMPS GALORE!

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WHS golf cart warning, COVID-19 vaccinations, Public flocks to new Sandy Links

INDUSTRY NEWS

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A TRIBUTE TO BIG “BAD” JOHN

GOLF AUSTRALIA

GOLF DEVELOPMENT ACQUISITION PUZZLE PIECE

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COVER PICTURE: A screenshot from CEO, Paul Vardy’s computer, during the 2020 BMI online program - very 2020 indeed!

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

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FROM THE CHAIR CATHY NEAGLE | Chair, Golf Management Australia

It’s been really pleasing to see members getting together recently for a rush of GMA coordinated professional development activities, state AGMs, podcasts, a mini-conference and golf days after a year where GMA events have been so interrupted by the global pandemic.

The recent BMI program held online and in hubs was a great success with 41 participants completing BMI-GM/CEO with pre-learning in October and live events in early November.

There will be more about these events later in the Journal.

GMA produced its comprehensive Annual Report for the 2019/20 year in spring and held the AGM in late November. The report summarises the 12 months as well as covering the earlier six-month period when the ‘One GMA’ management model came into being from 1st January 2019. It’s amazing to reflect on how much has happened over that period with the National Conference in Melbourne being the major event and highlight. GMA remains committed to delivering on its four key pillars: individual professional development, member health and wellbeing, member support and development, and stakeholder relationships and industry advocacy.

The year 2020 has been one of much change.

Many clubs have come out of the year financially stronger and with a demand for golf that would have been unimaginable a year earlier. We’ve all reflected on the way we run our clubs and the key focus areas to maximise opportunities.

GMA remains in a very strong position to deliver on member benefits. We’re buoyed by the support of our corporate partners, many of whom have commented that they highly value the relationships being built and that they’re in it for the long haul.

With GMA’s two year service agreement with states coming to a close at the end of the year, GMA and state executives have agreed to bring the timings into alignment with the financial

Golf Management Australia (GMA) represents a membership of more than 400 golf club managers across Australia.

year. A six month agreement is being signed in each state, new KPIs formed and reporting occurring on a quarterly basis. We thank all state executives for their interest in improving the ‘One GMA’ service agreement and for the ongoing support of the model.

GMA’s recent AGM saw a continuation of the board composition: Cathy Neagle - Chair (NSW), Peter Busch - Vice Chair (VIC), Aaron Muirhead (QLD), Mark Tan (SA), Troy O’Hern (WA), Anthony Masters (Independent) and Kieran Semple (Independent). I thank the board for their input and support over the year.

The GMA board originally scheduled its strategic planning day to occur in May but this has been in abeyance. Whilst the online meetings throughout the year have been terrific, a good planning process requires meeting in person with the guidance of a facilitator. This will occur in late February and we look forward to drawing on the experiences from across the country, industry reports, as well as feedback from the GMA Member Insight survey.

We thank our CEO, Paul Vardy, for his first full year driving GMA operations as well as his team of operations managers and staff. We thank our corporate and industry partners for their on-going support and, most of all, we thank our members who have had a year of such change and adjustment. Though most could do with a long break, the reality is that many of us will see the biggest summer of golf and possibly clubhouse events in years. With so much impacted by COVID-19, particularly around the world, we’re very lucky to be in a sport that has attributes so important to people in a time of such upheaval.

We wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you all at GMA events in 2021.

GMA, through its state associations, provides a platform of professional and personal development and networking opportunities for General Managers and Assistant Managers/COOs of golf clubs.

GMA also has a focus on member support, club development, and member health and well-being.

Golf Management Australia Ltd. PO Box 859 CROYDON VIC 3136 www.golfmanagement.com.au BOARD OF DIRECTORS Cathy Neagle (Chair) Elanora CC, NSW Peter Busch Green Acres GC, VIC Anthony Masters Barwon Heads GC, VIC Aaron Muirhead Oxley GC, QLD Troy O’Hern Mount Lawley GC, WA Kieran Semple The Coast GC, NSW Mark Tan Mount Osmond GC, SA GMA TEAM Paul Vardy Chief Executive Officer Frances Cordaro NSW State Operations Manager Mike Orloff QLD State Operations Manager Zoee Dolling SA State Operations Manager Rod Haines VIC State Operations Manager & Finance Jodie Alaban WA State Operations Manager David Brand Media & Communications

Contents may not be reproduced without written permission.

Views expressed in editorial contributions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this publication and it’s management.

Download the 2019/2020 GMA Annual Report

Golf Management Australia

BOARD OF DIRECTORS & MANAGEMENT

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CATHY NEAGLE Chair

PETER BUSCH

Director www.golfmanagement.com.au

ANTHONY MASTERS Director

AARON MUIRHEAD Director

KIERAN SEMPLE Director

TROY O’HERN Director

MARK TAN Director

PAUL VARDY CEO

FROM THE CEO PAUL VARDY | CEO, Golf Management Australia

When I come across golf club annual reports, I’m fascinated to read the various details within. It’s a reminder of the complexity of the golf club operation. It’s useful to remind ourselves that while parts of Australian entered the year with low rainfall and a serious access to water issue, huge areas along the east coast including Sydney and Canberra were clouded in months of smoke from the outrageously big bushfires. Sydney was then hit with extreme rain that did lots of damage to courses.

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic was extraordinary on a scale never seen in our lifetime. When the pandemic impact hit locally it was natural for caution to set in. The GBAS survey of managers in April found clubs were battening down the

quite exhausting for managers and staff. Let’s hope we can ride the demand for golf for a long time and turn it towards our advantage.

With low interest rates and a strong confidence in golf, it may be a great time to invest in course and club improvements.

It’s always good to thank those around us who held up well when this was very much needed. I sometimes scribble down great lines when I hear something good and this is one from the book of scribbles, un-numbered page 10, paragraph 1.

Mercedes F1 Team Manager, Toto Wolff, “For me there are 1,600 superstars in Mercedes but the strength of the team is in every single individual. I cannot drive the car, I am not able to design an aerodynamic surface, but I try to understand everything

Hats off to all the GMA members who have navigated the demands of the job in a year like no other. hatches and putting capital works on hold.

With so much daily and weekly change, it was a constant burden to work out what should and shouldn’t be done to operate the clubs as safely and as prudently as possible.

But soon we were hearing of JobKeeper, grants, etc., and it was about maximising opportunities within a limited COVID-19 safe environment.

Fast forward, past Melbourne’s horror drawn-out lock downs, and a few other state blips, and the year is panning out way better than we imagined. Australia avoided the worst of the crisis in cases, hospitalisations and deaths. All the headline economic data turned out to be well short of the worst-case scenarios despite many hospitality venues being badly impacted along with tourism, education, the arts and sports. Household saving rates went through the roof as there were fewer ways to spend it. Golf found its groove as all travel was halted and most things were restricted. Concerns of club member losses were unfounded as members held on for the health and wellbeing, and a new wave of 20-49 year-old players picked up their clubs or purchased new stock. Now it’s all about retaining them.

It’s been one hell of a ride and I’m sure,

around the guy who can and I try to provide a framework for these individuals to perform at their best.”

I’m sure every GM can relate to Toto Wolff. The people around us are vital to our success. Adversity happens regularly in clubs, as it does in F1. A week or so ago, Mercedes blew a race by fitting two of the wrong tyres in a pit stop – eeesh! But as we see all the time, the best teams and clubs have a great capacity to overcome setbacks, review and get on with it. Great teams have support and trust and get better through challenges like this. In settled times, it’s the best time to lay the groundwork for handling setbacks and shocks that will arise.

I’d like to thank Cathy Neagle, GMA Chair, and the GMA board for their support, our operations managers and staff, the state executives and you, our members, for being supportive and doing as much as you can in a tough year of restrictions. We also thank our many corporate partners who are rock solid behind GMA and are looking at enhancing long term relationships with GMA members. With golf days, high quality professional development days, BMIs and mini-conferences, we look forward to seeing you all in person in a more normal 2021.

RECENT INDUSTRY MOVEMENTS Congratulations to Rob Selley who returns from NZ and starts as GM at NSW GC in early 2021.

Brett Holland (former GM at Oxley GC) is relocating to Dubbo GC as their newly appointed GM. We say farewell to Glenn Howard who leaves Belmont GC after many years’ service both as GM and on the GMANSW Board.

NEW GMA MEMBERS Queensland • Dominic Smith - Twin Waters GC New South Wales/ACT • Graham Dale - North Ryde GC • Daniel Hill - The Australian GC • Rachel Jacobson - Sawtell GC • Brian Leggett - Dungog & District GC • Laura McMahon - Long Reef GC • Andrew Potter - Pennant Hills GC • Kirsten Ramirez - Pennant Hills GC • Anthony Ryan - North Ryde GC • Jonathan Towns - Waratah GC • Brendan Bradshaw - Bathurst GC • Sandra Calabretta - Bayview GC • Karen Hansen - Lakeside GC • John Turner - Wagga Wagga GC • Mathew Ward - Belmont GC South Australia • Sam Hughes - Glenelg GC • Duard Nel - Kooyonga GC • Emma Twartz - Kooyonga GC Victoria/Tasmania • Allie Cosgrove - Londsale GC • Michael Phillips - Portarlington GC • David Wren - Rosanna GC • Dawn Watts - Royal Melbourne GC To update us on any movements within the industry, please advise your local GMA State Operations Manager.

CLICK HERE FOR MEMBER ONLY GMA RESOURCES & LINKS: Industry News GMA Podcasts Member Assistance Program Member Discussion Forum Member Resource Library Industry Webinars

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

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THE GMA SPEAKER SERIES ROD HAINES / Operations Manager (VIC) The year 2020 started off somewhat normal for GMA. State executives were meeting together in person, golf events were being held as planned and GMA staff were geared up for a full calendar of events on the back of a hugely successful National Conference at the MCG in October 2019.

Two national road shows were organized and two BMI professional development sessions were about to commence.

Then, the global pandemic of COVID-19 hit Australia, and the world, and things changed very quickly. Virtually all planning

by GMA was thrown out the window and a new way of life and work commenced.

Golf clubs adapted quickly to the social distancing requirements set out by state governments and, in most states, golf continued. Victoria was hit hardest with clubs closing until restrictions were lifted.

In those times, club managers were faced with challenges like never before.

Communication with club members, boards and staff was paramount and the need for inspiration and motivation reached new heights.

In an effort to address the need for professional development in those tough times, GMA ran a series of online speaker presentations featuring Jacqui Cooper (the world’s greatest ever aerial skier) and Ben Crowe (a world renowned professional mentor and leadership coach).

The series provided a wonderful combination of what a great mindset can help a person achieve (Jacqui Cooper) and the tools one can use to bring about a winning mindset (Ben Crowe).

Jacqui Cooper represented Australia in the sport of aerial skiing for over 20 years. Recruited at the age of 16, she became a World Champion by 1999, and in the decade that followed, came to dominate and revolutionise the sport. In a long and decorated career, she competed in 139 World Cup events, nine World Championships and was selected for five Winter Olympic teams, the first Australian Woman in history to have enjoyed that honour. Capturing a record five world titles, 39 World Cup medals, 24 World Cup wins and three major World Championship medals, she is undisputably the greatest aerial skier of all time. Her story was

amazing and she told it with passion and enthusiasm.

Ben Crowe is Australia’s most in demand professional mentor and leadership coach working with coaches, teams, CEOs and executive teams in Australia and the world.

His work involves helping people with their mindset on the field professionally, and with their perspective off the field personally, to find a balance between confidence and happiness, and achievement with fulfilment.

He works with tennis world number one, Ash Barty, seven time world surfing champion, Stephanie Gilmore, the Australian cricket teams, Dylan Alcott and, since 2017, the Richmond Football Club.

There were so many pearls of wisdom in what Ben shared and they were coming so fast it was difficult to write them down.

He talked about “Purpose Mindset” – What is my why? Who am I? What do I want? And then he talked about “Performance Mindset”- I must accept uncontrollables and then I must focus on what I can control.

He also talked about (which certainly resonated for Victorians in lockdown) how we as humans are hardwired for connection to other people. In order to fully appreciate our worth to others, we need to realise that it is okay to focus on ourselves and that we are fine with all our imperfections and should not get caught up in what we think we ought to be in the eyes of the world, as that can be unhealthy and stressful.

Therefore be “authentic” and know it is okay to be enough as you are. With this in mind,

you start to let yourself thrive.

Ben’s message really hit the mark with the audience, which was evident by the number of questions rolling in at the end of the session, and he happily answered as many questions as he could in the time we had.

Sadly, we weren’t authorised to record the session, but Ben shared where we can find more of his inspirational stories and tools for life (links below).

To get an understanding of what Ben spoke about, you can listen to his interview on SEN radio with Gary Lyon and Tim Watson.

Again, the combination of Jacqui and Ben speaking to us was a perfect match in what inspirational heights one can achieve with a wonderful mindset.

Our sincere thanks to our fantastic corporate partners who continue to support GMA in tough times. Jacqui Cooper’s session was brought to us by Bidfood, and Ben Crowe’s session was brought to us by Toro.

To view the Jacqui Cooper webinar, click here to visit the GMA webinar page Click here to visit Ben Crowe’s website for more inspirational stories Listen to Ben Crowe’s interview on SEN Radio

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NEW SOUTH WALES

LEARNING CRISIS MANAGEMENT & LEVERAGING MOMENTUM IN THE NEW COVID WORLD After a long winter of COVID restrictions, NSW general managers, their colleagues and guests were able to gather for an informative GMA professional development session at the recently refurbished Pennant Hills Golf Club.

Co-founder of Four Pillars Gin, Matt Jones, delivered an inspiring presentation about brand experience. He spoke about being innovative whilst maintaining constant purpose, being authentic to your craft while delivering an efficient business, and creating engaging experiences for your community which are remarkable yet seamless.

“I really enjoyed the day. It was good to get back ‘in room’ and the speakers were excellent,” David Gazzoli, General Manager at Killara Golf Club said.

“The presentation by Matt Jones was excellent,” Gazzoli said. “Killara is a very traditional club and his presentation showed me that I need to think differently about certain areas at the club, change things up, to create an authentic experience.”

“One such example is a few years back we hosted a champagne tasting on the outside

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terrace. It was an enormous success and guests were able to taste champagne from the basic through to top French champagne.”

Before the keynote presentation, former General Manager of NSW Golf Club, David Burton, posed questions about managing the COVID-19 crisis to a panel of three general managers - Nigel Gibson of Manly, Derryn Weigand of Cronulla, and Barry West of Mollymook - with a selection of “Golden Nuggets” developed by David Burton as a result of the discussions (see page 9).

“The three club managers were all from very different clubs and it was great to hear their stories. Killara is aligned with Manly, but I enjoyed hearing how both Mollymook and Cronulla managed the COVID-19 crisis,” Gazzoli said.

Barry West also shared his golf club’s experience during the summer bushfires, which included losing power for 24 hours yet

managing to offer the clubhouse as a refuge to anyone who needed food and shelter.

“The story of Mollymook Golf Club during the bushfires was incredible,” Gazzoli said.

“Barry West and three other persons on the management team did so well. It’s a good story because it shows us that we have got to be prepared to deal with challenges at any time, we need to know how to adapt to a situation.”

At the conclusion of the session, the Annual General Meeting of GMA NSW took place.

Kieran Semple, chair of the organisation, took the opportunity to thank event partners, Bidfood and Toro, as well as corporate partner presenters, PAYG and Hostplus, and Callaway for event gifts and prizes.

GMA PODCAST: THERE’S MONEY WAITING TO BE MADE FOR YOUR CLUB

A vast array of in-depth discussion is what you’ll hear on the GMA podcast, some of it ‘point-in-time’ news, with the majority containing timeless relevance for GMA members.

It’s this very shelf life of most episodes that makes it worthwhile listening, whether on a monthly basis or as a summer binge. The key is to keep yourself informed and allow it to generate ideas and actions for your own club management.

A bumper summer of golf is underway across the nation and what better way to get an insight into the potential income that awaits your club, from soft-drink and water sales, than to listen to the experts on how to maximise it. Spend half an hour listening to Daniel Christie from Asahi Lifestyle Beverages, interviewed on the relevance of fridge location, and special offers and promotions to thirsty golfers, and you’re sure to uncover some quick and easy tweaks you can make. It’s as much a service to members as it is a win for the club!

Daniel has the data and experience to track and understand consumer behaviour so that we can simply tap into the secrets.

This summer, take some advice and make

your soft drink sales sing.

A year on from Australia’s biggest and best golf event, the Presidents Cup, we hear from Royal Melbourne GM, Warwick HillRennie, on the event and life that followed including the COVID-19 year and the developments at Sandringham golf course, just across the road from RM. There’s plenty more in the back catalogue to search through. Don’t forget to listen to the two-part interview with Mac Niven to really get going your thoughts on GM and board relations.

To listen, download the MiClub app.

You can also listen to episodes on the GMA website.

THE GOLDEN NUGGETS! Managing clubs during COVID-19 Cashless transactions - Members now expect this without resistance and it will reduce administration risk and processes for cash handling.

Gaming machine activity has increased, allowing the opportunity for investing surplus earnings into the course and club facilities.

The concept of precooked takeaway meals from the club can create future extra food revenue (the ‘Shopify’ concept).

With capacity and opening restrictions on restaurants (including some closing down), golf clubs have become more relevant as a social venue in the eyes of members. This is a good time to give members social offerings not available before.

Establishing and maintaining contact with those on your wait list may stimulate and secure their future membership when available.

Communicating regularly with members on matters relating to timesheet management minimises frustration and angst.

Consider reconfiguring timesheets as members working from home now have more flexibility for playing (ie. weekday competitions to relieve weekend timesheet pressure, earlier or later tee times, two tee starts, 9-hole times in later afternoon, etc.

Investing in a generator will ensure that, in case of emergencies, you may use the backup power to keep necessary facilities in use including food and beverage refrigerators, computers and other essentials.

To facilitate timesheet pressures, establishing a different level of access with new ‘provisional’ members, ensures that you do not lose the new members, but marginally restrict their full access.

If you want to make changes with the department of Liquor and Gaming, the timing is right as there is currently less red tape and more expediency in the approval process.

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

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QUEENSLAND

2020 SCHWEPPES GMAQ MINI-CONFERENCE FINISHES ON A HIGH Education, golf and networking were the three pillars of the recent inaugural Schweppes GMAQ MiniConference held at the Caloundra Golf Club on the Sunshine Coast in October.

And there was plenty of it going around!

With what has been a turbulent six months, this event was much anticipated and managed to captivate the essence of the national conferences for all that attended.

This new mini format is aimed at complementing the national meetings in offyears, with this year’s event set out to tackle various topics brought forward by members.

Days 1 & 2 The first day featured golf and a social event held at the Pelican Waters golf course, with a casual dinner in town concluding the evening.

The second day covered a full morning of educational events with welcome words from GMAQ President, Aaron Muirhead, and Schweppes’ Brad Jones. A presentation by Justin Murgurgan followed, where the road from “Good to Great” was lined out. Ben Marshall from Toro presented on machinery maintenance for all the general managers in attendance.

After a short break, presentations ensued with Matt Holmes from epar, followed by De Bortoli Wines - “Driving profitability through wine.” Andy “Phippsy” Phipps (celebrity chef and author) finished the educational events of the second day with his presentation on “Driving more revenue through your food operations.”

The afternoon offered a fun formatted 9-hole teams event at Caloundra Golf Club, and the evening festivities started with corporate partners, De Bortoli Wines, throwing a nice wine tasting for delegates, guests and GMA partners at the Caloundra RSL. A nice two course dinner followed with some great socialising and networking available for everyone in attendance.

Day 3 Day three saw all members attend an educational session with a busy schedule of topics through to lunch. First cab off the rank was Paul Stephenson from

DWS Hospitality, who presented “Holy Constitution...Is your club’s up to date?”

Following Paul was Justin Murray from Smooth IT, who talked about software solutions to help small and medium businesses.

After morning tea Broc Greenhalgh (PGA) talked about “In-house or contract - the pros and cons” followed by Golf Australia’s presentation on “Engaging with government.” A group chat on “Social media - practical ideas to make your channels awesome” was held before Kevin Gates from Club Car finalised the educational segment with “Golf Car industry insights 2020”.

A BIG shout out to Qld Golf Industry Club of the Year Manager, Matt Bolton, for coming down for Cairns especially for this event.

The 2021 event is already being planned…. watch this space.

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

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STATE NEWS

QUEENSLAND

ENDING 2020 WITH SOME FESTIVE SPIRIT In what we all know has been a very challenging year, our Queensland members recently came together for an end of year social, AGM and golf day.

The social event on Sunday night took the form of a Top Golf competition held on the Gold Coast, with members (and family) and corporate partners along to socialise over dinner and some friendly competition.

Everyone in attendance had a great time and seized the opportunity to just let 2020 fall behind us and look forward to a more stablised 2021.

AGM at Burleigh Golf Club On the Monday morning, our AGM was held at Burleigh Golf Club, followed by a presentation from Bidfood’s National Accounts Manager, Brett Campbell. Brett gave attendees an overview of the company and the various ways they can support GMA in a true collaborative relationship.

Host club general manager, Ian Cottle,

then provided an update on the great progress Burleigh Golf Club has achieved over the past seven years. The club has had a big turnaround financially, now with a current course upgrade, as well the retirement village that was built on their land next to the 10th hole. Ian provided some very good insight into the entire process and the future for the club, which is now in good stead for decades to come.

Golf Day Members and corporate partners went off for a round of golf on a nice steamy day!

The format for the day was equal part fun, part interesting, and part steamy; played in groups of two - six holes 4BBB, six holes alternate shot, and six holes Ambrose.

The team of Bernadette Lance (Southport Golf Club GM) and Sharon Purnell (Mt Coolum Golf Club GM) took out the main prize. All prizes were donated by Callaway

Golf, Heineken 3, and Choi’s Cleaning.

The gift beach bags from Heineken were a great addition, and of course, the most talked about by the attendees.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of our GMA members and their families, and to our corporate partners, who allow us to hold events like this. We cannot thank you all enough for your support and we look forward to working together again in 2021.

GOLF RESULTS 1st - Bernadette Lance/ Sharon Purnell 2nd - Jacki Hayden/ Phil Laurie 3rd - Barry Hornby/Ste3ve Middleton 4th - Gavin Lawrence/Sam Arthur 5th - David Marr/Ian Cottle 6th - Charlie McGill/Joseph Choi

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

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Š 2020 Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc.

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STATE NEWS

NEW SOUTH WALES

HUGILL AND DEFENDING CHAMPIONS PREVAIL AT GMA NSW’S PREMIER EVENT On an extremely hot day in November, General Managers, their Presidents and Captains along with corporate partners, descended on Ryde Parramatta Golf Club to contest the annual GMA NSW President’s, Captain’s and General Manager’s Day. Traditionally held in August, but rescheduled due to COVID-19, the one and only golf event on the 2020 NSW calendar this year attracted a smaller than usual field due to event restrictions.

This did not deter Massey Park, the defending champions from 2019, who were eager to take home the John Alenson Perpetual Trophy for best President, Captain and General Manager team score.

They finished the day with a score of 97 points, just one point ahead of the host club, Ryde Parramatta.

As the temperature soared to 38 degrees, the Schweppes drinks cart was a welcome sight for all players, who enjoyed Gatorade, water and other Schweppes product.

“We thank our event sponsor, InGolf Utilities, distributors of Club Car, as well as event product suppliers Schweppes, De Bortoli and TaylorMade,” GMA NSW Chair, Kieran Semple said.

“And we thank Brenden Ellam and the

team at Ryde Parramatta for hosting this great event. The course was in great shape.”

Popular on the golf calendar, 15 clubs from across the state contested the individual stableford event with a 3-ball aggregate in conjunction, on a course in excellent condition.

Golfers played for the Alex Marks Perpetual Trophy, for best individual General Manager score, and the John Alenson Perpetual Trophy for best President, Captain and General Manager team score.

Andy Hugill, General Manager at Mona Vale, was able to wrestle the Alex Marks Perpetual Trophy from Derryn Weigand of Cronulla, who has etched his name on the trophy four times.

“It was a great day. Thanks to Ryde Parramatta, InGolf Utilities and GMA NSW,” Hugill said.

Other winners on the day included Ross Fleming from Mona Vale Golf Club with Best Individual President (31 points), Troy Redwood from Cammeray Golf Club with Best Individual Captain (37 points) and

Main image: Team Winner – Massey Park Golf Club, Tony Rosillo (GM), Richard Lee (Captain), David Bowyer (President); Inset image: GM Winner - Andy Huggill, Mona Vale Golf Club

Luke Roberts of InGolf with Best Sponsor (38 points).

The 2021 GMA NSW calendar is almost finalised and will be distributed to members before the end of the year. The board extends seasons greetings to the members and acknowledges their support during 2020.

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STATE NEWS Main image left: Royal Fremantle’s winning team - GM, Gavin Burt, with Stephen Herbert, David Smith and Kevin McLeish; Image below: Gavin & Stephen with GMA Life member, Alex Monteath; Other images below: GMAWA President, Damon Lonnie at the Schweppes esky; event presentations; GMA Life member, Alex Monteath on the 1st tee

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

ROYAL FREO SCOOPS THE PRIZES AT GMA CHALLENGE The 2020 Schweppes Management Challenge took place on Friday, 20th November at the Mandurah Country Club in Western Australia.

Originally known as the President/ Captain/Professional/Manager Trophy, it was renamed in 2004 to the GMA Management Challenge.

Now in its 16th year, the Management Challenge attracted players from eight golf clubs within the Perth metropolitan and south-west regions.

Thanks must be given to the team from Schweppes for their continued support of GMA and the Management Challenge.

Players enjoyed a variety of Schweppes products both on and off the golf course; something very much appreciated on what was quite a humid day.

The GMA Management Challenge is a club teams event and consists of a four-person team made up of two board members, PGA professional and manager from each club.

Congratulations to GMA member and Royal Fremantle general manager, Gavin Burt and his team; David Smith (President), Kevin McLeish (Captain) and club professional, Stephen Herbert, who won with a combined stableford score of 132.

This is the third time Royal Fremantle has taken out the teams event.

The Alex Monteath Trophy, an annual event that has been on the WA schedule since 1985, was also held on the day.

Named after GMA Life member, Alex Monteath, the Alex Monteath Trophy is the combination of a club’s PGA professional and manager.

GMAWA Captain, Gavin Burt, was very pleased to announce that he and club professional, Stephen Herbert, had once again won the Alex Monteath Trophy with a combined score of 70 points. This was the second year in a row the pair from Royal Fremantle have won the trophy and Stephen Herbert’s fifth win.

A special thank you to GMA partners, Heineken 3 and Club Car for sponsoring the novelties on the day, and to Callaway for supplying a fantastic selection of prizes.

To GMA member and general manager of Mandurah Country Club, Grant ShortlandJones and his staff, thank you for being such a welcoming host club.

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

17

INDUSTRY NEWS

A TRIBUTE TO BIG “BAD” JOHN

BY JOHN “STAMPIE” STAMP

Always ready with a smile and a handshake, John Halliwell has that type of personality that you know is genuine. Once you have met him, he is a friend for life.

Former GMA Executive Officer and industry veteran, John Stamp, reflects on the career of a man who has been an institution at Schweppes for 34 years, and one of GMA’s biggest supporters.

18

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If you know John, you know why he could never be known as Big “Bad” John. Big yes, but not only in stature, more importantly in personality, for he is a man that not one person could ever speak badly of.

The resignation of John Halliwell from Schweppes was a massive surprise. It came out of nowhere and the news of his decision must have been a shock to the great team at Schweppes where he was an institution for 34 years.

Why would he do so? Had something gone wrong? Quite simply, John felt it was time and, unlike many who work in clubs, he was able to call ‘time’ when he decided. That said, I do not believe Schweppes would ever have contemplated calling time on John.

Some years ago, I was asked why such a large percentage of clubs elected to contract Schweppes and stay with them for so many years, and the answer was simple - because of John Halliwell. Not only was John a great ambassador for the company, he was brilliant at making and maintaining strong relationships with his clients; though I doubt he would have called us clients as we were all his friends.

Over 30 years ago, Schweppes moved John from his role of three years to look after the

club industry and that is when we first met.

The instant rapport that comes with meeting John soon found doors opening for him at many clubs which is unique in an industry where the club manager rarely meets with company representatives.

Why then did John always receive a welcome from managers? He certainly did not push himself on to anyone, he represented his employer respectfully and he respected the club manager’s role in such a way that we would be only too happy to pass the time of day with him.

I have heard many speak of John going above and beyond to help managers and clubs - whether it was late on a Friday running around gathering stock to make life easier for a club after they had neglected to order before a hot weekend and turning up with a carload of boxes of water and Gatorade to save the day, or the fact he would sacrificed his personal marquee race tickets so others could enjoy the event - all of us will have stories to tell.

So how did John get to know all of us so well? Perhaps it was early in his time with clubs when he mentioned to me how different the role was and that he found it hard to be able to get to speak to club

John about to stripe one down the middle (Water, What water!)

Above: John with Dan Christie at the Presidents Cup in 2019; Left: John with Barb Kelly at the Presidents Cup; Below: John with Rod Haines at the 2017 National Conference in Adelaide;

managers, saying something like, “I know they are always very busy,” a phrase when you did come to know him, he would offer when calling on us.

At that time, John was not a golfer, so it was not as if we could invite him to play in one of our occasional golf days. John generously provided us with beverages for the golf events and in doing so, met with host managers prior and attending managers on the day, thus new friendships were made.

In 1989, Victoria hosted the National Conference and, of course, Schweppes soon became a key sponsor, and so began the relationship that has lasted for all this time.

Some years later, the GMV executive decided to look for group buying opportunities and, in doing so, sought best pricing for the industry from post-mix and packaged beverage suppliers. I have little doubt John urged the Schweppes management team to seize the opportunity and they offered a contract that was foremost advantageous to Victorian golf clubs and secondly to GMV. The current financial position of GMV today is testament to that decision taken in the 90s which Schweppes has continued to honour.

Many managers will have a story or two

to talk about John; whether such stories are about his hospitality at events such as the Melbourne Cup week, AFL games, or golf events and more, he was always great company and the best of hosts. Rarely would he have had time to enjoy those events the way we did, as he was always busy making sure we were happy.

What is it about the man that makes him the unique person he is? Is it his interest and concern for others, which was so evident when he invited my wife and I to celebrate his 50th birthday with him, his beautiful family, and other close friends?

It is no surprise that the care John has for people now results in him moving into his new role at the Knox Hospital. With his two daughters working on the front line in the health industry and the many times he has spent receiving hospital care because of his motor bike riding escapades, John knows the environment only too well. I know patients will feel far more comfortable when he wheels them down to surgery chatting to them quietly about their lives; he has that

calming gift that few others have.

John eventually became a golfer and having joined Long Island, he now relishes playing all the National Golf Club courses and the occasional GMA/V event.

Playing golf in a group with John is one of life’s pleasures and I have no doubt he would have been, and will continue to be, welcomed at clubs.

Do not wait for him to ask you if he can play your course; pick up the phone and invite him to do so.

All the best big John, you are a true mate and I look forward to playing a game with you again soon.

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

19

15 Years

(and counting!)

Inside Golf is celebrating 15 spectacular years as the go-to golf magazine for Australian golfers and Industry professionals.

As Australia’s Most-Read Golf Magazine, Inside Golf would like to thank you, our loyal readers and our 420 plus golf clubs, golf driving ranges, retailers and Qantas lounges, for your ongoing support. We love what we do! So sit back, relax and enjoy our latest edition of Inside Golf.

AUSTRALIAN AIRPORTS / QANTAS LOUNGES Adelaide Domestic Airport Brisbane Domestic Airport Canberra Domestic Airport Melbourne Domestic and International Airport Perth Domestic Airport Sydney Domestic/Intl Airport Cairns Domestic Terminal Airport QANTAS Club Hobart Airport QANTAS Club Qantas Club Coolangatta NSW/ACT GOLF CLUBS Antill Park Golf Club Aqua Golf Hunter Valley Armidale Golf Club Asquith Golf Club Avondale Golf Club Balgowlah Golf Club Ballina Golf Club Bankstown Golf Club Barnwell Park Golf Club Bathurst Golf Club Bayview Golf Club Bega Country Club Belmont Golf Club Bermagui Country Club Beverley Park Golf Club Bexley Golf Club Bingara Gorge Golf Club Blackheath Golf Club Bonnie Doon Golf Club Bonville International Golf Club Breakers Golf Club Brighton Lakes Golf Club Byron Bay Golf Club Cabramatta Golf Club Calderwood Valley Golf Course Camden Golf Club Cammeray Golf Club Campbelltown Golf Club Canowindra Golf Club Carnarvon Golf Club Castle Cove Golf Club Castle Hill Country Club Casino Golf Club Catalina Country Club Charlestown Golf Club Chinderah Golf Club Club Banora GC / Twin Towns Club Barham Cobram Barooga Golf Club Coffs Harbour Golf Club Concord Golf Club Coolamatong Snowy Mts CC Coolangatta-Tweed Hds Golf Club Cootamundra Country Club Coraki Golf Club Corowa Golf Club Cowra Golf Club Crescent Head Country Club Cromer Golf Club Cronulla Golf Club Cumberland Country Club Cypress Lakes Golf Club Dubbo Golf Club Dunheved Golf Club Duntryleague Golf Club Eden Gardens Golf Club

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Eastlake Golf Club Elanora Country Club Emerald Downs Golf Course Everglades Country Club Fairbairn Golf Club Federal Golf Club Forster-Tuncurry Golf Club Fox Hills Golf Club Frederickton Golf Club Glen Innes Golf Club Golf Factory Narellan Golf Factory Penrith Gordon Golf Club Gosford Golf Club Goulburn Golf Club Grafton District Golf Club Griffith Golf Club Gundagai Services District GC Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club Handiskins Harden Country Club Harrington Waters Golf Club Hawks Nest Golf Club Highland Golf Cars Highlands Golf Club Horizons Golf Resort Howlong Country Golf Club Hurstville Golf Club Inverell Golf Club Jamberoo Golf Club Junee Golf Club Kew Country Club Kiama Golf Club Killara Golf Club Kooindah Waters Golf Resort Kurri Kurri Golf Club Lakeside Golf Club Camden Lane Cove Country Golf Club Leeton Golf Club Lemon Tree Passage Motel Leonay Golf Club Links Shell Cove Golf Course Liverpool Golf Club Long Reef Golf Club Lynwood Country Club Maclean Golf Club Magenta Shores Golf Club Magpies Belconnen Golf Club Maitland Golf Club Easts Leisure Mangrove Mountain Mem. Club Manly Golf Club Marrickville Golf Club Massey Park Golf Club Merewether Golf Club Mollymook/Hilltop Golf Club Mona Vale Golf Club Monash Country Club Moore Park Golf Club Moss Vale Golf Club Ltd Muirfield Golf Club Murray Downs Golf & CC Murrumbidgee Country Club Murwillumbah Golf Club Muswellbrook Golf Club Nambucca Heads Golf Club Narooma Golf Club Nelson Bay Golf Club New South Wales Golf Club Newcastle Golf Club North Ryde Golf Club

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Northbridge Golf Club Nowra Golf Club Oatlands Golf Club Oberon Golf Club Ocean Shores Country Club Orange Ex-Services Country GC Pacific Dunes Pacific Heights Holiday Apts Pambula Merimbula Golf Club Panthers Wallacia Golf Club Paradise Golf Ent. Centre Parkes Golf Club Penrith Golf Club Port Kembla Golf Club Port Macquarie Golf Club Pymble Golf Club Queanbeyan Golf Club Randwick Golf Club Richmond Golf Club Rich River Golf Club Resort Riverside Oaks Golf Club Roseville Golf Club Royal Canberra Golf Club Royal Military College Golf Club Russell Vale Golf Course Ryde-Parramatta Golf Club Scone Golf Club Sefton Golf Course Sharks Golf Centre Shelly Beach Golf Club Shoalhaven Ex-Servicemens Club Shoalhaven Heads Golf Club Shortland Waters Golf Club South West Rocks Springwood Country Club St Georges Basin Country Club St. Michael’s Golf Club Stonecutters Ridge Golf Club Strathfield Golf Club Sugar Valley Golf Club Sussex Inlet Golf Club Tallwoods Golf Club Taree Golf Club (Club Taree) Tathra Beach Country Club Temora Golf Club Tenterfield Golf Club The Australian Golf Club The Coast Golf Club The Grange Golf Club The Lakes Golf Club The LandMark Nelson Bay The Royal Sydney Golf Club The Vintage Golf Club Thornleigh Golf Centre Thurgoona Country Club Resort Tocumwal Golf Club Toukley Golf Club Tumut Golf CLub Tura Beach Country Club Uralla Golf Club Wagga Wagga Country Club Wakehurst Golf Club Waratah Golf Club Warringah Golf Club Wauchope Country Club Wellington Golf Club Wentworth Golf Club West Wyalong S & C Sports Club Windsor Country Golf Club Woodburn – Evans Head GC

Woolgoolga Rtd. Services Club Woollahra Golf Club Woollongong Golf Club Woolooware Golf Club Wyong Golf Club Yamba Golf and Country Club Yarrawonga Mulwala GC Resort Yowani Country Club NORTHERN TERRITORY GOLF CLUBS Alice Springs Golf Club Darwin Golf Club Katherine Country Club Palmerston Golf Club QUEENSLAND Ashgrove Golf Club Bargara Golf Club Beerwah Golf Club Borneo Barracks Golf Club Bowen Golf Club Bribie Island Golf Club Brisbane Golf Club Brookwater Golf Club Bundaberg Golf Club Burleigh Golf Club Caboolture Golf Club Cairns Golf Club Caloundra Golf Club Carbrook Golf Club Carts N Parts Hope Island Coral Cove Golf Club Emerald Golf Club Emerald Lakes Golf Club Gailes Golf Club Gladstone Golf Club Golf Central Brisbane Gympie Golf Club Headland Golf Club Hervey Bay Golf Club Hope Island Golf Club Howeston Golf Course Ipswich Country Club Keperra Country Golf Club Kooralbyn Valley Golf Club Lakelands Golf Club Mackay Golf Club Maleny Golf Club Maroochy River Golf Club Maryborough Golf Club McLeod Country Golf Club Mirage Country Club Mount Coolum Golf Club Nambour Golf Club Noosa Springs Golf Resort North Rockhampton Golf Club Nudgee Golf Club Oxley Golf Club Pacific Harbour Golf & CC Parkwood Intl. Golf Course Pelican Waters Golf Club Peregian Golf Club Pine Rivers Golf Club PGA Queensland Division RACV Royal Pines Golf Resort Redcliffe Golf Club Redland Bay Golf Club Rockhampton Golf Club Royal Queensland Golf Club Rowes Bay Golf Club Sanctuary Cove Golf and CC Southport Golf Club Surfers Paradise Golf Club Talley Valley Golf Club Tamborine Mtn Golf Club Noosa Golf Club Tin Can Bay Country Golf Club Toowoomba City Golf Club

Toowoomba Middle Ridge GC Twin Waters Golf Club Virginia Golf Club Wantima Country Club Tropics Golf Club Warwick Golf Club Wolston Park Golf Club Pro Shop Woodford Golf Club Wynnum Golf Club Yeppoon Golf Club SOUTH AUSTRALIA GOLF CLUBS Aston Hills Golf Club Barossa Valley Golf Club Blackwood Golf Club Glenelg Golf Club Kooyonga Golf Club Loxton Golf Club Mt Osmond Golf Club Murray Bridge Golf Club South Lakes Golf Club Tea Tree Gully Golf Club Thaxted Park Golf Club The Grange Golf Club The Links Lady Bay Resort The Royal Adelaide Golf Club The Vines Golf Club of Reynella West Lakes Golf Club TASMANIA GOLF CLUBS Devonport Golf Club Port Sorell Golf Club Prospect Vale Golf Club Tam O’Shanter Golf Club Ulverstone Golf Club VICTORIAN GOLF CLUBS 13th Beach Golf Links Anglesea Golf Club Bairnsdale Golf Club Ballarat Golf Club Barwon Heads Res @13th Beach Bayviews Rosebud Golf Club Benalla Golf Club Black Bull Golf Course Cape Schanck Resort Cardinia Beaconhills Golf Links Clifton Springs Golf Club Colac Golf Club Commonwealth Golf Club Craigieburn Golf Club Cranbourne Golf Club Curlewis Golf Club Devil Bend Golf Club Eastern Golf Club Eastwood Golf Club Fairways Resort Gardiners Run Golf Course Gisborne Golf Club Green Acres Golf Club Growling Frog Golf Club Heidelberg Golf Club Hidden Valley Golf Resort Horsham Golf Club Huntingdale Golf Club Keysborough Golf Club Kingston Heath Golf Club Kyabram Parkland Golf Club Latrobe Golf Club Latrobe Golf Driving Range Lonsdale Golf Club Mansfield Golf Club Medway Golf Club

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Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

21

A BMI LIKE NO OTHER! The BMI GM/CEO program held over October and early November was a great success.

Billed as the “Almost the best BMI event ever”, it lived up to its promise.

22

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It was brilliant to have 41 participants despite the COVID-19 constraints of having to hold it virtually, and in hubs, and with four Australian time zones and one East Coast US time zone.

Enrolling in the program saw a thorough mix of experience from clubs and the golf industry; GMs, Finance, Hospitality & Club Operations, Golf Operations, plus GA’s Club Support and Golf Development team.

In addition to the 14 GMs present, there were five former GMs in the course.

A mix of old and new - of the 41 attendees, 23 were former BMI participants and 18 were starting their journey.

Participants were provided access to the CMAA University – an online platform recently developed due to COVID-19.

We were able to pick out the best of the US presenters. In addition to the nine recorded sessions forming 13 hours of prework, participants heard from seven live presenters.

We thank our fantastic live presenters: Jason Koenigsfeld, David Burton, Ian Fulligar (Lex Sportiva Lawyers), Mark Oliver (Mark Two Consulting), Kevin Gates (Club Car), Mike Orloff (Golf Industry Central) and Bruce Macphee (ASTMA).

BMI GM/CEO PARTICIPANTS SA HUB (main image) Steven Freeling, Simon Andrew, Matt Chesterman, Rob Vincekovic, Sam Hughes, Duard Nel, Nick Altobelli

WA HUB Damien Todorovic, Nigel Cameron, Murray Paul, Craig Ridge, Nicole Martino, Ross Davis, Roshan Perera

QLD HUB Aaron Muirhead, Bernadette Lance

NSW HUB (right image) John Turner, David Turner, David Campion, Scott McCaw, Shaun Smith, Markus Eschmann, Andrew Laplain, Barry West, Ben Russell

ONLINE FROM HOME Sam Forsyth, Megan Carr, Simon Weston, Heath Jones, Phil Drew, John Stamp, Lachlan Holman, Chris Crabbe, Andrew Curtis, Josh Hall, Vijay Kumar, Rod Haines, Fiza Errington, Mark Bamford, Meaghan Densley, Paul Vardy

Drinking on the job!

Case Study – nervous fun Seven groups were formed to present on a different aspect of ‘Gomorrah Golf Club’ – a club with more than a few issues and skeletons buried in the bunkers. Each BMI participant spoke for 3-4 minutes to the ‘Board of GGC’ as the new GM, four months into the job. No pressure!

Case study topics reflected the BMI program: Strategic Leadership, Governance, Financial Management, Leadership of Staff, Facilities Management, Internal Marketing and Leadership of Staff (staff presentation).

This was the first time many had presented over Zoom and it was quite a feat considering so many groups were preparing their presentations via Zoom break-out rooms.

Remarkably it all came together nicely!

A nice touch was the De Bortoli wine tasting after a very solid Thursday of learning.

With Marc Scalzo, Head Wine Maker from Rutherglen, participants enjoyed eight wines from the Yarra Valley, Rutherglen and Heathcote regions.

De Bortoli went above and beyond. Not only did they provided wines to the four hub locations, they delivered wines to the homes of 16 individuals in small sample bottles.

We send a special thank you to Peter Ferrari who made the logistics of the wine tasting such a success.

BMI - Where to from here?

73 people have now taken part in BMI programs and 120 BMI course weeks of study have been delivered since October 2018.

Whether you have done

three, two, one or none of the BMI courses to date, you can always be on the look out for the next course and join in. You can fit into the program at any starting point.

GMA will run BMI Club Management in the first half of 2021 and BMI Food & Beverage Management in the second half.

Despite the success of the online version, we’ll be aiming to have everyone in the same room with the benefits of the socialising and ease of sharing of experiences.

Before we know it, we’ll have the first crop of Australians sitting for the CMAA Certified Club Manager exam. Let’s hope the World Conference in 2022 is a chance for a number to be recognised.

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

23

De Bortoli has your Prosecco needs sorted this Summer!

Whether it be domestic or imported, organic or vegan, exclusive to On Premise, single serve 200ml for zero wastage, or just fantastic 1500ml party bottles, De Bortoli are the Prosecco masters...

24

De Bortoli Prosecco

De Bortoli Prosecco RosĂŠ

Divici Prosecco

Proverbio Prosecco

200ml, 750ml & 1500ml

750ml

750ml

750ml

King Valley

King Valley

Italy

Italy

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Cheers!

Over 10 million bottles of Prosecco have been sold in the last 12 months!

Bottled Prosecco is currently in +28% dollar growth vs last year, this is on the back of a +27% growth the previous year.

We are also seeing an increase in smaller format Prosecco offerings, with 200ml bottles of Prosecco growing at a rate of +46% vs last year.

De Bortoli is perhaps best known for King Valley Prosecco, it is currently the #2 selling Prosecco across the total Australian Liquor Market and outgrowing the market leader.

De Bortoli’s 200ml King Valley Prosecco is also achieving great results and out growing the market at +70% dollar growth vs last year.

In addition to King Valley Prosecco, De Bortoli also offers two Italian Proseccos; Divici and Proverbio.

Both of these Proseccos are organic and ideal as an aperitif, they are the perfect accompaniment to hors-d’oeuvres and delicate first courses.

Source IRi Australia Liquor Weighted MAT to 18/10/20

Ask your De Bortoli Area Manager about the full range of De Bortoli Prosecco today!

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

25

Designated driver?

Now you can.

Great taste.

Alcohol free.

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Contains less than 0.04% Alc/Vol.

EDITORIAL

HEINEKEN® 0.0 LAUNCHES CANS Heineken® 0.0 is the number one alcohol free beer in Australia1 with 50% market share, continuing its position as a true leader in a segment that’s growing +132%2.

Strong segment growth is expected to continue, forecast to reach 2% of total beer sales by 20253.

Heineken® 0.0 is a proven proposition on the world stage, available in 69 countries with many more launches to come.

Following the success of Heineken® 0.0 bottles, Heineken® has released Heineken® 0.0 330ml sleek cans.

Heineken® 0.0 gives beer drinkers more choice, opening up new occasions for consumption, so ‘now you can’ enjoy a great-tasting beer when you want a beer but not the alcohol that comes with it.

There are a number of benefits to the can format, one of which is the versatility that it offers, meaning Now You Can enjoy Heineken® 0.0 on the golf course!

Heineken® 0.0 is a refreshing alcohol-free beer made from natural ingredients and contains just 69 calories per bottle.

If you’re interested in ranging Heineken® 0.0 cans, please reach out to your Lion Sales Executive.

For more information, visit the Lion website.

1

IRI Liquor Aus Wtd, QTR Oct’20

2

IRI Liquor Aus Wtd, MAT Aug’20

3

Drinks Trade Magazine – ‘Low & no-alcohol beer boom during COVID-19’

CHANGE THE GAME Our golf course management options A program that works for you Your course is our only concern Course management consultancy Budget control Upgrades first, pay later

golfcoursesolutions.com.au Call us on 1300 014 653

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

27

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 To truly know your club is to know it in comparison with the golf club industry. Beyond this, we need to keep abreast of trends that are impacting society.

GMA’s CEO, Paul Vardy, provides a summary of recent research and data collected on the impact of COVID-19 on consumers and their implications, which can be pondered by GMs over the summer break.

THE IMPACT ON THE CONSUMER Recently, Asahi Lifestyle Beverages invited me to a webinar from Ernst & Young Sweeney on the impact of COVID-19 on the consumer. In it, they discuss findings on 13 core aspects on the lives of consumers.

This was the sixth such Future Consumer Index, conducted every six weeks, where they look to understand changes to deep-set values and behaviours amongst 20 countries and 56,000+ online surveys.

The EY Future Consumer Index Australia – December Edition was an interim and smaller research conducted in November.

They add research on spending intent as well as leisure and holiday travel.

Some of the findings are fascinating, as was the comment that one of the hardest things to change is behaviour, but this has been forced and much of it could be here to stay.

Here’s a few outtakes from the survey with implications for GMA members to ponder over the summer break.

Coping well with the impact of the pandemic.

We hear regularly that the pandemic has hit younger people harder than older.

The survey reveals this with the following saying they are coping well - Gen Z 51%, Millennials 65%, Gen X 64%, Baby Boomers 74% and Traditionalists 82%.

Implications: As golf clubs, with average ages of males often in the mid to high 50s and females in the range of 60 and above, the impact has been less on a range of levels for our members. We’re seeing a growth in the 2049 age group playing golf which is great, but the impact on young people and their other sports and recreational activites have been more severe.

28

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Impact on lifestyle 43% agree or strongly agree that their life will significantly change in the long terms as a result of the pandemic.

Implications: A lot of people have reflected on their lives and the restrictions have seen a forced change that will have broken many old habits and formed new ones. Golf has often been a person’s second sport, but enjoying golf over an extended time, with a bit of support from the club or facility, may well have formed a new habit whilst others are lost.

Living and working differently 35% say they will be living differently in the longer term and 57% (bigger space, lower density…) said they expect the way they work will change in the future (expect more flexibility, work from home more and travel less for work).

Implications: Can we expect that desire to live in decentralised places as less requirement to get to a centralised workplace will change?

I think we can. As few golf clubs are inner city, many require less time to get to their local golf club.

Changing location 20% of Australians plan to change where they live as a result of the pandemic, or have already done so.

With the secondary question showing that movements are to 1) suburban areas outside the CBD - 43%, 2) a regional city or town 34%, 3) a rural or remote area - 10%, making it 87% moving further out. Only 13% desire to move to the CBD in major cities.

Implications: This can only be good for golf clubs whether metropolitan or regional. People

seem to be desiring more space and we know that most clubs exist in the middle or outer metropolitan areas. With 85% of all golf clubs in regional or coastal areas outside the metropolitan areas, there is an opportunity awaiting them to welcome the new arrivals if they follow through with their intentions and move.

Working from home This is a major forced change in behaviour.

The preferences were 34% working from the workplace the majority of the time, 47% work a split time (say 3 days at workplace) and 18% only going into work on an asneeded basis.

Implications: If employers are willing and able to continue the offer of work from home, we may see golf being more accessible for a lot more people during the week. It’s a very exciting prospect, particularly in the months with the longest days.

Planned holiday spend The planned spend by destination over the next six months had overseas destinations only 17%, compared with 83% in Australia (majority being 19% metro within my state and 33% regional within my state). The average total planned holiday spend arrived at $2,709.

Implications: It seems that the tourist dollars are staying in Australia and mostly within the state. This may suggest the trend of more members and visitors spending their money more locally on golf continues for the time being, which is a positive.

The impact of lockdown

THE IMPACT ON SPORTS

Australians have missed sport being in

their lives.

Sport is a part of Australian culture and many people miss it when it’s not there. In April 2020, after it had been suspended for several weeks, almost half of Austra lians (44%) said that beyond being active they missed sport being in their life.

This fell steadily since professional and community sport restarted across most of the countr y, to 29% in August 2020.

If too much trend analysis is never enough, Sport Australia released an Ausplay report in October 2020 called “Early impact of COVID-19 on sport and physical activity participation.

Based on research from January 2019 until September 2020, it revealed some fascinating trend information on sport participation during the early impact of COVID-19 which included data from a Community Perceptions Monitor. (note: a report in October referring to it as the “early” period of COVID-19 doesn’t sound very optimistic.)

Two of the most interesting results are to do with rates of people missing their sport and the decline in this rate, and long-term trend rise of physical activity over organsied sports.

This year with the disruptions, it revealed lower rates of people are missing their sport. Was this because, a) they had returned to it already (as suggested); or b) time had conditioned people to no longer miss it.

Naturally, the latter option could have big

This feeling of missing sport is more pronounced among men and younger adults.

BEYOND BEING ACTIVE, I AM REAL

LY MISSING SPORT BEING IN MY LIFE

56

%

% Strongly agree/Agree

56%

46% 42%

32%

40%

33% 28%

27% 19%

Men

Apr 2020

May 2020

52%

49%

Jun 2020

53%

Jul 2020

Aug 2020

Women

53% 43%

39%

41%

41% 31%

35%

35% 32% 26%

26% 17%

Under 35

Will the popularity of physical activities continue?

35–54

Over 55

Apr 2020

May 2020

Jun 2020

AusPlay: A focus on the early impact of COVID-1

9 on sport and physical activity particip

Jul 2020

ation

Aug 2020

24

The rise of physical activity over sport

d that sport-related activities ion and Sport Survey (ERASS) reporte In the early 2000s the Exercise, Recreat circumstances changed activities). Then, as lifestyles and l (physica rts non-spo than were more popular for non-sport-related activities d. This trend towards a preference over the years the situation reverse running, swimming or cycling) to individual sport activities such as (as well as a shift from organised sports l activity and individual activities the more accessible nature of physica has since continued. And now, with the pandemic may provide tion of new barriers to organised sport, during COVID-19, plus the introduc the future. in sports to ges challen al addition

2001

Both sport and non-sport-related

2001

2010

ERASS activities

Non-sport-related activities only

2010

ERASS Sport-related activities

2015*

AusPlay

implications on sport if people have had time to form new habits with new forms of recreation.

Another reason sports should be worried is the growing trend away from sport-related activities to individual physical activities that are non-sports. The trend was already strongly formed before COVID-19 shut down organised sporting activities. If you put the two sets of data together on lower levels of missing sports and the long-term trend towards individual and non-organised sports, then sports should be doubly worried.

Golf has a bit of a shoe in both camps, being both organised and un-organised, more individual than team, yet being less physical activity than most sports.

Anecdotally, people have commented on many players’ greater interest in the health and wellbeing aspects of golf during COVID-19, rather than the competition. This may be temporary and somewhat forced as people were just grateful to be out on the course.

Despite the strong demand for tee times, golf club managers must be aware of the need to deliver what their target members and guests want. It wouldn’t be out of kilter with the broader participation trends if this requires more room for casual play something to track and ponder.

2019

Sport-related activities only

2015*

AusPlay

2019

Non-sport-related activities

non-sport-related activities ted activities only + Both sport and Sport-related activities = Sport-rela and non-sport-related activities -related activities only + Both sport Non-sport-related activities = Non-sport have different methodologies. displayed as ERASS and AusPlay the years 2011-14. Data points not n has changed over time.

Comparable data not available for as possible to show how participatio They have been aligned as closely 2015.

October 22 on d commence AusPlay * Not a full calendar year as

AusPlay : A focus on the early impact

of COVID-19 on sport and physical

activity participation

25

Download the AusPlay report here

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

29

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GOLF AUSTRALIA NEWS

GOLF’S MEMBERSHIP BOOM ON THE BACK OF ROUNDS DATA Australian golf’s 2020 boom continues at pace, with a surge in interest from young men its driving force.

In its latest report “New Member Demand”, Golf Australia confirms that more than 42,000 people have joined golf clubs in the ten months to the end of October.

That represents a surge in new membership demand of 126 per cent nationally – despite the lengthy COVID-19 shutdown in metropolitan Melbourne – and on track for a five per cent overall annual rise, which would represent the best such number since 1989.

Golf Australia’s general manager of golf development David Gallichio was optimistic about the findings, compiled by Golf Business Advisory Services.

Gallichio pointed to the encouraging immediate results for Australian clubs and facilities, but highlighted the “critical” need for the industry to sustain the long-term interest.

“The numbers themselves are important right now,” Gallichio said.

“But what is paramount for the game’s future is for us to ensure the retention of the new members by extrapolating the data and taking those lessons to our clubs and facilities.”

The strongest growth has been among males aged 20-49 with almost 75 per cent of male membership growth from that cohort.

Male membership growth has represented 88 per cent of the total surge and it is women aged 50+ who have been responsible for more than 56 per cent of the female growth.

Gallichio said the research also pointed to the different ways new members were using their clubs.

In the corresponding six-month period in 2019, new members played 64 per cent of their golf at weekends.

“This year’s newcomers have switched that up to the point that only 56 per cent are playing across weekends,” Gallichio said.

“At the same time, we’ve seen those new members play far fewer competition rounds in comparison to last year, down 28 per cent on 2019.

“And we’ve been excited to see a 133 per cent spike in new members in regional areas this year (to the end of October), too.

“These are just some of the lessons we have to take on as an industry to ensure that new members get the most value from their investment and continue long-term.”

Gallichio said Golf Australia had engaged expert consultants Kinlab to prepare a customer profiling presentation, highlighting the personal characteristics of the growing cohorts.

Additionally, GA’s club and facility support team will provide a “membership attraction and retention” toolkit for clubs, helping them to capitalise on this uncommon growth.

The initiative launched with a webinar on Tuesday, 8th December. Two leading presenters on customer attraction, retention and engagement were on hand to give clubs, facilities, and PGA members expert advice in these areas.

The toolkit will be available on the Golf Australia Club Support Portal before Christmas, with an official launch early in 2021. It will contain resources from industry leaders Kinlab and Retail Tribe, both organisations with significant experience in sport and specifically golf.

The Australian Golf Industry Council is fully invested in the initiatives with other key organisations, the PGA of Australia and GMA, to offer similar education packages to help their members deliver positive outcomes.

2020 Australian Golf Competition Rounds Trends & The Impact of COVID-19 2020 New Member Demand in Australian Golf Clubs Pandemic Golf – The Membership Opportunity Webinar Link

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

31

THE GOLF DEVELOPMENT ACQUISITION PUZZLE PIECE There is a group of Australians out there (forecasted size = 2.4million) that are sitting within an arm’s reach of all our clubs and facilities, and we think it is the perfect time to get them started.

But what do we say to them? Where do we direct them to find what they are looking for?

Golf Australia explains...

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Our newest adult participation program, called Get Into Golf, wants to help answer these questions, becoming a central location for participants to search and find your local golf programs. To do this though, we need to be unified as a sport. We need to create a centralised brand that will sing a clear and consistent message to our newest customers and give them the entry point into the game that they have been looking for.

There are two critical words spoken and planned for at most round tables of any company, and in particular by their marketing departments, and those two words are “customer journey”. The customer journey is the experience and steps taken to purchase a good or service from a particular business, and it is a journey that is consistently being refined and improved by its provider.

A golf club shouldn’t think any differently.

Having a robust customer journey is a must

for anyone who is selling or providing a service. By knowing your customer’s journey you can understand how to structure your touchpoints to create the most effective and efficient process for your customers, all the way from start to end.

Now at the beginning of any customer journey is a piece on acquisition (aka how are we going to get them in), and this is where the Get Into Golf brand comes in. Giving clubs and facilities the platform to promote their acquisition piece (a beginner program) and also providing the easiest and clearest message to our new customers on where to get it.

So rather than all heading down completely different paths, let’s head down this road of simplicity together, alleviating any confusion, and sometimes frustration, on entering our game, and just show everyone what we truly have to offer.

3 THINGS WE WILL DO TO HELP 1

GIVE YOU THE PLATFORM

The program offers great flexibility for facilities to tailor to specific target groups, vary program length, vary group sizes, customise prices and modify activities to suit the needs of your participants. With just a few clicks of a button, a facility can activate a program online for anyone to register into.

2

FLOOD THE MARKET WITH THE BRAND

We market the program 12 months a year.

We use all the latest trends to reach and share our messages, using paid media to deliver campaigns tailored to our audiences on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Google and LinkedIn.

3

PROVIDE THE SUPPORT

We have a support team ready to assist facilities at every stage of the program’s cycle. From understanding the program, to setting up online and all the way through to the recruitment of participants.

3 THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE TO DO THIS WEEK 1

DO A STOCKTAKE OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP ENTRY POINTS

By reviewing membership trends or even thinking about modifying or removing some membership barriers, it might just make the offer more attractive to these new participants. Does the club have a light enough offer for new members?

2

HAVE A COFFEE WITH YOUR PGA STAFF OR PROGRAM DELIVERERS

Talk about what they have planned and look to put together a shared strategy that would see a new participant go from a beginner program all the way to membership. Remember, this is a joint venture.

3

START A CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAP

This may be a project you work on for brief periods over an extended time frame. There are plenty of websites and articles to help get you started, but just think of it as a chance to pick up on a few things you might like to change in your customer’s journey.

While the acquisition piece of a customer’s journey into the game is only part of the puzzle, wouldn’t it be nice to have a clear direction to our prospective customers - an answer to the question: “HOW DO I GET STARTED IN GOLF?”

Find out more about the program or get in touch with a local contact at: www.golf.org.au/getintogolf

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

33

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34

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INDUSTRY UNITES FOR WOMEN, GIRLS The Australian golf industry has collaborated to create a new Vision 2025 Global Action Plan to tackle the ongoing decline of female engagement in the sport.

A restructure of the Vision 2025 steering group now includes chief executives from all governing bodies of Australian golf, all of whom are unified in creating a more inclusive future for women and girls at all levels of the sport.

During the next year, the Australian golf industry will collaboratively address 16 priorities spread across the four key pillars of Vision 2025 – culture and leadership, grass roots, high performance and coaching, along with marketing and positioning.

Priority has been given to addressing low numbers of women on club boards; building the capacity of clubs and facilities to deliver needs-driven participation opportunities for girls and women; increasing women’s involvement in participation delivery and in high performance coaching ranks; and showcasing examples of club excellence in leading gender equality change in golf.

Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland said all bodies had shown great enthusiasm for a project he described as “absolutely paramount” for the future of Australian golf.

“Our ability to collaborate on such a crucial body of work is critical. Everybody has shown a great resolve to redress the

historic gender imbalance in Australian golf and we look forward to driving the changes the industry needs,” Sutherland said.

PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman said it was incumbent on all involved in the industry to be active agents for change.

“Aside from the fact that it’s just the right thing to do for all women and girls who have ever shown interest in golf, adopting the Global Action Plan makes sense for the sport’s future. Driving up engagement at all levels stands to benefit everyone from grassroots juniors to elite professional level and throughout all Australian clubs,” Kirkman said.

WPGA Tour chief executive Karen Lunn said being part of the group that framed the Global Action Plan had given her a “greater understanding of the challenges all those in the industry face with regards to gender equality and equity”.

“The success of Vision 2025 is dependent on the entire industry embracing the challenge and driving change in attitudes and behaviours. Any one of our organisations cannot change culture alone, so the Global Action Plan is the framework which will enable us to do this

collaboratively,” Lunn said.

Golf Management Australia chief executive Paul Vardy said the Global Action Plan was “the most comprehensive way the golf industry can achieve positive outcomes for women and girls in golf ”.

“By sharing initiatives under the plan, golf bodies have identified new ways to collaborate and new ideas to pursue within the Vision 2025 framework,” Vardy said.

Stuart Fraser and Gary Thomas, chief executives of Golf NSW and Golf WA respectively, said it had been positive for all golfers to see genuine collaboration among the governing bodies and asked all at grassroots level to embrace the change.

“Golf NSW encourages all golf clubs to develop strategies to attract more women to the sport and break down any barriers that inhibit greater female engagement with golf,” Fraser said.

Thomas said there were “exciting times ahead”.

“While the Global Action Plan will have a significant amount of objectives, actions and ideas for clubs and facilities, it is important that you take on actions that you can realistically achieve,” Thomas said.

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

35

TIME TO REINTRODUCE ENTRANCE FEES? After this year’s worldwide pandemic and restrictions on normal golf club operations, managers probably know their financial figures better than ever. Every line item has been scrutinised under periods of, at times, great uncertainty.

But what does this all mean for that much maligned line item, the entrance fee? GMA CEO, Paul Vardy, discusses.

Helped along by significant one-off incomes from the government’s JobKeeper program, grants and forms of concessions, many clubs are reporting very healthy net profits.

Clubhouse restrictions will show months of low food and beverage revenue, but much of the costs associated were not incurred.

Clubs with a capacity to take new members have prospered, as have those who derive income from each round played. Ironically, clubs with the most stable memberships and less capacity for new members have had less upside in the high demand for golf. It all makes for some exceptional reporting, albeit a weird set of numbers.

Ray Cronin, from Club Benchmarking’s BMI presentation on “Understanding the language of club finance” showed what really counts in US clubs, highlighting the distinction between operating income and capital income.

In the US, when taking out the cost of depreciation from their P&Ls, Club Benchmarking finds that around 70% of clubs are in the -4% to +4% of net operating loss or profit to revenue. He calls this the “break-even zone”.

He refers to the operating ledger as the tool to fund the footprint of clubs.

By footprint, he’s referring to all typical costs associated with F&B, clubhouse and building maintenance, course expenses, other sports expenses, administration and general expenses. The costs are consumed by members every year as part of the services and amenities offered by the club.

What this suggests is that most US clubs have more room to fund services in the operating ledger than do Australian clubs which leave depreciation in the operating ledger.

The capital income, on the other hand, he repeats many times, is the financial driver of the club. This comes in the form of entrance fees, nomination fees, levies and investment returns.

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Most operating costs can’t be avoided.

They are going to be there. When a club overly focusses on efficiencies and reducing costs, it’s hard to achieve this without a direct impact on the service and amenities for members. His data driven analysis suggests that efficiency effects less than 7% of operating costs. Not surprisingly, he labours the point that food and beverage is not a financial driver, highlighting that clubs choosing to subsidise this are the healthiest financially. “You can’t outcook a bad dues engine” was always his saying. But he’s going one step further now and suggesting the real game goes beyond the dues in the operating ledger. It’s all about the capital ledger as the financial driver of the club.

With the capital ledger, he points out that, “Unlike revenues in the operating ledger, which are earned and then consumed when delivering services and amenities to members, the entrance fees, levies and investments in the capital ledger are essentially passive, which could more accurately be referred to as income rather than revenue.

“It’s this income that should cover the cost of capital replacements and improvements, with a lack of investment into capital leading to inevitable failure.”

Earning revenue in the operating ledger takes more work than the passive income in the capital ledger, which goes straight to the bottom line. I’m sure most Australian GMs would like a passive income like entrance fees and not have to spin the wheels so hard in the operating ledger. You could argue that switching the depreciation expense to the capital ledger could take too much heat off your operations – making it lazy.

But perhaps the effect would be a ramp up of services and amenities for members that make the club a more compelling place to join. It may allow your club the income it needs to have more choice in things it may otherwise be putting off such activities as growing the numbers of women and juniors

in the club, improving environmental practices or becoming more community oriented.

In Australia’s biggest clubs, there is typically a healthy combination of earnings from both operating and capital ledgers, as they have entrance fees. Whilst depreciation is shown as an operating expense, if it was viewed as a capital expense, there would be sizable profits shown in the operating ledger.

It doesn’t take a trick of accounting to at least have a mind shift in how the club could focus its efforts.

Yet, most Australian golf clubs don’t have an entrance fee. In the modern day, the concept of an entrance fee has come under criticism in some quarters, but much of this is idealistic folly. Many clubs used to have one but in trying to compete for new members reduced or removed them.

As one GM in outer Melbourne once said to me a few years ago, the market of new golfers don’t understand entrance fees.

Yet, the clubhouse, plant and equipment of the club can’t simply hold its own value or miraculously pay for itself. Being no dummies, they quietly built the entrance fee into the price of the first few years subscriptions, by which time the price charged incrementally dropped back to that of the longer-term members.

With recent high golf demand, albeit artificially driven by the pandemic, some are now considering re-introducing an entrance fee. The irony now is that if a club were to re-introduce one after decades without one, it would have to defer the recognition of this income over the average time of a membership, around 10-20 years. It first goes to the balance sheet. Yet, in the end it’s all cash.

Whether it comes from the operating ledger or the capital ledger, Ray Cronin suggests clubs should be aiming to increase their net worth over time. He suggests clubs aim for around 3.5% growth per year. This allows a club the funds to grow and add

amenities, which is where he thinks clubs should look to go in the US, rather than be focussed on just golf.

Whether going beyond golf is a good strategy in Australia is questionable. The location of a club and its positioning in the market are big factors, as is our culture, society, competitive market for gyms and pools, and our proportion of high net wealth individuals.

Oh, and a final point Ray Cronin shares with clubs; they forget that club success is in the experience and the value proposition this gives, not in price and efficiency. Clubs are not commodities where you simply seek the best price. Overly focussing on price and expenses ahead of services and amenities is a very common mistake.

You only have to look at golf clubs that charge the most; they are typically the most successful. Not only can they fund their operating footprint, but they can have the choice to add new amenities at times and build equity year after year.

Many club boards and their GMs will have taken the events of 2020 as a chance to review the club’s strategies and business plans. The demand for golf offers opportunities to rethink entrance fees.

For many clubs, now may be a good time to re-introduce them and give their future capital requirements a much needed boost.

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Copies of can be obtained for $29.95 each (or $250.00 for a pack of 10).

To order your copy, please contact GMA CEO, Paul Vardy: paul.vardy@golfmanagement.com.au

WE NEED YOUR INPUT! To assist us in better informing and educating our members, we need your assistance to continue providing relevant, interesting and unique stories from within the golf management industry that we can share in this journal.

If you would like to write a piece for the GMA Journal – we’d certainly love to hear from you.

Please send your material through to our Media & Communications manager, David Brand, at david.brand@golfmanagement.com.au.

CLICK TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

37

GMA EDUCATION

THE FUTURE WILL COME: MAKING DEPRECIATION YOUR FRIEND It Will Break, and You Will Need to Fix It

By GREGG PATTERSON

I’m sure that your club’s no different than The Beach Club, at least in this regard-------- things will age, fall out of fashion and inevitably wear out. Efforts can be made to delay the day of reckoning but eventually you’ll need to repair, replace or completely reconfigure the “hardscape” of your private club. When the time comes, cash will be needed as will the organizational and imaginative talent to make the right choices and to execute those choices with the least expenditure of time, money and organizational resources. The “Depreciation Mindset” is an integral part of any organization that hopes to be an incrementally better place each and every year. Addressed effectively, depreciation is the friend of both manager and board and can be used to enhance and polish the “perception of Board and Management competency” within the larger member-staff club community.

We need to distinguish between “Managerial Depreciation” and “Auditor Depreciation.” Not being a certified public accountant, I’m not fluent in the rules governing the recording of depreciation.

But Boards and Management deal in a different “accounting” of their “Depreciation Mindset” than do CPAs since they’re concerned with identifying needs before they arise, anticipating the scope of those needs and opportunities, finding the cash to execute those visions and bringing those plans to fruition. When your job and your reputation are on the line, you have a tendency to focus on “The Real” and to discount the subtleties in the audited financials, important though those issues inevitably are in recording the health or sickness of your club.

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Laying the Foundation For “The Depreciation Mindset”:

What I’ll be doing in the following discussion is establishing the groundwork for the “Depreciation Mindset” and outlining how one might go about locating needs, finding cash, establishing priorities, building consensus and reporting progress along the way. Bear in mind that these aren’t abstractions drawn from a management class en route to an MBA degree but principles drawn from over twenty-five years of “trench warfare” in the club business and over nineteen years as General Manager of The Beach Club in Santa Monica California. Each idea is the end result of a bruising I’ve received at some point in my career. I’m confident that those of you who are reading this and have experienced real world operational challenges can relate to my comments and find anecdotal support for the various insights I’ve highlighted.

Board members and the management team need to be in agreement on the values underpinning the “Depreciation Mindset.”

It has been my experience that people of like values, when given all the facts and presented with all the options---members, staff, committee members and boards---, will pretty much agree on “the right thing to do” when encountering a controversial decision. Clubs are fortunate in their inherently high level of “values alignment.”

The membership committee selects new members whose values are in accord with the club’s culture while the management team hires those who are perceived to “believe” in those values and fires those who ultimately don’t.

The following points highlight a few of the principles my Board of Directors and I have found useful during the decision making process at The Beach Club.

A. The future will come: The club is going to be around for a long, long time and everything we’ve got now will wear itself out. Accept the fact and plan for it.

B. Cash is King: Projects need cash to proceed. The cash should be in the bank before the project begins. No cash, no go. “Build the future” into the monthly dues and operating budget and make sure membership fees---be they admissions fees or transfer fees---are put aside to fund the “facility cycle.”

C. It will cost you more than you think: Projects never come in under budget because opportunities arise that were

never anticipated. Plan on the overages and acknowledge “the good” that arises from “upside surprises” during the execution phase of your project. Build in bigger contingencies than you really need, because you’ll end up really needing them. But don’t make the contingencies so big that they submarine the project, discouraging you and the Board from beginning what needs to be done.

D. Debt limits options: As they say in the flying business, debt is a “sucker hole” that will lure you in and then close off your options. The idea behind the “depreciation mindset” is that planning replaces debt in all but the most extreme situations.

E. Avoid the “A” word: Assessments tend to besmirch the reputations of Boards and General Managers alike. Controversy usually arises when assessments are considered, executed and remembered.

They deplete the “good will bank account” of those who approve them and agitate the nay-sayers within the membership.

F. Assessments reflect poor planning: Needs can be anticipated. Plans can be developed when needs are known.

Assessments suggest that needs weren’t clearly anticipated, plans weren’t created, appetites weren’t held in check and dues weren’t properly structured. Boards and managers are supposed to see the future and prepare for its arrival. Assessments suggest that they have not done so.

G. Strategic Plans are less important than Strategic Directions: Opportunities arise over time that were never anticipated.

Comprehensive strategic plans are usually flawed because decision makers are never “all seeing.” What clubs need are strategic directions---which guide but don’t define--rather than strategic plans---which suggest “the definitive” and limit flexibility.

It is better to know that you’re a “golf club”

rather than a “country club,” a “family club” rather than an “adult club,” a “ritual of dining club” rather than a “bistro club” than it is to micro-outline each and every part of a “strategic plan” that is all but “fixed-in-stone” for the foreseeable future.

H. Good strategic thinking is about making good tactical decisions: People can grasp the present and can determine if present changes are consistent with “the vision” of the club. If you know the strategic direction you want to take---“… the club will choose a professional interior designer whose vision of casual elegance is consistent with the club’s and will continue to use that designer regardless of the number of members who volunteer to design…” ; “…all spaces will be made handicap accessible when renovated…”--then making solid “local” decisions (on the bar renovation, the office renovation, etc.) will usually ensure “macro-coherence” over time.

I. Unintended consequences and “upside surprises” will occur: The “Depreciation Mindset” acknowledges that things happen that you never anticipated. Some of them are good, others are not so good.

Midway through a depreciation related project---a new slurry coat for the parking lot which is programmed for every third year---you have an epiphany and envision a basketball court in the parking lot. An “upside surprise” has occurred. Once completed, a new “basketball tribe” of members and staff is formed, building the sense of community and increasing the market value of the membership. An “unintended consequence” has arisen from the mundane.

J. There’s a right time for organic depreciation thinking and for linear depreciation thinking: Dreams come out of discussion which is directed but not tightly controlled. Ideas pop up out

of nowhere. This is “organic depreciation thinking” where the topic is known but the sequence for discussion is not. Once a project decision is made, the manager and board need to become “action oriented” at which point they adopt “linear depreciation thinking.” People make the mistake of trying to “envision the future” with a tight agenda and trying to execute the vision with a loose one. There is a time and place for both in the “depreciation mindset.”

K. Priorities will be continually redefined: Priorities in the “depreciation cycle” will alter with each change in Board, Committee, Manager or economic indicator. This is a healthy response to changing wants, needs and expectations within the member community. However, once the execution of a project has begun, the moment for changing priorities has passed since all of the club’s efforts should be focused on completing what has begun with the least expenditure of time, money and resources.

L. “The Depreciation Continuum” is about process not end: Accept that the depreciation cycle is endless and that you will never “arrive” at a place where depreciation planning is no longer needed. The continuum is what keeps the depreciation experience exciting.

M. Expectations for the next project will always be higher than for the last: It is part of the “human condition” that people want “the next version” to be better than the last. Though people often say they don’t want change, when change occurs they want the results to be noticeably better than what preceded it. Boards and managers need to build in “heightened expectations” when configuring depreciation.

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Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

39

GMA EDUCATION

N. Find opportunities for “continuous incremental improvement”: Although members enjoy “home run” projects and renovations-----an entirely new, rather than renovated clubhouse, for example-----, the thrill fades fairly quickly and the “new” becomes “the norm” in fairly short order. Rather than “hitting for the fences” consider spreading out the improvements, modifications and alterations over time so that each year another “enhancement” appears. My standard: if a member hasn’t visited in a year, when they do show up they’ll gush that “the place looks great” because of some small improvement or other that has occurred in the meantime. People like to be associated with organizations that are continually improving. No reason not to use depreciation creatively to become that type of club.

O. Fund aggressive maintenance: The best depreciation investment is a well funded maintenance department.

Since replacements, improvements and modifications are continuous and incremental, big bucks spent here win on two fronts: things will happen quickly and continuously while keeping the price of doing so down through the use of in-house talent.

P. Back of the House Stuff is as Important as Front of the House: Depreciation is one area where “out of sight, out of mind” just doesn’t work.

The infrastructure of the clubhouse and grounds---sewage systems, electrics, irrigation and the like---is the critical skeleton upon which the rest of the operation is built. Although less “sexy” than a plasma screen television in the Bar, boards and management need to convince the membership that a new stove

for the kitchen is an equally important contribution to the “basket of goods and services” provided to the general membership.

Q. Patience is the Virtue of Kings: Don’t be in a rush to do an upgrade or enhancement. Live within your budget, maintain aggressively, plan well in advance of execution, save your money, then act once the plans, public relations and cash are in place. Impatient clubs end up with large debt positions, assessments and disgruntled members.

R. Members aren’t dumb and they do care: Don’t make the mistake of thinking that “the facts will only confuse the members and complicate the decision making process.” Members are members because they’re clever people and have an “equity mentality.” Give them all the facts, solicit their input, encourage their questions and make them partners in the “depreciation experience.”

Finding Priorities: The key to the service personality is to “…anticipate need before those who need it know it.” The same could be said for the “depreciation personality” since the key to a successful career in depreciation is to figure out what needs to be done, when it needs to be done and how much it will cost to do it. Discovering these “to dos” is a collective effort and should involve the supervisors, management team, committees, Board and the general membership.

When one is uncovering “depreciables” it’s best to divide them into three general areas: established and recurring needs, do-able enhancements and way-out dreams. By doing so, both the members and staff can tap into the club’s “Vision Statement” while staying nicely grounded in

the day-to-day realities of the “fix-it before it breaks” mentality that underpins tactical depreciation thinking.

Arriving at “The List”--- which should appear each month on the Board’s five year cash flow projection and will be discussed and outlined momentarily--- requires someone to catalyze the team of members and staff into “reflective moments of discovery.” It goes without saying that I, as a General Manager, believe deeply that doing so is the responsibility of the General Manager. His or her job as catalyst is to initiate the thought process, to direct it and to sustain its intensity over time. To become, in essence, a hunter-gatherer of visions and depreciables by facilitating input from members, staff and committees.

Performing this “hunter-gatherer” role is not really a mystery. The manager should provoke the staff in the weekly senior staff meeting; should stimulate imaginative “organic thinking” in each of the committees---particularly buildings and grounds, house and strategic planning--during their monthly meetings; inform and provoke the Board with the Board Update (a weekly newsletter for the Board, past presidents and senior management that the manager generates and distributes); and solicit input from the membership with substantive articles in the monthly newsletter. All this will stimulate conversation, generate more ideas than you can ever use and keep you in touch with the needs, wants and expectations of the entire member-staff community.

Once “The List” is established, priorities need to be set for projects given the constraints of life expectancies, money and impatience. Accept that priorities will continually change until an actual commitment is made to the execution of any given project. The ultimate arbiter of “The Priorities” will be the board after due

Sport Governance Principles Implementing and maintaining a robust system of governance

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FIND OUT MORE

1.

2001 (current)

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

100

220

270

85

110

145

25

50

40

25

35

55

125

270

310

110

145

200

Beginning Cash Cash Income from operations, dues and admission fees Cash Available

consideration by each of the committees and management team. Since “The List” and the priority order for each of the listed projects is presented monthly in the five year simplified cash flow facility budget, the Board will be reviewing and altering the list, the priorities and the timing according to the most recent inputs.

A useful pro-forma for this report might look something like the image right.

The keys to this process are the detailing of all must dos, all do’able enhancements and all way out dreams; the budgeting of cash income in the coming years; and the timing of execution for each of the given projects to achieve the best mix of “the needed” and the “desired.”

By doing so, the board and management team can keep track of “the vision direction” while discussing timing and specific tactical considerations on a monthly basis.

Vision Without Action Is a Daydream: Now that you have the “Depreciation Mindset,” where should you go from here???

First things first---identify the replacement needs of the operation with the general manager and his or her management team.

These are the “must do’s” to simply maintain the operating levels you currently have.

2.

Must Dos Carpet

(30)

Air Conditioning 3.

(75)

Do’able Enhancements New bar

4.

(150)

Way Out Dreams Indoor Pool

5.

6.

7.

Ending Cash Minimum Acceptable Cash Balance End of Year “Free Cash”

(200)?

220

270

85

110

145

0

50

50

50

50

50

50

170

220

35

60

95

(50)

Prioritize each and assign a dollar value.

Secondly, generate your list of do’able dreams using input from all the committees, management team and general membership and assign a dollar value to each.

Thirdly, encourage a “flight of fancy” from the same three groups for the dream projects that, at best, are a “stretch” financially and otherwise for the club. Assign a dollar value to each.

Fourth, establish a cash budget projection using existing operations and anticipated dues increases for the coming five years.

Enter those cash flow forecasts on the proforma.

Fifth, input the “must do projects” through the coming five years in their must do order

on the pro-forma.

Sixth, see how much cash is available and when, then plug in the do’able enhancements in priority order in the years when cash for doing so is available.

Seventh, if any cash remains after the first two sets of projects are accounted for, assign the dreams in the years where the cash is available and the desired mix of projects nets the biggest public relations boost.

When adopted, this document and the “Depreciation Mindset” are guaranteed to provoke discussion, controversy and ultimately action. It will be, as is intended, a catalyst for the realization of your club’s facility potential.

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

41

BARNBOUGLE LOST FARM

CAPE WICKHAM

JACKS POINT

Great Golf Made Easy Promote member engagement and retention by booking a club trip with The Golf Travel Agency and take advantage of:

 A single point of contact to organise everything

 In-depth knowledge of golf destinations

 Market leading service levels

Speak to a member of The Golf Travel Agency and realise the potential of golf travel for your club and members.

Call us on (02) 9555 5311 or email us at: info@thegolftravelagency.com.au

www.thegolftravelagency.com.au 42

www.golfmanagement.com.au

EDITORIAL

THE BENEFITS OF USING A GOLF TRAVEL AGENCY IN UNCERTAIN TIMES 2020 has been a test for many people and many industries. And where many have struggled, the golf industry has thrived.

Fortunate to be a sport that lends to social distancing and which can (and has) been easily modified to ensure the safety and containment of the spread Covid-19 has meant that in a world where other sports and activities have been limited, golf has seen an incredible uptake and resurgence across the Country (and the globe)!

Once the Country’s lock down periods ended, however, and with the ongoing restrictions of international travel, people started thinking about things they could do domestically and the sentiment towards getting away and resuming their ‘normal lives’ has seen golf travel enquiries and bookings leaning toward one of the biggest seasons the domestic golf travel industry has seen!

With people’s desire to return to travel, now is a great time to organise a golf club trip for your members. However, both the club and members are no doubt going to want protection during what are still uncertain times.

Booking your next group club members’ holiday with The Golf Travel Agency gives you the reassurance that if there are further disruptions to travel, your member’s investment in their golf trip will be safe because they have long-standing relationships with hotels, golf courses and other relevant suppliers.

Think of it this way …

If you book your trip with The Golf Travel Agency, you just have one phone call to make if restrictions return. If you book it yourself, you will have to cancel all the separate components of your trip and try to negotiate credits where possible with no guarantees. And on top of that, you are likely to get a better price through The Golf Travel Agency due to negotiated industry rates, so it won’t cost you any more to have a golf travel specialist do all the work for you.

Engage your members more in club life – strengthen club loyalty and improve member retention!

Speak to a member of The Golf Travel Agency today and realise the potential of golf travel for your club and members.

Call (02) 9555 5311 or email info@thegolftravelagency.com.au.

2020 has definitely seen many ups and downs for the golf industry, however one thing is very apparent – travel is definitely on the minds of golfers and as travel restrictions ease, we look forward to the gaining momentum of golf travel across the Country.

The Golf Travel Agency can assist in putting together the perfect golfing itinerary for your Golf Club and its Members to experience Australia’s finest.

You can host the trip yourself, or have your Club Pro host the trip, or we can provide a host for you, if you prefer. As a fullservice travel agency, we will do all the organising for you, leaving nothing for you to do but promote the trip to your members.

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

43

INDUSTRY NEWS

$100,000 FINE ISSUED AFTER YOUNG CHILD SERIOUSLY INJURED BY GOLF CART On 12th November, a not-for-profit organisation in Brisbane was fined $100,000 after a golf cart incident left a young child seriously injured.

This follows an investigation by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) and subsequent legal proceedings in Court.

The organisation owns and operates a primary school in Mango Hill and employs a groundskeeper to look after outdoor areas and perform maintenance. To get around the school, the groundskeeper uses a golf cart.

The groundskeeper was driving the golf buggy on a concrete pathway adjacent to a toilet block when a six-year-old student ran from the toilet block in front of the cart which struck him, and he suffered a subdural haemorrhage, fractured left tibia and damage to his left fibula, spending five days in hospital and another week at home recovering.

The investigation revealed the defendant failed to take any steps in relation to the risk posed by the golf cart being used within the school.

In sentencing, Magistrate Trevor Morgan observed the use of the buggy in a school around primary school-aged children posed a “blindly obvious” risk if not managed appropriately. His Honour accepted there was a clear need to conduct a safety assessment and implement plans for using the cart.

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Magistrate Morgan noted the golf cart was purchased by the previous school principal some years prior to the incident and not brought to the attention of his successor or to the defendant (who would have been more appropriately aware of the need to implement policy and procedure to manage its operation).

His Honour indicated the defendant had sought for its culpability to be reduced on the basis the principal had not informed it of the buggy. Magistrate Morgan did not accept that circumstance diminished the responsibility of the defendant as it had put that person in place as manager of the school and it was their decision in purchasing the mobile plant.

Magistrate Morgan indicated the failure by the defendant in this instance saw a child suffer serious injuries, which required significant and painful episodes of physical and psychological rehabilitation.

In relation to the general culpability and extent of blame, his Honour indicated it was quite significant.

The defendant was fined $100,000 plus court costs of just over $2,700.

epar RECOMMENDS: • Implement the epar Safe Work Procedure (SWP) for the safe operation of a golf cart. If you do not have this procedure, epar customers are able to order the document at the discounted fee of $49. Orders can be placed via email to info@epar.com.au • The epar SAO's (Safe Act Observations Checklists) be regularly conducted to ensure staff are operating golf carts safely.

If you need any advice or support, please call epar’s free support hotline on 1300 471 175.

Visit epar’s website for more information on their products and services

COVID-19 VACCINATION MANAGEMENT IN THE WORKPLACE We've all navigated a number of pandemic-related issues this year - from keeping employees and customers safe and healthy, to moving operations remotely, and navigating productivity and financial challenges.

Now we all must gear up for perhaps the most significant challenge yet:- managing COVID-19 vaccinations in the workplace.

This is a complicated issue, balancing strong feelings for, and against receiving the vaccine, with the legal requirement to maintain an inclusive and safe workplace.

In early 2021, club managers will effectively become the COVID-19 gatekeepers for their employees, contractors, and customers. Some managers may nudge or incentivise employees and contractors to be vaccinated, and others will mandate it.

We will all know much more in early 2021.

For now, of utmost importance is that club managers will have to develop COVID vaccination plans. It is something most have been kicking the can on for the past few months while they wait for news and updates on COVID-19 vaccines. A waitand-see approach for a vaccination plan can no longer wait and it must be a priority going into 2021.

A word of caution regarding any proposed

strategy - if there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 at your workplace and you only send home the staff who are NOT vaccinated, this could essentially be a communication to others of their health information. This will in effect identify those that are vaccinated and those that are not. This could constitute a privacy breach. However, on the other hand, failing to take measures to protect staff known to be unvaccinated could result in a breach of workplace health and safety legislation.

The commencement of 2021 is the time for open and frank discussions with staff regarding how they could provide the highest possible level of duty of care for themselves and every person in their workplace.

In our Connect 2.0 platform, we are updating our Credentials app and our Contractors app to assist with vaccination records management, and we will be providing an online Vaccination Awareness and Education document in January.

SOME VACCINATION MANAGEMENT POINTS TO PONDER: • How will you manage Vaccinati on Certificates – for staff, visitors, your contractors, and volunteers?

• How will you securely manage and store vaccination records and ensure their currency?

• Have you a Vaccination Policy that includes your contractors?

• Have you a documented vaccination and hygiene policy from all your contractors?

• Will you be mandating COVID-19 vaccination in your workplace?

• When will you commence the vaccination education and awareness process with your employees?

• How will you manage member vaccinations

Stay safe everyone and we will continue to provide updates as they come to hand.

If you have any questions please call 0412 294 514 or our Hotline 1300 471 175 for free support.

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BEST - Connect 2.0 System BETTER - Connect 2.0 Lite GOOD - EHS Starter Kit Everything you need and nothing you don’t – www.epar.com.au Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

45

INDUSTRY NEWS

PUBLIC FLOCKS TO NEW SANDY LINKS MARK HAYES / GOLF AUSTRALIA

Sandy Golf Links is a hot ticket for all of Melbourne’s golf loving community.

The totally redesigned former Sandringham Golf Club, a public course in the heart of the famous Sandbelt, is enjoying surging patronage only weeks after its full 18-hole layout was opened.

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But while its famous neighbours have some of the world’s most sought private memberships, Sandy Golf Links is going out of its way to ensure its gates are open to all.

Among innovative SGL techniques being used are the offer of free golf for kids aged under 16 accompanied by a playing adult (after 1.30pm), advocating maximum scores and even encouraging players to throw the ball from bunkers if they prove too tricky.

The course, partly funded by the Victorian Government, has been booming with up to 250 rounds played daily, equating to a 15 per cent rise on previous patronage.

When bookings opened post COVID-19 release in metropolitan Melbourne, there was one nine-minute stretch of more than 700 rounds booked online.

It’s another boost to golf ’s strength within the Australian community, with the sport contributing $3.5 billion annually to the national economy and contributing health

benefits worth an estimated $132 million each year.

The course itself has several other features that ensure it will remain an important public asset for years to come.

In the style of its Sandbelt neighbours, the fairways are wide off the tee and perfect for children and beginners.

But OCM co-designer Mike Cocking said that shouldn’t deter more advanced players, with the strategic elements of neighbouring Royal Melbourne still front and centre.

“We did a lot of things so that the course doesn’t daunt anyone, but it’s also a great layout for lower handicappers because to score well, you probably need to attack it from the right spots,” said Cocking of a par-65 course that has two sets of tees, both comparatively short at less than 5000m.

“It’s short enough that it’s playable for all, but a test for those who want to take it on using the width on offer.

”Really, it's the perfect length for kids and beginners – both men and women – and those who are wanting to prolong their golf and now find the big courses too tough.”

The precinct is already a base for Victorian Institute of Sport high performance athletes; it will eventually be home to a public driving range as well as becoming the administrative hub of Golf Australia and the PGA of Australia.

It has a large water storage capacity and a completely new irrigation system. It has also had the help of Royal Melbourne groundstaff throughout its redesign, including the same combination of “Sutton’s mix” bentgrass greens and fescue surrounds that the threetime Presidents Cup host adopted 15 years ago.

So, as Cocking says, it “represents a Sandbelt experience for the public”.

“The greens and bunkers definitely have that Sandbelt-like appearance and

importantly they play similarly, too, with golfers having to decide from the tee the preferred side of the fairway to hit to in order to gain the best angle into the green,” he said.

“Typically a fairway bunker guards this approach, so even those new to the game start to understand the concept of risk and reward.”

Cocking said SGL’s initial success would provide a great case study for other public courses that are successful, yet occasionally neglected in terms of upgrades because of the logistics involved.

“It is one of the few facilities in Melbourne that I can think of that has undergone a major capital improvement program.

“So often public facilities are very slowly on a downward spiral when it comes to design and course conditioning.

“Changes aren't usually made because they're ways to improve the design ... usually it's a reaction to an issue such as a safety

problem or a green or tee can no longer sustain a quality surface.

“Without the funds or structure of many private courses, design improvements and upgrades are rarely considered. This might be because of the potential disruption to play, but perhaps more likely because the value of upgrades is more difficult to measure … especially if the course is already busy.

“Of course, improving the design can help the bottom line by raising the profile and potentially the green fee charged.

“Hopefully Sandy helps illustrate the business case to other councils in terms of facility upgrades and what is possible.”

For more information, visit the Sandy Golf Links website: www.sandringham.golf

Golf Management Australia Journal | Summer 2020

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