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Certainly, the structure of the club – and the decision-making process within it – was something of a culture change for him. But, just as he had in moving from ‘t’north’ to the south, he acclimatised very quickly. He added: “We have a board structure of nine members, and a golf committee of six members which includes myself, the finance director, course manager and director of golf. “Any big club decisions normally go through a committee presentation, and once the committee has approved the proposal, it then goes to the board for approval and they ultimately have the final say on it. “But we undertake a lot of due diligence before it gets to that point to establish if it’s going to pass or get knocked back. We don’t want to waste time going down a dead end if it’s not
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going to be adopted. We tend to canvass the committee, members and board to establish the appetite for whatever is being proposed. “You’re getting feedback all the time from members – some things you might not even have considered – so that enables you to understand what they desire and how we can improve the experience. The due diligence helps establish whether it’s the majority who want it – whatever it is – or just a minority that would benefit. “At a proprietary club, if you feel a decision makes sound commercial sense you go ahead and do it. But in the long run I think the committee and board model helps me make better decisions for the members here. “Within the industry I imagine there are a number of members clubs who aren’t as successful as they could be
because they look too much at the numbers and don’t get the members behind where the club could go to.” As your correspondent is a bornand-bred, soft southerner, I did feel compelled to ask if Glendinning, who started his career 16 years ago at the then De Vere – now QHotels – Slaley Hall, in Northumberland, missed his homeland or found the transition difficult. “I’ve been back up north a few times and I get excited about coming down south again… it’s warmer,” he laughed. “I believe once you’ve made a decision you jump in with both feet. There’s no point in looking back or thinking ‘what if’. You have to go for it, and mentors in the past have told me once you make the decision, go ahead and do the best possible job you can – and that’s what I’m looking to do.
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