Club + Resort Business December 2021

December 2021

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

®

Top of the Class Clubhouses

Clubhouses INSIDE: The French (Lick) Connection Bringing Locker Rooms Out of the Dark The Return of Holiday Cheer

Pool Towel Stations & Return Bins Make towel pickup and drop-off a breeze for your members and guests. Customize your Rinowood™ or EasyCare™ towel stations with your logo and personalized text. Different designs are also available, as well as several EasyCare color options. Contact your Landmark rep to discuss your needs.

Meet Us at the CMAA Club Business Expo FEBRUARY 19-23, 2022

Rinowood™ Double Towel Station

BOOTH #1219

Poolside Portable Bars Make an even bigger splash by serving drinks poolside—or anywhere. Both our Rinowood and EasyCare portable bars are built for all-weather performance and come in many sizes, and the EasyCare bar is made from top-grade recycled plastic and available in different color combinations.

96” Rinowood™ Portable Bar

Elevating clubs and resorts to world-class properties with beautiful and sustainable solutions.

96” EasyCare™ Portable Bar

Rinowood.com 1-888-337-7677

Perennials performance fabrics and rug shown with Sutherland Franck Lounge Chair and Side Table perennialsfabrics.com I sutherlandfurniture.com

Editorial

Advertising

Digital Media/Web/Development

Events

EDITOR

VICE PRESIDENT - GROUP PUBLISHER

VP, DIGITAL MARKETING

EVENTS MANAGER

vgoulding@wtwhmedia.com

josborne@wtwhmedia.com

Joe Barks

Tom McIntyre

jbarks@wtwhmedia.com 610-688-5666 office 610-416-3550 cell 175 Strafford Ave., Suite 1 Wayne, PA 19087

tmcintyre@wtwhmedia.com 216-533-9186 PUBLISHER

John Petersen

jpetersen@wtwhmedia.com 216-346-8790

SENIOR EDITOR

Rob Thomas

rthomas@wtwhmedia.com 216-316-5294 1111 Superior Ave., 26th Floor Cleveland, OH 44114

SALES DIRECTOR

Tony Bolla

tbolla@wtwhmedia.com 773-859-1107

EDITOR, CLUB + RESORT CHEF

REGIONAL SALES MANAGER

jdechellis@wtwhmedia.com 412-260-9233

aburk@wtwhmedia.com

Ashley Burk

Joanna DeChellis

REGIONAL SALES MANAGER

Jake Bechtel

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Course + Grounds:

Betsy Gilliland Jeff Bollig Design + Renovation:

DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

EVENT MARKETING SPECIALIST

Dave Miyares

Olivia Zemanek

dmiyares@wtwhmedia.com

ozemanek@wtwhmedia.com

SR. DIGITAL MEDIA MANAGER

Video Services

pcurran@wtwhmedia.com

VIDEOGRAPHER

DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER

bvoyten@wtwhmedia.com

Pat Curran

Taylor Meade

VIDEOGRAPHER

DIGITAL PRODUCTION MANAGER

gmccafferty@wtwhmedia.com

rhall@wtwhmedia.com

Finance

DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST

CONTROLLER

nlender@wtwhmedia.com

bkorsberg@wtwhmedia.com

Reggie Hall

REGIONAL SALES MANAGER

DIGITAL PRODUCTION/ MARKETING DESIGNER

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE SPECIALIST

sking@wtwhmedia.com

jmilton@wtwhmedia.com

Production services

VP STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER

jhopper@wtwhmedia.com

shulett@wtwhmedia.com

WEBINAR COORDINATOR hkirsh@wtwhmedia.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ecanetta@wtwhmedia.com

jcooper@wtwhmedia.com

Kim Dorsey

Creative Services

Stephanie Hulett

VP, CREATIVE SERVICES

Mark Rook

mrook@wtwhmedia.com

Erin Canetta

Garrett McCafferty's

Nicole Lender

pmcintyre@wtwhmedia.com 216-372-8112

Marilyn Odesser-Torpey

Bradley Voyten

tmeade@wtwhmedia.com

Samantha King

Food + Beverage:

Jen Osborne

jbechtel@wtwhmedia.com 440-465-1914

Patrick McIntyre

Pamela Brill

Virginia Goulding

Jane Cooper

ART DIRECTOR

Brian Korsberg

Jamila Milton

Jay Hopper

Halle Kirsh

WEBINAR COORDINATOR kdorsey@wtwhmedia.com

Matthew Claney

DECEMBER CLUB INDEX

DIRECTOR, AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Club and resort properties featured in this issue

mclaney@wtwhmedia.com

Bruce Sprague

bsprague@wtwhmedia.com

WTWH MEDIA, LLC

1111 Superior Ave., 26th Floor Cleveland, OH 44114 Ph: 888.543.2447

2011 - 2020

SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES To enter, change or cancel a subscription: Web (fastest service):www.ezsub.com/crb Phone: 844-862-9286 (U.S. only, toll-free) Mail: Club & Resort Business, P.O. Box 986, Levittown, PA 19058 Copyright 2021, WTWH Media, LLC Club + Resort Business ISSN 1556-13X is published monthly by WTWH Media, LLC, 1111 Superior Avenue, 26th Floor, Cleveland, OH 44114. Copyright ©2021. Periodicals postage paid at Cleveland, Ohio, and additional mailing offices.

Subscriptions: Qualified U.S. subscribers receive Club + Resort Business at no charge. For all others the cost is $75 U.S. and possessions, $90 Canada, and $145 all other countries. Per copy price is $3. Postmaster: Send change of address notices to Club + Resort Business, P.O. Box 986, Levittown, PA 19058. Club + Resort Business does not endorse any products, programs or services of advertisers or editorial contributors. Copyright© 2021 by WTWH Media, LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

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Athens Country Club, Athens, Ga. ............................................................8 Augusta Country Club, Manchester, Maine .........................................49 BallenIsles Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. .......................26 The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. ..........14 The Club at Mediterra, Naples, Fla. .................................................10, 22 The Club at Pasadera, Monterey, Calif. ................................................58 Crystal Mountain Resort, Thompsonville, Mich. .................................52 Delaware Country Club, Muncie, Ind. ....................................................48 Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North Scottsdale, Ariz. .....................................................................................................42 Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn Lodge and Conference Center, Frankenmuth, Mich. .............................................................................................40 French Lick Resort, French Lick, Ind. .....................................................30 Los Angeles Athletic Club, Los Angeles, Calif. ...................................50 Meadowbrook Country Club, Ballwin, Mo. ..........................................29 Montecito Club, Santa Barbara, Calif. ....................................................24 Newport Beach Country Club, Newport Beach, Calif. ........2-13, 28 Oro Valley Country Club, Oro Valley, Ariz. ................................................9 Schuylkill Country Club, Orwigsburg, Pa. ...........................................66 Spring Lake Country Club, Spring Lake, Mich. .................................48 Vanderbilt Country Club, Naples, Fla. ..................................................38 www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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THE ROB REPORT

A Green Start GROWING UP, I HAD a skewed sense of what a golf course superintendent did and who they were. I played a couple of family-owned courses, mostly, and saw the owner or their kids mowing the fairways and greens.

Maybe I assumed that’s the way it was at all courses? Not sure, as my world was very small back then and didn’t really evolve or expand until I joined the golf industry as a member of the media.

My first job out of the newspaper world (I was a sports editor for quite a few years out of college) saw me covering the agronomic side of the golf industry with a business-to-business publication. It was then that I realized superintendents could be just as home in a lab as they are in nature. They have more in common with a scientist than my local landscaper, and would likely be as comfortable looking through a microscope as they are at a plot of grass.

In short, golf course superintendents are the maestros of the maintenance side of our industry. With this in mind, I was thrilled to accept an invitation to cover the Green Start Academy (GSA) that was held in November at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort.

While this was my first GSA, it’s far from the inaugural event. In fact, 2021 marked the 16th educational extravaganza, for which John Deere and Bayer have been longtime sponsors (and joined this year by Rain Bird).

The goal of this program has been to help Assistant Superintendents build a strong foundation for their careers, as well as to support the future of golf courses and the entire golf industry by offering growth through networking, professional development courses and interactive peer groups.

There were 115 applicants this year— the most to date—representing 32 states www.clubandresortbusiness.com

The Green Start Academy has become an integral part of training the best and the brightest on how to approach everything that goes into success as they enter the next phase of their careers.

and Canada. Because of the pandemic, Canadian applicants were unable to attend and were urged to apply again in 2022. The 49 who were selected to attend (one had to drop out at the last minute) represented 23 states.

Nine mentors participated in this year’s event and three of them—with a combined 80-plus years of industry experience—kicked off the educational sessions. Bob Farren (Pinehurst Resort), Robert Hertzing (Lakeside Golf Club in Burbank, Calif.) and John Cunningham (Grandfather Golf & Country Club in Linville, N.C.) discussed topics ranging from “What I wish I knew when I was an Assistant Superintendent” to “Managing up, and how to do it.”

Stephen Tucker, Director of Golf Course and Landscape Operations at the

Four Seasons in Orlando, Fla., explored the complexities of budgeting. He was followed by Lukus Harvey, Director of Golf Course and Landscape Operations at The Ritz-Carlton Club West Palm Beach (Fla.), and Seth Miller, Golf Course Superintendent at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., who led a conversation about diversity, staying motivated and handling stress.

Other topics included hiring, communications, the industry’s outlook, digital transformation and maximizing the value of membership in the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and other industry groups. Carol Rau, PHR, a career expert and speaker, concluded the program by discussing the process of not only getting an interview for your dream job, but nailing the landing to secure that job.

In all, it was so much more than “how to maintain turf.” Years of higher education and on-course experience have taught these Assistant Superintendents how to do that. The Green Start Academy has become an integral part of training the best and the brightest on how to approach everything else that goes into success as they enter the next phase of their careers.

Rob Thomas • Senior Editor

rthomas@wtwhmedia.com

December 2021 l Club + Resort Business l 5

EDITOR’S MEMO

Signs from Up North?

When we’re searching for industry news to include in our daily e-newsletter and website postings, the emphasis is on finding and reporting on items that will be of interest and relevance to the largest possible portion of our audience.

And that tends to strongly skew what we select to what’s happening at club and resort properties within the U.S. But we’ll also include items from other parts of the world, when we think they might highlight notable trends or developments that could possibly apply or have an impact on operations in the States as well. Maybe it’s just because the borders between the U.S. and Canada were finally reopened, but a flurry of recent reports from Up North caught our eye over the last few months that seem to bear watching, to see if there might be any “trickle down” effect that could catch on and affect individual club operations, and the industry as a whole, in the States as well.

In Regina, Saskatchewan, the city council voted to eliminate a tax break for private clubs that had been established in 2001, to help them better compete with municipal clubs and courses that are exempt from property taxes. Because of the change, one club stood to see an increase of over $17,000 (Can.) in its annual property taxes.

“We are creating a tax loophole for a space and residents that probably do not need this,” said the councilman who spearheaded the change. “These are private clubs with pretty lucrative fees associated to their membership. I thnk that membership can afford to pay the difference.”

As memberships continue to swell at U.S. clubs, and more awareness is gained about their newfound prosperity (especially as higher-profile major capital projects are pursued), could this prompt similar reassessments and attitude adjustments among governing bodies, and make operating environments here less 6

l Club + Resort Business l December 2021

A flurry of recent reports involving Canadian clubs could bear watching, to see if they might have any “trickle down” effect. friendly, too?

In Ottawa, Ontario, the ClubLink management firm won an appeal that appeared to pave the way for it to proceed with a plan it has pursued for several years, to bulldoze part of the golf course at one of its clubs and partner with developers for a major housing project. Government officials, including the city’s mayor, have opposed the project, as have some very vocal and active civic groups. But the ruling by the provincial Court of Appeal even ordered the city to pay ClubLink’s $59,000 (Can.) in legal costs.

We hear almost daily now about the growing housing crises in cities and towns across the U.S., and of how many club and golf course properties, no matter if they’re thriving or they’re struggling or closed, are being eyed as prime targets for development to help ease the situation. There are also plenty of vocal and active groups and governing

bodies that are fighting these projects in this country, too, to try to preserve green space, if not for golf than for other purposes. But could the Canadian example indicate a shift in the winds that might bring about significant change in the landscape here, too?

Finally, there was a report about the “Longevity Club,” a pricey and exclusive property in Toronto that is seeking to attract members (at $100,000 Can. a pop) through this unique selling proposition: It will help to extend their lives as a destination where they can go to learn how to “ensure a longer and better healthspan,” through practices including “plant medicine, biohacking and a combination of technology and ancestral science.”

In addition to its 9,000-sq. ft. property that overlooks a ravine and an acre of forest in West Toronto, the owners have plans for a second location in that city and are also eyeing New York City and Miami for future expansions. So this appears to be a Canadian import that we can definitely expect to see come across the border—and in fact, it may already be here. We also recently ran an item about how the Bonita Bay Club in Florida is partnering wth a company to offer its membership “life-saving diagnostics” through a “Biotech Bar.”

Joe Barks • Editor jbarks@wtwhmedia.com

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

December 2021 • Vol. 17 • No. 12

INSIDE

THIS

ISSUE

20

Clubhouses

Top of the Class Clubhouses

Rankings of the Top 61 club and resort clubhouse facilities, from submitted entries judged by a panel of industry professionals.

(Photo Courtesy Montecito Club)

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

5

The Rob Report

6

Editor’s Memo

9

Golf Operations

10 Club Feature 30 THE FRENCH (LICK)

CONNECTION

The Southern Indiana resort has deep historical roots and a host of new amenities.

Food + Beverage 38 THE RETURN

OF GOOD CHEER

Club chefs are preparing for a healthy rebound in attendance at holiday meals and events.

12 14 16 42

A GREEN START SIGNS FROM UP NORTH? DRIVING CART DECISIONS Membership + Marketing

“ASK MAX”

Management

CREATING A NEW TRAINING STANDARD Golf + Fitness Technology

BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL JUNIOR PROGRAM (PART TWO) Golf + Fitness Technology

FITNESS CAN RIDE THE GOLF BOOM Design Snapshot

A REFRESHING AGENDA

Bringing a more modern look and feel to meeting space at the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale

58 Design + Renovation 46 OUT OF THE DARKNESS

From modest to major, renovations that shine a new light on locker rooms are a must for changing times.

4 Club Index 8

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Brad Coleman brings multiple perspectives to his position at The Club at Pasadera

+ Grounds 52 Course COMING INTO VIEW

Opening up Crystal Mountain Resort’s Betsie Valley course, and improving maintenance and playability in the process.

61 Product Showcase

Super In the Spotlight

A MAN OF MANY VIEWS

66

Idea Exchange

THE ART OF CELEBRATION

Schuylkill CC turns its centennial celebration into an art form

65 Ad Index www.clubandresortbusiness.com

GOLF OPERATIONS

DRIVING

CART DECISIONS

By Brett Gilmore • Head Golf Professional Oro Valley (Ariz.) Country Club

BRETT GILMORE, HEAD GOLF PROFESSIONAL at Oro Valley (Ariz.) Country Club since March 2021, has been in the golf industry for more than 20 years. When it comes to committing on a major expenditure like golf carts, he carefully weighs all options.

Club + Resort Business: When considering a new fleet of golf carts, where do you begin?

Brett Gilmore: I look at our current lease. If it’s coming to an end and I have enjoyed the partnership with that company, I look to get a new one going.

C+RB: Both gas and electric have advantages/disadvantages. How do you decide between the two?

Gilmore: For us, it’s electric. Electric, in my mind, does provide a better experience when playing and our course is not too hilly where gas carts would be needed.

C+RB: What percentage of golfers walk vs. ride at your club?

Gilmore: 30% walk and 70% ride.

C+RB: Do you offer caddies?

Gilmore: No, we do not have any at our facility.

USB ports are a nice touch, “ since more and more golfers are

bringing speakers and phones on the course. But most important to me is sand-bottle holders and coolers. Being in Arizona, the coolers are a necessity.

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www.clubandresortbusiness.com

C+RB: Do you allow push carts?

Gilmore: We do. Most members have their own.

C+RB: How do you calculate the correct number of golf carts to have on hand? Is there a formula?

Gilmore: The PGA recommends 80 carts for an 18-hole facility. We do not have that many, as we have a lot of members who have their own private carts. Our cart barn is also smaller in size, so we get as many carts as possible that fit, to give us flexibility.

C+RB: What “extras” do you consider important (GPS/ navigation screen, on-board USB ports for charging devices, sand-bottle holder, on-cart coolers, etc.)?

Gilmore: USB ports are a nice touch, since more and more golfers are bringing speakers and phones on the course. But most important to me is sand-bottle holders and coolers. Being in Arizona, the coolers are a necessity.

C+RB: Do you offer golfers an on-board opportunity to order drinks and food?

Gilmore: We do not have GPS and do not have that capability.

C+RB: Do you utilize software that tracks usage and paths taken by golfers?

Gilmore: We do. Our carts have geofencing capability.

It helps a lot to protect the course from cart traffic in areas that shouldn’t have any.

C+RB: What advice would you give a colleague who’s looking to replace an entire fleet of golf carts?

Gilmore: Look at the manufacturer’s warranty closely and if you could afford it, the maintenance plans they offer. Having the regular service from the company helps to extend the life of the carts.

December 2021

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MEMBERSHIP + MARKETING

IN THIS ISSUE, CLUB + RESORT BUSINESS is introducing “Ask Max,” a regular feature where Max Passino Deboer, Director of Marketing & Membership for The Club at Mediterra in Naples, Fla., will answer membership-related questions sent in by C+RB readers.

The Club at Mediterra is a Distinguished Elite, Platinum Club inside the community of Mediterra, which has been named Community of the Year in Naples 12 times in 16 years.

Max is a veteran hospitality leader with a 15-year hotel career followed by an almost 20-year club career, the last 13 at Mediterra. Max is a proud member of the Membership Directors Association of Southwest Florida, whose program for exchanging ideas and information is unmatched.

Max’s passion is being helpful, so… let’s “Ask Max!”

Ask Max

Dear Max, I need to sell some memberships, and fast. What is the best strategy for selling some?

Signed, #salesgoals Dear Goalie, The three best methods for closing on memberships are: • the “price down/up” technique • the trial • member referrals Price Down/Up Just dropping your price devalues your membership, so never do that. But to kickstart a sluggish market, try dropping the price of your membership for a very limited time—maybe six months, depending on your market—with the announcement that after this opportunity, the fees are going up. Then do just that—don’t make the mistake of enjoying a sales increase with your lower price and sticking with it. All that does is devalue your club.

You could also, depending on your club’s culture and brand, just announce that a price increase is going in effect in six months. That should bring some people to the table.

You should regularly increase your joining fee, just like dues, but just not as often. And always increase your joining fees after any significant club improve-

ment. Your club just increased its value, and your fees should reflect that.

The Trial The Trial is a tried-and-true method (there’s almost a pun in there). Offer a free membership for about six months, and then give those participants a chance to join at a discount for a short window (about 30 to 60 days). This gives the prospective member time to fall in love with the club and make friends. They won’t want to leave. The conversion rate is really strong on The Trial, if you package it nicely.

Member Referrals Member referrals are truly the best way and the gold standard for gaining new members. But how do you get this built-in “sales team” to do the work? First, examine your operations. If you don’t have a membership that regularly brings friends and associates to the table, you may need to look at the member satisfaction rate. Happy members refer others; unhappy members resign.

Second, examine your identity. Who are you…really? Are you a club that caters to families with lots of programs for young children? Then that is your target, your culture and your brand. Focus on that and nothing else. Don’t be generic…ever.

Third… reward those who help bring in new members. The reward should reflect

your club’s culture. It may be a statement credit (always reward the referring member AND the new member in the same way) or maybe it’s a free gourmet dinner for the new member and the referring member, complete with wine pairings.

Tier the rewards to create momentum.

With each new member a member refers, the rewards should grow. Also, be sure to set a time limit, if you are looking for a call to action.

Regardless of the method you choose, make sure you create a professionallooking sales package and a program that represents your brand. The biggest sales mistake we often make is not knowing who we are, and then we don’t have a group of like-minded individuals at our club. The culture isn’t strong enough to attract the right fit.

To quote the famous Peter Drucker, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” If you don’t know who you are or if you don’t walk the talk, you will spend too much time on strategy, when it should be centered on creating a culture.

Good luck!

HAVE A QUESTION YOU WANT TO “Ask Max”? Send it to editor@clubandresortbusiness.com 10

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www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Customer Spotlight Club Name:

Conway Farms Golf Club

Member Made Reservations in ForeTees: 92% Members logins through the App: 91%

ForeTees Systems Used:

App, Website, Dining, Simulator, Golf & Caddie Management

ForeTees is the connective tissue between the Conway Farms membership and staff. Fully integrated between golf, dining, the app and website, the ForeTees language is instrumental with our Club’s success – communication, ease of use, and most important – exceptional customer service. No call or email goes unanswered within minutes.

ForeTees is our one stop shop for all things Conway Farms.

- Robin Martin, Operations Director

Club Software Made Simple Reservations Tee Times, Dining, Tennis, Pickleball, Simulators, Fitness and more.

Member and Staff Apps Easy Reservations, Food Ordering, Push Notifications, Club Branding and more.

Club Management Point of Sale, Financial Reports, Member Reports, Banquet Events and more.

Website and Communication Member and Public facing website, email campaigns, custom designs, and more.

www.foretees.com

sales@foretees.com

MANAGEMENT

CREATING A NEW T

By Robin Shelton • CCM, PGA Master Professional General Manager • Newport Beach (Calif.) Country Club

“I am not telling you it will be easy.

I will tell you it’s definitely going to be worth it.”

This quote has always been a ‘north star’ or guiding direction when asking our team members about big ideas or new and challenging concepts.

Our club had been facing a challenge that I think is common in our industry—the onboarding of new employees and ensuring they understand the club’s culture, performance standards, and measures of success. Too often, I found, we were ‘delegating’ training to anyone working the same shift.

I used a football analogy with our team— no team would just put eleven players on the field and tell them to ‘go play.’ The football team will have a playbook, huddle before plays, review video footage, discuss opportunities from the bench, and so on.

So the questions became: How do we improve our onboarding and new teammember training? How do we not just do what we’ve always done? How can we learn from other industries or sports?

NEW POSITIONS FOR A NEW APPROACH Our team has embraced the opportunity to prioritize our employee training with a strong new focus on club culture and hospitality. We have created two new management-level positions, Training Manager and Assistant Director of Food & Beverage–Training, that have quickly had an impact and been well-received by both members and staff.

Melanie Stacklie, a 20-year employee at our club, was promoted to the Training Manager position. Every new hire now completes an individual comprehensive orientation, including videos and situational training, with Melanie before he or she starts work. With this approach, all team members have, at minimum, two days of training before performing any duty.

Additionally, Melanie has been developing training programs for all team members and working with all departments to make continuous improvements through training and re-training.

The videos used in the orientation

Newport Beach CC’s guides for each of its five food-and-beverage outlets include photos of dishes and detailed lists of all ingredients, including sauces, as well as menu-knowledge tests.

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process are all hospitality-focused. They feature Danny Meyer, Bobby Stuckey and other prominent hoteliers and restauranteurs, on topics that include hospitality vs. service; team-member empowerment; making connections, and putting your people first. The videos are discussed before and after they are watched, and it has been interesting to see each person’s interpretation of them.

For the situational training, some fairly simple scenarios involving hospitality are used, with the goal of getting new hires focused on seeing opportunities to enhance the member experience.

For example, one scenario involves a member asking for a Gatorade in an area where it is not served. Because we do serve it in another area, what would they do in that situation?

The objective of these exercises is not to try to stump or trick the new employee, but to help them realize that there are numerous times each day when they can make an improvement. We love it when they get every answer correct, and because the situational training comes at the end of the orientation, the great news is that most of the new hires do.

Melanie, who previously held an Accounting Manager position here, and has also served as our Interim Director of Spa & Recreation, has been excited about the opportunity to help create this brand-new program and to see how it can have such a huge impact on the entire club. Her decades-long knowledge of Newport Beach CC, and the relationships she’s built in her 20 years here, are proving to be an incredible asset for her in her new role.

To put a special emphasis on our foodwww.clubandresortbusiness.com

W TRAINING STANDARD and-beverage operation, we have also hired Karen So, who was previously General Manager of Henry’s Uncorked, a popular wine bar in nearby Huntington Beach, Calif., for our new position of Assistant Director of Food & Beverage—Training. In addition to her restaurant experience, Karen has her Level 3 from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and her 1st Level of The Court of Master Sommeliers. (Melanie Stacklie has also enhanced what she can develop and provide in her position by recently obtaining her WSET Level 2, with merit.)

In her new role, Karen works with all members of the food-and-beverage team to ensure they are expertly trained on products, menus, service standards and hospitality. And she has jumped right in, creating detailed menu guides, onboarding training schedules, menu-knowledge tests, one-on-one coaching, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for our five different food-and-beverage outlets.

The detailed menu guides include photos of dishes and a detailed list of all of their ingredients, including what’s in any sauces that are part of the dish. The menu-knowledge tests ensure that team members know exactly what every dish is and what is in it, while the training schedules cover the details of every step of the training process, including where someone will be training, what to wear and exactly what they’ll learn.

The SOPs are formal written instructions for different processes. Because each document is so detailed and specific, it is easy for

For its new positions, Newport Beach CC promoted Melanie Stacklie (left), a 20-year club employee, to Training Manager and hired Karen So, previously General Manager of a popular local wine bar, as Assistant Director of Food & Beverage—Training.

them to be custom-tailored to each outlet.

(Editor’s Note: Examples of some of the SOPs and training guides that have been developed by Newport Beach CC can be viewed with the online version of this article at www.clubandresortbusiness.com) PROOF THAT IT’S WORKING I am excited for what’s ahead in our future at Newport Beach Country Club. It has not been easy developing these programs. They have required a lot of time and energy, and as we all know, getting 25- and 30-year team members to see the value of training and re-training programs can be especially challenging, But it has all quickly proved to be totally worth it—and timely as we strive to have members fully enjoy our new 65,000-sq. ft. clubhouse (see pg. 28) while also prepar-

“Our team has embraced the opportunity to prioritize our employee training with a strong new focus on club culture and hospitality.

We have created two new management-level positions, Training Manager and Assistant Director of Food & Beverage–Training, that have quickly had an impact and been well-received by both members and staff.

”

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

ing to host The Hoag Classic for the PGA TOUR Champions in March of 2022.

In addition to the tangible measurements that we track of the program’s success—including the number of member referrals into the club; growth in covers and F&B spending, and a reduction in the number of items ‘comped’ for service recovery—we are already seeing great feedback from both club members and team members about this new focus on training and the creation of these training-focused management positions. Here’s just some of what we’ve heard: • After two weeks of our focused training, a 34-year veteran on our staff who was very reluctant to go through it at the beginning said “I really see how this will be helpful for us, and especially for our other team members.”

• A team member who was promoted to a Lead Server and Floor Trainer said, “This will help get us all on the same page.”

• And perhaps best of all, a member said, “What a difference in food and service in the last six months. You and the team are to be complimented. We have to start telling more members how great the service and improvements are in Seahorse [our upstairs dining room].”

December 2021

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GOLF + FITNESS TECHNOLOGY

BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL

JUNIOR PROGRAM

By Matt Kilgariff, Director of Player Development, The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe (Calif.)

(Second in a two-part series) HIRE THE RIGHT INSTRUCTORS To create a dynamic junior program, be sure to hire instructors who have been educated to focus on teaching and developing young golfers of all abilities and levels. When interviewing instructors for your junior program, look for enthusiastic, knowledgeable, experienced, and patient individuals. Seek out instructors who are excellent communicators and are positive and encouraging.

INSTRUCTION BASICS Create small group sessions for beginning golfers, to help them learn the basics of the game, cultivate new friendships, and be the start of building “their” golf club community. Be sure you and your instructors promote fair play with integrity.

At this age, focus on basic fundamentals: Grip/Posture/Ball Position/Alignment. Create a series of fast-paced stations where kids work through these fundamentals. To prevent boredom, keep time at each station to no more than 30 minutes.

I strongly recommend that your instructors become TPI Certified Junior Coaches. This program outlines how to teach juniors by developing athletes first and competitive golfers second.

As a child advances to the intermediate stages of junior golf, more focused instruction and a solid game plan are important.

Be sure to emphasize the power of mental strength and physical fitness.

REMEMBER THAT IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR Instructors who understand the needs of junior players are extremely important. Equally important is understanding the needs of the parent(s) or guardian(s). Parents will want to make sure their children are being led in a positive direction that sets them up for their own personal success, both on and off the course.

A superior junior golf program is led by instructors who understand the importance of involving a child’s family in their development and keeping an open line of communication.

A personal connection with the parent or guardian will also be beneficial, in the event you need to ask them to become more or “less” involved with their child’s development. It may also be important if you ever need volunteers to assist with events.

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When interviewing instructors for your junior “ program, look for enthusiastic, knowledgeable, experienced, and patient individuals. Seek out instructors who are excellent communicators and are positive and encouraging.

”

Encourage family members to spend time with their children on the course, working on drills and playing some of the games they have learned in your programs. A successful program will focus on the importance of family involvement.

DESIGNING YOUR PROGRAM Keep these essential elements at the forefront of your program plan: 1. Safety First—Make safety for your coaching team and junior golfers your top priority.

2. Educate—Host a parent/guardian education session. Create an agenda for the session. Inform them with a detailed presentation on how and what your plan is for helping their children grow and succeed.

3. Etiquette and Respect—Successful junior programs spell out the written and unwritten rules of the game and for personal conduct. Make sure to present the rules in a clear and concise manner, and reinforce them throughout the stages of your program.

4. Do NOT Overcoach — Remember, kids want to have fun!

Refrain from “overcoaching.” Let them experiment. They will learn more and grow faster with trial and error. We all learn as much from our failures as we do from our successes.

5. Never Be a Child’s Last Coach — Make it your goal to “never be a child’s last coach” in any sport.

Matt Kilgariff is a PGA professional who spent much of his career working for Butch Harmon and the Harmon Family. He is currently the Director of Player Development at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

Prior to joining The Bridges, Kilgariff was Director of Player Development at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Matt has also been part of TaylorMade’s National Advisory Staff since 2012.

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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GOLF + FITNESS TECHNOLOGY

FITNESS CAN RIDE THE GOLF BOOM

By Keke Lyles

AS 2021 COMES TO AN END, we can look back and see the tremendous growth that the game of golf has enjoyed. As clubs across the globe have seen participation numbers and memberships boom, the focus in 2022 will be to retain and even build off of that energy.

Along with golf, the health and wellness industry has seen massive gains come out of the pandemic. And in both areas, there is a unique opportunity for clubs to position themselves as the best solution for how and where to pursue all of these activities.

Over the past year, we’ve provided information in this space that has been aimed at helping clubs build health programs that can revolutionize what’s offered to their members. At the end of the day, your club should be striving to create a second-to-none experience for your members and their guests.

In the January issue, we brought to your attention what a golf performance center is and how to maximize the space. Not only is it a great place for high-level golf learning, it can also be a place where members receive instruction and collaboration from fitness instructors. If you are going to make this kind of a financial investment at your club, consider how multiple departments can utilize the space and technology to maximize the experience. Allow members to feel like they have a team of people who are committed to their success.

In February, we explored the right type of gym equipment upgrades that can help your members achieve their goals. Many clubs have lost members because they haven’t upgraded their equipment in years.

There are many pieces of equipment that can be used to directly improve how players swing the golf club, as well as make them 16

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stronger or more flexible. Having equipment that your golf instructors can also use during a lesson adds to the overall experience.

In March, we explored the types of programs a club can offer to create a unique, value-added culture. Many clubs will talk about culture and how to create it, but they often overlook how to integrate different departments to create a holistic and inclusive environment. Any club that has provided stretch therapists or massage therapists during club tournaments knows the impact it can have on the membership.

In April and May, we started to get into the weeds, exploring what physical assessments of members can look like and how to understand what all the numbers mean. The “Cliff Notes” version is to take the time to build out a system that will then create efficiency in the way you work with members and track their results over time.

You want to be able to quickly digest the numbers and make decisions based on the trends you are seeing.

In June, we took another deep dive, to highlight tools that help to show how our bodies move, and how we can use that information to help train clients to hit the golf ball farther. This technology makes it very simple to see how the body is moving. or not moving, in the golf swing. Once those areas are identified, working with a fitness professional to improve them will change how the player’s body moves and feels.

The end result may not always be greater distance, but at the very least you will be helping members play healthier and longer.

In July and September, we reflected on the current challenges coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic—specifically, how

facilities are now being forced to operate to keep members feeling safe and confident, and the major hurdle most clubs still face in hiring employees. It’s time for clubs to think outside of the box on what type of culture they want and how it can be created, and then use that as a guide for hiring new employees and creating new programs.

In October and November, we focused on how to engage and provide programming for both older and younger members. To sustain success in the coming years, it will be critical for each club to appeal to all segments of its membership. And this doesn’t have to require separate approaches. Some clubs are now holding small tournaments that pair older members with youth members. This is a great way to continue growing the game, while also providing a chance for older members to take some of the children under their wings to teach and mentor them.

You can also do the same in fitness, by having some of the more mature members teach younger members different movements, or about proper eating and what recovery techniques they have found helpful.

The opportunities that are in front of clubs today remind me of the changes that have been seen in professional sports. In the 1990s, pro teams had little to help their players get strong and stay healthy. You might only find an athletic trainer, and then maybe a strength-and-conditioning coach.

Let 2022 be the year that your club starts to make the changes to be part of this new wave of creating a unique culture and providing a world-class experience.

Keke Lyles is recognized as a leader in human performance, with experience with professional athletes and Navy Special Warfare operators.

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Change is your chance to take action Clubs are experiencing record membership levels.

Do you have a pulse on your new and existing members’ wants and needs?

This change in membership dynamics is your chance to thrive.

Now is the time to do a survey and strategic plan to uncover what’s important to members and keep your club engaging for all.

Partner with SCS to get the right data, identify opportunities, develop a plan, and retain and attract members.

Here’s your chance for a free consultation.

Call 262.661.CLUB. Strategic Plans | Surveys | Member Engagement | Operations | Branding | Search

www.StrategicClubSolutions.com Results@StrategicClubSolutions.com

Advisor

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CLUB PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

JON HEARNSBERGER The Mirabel Club, a Platinum Club of America in Scottsdale, Ariz., welcomes Jon Hearnsberger as Executive Chef. Hearnsberger was most recently the Executive Chef at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

ANDREW KJOS Recognized as one of Florida’s best private golf country clubs and host of a U.S. Open Qualifier, The Club at Admirals Cove in Jupiter, Fla. welcomes Andrew Kjos as Director of Golf Course Maintenance.

Kjos was most recently the Director of Agronomy at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.

B. TODD WHISENANT, SPHR, SHRM-SCP Named on GolfWeek’s Best of 2021: Best Private Courses in Florida and on the Top 150 Country Clubs of America for the second year in a row, Mountain Lake in Lake Wales, Fla. welcomes Todd Whisenant, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, as Director of Team Member Engagement. Whisenant was most recently the Director of Human Resources at Element Engineering Group, LLC in Tampa, Fla.

JEREMY SAMSON Universally considered one of the finest clubs in America, Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif. welcomes Jeremy Samson as General Manager/COO, to guide a continued focus on balancing innovation with tradition at the club. Samson was most recently General Manager at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa, Calif.

BABAR AKBAR Located minutes from historic Charleston, S.C. and situated on a gated barrier island, Seabrook Island Club welcomes Babar Akbar as Head Racquets Professional.

Akbar was most recently the Head Women’s Tennis Coach at the University of Idaho.

NATHAN CELUSTA, CHAE Set amid nearly 600 acres of rolling terrain with a dramatic mountain backdrop in La Quinta, Calif., Hideaway Golf Club welcomes Nathan Celusta, CHAE, as Controller. Celusta was most recently Controller at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

JOHN COLLINGS Recognized by Platinum Clubs of the World as the highest-ranking club in Florida, Boca West Country Club in Boca Raton, Fla. welcomes John Collings as Assistant General Manager.

Collings was most recently Director of Operations at the Boston Harbor Hotel in Boston, Mass.

NICK LUSSON America’s oldest and most successful athletic club, The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif. welcomes Nick Lusson as Athletic Director.

Lusson was most recently Athletic Director at Alameda County DSAL / Sheriffs FC, a complimentary sports program for children in San Leandro, Calif.

Placements made recently by Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace. More Club People announcements are published every other Wednesday on www.clubandresortbusiness.com.

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www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Scott Acken, Clubhouse Manager West Shore Country Club

James Germana, Golf Course Superintendent John's Island Club (West Course)

Brian Mullins, CCM, CCE, General Manager Shoals Club

Sean Brown, Asst. General Manager Grosse Pointe Yacht Club

Eric Gifford, Golf Course Superintendent Salt Lake Country Club

Chris Nickerson, General Manager The Winter Club of Lake Forest

Joseph Callison, Director of F&B Belle Meade Country Club

Daniel Giroux, Asst. Director of F&B Grey Oaks Country Club

Stuart O'Conner, Asst. General Manager Annapolis Yacht Club

Jeff Campione, CCM, CCE General Manager Sunset Hills Country Club

Jason Head, GM/COO The Quarry at La Quinta

Joseph Ramsey Dir. Golf Course Maintennance St. Andrews Country Club

Michael, Chase, Jr., CCM, CCE, ECM General Manager Atlantic Beach Country Club Bruce Christensen, CEC, CCA, AAC Executive Chef Spring Lake Country Club

Wesley Hellberg, Executive Chef West Shore Country Club Nathaniel Herman, Dir. of Grounds & Agronomy Kenwood Country Club Jonathan Ireland, GM/COO Dallas National Golf Club

Brendan Clark, Asst. General Manager Interlachen Country Club

Joseph Martin, CEC, Executive Chef James River Country Club

Ryan Duffy, CCM, General Manager Linville Ridge

Sharon McGrath, Chief Financial Officer Indian Harbor Yacht Club

Enzo Fargione, Executive Chef Delaire Country Club

William Miller, Asst. General Manager The Club at Las Campanas

Christopher Rhodes, General Manager The Cliffs at Walnut Cove Jeffrey Riegler, CCM, GM/COO Aberdeen Golf & Country Club Larry Savvides, CCM, CCE Chief Operating Officer Hunters Run Country Club George Sotelo, Chief Operating Officer Cove Club Steven Williams, General Manager Gull Lake Country Club

Top of the Class Clubhouses CLUB + RESORT BUSINESS HAS RELEASED its list of Top Ranked Clubhouses for 2021.

The table below shows the rankings of club and resort properties that submitted entries, as judged independently by a panel of industry professionals.

The rankings reflect the judges’ scoring of data provided on clubhouse square footage; locker room(s) data; event space and seating capacity; bar area(s) square footage; dining area(s) square footage; availability of outdoor dining; wine room/cellar; total dining and bar areas seating capacity; kitchen(s) square footage; pro shop square footage; fitness and wellness square footage; and whether a dedicated youth space is offered.

Entries also included descriptions submitted by the club and resort properties on why their clubhouses should be top ranked, and a full complement of supporting photos. The judges weighted the data and material provided to score all entries.

In addition to the profiles of the Top 5 ranked clubhouses included in this issue, details about all of the Top Ranked Clubhouses will be presented online at clubandresortbusiness.com and across our social-media platforms.

Clubhouses

Ranking

1 2

Club

City

The Club at Mediterra Montecito Club

State

Clubhouse Sq. Ft.

Event Space Sq. Ft.

Bar Area Sq. Ft.

Dining Area Sq. Ft.

Outdoor Dining Sq. Ft.

Total F&B Seating

Pro Shop Sq. Ft.

Fitness Sq. Ft.

Naples

Fla.

71,809

3,850

2,260

NA

NA

525

1,890

17,612

Santa Barbara

Calif.

48,000

4,900

1,980

2,800

60

300

910

1,890

Palm Beach Gardens

Fla.

115,000

19,900

4,100

18,900

11,000

1,168

2,225

7,000

3

BallenIsles Country Club

4

Newport Beach Country Club

Newport Beach

Calif.

56,000

32,475

3,336

3,785

10,710

988

1,967

3,332

5

Meadowbrook Country Club

Ballwin

Mo.

52,719

19,467

4,381

20,926

8,630

1,736

4,000

2,465

6

Miramont Country Club

Bryan

Texas

93,000

6,627

1,435

5,534

150

6,970

3,472

2,503

7

Quail West

Naples

Fla.

103,727

11,150

4,688

14,105

147

425

3,602

16,650

8 9

The Club at the Dunes

Naples

Fla.

25,000

10,000

10,000

25,000

200

350

500

3,370

The Club at Quail Ridge

Boynton Beach

Fla.

49,647

NA

486

1,313

589

521

2,084

NA

Farmingdale

N.J.

125,000

10,000

1,776

4,200

3,400

258

1,800

2,000

Glenwood

Md.

24,000

4,305

2,405

7,546

150

405

1,200

1,300

Carmel

Ind.

90,000

10,000

2,864

1,521

241

160

6,000

15,000

Westfield

Ind.

65,000

6,500

1,800

5,500

150

275

1,500

15,000

10

Eagle Oaks Golf & Country Club

11

Cattail Creek Country Club

12

The Bridgewater Club

13

The Club at Chatham Hills

14 15

Woodfield CC

Boca Raton

Fla.

95,000

7,400

8,100

13,575

150

905

2,400

16,000

Bay Harbor Yacht Club

Bay Harbor

Mich.

60,000

11,716

1,697

6,829

80

521

NA

14,498

16

Lakeside Country Club

Houston

Texas

81,020

7,000

2,100

6,340

100

400

1,485

15,000

17

Dove Canyon Golf Club

Dove Canyon

Calif.

52,000

10,000

1,500

4,500

2,000

150

2,000

1,100

18

Tahoe Beach Club

Stateline

Nev.

30,000

1,500

500

3,000

80

170

500

4,000

19

Navesink Country Club

Red Bank

N.J.

63,487

7,600

2,700

5,500

420

335

2,000

NA

20

Canoe Brook Country Club

Summit

N.J.

68,000

9,000

2,600

10,700

250

335

2,640

6,998

21

Del Webb Nocatee Canopy Club

Ponte Vedra Beach

Fla.

22,824

4,110

600

1,364

60

105

NA

2,621

Cincinnati

Ohio

98,000

21,800

3,000

5,000

300

725

2,200

2,500

22 23

Kenwood Country Club Palmira Golf Club

Bonita Springs

Fla.

42,000

3,000

250

3,500

40

290

1,000

2,000

24

Farmington Country Club

Charlottesville

Va.

150,000

8,000

2,500

8,000

147

425

1,200

8,000

25

Sawgrass Country Club

Ponte Vedra Beach

Fla.

70,459

4,253

500

2,800

90

125

1,050

6,875

Scottsdale

Ariz.

32,373

NA

1,081

7,310

176

230 1,300 7,700 www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Desert Highlands 26 l Club 20 + Resort Business

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Clubhouses

Ranking

Club

27

The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe

28

The Golf Club of Georgia

29

Addison Reserve Country Club

30

Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club

31

The University of Texas Golf Club

32

The Springs

33 34

Martis Camp Club

35 36 37 38

City

State

Clubhouse Sq. Ft.

Event Space Sq. Ft.

Bar Area Sq. Ft.

Dining Area Sq. Ft.

Outdoor Dining Sq. Ft.

Total F&B Seating

Pro Shop Sq. Ft.

Fitness Sq. Ft.

Rancho Santa Fe

Calif.

36,000

NA

1,612

6,915

60

120

1,396

NA

Alpharetta

Ga.

53,000

5,000

NA

NA

120

400

600

500

Delray Beach

Fla.

70,000

27,341

4,300

11,126

NA

564

1,300

35,000

Lakewood Ranch

Fla.

66,000

4,800

6,060

5,700

100

465

1,378

NA

Austin

Texas

16,400

3,120

945

2,677

75

176

1,400

1,600

Rancho Mirage

Calif.

48,000

10,000

1,600

3,000

100

120

900

3,000

Truckee

Calif.

65,000

4,800

1,300

5,000

4,000

250

1,100

1,340

Echo Lake CC

Westfield

N.J.

16,758

7,888

387

8,923

136

714

NA

NA

Desert Willow Golf Resort

Palm Desert

Calif.

39,000

44,000

2,000

9,000

200

500

2,000

NA

Edison

N.J.

35,000

10,000

2,000

7,826

125

600

1,000

NA

Savannah

Ga.

20,000

1,600

1,050

4,950

124

260

1,300

NA

Salem

S.C.

39,290

10,000

3,000

8,000

2,000

640

4,000

21,350

Blythewood

S.C.

31,114

16,900

705

1,575

55

111

1,348

2,200

Plainfield CC The Landings Club The Club at Keowee Key

39

Cobblestone Park Golf Club

40

Country Club of the Rockies

Edwards

Colo.

40,000

0

1,220

2,630

132

250

1,170

3,980

41

Key Largo Anglers Club

Key Largo

Fla.

19,286

NA

1,800

4,935

2,100

329

NA

NA

42

Country Club of Detroit

Grosse Pointe Farms

Mich.

75,000

6,000

1,800

4,000

310

449

1,200

4,200

43

Heritage Oaks Golf Club

Northbrook

Ill.

10,000

1,559

450

1,341

100

92

1,049

0

44

Hampton Hall Club

Bluffton

S.C.

60,120

8,000

1,020

2,000

1,500

450

900

21,000

45

Bayside Resort Golf Club

Selbyville

Del.

29,670

4,200

1,403

3,500

124

410

1,157

NA

46

Western Golf & Country Club

Redford

Mich.

36,000

3,600

NA

4,600

100

800

1,500

NA

47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59

Treviso Bay

Naples

Fla.

85,000

10,000

1,000

7,000

2,000

600

1,500

1,800

Riverside Country Club

Bozeman

Mont.

26,905

1,861

1,211

1,060

83

72

1,385

NA

Reunion Golf & Country Club

Madison

Miss.

33,000

6,500

1,500

10,000

175

400

1,300

7,500

Mesa

Ariz.

10,000

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

Longbow Golf Club The Bedens Brook Club

Skillman

N.J.

22,000

2,100

650

3,200

165

160

950

NA

Detroit Athletic Club

Detroit

Mich

215,000

17,176

2,304

7,059

450

627

384

13,126

Dallas Country Club

Dallas

Texas

118,200

7,360

2,430

6,700

125

600

1,420

48,600

TPC Sugarloaf

Duluth

Ga.

60,000

4,300

NA

NA

32

110

NA

16,000

Carlisle Country Club

Carlisle

Pa.

20,000

5,000

600

1,100

30

75

800

NA

Inglewood Golf Club

Kenmore

Wash.

34,000

17,000

4,000

8,000

100

126

1,200

NA

Akron

Ohio

60,000

NA

758

NA

NA

NA

NA

980

Bedminster

N.J.

65,202

21,676

3,875

12,500

295

577

3,500

1,500

Lancaster

Pa.

71,000

10,000

10,000

10,000

45

125

NA

2,000

300

316

1,300

1,500

521

NA

11,698

Firestone Country Club Fiddler’s Elbow Lancaster Country Cub

60

Richmond County Country Club

Staten Island

N.Y.

50,000

4,423

687

6,359

61

Country Club of Florida

Village of Golf

Fla.

51,866

NA

1,696

6,829

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Clubhouses

1

THE CLUB AT MEDITERRA NAPLES, FLA.

THE CLUB AT MEDITERRA is a synchronicity of friendship and special moments for both its membership and its employees. Service and care is synonymous with Mediterra—service for all who pass through their doors.

“In any organization, the key to success is developing a strong culture supported by strategy and structure,” says COO/General Manager Carmen Mauceri, CCM “In our relentless pursuit of that goal, through brick and mortar and a belief that we can always be better, The Club at Mediterra, along with the help of our architecture partner Peacock + Lewis, has taken a developerinherited infrastructure and ‘rebuilt’ a club and created a staff culture never before conceived.”

In 2018, The Club at Mediterra finished its Phase I clubhouse renovations, which consisted of improving the firepit, outdoor dining and bar areas to create an outdoor tavern dining and socializing experience. The expansive views of the golf course greens and the stunning sunsets over the 19th Hole create an impressive backdrop for members dining al fresco.

This renovated outdoor dining space doubled size and seating, creating approximately 112 seats with a variety of seating options, and enhanced with lighting, speakers, fans, and ceilingmounted heaters to be an extension of the indoor bar.

Recently, Phase II was completed. The intention of this phase was to marry what was done in Phase I while blending with the

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renovated clubhouse design.

The ballroom was enlarged to accommodate as many as 60 more people and allow residents to enjoy additional dining and lifestyle events. It also created an unprecedented demand as the desired destination for weddings and special functions, outpacing all competition.

The club’s leadership also secured membership approval for a complete renovation and expansion of its team member space, to better promote a teambuilding culture and as an expression of appreciation for its staff (“Giving Team Members Their Proper Space,” C+RB, July 2021).

Where the staff breakroom was previously in a dark, hidden, and uninviting area that generally went unused, the expanded area now includes a team member library, locker rooms with showers, a lunchroom with a view of the golf course, and available iPads for use.

Also included is a team conference meeting room to conduct training meetings, collaborate and brainstorm new ideas, to continually make The Club at Mediterra the best it can be for its current membership and its potential members. “It is not about the dollars and cents,” says Mauceri. “it’s about what I can provide for you that you will have for the rest of your life.” www.clubandresortbusiness.com

MASTER PLANNING

ARCHITECTURE

INTERIOR DESIGN

PROCUREMENT

Echo Lake Country Club Westfield, NJ

Ridgewood Country Club Paramus, NJ STUDIO JBD & JEFFERSON GROUP ARCHITECTURE Peter Cafaro / PCafaro@JBDandJGA.com / 401.721.0977

Clubhouses

2

MONTECITO CLUB SANTA BARBARA, CALIF.

ESTABLISHED IN 1918, THE MONTECITO CLUB’S facilities and its amenities were severely outdated, inefficient and lacked necessary space and functions for the needs of a multi-generational membership base.

The club engaged Marsh and Associates to redesign the clubhouse to address the needs of how membership demands had progressed while honoring the historic character of the existing facility.

As an historic landmark, a majority of the existing clubhouse exterior had to be preserved. Marsh and Associates focused on improving the efficiency of the interior by reconfiguring spaces throughout the existing structure. This improved the relationships of functions and increased usable areas by simplifying the building’s circulation, while maintain the existing building’s exterior footprint.

The reconfiguration of the interior space aesthetically honored the historical Spanish Colonial Revival of the exterior, while blending modern Moroccan design elements to create a timeless contemporary interior that complements the club’s coastal setting.

Marsh and Associates focused on improving all spaces while preserving the character of the architecture that celebrates its history. A variety of new spaces were designed to enhance the member experience and improve operational functionality, including: • A refurbished 8,000-sq. ft. great room and ballroom with golf course, coastal and ocean views—making it a one-of-akind venue for premier events • New men’s locker room and private lounge with a custom bar, hand-carved wall and ceiling millwork, and a multiscreen media wall • New women’s locker room featuring a private lounge and outdoor terrace, steam rooms and treatment rooms • New indoor/outdoor bar and dining, opening to the exterior dining patio and event lawn, highlighting the panoramic ocean views • New wine-tasting room with personal wine lockers next to a 14-person private dining room featuring intricately chiseled plaster walls • New, ground-level golf shop with contemporary design and finishes 24

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• World-class fitness center and movement studio with private training room • Intimate 20-seat movie theatre/ screening room including concession area • New pool facility with men’s and women’s locker rooms and indoor/outdoor snack lounge surrounding a contemporary beach-entry pool adjacent to an interactive splash pad, creating a vibrant zone for families • New cart-storage building that includes a teen room complete with a two-lane bowling alley and arcade zone, and honors the Spanish Architectural character of the existing adjacent clubhouse building.

By addressing the current and future needs of The Montecito Club’s multi-generational membership, the clubhouse once again serves as a desired luxury destination and incorporates a diverse array of social and wellness amenities to foster the culture of an active and elegant lifestyle. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

UNCOMPROMISING FOR WHATEVER APPAREL IS THROWN YOUR WAY.

BACK OF HOUSE | WAITSTAFF | MANAGEMENT | MAINTENANCE | AGRONOMY @CHEFWORKSHQ

@CHEF_WORKS

CHEFWORKS.COM | 800.372.6621

Clubhouses

3

BALLENISLES COUNTRY CLUB PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA.

THE VISION OF THE BALLENISLES clubhouse was to create different experiences for members and guests in its primary areas, including five new dining locations, the golf shop, expanded card rooms, meeting rooms, men’s and ladies’ lounges, and common areas. These would be the places of choice for socializing with friends and family while serving more than 275,000 meals per year to a diverse membership that loves to dine.

Understanding the scale of the massive 115,000-sq. ft. expanded clubhouse, 9,000 sq. ft. of outdoor patio seating and the adjacent 65,000-sq. ft. sports complex, was critical throughout the envisioning process and took nearly a year of planning.

The vision for the five new dining experiences began to take shape on white walls in the executive offices. It was there that club associates, managers and even a few members could walk in anytime and write down random ideas on the walls. This allowed the entire team to be involved with restaurant themes and ideation. From wall ideas to developing the final vision, the project team concentrated on restaurant branding pillars, the wishes of members, and providing the ultimate member experience, drilling into every detail.

Throughout the envisioning process, the Board of Directors, House, Design and Marketing Committees were kept informed and contributed along the way. The club worked through architectural plans, construction layouts, interior and exterior design, club historical placements, artwork, restaurant concepts, hours of operation, pricing, menus, food features, tableware, signature drinks, uniform styles, staffing, lighting, sound and music. They could feel the space and see it all clearly before it was constructed.

Visioning and fine-tuning went on for the better part of nine months.

The redefined and expanded space features modern décor, bright elegant style, and forward-thinking flair, with multiple dining venues for every taste. From the regal lobby with vaulted ceilings and clerestory windows to the iconic Lounge, the sweeping architectural changes maximize both indoor and outdoor space.

The overall architectural plan required the use of the existing clubhouse footprint, with circumference expansions providing additional square footage and the best use of space. During design, careful planning went into how foot traffic would flow throughout the club, and considerable time was spent on determining the current and future needs of the membership.

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It was decided that traditional locker room space would be foregone for lounging and gathering space, and that multiple dining venues and choices were key, as dining and spending time with family and friends are part of the club’s culture. Equally important was planning the room views and transitions from indoor to outdoor space on the backside of the clubhouse. Exterior landscape and hardscape improvements tied the two areas together seamlessly.

The construction and interior design were a collaborative effort between the general contractor, architect, interior design firm, representatives from various club committees and key staff.

Interior design choices were made to be consistent with the overall vision of “a casual atmosphere with understated sophistication and comfortable chic.” The club focused upon creating engaging spaces that would have a contemporary edge and visually flow between all locations.

The juxtaposition of a neutral color palette with selected accents of pops of color resulted in a light, airy, refreshing ambiance.

Throughout the clubhouse interior, materials such as stone, warmstained wood, wall coverings and textured fabrics were selected.

Finishing layers include dynamic artwork, colorful accessories, coordinating carpet, lighting and furniture.

In both indoor and outdoor spaces, emphasis was also placed on sound quality, music selection, television and monitor placement, and scent/fragrance variety, based on the space, time of day, and event.

The entire clubhouse renovation and expansion project required a re-brand of the club that included a new logo and color scheme, refreshed website, new brand standards, and more. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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Clubhouses

4

NEWPORT BEACH COUNTRY CLUB NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF.

THE ORIGINAL CLUBHOUSE WAS BUILT in 1954.

That building was torn down in 2014 and the new clubhouse opened in July 2016.

Newport Beach Country Club’s 56,000-sq. ft. California Coastal Craftsman-style clubhouse exudes casual sophistication. Perched above the famed Pacific Coast Highway, the state-of-the-art facility boasts panoramic views of emerald fairways and sapphire seas through floor-to-ceiling windows.

Verandas and patios flow from dining and banquet rooms, creating an indoor-outdoor feel that takes advantage of Newport Beach’s incredible year-round climate.

The feedback from members and guests creates a sense of awe that matches Newport Beach CC’s vision of being the standard for the next generation of clubs.

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Clubhouses

5

MEADOWBROOK COUNTRY CLUB BALLWIN, MO.

THE LEADERSHIP TEAM AND BOARD of Governors at Meadowbrook Country Club in St. Louis, Mo. spent countless hours with the Long-Range Planning Committee to implement a vision of a new Meadowbrook.

The club has almost completed a $4.5 million renovation, with a lot of those enhancements coming in the clubhouse. In the past two years Meadowbrook has completely renovated its lobby, hallways, Grille, Grand Ballroom Bar, and Ladies’ Locker Room from the clubhouse. In fact, over the last 15 or so years, the club has put $17 million back into Meadowbrook.

Meadowbrook has evolved from a club that spends money when things are broken to developing short- and long-term capital enrichments that the membership can directly see and utilize. Phase II comes after a complete renovation to the outdoor dining and bar.

When a prospective member finishes a tour and sits down with the Meadowbrook team to go over details, there are three things the club can say sets it apart from other clubs in town: the golf course, financial decision-making, and most importantly, the culture. After these clubhouse renovations, Meadowbrook may have to tinker with the “big three” to put more of an emphasis on clubhouse.

Meadowbrook isn’t a stereotypical stuffy country club.

It is a resort in West St. Louis—a second (sometimes third) home for members. The recent clubhouse renovations are a direct reflection of what the club has become, and the creation of the first waitlist to join in over a decade is a true testament to that.

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» FRENCH LICK RESORT

THE FRENCH (LICK)

CONNECTION

Tucked away in Southern Indiana, the resort with deep historical roots and myriad activities continues to add to its amenities and serve as a beacon for Midwestern travelers.

By Rob Thomas, Senior Editor

TAKE A LOOK AT FRENCH LICK RESORT on the map and you might get the impression that the Indiana property is in the middle of nowhere. Dave Harner, Director of Golf Operations, has a different viewpoint, however.

“We have always faced a stigma that we are hard to get to. Actually, the hardest part is the last 10 miles,” Harner says. “‘Middle of nowhere’ doesn’t really apply.

“If you look at the location, we are central to Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Louisville, Nashville, Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis,” he explains. “So we truly are in the middle of a population base of over 15 million. We are a central meeting place.”

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» Lancaster CC

French Lick Resort is home to three golf courses—the Donald Ross Course, the Pete Dye Course and the Valley Links Course. “Each course has its own set of challenges,” says Russ Apple, CGCS, who oversees the Dye Course (above) as one of the property’s three Superintendents.

The Southern Indiana town is home to fewer than 2,000 residents and may be better known as the birthplace of NBA legend Larry Bird—sometimes referred to as “the Hick from French Lick.” But the resort can trace its roots to 1845, when guests would travel from far and wide to experience “miracle waters” from the sulfur springs that naturally surfaced in the area. Competition popped up a few years later, when what became the resort’s West Baden Springs Hotel opened down the road to vie for the influx in visitors seeking an elixir.

AT A GLANCE:

French Lick Resort French Lick, Ind. Founded: 1845 Golf Course Designers: P ete Dye, Donald Ross and Tom Bendelow Annual Rounds of Golf: 30,000 to 35,000 Director of Golf Operations: Dave Harner Head Professionals: Rob Koontz, PGA, Head Golf Professional and Assistant Director of Golf Operations (Pete Dye Course) Lori Atsedes, LPGA (Donald Ross Course) Anthony Bradley (Valley Links) French Lick Golf Academy: Mike Kerby Golf Course Superintendents: Russ Apple, CGCS (Pete Dye Course) Brett Fleck (Donald Ross Course) John Parker (Valley Links Course) Assistant Director of Food & Beverage: Sarah Dunn

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The arc hasn’t been completely smooth, as hard times hit both properties. But when Indiana Landmarks, the largest nonprofit preservation group in the nation, partnered with philanthropists Bill and Gayle Cook, today’s version of the French Lick Resort began to take shape in 2006 with an ambitious $600 million renovation project.

Most recently, the resort, which sees well over one million guests annually, introduced the Valley Tower, Sports Book and Sports Viewing Lounge.

“Pre-COVID, we did not have enough rooms to accommodate demand, and that is why the Valley Tower came to be,” Harner says. “Secondly, the sports book became legal in Indiana and online gaming and especially sports betting is getting more and more popular.”

Once COVID hit, French Lick Resort shut down much of its operation ahead of many of the state mandates, erring on the side of safety. Not all was shuttered, however.

“We never closed golf at any time,” Harner says. “Hotels remained closed until May 2020 and then we opened on a limited basis. Golf was huge from the get-go, with the second and third quarters of 2020 setting all-time rounds records, as people viewed golf as a very safe outdoor activity.”

Harner, who has been at French Lick since 1976, says the property now sees between 30,000 and 35,000 rounds of golf between the 45 holes of its two 18-hole Pete Dye and Donald Ross courses, and the 9-hole Valley Links Course.

MAINTAINING MULTIPLE COURSES Russ Apple, CGCS, oversees the Dye Course—which has hosted the 2015 Senior PGA Championship, multiple Senior LPGA Championships and Big Ten Conference Championships—as Golf Course Superintendent. Brett Fleck is the Superintendent at the Ross www.clubandresortbusiness.com

course, and John Parker oversees the Valley Links. Managing the three courses isn’t a oneway-fits-all scenario.

“Each course has its own set of challenges,” Apple says. “The Dye is new construction, with USGA greens and sand-capped fairways.

We have new bentgrass varieties for greens, tees, and fairways. Because we are at a high elevation, we are a much different climate than the Valley Links. We typically have more air movement, and moisture management is critical on a daily basis for peak conditions.”

Having hosted major events at the property, one would imagine extra effort goes into preparing the course for the best of the best—but Apple says that’s not really the case.

“Because we have to maintain a high standard on a daily basis, we don’t have many changes to playing conditions during tournaments,” he explains. “We are a high-end, daily-fee resort course. We want a guest to be able to watch a tournament on TV, come to the golf course and realize when they get here that it is better than they expected.”

In addition to the new six-story Valley Tower—a 71-room hotel located adjacent to the resort’s Event Center and French Lick Casino—November 2019 brought the opening of the property’s first-ever Sports Book and nearby sports viewing lounge.

» French Lick Resort

French Lick Resort offers guests a wide variety of dining options, from fine dining to grab-and-go. Sarah Dunn, Assistant Director of Food & Beverage, says the emphasis has changed due to COVID. “With the limitations that have occurred with the virus, there has been more focus on hosting private group dinners,” she says.

With the amount of turf to maintain over three properties, it takes a lot of people to keep playing conditions up to the lofty standards, and the pandemic hasn’t made it any easier.

“We are not immune to staffing challenges, but we are fortunate to have a great group of local, skilled staff that has been here for several seasons,” Apple reports. “They take real pride in their jobs.”

FEEDING TIME AT FRENCH LICK With so much golf activity—in addition to a spa, gaming, horseback riding, sporting clays, and more—guests at French Lick are sure to work up an appetite. Sarah Dunn, Assistant Director

“

‘Middle of nowhere’ doesn’t really apply. We truly are in the middle of a population base of over 15 million. We are a central meeting place.

”

—Dave Harner, Director of Golf Operations 34

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of Food & Beverage, is charged with feeding the masses. She first worked in the resort’s F&B department as a teenager, and has been back on property for the past nine-and-a-half years.

“We have an assortment of venues—everything from fine dining in the West Baden Springs Hotel, to Hagen’s Clubhouse, which is located at the Donald Ross course, in a more casual setting,” Dunn says. “[Also] Ballard’s in the Atrium of the West Baden Springs Hotel and the Pete Dye Mansion at the Pete Dye golf course, which provides casual dining to golfers during the day and private upscale dining in the evenings.”

Like everything else, COVID has changed the day-to-day operations of dining at the property.

“At this point we are a closed campus, [serving] resort guests only,” Dunn says. “Before the pandemic, both Hagen’s and Ballard’s were quite popular dining options for locals and people from neighboring towns.

“With the limitations that have occurred with the virus, there has been more focus on hosting private group dinners,” she adds. “This is a great way to take care of our guests in a safe, intimate setting, and it works well for the venue, with all details being able to be planned ahead.”

While the golf venues close down in the wintertime on a dayto-day basis, Dunn says the resort will still host private events at those facilities. Both courses are a popular spot for Christmas parties, she notes. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

ATTRACTING GUESTS Maintaining—or growing—visits is an ongoing issue with resorts across the country.

Being the largest convention hotel facility in the Midwest helps, according to Harner.

“There isn’t really any place in the region that has the same number of amenities as French Lick Resort,” he says. “Especially the golf offerings, along with all of the other amenities. French Lick is the only golf destination with courses by two World Golf Hall of Fame members.”

While Harner concedes that staffing has been a “huge challenge” like everywhere else, the employees and ownership in place provide an impressive level of optimism going forward.

“Continuing to provide a quality guest experience is our best mode to maintain and increase business,” he says. “The commitment from the owners is such that French Lick will always continue to make improvements and look at ways to stay relevant.” C+RB

French Lick Resort can trace its roots to 1845, when guests would visit to experience the “miracle waters” from the sulfur springs that naturally surfaced in the area. The West Baden Springs Hotel (above) originally opened to compete for the influx in visitors seeking an elixir.

VISIT EUSTISCHAIR.COM TO SEE MORE CUSTOM STACKING CHAIRS 978-827-3103 SALES@EUSTISCHAIR.COM

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• • •

• • •

REGIS TER NOW!

R E G I S T R A T I O N

MARCH 20-22, 2022 NASHVILLE TENNESSEE

ALL-INCLUSIVE Registration Includes: • • • • • • • • • •

Hotel Room at the Grand Hyatt Nashville on the nights of March 20th - 22nd All meals from Sunday night through Tuesday afternoon Conference sessions & education Live cooking demonstrations Networking opportunities Chef Lounge A Night on Broadway Event Club and Resort Chef of the Year Competition Continuing education credits Conference materials

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O P E N

MEET OUR SPEAKERS BRYAN SKELDING Executive Chef The Greenbrier

COLIN SHANE Chef de Cuisine The Continental

EDWARD LEE

Chef/Owner 610 Magnolia and Whiskey Dry

GERALD FORD, CMC

LAWRENCE MCFADDEN, CMC

GM/COO Union Club of Cleveland

MICHAEL MATARAZZO, CEC Executive Chef Farmington CC

PAT MARTIN

Owner Martin’s BBQ Joint

SAM JETT

Director of Operations Patchwork Productions — Audrey, Joyland, and The Continental

SCOTT CRAIG, CEC, CCA, WCMC

Contributing Editor Club + Resort Chef

Director of Culinary Operations and Executive Chef Myers Park CC

KEVIN WALKER, CMC

SHAWN LOVING, CMC

Executive Chef Ansley Golf Club

Executive Chef Detroit Athletic Club

TRACY HOFFER, CWPC Executive Pastry Chef Chevy Chase Club

c he f t oc he fconf e r e nce .com f or m or e inf or m at ion and t o r e g i s t e r

11/30/21 4:24 PM

FOOD + BEVERAGE

THE RETURN OF

Good Cheer With vaccines and proactive COVID safety practices at clubs and resorts making members and guests feel more comfortable about dining out, top chefs have prepared for a healthy rebound in attendance at holiday meals and events.

By Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Contributing Editor

FOR DANIEL KOZAWICK, EXECUTIVE CHEF at Vanderbilt Country Club in Naples, Fla., member enthusiasm for summer and fall meals and events has demonstrated a hearty appetite for in-person gatherings, and pointed to a return to a robust in-club holiday season.

“Usually, summer in Naples is slow, because so many members spend that season in the north,” Kozawick says. “But this year, we broke records when it came to food and beverage.

Our traditional fall ‘Welcome Back’ event booked to capacity in just 10 minutes, and for the holidays, we are expecting a season filled with great times, parties and memories.”

The club’s Thanksgiving buffet featured, as Kozawick describes it, “traditional fare with a twist.” The turkey, for example, got a sweet and savory maple pepper glaze, and the sweet potatoes were combined in a salad with kale, brown rice and candied pecans, dressed with a vanilla-bean vinaigrette.

“The ingredients are humble, but the salad is delicious and filling enough to serve on its own,” Kozawick notes.

Vanderbilt CC is closed for Christmas, but hosts a big New Year’s Eve bash. This year the theme will be Italian, with a buffet that will include a risotto station, antipasto, seafood cioppino and a gelato/dessert station.

PLENTY OF OPTIONS Christopher McCook, Executive Chef at Athens (Ga.) Country Club, also sees a desire, both from his staff and the membership, for a return to pre-pandemic dining and events. The banquet and catering parts of the club’s food-and-beverage operation have “really picked up” along with on-premise dining, McCook reports, including a sellout wine dinner in November.

“Members are clamoring to get back to their pre-pandemic lifestyle and events,” he notes.

Thanksgiving is usually 50-percent curbside pickup at Athens CC, because members like to dine at home with their families. The other half is dine-in for a buffet, at which between 200 and 300 diners are served.

This year’s takeout offering, which McCook calls “Turkey on the Fly,” featured different-sized smoked breasts wrapped in prosciutto and fresh sage. Two kinds of stuffing were available—a Southern-style cornbread stuffing and a New England variation with chestnuts.

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Photo Courtesy Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn Lodge and Conference Center

SUMMING IT UP

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

> Club and resort properties are anticipating a return to a robust in-club holiday season, while maximizing the choice of options between takeout, a la carte and buffet meals. > Giving traditional fare a twist with new ingredients or presentations can help bring distinction and appeal to a property’s holiday offerings. > Be prepared for pandemic-induced supply-chain issues that can affect the availability and timely delivery of needed ingredients by ordering early, relying on local purveyors and simplifying menu descriptions to allow substitutions if needed.

December 2021 l Club + Resort Business l 39

Recipe

HOLIDAY HARVEST SALAD OF WINTER GREENS

Carrot-cake French Toast (top left) and Smoked S’mores are among the special holiday treats created at the Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn by Executive Chef Jason Wellnitz (above left) and Sous Chef Matt Jensen.

with Citrus Vinaigrette YIELD: 6 servings INGREDIENTS FOR THE SALAD: 1 bunch frisee 2 small bunches baby arugula, washed and spun 1 head Belgian endive, leaves separated and washed 4 ozs. crumbled goat cheese 18 grapefruit sections 1/4 cup toasted macadamia nuts 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds INGREDIENTS FOR THE CITRUS VINAIGRETTE: 1 shallot, minced 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 1/4 tsp. orange zest 1/4 tsp. lime zest 1/4 tsp. lemon zest 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp. fresh orange juice to taste cracked black pepper to taste flaked sea salt PROCEDURE: 1. A ssemble salad in a chilled mixing bowl, except for the goat cheese and macadamia nuts.

2. Add vinaigrette and coat ingredients.

Arrange on salad plates. Add goat cheese and nuts, and finish with a touch more vinaigrette, salt and pepper.

SUBMITTED BY CHRISTOPHER MCCOOK, EXECUTIVE CHEF, ATHENS COUNTRY CLUB, ATHENS, GA.

“

Members who came to Athens CC’s finedining restaurant had a choice of roast turkey or prime rib. Sides included such festive fare as Waldorf salad made with dried cranberries and toasted candied walnuts, followed by an array of desserts such as trifle, Black Forest cake, and banana pudding.

Athens CC’s casual restaurant also offered a traditional turkey dinner for two. “We try to be all things to the different segments of our member population,” McCook notes.

Throughout the holiday season, McCook offers numerous upscale menu options. They include cedar-plank salmon with celery-root puree and chive butter sauce; cold-smoked beef tenderloin with horseradish cream; beef Wellington with Bordelaise sauce; oysters Rockefeller, and house-smoked, bacon-wrapped diver scallops with melted leeks and country ham.

On the first two Sundays in December, a Luncheon with Santa is offered, to provide a family-friendly event for members.

McCook was expecting December 2021 to once again be a heavy catering month as it has been in past years, with banquets and

Our traditional fall ‘Welcome Back’ event booked to capacity in just 10 minutes. And for the holidays, we are expecting a season filled with great times, parties and memories.

”

—Daniel Kozawick, Executive Chef, Vanderbilt Country Club 40

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parties for businesses of all sizes. He also was anticipating that the club’s New Year’s Eve prix fixe dinner would quickly sell out.

GOING BIG, SO THEY DON’T GO HOME The restaurant at the Frankenmuth (Mich.) Bavarian Inn Lodge and Conference Center, which includes a 360-room hotel able to serve up to 1,000 guests in its banquet facility, averages 2,200 covers for Thanksgiving. Most are dine-in buffets, but there are also some a la carte and to-go orders, according to Jason Wellnitz, the resort’s Executive Chef.

Wellnitz orders in 14 whole tom turkeys to carve for show at the buffet station, and serves most of the meat as whole white and dark muscles, to save breakdown time and effort. The turkeys are brined and roasted, keeping the ovens full all day, he says.

A traditional—and very popular—side is blue Hubbard squash, roasted and pureed and seasoned with salt, pepper, cinnamon, brown sugar and butter. Other favorites are basil garlic poblano corn and tater tot casserole.

Wellnitz describes his cooking style as one that takes traditional dishes and instead of changing them, just elevates them with modern touches.

“My goal is to create Instagram-worthy dishes,” he explains. “Everybody’s a foodie today.” www.clubandresortbusiness.com

“

Members are clamoring to get back to their pre-pandemic lifestyle and events.

—Christopher McCook, Executive Chef, Athens Country Club

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH FLAIR For a multi-station dinner on New Year’s Eve, Wellnitz was planning to offer a French fry station (a beloved comfort food), with upscale toppings including duck confit, house-smoked barbecued pulled pork and Asian grilled chicken. Another appetizer will be Thai chicken satay, and passed hors d’oeuvres will include candied bacon and prosciutto pear brie pinwheels.

The club’s signature fried chicken and carved prime rib will be the entrees.

Dessert will display a variety of minis, such as lemon squares, petits fours and macaroons, as well as cherries jubilee and chocolate fountain stations.

A “Midnight Celebration Station” will appease late-night appetites with barbecueseasoned French fries; gourmet grilled cheese with bacon, cheese curds, sriracha aioli and tomato herb relish; and three different soups—cream of tomato, chicken noodle and cheddar ale.

A new dessert for both private parties and a la carte at the property will be a Salted Apple Campfire, consisting of caramel blondies with cinnamon-roasted apples, ice cream-stuffed marshmallow and maple butter sauce served on a salt block.

“This dessert comes to the table with everything except for the sauce on the salt block,” Wellnitz describes. “As the sauce is poured, it is lit on fire.” (See photo, pg. 38.)

Another inventive selection is Smoked S’mores, made with a chocolate brownie, hot fudge, graham cracker, marshmallow and ice cream in a jar. It is smoked in the kitchen, and when brought to the table and the lid is popped open, the smoke billows out (see photo, pg. 40).

For a private, multi-course dinner the club will be auctioning off for the holidays, Wellnitz plans to begin the meal with an appetizer of snow crab beurre Nantais www.clubandresortbusiness.com

”

(beurre blanc with cream), roasted red pepper corn pudding, pickled watermelon radish, red onion and fennel fronds. Taking another appetizer—mozzarella sticks—to the next level, he slices and hand-breads logs of fresh mozzarella, fries the cheese and serves it on a bed of arugula with a cherry tomato herb relish.

“It’s like a fried caprese salad, a step up from the regular fried sticks,” he notes.

Even breakfast gets a holiday touch, with carrot-cake French toast (see photo, pg. 40) created by Sous Chef Matt Jensen. The carrot cake is baked in a loaf, dipped in French toast batter, and grilled on the flattop. Creamcheese maple frosting eliminates the need for a syrup drenching.

A regular a la carte menu is offered through the holidays at Frankenmuth (“We’re the only place in town open on Christmas Eve,” Wellnitz notes). New Year’s Eve is a double celebration, serving 500 meals at a family dinner and another 250 or so for a later adult seating. The menus are similar, with more elegant items and adults-only food stations added for the second seating. There are also two ball drops, giving kids a chance to also ring in the New Year without having to stay up until midnight. C+RB

MORE ONLINE

For Chef Jason Wellnitz’s recipe for ButterPoached Crab (above right) and Chef Daniel Kozawick’s recipe for Roasted Sweet Potato and Kale, see the online version of this article at www. clubandresortbusiness.com

PREPARED FOR ANYTHING For a pandemic-affected holiday season plagued by supplychain issues, chefs have learned to be clever to avoid disappointing members and guests.

At the Frankenmuth (Mich.) Bavarian Inn Lodge and Conference Center, Executive Chef Jason Wellnitz has been keeping menu descripKeeping tions short and sweet, menu avoiding language that’s too specific in descriptions case a need arises for short and last-minute changes or sweet is a substitutions.

For example, instead good practice amid supply of specifying roasted and pureed blue Hubuncertainbard squash seasoned ties, says with salt, pepper, cinExecutive namon, brown sugar Chef Jason and butter, the menu now just shows herbWellnitz. seasoned squash. “That way, if the Hubbard squash doesn’t come in, I can substitute something like butternut squash with rosemary, and no one will feel that they’re not getting what they ordered,” Wellnitz explains.

He has also done a lot of his ordering well in advance of the holidays and is using local purveyors as much as possible. “[They] are often more flexible about ordering; some will hold onto items and let us take them as needed,” he notes.

And while the prices for turkey and other holiday staples have been spiking, chefs still need to keep their food costs within set limits. “I try to balance the volatile commodity items on the plate with less costly sides; for example corn pudding, which makes a very nice presentation, but is a lower-cost item,” Wellnitz says.

Daniel Kozawick, Executive Chef at Vanderbilt Country Club in Naples, Fla., also orders early when he sees that the items he knows he wants to use are available. “When the items arrive, I plan accordingly,” he says.

Christopher McCook, Executive Chef at Athens (Ga.) Country Club in Athens, Ga., notes that members are being more understanding about menu changes, because they too have been experiencing out-of-stocks at the supermarket and hearing about the situation on the news every night.

Still, McCook says, “We always have a backup plan.”

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DESIGN SNAPSHOT

A Refreshing

Agenda

A resort set in the Sonoran Desert has played up its natural surroundings to bring a more modern look and feel to its indoor meeting space.

By Pamela Brill, Contributing Editor

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WHEN IT COMES TO RESTRUCTURING meeting spaces, marrying purpose with personality is an effective strategy—and sometimes that means calling attention to the less obvious.

Such was the design approach at the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale (Ariz.) at Troon North, where a recent $2 million renovation of more than 17,000 sq. ft. of indoor meeting space was transformed in a modern style.

By drawing attention to the more subtle side of the resort’s natural surroundings, the meeting rooms now embody a look and feel not normally associated with desert living. The construction project took place in the summer of 2021 and wrapped just in time to welcome guests for the fall season— a perfect segue to cooler temperatures and contemporary aesthetics. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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DESIGN SNAPSHOT

Design Snapshot

FOUR SEASONS RESORT SCOTTSDALE AT TROON NORTH Scottsdale, Ariz.

Interior design: Wimberly Interiors; New York, N.Y. Lighting: Visual Comfort Carpeting: Innovative Carpets

The foyer is framed by floor-to-ceiling glass and looks directly out onto the resort’s Fountain Terrace. With doors that lead directly to the ballroom, the space can be utilized for cocktail receptions and other functions.

Furniture: Global Allies Artwork & Accessories: DAC Art Consulting

LOBBYING FOR A CHANGE To reinvent the event spaces of the Four Seasons Scottsdale, management considered how to play up the natural landscape.

“The renovation was prompted by a desire to bring a more modern look and feel to our meeting space, with colors that accentuate the bright, airy foyers, tall ceilings, natural light and wide, open spaces,” says General Manager Kelley Moreton.

But rather than create the perfect embodiment of the desert lifestyle, designers decided to take an unconventional route.

“Often the desert is associated with boldness and heat, but we explored the softness and coolness that exists,” explains Liana Hawes Young, Creative Director for Wimberly Interiors, which spearheaded the design project. Focusing on more muted tones as a backdrop and incorporating them with regional patterns in fabrics and carpeting, the

rooms give new purpose to the changing landscape on which they are based.

“We also took the inspiration for the art and accessories from sweeping desert vistas, natural forms and stone elements,” adds Hawes Young.

One of the key components of the meeting room makeover is the Troon ballroom (see photo, pg. 42). Situated on the first floor of the property, directly below the lobby, the 1,824-sq. ft, facility features a flexible design that can be configured as needed, either as two meeting rooms or a junior ballroom with a maximum occupancy of 150. Comfortable upholstered boardroom chairs on wheels represent flexible furnishings and are a sharp visual contrast to the harder edges of the wooden entryways, chair moldings and trim.

Just outside the ballroom is the Troon foyer (see photo above), which is framed by floor-to-ceiling glass and looks directly

“

The renovation was prompted by a desire to bring a more modern look and feel to our meeting space, with colors that accentuate the bright, airy foyers, tall ceilings, natural light and wide, open spaces. The refreshed space and new imagery have allowed us to tell our story in a more meaningful way.

—Kelley Moreton, General Manager

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”

out onto the Fountain Terrace. Because the doors lead directly to the ballroom, this space can be utilized for cocktail receptions and other functions.

Rounding out the expansion are a series of additional first-floor meeting rooms: the Monument (750 sq. ft.), McDowell (525 sq. ft.), Reata (525 sq. ft.) and Camelback (504 sq. ft.), all designed for smaller meetings, corporate retreats and breakout sessions.

SAFE SURROUNDINGS To maintain cleanliness between bookings, the resort adheres to the Lead with Care health and safety protocols that the Four Seasons organization developed in conjunction with Johns Hopkins Medical International. Key directives include increased sanitation in common areas, and retraining for housekeeping staff.

While the updated meeting rooms are still fairly new, Moreton has seen a renewed interest in group program bookings and is confident that the Scottsdale facility is poised to handle special requests of any size.

“The natural light, access to open air and plenty of space to spread out all make the property an ideal fit for many,” she says.

“The refreshed space and new imagery have allowed us to tell this story to our clients in a more meaningful way.” C+RB

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

LOCKER ROOM

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DESIGN + RENOVATION

OUT OF THE D

From modest to major, renovations to locker roo

By Pamela Brill, Contributing Ed

E

SUMMING IT UP > > >

Adjusting the numbers of lockers can free up room for additional amenities.

Incorporating original décor elements into a new design preserves a club’s rich history.

Repositioning the location of locker rooms can make them more accessible for members and visitors alike.

DARKNESS

cker rooms are a must for changing times.

Contributing Editor

Photo Courtesy Los Angeles Athletic Club

DESIGN + RENOVATION

CHANGE OF SEASONS During the offseason at Delaware Country Club in Muncie, Ind., the men’s and women’s locker rooms give way to a different kind of foot traffic: one of a costumed variety. For the past fifteen years, the club sets up a makeshift Halloween haunted house, in which members of all ages are invited to walk through a carefully decorated layout that offers thrills and chills in an unusual setting.

“Our annual event rivals any of the other local haunted houses,” says Club Manager/Special Events Director Mindy Moskaliev.

Staff are outfitted in masks and costumes are stationed throughout the locker rooms, which are open for guided tours following dinner in the fall. With their firstfloor location and circular layout that members can weave in and out of easily, the layout helps facilitates attendance.

Even the onset of COVID did not put a damper on festivities; the club hosted a smaller-scale event and created a socially distanced floor plan. And members responded in kind, with more than 80 people attending this past year. “For many people who may not even see the inside of the locker room, it’s a great event,” enthuses Moskaliev.

Delaware CC turns its locker rooms into an annual Halloween haunted house that surprises members at every turn.

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THE ULTIMATE WORKHORSE, locker rooms are one of a club’s more frequently used spaces. But because of their “lowerlevel” standing, they often don’t earn the same recognition or respect as other key areas. Many of these facilities are now starting to steal the spotlight, however, as clubs begin to elevate and enhance their versatility with higher-end designs and additional amenities.

Whether it’s through a simple update to a men’s or women’s space, or by creating a comprehensive suite of complementary services, here are some notable examples of how locker-room improvements can stand out and prove their worth to membership.

GUEST-FRIENDLY At Spring Lake (Mich.) Country Club, the locker rooms were one of two primary locations (along with casual dining) that were in need of attention, according to member surveys. “The layout was very open and didn’t provide a great atmosphere,” says General Manager Kevin Green, adding that the lockers themselves were small. To give this space a much-needed boost, the club began a multiphase construction project that included a new 2,100-sq. ft. men’s locker room, which opened its doors in April 2021.

To give more purpose to the underutilized space, the club decided to decrease the number of lockers from 330 to 275 and add a card room. Dubbed The 19th Hole, the 480-sq. ft. facility is accessible from the main corridor as well as the men’s locker

room and can be used as a gathering space after golf, a place to play cards and even to host a private dinner during the offseason.

Furnished with four tables and captain’sstyle seating, the space features LED lighting, a limited-edition Linda Hartough print and a photograph of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer walking down the fairway.

For the locker room itself, the new design is a noticeable improvement over the previous floor plan, which Green describes as wide open and lacking privacy. “The new layout is very creative and feels likes you have your own private space within the locker room,” he says.

Rich, dark-walnut lockers are softened by blue and grey paint and décor. A new drop ceiling is outfitted with LED can lighting, selected for its ability to better disperse and control the amount of illumination. Custom carpeting that matches the card room is adorned with the Spring Lake Country Club logo—a small touch that has been a big hit with membership. “They love seeing that SLCC logo first when they step into the locker room,” says Green.

Since the locker room’s renovation, members have been thrilled by the updated aesthetics, Green reports. “The locker room is always the first impression a guest of a member will have, and it’s a very good one now with the renovation,” he says. Next up are new showers and restrooms (expected within the next three years), which will also benefit the adjacent fitness center.

Spring Lake CC’s new men’s locker room features carpeting with the club’s logo—a small touch that has been a big hit with the membership. “They love seeing that logo when they first step in,” says General Manager Kevin Green. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

HOLDING ONTO HISTORY Inside the women’s locker room at the Augusta Country Club in Manchester, Maine, a row of benches is a testament to the longevity of its female membership. Covered with spike marks from the golfers’ shoes over the past several decades, this seating area serves as a reminder of players past. “The women members overwhelmingly asked that the benches remain, as a nod to our history,” says General Manager & Director of Golf Dave Soucy, PGA. This past June, the club unveiled an updated women’s locker room to its second-floor facilities that were in dire need of repair. In response to a 2018 strategic planning survey that identified the need for a handicap-accessible women’s locker room, the project was prioritized

SPRING LAKE COUNTRY CLUB Spring Lake, Mich.

“The new layout is very creative and feels like you have your own private space within the locker room. The locker room is always the first impression a guest of a member will have, and it’s a very good one now with the renovation.”

—Kevin Green, General Manager

Lifestyle Design TO ENHANCE THE MEMBER EXPERIENCE

Bringing members together with designs that foster community and camaraderie.

STRATEGIC PLANNING MASTER PLANNING ARCHITECTURE INTERIOR DESIGN PROCUREMENT

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DESIGN + RENOVATION

AUGUSTA COUNTRY CLUB Manchester, Maine

“The project planner, with support from women

members, was committed to maintaining a farmhouse design, as an homage to the original use of the land and to our founders, but creating a modern touch.”

—David Soucy, PGA, General Manager & Director of Golf

as a marketing tool to recruit new women golf and tennis members. With a budget of $25,000, the construction project was orchestrated by a club Board member, who serves as the CEO of a general contracting agency in the Augusta area.

Paying tribute to the original 1926 clubhouse design, the builders were cognizant of balancing contemporary styling while respecting tradition. “The project planner, with support from women members, was committed to maintaining a farmhouse design as an homage to the original use of the land and to our founders but creating a modern touch,” notes Soucy.

Custom-made oak lockers blend well with light gray walls, ivory trim and gray carpeting in the locker area, as well as the gray tiles and stone countertop in the bathroom. (A total of 16 full and 32 half-lockers represent a substantial increase from the previous incarnation; according to Soucy, the exact numbers of the original design are unknown, because the space had been reconfigured several times and was largely unusable in recent years.)

Along with a separate private changing area in the locker room—and the fabled oak benches—is a sitting area outfitted with two sofas and a table. The layout is designed to give women ample room to relax and socialize in a comfortable, yet modest setting.

“Tennis and golf members find the space relaxing and practical for storing golf and tennis gear and convenient for use after a round of golf or a tennis match,” says Soucy.

The added bonus of having a handicap50

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accessible restroom just off the dining room is also a convenience for membership.

Feedback from the Augusta CC membership has been favorable, Soucy notes, with comments describing the space as “highly functional” and “visually appealing.” “[The men] in our membership have also supported the project as a needed addition to the club,” he notes. As such, the club is gearing up for the second phase of construction dedicated to the men’s locker space, with planning and possible execution expected to begin in 2023.

AMENITIES APLENTY To bolster the first two phases of a threestage renovation—a men’s locker room in 2015 and a women’s in 2018—the Los Angeles (Calif.) Athletic Club (LAAC) recently integrated several updates to accompany these facilities, including spa and treatment rooms, a salt-therapy room, barber shop and speakeasy lounge (see photo, pgs. 46-47).

The result: A two-level floor plan with an entirely new layout that offers easily accessible amenities and ties in other areas of the club.

Amassing 30,000 sq. ft. of real estate, the men’s and women’s locker rooms, which were previously separated, have been repositioned on the same floor. This change was prompted by structural damage caused by a broken whirlpool in the men’s locker room. “[The damage] triggered an assessment of the entire locker room, which hadn’t been renovated in over 40 years,” explains Assistant General Manager Cory Hathaway.

“The decision was then made to renovate the entire locker room, including a rebuild

of all wet areas of the locker room and an entirely new floor plan.”

By integrating the respective locker rooms into one cohesive design, the total number of lockers was reduced from 5,000 to 3,500. Two-thirds are half-sized and the remaining third are quarter-sized, with metal lockers in the men’s locker room and wood in the women’s room.

Each facility is accessible through the entrance to the LAAC’s Mercury Sports Shop, which doubles as a retail space and appointment desk for spa treatments and personal training sessions. Once inside, visitors are brought into the respective lounge areas, providing members with a designated place to unwind and gather.

Hathaway characterizes the overall design style as “updated historic; it called for a high contrast of modern elements like light fixtures, tile surfaces and signature touches, combined with historic images, tufted leather couches and wood herringbonepattern flooring.” The look is a complete departure from the original pink tile in the women’s locker room and the green and beige tones of the men’s space.

Locker room lounges lead directly into the wet area that includes showers, sinks, a steam room and sauna designed in gray-tone neutrals with black marble walls.

While both locker rooms share a similar design, they each have their own signature elements; in the women’s locker room, a sound-insulated quiet room features soft spa music and reclining lounge chairs, while the men’s locker room boasts a second sauna with reclining lounge chairs. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Separate staircases then lead members up to the sixth floor, where they are greeted by a statue of Mercury, the LAAC mascot, and introduced to a poolside café, nail salon, barber shop, speakeasy and salt-therapy room. Featured throughout the hallways, lounges and rest areas are 40 to 50 historic pictures of Los Angeles and the LAAC, helping to personalize the space and point to its storied past.

With such easily accessible amenities that build out the locker-room facilities, LAAC members have embraced these changes wholeheartedly. According to Hathaway, the renovation’s goal was to create a net increase in membership of 1,000. “We achieved this goal before the completion of the project, and it has been met with wide member satisfaction and industry recognition,” he says. C+RB

LOS ANGELES ATHLETIC CLUB Los Angeles, Calif.

“[The new locker room’s design is] ‘updated historic,’ [with] a high contrast of modern elements like light fixtures, tile surfaces and signature touches, combined with historic images, tufted leather couches and wood herringbone-pattern flooring.”

—Cory Hathaway, Assistant General Manager

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

December 2021

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COURSE + GROUNDS

Coming In A forestry management plan and renovations to several golf holes opened up the Betsie Valley Course at Crystal Mountain Resort in Michigan—and improved maintenance and playability in the process.

By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor

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g Into View TREES ARE THE HALLMARK OF a parkland golf course, but over time the issues they create can outweigh their aesthetics. With a little foresight and proper planning, however, a property can manage their growth to facilitate golf course maintenance and improve playing conditions.

At the Betsie Valley Course, one of two 18-hole layouts at Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville, Mich., course owners initiated a forestry management program www.clubandresortbusiness.com

as part of a recent renovation, which won a 2021 Environmental Excellence Award from the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), to update and improve the course.

The walker-friendly, tree-lined course on the 1,500-acre property features deciduous trees, hardwoods, maples, and conifers, including red and white pines.

Since the project got underway a couple of years ago, however, hundreds of trees

have been removed.

“They’re all of interest in this forestry management program,” says Jason Farah, who has headed course maintenance operations at Crystal Mountain for the past eight years and now holds the position of Director of Golf, with responsibility for all of the property’s golf operations.

“Some of trees had already fallen down,” Farah adds. “The dead trees were on the floor from not being managed.”

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COURSE + GROUNDS

Golf Scorecard

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN RESORT

‘WAITING TO GROW AND THRIVE’ As part of a course improvement master plan, the forestry management effort has mitigated the risk of wildfires; opened up playing corridors, which were being closed in from tree overgrowth; and encouraged healthy tree growth.

“Old trees were becoming a safety issue.

It was difficult to grow quality turfgrass in those areas,” says Farah, who has also overseen golf course maintenance on the resort’s Mountain Ridge Course. “The life expectancy of a tree before it becomes problematic or a safety concern is 80 to 100 years. We were concerned about forest fires, so we cleaned up the forest floors.”

Farah, along with another Crystal Mountain manager and the forestry management team, started the process by tagging dangerous trees and determining which ones to keep.

Cleaning up the forest floors has given the forest the opportunity to revitalize and regenerate, and it has alleviated concerns about safety and forest fires. The staff also bought in a mulcher to grind up the potentially problematic dead trees and used the mulch in landscaping beds on the property.

Farah expects the forestry management program to continue for a couple more years through regeneration and continued cleanup of the forest floors, which could result in new bike paths or cross-country

trails through the woods.

“Things will develop as we go,” he says.

“A lot of young trees and saplings were just waiting to grow and thrive.”

The renovation included other elements as well. Sand waste areas were created to add a visual and strategic element to the course, and several tee complexes were reshaped. In addition, Betsie Valley, which opened in 1977 and is the older of the property’s two courses, simply needed to be upgraded to improve its playability.

CONSTRUCTIVE PROCESS While Crystal Mountain started planning for renovations to Betsie Valley Course about a year ago, notes Farah, work started in early June and continued throughout the summer.

The renovations, which were designed by golf course architect John Harvey, included the redesign of Nos. 4 and 5, the tee complexes on the eighth and ninth holes, and the approach to the eighth green.

“As part of the project, we eliminated a two-acre forest on four and five and created waste bunkering,” Farah says.

On the eighth hole, the construction team built a new tee complex with five new tee boxes, expanded the fairway, opened up the third shot into the green, eliminated trees, put in waste bunkering, and installed new short-cut bentgrass.

“

Betsie Valley is a difficult golf course as it is. It doesn’t need to be so narrow. We opened up the narrowest parts of the golf course and made golf shots easier. Anything that can make the golf course easier for the average player, I’m all for it.

—Greg Babinec, PGA, Head Golf Professional 54

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Location: Thompsonville, Mich.

Website: https://www.crystalmountain.com/ Golf Facility: 36 holes (18-hole Betsie Valley and 18-hole Mountain Ridge golf courses) with a 10-acre practice center Golf Course Designers: Betsie Valley: Bob Meyer/William Newcomb, with recent renovation by John Harvey; Mountain Ridge: William Newcomb Year Opened: Betsie Valley, 1977; Mountain Ridge, 1995 Golf Season: April to October Annual Rounds of Golf: About 41,000 Fairways: Bentgrass/poa annua

“The green is extremely close to the ninth tee, and we made the tie-in better,” notes Farah. “The tee boxes were crowning, so we needed to flatten them out.”

The property also expanded the ninth fairway, opening it up on the right side. In addition, the new waste bunkers on the golf course are bordered by fescue grasses.

During construction, a sinkhole developed in the middle of the fairway on No. 12, which became a safety concern. When workers started probing the area, they discovered several tree stumps that had started to rot. The stumps were excavated, and the area was shaped. “It made a better golf hole out of the finished product,” notes Farah.

The installation of a new irrigation system was part of the Betsie Valley renovation as well. A main line was rerouted outside of the construction zone, and the old, single-row, hydraulic irrigation system was replaced with an electric, two-row system to increase coverage. “That’s an integral part of any renovation,” Farah says of the irrigation system.

The construction team members left at the end of August, and as soon as they finished a hole, the Crystal Mountain maintenance staff took over its care and set up the maintenance schedule for it.

“We stayed out of it to continue business as usual,” Farah says of the construction process. “We had to do what we’re good at, which is day-to-day maintenance, but we helped as needed.” www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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COURSE + GROUNDS

Superintendent Profile

JASON FARAH Current Position: Director of Golf Years at Crystal Mountain Resort: 8 Years in Golf Course Maintenance: 33 Previous Employment: Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island (S.C.) Golf Resort Education and Training: Michigan State University; certificate in Turfgrass Management Certifications: Class A GCSAA Golf Course Superintendent; Commercial Pesticide Applicator Honors and Awards: 2021 ASGCA Environmental Excellance Award.

The Crystal Mountain maintenance staff overseeded thin areas and took over the growin of the golf course, which is still ongoing.

“We had to fertilize more often and irrigate. We tried not to disrupt play,” reports Farah. “We had to make adjustments since the golf course was still open.”

The new irrigation system was more efficient during the grow-in, he adds. “We couldn’t rely on the old system with that amount of construction,” he says.

FULLY INVOLVED Even though the Crystal Mountain maintenance department did not get involved in the project until the construction team had left, Farah was immersed in the renovations from the beginning. And one of the first things he did was seek out the expertise of industry players.

“I knew we needed to get others involved,”

he says. “I knew we couldn’t do it ourselves.”

He helped by interviewing architects and organizing Board meetings with the contractors. “The owners entrusted me to interview golf course architects, and I helped to develop the plan from there,” says Farah.

In addition to interviewing and organizing personnel, he supervised the project and managed the budget along the way.

“In a project this size, there’s daily tweaking,” says Farah. “I engaged every day with the contractor. He was on site from beginning to end. The architect was pulled in as needed.”

Because the Betsie Valley course remained open during the renovation process, the staff made some modifications to the course to keep disruptions to a minimum. On the eighth and ninth holes, temporary tees were set up on flat areas of the fairways. A temporary green with a

Opening up views of the Betsie Valley course’s natural rolling terrain through the renovation and forestry management literally brought new business to Crystal Mountain, with one new visitor reporting he didn’t know the course, or resort, existed until he drove by and could now see it. “It’s like a giant billboard [now],” says Head Golf Pro Greg Babinec.

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two-putt maximum also was set up on No. 8, and a temporary cart path was created along the wood line from No. 8 to No. 9.

In addition, No. 8 became a par-3 instead of a par-5, and No. 9 because a par-3 instead of a par-4.

“Temporary tees aren’t that big a deal, but when you change the putting surfaces and make it slower, that’s when golfers get a little bit stressed,” notes Farah.

Crystal Mountain also posted signage to explain the renovation process to its golfers.

RUMOR CENTRAL The resort’s Head Golf Professional, Greg Babinec, PGA, calls himself an “interested observer” of the renovation project. “I was just excited about what was going on,” he says.

However, Babinec also acted as a liaison to the membership, staying up-to-date on the construction process so he could answer questions and dispel rumors. For instance, he says, some people thought that houses were being constructed on the golf course. Others were afraid the golf course would be “ruined, but they did a 180” after seeing the finished product.

Crystal Mountain also put up a posterboard with a rendering of the new design, to let people know what was happening on the golf course.

Now that the project has been completed, golfers have had plenty to say about the redesign as well, giving it “rave reviews,” according to Farah. “People enjoy the fact that we’re investing in our golf course and trying to make it better,” he says. “People want to see change. They’re excited about the future.”

And after the golf course was closed for the season, Babinec says golfers were already looking forward to opening day in the spring of 2022. “They’re all excited to have it done and play it next year,” he says.

The forestry management program has www.clubandresortbusiness.com

opened up views to the natural rolling terrain, changing the aesthetics of the golf course, and has attracted new players to the Betsie Valley. Babinec always asks new golfers how they found out about Crystal Mountain when they call to make tee times, and one person confirmed with an unexpected answer that the new views into the course inadvertently were good advertising for the property.

“One person said, ‘I saw it when I was driving by,’” he reports. “It’s on a well-traveled corridor, but people didn’t know we had a golf course.

“That was a telling comment from a new customer who had never been here before.

It’s like a giant billboard. Now that people can see it, we’re hoping that ‘the Betsie’ will be on par with our other golf course.”

SUNLIGHT, AIRFLOW AND AESTHETICS Farah also had input into the design of the renovated holes, with the goal of benefitting golfers and maintenance staff members. “I was looking to try to make golf easier and also to make it easier to maintain in the future,” he says.

During the construction process, he altered maintenance routines on the renovated holes. “We had separate planning for these areas,” he explains. “The mowing schedule was different, and we had different heights of cut. We irrigated more frequently and at odd times. We usually water at night, but we had to water during the day every hour on the hour. We had to close off those areas.”

While it’s too early to tell if regular maintenance will be any easier because of the renovations. Farah can already confirm that “the turfgrass quality in these areas is better because of the airflow and sunlight.

It’s hard to grow grass without sunlight and water. Areas also are drying out sooner.”

Course + Grounds Operations Profile

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN RESORT Annual Budget: $700,000 Staff: 20 to 25 Other Managers: Trevor Mills, 1st Assistant Superintendent; Daniel Heiss, 2nd Assistant Superintendent; Jeff Nordbeck, Equipment Manager Irrigation System: Toro with Lynx/Osmac Central; 1,157 irrigation heads Water Source and Usage: Well and storm or reclaimed water Equipment: Owned; majority Toro equipment Aerating and Overseeding Schedules: Aerating is done primarily in the fall (September/October) Duties and Responsibilities: Oversees maintenance for both golf courses

The property installed a new variety of bentgrass in the tee and fairway expansions and new Kentucky bluegrass in the rough.

The fine fescue grasses, which are more drought-tolerant, also were installed in nonirrigated areas as well as around the waste bunkers. The long, wispy grass, which has a Scottish-links look, add to the aesthetics of the golf course as well.

“It makes a good backdrop on the holes, and it doesn’t need as much water and fertilizer,” Farah says.

Eco-friendly maintenance practices are also paramount at Crystal Mountain. “We use inputs as needed,” Farah explains. “We spray when needed if there’s a turf disease that develops.”

The waste bunkers have improved pace of play, and the expanded fairways have enhanced playability as well. “It’s easier to find a golf ball in a waste bunker than in the middle of a forest,” says Farah. “Without those trees, golfers can find their balls easier and move around the property faster.”

Adds Babinec: “Betsie Valley is a difficult golf course as it is. It doesn’t need to be so narrow. We opened up the narrowest parts of the course and made golf shots easier.

Anything that can make the golf course

easier for the average player, I’m all for it.”

ADDING MORE TO THE MIX The 24/7/365 family-owned Crystal Mountain resort, which was established in 1956, offers other amenities such as lodging, dining, downhill and cross-country skiing, a spa, wedding facilities, and a conference center. However, the golf courses are integral to its operations as well.

“A big part of our operations and revenues is golf. It brings in guests. We have a lot of overnight stays because of golf,” says Farah. “Food and beverage is enhanced. It’s a big part of what we do.”

Babinec agrees. “It’s a way for us to offer another outing for a meeting or conference group,” he adds. “We rely heavily on our summer activities, and golf is a major player in that.”

While more golf course renovations are in the plans for the future, Farah says the renovations to the Betsie Valley Course parallel the vision, the belief, and the stewardship of the ownership and guests.

“I’m excited about opening so people can see how much better the golf course is,” Babinec says .”I can’t wait to play it, either.”

C+RB

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

December 2021

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SUPER IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A MAN OF

MANY VIEWS

Brad Coleman brings multiple perspectives to his position as Golf Course Superintendent at The Club at Pasadera—as a golf fanatic, an accomplished and experienced agronomist, and a former member of the club where he now works.

By Jeff Bollig, Contributing Editor

SINCE HIS FRESHMAN YEAR IN high school, the golf course has been the refuge of Brad Coleman, the Golf Course Superintendent at The Club at Pasadera in Monterey, Calif., both as a turf manager and in playing the game.

“I joke that no golf course superintendent plays more golf than me,” the Centerville, Ohio native says. “I enjoy playing and I love being outdoors. I play with my friends, I play with my wife, I play with my boss, I play with our members, and I play with strangers. It’s in my blood.”

That was not always the case. Coleman primarily played baseball in his youth. He did not pick up a golf club because he considered it to be a “nerdy” sport. But needing a summer job, he and some friends approached Larry Wimmers, the Golf Course Superintendent at Sycamore Creek Golf Course in Centerville, to work on his crew. And that’s when Coleman also decided to pick up the game.

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Wimmers saw that Coleman had an aptitude for the job and began to give him more responsibilities each summer. But he was also planting the seed for his pupil to consider a career on the golf course. The message stuck, as Coleman decided in the summer following his junior year in high school to pursue a degree at Ohio State.

After graduating from Ohio State with an Associate’s Degree in Turf Management in 2002, Coleman secured a foreman position at Eagle Springs Golf Course in Wolcott, Colo., about 30 miles west of Vail. It was familiar territory, as he had completed an internship there the previous year.

As much as he loved Eagle Springs and the Rocky Mountains, however, there was just one problem. The golf season there lasted only about five months. He could not make it through a seven-month offseason without playing golf. And that started his search for a more intimate relationship with the game. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Super in the Spotlight

BRAD COLEMAN Current Position: Golf Course Superintendent, The Club at Pasadera, Monterey, Calif.

Years at The Club at Pasadera: 1 (began August 2021) Years in Golf Course Maintenance: 25 Previous Employment: • Golf Course Superintendent, San Jose (Calif.) Country Club.

• Assistant Superintendent, Spyglass Hill, Pebble Beach Company • Del Monte Golf Course, Monterey, Calif., • Greenkeeper, Quail Lodge, Carmel, Calif.

• Assistant Superintendent, Chapparel Pines Golf Club, Payson, Ariz.

• Foreman, Eagle Springs Golf Course, Wolcott, Colo.

• Summer Course Maintenance Crew (multiple years), Sycamore Creek Golf Course, Centerville, Ohio Education & Training: Associate’s Degree, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 2002

C+RB: After five months, you left Colorado. Where did you end up?

COLEMAN: I applied for an assistant position at Chaparral Pines

Golf Club in Payson, Ariz., which is up in the mountains northwest of Phoenix. I got the job and enjoyed my three years there. Beautiful country. But where I was, golf was not played year-round. Everyone said that since I loved golf as much as I did, I needed to head to California to the Monterey Peninsula. So I did.

tive, because you interact with other superintendents from all over the world. You meet so many people and build your network. You have so much time to pick other’s brains. You are out on the course working early, but the rest of the time you are there talking shop.

C+RB: Did it help you get the job at San Jose Country Club?

COLEMAN: Absolutely. It was my first head golf course superinten-

dent job, and my Pebble Beach Golf background was a big plus.

C+RB: Where did you land?

COLEMAN: There really weren’t many jobs open, so I took a Green-

keeper No. 3 position at Quail Lodge Golf Club in Carmel. I had made my decision to go, so I was not going to be too choosy. It was a great decision because I met Dennis Kerr, the superintendent, who is one of the three people I consider a mentor. I learned so much from him and it set me up two years later to get a job with the Pebble Beach Golf Company at Del Monte Golf Club in Monterey. It’s absolutely beautiful on the peninsula, and you can play golf year-round.

C+RB: So you were set?

COLEMAN: I was, but after two years I had the opportunity to move

within Pebble Beach Golf to Spyglass Hill as an assistant. I stayed there 10 years and had a great time working two U.S. Opens and the AT&T Pro-Am each year. You had some of the most famous people in the world and of course the best golfers coming to play. It was big-time golf.

C+RB: Is working professional golf fun, or is it just extra pressure?

COLEMAN: I loved it. Everyone should work a high-profile tourna-

ments, whether as a staff member or a volunteer. It helped my career.

It is a great learning experience from a turfgrass management perspecwww.clubandresortbusiness.com

C+RB: But it made for a change in your golf game?

COLEMAN: As an assistant, I played where I worked with others on

the staff. And working for Pebble Beach Golf, there were plenty of options. As a head superintendent I could play at San Jose Country Club, but I did not feel it was appropriate to keep hitting up other superintendents to play their course. And because I love to play, I was needing a place to play on a regular basis. I kept my townhouse in Monterey, which was an 80-minute drive (even at 3:30 in the morning) to San Jose. So I looked around Monterey and decided to join The Club at Pasadera in February 2020.

C+RB: Ironically, you then became the superintendent at

Pasadera in late August of 2021.

COLEMAN: Yes. The superintendent left and I thought it made a

lot of sense to apply. I knew the course, the management and the members. And I had their support. So I applied and took the job when it was offered. I actually worked at both places for a day. I worked until 8:30 a.m. on my last day at San Jose, and then showed up for work at Pasadera at 10 a.m. Of course, I had to give up my membership at Pasadera, because employees cannot be a member.

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SUPER IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Golf Course Profile

THE CLUB AT PASADERA Website: www.theclubatpasadera.com Year Opened: 2000 (opened as Pasadera Country Club, rebranded as The Nicklaus Club– Monterey from 2013 to 2019, then as The Club at Pasadera) Ownership: Private (ownership group and investors) Management: Troon Prive C+RB: You joke about playing a lot of golf, but you are a firm

believer in that?

COLEMAN: I realize not every superintendent can play as much golf as I can. I know their circumstances might be different. But I am a firm believer that golf course superintendents should play golf regularly to improve their skills. It helps me see the golf course from the golfer’s perspective.

For example, when I play, I may come upon a cracked handle on the bunker rake. I don’t do that as a superintendent. I play with the members, and I get their feedback, plus they get to hear from me. It is a great platform to communicate the ‘why.’ I know the members appreciate that I am out there with them, because they tell me that.

Over the course of a year, I average playing two to three times a week.

C+RB: What makes the Pasadera course fun to play, and what

makes it a challenge?

COLEMAN: First, we have a great membership. The people here

are friendly. They come from all backgrounds. Young and old. Families and singles. Retirees and businesspeople.

Second, it is a beautiful property. The front nine is in a valley and the back nine starts with a climb in elevation until you get to No. 14 and then you work your way back down to the clubhouse. It’s unusual from a layout perspective because you have six par-threes and five par-fives. That makes for fun golf. It gets difficult when the wind blows. Other than that, it is a very fair course. Not what I would call target golf, and not any forced carries.

Golf Course Type: Mountain and Valley Course Designer: Jack Nicklaus No. of Holes: 18

Par: 71 Yardage: 6,801 Golf Season: Year-round Grasses: Tees, Fairways and Approaches: Bentgrass, ryegrass and poa annua mix.

Rough: Mix of tall fescue, ryegrass and poa annua Greens: Bentgrass with a mix of poa annua Water Features: Creek between holes No. 4 and No. 7, and No. 10 and 18. Lakes and ponds throughout. All are in play.

C+RB: Tell us about No. 15.

COLEMAN: At one time, it was the longest par 4 in the United

States at 562 yards. It does not play that long because you are hitting from an elevated tee box. In fact, I only hit driver if I play the very back tees. It might be the fourth or fifth hardest hole on the course. It’s quite a view from the tee box.

C+RB: What are your golf course management challenges?

COLEMAN: We are in an extremely good climate for growing grass.

We’ll get some fog in the early morning and it is gone quickly. There is minimal rain from April to November. Eight miles away you might be playing in rain gear and a cool wind, and at Pasadera you are in shorts and a short-sleeved golf shirt. There is very little disease pressure. The biggest challenge is the salt levels in the water that we use to irrigate. We must flush the greens to keep them healthy.

C+RB: What is your reporting structure?

COLEMAN: The club is owned by a few people and some inves-

tors, and managed by Troon. I currently report to the GM because I am an employee of the club. That is going to change in the future, and I will become an employee of Troon and report to the GM and Troon’s Senior Agronomist. I have never worked for a management company, but I really like it so far. I have no complaints.

C+RB: You really like golf. Do you have any other interests?

COLEMAN: I do. I’m an outdoors person. I like to snow ski and do

the boogie board. I also like to go hiking.

Course + Grounds Operations Profile Staff Size: 16 when fully staffed Water Source and Usage: Creeks, lakes and wells Aerating and Overseeding Schedules: Close for spring and fall aeration. Will overseed as necessary.

Upcoming Capital Projects: To be determined

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C+RB: Do you have a dream golf foursome?

COLEMAN: Well, you must start with Jack Nicklaus. He’s a Buckeye

and so am I. He’s “dotted the I” (in the marching-band formation at Ohio State football games). How cool is that? I’d also choose Tiger Woods. I met him when he played Pebble. And then Jordan Spieth.

I got to know him at the Pro-Am and he was great to be around.

That would be a heck of a round. My three handicap would not stand a chance. C+RB www.clubandresortbusiness.com

PRODUCT SHOWCASE f eat u r e d c at eg o ry

utility vehicles EZ Hauling

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Working Wonder

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Maximum Performance

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Deluxe Deere

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December 2021

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Park It Here

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A�������� Locker Room Groom

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Sustainable, Green Cleaning

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Product: Earth-Friendly Products Features: ▶ For nearly half a century, EFP has created sustainable cleaning products ▶ Formulated with ingredients that are safer for people and the planet ▶ From laundry soap to glass and counter cleaners, EFP has everything your club needs ▶ A natural clean at a price you can afford

Fore Supply Co.

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K������ E�������� Make It a Double

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Golden Griddle

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Tea, Please

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Frozen Treats

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Impressive Immersion

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

F��� + B������� Great Balls of Butter

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Frozen Favorite

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RC Fine Foods

www.rcfinefoods.com 64

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

Member Services + Activities Join the Club

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C2 LIMITED DESIGN ASSOCIATES

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THE VERDIN COMPANY

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YAMAHA

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December 2021

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IDEAEXCHANGE The Art of Celebration

By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor

THERE ARE COUNTLESS WAYS to celebrate a centennial anniversary—maybe even 100 or more. But Schuylkill Country Club in Orwigsburg, Pa., has turned it into an art form.

As part of its centennial celebration in 2021, the property commissioned eight repurposed window panes, which were sponsored by members and painted by local artist Pablo Lebron Culp, to mark the milestone anniversary and create personalized commemorations for permanent display at the club. The unique idea was devised and executed with the help and ingenuity of some of the club’s members.

The window panes were donated by a member who came across them when he was refurbishing an old house and realized that they could somehow be put to use at the property.

“I told one of the Board members who works with [a local] art center that the panes were available, and she came up with the idea,” says Redman.

That art center is the nearby Walk In Art Center in Schuylkill Haven, Pa., where artists who work in a variety of media, including ceramics, photography, jewelry design, painting, textiles, basket weaving, video,

As part of Schuylkill CC’s centennial celebration, members commissioned windowpane paintings with scenes of club life that could include family members.

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and sculpture, create in 16 working artists’ studios. The Board member presented the idea to Schuylkill’s centennial committee and engaged Culp to do the paintings.

Culp is a fine artist, illustrator, writer, muralist, performer, and teacher who specializes in aerosol art, water color, acrylics and other media. The award-winning, Philadelphia-trained artist, who earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of the Arts, strives to express the human connection in his work.

Schuylkill CC promoted the availability of the window panes in its digital newsletter, as well as a hard copy of its monthly update. Members had the opportunity to purchase the panes—four large panes at a cost of $150 each and four small panes for $75 apiece—on a first-come, first-serve basis. Then they could devise a scene to be painted on the glass. While some of the acrylic paintings were scenic, others honored family members or incorporated their memories of the club into the scenes.

“Each family met with the artist to design their pane, and he worked on them throughout the winter,” says General Manager Herb Redman. “He did such a good job that he picked up work outside the club.”

The paintings had to simulate views seen from Schuylkill CC’s recreation center, but otherwise, members had a lot of leeway about the scene they wanted to depict.

Paintings that were created include golfers on the course, the view of the crow’s nest on the signature 11th hole, a red-tailed hawk flying above a red fox stealing a golf ball, and one family’s children playing in the swimming pool. Each painting also features a small plaque that includes the names of the members or groups that commissioned the artwork, and any honorees who were part of them as well.

In addition to the individual families that purchased the panes, The Schuylkill Book Club and the Schuylkill Lady Golfers each

bought one as well. Three or four people who missed out were not disappointed, however; they commissioned work by the artist for their personal use.

To unveil the paintings, the property held a cocktail party in July in its newly renovated pool house, which is surrounded by the golf course on three sides and the pool on the fourth side, as part of the centennial celebration.

The paintings now hang in Schuylkill CC’s pool house, which has ample wall space, in the second-story bar and dining area above the locker rooms.

The window-pane artwork will remain on permanent display at Schuylkill CC, which originally opened with a nine-hole course designed by Willie Park Jr. The golf course was redesigned in the mid-1940s by Donald Ross as an 18-hole course.

“We had numerous celebrations for the centennial throughout the year,” says Redman. “They all were received really well.

The paintings were a good idea, and it was successful.”

Other centennial events throughout the year included a gala and a centennial golf tournament. However, the commissioned window-pane art offered a clever, creative, and long-lasting way to get people involved in the celebration as well.

“With it being our centennial year, it just fell into place,” Redman says. “But it’s not something that’s just centennial-oriented.

It’s not standard artwork, and it’s located in a separate building from the clubhouse.” www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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