Club + Resort Business February 2020

February 2020

wwww.clubandresortbusiness.com

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Finding New Competitive Edges at

Coyote Ridge GC INSIDE: Fine Dining is Alive and Well Renovating Retail Shops for Real Rewards 2019 Excellence in Club Management Awards

VGM Club is now….

We are excited to announce that after 25 years of being known in the marketplace as VGM Club, our company is now ClubProcure. Now a part of Foodbuy, North America’s largest foodservice & hospitality group purchasing organization, we look forward to providing even more for the private club & golf industry.

While the brand is fresher and the name sounds different, our team’s relentless dedication to serving our membership community remains the same. It is important to us to grow our company the same way you have come to know & trust.

Just as VGM Club became synonymous with savings & solutions, ClubProcure will continue to do so providing even more for your team in the future.

ClubProcure. Same Team. More Benefits. New Opportunities.

Visit Us

Call Us

www.clubprocure.com

800-363-5480

Follow @ClubProcure

MASTER PLANNING

ARCHITECTURE

INTERIOR DESIGN

PROCUREMENT

Crestmont Country Club, West Orange, NJ

Designing Traditions P R I VAT E C LU B S & H O S P I TA L I T Y

STUDIO JBD AND JEFFERSON GROUP ARCHITECTURE Peter Cafaro / pcafaro@JBDandJGA.com / 401.721.0977

EDITORIAL

ADVERTISING

CREATIVE SERVICES

EDITOR

VICE PRESIDENT - GROUP PUBLISHER

VP, CREATIVE SERVICES

tmcintyre@wtwhmedia.com 216-533-9186

mrook@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

Mark Rook

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Erin Canetta

DIGITAL PRODUCTION/ MARKETING DESIGNER

Samantha King

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ecanetta@wtwhmedia.com

SR. DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIST

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ART DIRECTOR

mulanski@wtwhmedia.com

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

SALES DIRECTOR

mclaney@wtwhmedia.com

SOFTWARE ENGINEER

PRODUCTION MANAGER

dbozentka@wtwhmedia.com

EDITOR,

REGIONAL SALES MANAGER

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Sean Carr

SENIOR EDITOR

Rob Thomas

Matthew Claney

Tony Bolla

tbolla@wtwhmedia.com 773-859-1107

CLUB + RESORT CHEF SUPPLEMENT

Joanna DeChellis

Barbra Martin

bmartin@wtwhmedia.com

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aburk@wtwhmedia.com

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REGIONAL SALES MANAGER

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ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR CLUB + RESORT CHEF ASSOCIATION

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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Course + Grounds:

Design + Renovation:

VP, DIGITAL MARKETING vgoulding@wtwhmedia.com DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Dave Miyares

dmiyares@wtwhmedia.com

VIDEO SERVICES

Betsy Gilliland Jeff Bollig

DIRECTOR, AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

VIDEOGRAPHER

SR. DIGITAL MEDIA MANAGER

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EVENTS EVENTS MANAGER

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EVENT MARKETING SPECIALIST

VIDEOGRAPHER

DIGITAL PRODUCTION MANAGER

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Golf:

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Recreation + Fitness:

VIDEOGRAPHER

DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST

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Marilyn Odesser-Torpey Jerry Schreck

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Graham Smith

Tad Wilkes

PRODUCTION SERVICES CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER

Stephanie Hulett

FEBRUARY CLUB INDEX

FINANCE CONTROLLER

Club and resort properties featured in this issue

Brian Korsberg

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bkorsberg@wtwhmedia.com

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE SPECIALIST

Jane Cooper

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2011 - 2019

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 2020, 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 ©2020. 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© 2020 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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Olivia Zemanek

Chaparral Country Club, Palm Desert, Calif. ............................36 The Clubs of Kingwood, Kingwood, Texas ............................36 The Country Club of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y. ...................50 Coyote Ridge Golf Club, Carrollton, Texas .............................18 Detroit Athletic Club, Detroit, Mich. .............................................50 Fairwood Golf & Country Club, Renton, Wash. ....................47 Farmington Country Club, Charlottesville, Va. ..........................50 The Fountaingrove Club, Santa Rosa, Calif. ............................48 Glen Ridge Country Club, Glen Ridge, N.J. .............................27 Greenville Country Club, Greenville, S.C. ...............................46 Hamilton Golf & Country Club, Ancaster, Ont., Canada ....................................................................................50 Illini Country Club, Springfield, Ill. ..................................................29 Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Ill. ..............................................50 Menlo Country Club, Woodside, Calif. ............................................27 Metropolitan Golf Links, Oakland, Calif. ..................................40 Riverside Country Club, Bozeman, Mont. ...................................48 Saddle Rock Golf Course, Aurora, Colo. ....................................58 The Pacific-Union Club, San Francisco, Calif. .............................50 Timberlinks Golf Club, Denton, Texas ..........................................38 Vineyards Country Club, Naples, Fla. .........................................33 www.clubandresortbusiness.com

EDITOR’S MEMO

A Group to Call Their Own This year’s first quarter has been especially jam-packed for continuingeducation and trade-show events, with the PGA Show, Golf Industry Show and Club Management Association of America conference all taking place within a span of 20 days. As always, that’s allowed three key components of any club or resort staff—golf pros, course superintendents, and assistant/ general managers—to get a new year and season jumpstarted by seeing the latest products and services, and attending sessions about pressing trends and issues, that can help them continue to improve their contributions to their property’s operations.

And throughout the year, the people in those positions can continue to draw support and tap needed resources through their membership in the organizations (PGA, CMAA, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America) that hold those events and have been formed specifically for their professional disciplines. Additionally, they can pursue certification programs those organizations offer, to further develop their knowledge and value for both themselves and their employers.

A key group that hasn’t really ever had those same opportunities, though, is one that continues to grow in importance as part of club management teams: executive chefs and others on culinary staffs.

Over the years, Club + Resort Business has taken steps to fill this void, first by launching the annual Chef to Chef Conference, now getting ready to be held for the 12th time (see pgs. 24-25), and then by spinning off Club + Resort Chef magazine and its related website, e-newsletter and other informational products.

One piece of the puzzle that was still missing, however, was an association that club chefs could call their own. I’m excited to announce that we’ve now www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Members of the Club + Resort Chef Association will now have the same opportunity, on a year-round basis, to access the kind of benefits their colleagues on club management staffs have always gained from their own profession-specific organizations. taken a step to fill that gap, too, with the formation of the Club + Resort Chef Association (CRCA).

Members of the CRCA will now have the same opportunity, on a year-round basis, to access the kind of benefits their colleagues on club management staffs have always gained from their own profession-specific organizations. And equally exciting as the announcement of the CRCA’s formation was the news that Tom Birmingham, CEC, has been appointed as its full-time Director.

Tom’s resume includes 16 years as an Executive Chef and Food and Beverage Manager for several respected club properties in the Chicago area, and he

earned his Certified Executive Chef designation in October 2015. He certainly has the experience and expertise to ensure that the CRCA will be on target from the start in providing practical benefits its members can apply to all areas of their responsibilities.

The list of what those benefits can and will be is really endless, and will no doubt grow quickly. But some of the items on the CRCA’s initial menu include offering online networking and resources channels; creating local events and chapters to complement the national Chef to Chef Conference; and developing a club chef-specific certification program.

You can expect many other new initiatives to soon emerge that will also help to deliver the mission that has been set for the CRCA: “An association dedicated to providing club chefs with all of the resources they need to run their operations efficiently and cost-effectively, while still maximizing member and guest satisfaction.”

To find out a lot more about what’s in store for the CRCA, its membership benefits, and how you and others on your staff can join, visit https://association. clubandresortchef.com

Joe Barks • Editor jbarks@wtwhmedia.com

February 2020

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INSIDE

Februar y 2020 • Vol. 16 • No. 2

THIS

ISSUE

18

Finding New Competitive Edges at Coyote Ridge GC

In a market that’s always been a dogfight, the Carrollton, Texas club has put the pieces together to be poised for growth, as the Dallas metroplex becomes a new center of the golf world.

(Cover photo courtesy Coyote Ridge GC)

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

5 + Beverage 26 Food STILL IN FINE SHAPE Reports of formal dining’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.

32 GOOD THINGS IN STORE Design + Recreation

Renovated pro shops are taking clubs to rewarding new levels.

8 10

Editor’s Memo

A GROUP TO CALL THEIR OWN The Rob Report

I’LL DRINK TO THAT!

C+RB News Roundup

FLOSSMOOR CC CHANGES NAME FOLLOWING SALE

Plus other industry, supplier and people news.

50

Today’s Manager

EXPANSIVE GROUP

This year’s Excellence in Club Management honorees include recipients of two new awards.

58 Course + Grounds 40 FROM PROBLEMS

TO SOLUTIONS

Metropolitan Golf Links forms strong connections with its community in many ways.

4 Club Index 6

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+ Fitness 46 Recreation TAKING A DEEPER DIVE

Aquatic programs are expanding to include intriguing offerings like stand-up paddleboarding and scuba diving.

53 Product Showcase

Idea Exchange

LETTING THE CHIPS FALL

Saddle Rock GC’s long-lasting participation in Aurora, Colo.’s Christmas tree recycling program.

57 Ad Index www.clubandresortbusiness.com

WORRY FREE BATTERIES AND INDEPENDENT REAR SUSPENSION

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And, with a new lead-acid Motive T875-AGM battery option, you will not only enjoy making a low-maintenance, worry free investment, but also save time because absolutely no watering is required. See PowerTech AC in action today by visiting YamahaGolfCar.com/PowerTechAC.

YamahaGolfCar.com | (866) 747-4027

THE ROB REPORT

I’ll Drink to That!

When I travel, I always try to get a taste of the local flavor by drinking something for which that area is known.

For instance, when I visited the Club at New Seabury in Massachusetts last summer, I heard rave reviews about the sangria made by Pedro Gonzalez, who was the club’s Food & Beverage Director at that time. It was made from a family recipe passed down from generation to generation, and only Pedro knew the exact ingredients. So of course I had to try it—and it was amazing!

Similarly, while visiting Orlando, my wife and I had dinner at The Ritz-Carlton’s Whisper Creek Farm: The Kitchen at Grande Lakes. I asked the server if they offered any local beers, and his response was, “Is downstairs ‘local’ enough for you?” Turns out, Whisper Creek Farm: The Brewery is right there on property. So I enjoyed the Surplus Honey Citrus Ale with a delicious meal.

We’ve had several stories in C+RB recently about how club properties are now partnering with local breweries to offer exclusive beers. In our November 2019 issue, we wrote about how The Club at Wynstone in North Barrington, Ill. teamed with Lake Zurich Brewing Company to create what they, at first, thought was just going to be a seasonal summer ale. But the response was so incredible, they decided to brew it year-round—and it’s still the club’s top seller, by “a lot,” according to General Manager Jason Waters.

In Minnesota, among country clubs in the Twin Cities region, a debate rages as to which club originated the “Bootleg”—a blended mix of citrus

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Does your club have a signature cocktail or affiliation with a local brewery, distillery or winery? Every good drink has a story—what’s yours?

(usually frozen lemonade from a tube) and fresh mint, spiked with a spirit and diluted with soda. Now Tattersall Distilling of Minneapolis is capitalizing on the craze with a bottled version that just needs some sparkling water to complete.

Closer to my home, Valley of the Eagles, a golf club in Elyria, Ohio, joined forces with my favorite local brewery— Sibling Revelry Brewing—to offer its guests a Valley of Eagles Pilsner. And for those who want bubbles, but don’t feel like a beer, the pair recently introduced a Sunday Red Cherry Seltzer. I’ve yet to try the latter, but if past performance predicts anything, it’s a winner.

Perhaps the most universally famous “country club drink” is the Arnold Palmer—part lemonade, part iced tea.

The King’s classic concoction has been enjoyed by millions, both on and off the golf course. Piggybacking off its popularity, someone added a shot of vodka and called it a John Daly.

Looking for a cocktail unlike any other? Try the Azalea, the official cocktail of the Masters. It’s a simple mix of vodka, lemonade and grenadine.

Whether you’re strolling the grounds at Augusta National or parked on your couch in front of the TV, this sounds really refreshing.

Does your club have a signature cocktail or affiliation with a local brewery, distillery or winery? If you have a signature cocktail, what’s its origin? Every good drink has a story. What’s yours?

Or, to paraphrase a long-running ad campaign: What’s in your blender?

Rob Thomas • Senior Editor

rthomas@wtwhmedia.com

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

TRELON

By John Caldwell

tropitone.com Manufacturing CA and FL sales@tropitone.com

INDUSTRY ROUNDUP FLOSSMOOR CC CHANGING NAME FOLLOWING SALE FLOSSMOOR (ILL.) COUNTRY CLUB is undergoing a change in ownership and was scheduled to reopen in March as the Flossmoor Golf Club, The Homewood-Flossmoor Chronicle reported. Flossmoor GC will continue as a private golf course and the new owners, a four-person partnership that formed the 1899 Golf Group, have planned marketing efforts to attract members from around the Chicago area.

Since its earliest days, the private club has been owned by its members.

But George Goich, one of the partners in the new ownership group, told The Chronicle that club members approved the sale of the club property on December 7, 2019. In January 2020, 1899 Golf Group secured the financial note to gain ownership of the club, and had already taken over business operations.

There are no plans to develop housing or any businesses on the club’s land, Goich told The Chronicle. The property is classified as a flood plain and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would never allow any development along Butterfield Creek, he said. The creek flows through the Flossmoor GC property, as well as the nearby Idlewild and Olympia Fields country clubs.

WAYNESBORO CC SOLD, MOVING TO PRIVATE MEMBERSHIP MODEL

ST. JOHNS G&CC BEGINS $2.5M CLUBHOUSE RENOVATION, EXPANSION ST. JOHNS GOLF & Country Club in St. Augustine, Fla. recently broke ground on a clubhouse renovation and expansion that was scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2020. The $2.5 million project will be completed in two phases. Phase 1 includes a new reception hall, grand event lawn, fire pit and social area, outdoor patio bar and deck overlooking the water, and expanded kitchen. Phase 2 will feature a complete renovation of the existing restaurant, dining room and foyer.

St. Johns hired New Leaf Construction to oversee the construction. The “Farmhouse Industrial” design will seek to bring a fresh vibrance to the club and tie into the existing facilities, to create a fun and comfortable environment.

“We are very excited to break ground on this unique project,” said General Manager Ben Pasquith. “The renovation and expansion will transform the social experience for our members and guests, and position the club as the premier golf and special-events destination in northeast Florida.”

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THE WAYNESBORO (VA.) GOLF and Country Club has been acquired by River City Collective LLC, The Staunton (Va.) News Leader reported. River City Collective, which announced it took over the club as of January 15, 2020, is also trying to revive a building in downtown Waynesboro.

The club will transition to a private, membership-only facility for the clubhouse, golf course, and pool, The News Leader reported. New rates will be updated and released at a later date.

Currently, the club operates in a private-public capacity with a membership of 200 people, not including seasonal pool memberships. The golf course currently offers 18 holes of play and a driving range.

In 2017, the country club was auctioned off, The News Leader reported, with Kenneth Bradley and Jim Critzer purchasing the property for $891,000 as is. At that time, Board President Peggy King said the club was facing a $750,000-plus interest debt through its mortgage company, WCC Mortgage LLC, and the purchase price was expected to cover the deficit the club was facing.

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

TOPGOLF IPO COULD VALUE COMPANY AT $4B COLLIER’S RESERVE CC APPROVES $3.7M RENOVATION

TOPGOLF INTERNATIONAL INC. HAS selected banks for an initial public offering that could value the company at about $4 billion, Bloomberg reported.

The Dallas-based company is working with banks including Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp., Bloomberg reported, and its IPO could come as soon as this year.

Topgolf, led by Chief Executive Officer Dolf Berle, has $525 million in outstanding debt, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

MEMBERS OF COLLIER’S RESERVE Country Club in Naples, Fla. recently approved golf course and clubhouse renovation projects that will move the final two phases of the club’s master plan forward.

Starting in early April 2021, ground will break to restore the original design of the club’s 25-year-old, 18-hole Arthur Hills golf course.

Greens expansion and drainage improvement will also be part of the project. Members actively participated in the renovation planning and budgeting phases that led to an 88 percent favorable vote for the $3.7 million renovation.

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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INDUSTRY ROUNDUP MIZNER CC’S NEW FITNESS CENTER OFFERS INTERACTIVE WELLNESS EXPERIENCE

BIGSHOTS GOLF ENTERTAINMENT VENUE PLANNED FOR GOLDEN GATE CC PROPERTY COLLIER COUNTY, FLA. CONTINUES to look for ways to redevelop the Golden Gate Country Club property it bought in 2019, the Naples (Fla.) Daily News reported. Commissioners on January 14, 2020 voted 3-2 to direct county staff to negotiate with a company that would build and operate an entertainment venue, including a high-tech driving range and 12-hole golf course, on part of the 167-acre site.

A majority of the board has been opposed to the county running a golf course on the property, but commissioners in October directed staff to seek a public-private partnership with a vendor that could provide a golf-and-entertainment component to the site.

ClubCorp was one of two companies to present proposals to county commissioners for the type of golf entertainment envisioned for the property, the Daily News reported. Despite some concerns about noise and lighting impacts on neighbors, the commission opted to move forward with ClubCorp, which has proposed a BigShots Golf 200-yard range where shots can be tracked and scored using technology.

The proposal also includes plans for a 12-hole golf course, dining and a putting course, the Daily News reported. The plan anticipates offering reduced greens fees to residents and premium pricing for non-residents.

MIZNER COUNTRY CLUB IN Delray Beach, Fla. recently opened its new multimillion-dollar Fitness Center, part of the club’s recent $22 million expansion. The Fitness Center represents the first private club on the east coast of Florida to be equipped as a “Total Technogym Fitness Center.”

Mizner’s Fitness Center encompasses 6,000 sq. ft. and houses more than 50 pieces of equipment. The Group Aerobics Studio is another 1,017 sq. ft. A 532-sq.-ft. Pilates Studio, 725-sq.-ft. Group Cycle Studio and two Massage and Tranquility Quiet Rooms round out the overall Fitness Center complex.

Software adapted with the new facility identifies members from an app on their phone as they enter the Fitness Center. The software can record members’ physical moves, calories burned, miles traveled on the fitness equipment, and more. “It’s data-personified and interactive,” says Paul Raymond, Mizner’s Director of Fitness.

And a daily leaderboard records each individual’s workout versus others.

A backend of the software enables Mizner Fitness staff members to tailor workouts, track progress and do an analysis of a member’s physical progress at any point in time.

Since its September 2019 opening, the Mizner Fitness Center has seen upwards of 30 percent more participation in the gym area alone, the club reports.

BALLENISLES CC’S SOUTH COURSE TO REOPEN FOLLOWING $7.5M RENOVATION BALLENISLES COUNTRY CLUB’S SOUTH Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. reopened on January 12 following an eight-month, $7.5 million golf course renovation project led by golf course architect Rees Jones.

Crews from Total Golf began on-course renovation work in April 2019 that focused on revitalizing the 55-year-old course. Led by Ron Despain, the renovations included a complete tee-to-green makeover, including new bunkers, design modifications that improve strategy and shot options, an all-new irrigation system, drainage and concrete cart paths.

As part of the renovation, a new set of tees was added, measuring approximately 4,000 yards, to provide a shorter course playing option, allowing for five to six various tee settings and angles to challenge different levels of golfers.

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THE COUNTRY CLUB AT DC RANCH DEBUTS “THE HORSESHOE” THE COUNTRY CLUB AT DC Ranch in Scottsdale, Ariz. has introduced two new golf-course features as part of an effort to help make the game faster and fun for many players.

“The Horseshoe,” DC Ranch’s new nine-hole short course, debuted this winter. Featuring holes ranging from 54 to 104 yards and designed by Greey/Pickett of Scottsdale, The Horseshoe features the same TifEagle Bermudagrass putting-surface greens as the club’s main 18-hole course, which was recently redesigned by Tom Lehman and John Fought. Fronting the nine greens of The Horseshoe, sand bunkers provide a similar look that members would experience on a traditional golf course.

Other additions to DC Ranch’s Practice Park include an 8,500-sq. ft. practice putting green, increased practice tee space and a larger shortgame area with two chipping greens and greenside bunkers.

DC Ranch also recently added Gold Tees on its main 18-hole course that play to a yardage of 3,969 yards—1,100 yards shorter than the red tees, and approximately 3,000 yards shorter than the black tees.

COPPER ROCK GOLF COURSE OPENS THE NEW COPPER ROCK golf course in Hurricane, Utah, opened to the public in February, Golf Course Architecture reported. It was designed and built by Dale Beddo of G3 Golf Group.

The course, located near Zion National Park and Sand Hollow State Park, is part of a 950-acre master-planned development that includes a hotel site, Golf Course Architecture reported. The end goal is to be a Top 100 resort destination in the United States, Beddo said. Notable features include the 210-foot long green at the fifth hole, and the double green for the ninth and eighteenth holes.

The course will host the Copper Rock Championship on the Symetra Tour in September 2020, bringing the LPGA to Utah for the first time since 1965, Golf Course Architecture reported.

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SUPPLIER NEWS

RAIN BIRD’S NEW ICI+ PROVIDES SINGLE-INTERFACE INTEGRATED CONTROL RAIN BIRD’S GOLF DIVISION has introduced a new integrated course-control solution that makes it possible to install satellites and the company’s IC System on the same wire path. The Integrated Control Interface Plus (ICI+) allows superintendents to renovate or expand their existing satellite system in phases, at a lower cost and with less disruption to the golf course.

Available in two different versions, the ICI+ System replaces Rain Bird Golf’s current MIM (MAXIÔ Interface Module) and MIM LINK Satellite interfaces, as well as the current ICI. The ICI+ two-wire version communicates with existing and new Rain Bird Satellite and IC Systems, and the ICI+LINK version communicates with existing and new LINK satellite systems (with the option to add the IC System).

“The ICI+ is truly a game changer for courses looking to update to the latest IC System technology without having to undergo a major renovation,” said Carolyn Maloney, Product Manager for Rain Bird Golf. “This interface is the first in the golf irrigation industry to offer fully integrated course control, allowing the golf course to splice into the nearest satellite wire path and add integrated control modules [ICMs] without running wire all the way back to the maintenance facility.

“With the ICI+, courses with satellites systems can now easily get the benefits of our IC System and its companion IC CONNECT™ devices—benefits like advanced diagnostics, easy expansion, precision watering and the ability to integrate and interact with sensors and other field equip-

ment,” Maloney added.

Rain Bird has also developed a new IFX Satellite Board that will be installed in all new PAR+ES Satellites and is backwardscompatible with the company’s older satellites and the MIM Satellite interfaces.

This board allows courses to put IC rotors or Integrated Control Modules (ICMs) on a satellite’s wire path.

Because the IFX board is both backward- and forward-compatible, courses can connect their current satellite systems to the future-forward technology offered by IC and IC CONNECT, simply by installing a simple interface board.

ELECTROLUX SKYLINE AND LINE 6000 EARN GOOD DESIGN AWARDS ELECTROLUX PROFESSIONAL’S NEW FLAGSHIP products—SkyLine Cook&Chill (pictured below) and Line 6000 Washers and Dryers—have been honored through the GOOD DESIGN Awards Program by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.

The emphasis of GOOD DESIGN is on quality design from the innovation and functionality point of view, and the ecological impact of each product selected. The SkyLine Cook&Chill and the Line 6000 Washers and Dryers precisely fulfill these requirements.

texacraft.com Jrega@texacraft.com | 800.327.1541

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CLUBHOUSE SOLUTIONS WEBSITE LAUNCHED FOR PRIVATE GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUBS CLUBHOUSE SOLUTIONS, THE NEWEST division within NBC Sports Group’s GOLF Business Solutions family of brands, has launched a full-service website dedicated to the success of private golf and country clubs.

Resources offered by the Clubhouse Solutions website will tap into expertise gained by an organization that has helped more than 9,000 public golf courses around the world become more efficient and effective through innovative technology, services and best-inclass customer support. It also will build on assets gained from NBC Sports Group’s recent acquisition of EZLinks Golf, whose expertise serving high-end private clubs will elevate Clubhouse Solutions’ ability to maximize partnerships.

“We’re excited about the launch of the new Clubhouse Solutions website, which now offers our private club partners easy access to information and a full menu highlighting some unique assets, including custom technologies and services focused on member retention and acquisition,” said Mike Hendrix, Vice President of Business Services, GOLF Business Solutions.

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

JOHN DEERE MOWERS RECEIVE AE50 AWARD HONORS FOLLOWING A 2019 LAUNCH, the John Deere 2700 and 2750 PrecisionCut and E-Cut Hybrid Triplex Mowers were honored as 2020 AE50 Award winners by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. Each year the AE50 awards highlight the most innovative designs in product engineering in the food and agriculture industry, as selected by a panel of international engineering experts.

The development of the 2700 and 2750 reel mowers was based on customer needs and challenges—most importantly, the struggle to find quality labor and tight operating budgets. With this in mind, the triplex mowers are equipped with the proven advanced TechControl system, which is passcode-protected and allows superintendents, technicians, and other trusted supervisors to input commands, controlling nearly everything regarding the operator’s performance, including frequency of clip, turn speed, cleanup pass speed, and how fast the cutting units raise and lower.

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PEOPLE NEWS

CLUB PEOPLE Dylan Petrick has been named the new Chief Executive Officer of Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio, succeeding Kraig Kranitz, CCM, who is retiring after 18 Dylan Petrick years with the club. Petrick previously served as General Manager/COO of Coldstream Country Club in Cincinnati, and was also an Assistant General Manager and Director of Food and Beverage at Baltimore (Md.) Country Club.

ClubLife Management has named Greg Griffin as its Director of Corporate Development.

Griffin most recently successfully orchestrated the transition of operations and Greg Griffin management of Midlothian Country Club in the suburbs of Chicago to ClubLife Management in early 2019.

Matt Morgan

Seattle (Wash.) Golf Club has named Matt Morgan as Assistant General Manager.

Morgan has served as the club’s Controller for more than seven years.

Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club in Gold Canyon, Ariz. has hired Michael O’Dowd as Executive Chef.

O’Dowd was most recently Executive Chef at L’Auberge de Sedona (Ariz.).

Michael O’Dowd 16

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Cleveland Country Club in Shelby, N.C. has named Allyson Darling as General Manager. Darling was most recently at The Mixson Club in North Charleston, S.C. The Mixson Club in North Charleston, S.C. has named Jen Heathfield as General Manager. Heathfield previously served as the Assistant Manager of the I’On Club in Mount Pleasant, SC. Greenwood (Miss.) Country Club has named Brooke Valente as General Manager. Valente, a former college golf coach, was most recently Event Coordinator at the National Infantry Museum Foundation.

Timacuan Golf and Country Club in Lake Mary, Fla. has named Ben Knapp as Director of Golf. Knapp was most recently with Disney Golf.

Indian River Preserve Golf Club in Mims, Fla. has hired Jeremy Brun as its new Director of Food Jeremy Brun & Beverage. Brun was most recently at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, W. Va. Westchester Hills Golf Club in White Plains, N.Y. has named Brian Giordano as Head Golf Professional. Giordano’s prior positions include Assistant Professional positions at Sunningdale Country Club and Old Oaks Country Club. He’s joined at Westchester Hills by new Assistant Golf Professional Carly Peters.

Manhattan Woods Golf Club in West Nyack, N.Y. named Ian Gillule as Club Manager. Gillule was formerly at Bayonne Golf Club. He’s joined by Reid Howey as the new Head Golf Professional.

Ben Knapp

John R. Fulling Jr., CGCS, the Grounds and Facilities Manager at Kalamazoo (Mich.)

Country Club, was elected to a one-year term as President of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).

John R. Fulling Jr. Yellowstone Country Club in Billings, Mont. named Chad Dillon as Head Golf Professional. He succeeds Bob Eames, who retired as Director of Golf after 50 years at the club.

Countryside Golf & Country Club in Naples, Fla. has named Scott Ortiz as Director of Food and Beverage. Ortiz most recently served as General Manager of Pelican Preserve in Fort Myers, Fla.

Kenton County (Ky.) Golf Courses has named David Peru as General Manager. Peru has worked at a pair of Kentucky facilities, including World of Golf in Florence and Devou Park Golf & Event Center in Covington.

David Peru

Chateau on the Lake Resort, Spa & Convention Center in Branson, Mo., has named Jon Davidson as General Manager.

Davidson was most recently Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Shangri-La Golf Club, Resort & Marina on Monkey Island, Okla.

Swenson Park Golf Course in Stockton, Calif. has promoted Joe Smith to General Manager. Prior to this promotion, Smith was the Head Golf Professional and Sales & Marketing Director at the course. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

IN MEMORIAM .

Daniel J. Farrell, CCM, died suddenly on January 28, 2020 at the age of 61. Farrell worked for 25 years as General Manager/ COO of several Platinum Level clubs, including Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. C+RB featured Oak Hill during the year Farrell and the club hosted the PGA Championship (“Major Mastery,” September 2013).

After his career in club management, Farrell joined GSI Executive Search in 2015.

SUPPLIER PEOPLE

Yamaha Golf-Car Company has appointed Guy Mancini as District Manager, responsible for direct sales in the southeastern Florida territory. Mancini most recently served as the First Assistant Golf Professional at the Mariner Sands Country Club in Stuart, Fla.

Southern Aluminum announced these additions to its sales and marketing team: Christina Burnett, Regional Sales Director – Florida; Dawn Migliore, Regional Sales Director – New York, New Jersey; Gabrielle Rooffener, Regional Sales Director – Northern California, Nevada; Cody Schaefer, Regional Sales Director – Illinois, Wisconsin; and John Utz, Regional Sales Director – Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky.

McMahon Group has added Chris Coulter, ECM, CCM, as Vice President of Club Consulting. Coulter most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of The Westmoor Club in Nantucket, Mass.

Sysco Corp. named Kevin Hourican as its new CEO. Hourican was previously Executive Vice President of CVS Health/ President of CVS Pharmacy.

Rain Bird has named Stuart Hackwell as Director of its Golf Strategic Business Unit.

Hackwell has been with Rain Bird for 27 years, most recently as Rain Bird Golf’s National Sales Manager in the United States.

Private Club Associates has welcomed Tim Dunlap and Tom Ridge as Partners of the firm. Dunlap was most recently COO of GPSi/ Club Car. Ridge was most recently Vice President of Operations at Bobby Jones Links.

Daniel J. Farrell

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

February 2020

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Âť COYOTE RIDGE GC

Finding New Competitive Edges

at Coyote Ridge GC In a market that’s always been a dogfight, the Carrollton, Texas club has put the pieces together to be poised for growth, as the Dallas metroplex becomes a new center of the golf world.

By Joe Barks, Editor

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ON A RECENT THURSDAY MORNING IN MID-JANUARY, motorists who had set out to cope with the usual joys of commuting in the Dallas metroplex also found themselves trying to navigate swollen roads and flooded underpasses, as the skies opened up for what would be a thorough all-day soaking. “Gotta love this Texas weather,” said John Viscontti with a smile, after he had made his way to Coyote Ridge Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas north of Dallas, where he is the club’s General Manager.

Viscontti could manage the smile, even though Coyote Ridge had filled up a pretty healthy tee sheet for the day that was now going to be wiped out by the weather, because of the success the club has had engaging golfers in the area through its rain check policy that provides no-questions-asked refunds. “You can have beautiful days here even though weather apps say it is going to rain, and also

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

the reverse,” says Viscontti. “We started the [rain check] policy as part of the premium we’ve put on being flexible, to help us build some brand loyalty in a market where there are lots of choices.”

The rain check policy has yielded benefits beyond just getting golfers to be less hesitant about booking a round anywhere, and to be more likely to book it at Coyote Ridge when they do, says Viscontti, who came to the club in the fall of 2018, bringing experience from a variety of private and high-end semi-private and public properties.

“Even when it’s pretty clear it’s going to be a rainy day, we’ll now see double the number of rounds on the books that we normally would have,” he says. “The word has gotten around that we live up [ to the policy], and that even if someone plays 17 holes and gets washed out by a sudden storm for their last one, we’ll refund them for a full new round.

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l Club + Resort Business l 19

» Coyote Ridge GC

Even on the rainiest days, there’s now plenty of activity to keep the Coyote Ridge staff busy. Left to right: Delani Kelly, Marketing Manager; Ciara Woodfield, Accounts Manager; Anna D’el, Bar Manager; Kristin Marcelo, Administrative Assistant; Michael Owens, F&B/ Events Director; Alex Turner, Assistant Golf Professional/Golf Instructor; Casey Finch, Head Golf Professional; John Hannon, Assistant Golf Professional/Membership & Tournament Director; John Viscontti, General Manager. (Not pictured: Ron Capaeu, Grill 19 Manager; Landon Wickstrom, Superintendent; Greg Sims, Executive Chef)

At A Glance:

COYOTE RIDGE GOLF CLUB Location: Carrollton, Texas Founded: 1999 Property Type: Semi-Private Ownership: Sam Moon Group (acquired club in 2005) Members: 101 Golf Course Design: Greg Williams Annual Golf Rounds: 36,000 Clubhouse Size: 26,000 sq. ft.

General Manager: John Viscontti Head Golf Professional: Casey Finch Superintendent: Landon Wickstrom Executive Chef: Greg Sims Food & Beverage/Events Director: Michael Owens Assistant Golf Professional/Membership & Tournament Director: John Hannon Assistant Golf Professional/Golf Instructor: Alex Turner Marketing Manager: Delani Kelly Grill 19 Manager: Ron Capaeu Bar Manager: Anna D’el Accounts Manager: Ciara Woodfield Administrative Assistant: Kristin Marcelo

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“It also makes people show up here even when it’s pretty clear they probably won’t be able to get out on the course,” Viscontti added, on a morning where that was certainly going to be the case. “You might even see that here today—they’ll still come to eat or drink or hit the pro shop. So [the rain check policy] has had a nice effect on our F&B and merchandise sales, too.”

The policy originally set the refund period at 90 days, but has proved popular enough that Coyote Ridge has now extended it to 180—and if the rain check still hasn’t been redeemed by that time, its value can be converted to a pro shop gift card. “It’s all part of what we’re trying to do to stand out in a market that has the heavy presence of major operators [including Dallas-based ClubCorp and Arcis Golf],” says Viscontti. “We want to position ourselves as a unique, top-tier destination where you can expect special service, but still get great value.” Coyote Ridge’s main marketing message, in fact, touts how it can offer “a luxury country club feel, without the country club fee.”

Those efforts have paid off in a resurgence of rounds, Viscontti reports, to past previous peak levels in the 32,000 to 34,000 annual range and hit 36,000 in 2019, with prospects for approaching 40,000 this year. Additionally, the club has put itself on the map as an event venue and a source of shopping options that can’t be found elsewhere, for both golfers and non-golfers alike. Led by www.clubandresortbusiness.com

As word has spread that the club lives up to its no-questions-asked promise, Coyote Ridge’s rain-check policy has helped build brand loyalty for its course, in a market where golfers have ample choices.

Head Golf Professional Casey Finch, Coyote Ridge’s standard-sized pro shop has earned accolades as one of the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s top destinations for offering a wide variety of in-demand brands that aren’t as readily available in other outlets in the region, including Travis Mathew, ASICS, Bushnell, Oakley, and many others.

“We try to find ways to be leaders in every possible niche that’s popular, without overcrowding the store,” says Finch. “The vendors are coming to us now, instead of us going to them.” [Finch and his staff didn’t even go to the recent PGA Show, instead preparing for the upcoming peak season by finding room for new items

Oct2019Halfpage_7W_4.625H 9/13/19 11:14 AM Page 1

like ASICS golf shoes that they were being supplied with on an exclusive basis for the Dallas-Fort Worth market].

SENSE OF BELONGING In addition to its efforts to make those throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area aware of all that Coyote Ridge has to offer,

LOCKER ROOM AMENITIES

P: 800.274.8742

Follow Us

F: 800.274.8262 www.DuffysTriC.com

On Twitter

Family-Owned & Operated Since 1978 www.clubandresortbusiness.com

February 2020

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» HAMMOCK DUNES CLUB

A new fleet of 82 golf carts, plus two new beverage carts, now provide some of the more visible evidence of capital expenditures that have beem made to help elevate the experience at Coyote Ridge. Behind the scenes, a new pump station is helping to keep the golf course playable, no matter what challenges are posed by “Texas weather.”

the staff has focused on special outreach to residents and businesses in Carrollton, which has grown to a population approaching 125,000, so they will keep the club front-of-mind as their primary hometown option for golf, events, dining and other activities.

“We want all of the city-related events we can get, from the police and other departments, and we also want local businesses to think of our boardroom and dining and banquet rooms first, as the best place to hold their offsite meetings and outings,” Viscontti says Promoting corporate memberships is part of that effort, and Coyote Ridge is also marketing itself to Carrollton residents, many of whom live in the sprawling surrounding community for which the golf course was originally built, by offering a variety of membership options that include special “Coyote Club” and “Carrollton Club” choices.

Where the club only had about 35 total members when Viscontti arrived a year and a half ago, and only about half of those were really active, he says, the count is now approaching 100, and he thinks progress can continue to eventually build a solid base of 250 members. “These aren’t just your typical season-pass programs,” 22

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he says of Coyote Ridge’s membership initiatives. “Our long-term plan is to have a substantial membership core built around a full range of amenities. At the end of the day, that’s what needed to support a viable operation, especially in a highly competitive market like Dallas.”

To accelerate membership development, Viscontti also has his eye on forging a stronger partnership with the neighboring community, which has pool, tennis and other recreational facilities that would mesh nicely with Coyote Ridge’s current amenity mix.

SPECIAL SUPPORT AND INSIGHTS For all of the initiatives that it has already launched and will continue to develop, the Coyote Ridge staff has drawn support and motivation from the Sam Moon Group, which acquired the property in 2005.

Founded in 1984 as a regional wholesaler of general merchandise, the company built a reputation as a preferred supplier of women’s accessories and handbags, and then built on that success to develop a diversified portfolio that now also includes, in addition to Coyote Ridge GC, seven Sam Moon Company trading stores across Texas, plus commercial real estate ventures

and hotels in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that include Marriott, Renaissance and Hyatt flags.

In addition to providing support through capital expenditures that have recently included the purchase of a new fleet of 82 golf carts and two beverage carts, plus infrastructure work on the golf course that installed a new pump station and has bolstered Coyote Ridge’s reputation as a place to play golf in less-than-ideal weather conditions, Sam Moon’s ownership has also helped the club find new ways to distinguish itself in marketing, merchandising and service, Viscontti says.

“We’ve been focusing on raising the level of service to make it more personalized and to enhance the sense of arrival,” he says. “There are some synergies with what [Sam Moon] has learned on the hotel side that can also be applied here.”

Continuing to step up its game will only promise to be more important for Coyote Ridge, and all clubs in the metroplex, as the already crowded and active market sees the arrival of PGA Frisco, the new headquarters complex in another Dallas suburb that will include a pair of new championship golf courses and bring six major tournaments and 17 other Tour events to the area over the next 13 years. The massive www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Coyote Ridge’s golf staff has established the club’s pro shop as one of the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s top destinations for a wide variety of in-demand brands, such as Travis Mathew, that aren’t as readily available in other outlets in the region. “We try to find ways to become leaders in every possible niche that’s popular, without overcrowding the store,” says Head Golf Professional Casey Finch. “Vendors are coming to us now.”

660-acre development, which has been billed as “The Modern Home of American Golf,” will also include a 10-hole short course, practice areas, and an education center that will serve as a focal point for regrowing-the-game initiatives.

While PGA Frisco will literally cast a large shadow on all other courses in the area, Coyote Ridge is one that is eager to welcome the new spotlight it will shine on Dallas-Fort Worth golf operations (it also won’t hurt that Si Woo Kim, a rising Korean star on the PGA Tour, is a Coyote Ridge member).

“In 2019, we did a lot to get better as an organization, to define and execute who we are and all that we have to offer,” says Viscontti in reflecting on his first full year at Coyote Ridge. “I think now we’re ready for some solid growth in 2020. And with all that’s happening both here and in the area, I see nothing but good things and opportunities ahead.” C+RB

THE NEXT GENERATION OF CLUB LEADERS

Mobile Strategies Lead the Way Clubs change. Members change. The world changes. Discover how club leaders are paving the way forward by balancing traditions with technology and mobile strategies to create the ultimate experience for their members.

Download “Conversations with the Next Generation of Club Leaders” to get their stories in their own words.

Visit www.clubessential.com/leaders

BUILDING THE NEXT GENERATION OF CLUB LEADERS

Conversations with the Next Generation of Club Leaders Hear how Clubs are Successfully Addressing the Most Pressing Industry Issues

“We want to stay creative. We’ll look at what we have and say how can we use it to be completely different?” www.clubandresortbusiness.com

GRAHAM HOUSE, Clubhouse and Lodging Manager, Cordillera Ranch February 2020 l Club + Resort Business l 23

SUNDAY, MARCH 1 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM Sponsor sessions (see www.cheftochefconference.com for details) 6:00 – 7:00 PM Opening reception with cocktails, hors d’ouevres 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM Welcome and plated dinner with keynote speaker,

10:30 – 11:00 AM Break with Sponsor Table Visits 11:00 – 11:45 AM Session 3 —

Fritz Gitschner, CMC, Executive Chef, Philadelphia Country Club, Gladwyne, Pa. “Stay on Top: Be the Driver in Culinary Manpower and Financial Performance”

Chef Michelle Bernstein

“Creative and Effective Approaches to Cooking, Career Growth and Leadership” 9:00 PM – 11:00 PM “Chef to Chef Lounge” at The Westin Charlotte– cocktails and social interaction Signature Beverage “Mix-Off”

MONDAY, MARCH 2 7:15 – 8:15 AM Breakfast 8:20 – 8:30 AM Welcoming Remarks and Announcements 8:30 – 9:30 AM Session 1 —

Ed Leonard, CMC,

Director of Culinary Operations and Executive Chef, The Polo Club of Boca Raton (Fla.)

“Leadership vs. Management/ Innovation vs. Creativity”

11:45 AM – 12:30 PM Session 4 —

Travis Petersen, The Nomad Cook “An Introduction to CBD and Terpenes from Canada’s Cannabis Chef” Cooking Demo 12:30 – 1:30 PM Lunch

1 B

1:30 – 2:00 PM Sponsor Table Visits 2:00 – 5:00 PM “Inside the House” Local Club Tour: Carmel CC, Quail Hollow Club 5:00 – 6:30 PM Dine-Around, Myers Park Country Club 6:30 PM Buses return to Westin; evening free for dinner in Charlotte 9:00 PM – 11:00 PM “Chef to Chef Lounge” at The Westin Charlotte– cocktails and social interaction

TUESDAY, MARCH 3 9:30 – 10:30 AM Session 2 —

Paul Verica, Chef Owner, The

Stanley (Charlotte, N.C. restaurant) “From Club Chef to James Beard Nominee” Cooking Demo

7:30 – 8:15 AM Breakfast 8:15 – 8:30 AM Announcements and Presentation of 5- and 10-Year Pins

1 Lu

1 Sp

2020 Agenda Charlotte, NC • March 1-3, 2020 T H E

W E S T I N

C H A R L O T T E

8:30 – 9:15 AM Session 5 —

1:00 – 1:45 PM Session 9 —

CEC, Executive Chef, Farmington Country Club, Charlottesville, Va.

Chef, Blackthorn Club at The Ridges, Jonesborough, Tenn.

Michael Matarazzo,

James Allen, CEC, Executive

“The Three R’s: Relevance, Recruitment and Retention”

“Play with Your Food: A Fun Approach to Casual and Fine Dining” Cooking Demo

9:15 – 10:15 AM Session 6 —

1:45 – 3:15 PM Session 10 — “Chef to Chef Live”— 6 Breakouts, 6 Presenters

J. Kevin Walker,

CMC, AMC, Executive Chef, Ansley Golf Club, Atlanta, Ga. “Inspiring and Retaining a Culinary Team at the End of the ‘Yes, Chef’ Era” + Cooking Demo: Multi-Use Condiments and Plate Finishes 10:15 – 10:45 AM Break w/ Sponsor Table Visits 10:45 – 11:30 AM Session 7 —

Rhy Waddington,

3:15 – 4:15 PM Iron Chef Cook-Off 3-Person Teams, 2 Staggered 20-Minute Semis and a 20-Minute Final, with audience voting.

4:15 PM Closing Remarks

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4 (Time TBA) Optional Culinary School Tour - Johnson + Wales

Executive Chef, Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, N.Y. and Rhonda Vetere, Author

SPONSORED BY:

“Women in Hospitality: Promoting Their Success and Impact”

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM Session 8 —

James Hudock, Executive Chef, Gibson Island (Md.) Club

12:30 – 1:00 PM Sponsor Table Visits

R E G I S T E R N OW !

• • •

12:00 – 12:30 PM Lunch

• • •

“The ‘APPY’ Kitchen: A Paperless Approach to Managing Workflow”

by visiting cheftochefconference.com

FOOD + BEVERAGE

Still in

Fine Shape

Reports of formal dining’s demise at club and resort properties have been greatly exaggerated. Many chefs report that the tradition is still alive and well, with proper nods to today’s eating preferences.

By Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Contributing Editor

THE DEMAND FOR CASUAL AND family dining may be growing at clubs and resorts across the country, but white-tablecloth, jackets-only options still have a loyal following.

At Menlo Country Club in Woodside, Calif., the Lanai—the club’s 40-seat formal dining room with a fireplace—typically fills up when it is open for dinner Thursday through Sunday and for lunch Tuesday through Sunday, according to ExecuAt Menlo CC, Executive Chef Scott Doran. tive Chef Scott Doran Classics such as the 16-oz. bone-in ribeye steak are still hosts full houses still on Menlo CC’s a la carte menu, but most of the regularly in the Lanai, offerings have changed to smaller plates and lighter, sea- the club’s 40-seat formal dining room. sonal fare, Doran says. “Many members are less likely to want to eat the traditional meal consisting of a pound of meat and a starch, and they’re more likely to prefer smaller portions and greater variety,” he explains.

For example, he notes, a member favorite in Menlo CC’s formal dining room is now pan-seared Petrale sole. Doran changes the formal dining menu monthly, introducing new dishes and techniques each time for this discerning dining group.

In addition to lunches and dinners, Menlo also hosts at least six formal chef’s tables and wine dinners each year. The popularity of these events has resulted in Doran increasing the number of them over the past few years.

While formal dining tends to have the greatest appeal to the 55-plus member age demographic, Doran says, younger members also seem to enjoy a dress-up evening out, including a wine or chef’s dinner.

SPECIAL IN ALL REGARDS Formal dining usually means a special-occasion private function at Glen Ridge (N.J.) Country Club, explains Executive Chef James Haberstroh. It could be the members’ wine

SUMMING IT UP > Intimate spaces are popular for formal dining. > Fine-dining menus have shifted from large portions to multiple small courses. > Chefs’ tables and wine dinners are special ways to feature fine-dining fare.

February 2020

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FOOD + BEVERAGE

Recipe

Fresh Grouperwith Sweet Savory Corn

Pudding, Oyster Mushroom Vinaigrette and Petite Greens YIELD: 4 Servings INGREDIENTS FOR GROUPER: 4 6-oz. portions fresh grouper 2 ozs. clarified butter 10 sprigs fresh thyme 20 grape tomatoes, halved club holding a wine-maker dinner and pairing; a birthday, anniversary or retirement celebration, or just some couples who want to share a dress-up date night. “One member had a party on New Year’s Eve when the club was open just to him and his guests,” Haberstroh recalls. “Recently, two couples who shared a 30th anniversary celebrated together with a formal dinner at the club.”

For that dinner, Haberstroh prepared a six-course feast beginning with foie gras blini with Royal Ossetra caviar, followed by goat cheese crème bruleé (see recipe, pg. 30) with a lavender honey-lace cookie.

The next courses were cider-braised pork cheeks with wild ramp pesto and morel mushroom; domestic Colorado lamb-rack chops; and prime beef tenderloin en croute with shaved truffle. For dessert, Haberstroh prepared white chocolate cheesecake with Maine blueberry crumble. Each course was paired with a wine selection.

PROCEDURE: 1P an-sear grouper in butter; add grape tomatoes and thyme sprigs.

2 Finish in oven until cooked through. Make sure tomatoes are well-blistered.

INGREDIENTS FOR CORN PUDDING: 2 cups vegetable stock 6 ears of corn, shucked, kernels off 2 tbsp. butter 1 tbsp. crème fraiche to taste salt and pepper PROCEDURE: 1P uree stock and corn in a blender; strain and pour into double boiler, and let thicken.

2 Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook to desired consistency.

3 Stir in butter and crème fraiche.

4 Keep warm.

INGREDIENTS FOR OYSTER MUSHROOM VINAIGRETTE: 2 cups oyster mushrooms, sliced 2.5 ozs. extra-virgin olive oil to taste salt and white pepper 2 sprigs thyme, leaves picked 1 clove garlic, minced 1 shallot, minced 1 oz. sherry vinegar .5 oz. honey

PROCEDURE: 1H eat a pan and add olive oil, mushrooms and salt and pepper until mushrooms are wilted. Add thyme, garlic and shallot, and sauté 1 minute.

2R educe heat; add sherry vinegar and honey. Adjust salt and pepper.

3 The vinaigrette can be stored for one week.

INGREDIENTS FOR PETITE GREENS: 2 cups spring mix 2 ozs. basil oil

ENHANCE YOUR CLUBHOUSE PATIO

www.infradyne.com • 888-317-5255

FINAL ASSEMBLY: 1 Place corn pudding in the bottom of a bowl; add blistered tomatoes.

2T op with grouper fillet, 2 tbsp. oyster mushroom vinaigrette and spring mix.

3 Drizzle with basil oil.

Infrared Dynamics

SUBMITTED BY THOMAS PEPKA, EXECUTIVE CHEF, ILLINI COUNTRY CLUB, SPRINGFIELD, ILL.

WITH OUR PREMIUM QUALITY

OUTDOOR INFRARED HEATERS

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Infrared Dynamics -l SUNPAK ad - C&RB Magazine 1/4 pg - 3-3/8” x 4-7/8” 12/14/16

Club + Resort Business

February 2020

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

With proper prior notice, Haberstroh will prepare formal dinners in one of Glen Ridge’s two intimate wine-cellar rooms (one can seat up to 15, the other 25 to 30). For jacket-required holidays such as Mother’s Day, Easter and the club’s annual black-tie holiday gala, he uses the upstairs banquet room.

Haberstroh completely customizes the menus for formal dinners (and lunches) at Glen Ridge. “For a wine dinner, you could feature any kinds of wines, from Spanish vineyards to those from France’s Bourdeaux region,” he notes. “Each would require its own particular pairing menu.”

Multiple courses of smaller plates have taken the place of the traditional large cut of meat at Glen Ridge’s formal dinners. One recent appetizer offering was a three-bite version of Haberstroh’s goat cheese crème brulée, followed by an eight-ounce dry-aged steak. A rack of lamb is now two chops, rather than a full rack. And there is always some sort of vegetarian offering.

“

[Fine dining] has been [many members’] tradition and they choose to continue it. Their children are usually adults, so they aren’t as concerned about

”

dining venues that cater to youngsters.

—James Haberstroh, Executive Chef, Glen Ridge CC

Formal lunches, which are occasionally hosted at the club, are generally private functions. The lunch menus are also completely customized by Haberstroh, to suit the occasion and member preferences.

Much of the time it is the founding members of Glen Ridge, individuals in their late 40s to 60s, who continue to show a preference for more-formal dining, says Haberstroh. “It has been their tradition and they choose to continue it,” he says. “Their children are usually adults, so they aren’t as concerned about dining venues that cater to youngsters.”

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

DIFFERENT VENUES, SAME MENU Thomas Pepka, Executive Chef of Illini Country Club in Springfield, Ill., takes a very different approach to formal dining. At Illini CC, formal dining is separated from morecasual options by the location of the meal and the dress code, but not the menu.

While more spaces in the club have been renovated to accommodate members’ increased demand for casual and family dining, Pepka reports, Illini CC still has a solid base that prefers formal dining—particularly older members who want to retain their long-time traditions.

February 2020

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FOOD + BEVERAGE

Recipe

Goat Cheese Crème Brulée YIELD: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS: 600 grams goat cheese 4 egg yolks 2 cups cream 2 cups milk

2 tsp. maple syrup 1/4 tsp. salt 2 tbsp. coarse cane sugar

PROCEDURE: 1 Bring milk and cream to a boil.

2 Whisk egg yolks and maple syrup until the yolks are white and frothy.

3 Temper cream and milk to egg yolk mixture.

4 Add goat cheese and puree.

5 Transfer the mixture to six ramekins.

6 Cook in a combi oven at 280˚ with 65% moisture for 12 minutes.

7 Let chill for approximately 2 hours.

8 To caramelize the tops, sprinkle coarse sugar evenly over the crème. Caramelize gently with a blowtorch.

SUBMITTED BY JAMES HABERSTROH, EXECUTIVE CHEF, GLEN RIDGE COUNTRY CLUB, GLEN RIDGE, N.J.

For Executive Chef Thomas Pepka at Illini CC, formal dining is separated from more casual options by the location of the meal and the dress code, but not the menu.

Illini CC has three different and distinct dining venues.

The formal one, the Leland Room, can seat up to 18 guests. The menu is the same as that offered in the more casual dining rooms—a series of starters and small plates, followed by entrees.

“It’s not uncommon in [the Leland Room] to see one guest having filet mignon while the person sitting next to him, also in formal dress, is enjoying chicken wings, as long as that person is dressed appropriately for the dining room,” Pepka notes. “If someone wants a hot dog in the Leland Room they can have it, while someone in the Grille Room wanting filet mignon can get that as well.”

Most nights, Pepka reports, the Leland Room does well—and especially on Friday and Saturday nights. “On

weeknights, we usually see our elder members in the Leland Room; formal dining is a tradition for them,” he said. “On Saturdays, though, we see a little different clientele, more mixed ages.”

Chef’s tables and wine-pairing dinners are also held in the Leland Room. For lunch, the room generally caters to the business crowd and is usually busy on weekdays, partly due to the club’s location near the Illinois state capitol building.

Like Menlo and Glen Ridge, Illini CC’s menu has shifted to an emphasis on small plates and multiple courses. “We still offer steaks and prime rib, but we also include lighter, seasonal fine-dining entrees such as filet of grouper; chicken caprese with tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil; mustardcrusted salmon; flat breads and burgers,” says Pepka. “For heartier fare, we have included lobster risotto and bison ribs.”

Some of the more popular items are the

are usually busy enough, Pepka does not Hot Fire appetizer, which consists of fried feature a theme for that day. shrimp in sriracha sambal sauce (an IndoClubs are also rethinking dress and dining nesian chile sauce) and wasabi cucumber rules for their formal venues, along with the dressing with black sesame seeds; calamari menus themselves. To accommodate the prepared in different ways; steamed pork many members who still enjoy dressing up dumplings; the house salad composed of a for dinner, the formal dining room at Menlo mixture of iceberg and leaf lettuce, creamy CC requires gentlemen to wear a jacket horseradish dressing, bacon and cheese; and tie. Jackets are also required at Glen and fish tacos (even in the Leland Room).

After Pepka introduced a program featur- Ridge CC and Illini CC, but ties are optional.

Jeans are not permitted in any of the clubs’ ing different culinary themes, volume has formal dining rooms, and cell phones must grown exponentially in all of the club’s be set on silent mode. C+RB dining rooms compared to the year before.

In January and February, Thursday night has become fried chicken night. Last sumMORE ONLINE mer, Pepka offered regional rib nights, focusing on pork For Chef Scott Doran’s recipe for Pan-Seared Scallops, see the ribs and changing the prepaonline version of this article at rations every week. www.clubandresortbusiness.com Saturday is prime rib night, but because Friday evenings

DESIGN + RENOVATION

GOOD THINGS

IN STORE 32

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Renovated retail shops are generating greater business for club and resort properties, thanks to better use of space and easier access to more merchandise.

By Pamela Brill, Contributing Editor

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

SUMMING IT UP > A variety of interchangeable retail > >

fixtures lends itself to flexible displays.

Store layouts that foster easy access to merchandise create better traffic flow.

Repurposed, underutilized space makes room for storage, offices and other amenities.

Photo Courtesy The Clubs of Kingwood

SPECIALTY RETAILING HAS BECOME A challenging landscape, and the pro shop is no exception. As brick-and-mortar stores compete against online retailers and look to improve overall productivity, many club and resort properties are opting to redesign their shopping venues to create a more buyer-friendly experience.

From customizable display fixtures that let managers update merchandise as needed, to additional amenities that extend the shop’s usefulness, club shops are becoming more versatile—and lucrative.

s

THE RIGHT DIRECTION Inside the pro shop at Vineyards Country Club in Naples, Fla., an eyecatching weathervane sits atop one of the display tables. “It definitely gets a lot of attention, as many people want to buy it,” says Merchandise Manager Sandy McClain. Aside from being a conversation starter, the weathervane is positioned in the direction of the club’s two 18-hole courses—a fitting testament to a forward-facing facility that has its eye on the future. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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DESIGN + RENOVATION VINEYARDS COUNTRY CLUB Naples, Fla.

“[Our pro shop] was redesigned to promote a warm and welcoming feeling when you enter [and to] allow for an open-air feeling, with panoramic views of our two championship golf courses.”

—Tom Metzger, Director of Golf

Last October, Vineyards Country Club completed a full-scale renovation that included its 1,000-sq.-ft. clubhouse. While the original footprint remained intact, the redesigned space boasts a new vaulted ceiling, LED lighting and floor-to-ceiling windows. “They allow for an open-air feeling to the golf shop, with panoramic views of the two championship golf courses,” says Director of Golf Tom Metzger.

Located at the northeast corner of the clubhouse, the pro shop receives a few hundred visitors on any given in-season day. “It’s designed to promote a warm

and welcoming feeling when you enter,” Metzger says. A revamped layout brings members directly into the golf club and bag section, which then flows into men’s and ladies’ golf apparel. (Signature brands include FootJoy, Donald Ross, and Oxford for men, along with Tail, EP Pro and IBKUL for women.)

Nine custom built-in displays with slat walls showcase apparel, accessories and shoes. McClain touts their multifunctionality, as they can be used with waterfalls, faceouts or shelving. The shop currently has three sets of nesting tables and five

four-way displays, and two additional merchandise displays will be added this year.

As part of the redesign, the sales counter was relocated to the west side of the shop, opening up the view out to the golf courses. Overhead, a hand-forged pendant-style chandelier with two-tone finishes adds to the ambiance.

To accommodate a burgeoning business, office space and a generously sized stockroom have been added. And with a reported 9 percent growth in sales since the redesign, the shop is poised for continued growth.

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DESIGN + RENOVATION

CHAPARRAL COUNTRY CLUB Palm Desert, Calif.

“The whole club has a new feel [and] during high season, our foot traffic now increases on an average day to 100 to 150 people.”

—Todd Meginness, General Manager

EXPANDING BY ALL COUNTS At Chaparral Country Club in Palm Desert, Calif., a revitalized clubhouse and pro shop—including expanded storage facilities—is largely responsible for an uptick in membership. “The whole club has a new feel,” says General Manager Todd Meginness of the construction project that began in the fall of 2018 and has helped to position the club for continued growth.

Chaparral’s niche 800-sq. ft. pro shop added 200 square feet by opening up a wall and repurposing an existing adjacent office for storage. Situated on the east side of the clubhouse at the first and tenth tees, and next to the club’s tennis and pickleball courts, this space now provides easy access for members. “During high season, our foot traffic increases on an average day to 100 to 150 people,” says Meginness.

With the revised layout, shoppers are directed to the middle of the shop where the sales counter and check-in desk are located. Large windows across the back walls enable natural light to illuminate the sales floor, which is outfitted with four large wooden round and rectangular tables, and two sets of nesting tables.

Made to Order PRO SHOPS THAT CATER TO MEMBERS’ SPECIAL requests are becoming skilled in managing special orders, both in store and online. At The Clubs of Kingwood in Kingwood, Texas, special orders now comprise approximately 30 to 40 percent of the combined business for the Kingwood and Deerwood brick-andmortar golf shops.

“If our special-order business continues to grow, we will make a dedicated space to receive and store special-order merchandise,” says General Manager Blake Roberts. The club does not currently have an e-commerce pro shop.

At Timberlinks Golf Club in Denton, Texas, online shopping is on the agenda, with an e-commerce site scheduled to launch later this year. While details are preliminary, the shop is expected to provide a platform that complements its existing outlet, enabling golfers to purchase golf clubs, hats, bags and the like online, as well as Timberlinks gift cards.

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Special orders now comprise approximately 30 to 40 percent of the combined business for The Clubs of Kingwood’s two brick-and-mortar golf shops. As the special-order business grows, the shops will create dedicated space for it.

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Three taller slim tables are located around the shop’s perimeter, while multiple two-way and four-way matte-black racks accommodate hanging clothing. Designers opted for a grid wall in lieu of slats, to better expose the classic styling. “You can still see the beautiful sage-green paint throughout,” says Meginness of the shop’s décor, which is complemented by brown plaid carpeting.

Perhaps the greatest piece de resistance is a custom-made inset trophy case, which resides along the wall near a dressing room.

Formerly located in the clubhouse hallway, the eye-catching accent piece has helped to generate more traffic into the shop.

Thanks to such bold business decisions, the updated clubhouse and shop have proved their worth. Since the renovation, the club has welcomed 40 new members as part of its membership drive that began

THE CLUBS OF KINGWOOD Kingwood, Texas

“The new look and displays give our members a better view of the products, and the wall fixtures are changing constantly to accommodate new items and keep things interesting. We have seen better profit after the first year, and fewer markdowns.”

— Blake Roberts, General Manager

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

February 2020

l Club + Resort Business l 37

DESIGN + RENOVATION

in January 2019—a number that was continuing to grow a year later, Meginness reported at the end of January 2020.

WHERE SHOPPING IS KING At The Clubs of Kingwood in Kingwood, Texas, two pro shops recently received the royal treatment after sustaining damage from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The Deerwood facility, which was reconfigured in November 2018, was reduced from 1,185 to 616 sq. ft. as a result of a shift in business operations. “Most of the annual sales were special-order and not physical item sales,” explains General Manager Blake Roberts about the need for less space at that property.

The Kingwood shop, updated last March, maintained its original footprint at 1,650 sq. ft. and has earned over $1 million in annual sales.

Along with their varying sizes, each of the shops is positioned to attract business from different parts of the clubs’ activity.

Celebrating

20

Years 2000-2020

Deerwood’s proximity to the cart staging area, men’s locker room and bar generates approximately 80 customers per day, while the Kingwood pro shop’s location, near the clubhouse main entrance, cart staging area and Tavern 91 restaurant, makes it a prime destination for nearly 350 daily visitors. Each of the shops is laid out to not only handle these traffic patterns, but also make practical use of their respective spaces.

Roberts describes Deerwood’s style as “the typical country club pro shop, with dark wood and cabinets throughout.” The check-in counter is the primary focal point, prompting shoppers to step through apparel sections that vary in color and style, depending on the season.

“Hanging fixtures can be adjusted to hold pants in the colder weather, and shelves can be adjusted to accommodate gift ideas during the holidays,” Roberts notes. LED lighting illuminates product displays and

complements the blue-gray plaid carpeting.

Over at the Kingwood shop, members are greeted by mannequins in the front window, and their gaze then shifts to nesting tables featuring the latest merchandise on the center of the floor. On the left-hand side of the shop, a gondola fixture features sports-themed merchandise, along with men’s clothing and an area with a bench for trying on shoes. On the right is a lit wall of interchangeable fixtures with men’s shirts, shorts, pants, hats and accessories, as well as ladies’ clothing and jewelry.

Boasting a total of three nesting tables, six gondolas and 11 interchangeable hanging/shelf fixtures, the bustling shop is wellequipped to manage an active inventory.

“The wall fixtures are changing constantly to accommodate new items and keep things interesting for our members and guests,” says Roberts. He credits the built-in lighting on the shelves for highlighting key products. In addition, charcoal-gray carpeting with a subtle ivory abstract design enhances the black steel fixtures.

Thanks to this open-floor concept, shoppers at both locations are able to peruse the sales floor without being hindered by cumbersome displays. As a result, Roberts reports increased sales in golf and lifestyle merchandise over the past year. “The team feels this is attributed to the new look and displays that give our members a better view of the products,” he says. “With the change in space, we have seen better profit after the first year, and fewer markdowns.”

MAXIMIZING POTENTIAL At the KemperSports-managed Timberlinks Golf Club in Denton, Texas, space constraints had prevented the pro shop from flourishing. According to General Manager Ehren Guntert, “lack of space and the inability to merchandise effectively” prompted the need for a redesign, which took place in May 2019.

“The main purpose of the renovation was to better utilize the limited space by installing slat wall to maximize the merchandise we could sell,” Guntert says. “We also wanted to give the area more of a pro-shop feel while creating more of an open-area

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TIMBERLINKS GOLF CLUB Denton, Texas

“We wanted to create more of an open-area concept, drawing golfers’ eyes to the walls for retail products, versus having to walk through and around floor fixtures.”

— Ehren Guntert, General Manager

concept, drawing golfers’ eyes to the walls for retail products, versus having to walk through and around floor fixtures.”

Assuming a modest 589 sq. ft., the pro shop is located on the back side of the clubhouse and leasing office. Upon walking in the main entrance, a drink cooler and ice cream merchandiser are located directly to the right, and a feature wall stocked with Nike products is on the left-hand side.

Three large picture windows look out to the ninth green, first tee and practice green, with two glove and ball displays between them. Just past the feature wall is a check-in counter stocked with tees, jars of golf balls and other accessories. Behind the counter are two beer coolers, with snack bar items directly to the right.

When shoppers are in need of a break, they can head to the golf lounge on the

shop’s back side, grab a complementary cup of coffee and watch any of the three large HD TVs. The general manager’s office, directly adjacent to the pro shop counter, rounds out the additional amenities.

With the redesigned layout in place, the Timberlinks shop experienced a record year in merchandise sales, Guntert says, with business increasing by a whopping 186 percent in 2019 versus 2018. C+RB

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COURSE + GROUNDS

FROM PROBLEMS TO

SOLUTIONS

FOR SOME PEOPLE, A GOLF course is a sporting arena where they can learn or improve a skill. For others, it’s a venue for enjoying the camaraderie of friends and the beauty of nature.

At Metropolitan Golf Links in Oakland, Calif., the staff takes its mission a step further—the property is also an environmental science learning lab that helps make the community a better place.

“We sometimes are the last refuge for wildlife in a community,” Gary Ingram, CGCS, Director of Agronomy, says of golf courses. “We help Mother Nature and society.”

Metropolitan, located in an industrial area next to Oakland International Airport, has been a community asset since its beginning. The 18-hole, links-style golf course was built on a disposal site for dredged material from the San Francisco Bay. The layout was built on an old landfill, which was previously occupied by the Lew Galbraith Golf Course that closed in 1993, because the landfill had not been properly sealed.

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With an award-winning golf course superintendent at the helm, Metropolitan Golf Links in Oakland, Calif., fosters strong community relationships with environmental stewardship and hands-on outreach programs.

By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor

Photos Courtesy Metropolitan Golf Links

“Government agencies required the property to be capped correctly, so that water couldn’t infiltrate into the aquifer and pollute the surrounding wetlands,” says Ingram, who has been at the property since the 2002 grow-in for the new golf course, which was created when Metropolitan designers Johnny Miller and Fred Bliss augmented the site and improved drainage by covering the landscape with dredged silt, then growing the latest turf hybrids.

USING RESOURCES WISELY Grasses on the Metropolitan golf course include numerous turf species such as ryegrass, alkali grass, paspalum, bentgrass, www.clubandresortbusiness.com

fescue, salt grass, and fiber optic grass. “Most of the area got covered with silt, but some areas with soil created unique salt and percolation issues,” says Ingram. “It can be a challenge to get grass to grow in some areas. Many of our fairways are different. It’s not a uniform growing medium.”

Ingram, the winner of the 2020 President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship from the Board of Directors of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), is passionate about the ways that turf can be used. “Not only do people enjoy the game, the challenge, and the scenery, they also enjoy the euphoric effects from the oxygen released from the turf,” he says. “Some people play golf because they want February 2020 l Club + Resort Business l 41

COURSE + GROUNDS Metropolitan Golf Links’ Turfgrass Educational Initiative introduces local youth to not just the game of golf, but also to potential career paths in the industry and its environmental importance.

to take a beautiful walk in the park and take their golf clubs with them.”

He also appreciates the challenge of having to keep different types of turf alive.

“One of the biggest challenges with our society and agricultural business is we used monocultures that create habitat where disease and insects can escalate,” he says.

But there is an upside to having different species of grasses at Metropolitan. “One disease can’t kill everything—it can only affect a certain species of turf,” notes Ingram.

At Metropolitan, Ingram has also employed an integrated pest management (IPM) plan, chemical application management plan, and water conservation practices. The key to an effective IPM plan, he says, is creating aesthetic thresholds for greens, tees, fairways and native areas, because “they all have different thresholds.”

Ingram’s chemical application management plan is similar to his IPM approach— use as little product as possible. “Not only is it best for the environment, it’s best for your bottom line,” hr explains. “We only put down chemicals when necessary. We do a lot of spot treating on the golf course.”

He also trains crew members to turn their sprayers off when they’re on the fairways. “Sometimes you have to spray wall-to-wall, but it’s not always necessary,” Ingram says. “Any time you turn the sprayer off, you save money.”

Superintendent Profile

Gary Ingram, CGCS Title: Director of Agronomy, Metropolitan Golf Links; Senior Agronomy Manager, CourseCo Years at Metropolitan Golf Links: 18 Years in Golf Course Maintenance Profession: 50 Previous Employment: Moraga (Calif.) Country Club; Claremont Country Club, Oakland, Calif.; Tilden Park Golf Course, Berkeley, Calif.

Education and Training: Ornamental Horticulture, Merritt College, Oakland, Calif.

Certifications: QAC, QAL, PCA, IA Honors and Awards: • GCSAA President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship, 2020 • President’s Award, 2019 – GCSAA • Overall public and national ELGA, 2014 (ELGA annually since 2013) • Superintendent of the Year – CourseCo • Superintendent of the Year – GCSANC • State of California Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, 2003 • Certified Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary

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SURF AND TURF Ingram calls water “liquid gold” in California. Water conservation practices at the golf course include hand-watering and reducing irrigated turf, as well as the use of a recycling equipment wash system, soil moisture sensors, and wetting agents. The property installed a California Irrigation Management Information Service onsite weather station a couple of years ago, and the maintenance staff measures evapotranspiration and waters accordingly.

“All of our cutting units are kept sharp, which causes less turf damage and less transpiration,” says Ingram. “We raise and lower the heights of cut during the different seasons, and we do deep, infrequent watering as much as possible.”

In addition, the maintenance staff fertilizes relative to plant needs, and aerifies the turf so that water can percolate into the ground.

Metropolitan Golf Links has one of the only all-grass driving ranges in the Bay Area, and the maintenance staff waters this turf judiciously as well. While the target areas are green, the grounds crew allows the majority of the grass on the landing area to go brown. This practice allows the staff to use less water than it would on a range with wall-to-wall green grass.

However, Ingram believes, turf reduction is the most important component of water conservation. “The biggest thing we do as a golf industry is to make sure we don’t have wall-to-wall turf unless we need it,” he says.

“We only irrigate what we need. We evaluate all of our acres to see if it’s necessary to irrigate them. We do that all the time.”

Metropolitan Golf Links has reduced irrigated turf by 20 acres and planted numerous areas with a pollinator mix that includes a number of different plant varieties.

The course collaborates with Pollinator Posse, an Oakland-based organization that creates pollinator-friendly landscaping and fosters appreciation of local ecosystems through outreach, education, and direct action. Its efforts include making oversized golf balls out of mud and pollinator seeds that golfers, and kids in particular, can hit into native areas on the course.

In addition, the property has planted milkweed to participate in Monarchs in www.clubandresortbusiness.com

the Rough, the program that partners with golf courses to restore pollinator habitat in out-of-play areas. The property also has beehives and pollinator gardens for native and European bees.

Metropolitan, which is certified as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program, conducts an Audubon bird count every year as well. Raptors such as red-shoulder hawks, red-tail hawks, kites, and kestrels and owls, along with numerous species of waterfowl and song birds, have been spotted on the golf course.

“We can’t focus on creating wildlife habitat because we’re right next to an airport,” Ingram notes. “We can’t promote bird populations because of the airport, but we can allow them to survive and co-exist with us.”

A TOUCH OF CLASS To promote the golf industry, Ingram has collaborated with various community entities during his career. For the past several

years, however, he has focused his efforts on the Oakland Unified School District, where he serves on advisory committees.

He also plays an instrumental role in Metropolitan’s nonprofit entity, the Oakland Turfgrass Educational Initiative (OTEI), a community outreach program that introduces youth to potential career paths in sports turf and golf course management, environmental sciences, and the green industry.

“I want to communicate to youth and the public about the importance of the golf industry, not just for the game of golf, but for the environment as well,” Ingram says.

Metropolitan holds study tours and field trips for middle and high school students in all-day, all-expenses-paid OTEI sessions that give public and charter school students the opportunity to learn about environmental science, agronomy, and chemistry in a STEM-based curriculum. The students conduct hands-on experiments, walk the golf course, and observe the grounds crew

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Golf Scorecard

METROPOLITAN GOLF LINKS Location: Oakland, Calif.

Club Website: www.playmetro.com Golf Holes: 18 + Practice Area (University of California-Berkeley Practice Facility) Course Designers: Fred Bliss and Johnny Miller Property Type: Public Year Opened: 2003 Golf Season: Year-round Annual Rounds of Golf: 55,000 Fairways: Assorted grasses Greens: Bent/Poa

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COURSE + GROUNDS

Course + Grounds Operations Profile

METROPOLITAN GOLF LINKS Annual Course Maintenance Budget: $850,000 Staff: 8 full-time, 2 seasonal Other Managers: Guillermo Romero-Reyes, Assistant Superintendent; Efrain Espinosa, Mechanic Irrigation System: SitePro Central LTC Plus, 2,300 heads; CIMIS station onsite Water Source: Well water Equipment: Leases standard maintenance equipment Technology: Google Earth, My Turf, GoogleDrive Job Board scheduling, TDS 3000 Maintenance Facility: Includes break room, lockers, restrooms, recycle washpad, storage facilities Aerating and Overseeding Schedules: Semi-annually Upcoming Capital Projects: Bunkers, tees, sodding

in action, followed by lunch and lessons on the driving range.

“We show them what we do and let them look at the maintenance equipment,” Ingram reports.

OTEI, which was started by Metropolitan’s management company, CourseCo, in conjunction with Oakland community leaders, has hosted more than 2,000 students and includes a summer internship program for students. It is funded by a large community tournament for Oakland junior golf programs, as well as support from CourseCo and other donations. The study tours are led

by Ingram.

“The program is in line with Gary’s interests in environmental stewardship and teaching,” notes Metropolitan’s General Manager, Shelley Hara.

The property is also the site of the Metropolitan Junior Golf Program, which meets year-round every Saturday morning.

The participants receive two hours of golf instruction, and Metropolitan opens the back nine for the juniors to play golf.

This year Metropolitan, which is a 44

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popular venue for weddings, meetings, parties and other social events, also started an outreach effort with a charter school that has a hospitality program. “The hospitality business is always looking for employees, and this is another avenue to find people,” Ingram notes.

In addition, CourseCo holds First Green programs—a GCSAA initiative that brings students to golf courses for STEM learning opportunities—at other properties, and Ingram often assists with these as well.

School students and young people involved in First Tee or scouting programs participate in the half-day programs, where CourseCo superintendents and their teams set up tables for hands-on experiments on concepts such as agronomics and sustainability.

NOTHING GOES TO WASTE Community-outreach initiatives are not the only way that Metropolitan Golf Links strives to make Oakland a better place. Several years ago, Hara and Ingram participated in a sustainability program to formulate an action plan for Metropolitan to become

a greener business and a zero-waste facility.

The property wanted to extend its efforts beyond basic recycling and composting efforts, says Hara, so Metropolitan took part in the program along with other entities such as a commercial real estate company, a brewery, and a city facility. “We heard different ideas that are specific to their operations, but might be useful to our facility,” she notes.

Under its plan, Metropolitan explored different power rates, replaced fluorescent bulbs with LED lights, adjusted thermostat settings, and installed timers and occupancy sensors in the clubhouse to curb electricity usage. The course’s outside service staff was trained to recycle things that people leave behind in their golf cars. The property has also scaled back its use of single-use plastic materials in its bar and grill and its banquet facility.

“We also work with a local organization to donate extra banquet food when it’s appropriate,” Hara notes. And golf shop personnel bag purchases in reusable totes.

“That’s also a branding and promotional opportunity for us,” Hara says.

Of course, recycling and composting also remain important components of the property’s sustainability efforts. Metropolitan put labeled recycling containers around the clubhouse and golf course. The grounds staff then takes the golf course receptacles to the maintenance department and divides the waste into piles for recycling, composting, or the landfill.

The golf shop staff also does its part to promote recycling. “We have multiple bins to separate out waste,” says PGA Head Golf Professional Mike Robason. “We try to educate the customers and players that come in.” But if golfers don’t separate waste for recycling, his staff pitches in as well.

SHARING THE KNOWLEDGE As part of his job, Ingram also tries to help other golf course superintendents. For the last several years, he has been involved with an effort to develop best management www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Because of its proximity to the Oakland (Calif.) International Airport, Metropolitan Golf Links “can’t promote bird populations,” notes Director of Agronomy Gary Ingram.

“But we can allow them to survive and co-exist with us.”

practices (BMPs) for the state of California.

“California is so diverse,” he notes. “So we needed a diverse set of BMPs.” For the initiative, superintendents in the state formed several committees and sought input from university officials and personnel at state agencies. In the coming months, the BMPs will be published in English and in Spanish. Once completed, superintendents will be able to go online and adapt the BMPs to their facilities.

“That’s our goal—for every golf course to

have its own set of BMPs,” Ingram says.

NO SHORTAGE OF SUPPORT Ingram credits his support network with helping him to promote the golf industry and achieve honors such as the President’s Award.

“I’m lucky to have had parents who were teachers and who instilled in me the importance of giving back and being part of the solution,” he says. “I’m also lucky enough to have great people around me from our management company and team, and from

among my colleagues, co-workers, and my family. I’m one of the spokes in the wheel, and recognition is really a team effort.”

He also appreciates the opportunity that recognition gives him to further his causes.

“People tend to listen to you when you get an award,” he says. “I can impress on the community that the golf industry is a community asset, and that we are stewards of the environment. It’s the right thing to do, and people want to be associated with good places and green facilities.” C+RB

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RECREATION + FITNESS

TAKING A

DEEPER DIVE

Clubs’ aquatics offerings are expanding to not only add more to traditional programs and swim teams, but also to introduce intriguing new offerings, such as stand-up paddleboard and scuba classes.

By Rob Thomas, Senior Editor

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GONE ARE THE DAYS WHEN a club’s swimming pool was merely an aquatic babysitter, allowing adults an opportunity to relax in the sun while their kids splashed in the water. Today, properties are investing extensively in renovations and programming to turn their pool areas and pool-related activities into primary attractions for both existing and potential members.

And many of these efforts to step outside the norm for classes and programs are also providing tangible health benefits that can help keep all members active and engaged, well into their golden years.

After its major renovation project in 2017-18, Greenville (S.C.) Country Club (“A New Club for the New South, C+RB, November 2017) now boasts 9,500 sq. ft. of pool space, with two newly designed pools, decorative railings, walls and landscape planters. In addition, the club invested in a new audio/visual system for the pool area, and built a 5,000-sq. ft. pool house.

Greenville’s family pool features a 1,200-sq.-ft. sundeck, submersible lounge chairs, and bench seating integrated within pool walls. Bubblers, Roman jets and a kiddie slide www.clubandresortbusiness.com

SUMMING IT UP

> Member involvement and engagement, as well as staff liaisons, are critical components of a swim program’s success. > Even landlocked properties can find ways to introduce intriguing new offerings like scuba instruction and stand-up paddleboarding. > Hosting swim team events can offer special sponsorship opportunities to members and other participants.

Photo Courtesy Greenville Country Club

keep the children entertained—but it’s the competition pool that draws the biggest crowd. The eight-lane, 25-meter lap pool has two diving boards and a state-of-the-art gutter-style filtration system.

More than 340 children—ranging in age from four to 18—now compete on the club’s swim team, reports Susie Johnson, Greenville CC’s Member Relations Director. The cost for members to join the “Big Team” in 2019 was $100 per swimmer, Johnson says, while younger kids could join the “Guppy Team” for $85 per swimmer.

Building such a robust swim program has been the result of a concerted effort that’s gone beyond the creation of Greenville’s sparkling new facility, Johnson notes. “Having member volunteer support is critical to programming, including, but not limited to, the swim team,” she says. “Also, it’s important to have staff liaisons who are specifically engaged with the swim program.” www.clubandresortbusiness.com

TAKING OWNERSHIP The Fairwood Barracudas swim team at Fairwood Golf & Country Club in Renton, Wash. has approximately 200 swimmers, reports General Manager Anthony P. Paino. Ranging in age from eight to 18, registration fees are $165 for the first family swimmer and $150 for every family swimmer thereafter.

Paino agrees that member involvement and engagement is a critical component for the success of a club’s swim program. “The right group of parents can make or break the program,” he says. “We’ve been so fortunate to have had a group of parents, led by member Justin Long, running our swim team program these last few years.

“The quality of the Barracudas program really shows it,” Paino adds. “When the members take ownership of their club and lead February 2020

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RECREATION + FITNESS

Greenville CC sells sponsorship packages when it hosts its club league’s end-of-season Divisional meet.

Signing Them Up In addition to registration fees to participate in its popular interclub swim team program, Greenville (S.C.) County Club also sells sponsorship packages when it hosts its club league’s end-of-season Divisional event. “We put together a package plan and e-mail it out to our swim team parents and those that are in our division,” says Member Relations Director Susie Johnson. “We only reach out for sponsorships every four years, when we host Divisionals.”

Sponsorship packages include: • Family Package ($20): Consists of words of encouragement for a swimmer—along with a photo—displayed on a piece of purple kickboard paper and posted on a centrally located promotional board; • Bronze Package ($250): Company name on printed materials (heat sheet).

• Silver Package ($500): Company name on printed materials (heat sheet) and a company-provided banner on display; and • Gold Package ($1,000): Company name on printed materials (heat sheet), company-provided banner on display, two reserved seats on the pool deck, and lane sponsorship—company logo displayed on signage at the starting block.

these programs, it builds excitement and fosters a spirit of fun, healthy competition.”

Having the right staff in place can’t be overlooked, either. “Almost as important as the member engagement is having a coaching staff that gets their energy from mentoring the kids, setting the example on and off the pool deck, and working well with the members,” Paino says. “Again, we’ve been fortunate to have an incredibly gifted coaching staff at Fairwood.

“Head Coach Mike Smith and his assistants, Caitlin Couch and Bridget Duven, offer a lot of positivity to the program,” he notes. “These coaches, like many before them, began as young competitors participating in the club’s swim team program.”

The swimming facility at Fairwood is wellsuited to handle the demands of the Barracudas, with an eight-lane pool, plenty of 48

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space and fully equipped locker rooms. The club provides food-and-beverage service at meets and has plans to increase what it offers in 2020, Paino says.

“We appreciate the value the swimming program has for the Fairwood community, and its effect on the growth of the overall club membership,” he says.

DOWN THEY GO At Riverside Country Club in Bozeman, Mont., kids in the landlocked state have a unique opportunity to take scuba lessons in the pool. Mandy Dredge, Director of Membership and Marketing, says the club started offering classes the summer of 2015, and they’ve since become a popular yearly staple.

“The class is a quick and easy introduction into scuba for kids,” Dredge says. “The

Stand-Up Paddle has become a popular activity for both kids and adults at The Fountaingrove Club.

kids go over basic safety guidelines and skills under the direct supervision of a PADI [Professional Association of Diving Instructors] professional.”

The stand-alone class, which is offered three times over the summer, introduces kids to the basics of diving during the hourand-a-half session, but doesn’t certify them as a diver.

“Kids can participate in the class as often as they would like,” Dredge says. “A lot of the kids have participated in the class multiple times.”

Riverside partners with a local dive shop, Sports Cove, to conduct the classes. The sessions are offered to children 8 years and older and limited to eight participants.

Sports Cove provides the gear needed, and lessons cost members $40 per child, per class.

Members have been pleased, and impressed, that the club offers the program, says Dredge. “It is a great way to get exposed to diving before a beach vacation and get the kids excited,” she says. “It is one of the most unique programs we offer.”

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED Scott Butler, Athletic Center Supervisor at The Fountaingrove Club in Santa Rosa, Calif., reports that one of his club’s new programs literally stands out in popularity, for both kids and adults. Created in 2011 in France by Eric Vandendriessche, www.clubandresortbusiness.com

AQUA STAND UP USA is an aquatic training program choreographed to music, inspired and performed on stand-up paddle boards in the pool. The AQUA STAND UP USA website defines the class as a combination of different fitness techniques, including HIIT, Pilates, Yoga and muscular conditioning.

“I was introduced to Aqua Stand Up at the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association [IHRSA] conference in March 2019,” Butler says. “[We] initiated it after [COO Ron Banaszak] gave the thumbs up.”

The AQUA STAND UP USA training package for clubs includes a daylong immersion training for eight instructors, Butler says.

The Fountaingrove Club offers the classes for both youths and adults, in conjunction with its aqua aerobics class. “It ended up being a very popular program with our youths,” Butler says.

The club purchased 10 boards and all

www.clubandresortbusiness.com

Riverside Country Club partners with a local dive shop to offer scuba lessons to its young members.

necessary equipment, and the program uses two lanes of Fountaingrove’s eightlane pool. The boards’ bow and stern are tethered to lane lines in the pool. No new hires were needed as the club utilized current staffing—three are aerobics instructors, two are fitness employees and two are youth instructors.

The Fountaingrove Club is promoting the program by using a pop-up marketing display next to a paddleboard in a high-traffic area of the club. Efforts also include spots on social media, and the staff will produce demo videos with the instructors.

As an extension of the program, this spring the club will take the boards into a lake on the property and offer guided tours via paddleboards. “It’s the complete opposite of what we’re offering in the pool,” Butler says.

Butler is also a TigerKick Master Instructor. He describes TigerKick—a youth aquatics program—as “Nickelodeon meets martial arts.” It includes lap swimming, stroke technique, an underwater obstacle course, relay races, games and more. “It teaches confidence and perseverance,” he says. C+RB

February 2020

l Club + Resort Business l 49

TODAY’S MANAGER

EXPANSIVE GROUP MCMAHON GROUP, INC., Club + Resort Business and the National Club Association (NCA) have announced the 2019 recipients of the Excellence in Club Management (ECM) Awards, established in 1997 by the McMahon Group and cosponsored since 2005 by C+RB and since 2018 by the NCA. The annual awards are selected through nominations submitted on behalf of qualified candidates by other parties.

Award recipients are selected solely on the basis of their achievements at the club they currently manage.

A Selection Committee comprised of a peer group of club managers conducts the judging for the ECM Awards; the McMahon Group, C+RB and the National Club Association are not involved in the selection of the winners.

The Selection Committee for the 2019 Awards was chaired

by David Chag, CCM, General Manager of The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. A full listing of judges, in addition to information on past winners and on how to nominate candidates for future years’ awards, can be found at the special website for the ECM Awards, www.clubmanageraward.com.

All of the winners were honored at the Excellence in Club Management Awards Dinner at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas on February 8, 2020 (see box, pg. 52).

Individual award ceremonies will also be held at the winners’ respective clubs throughout 2020, and in-depth articles detailing the achievements that led to the selection of the winners will appear in issues of C+RB throughout the year.

In addition to the awards that have been part of the ECM program since its inception, two new awards were added for 2019: The John Furlong Award, to recognize excellence in club management at a Canadian property, and a Lifetime Achievement Award for a previous ECM honoree who is retiring from the club management profession. The inaugural recipients of the new awards (see pg. 52) are Peter Holt, Chief Operating Officer of Hamilton Golf & Country Club, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada (for The John Furlong Award) and Ted Gillary, a 1999 ECM Award recipient who is receiving Lifetime Achievement recognition upon his retirement after 29 years at the Detroit (Mich.) Athletic Club, the last 25 as its Executive Manager.

WINNER THE JAMES H. BREWER AWARD (Country/Golf Clubs with 600 or More Full-Privilege Members)

Robert Sereci, CCM, ECM, General Manager/Chief Operating Officer Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Ill. A year ago, Robert Sereci was a presenter, and not a recipient, at the annual Excellence in Club Management Awards Dinner. His Assistant General Manager at Medinah CC, Mark Jablonski, was being honored with the 2018 “Rising Star” Award, and Sereci delivered an impassioned introduction that credited Jablonski with being largely responsible for much of the success that Medinah had experienced in the four years they had worked together.

Sereci had in fact nominated Jablonski for the Rising Star Award—and by doing so, and having him win it, he was well aware that it would probably only speed up the process for Jablonski to leave Medinah and move on to a General Manager position of his own. Indeed, just a few months later, Jablonski became the General Manager of Hinsdale Golf Club in Clarendon Hills, Ill., to add to the impressive legacy of successful mentorships Sereci has built throughout his club management career. “[Robert] is the consummate coach,” Medinah’s President, Michael Scimo, wrote in nominating Sereci for his own Excellence in Club Management recognition. “He is approachable and encouraging, and sets very clear expectations to achieve excellent results. He has transformed the Medinah employee culture [into] one that is collaborative, motivated and positive.”

And that culture transformation has also been largely responsible for the dramatic change that Medinah itself has seen under Sereci’s leadership. “Aside from our famous clubhouse dome, the Medinah of today bears little resemblance to the Medinah that Robert inherited in 2015,” Scimo wrote. “He was clearly the right leader to help us shape a new Medinah for 2020, and beyond.”

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WINNER THE MEAD GRADY AWARD (Country/Golf Clubs with Fewer than 600 Full-Privilege Members)

Michael Smith, CCM, CCE, ECM General Manager and Chief Operating Officer, The Country Club of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y. The 125-year-old Country Club of Rochester (CCR) has roots that run deep, as one of the 50 original clubs in the U.S. Michael Smith also has strong ties to both the city and the club, having grown up and lived in Rochester most of his life, and having served as CCR’s Clubhouse Manager for two and half years before taking his first General Manager position, at Penfield (N.Y.) Country Club, in 2009.

Smith stayed at Penfield for six years before feeling the pull to return to Rochester and CCR as its GM/COO in 2015. At that time, wrote President Jeffrey Mapstone last year when nominating Smith for ECM recogntion, the club was midway into a $6.2 million dining, fitness and pool project, and was also experiencing some staffing and service issues related to its management transition. “[These were] certainly not ideal circumstances,” for Smith to come into, Mapstone wrote. “[But] Mike quickly assessed the situation, created a set of priorities, and got to work. He brought the project in on time and on budget.” Drawing inspiration from CCR’s unique logo, Mapstone added, Smith also enhanced service by developing an innovative “Thistle Promise” and credo for all employees to follow.

“Upon reflection, it amazes me what [Michael] has been able to accomplish,” Mapstone wrote. “The last few years have been outstanding for CCR. Our membership numbers are growing, and the energy and excitement is palpable.”

WINNER THE MEL REX AWARD (City, Athletic or Specialty (Non-Golf) Club)

Thomas E. Gaston, Jr., CCM, ECM General Manager, The Pacific-Union Club, San Francisco, Calif.

In 1933, J. P. Morgan, Jr. crystallized the mission of his company as “doing only first-class business in a first-class way.” J. Richard Fredericks, President of The Pacific-Union Club, was reminded of that mantra when nominating Tom Gaston for Excellence in Club Management recognition and reflecting on the 28 years that Gaston has been the club’s General Manager.

“When I think of Tom’s leadership, I think of [Morgan’s] famous quote,” Fredericks wrote. “Tom reflects that attitude; he lives and breathes The Pacific-Union Club and wants only the best for it. He knows every aspect of the club down to the tiniest detail, and works incredibly hard to make sure it is a world-class social club.”

Gaston’s career prior to coming to The Pacifc-Union Club included 12 years in food-and-beverage management for Hyatt Hotel properties, and then three years as Assistant General Manager of San Francisco’s Bohemian Club. When he became The Pacific-Union Club’s GM in 1992, it had been known primarily as a luncheon club. But under his leadership it has expanded to now be a full-service club that offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. The club has also gone from having no significant catering operation when Gaston arrived to now hosting some 300 private events annually. www.clubandresortbusiness.com

WINNER THE 2019 RISING STAR AWARD Brandon Johnson, ECM Club Manager, Farmington Country Club, Charlottesville, Va. The General Manager/COO of Farmington Country Club, Joe Krenn, CCM, CCE, ECM, has first-hand knowledge of what merits Excellence in Club Management recognition, having won the 2017 James H. Brewer Award himself.

Having worked closely with Brandon Johnson now for eight years, Krenn has no doubt that Johnson embodies the traits that also make him an award-worthy manager. “The magnitude of experiences and their impact on member satisfaction during Brandon’s tenure at Farmington has been nothing short of extraordinary,” Krenn wrote in nominating Johnson for Rising Star recognition.

The arc of that tenure is also impressive, in a profession where job stability can be elusive.

Johnson actually started to work at Farmington even before he graduated from James Madison University’s Hospitality and Tourism Management, and has already amassed 12 years of experience at the club, first working his way through various roles in food-andbeverage operations, and then becoming Club Manager in 2017. In his current role, Krenn wrote, Johnson “truly runs the day-to-day operations at Farmington, [and he has] thrived in a job that is very challenging in both its content and in the environment that it involves.

“Few managers have demonstrated the skills and potential that Brandon has at his age,” Krenn added. “He is without a doubt the leading example of a rising star in the club management industry.”

February 2020

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TODAY’S MANAGER

WINNER THE JOHN FURLONG AWARD (Excellence in Management of a Club Property in Canada)

Peter Holt, ECM Chief Operating Officer, Hamilton Golf & Country Club, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada Since arriving at Hamilton Golf & Country Club (HGCC) in 2015 to be its Chief Operating Officer, Peter Holt has provided the club with steady and decisive leadership in steering the tradition-rich, 126-year-old club through a series of significant opportunies and challenges, according to Dr. Sean McDonough, the club President who submitted Holt’s nomination for The John Furlong Award.

In 2016, McDonough wrote, Holt led HGCC’s management team through steps to enhance the member experience as the club celebrated 100 years of golf at its current location. And 2019 proved to be especially busy, with HGCC hosting the RBC Canadian Open for the first time in seven years, and also voting to proceed with a Golf Course Improvement Plan to overhaul its 27-hole course, nine holes at a time.

“Peter’s willingness to take on difficult projects and see them to successful completion has repeatedly impressed me,” McDonough wrote in his nomination. “He has an uncanny way of remaining calm in all situations [and] especially those that can be extremely challenging. Excellence is certainly a word that comes to mind when I think of Peter’s contributions to HGCC over the past four years.”

WINNER LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Ted Gillary, CCM, CCE, ECM, Executive Manager, Detroit Athletic Club, Detroit, Mich.

A CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE In addition to presentations at their individual clubs that will be held throughout the coming year, the 2019 Excellence in Club Management winners, along with honorees from previous years and members, past and present, of the ECM selection committee, were recognized at an Awards Dinner that was held at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas on Saturday, February 8, in conjunction with the 2020 World Conference of the Club Management Association of America.

This year’s Awards Dinner was sponsored by Denehy Club Thinking Partners, ForeTees LLC, IZON Golf, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, and Preferred Club.

A full report on the Awards Dinner will appear in the March issue of Club + Resort Business.

It wasn’t all that long ago that the death knell was being sounded for city clubs in all locations, and particularly ones in cities like Detroit that were shaken to their core by America’s shift from an industrial base to a service-heavy economy.

But few clubs, or club managers, have done more to dispel the thought that city clubs are dead than the Detroit Athletic Club (DAC) under the leadership of Ted Gillary as its Executive Manager for the past 25 years.

In just one of many accolades Gillary has received over the years for how he has helped to transform the DAC and its iconic downtown building into a showpiece for not only Detroit, but also the club industry, he was praised for “[playing] an instrumental role in the DAC’s ongoing prominence among private clubs around the country,” when he was honored as Executive of the Year by the Detroit Executives Association in 2017.

“During Ted’s tenure, the DAC renewed a commitment to its downtown location by investing substantially in the clubhouse and property, and committed to guiding the club on a quality-improvement path through performance-excellence strategies and employee-engagement practices,” that recognition added.

Gillary, an Excellence in Club Management honoree in 1999, has been succeeded as DAC Executive Manager, through a transition that took effect February 1, 2020, by Charles Johnson, CCM, who earned ECM “Rising Star” recognition in 2016.

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE �������� ��������

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Seascape Escape

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Easy Glider

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February 202 0 l Club + Resort Business l 53

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

Course + Grounds Missing Link

Product: Integrated Control Interface Plus (ICI+) Features: ▶ Makes it possible to install Rain Bird satellites and the company’s IC System™ on the same wire path ▶ Faster, easier renovations or expansions that can be phased in at a lower cost, with less disruption to the golf course ▶ Satellite courses can access the benefits of the IC System like advanced diagnostics, precision watering and the ability to integrate and interact with sensors and other field equipment

▶ Two-wire version communicates

with existing and new Rain Bird Satellite and IC Systems ▶ ICI+LINK version communicates with existing and new LINK satellite systems, with the option to add the IC System

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This Cat Loves Water

Product: Lynx® 7.0 Central Control System Features: ▶ Update represents 14th iteration of the operating system since its initial release in 2010 ▶ S eamless compatibility with Lynx Smart Modules ▶ Automatically identify individual smart modules after the initial installation process, saving considerable time ▶ Offers run-time controls to the second and measures inputs to 1/100th of an inch, delivering precision irrigation systems control ▶ Retrieve voltage and amperage data—crucial to understanding the overall health of the irrigation system ▶ Deciphering diagnostic information is streamlined when using the new express mode ▶ This simple, efficient process means that superintendents are able to interpret information to forecast and predict potential system issues earlier

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Fixed-Head Harmony

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The Toro Company www.toro.com 54

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U������ V�������

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

F��� + B������� Grab-n-Go Snacks

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Quiet on the Course

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February 202 0 l Club + Resort Business l 55

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

C����� Timely Remembrance

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15

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23

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2

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Cres Cor

ADVERTISER INDEX

34

FIBERBUILT UMBRELLAS & CUSHIONS 38 866-667-8668 / www.fiberbuiltumbrellas.com GSI EXECUTIVE SEARCH 17 972-341-8133 / www.gsiexecutivesearch.com INFRARED DYNAMICS 888-317-5255 / www.infradyne.com

28

MTS SEATING 734-847-3875 / www.mstseating.com

45

OUTDOOR LIGHTING 804-207-8107 www.OutdoorLights.com/hospitality

35

PEACOCK & LEWIS 37 561-626-9704 / www.peacockandlewis.com PREFERRED CLUB 800-523-2788 / www.preferredclub.com

13

RENOSYS 800-783-7005 / www.renosys.com/clubs

49

SOUTHERN ALUMINUM 888-387-5769 / www.sa-tables.com

39

STUDIO JBD/JGA 401-721-0977 / www.JBDandJGA.com

3

TEXACRAFT 800-327-1541 / www.texacraft.com

14

TRI-C CLUB SUPPLY – DUFFY’S 800-274-8742 / www.duffystric.com

21

TROPITONE 800-654-7000 / www.tropitone.com

9

TRULY GOOD FOODS www.trulygoodfoods.com

29

VERDIN 800-543-0488 / www.verdin.com

43

YAMAHA 866-747-4027 / www.YamahaGolfCar.com

www.crescor.com www.clubandresortbusiness.com

February 202 0 l Club + Resort Business l 57

7

IDEAEXCHANGE LETTING THE CHIPS FALL

By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor

THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS may be in the rearview mirror by now, but it’s never too early to start gathering ideas for next year. And that includes post-holiday planning as well. Each year after Christmas, Saddle Rock Golf Course in Aurora, Colo., Is one of several sites in the city that accepts live Christmas trees for recycling.

After Aurora launched a tree-recycling initiative in 1990, the high-plains, linksstyle, 18-hole Saddle Rock property—the former home of the Colorado Open and numerous statewide amateur and professional events—has been part of the program since about 1995. It is one of five public courses in Aurora’s Golf Division, but the only one that is a collection site for the recycling program, serving as a central drop-off location for people who live south of the city.

Trees are accepted for recycling from the day after Christmas through the first weekend after New Year’s Day. All ornaments, tinsel, twine, nails, and stands must be removed. Flocked (powdered) and artificial trees are not accepted.

Each year, the city collects about 4,000 Christmas trees for recycling at its designated sites. The trees provide habitat for fish in a reservoir and construction material for stream-bank stabilization. The trees are also chipped into mulch, which is provided to residents free of charge at all drop-off locations while the supply lasts (residents are required to bring their own truck, bags, shovels, and containers to collect it).

Any mulch that is left over is used by the city to enhance shrub beds in its parks and mulch city trees when they are planted. It’s also provided to the public on free mulch

days, called “Free Loader Days,” which are held at least once a month from April through August, says Alexa Lubel, a marketing specialist for the city.

“The Christmas tree recycling program benefits all of the city’s property that uses mulch,” says Michael Osley, CGCS, Aurora’s Golf Operations Superintendent. For instance, he notes, all of the city’s golf courses use the mulch on their informal pathways.

During tournaments, the mulch is used to establish gallery areas and pathways to help with wayfinding and to alleviate compaction in some areas.

Aurora’s Forestry department has about 15 field staff members that work at the collection sites. In addition, the city invited Ready to Work—a nonprofit organization that helps people who are experiencing homelessness rebuild their lives by gaining work skills—to assist with the most recent recycling program.

To promote the Christmas tree-recycling program, the city of Aurora posts information about it on its website and through social media. Announcements are also included in citywide e-newsletters, and fliers and posters (see example, above right) are distributed to city facilities such as libraries, recreation and nature centers, reservoirs, and the municipal center.

“Our frequent users know about the program, but people who are moving to Colorado are not always aware of it,” says John Wesolowski, Parks and Forestry Manager for Aurora’s Parks Recreation & Open Space (PROS) Department.

During the remainder of the year, city trees, along with all pruning and removal

trees are cut down, they’re still usable. We want “toOnce make sure we’re using as much as we can of that resource; we’re not being good stewards if we’re not.

Trees are part of our infrastructure. They’re just as important as roads and other utilities.

— John Wesolowski, Parks and Forestry Manager 58

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Since 1995, Saddle Rock GC has been one of the designated sites in Aurora, Colo. for recycling live Christmas trees into mulch that is then used on the course and in city parks, and also made available to the public on “Free Loader Days” throughout the year. debris that can be chipped as part of the city’s Urban Forest maintenance, are recycled. Any leftover mulch from “Free Loader Days” is also added to the city’s multipurpose mulch pile for use in the PROS department—which, in addition to the five golf courses, includes 8,000 acres of open space, 97 developed parks, 91 miles of trails, three nature centers, two reservoirs, six recreation centers, 180 athletic fields, 150 park shelters, and 25,000 trees.

“Once trees are cut down, they’re still usable,” says Wesolowski. “We want to make sure we’re using as much as we can of that resource. We’re not being good stewards of the resource if we’re not taking advantage of these opportunities.

“Trees are part of our infrastructure,” he adds. “They’re just as important as roads and other utilities.”

For other facilities that might consider starting a similar program, Wesolowski recommends that staff members stay on top of the wood chipping, instead of waiting until the end of the day to begin. “It’s a laborintensive, monotonous job, so you don’t want to get behind,” he says.

The areas for designated Christmas tree drop-off locations should also be fenced in, Lubel advises, to prevent people from bringing other types of trash to the site.

“A paved surface at your location is key,” she adds. “It makes cleanup a breeze.”

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