How Do You Fill Your Club's Dining Room?

Overall, 56 percent of managers say formal dining space at their club will decrease by 2010. Is it because people would rather drive 10 miles to the nearest pub and grill after 18 strenuous holes? Doubt it.

The clubhouse is the first and last impression of your course. It’s important to keep those dining chairs filled - not only for revenue, but for atmosphere. Savvy operators are also finding that a top-notch running dining room is a viable, and somewhat necessary way to attract incremental business from non-golfers as well. But how do you pack what may be a dying dining room?

Last year at Great Country Club’s of the South Symposium, Carolina Country Club General Manager, Jack Slaughter, talked about the growing trends in food and beverage and how to fill seat’s in the Club’s Dining Room.

Jack made four keys points on the subject. Here's what he had to say:

1) Hire only a quality well-trained staff with the right attitude and leadership.

2) Purchase only quality food with an innovative menu, traditional favorites and options geared towards what the members like and your team does well.

3) Branding your F&B Program – Try to brand what you have going for you, build on your strengths...could be your Chef, a venue style of cuisine or service, your location, unique culture or tradition. Build consistent marketing effort – “Branding” includes uniforms, tabletop, menus, decor, and wine list.

4) Market and promote your Chef at every opportunity. Look for ways to expose the Chef to the membership and build a personal relationship with individual members, Chef Tables personal notes from the Chef, newsletter articles, competitions, Chef in dining room talking to members etc.

Is Your Club Still Right For You?

When you think of your club, you probably don’t often ask yourself how truly happy you are as a General Manager. After all, you work at a golf course. Many would dream of a job coupled with beauty, the freedom of being outside all day, not being cooped up in an office, and working with customers that are mostly happy to be where they are.

But what happens when the “club culture” and “core values” of your club conflict with your own personal core values? That is what Norm Spitzig is asking anyway. Spitzig is a senior partner with Master Club Advisors, an executive search firm for the private golf club industry, and publishes two newsletters on the subject.

In his article entitled, “When Values Collide,” Spitzig talks about something rarely discussed when working in the golf course industry. He talks about listening to one’s inner self to discover if you are fundamentally unhappy with your club.

It’s quite important, he suggests, to be truthful with yourself and to maintain your core values. Or, rather “leave that environment and strike out anew.”

With all the variables that go into finding another club; e.g. submitting resumes, supporting your family, location, skills, experience, comfort, compatibility, overall fear of the unknown, etc., it’s important to be open and direct when looking at your own values?

Spitzig presents the following core questions to “help you really be honest with yourself in coming to the right decision” and how you truly feel about your club:

* Do too many people in the club community in question act as if the good of the individual is more important than the good of the many?

* Do too many people behave as if club rules exist to be frivolously tested and/or maliciously broken rather than respected and adhered to?

* Do too many people act as if the retention of talented, loyal, and reasonably compensated employees is less important than constant turnover and the perceived opportunity to hire cheaper?

* Do too many members treat the staff in a servile, condescending manner rather than as "ladies and gentlemen, serving ladies and gentlemen?"

* Are the number of egregious behavioral problems sufficiently large and ongoing to require some sort of formal grievance committee?

* Are those in power more interested in their own personal agendas rather than addressing the operational, social, and athletic needs of the entire membership?

* Do too many people lack the basic "club sense" necessary for a successful, enjoyable, and quality club operation?

Have you answered yes to any of these questions? If so, Spitzig contends that ignoring it will cause that awareness to “only come back and haunt you...”

“As the horrific and life-changing events of Sept. 11 have reaffirmed to us all, life should be cherished and savored with those we love and respect. This applies to your home and the members of the worldwide private club community. If you are currently with the right club for you, then enjoy it and proclaim it to anyone who will listen. But if your gut tells you that the club that you are with no longer feels like home, then the choice is clear -- it's time to leave. By doing so, you'll be happier and more productive in the long run,” he explains.

Click here to learn more about Master Club Advisors their approach in placing General Managers.

Back To Basic Best Practices

Let’s go back to basics for a moment. The basics of good customer service, recognition, best practices, and the overall thinking that if you treat your guests properly, they will be yours forever.

Based on some reading in seasoned publications of the industry, I came across some helpful fundamentals that every course should be maintaining and/or brushing up on.

Entitled “Making the Most of the Moment,” author Carl Swanback uses his extensive background in hospitality and international resort management to provide some key tips on ‘making the most of the moment’ at your club.

The following are some tips Swanback suggests:

Welcome Guests Promptly. You and your staff should strive to acknowledge every person who enters the pro shops with a smile and friendly greeting within 10 seconds. Be sure staff members individualize their greetings because they can start sounding fake when every customers is asked the same question or welcomed the same way.

Be Sincere. Flattery without sincerity is insulting.

Create a “First Name” Culture. Names are power, so don’t just send customers to the course. Have them check in with “Jane, the starter” and let them know it’s perfectly fine to ask for you by name of their next visit.

On the course, consider these as positive customer experiences that extend well beyond the pro shop:

Spread The Love. Inform starters and marshals of upcoming events, areas of ground under repair, hidden pin locations, aeration schedules and lunch specials so they can share the information with golfers. The more helpful you or your player assistants are, the more likely it is that guests will want to come back.

Take The Blame – Even If It Isn’t Your Fault. So you called a group up to the first tee only to discover the previous group is a little slow. Apologize for not spacing them farther apart from the group ahead of them. This works equally well for the marshall. If the course is backed up, have your ranger apologize and take the blame rather than pointing the finger at other guests.

Prod Politely. When it does become necessary to speed up slow-playing patrons, be polite. Rather than starting, “You’re holding up the groups behind you,” solicit their help. Ask if they could help you out by playing “ready golf” or picking up their pace slightly. Or, offer a tip that will help speed play, such as staying left in the next fairway to avoid the hidden hazard.

Beyond these simple suggestions, Swanback clearly states that the best way to impact a guest’s experience is by empowering a staff and serving customers passionately. He says always make sure to thank each and every guest for visiting.

Golf Leaders Prepare To Stand Before Congress

“Tax benefits were given to businesses hit hardest by the hurricane and golf wasn’t one of them.” ~ Mike Hughes, Chief Executive Officer for NGCOA.

According to the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA), in 2005 golf was a $76 billion industry employing hundreds of thousands of workers, attracting 40 million participants, and growing at a 4.1 percent annual clip.

But in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a tax relief passed by Congress excluded golf courses and the industry sustained losses in the neighborhood of $195 billion while 2 million people lost their jobs (an estimated $61 billion in income).

Earlier this year, at the 55th PGA Merchandise Show, golf leaders were in talks about the significant economic impact of the industry. Also at this time, Golf 20/20’s economic impact study was released. This report highlighted golf’s significant economical crash nationwide.

Because of Hurricane Katina, and the substantial losses the golf industry had to endure, golf leaders are now taking action to prevent history from repeating itself.

The first annual National Golf Day will be held this April 16th at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. This, Hughes says, should be “the start of a partnership between golf and the public.”

The PGA of America, the PGA Tour, the USGA, the LPGA, GCSAA, CMAA, The First Tee, and the World Golf Foundation will all be represented. These groups intend to show Congress that golf is not an industry to be taken likely.

The event will be held that Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and includes everything from press conferences to forums to lunch with Senators.

So what can you do as a course owner or manager to support and possibly sway any Congressional movements as a result of the premier National Golf Day?

Perhaps a little old-fashioned letter writing is in order...

Consider sending Congress a personal letter from your course to talk about the technology you have, the positive recreational benefits available for citizens of all ages, shapes, and economic backgrounds, and finally (and possibly the most effective), how golf supports travel, tourism, and the economy as a whole.

It might be time for course owners and managers to come together. Because one little voice, combined with other little voices, can be heard.

Any letters sent should be addressed to:

The Honorable (your state’s Senator)
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

As Hughes says, “It’s our turn to shine, to show Congress and the country the impact golf has on the economy.”

Click here for a complete transcription of the 55th PGA Merchandise Show.

To learn more about National Golf Day, contact the NGCOA.