After 12 years as a superintendent, Matt Gaudet now enjoys “serving members on a broader scale [and having] more of an impact on people’s lives” as General Manager of The Forest CC in Fort Myers. As GM of Foxwood Country Club in his native Crestview, Fla., former golf pro Brandon Martin is hoping to enhance the family-oriented nature of the club to attract a new generation of members.
Two managers recently appointed to general manager positions at Florida country clubs were featured in local newspapers in articles that highlighted how their backgrounds and career paths differed from what is usually associated with those roles.
The News-Press of Fort Myers, Fla. featured Matt Gaudet, who was named General Manager of The Forest Country Club in Fort Myers last June.
For three years, The News-Press reported, the now 35-year-old Gaudet, a Certified Golf Course Superintendent, would steer a cart in early-morning treks around The Forest CC’s two golf courses in his role as the club’s Director of Golf Course Maintenance. But now, he’s focused more on many other aspects of operations, and excited about additional changes to come.
“Before, I’d work to try to exceed expectations of the course as far as aesthetics and playability,” Gaudet told The News-Press as he described how the club is preparing for the annual Forest Women’s Golf Association tournament that will be held on January 19, to benefit Hope Hospice.
“This time around,” Gaudet continued, “I’ll also try to make sure all other experiences including dining are superb, and that we raise as much money as possible, including [through] creative auctions.
“I’m now serving members on a broader scale—meetings, event planning, everything else,” Gaudet added. “We have a terrific staff.”
Before coming to The Forest, The News-Press reported, Gaudet was previously a golf course superintendent for nine years at The Polo Club of Boca Raton, the final four under the helm of Director John Gallagher, who is now also at The Forest.
“He’s a great man,” Gaudet said. “He helped me greatly [with his] 25 years of experience [and] I’m ecstatic that we are working together again.”
While Gaudet told The News-Press that he “didn’t plan on [the promotion to General Manager],” he is now pleased with the opportunity that his new role gives him “to have more of an impact on people’s lives.”
“Our staff and employees always try to make every experience memorable, that everything is neat, tidy and clean and everyone is ready and courteous,” he said. “My heart’s here,” he added, noting that plans are in the works to upgrade The Forest’s clubhouse.
Gaudet took his new position knowing that the club’s golf courses were in top shape, The News-Press reported, after a major six-month, multi-million-dollar renovation and improvement project on the Bobcat course was completed in October 2015. The Bear, The Forest CC’s other 18-hole course, was renovated in 2010.
Gaudet told The News-Press that he has been pleased with members’ reaction and feedback during the first year of play on the renovated Bobcat course.
“They say it’s so pretty,” he said, noting the reaction to a major landscaping effort that included the planting of thousands of new shrubs, plants and trees. From a playing-condition standpoint, he added, members have been very positive about how the new Bermudagrass has created “such a fine surface.”
“The greens, in particular, have matured very well, and they hold shots well,” Gaudet said. “We did so much work; it’s virtually a new course.”
The Forest CC was established in 1979 as the first gated community in Fort Myers, The News-Press reported, with members becoming owners and operators in 1989. The club is known for its annual
Boston Red Sox Celebrity Golf Classic, which involves 250-plus players on both courses. The 23rd annual Classic, which supports the Golisano Children’s Hospital, is set for February 24, with many current and former Red Sox players and coaches taking part in the event, which in its history has raised a total of more than $11 million.
The Forest CC also arranges for more than 40 separate special lifestyle events each busy season, The News-Press reported, including trips to outside attractions.
“It’s an important part of what we do,” Gaudet said. “While golf and tennis is huge here, some spouses of members don’t play. Every week, we have a special activity, whether it’s a painting class, going to a spring training baseball game [or trips to] Matlacha or the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall. We do our best to engage that segment of our members.”
When looking back on his previous duties as a superintendent, Gaudet did admit to The News-Press that he does sometime get nostalgic, especially about his early-morning rides to check on the courses and “lay eyes on every hole” to make sure no debris was lying around, that overnight irrigation was successful and that golf cart traffic patterns have been smoothed out.
These rides would also yield a special experience that he never tired of, he said, as “nothing replaces watching and hearing nature wake up.
“I especially miss the camaraderie with the grounds staff,” Gaudet said. “Yet, now I have that same feeling walking into my office each morning.”
In his new role, Gaudet will now pursue his Certified Club Manager designation through support provided by the Florida chapter of the Club Managers Association of America (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2016/11/florida-chapter-cmaa-announces-2016-education-scholarship-winners/)
The Northwest Florida Daily News of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. featured Brandon Martin, the new General Manager and golf professional at Foxwood Country Club in Crestview, Fla.
A native of Crestview who played golf for the local high school, Martin originally set out to be a meteorologist and then switched to working for golf clubs in the state of Washington, the Daily News reported, before returning in 2014 to begin working at Foxwood CC at the club’s bar and pro shop.
Eventually, the Daily News reported, Martin started giving lessons and accepted more responsibilities over time, and now he’s running the course.
Martin made the switch from meteorology after beginning college, he told the Daily News, when he realized he “needed something competitive to do.”
“It got to where I realized I didn’t like calculus,” he said with a laugh. “I like normal math, but once you start adding the alphabet, it’s a little bit too much.”
He enrolled in the Golf Academy of America in Orlando, Fla. after a recommendation from a friend and received an associate degree in golf operations management in 2010, along with a teaching certificate, the Daily News reported.
But in the time following the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Martin couldn’t find a job in the industry in the Florida Panhandle area. Having extended family in Washington, he left Florida to work at a golf club in the Northwest.
“I [then] found out in my career that I would rather have my friends and family than an enormous paycheck,” Martin told the Daily News. So he left his job in Washington after four years and returned to Crestview.
Foxwood CC was a natural fit for Martin, the Daily News reported. He worked at the club when he was in high school as a cart boy and said some of the members from that time still play at the course. This adds to the area’s family feel, he believes.
Enhancing a family-oriented environment is one of Martin’s goals as he takes over leadership at Foxwood, he told the Daily News. He also wants to make the club, and golf in general, more accessible to a younger generation.
“It’s kind of like going to church; it gives you a backbone to live your life off of,” Martin said of playing golf. He believes the sport teaches young people values, etiquette and how to be a strong individual.
And while some people may view golf as a difficult sport, Martin said this doesn’t have to be the case. In addition, he noted, golf clubs are a one-time investment, unlike many other sports that often require new equipment each year. And the more you play golf, the less it costs, Martin noted.
In his new role, Martin has focused on improving Foxwood’s course conditions and hopes that continued improvements could build membership, the Daily News reported. Currently, the club has about 180 members.
And while Martin said he does miss the cooler Northwest summers, he told the Daily News that he’s happy to be back with old friends and his immediate family.
“As long as I can live a decent life, can pay my bills, and be around friends and family, I’m happy,” he said.
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