By the time you read this, chances are the diet is already shot, the commitment to get up an hour earlier to exercise is on hold, and the piles of “stuff” in your office are still there.
Welcome to the New (?) Year.
Fortunately, the fallout from the failure to comply with New Year’s resolutions is pretty much limited to us individually, so it’s easy to rationalize failure. Perhaps these agents of change would be easier to commit to in a group environment. In that spirit, I present my Top 10 List of Resolutions I Wish My Club (And Many Others) Would Adopt for the Coming Year:
#10: Institute a handicap system with teeth. Police the sandbaggers who consistently finish “in the money” for every club event or tournament they play in. This doesn’t happen by accident and no one has that much luck. The vast majority of members will respect you and thank you for it. And participation in these events will likely grow as a result.
#9: Have a casual dress code, including jeans, throughout the year. Members know how to dress responsibly. Let them. Jackets and ties are still OK for the formal dining room, though.
#8: Host events that don’t require the use of vacation time and/or a home-equity loan to participate. Every club should have at least one or two modestly priced, fun events on the annual golf calendar.
#7: Create a real fitness center. A corner room with a few treadmills, an exercise bike, and mirrors on the wall won’t cut it.
#6: Teach Ritz-Carlton-class service standards. Well-trained employees want to provide this level of service, and members will reciprocate with an equal measure of respect and warmth.
#5: Make for faster play. Establish a policy, communicate it to every member and guest, and empower the golf staff to enforce the rules.
#4: Inspire more creative thinking. Complacency is a sure path to distress, if not failure. For example, I see a number of clubs that have developed reciprocal use agreements with clubs in their general vicinity. Under the right circumstances, it’s a unique and smart strategy. Would it work for you?
#3: Hire and empower a General/Club Manager with the smarts, and authority, to carry out the annual and strategic plan for the club. Smart owners, Boards, and committees know their role is to advise and hold accountable the leader(s) they hire.
#2: Make an ongoing commitment to the quality of the club’s facilities and course and grounds. There can be no short cuts here. Failure to provide a first-rate environment throughout the club leads to second-rate status.
#1: Do away with the food minimum. If a club has one, something (the food, the service, the ambiance, etc.) is wrong somewhere, and needs to be fixed. If it can’t be, raise your dues by an equivalent amount and get the line item off of the monthly statement.
Long-time readers of C&RB know that our editorial content is all about ideas, and that’s what the above list really represents. You have our commitment that each issue in 2008 will include plenty of ideas for your consideration, to help drive revenues, reduce costs, and enhance member and guest satisfaction.
That’s one New Year’s Resolution we won’t ever break.
P.S. If you are headed to the Golf Industry Show in Orlando later this month, stop by our booth (#515) and say hello.
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