Club/Resort Features

Just three months into the already daunting task of being only the seventh Superintendent to care for the 121-year-old Detroit Golf Club’s Donald Ross courses, Jake Mendoza learned he had a year to get ready to host a PGA Tour event.   

In just four short years, Executive Chef Randy Zerfass has transformed Lehigh Country Club in Allentown, Pa. into a dining destination with creative cuisine and very innovative dining events.

An open spot at the back of the range at the Country Club of Lincoln proved to be the ideal spot for a new Golf Performance Center, while Destination Kohler looked to a nearby retail center to expand its instructional footprint and services.

Working with the international Project SEARCH, as well as the local Unicorn Children’s Foundation and Unicorn Village Academy, the Boca Raton, Fla. club launched a job-training internship program for seven young adults with intellectual and developmental challenges. “It’s a good way to find employees who are dedicated and hard-working,” says Boca West’s Matthew Linderman.

The Golf Industry Show in Orlando, Fla. and the Club Management Association of America’s World Conference in Grapevine, Texas will showcase the latest trends, products and services, to give industry professionals a head start on refining their strategies for 2020.

C+RB’s inaugural Awards for Kids’ Amenities recognize Champions Run for its “Super Secret Hotline” that kids call to win a free ice cream treat; and Horseshoe Bay Resort, which provides old-fashioned viewfinders that kids use as their menus.

C+RB’s inaugural Awards for Member Communications/Websites recognize Victory Ranch for creating a multi-pronged approach to keep its members up to speed on all things happening at the club; and GreatHorse for building a responsive and easy-to-navigate website and the GH Dashboard, a new private URL for members to access at their convenience.

C+RB’s inaugural Awards for Events recognize Bel-Air Bay Club for hosting a Planner Mixer for more than 250 planning professionals, to showcase its Upper Club as a premier venue for weddings and other events; and Country Club of Roswell (Ga.) for its “Gold Rush” shootout—a unique twist to the way clubs’ member-guest tournaments are usually…

C+RB’s inaugural Awards for Food and Beverage recognize Columbine Country Club for developing a Blue Apron-style ingredient-and-recipe home-meal offer, Columbine Fresh, that has turned into a very popular grab-and-go service; and Champions Run for introducing a Pop-Up Poolside Pineapple and Coconut Bar—serving both alcoholic and non-alcoholic tropical drinks.

C+RB’s inaugural Awards for Fitness recognize Loblolly for expanding both the physical footprint of its fitness facilities and the programs offered; and Columbine Country Club for partnering with a fitness management firm and launching Columbine Active, a mobile app to engage members in fitness and wellness initiatives.

C+RB’s inaugural Awards for Family Events recognize Mount Vernon Canyon Club for its “Woofstock” end-of-season pool closing, where members are invited to bring their dogs for one last swim; and St. Andrews Country Club for its two-day “Spooktacular Weekend” with a plethora of fun activities.

More clubs are finding ways to break away on a daily basis from the “same-old, same-old” in every aspect of their operation—and in a business long bound by tradition, that’s a great idea and welcomed innovation all its own.

C+RB’s inaugural Awards for Operations & Facilities recognize St. Andrews Country Club’s aquatics facility after the installation of the latest cooling and heating geothermal technology that provides a consistent, resort-style pool experience for its membership; Bel-Air Bay Club for bringing in Italian bocce court designer Daniele Colleoni to install state-of-the-art synthetic surfaces on two new…

C+RB’s inaugural Awards for Design & Renovation recognize Bear Lakes CC for the dramatic transformation of its existing clubhouse on the same footprint, and The Reserve Club for the entirely new collection of art that it sourced and installed when renovating its clubhouse; the artwork generated so many comments that a special reference booklet was…

Superintendents must take a year-round, balanced approach to properly maintaining the trees on their properties while also protecting the health of golf course turf and staying mindful of strong emotions that golfers, memberships and the local community can have.