Ideas

After canceling its annual fall festival in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Old Town Club in Winston-Salem, N.C. hosted an outdoor event called Trick or Treat Trail. “We thought this would provide [the children] a safe place to do trick-or-treating,” says Jeana McLean, Special Events Director at Old Town Club. The event included many innovative…

Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta, Ga. has hosted a Water Gun Color War for children ages 3 to 12 that has been well-received by youngsters and parents alike. “All of the kids like to do events outside so any excuse to do that is good,”  says Maddy Heeter, Cherokee’s Director of Banquets.

The Omaha, Neb. club shares a “very wide variety” of information via the social media platform, says Social Media & Marketing Intern Raychel Reed. “I like to promote new food specials, new drinks, and overall, just any fun things we do here,” Reed says. “I have learned that people like the short and fast-paced videos.”

Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville, Va., tackled the challenge of offering activities geared toward youth members in the 10-to-15-year-old age contingent. The club launched Adventure Camp and offered it for one week each in June, July and August.

The Richmond, Va. club repurposed retired pool floats into a “waiting zone” for their youngest members during group swim lessons—allowing instructors to focus more on skill improvement in the water, with less distractions in the form of behavior modification.

In order to drum up excitement about returning to the club in a more normal fashion following COVID restrictions, the club created a catchy slogan for external club communications, followed by visual representation in the form of stickers.

With COVID disrupting normal Fourth of July plans at the club, management decided to host five distinct events in separate areas on its property on the same day in mid-July of 2020. The events were: Cocktails and Carts; Dinner and a Show; Picnic at the Pool; Drive-In and Dine; and Dessert After Dark. The evening culminated…

The Omaha, Neb. club was looking for ways to entertain members while they were at the pool last summer. When a video of a mascot race at a Washington Nationals game was shown, the Kraken Server Races were born.

As part of its pursuit of Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program certification, The Berkshire Country Club in Reading, Pa. built and installed bat boxes and bluebird boxes in native areas with the aid of the local Boys & Girls Clubs.

Army Navy Country Club wanted to create the best return on investment and drive usage to a previously underutilized Fairfax, Va. facility, while also introducing a third major sports activity. Converting tennis courts to pickleball, in turn, added value to club membership.

Thomas Preuml began making gingerbread houses while working as a chef at the Heritage Club in Houston more than three decades ago. He now makes a festive house each year that is displayed at the Houston Racquet Club before going to the M.D. Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital. To date, Houston Racquet Club’s Gingerbread House Project has…

The Lafayette Hill, Pa. club saw interest in table tennis rise during the long, cold winters, so the staff turned the grand ballroom into a makeshift arena for a tournament. What began with one table in the pro shop has quickly grown into a popular way for members to quench their competitive thirst when it’s…

Bartender Tom Shaw brought up the idea of launching a property-wide wine cork recycling program at the Charlottesville, Va. club, and with encouragement from Beverage Manager Andrew Woodland, he organized the initiative that got underway in November 2021. “It’s a small step, but it’s something we can do to eliminate unnecessary waste,” says Food & Beverage…

When Daniyel Gavrilov, the Director of Fitness at Mizner Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla., joined the staff about a year ago, he launched a program called Wellness Without Walls to offer pursuits that are outside the norm of daily activities. “The vision I had was to revolutionize fitness and wellness in a country club…

The Bonita Springs, Fla. club became the first private club to introduce a “biotech bar” to its membership through a partnership with Fountain Life, a company that prioritizes preventive and proactive healthcare. Through their collaboration, Fountain Life provides Bonita Bay members with easy access to life-saving diagnostics through a white-labeled app and website.