The unique challenge for many “coming of age” clubs is to bring the functionality of older clubhouses into the current century, while still preserving their original charm.
It’s exciting to see how so many clubs that were founded during one of the first “golden eras” of golf, such as The Country Club of Orlando (see pg. 15), are now “coming of age” to celebrate their centennial anniversaries or other significant historical milestones.
One thing that’s often not nearly as thrilling for the clubs that fit into this category, however, is how their clubhouses and other facilities have also “come of age” in step with the club’s history.
This is a situation that is pretty much unique to the club industry; most hotels or restaurants don’t have to provide premium service while contending with the kind of aging structures that many clubs must still operate from.
And while in many cases the initial impulse is to raze-and-rebuild, that’s not always practical or even desirable, given the historical significance and sentimental attachments tied to many club buildings.
So increasingly, the solution lies in finding ways to bring the functionality of an older clubhouse into the current century (and prepare it for the future), while still preserving—and often recapturing and enhancing—its original charm.
A shining example of this approach is Charlotte Country Club, as reported in our Club Architect feature last month (“Remaking History,” February 2011).
Already, we’ve heard from other managers—as has Damon DiOrio, Charlotte CC’s Chief Executive Officer—that what Charlotte CC did to restore and upgrade its crumbling but classic 70-year-old clubhouse is exactly what they’ve been trying to convince their own owners, Boards and members is needed at their own facilities.
Reading and talking about a project like this, however, can only go so far, to really appreciate what’s involved—and what’s been achieved. That’s why we’re now going to use the Charlotte CC case history to kick off a new series of “Design & Renovation Insights” workshops that we’ll be presenting around the country at recently renovated or constructed clubs (for details on the Charlotte event, which will be held at the club on April 18, clubandresortbusiness.com/drinsights).
These one-day workshops, for which attendees will earn CMI credits, are designed to provide managers and their Board members or owners a full opportunity to touch, feel and drill into the details of the kind of projects that many established clubs must now come to grips with, as they prepare for the next era of their long and storied existences. You’ll get complete tours (including behind-the-scenes) and access to all of the key principals—club managers, Board members, architects, construction managers—who planned and executed the project.
Even if you’re not approaching an historic milestone at your club or dealing with an older facility, I’d encourage you to attend, to hear how some of the latest thinking on effective design trends in the club industry, and on maximizing operating efficiencies in today’s service environment, has been applied in these especially challenging cases.
I hope to see you somewhere along the workshop trail.
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