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59club’s spotlight shines as the 2023 Eminent Collection is announced.

The latest properties and leaders from the world of golf & hospitality have been welcomed into 59club’s ‘Eminent Collection’ at two exclusive events, hosted at Trump International Golf Club, Dubai; and at Wentworth Club, England on the 21st and 23rd of November 2023, respectively.

The ‘Eminent Collection’ was established in 2022 to honor long-serving standards of customer service excellence delivered over a minimum of 5 years; with 59club Flag Designations, along with individual and team accolades, all contributing towards the global Eminent benchmark of excellence.

Recognition by 59club is unbiased, independent, and non-subjective, the only industry award of its kind, symbolizing a true badge of honor for those venues and people consistently delivering the finest levels of customer service,during 59club’s vigorous mystery shopper program.

The intimate ceremony, saw 59club welcome nine industry ‘leaders’ who join twenty-two individuals honored with Eminent Status in 2022. The newcomers receiving the enviable Eminent titles were; Casper Schonfeldt, Discovery Land Dubai; Chris Eigelaar, The Belfry; Chris Fitt, Moor Park; Clinton Southorn, Troon; Francisco de Lancastre David, Finca Cortesin; HoussemBelabed, Gleneagles; Jason Adams, Rockliffe Hall; Matt Aplin, Goring & Streatley; and, Scott Fenwick, Gleneagles. 

With only one new property having met the demands synonymous with the Eminent Collection in 2023; as Saadiyat Beach Golf Club join twelve existing ‘properties’ from within 59club’s international network. The elite Collection now represents The Belfry Hotel & Resort; The Celtic Manor Resort; Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club; Emirates Golf Club; Forest of Arden; Foxhills Club & Resort; Gleneagles; Golf Son Muntaner; The Grove; Rockliffe Hall; Saadiyat Beach Golf Club; Trump International Golf Club, Dubai; and Yas links, Abu Dhabi.

Of the honors, Simon Wordsworth, 59club CEO said; “What an incredible celebration of ‘excellence’! The Collection all came together to welcome our newcomers to this elite group of industry champions, whilst we honored our existing members for a second term. The Eminent Collection is the ultimate accolade we can bestow on any venue or individual, and it remains 59club’s honour and privilege to continue to shine a light on the people who are shaping the direction the industry continues to take, by maximising the experience that every single customer can enjoy.”

59club’s signature partner; Club Car once again extended their commitment to the Collection, in true reflection of their devotion to honor customer service excellence; with both Reesink Toro & Golf Genius also aligning their brands with this unique portfolio of industry professionals.

The Belfry Hotel & Resort
The Celtic Manor Resort
Delta by Marriott, Forest of Arden
Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club
Emirates Golf Club
Foxhills Club & Resort
Gleneagles
Golf Son Muntaner
The Grove
Rockliffe Hall
Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
Trump International Golf Club Dubai
Yas Links Abu Dhabi

Andrew Whitelaw, Aronimink Golf Club
Angus Macleod, The Belfry
Anna Darnell, The Grove
Barney Coleman, Burnham & Berrow
Bernat Llobera, Arabella Golf Mallorca
Brad Gould, The Grove
Casper Schonfeldt, Discovery Land Dubai
Chris Eigelaar, The Belfry
Chris Fitt, Moor Park
Chris May, Dubai Golf
Chris Reeve, The Belfry
Clinton Southorn, Troon
Craig Haldane, Gleneagles
Francisco de Lancastre David, Finca Cortesin
Fraser Liston, Forest of Arden
Gary Silcock, Murrayshall
Houssem Belabed, Gleneagles
Jacques Hobson, The Belfry
Jason Adams, Rockliffe Hall
Jim Mckenzie MBE, Celtic Manor
Jonathan Wyer, Rockliffe Hall
Matt Aplin, Goring & Streatley
Phillip Chiverton, The Grove
Rob Rowson, Forest of Arden
Scott Fenwick, Gleneagles
Sean Graham, Foxhills
Simon Howell, Forest of Arden
Stephen Hindle, Worsley Park
Stephen Hubner, Jumeirah Golf Estates
Stuart Collier, Stoke Park
Tom Hughes, The Belfry

59club is all about detail & data, and our technology plays a vital part in all of that, providing you with the ability to collect survey data direct from 1-1 survey invitations, or the simplicity of a well-positioned QR code or shareable link. We’ve also made some loyal friends along the way via mutual clients, and working together we can generate even more intelligence, while eradicating human error – that’s right, today we’re opening your eyes to CRM & POS hook-ups!  

For the average golf & hospitality business, that simply means each time member and guest data is entered into your software, 59club’s survey platform will ‘auto-invite’ the customer to complete the venues bespoke satisfaction survey based on their recent encounter. For example; having joined the club, paid to play, visited the spa or F&B outlet, attended a golf club fitting appointment, made a retail purchase, or having relinquished their club membership.  

The functionality can even track a customer’s experience at significant landmarks during their journey, auto generating a ‘series’ of questionnaires, in sequence at set intervals, as programmed by the venue; measuring a new member’s experience over a set timeframe, or even a ‘get into golf program’ as a guide. 

Over the years we have managed integrations with a number of the leading CRM & POS providers globally on behalf of our mutual clients. 

Most recently we have been linked with Lightspeed; a global innovative ePOS system, and we have also delivered integrated surveys for many clients with the help of other leading providers such as Concept, EZLinks, imaster.golf and Premier Software, all with the ultimate goal of supporting our shared clients to maximise the intel they receive from their customers. 

With technology always at the ready, and a wealth of flexible survey templates that cover all areas of the hospitality industry, club staff can save valuable admin time, with elements of human error also eradicated, as the POS & CRM takes over. That means more time to spend on analysing the data, utilising the industry specific benchmarking comparisons, and ultimately; on the important parts of customer experience – spending time with the customer and subsequently around planning improvements! 

And while our survey platform is all algorithms, metrics and values, there’s no bots here! We are human, with expert servicing teams located in 9 international regions – from ideation and build support, to launch assistance, data analysis & next-level advice – when you need us, we are with you every step of the way.  

We’ll even support your CRM & POS provider with all the necessary’s tech-talk to maximise your data-capture. So, what are you waiting for? Talk to us about your provider, and let’s get you hooked-up and away to go.  

Never again will you make decisions blindly or be left wondering why… because you’ll have the hard and fast data at your fingertips, as we open your eyes to the wonderful world of wisdom…  

As always; reach out to your regional 59club Manager for more information and to get started…  

WARNING!!! Please be assured that 59club will guide you through the process of becoming a tech wizard – no former data-geek experience necessary – full 59club support provided, we have an open API, we’re friendly like that, and we’ll even manage the integration process with your CRM & POS provider as required.  

The greatest thing about golfers is that they like to play in groups. No one likes to play golf alone and that gives us a huge advantage, whether that’s a monthly seasoned away day, or an annual group of 40+ visiting golfers, we want them to choose to visit us, right?! But are we consistently hitting all the high notes during their enquiry? After all, they’re probably canvasing a few other venues for the best rates.

But does rate really matter?  

To some, absolutely! Rate may be everything – but when you consider;

Value = Experience less Cost, it’s the experience that we really need to pitch, and that’s where excellent customer service and call management will always win, but how do you know what to pitch?  

Well, I’ll let you in to a little secret – it all comes down to following a solid sales process – none of this wishy-washy stuff – and at 59club we’re experts at mapping out the perfect journey, so here’s some helpful hints & tips, just for 10.  

Phone rings – so where do you start? 

1. Has the group been before? 

2. What’s their previous experience, where did they visit; what did they enjoy; and what are the most important factors to ensure a successful event?   

3. Discuss their previous budget and typical spend. 

4. Sniff out the competition; who are we up against, have they made other enquiries, have they been given any package prices? 

5. Discuss the frequency of the event? 

6. Data collection – name, email, number, address, how did they hear of us, what prompted them to call – we want it all…  

7. Event data – date, times, number of golfers and their level of flexibility 

8. Establish the parameters of their budget? 

9. Understand the event specifics – and boy there’s a lot of technicalities to cover here, from F&B requirements, on-course services, and prize tables, to golf clinics and leaderboards. 

10. Demonstrate that you truly value their business.  

Promotion begins…  

Then it’s a simple case of delivering a ‘tailored’ promotion to exceed expectations; as you discuss the venue, your product and your USP’s – demonstrating added value along the way!!! And please ALWAYS give more…   

Sales close & Follow up…  

Finally, you start your ‘sales close’ and agree your follow-up protocol, because we’re going to be proactive with our next steps. Whether that’s still attempting to convert the business, offering to hold space, or issuing a personalized proposal; or simply providing pre-visit advice having secured the booking.  

Yes, the rate may be high on a specific day or time, but by simply understanding the flexibility of your group; you may well be able to come up with an alternative tee time to help shape a great package for them. That’s what group golf is all about, keeping the group happy, and if we can be seen to value their business, tailoring our offering to accommodate them, tweaking this and that to give them the very greatest experience for their buck, then we are hard to beat! 

Stop thinking of golf as a solid flat rate – how can it be, when there are so many SPECIFICS to navigate with the group organizer, and added extras that may well cost you nothing, but make the group feel like a million dollars.  

If you start out with a solid sales process, designed to glean the information necessary to over-pitch your offering, then you’re on to a winning formula.  

• Ask your regional 59club manager about our Group Golf Sales audits, education and survey tools. There really is a better way to do things, and we are here to help guide you through initiating that sales process…  

From the second an employee arrives for work, and even before they’ve slipped their coat off and settled into their daily duties, there are customers waiting to be supported & served, and we expect that interaction to be delivered with a smile and genuine interest to help. (As well as hitting all the high notes within our Mystery Shopper audit criteria)  

On the whole, performance is true to form, but from time-to-time standards slip – employees may feel the pressures of their role, they may feel undervalued, they may have unknowingly inherited bad traits from other team members – and slowly that smile becomes strained.  

The customer may not even notice the difference in behavior at first, but over time it starts to show, you may even hear customers speaking of the uncharacteristic behavior of their favorite employee. 

“Motivate them, train them, care about them, and make winners out of them… they’ll treat the customers right. And if customers are treated right, they’ll come back.” 

J. Willard Marriott, American entrepreneur, businessman and founder of the Marriott Corporation

To consistently deliver exceptional service, you must nurture your people, inspire their behavior, support them with the right tools and training to perform well within their role, predict their needs, and listen to their woes.  

With so many customers to serve and departments to oversee, time often slips away, and every good intention becomes lower down the priority order, but it doesn’t need to be that way. 

Just like your customers, there is also a ‘need’ to survey your employees, and for that matter we created a bundle of HR Survey Templates, to make analyzing employee wellbeing that much easier, whether they are an existing employee, new recruit or a leaver. 

There’s a whole load of pre-set questions for you to include – as always, we try and take the guess work away, but there’s also the freedom to add any custom questions to your surveys – you’re always able to do that within any of our golf & hospitality templates, you can even make a survey entirely of your own if you prefer.  

What always captivates me with the inclusion of a templated question, is the ability to compare your own outcomes with the global industry & podium set averages, that’s what fascinates me the most. How other employees’ experiences, preferences, willingness and loyalty compares to yours, and what you can take from the wisdom of stepping out of your own four walls.  

The venue will also be able to identify what motivates individuals, and how they can support continued growth within their employees existing role, also providing clarity and vision over personal career progression. 

There may be other survey providers out there – heck one google search and you can find a ton of them! But what you don’t get from any of them is the specialized industry expertise, the flexibility, and the miniscule analytical data that only 59club is synonymous for.  

We aren’t just here as a survey provider like some of our competitors are, or as a mystery shopping company either, we are here for the greater good. We don’t just help you to spot flaws or celebrate excellence with you, we give you the solutions to perfect experiences.  

Circling back to Mr. Marriott, our very own mantra is cut from the same cloth, we exist solely to help you to motivate your team, to care about them, to train them, and every year we make winners out of them. Your people are the foundation to achieving customer service excellence, that’s the business we are all in, and we’re all in it together!  

The Human Resource Survey Templates are free to use within your Survey Platform, they address all areas of the employment roster – from measuring the New Employee Experience, general Employee Satisfaction, plus an Employee Exit Survey.  

So, while we’ve got your attention, take some time out today, look into the HR Survey Suite. Give us a call if you prefer, and let’s set some time aside to prioritize employee wellbeing, as we look forward to enjoying the perks of increased customer service delivery.

59club’s ‘Eminent Collection’ celebration is set to return this fall, as we continue to recognize the finest properties & leaders across the world of golf & hospitality, for their unwavering dedication to Customer Service Excellence.  

With exclusive events taking place at Trump International Golf Club, Dubai, and at Wentworth Club, England on the 21^st and 23^rd of November 2023 respectively; 59club are delighted to announce that their signature partner; Club Car has once again extended their commitment to the Collection; with both Reesink Toro & Golf Genius also aligning their brands with this unique portfolio of industry professionals, as the 2023 inductees are set to be announced. 

Eligibility into the ‘Eminent Collection’ is based solely on achievements across the 59club Service Excellence Awards, with individual and team accolades, along with 59club Flag Designations, all contributing towards the Global Eminent Benchmark of Excellence; measuring performances over a minimum of 5 years.  

In 2022, just twelve ‘properties’ from within 59club’s international network had achieved the required benchmark synonymous with the Collection, with a further twenty-two ‘leaders’ honored with Eminent Status.  

Of the impending celebrations, Simon Wordsworth, 59club CEO said;

“The ultimate accolade 59club can bestow on any venue or individual is to grant them entry into The Eminent Collection. The calculation is fair, transparent, objective, and open to all industry professionals, and by design showcases individuals and venues who not only invite independent scrutiny, but who then deliver outstanding and consistent performances across a minimum of five years.  

“It is my honour and privilege to continue to shine a light on the people who are ultimately shaping the direction the industry continues to take, by maximising the experience that every single customer can enjoy.” 

As the wider industry waits on bated breath for the 2023 announcement to be made later in November; 59club are preparing to host a full house, as the entire Collection reconvenes to officially welcome the newcomers as they join this elite group of industry champions.  

For more information about the Eminent Collection, or to learn about 59club and their plight towards elevating service standards and profitability across the golf & hospitality industry; please visit www.59club.com  

In the competitive world of golf and country club management, staying ahead of the curve requires a combination of dedication, innovative strategies, and utilizing the right tools.

Today, we bring you insights from an industry leader who’s making headway in optimizing member experiences, Jason Hanna, COO of the Credit Valley Golf and Country Club in Canada. We talk about his vision, 59club’s transformative role in their operations, and the future of golf clubs in the region. 

The Visionary Path

Under Jason’s stewardship, Credit Valley aims to grow its member service standards by “creating means to measure our progress year over year and benchmarking with similar clubs in our market.” This ensures they’re either meeting or exceeding industry standards and expectations. 

Jason highlights the significance of 59club’s industry benchmarking services, calling them “an invaluable tool, not only for club managers but for committees and Boards to better understand industry standards.” 

Striking a Better Club Experience

Credit Valley is focusing on enhancing locker room and outside golf operations. They’ve found an ally in 59club, whose survey software and mystery shopping audits has resonated with the club’s team, mainly due to its granularity. This has facilitated more accurate evaluations, streamlined internal communications, and enriched staff training. 

“Benchmarking and surveys have been instrumental in setting targets. We have used the HR survey templates exclusively on staff to date in order have a sense of their comfort heading into a busy season, and a peer assessment method with our management team that folds into their appraisals. We will also be expanding to use surveys for Board and committee effectiveness,” Jason shares. This bespoke approach has been pivotal in understanding Credit Valley’s unique aspects, and driving continuous improvement. 

On Course for Continuous Improvement

When asked how they intend to capitalize on data, Jason expressed that the information gathered has already contributed to shaping their operational plans, especially around staff engagement. 

He also emphasizes the role of mystery shopping services in evaluating customer experiences, stating, “Receiving a timely, comprehensive report covering all areas of interaction at the club allows management to make real-time adjustments, or seek further inquiry into areas performing below standard.” 

Industry Influence and Future Forecasts

As a leader in the golf industry, Jason believes that 59club’s insights will contribute significantly to the growth of golf clubs in Canada, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area, that holds about 20% of the nation’s population and many of the top-tier clubs. 

“Implementing new operations or software can be daunting at times, but working with 59club makes implementing new protocols and services fairly routine,”

He advises other golf clubs considering a partnership with 59club; “Due to the ability to build services around the specific needs and nuances, 59club will capture data and measure service standards at any club.” 

On the horizon for Credit Valley is further integration of these performance management services, especially in terms of member satisfaction surveys on targeted areas of the club’s amenities and additional mystery shopping across other areas of the business such as member onboarding. According to Jason, 59club’s regular training and support will make this a walk in the park.  

“Implementing new operations or software can be daunting at times, but working with 59club makes implementing new protocols and services fairly routine,” said Hanna. “59club is with us every step of the way, not only helping us read and interpret mystery shopping data, but also recommending and helping us with our employee education and training plans, as well as providing operations support, they are always focused on identifying opportunities for growth.” 

The partnership between Credit Valley Golf and Country Club and 59club paints a picture of progress and promise. With a vision to improve, the right tools in place, and a commitment to service excellence, the future seems bright for Credit Valley and the Canadian golf club industry as a whole. 

The world of golf and country club management, as observed through Jason’s lens, is one of relentless innovation, continuous improvement, and unwavering dedication to service excellence. As we navigate the future, these insights serve as a testament to the transformative power of collaboration, and the drive for progress that defines leaders like Jason Hanna and organizations like Credit Valley Golf and Country Club. 

In the world of club operations, having the right people, in the right places, behaving in the right way is paramount to success. A customer only has to receive one bad experience to disassociate themself with a brand or organisation, while spreading news of that poor experience far and wide. 

To some, the notion of reinvesting surplus back into operations specifically to educate and develop the team may seem groundbreaking, but could it potentially become the standard for future budgeting?  

Now, imagine we shift our perspective slightly and ask: what if a ‘specific portion’ of your overall revenue is dedicated to staff training and development in your budgeting process, just like McDonalds, Starbucks and other enormous global companies earmarks a particular amount for advertising each year? 

Although training and development have always found a place in your annual expense report, how can you be certain that your investment is enough, and how can you be sure that it’s paying dividends?  

Over the past three years, Club Study has conducted multiple surveys via its industry network to understand the investment trends in staff training and development. 

Interestingly, the Club Study industry peers report that their investment seems to have slightly dipped since 2021, as seen in the graphic below. 

Surprisingly, these numbers seem rather underwhelming for something so crucial to club operations. Observing the expenditure as an absolute dollar value, however, changes the narrative.  

A club with a $3 million turnover will spend less than $30k on average on training & development. Given the financial constraints that club budgets often have to grapple with, including break-even targets, slim profit margins, and increasing inflation, this amount suddenly seems justifiable, even generous to some. But can we really justify increasing this budget? 

In the wake of a recent increase in club activities and longer wait lists, many clubs may not see the immediate need for investing more in staff training. The decision-making process is typically reactive rather than proactive, and clubs often prioritize preventing losses over seeking gains. But wouldn’t you agree that the clubs investing more than 2% in staff training probably enjoy a more robust staff culture, leading to better relationships, longer staff tenures, and an overall happier environment? Ultimately, selling and servicing customers to better degrees. 

We are pleased to report that we have seen an increased appetite for staff training in recent times, with many 59club clients who receive ‘mystery shopping’ audits investing heavily in training, probably for the same reason they are challenging the golf industry by delivering some of the finest customer experiences in the world of golf.  

59club handles enormous quantities of live data and insights, so much so that we are the only authority in golf who can go out on a limb and make such bold accusations about global CX benchmarks and industry trends.  

Surprisingly, these numbers seem rather underwhelming for something so crucial to club operations.

Just as we support our clients to understand their customers, we know our clients and we know them very well, and we can whole-heartedly confirm that they take education extremely seriously – so much so that we have witnessed a 166% increase in the number of training sessions delivered by the 59club UK team between 2021 & 2022.  

Taking it back to the wider industry, the Club Study network reports that the largest proportion of development dollars is spent on middle management. So, where exactly do these training dollars go? The most logical answer seems to be conferences, organised by various associations and governing bodies at national and regional levels. Conferences can provide inspiration, reflection, and innovative ideas, not to mention the fantastic networking opportunities and the fun that they provide.  

Yet, it remains hard to precisely calculate the ROI from these events. 

The crux of the matter when justifying expenditure lies in quantifying the return on investment (ROI) from training and development, which is no easy task. If we don’t measure it, it’s likely to be overlooked. 

To quantify improvement in training and development, we need a benchmark. This is where “mystery shopping” comes in. As an unbiased, ground-level measure of your customer service, it provides the perfect service benchmark. After a period of conducting such audits, you’ll have a robust dataset highlighting your strengths and weaknesses, confirming (or disproving) your suspicions. 

So, what’s next? The answer is simple: Train! Use the data, celebrate the successes, and develop strategies to address the weaknesses. Department-specific training, consistent programming, and building an ongoing relationship geared to enhance club culture, audit after audit, will make a world of difference. 

Your focus should always be on measuring. Once you start doing that, you’ll start viewing training as an investment that yields a return. This brings us back to the heart of the industry: relationships. 

As the world continues to blaze the digital frontier, there are now more ways than ever to book a tee time or make a dinner reservation at your club. At face value, that’s a good thing. Additional ways to sell tee times and restaurant covers mean more ways to make your club more accessible and potentially profitable.  

But new digital pathways also create opportunities for digital missteps. Mainly, customers want to know their credit card information is secure and they want to know when you have reserved their spot – whether that be for a tee time booking, a dinner reservation or even a treatment at the health spa. And if you’re not providing a written record of their place on your tee sheet or a table at your restaurant, customers may start to feel uneasy about the entire process.  

More importantly, an inquisitive written confirmation – which we’ll discuss below – eliminates common customer service problems and opens additional upsell opportunities at your club and restaurant. 

Golf Visitor Experience Mystery Shopper Insights: 

The global golf industry failed to request an email address during 40% of all tee time reservations made during 2022.  

17% of all email confirmations went astray; either the incorrect email address was recorded, or possibly never sent.  

Only 56% of golfers ever received their booking confirmation…  

What’s the point? 

The initial purpose of a written confirmation is to acknowledge the correct date and time of the reservation. Simple. The bare minimum.  

If you ordered a widget from Amazon without a confirmation of the purchase, you would be left wondering if Amazon is, in fact, fulfilling the order. That kind of digital misstep creates enormous uncertainty and is unlikely to be the first impression you want to convey to your customer.  

With email fields being mandatory, most online tee-time and restaurant booking engines provide immediate and automated written confirmation, allowing customers sight of their booking details and the opportunity to spot any potential errors. When the reservation is booked over the phone the duty of collecting the email address sits with the reservations agent. According to Matt Roberts, 59club’s Director of Training & Education, the absence of a written confirmation can lead to uncertainty and potentially some level of confrontation, not to mention the potential loss of revenues.  

“If you’re taking the reservation by phone, it’s imperative to take the customer’s email address and ensure it is correct by repeating it back to your guest to avoid errors. From our experience, you would be amazed at how many people show up at the wrong time or even on the wrong day. This leads to an awkward conversation at the check-in counter trying to figure out how the error may have occurred.” 

Additional Components  

“My customer has booked, my software generated an immediate written confirmation, or my staff have access to send a ‘templated’ email. Done and done. Right?” Not exactly. For many places around the world, golf and secondary revenue channels like restaurants and bar are seasonal. Operating hours, menu items, club dress code and practice facility access and other large parts of the overall golf experience can change and be different from week to week. How often do you rehash the templated message? – and does it contain everything you’d expect?  

Small additions to a written confirmation with updated restaurant hours, dress code or practice facility access, for example, ensure customer expectations match your club’s operations. According to Roberts, clubs who don’t include this information in their written confirmation are leaving themselves open to poor customer experience.  

“Everything in the written confirmation has to match the customer expectations,” said Roberts. “The last thing you want to happen is someone arriving at your club expecting to eat breakfast and the restaurant is closed or wishing to hit some balls prior to play and it just happens to be that one day the range is closed for maintenance!  

Worse yet, and the one that can cause confrontation, is when a player arrives wearing an outfit outside of the club’s dress code policy. The staff are now faced with an undesirable dilemma: do I make a concession to this one visitor and risk others perceiving this as special treatment, or do I force this customer to purchase attire from the club shop to then adhere to the dress policy? A bad experience either way. Both are avoidable with an informative written confirmation.”  

Revenue generation  

Asking questions or providing additional information within the written confirmation also creates upselling and subsequent marketing opportunities. A common example is the promotion of a golf cart/buggy if one hasn’t been reserved at the call stage. Just by offering a link or a contact to the consumer for them to be able to reserve prior to arrival is imperative for increasing revenue. It also allows the club to prepare this hire item for the arrival of the guest.  

Any operator will tell you that the whole check in experience can be busy, but then throw in additional needs of the customer, such as buggy hire, club rental, use of a caddy, or even a personalized gift that the club wasn’t aware of, will lead to more time servicing the guest’s needs and a delay in an already busy operation.  

Multiple course operators can also promote the options of an upgrade or highlight other courses within a group. The booking confirmation can also promote elements such as accommodation either on-site, or at other local establishments that offer preferential rates when booked via the club. 

And, let’s face it, the opportunities to upsell are endless, when you consider other services and facilities such as high-ropes, custom-fitting, score card marking, leisure & spa usage, private dining etc that can be accessed either on the day, or that may tempt a future return to the club. 

Directions or a link to an interactive map, potential transfers and how to book them as well as any information about how to access the club are always useful for any visitors who may be unfamiliar with the area.  

Finally, and possibly the most important, are the Terms and Conditions of the club which are there to provide clarity on payment and cancelation, pairing up policy, bad weather and course closures must also be included within the confirmation. You will always be in a more comfortable position, when facing any confrontation, if your T’s and C’s are set in place.  

Of course, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to customer service at your club, and your fellow 59club manager can guide you through industry best practices.  

Last year, 59club announced its commitment to become carbon neutral across its global operations by 2030, and is unbelievably excited to have taken a huge step on that journey, with its UK & Ireland business now officially accredited with achieving neutrality in 2022. 

To help guide them through the transition to carbon neutral, 59club found solace in the services provided by “Neutral Carbon Zone (NCZ)” – a leading consultancy, management and certification platform. 

“Strategically we decided to start with the UK business as it is our most mature business. If we can achieve carbon neutral here, we know we can share best practice and achieve it in our Asia, Australia, Canada, European, MEA, Nordic & USA businesses.” said Simon Wordsworth, Founder and CEO of 59club. 

Over the last 16 months, Alan Stenson & Krys Stanton from NCZ supported Will Hewitt, Andy Etherington and the 59club UK team to adopt NCZ’s three scope structure to tackle the key areas of emissions, by creating strategies for every emission line, either at the company’s cost or simply behavioural changes within the business.   

59club even went further than ‘required’ to help its team members tackle their own carbon emissions through their personal travel and home energy use. 

“We reviewed emissions directly generated by the company’s activities, emissions that are indirectly generated by energy purchased by the company, and lastly emissions that arise from organizational activities, but from sources owned or controlled by other organizations. 

“It’s taken time simply because of the complexity of our business, as it’s not just our office and our people, but all the emissions created by our mystery testers and auditors as they move around the UK & Ireland, the events that we host such as the annual awards ceremony, client golf days, the servers that our software runs on…the list could just go on.” continued Wordsworth. 

The business even went further than ‘required’ to help its team members tackle their own carbon emissions through their personal travel and home energy use. 

To date, 59club’s UK & Ireland division has completed the first phase of its pledge, having received the results of a recently commissioned carbon footprint assessment, which measures the carbon emissions generated by the organisation’s activities. The assessment is the critical first stage of a comprehensive and commercially focused carbon management plan. The measurement of 59club’s carbon emissions follows the internationally recognised standard ISO-14064-1:2006.  

Wordsworth added; “As we progress through this journey, will start to change company buying decisions to ‘fellow green businesses’ who are positively seeking neutrality – where we stay, where we eat, who we buy from etc.”  

Achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2030 across 59club’s Global Operations

“For 59club, the pursuit of excellence extends beyond exceptional customer service; it encompasses a responsibility towards our planet. Today, we proudly reaffirm our commitment to achieving carbon neutrality across our global operations by 2030. With this effort, 59club is dedicated to creating a brighter future, where exceptional experiences coexist with a greener world. 

“Today’s announcement marks an important milestone in 59club’s journey towards global carbon neutrality. We firmly believe that every long journey begins with a first step, and this commitment to becoming carbon neutral across our entire global operations by 2030 is just the beginning.” 

Wordsworth concludes; “Some of our operations that cover huge geographical areas are going to find this really difficult whilst still trying to grow and be profitable, but we believe this is an absolute necessity for the preservation of our planet. Over the coming decades, we will continue to forge ahead, implementing innovative measures and collaborating with partners worldwide to ensure a sustainable future. We have always tried to be amongst the first/early movers, tried to be creative and innovative and this journey allows us to flourish, playing our part to inspire positive change for generations to come.” 

In the ever-evolving world of golf club and hospitality management, being a successful manager involves juggling multiple roles. In the whirlwind of these responsibilities, there isn’t enough time to play guessing games about your member or guests’ needs. The best way to learn what your customers want at your club?  Ask them !!! 

Over the years, we have witnessed a significant shift in customer behaviour within our Survey Software. What started out with aspirations of becoming the most comprehensive pick & mix survey tool in the golf & hospitality industry, has inspired a new-age of club managers who stretch beyond the realms of typical club surveys, to solicit feedback on a whole host of areas to help inform their decision making and the direction the club chooses to take.  

Some of those uses border on being radical – a phrase that doesn’t usually appear in the context of Customer Service Management or in Golf in general… but then again, we’ve always been a magnet for those in the industry who like to do things better, and in doing so we like to support them to behave a bit differently…  

So, what exactly are these new radicals up to?  

They’re putting the club’s destiny in the hands of their members, guests and employees, they’re not just seeking opinion, they’re making instant ‘data-driven’ decisions to help guide the most suitable offering for their customers without prejudice and based on science.  

A new age of club managers are delivering surveys for a whole multitude of reasons, some even to establish where their members would prefer grant monies to be spent – on the course, or in the clubhouse?  

We’ve seen a club make their entire stock selection based on responses to a simple ‘one question’ survey to establish which brands members would prefer to see in the pro shop – giving different supplier options to both male & female members. 

Many clubs are now turning to their members requesting feedback on the club’s competition calendar in an attempt to increase participation, with others collating data to help shape their social events calendar, based on likes and dislikes from previous years, whilst ascertaining interest on potential new themes. 

There are so many daily decisions that as managers we face, but the new-age of club managers are involving their members, guests and employees, after all it’s their club and we need them to enjoy it to the absolute maximum, if we want to secure their loyalty.  

We’ve always been a magnet for those in the industry who like to do things better, and in doing so we like to support them to behave a bit differently…  

We’ve witnessed members inspire seasonal menu changes, and on occasion beer and wine suppliers being switched to the delight of those thirsty members. And then there’s a whole bunch of clubs who made member driven changes to their tee-sheets.  

There’s so many survey templates to choose from, and so much data to gain and take inspiration from, but there’s one that remains a favorite, always topping the usage charts – and that’s the new member survey. Designed to ensure all newbies are integrated into the club community from day one. Some club managers go one step further using the intelligent software to send their new members a ‘series’ of surveys at specific landmarks during their first three months at the club – monitoring their journey into club life, and addressing any weaknesses along the way.  

But let’s not forget the most important people within your business – your employees!!! Forward thinking managers are gathering critical data from the HR survey template bundle, to analyse new and existing employee’s satisfaction levels, along with finding out why some chose to leave.  

We’ve noticed a huge shift from being reactive to pro-active, and that in itself is pure 100 percent karat gold, gone are the days of making assumptions of what will sell in the shop, or what events members may enjoy attending, or why suddenly a loyal group of members went AWOL.  

The best way to learn what your customers want at your club?

Ask them!!! 

Big shout out to all our radical customers – you know who you are!  

And if you’re just starting out on your journey with us – let us guide you to get the best out of your customers, and to give the best back.  

The game of golf has seen significant changes over the past few decades and so have the people who play it. Once stuck with the stigma of being stuffy and elitist, golf is now showing signs of getting younger, more inclusive and available to players of all abilities.

As a result, what was expected of a golf course in the past – in the way of customer service and player experience – is changing at the same rapid rate. In phrase: the days of focusing only on turf conditions are coming to an end.  

In this 59club Spotlight on Service, we head to Mallorca, Spain to catch up with Bernat Llobera, Area Golf  Director at Arabella Golf who echoes the importance of providing exceptional customer service across the board, and uses 59club’s industry leading services to objectively evaluate their customer experience, drive continuous improvement, and establish a club-wide culture of service across their three golf properties on Spain’s largest island.  

“We see nowadays that it is not only about having a course in great shape. It is about a journey, a full experience.” – Bernat Llobera.  

For Llobera, identifying growth opportunities – for revenue and service operations – begins with understanding the experience from the player’s perspective. Working with 59club has made that objective infinitely easier through regular mystery shopping services at Arabella Golf. 

“59club’s evaluations are incredibly valuable assets as they provide a client’s perspective which resembles a real guest experience,” said Llobera. “The objective insights provided by 59club are far more valuable than internal assessments. The ‘extra bonus’ is being able to compare ourselves, our three courses, and the ability to compare this to the wider industry benchmarks. And once we have identified areas for growth, 59club’s training and education services allow us to make improvements to our systems and protocols extremely quickly.”  

Llobera went on to say identifying and fixing problems as they arise is only half the battle. A commitment to continuous improvement must be the driving force behind changes to customer service protocols.  

“Once we receive our evaluation results, we immediately sit down to discuss them as a group,” said Llobera. “We look at everything from comments and images to objective ratings and begin to identify trends and long-term solutions, something that wouldn’t be possible if every team member wasn’t completely committed.”  

That commitment to improvement at Arabella Golf, and regular training through 59club has created a culture of customer service at the club. Employee training sessions are completed every year in many aspects of hospitality service, including phone skills, upselling options and retail protocols. 

“We see nowadays that it is not only about having a course in great shape. It is about a journey, a full experience.”

“Our team members love the training sessions,” said Llobera. “It’s clear to see that everyone takes them seriously and strives to improve. The common feedback from the team is that 59club knows and understands the intricacies of the business, and from what I know, there is nothing that can be compared to what 59club offers. Most recently 59club training sessions have been instrumental in improving our reservations department – often the first impression with your customer.”  

Another goal for Llobera this year? Pick up a few awards. 

“We were extremely proud of all three of our properties’ recognition at the most recent Service Excellence Awards, with Son Muntaner leading the way with a gold flag,” said Llobera. “It encourages you to keep working hard. Ultimately, our team members are the ones who create an incredible golf journey for our guests, so it’s especially gratifying to see the entire team recognized for their commitment and hard work.” 

The age old saying goes, ‘that great managers lead by example’; and 59club are quick to point out that Llobera was recently invited into 59club’s Eminent Collection, joining only twenty-two managers spanning 59clubs global territory – and the very first in Europe – having achieved this international benchmark of excellence, which recognises the finest individuals who are leading the industry in the customer experience realms. 

Eligibility into the Eminent Collection is based solely on achievements across the 59club Service Excellence Awards, with individual and team accolades, along with property flag designations, all contributing towards the Eminent Benchmark of Excellence; measuring performances over a minimum of 5 years. 

Golf experience in Spain is being elevated by managers such as Llobera who seek analysis and feedback to support their team to strengthen their proposition in the marketplace. The advice that he would give to other club managers in Europe and across the wider golfing landscape is that “59club’s wide range of services and solutions improve the business, and therefore, the bottom line. Through personal experience they understand the golf operation and the hospitality industry better than anyone we have met before; they are a great support specialising in customer service; I highly recommend them and their services.”  

A case Study exploring global New Member Onboarding trends

In the modern landscape, data stands as the pivotal cornerstone guiding our actions and shaping our strategies. It offers insight, reveals patterns and uncovers hidden opportunities.

In short, data becomes our road map. Insights collected from our recent multi-national survey of new club members reinforces not only the importance of data collection in this industry, but also how action – or in this case, inaction – can create a mismatch between Member needs and Club operations.  

Out of more than a thousand global respondents to the member onboarding survey, a striking 80 percent cited “lose weight or get in shape” as the primary motive for joining the health club. This clearly signals a profound desire among members to prioritize their fitness journey and take proactive steps towards health and wellness.  

However, there exists a disconnection in the club’s member service ecosystem, indicated by other data points from the survey. A sizable 82 percent of the respondents disclosed that they had not received a new member welcome call within 5 days of joining the club, and only 47 percent received any type of health & fitness induction with the personal trainer, with 40 percent failing to even receive a fitness class schedule. 

This data demonstrates a significant gap in communication and service delivery that can hinder members from realizing their wellness goals. It paints a stark contrast between what members expect and what they experience. 

Data is a powerful tool, but it’s only as valuable as the action it inspires. What can we, as industry leaders and club managers, do with this data? How can we turn these insights into effective strategies? 

Firstly, this data suggests a crucial need to improve communication with new members, ensuring they are well informed about the fitness services available to them. This should involve a personalized welcome call, with an invitation to attend a face-to-face meeting with the personal trainer and / or operations manager, to provide all the necessary items and advice to help them integrate instantly into club life. This simple act of proactive engagement can not only facilitate their fitness journey but also build a stronger rapport, promoting a sense of belonging within the club community from day one. 

Secondly, the importance of implementing a comprehensive and structured onboarding program for new members. This should start with a new member initiation meeting, this could include guided tours, allowing the club to emphasize the various fitness services, the different fitness classes or group activity programs and to make introductions to other employees within the fitness team as well as like-minded members, those of a similar ability, or members with relatable fitness goals.  

Subsequent appointment scheduling – should not be overlooked, employees should as part of their regular service calls attempt to engage new members in health assessments, equipment inductions, fitness programs and future goal settings, with appointments set aside for regular reviews – and perhaps a complimentary session with a personal trainer.  The goal is to provide an enriched experience that encourages members to actively utilize the club’s fitness offerings, and engage with fellow club members and the wider fitness team, whilst serving them to meet their goals. 

Lastly, feedback mechanisms should be put in place to continuously gather member input. These might include regular surveys and service calls where members can share their experiences and ideas. This ongoing data collection not only helps to identify any areas needing improvement, but also to anticipate changing member needs, fostering a responsive and adaptable club environment. 

This example is a wake-up call for clubs to re-evaluate and reinforce their new member engagement strategies. It’s a clear testament to the importance of effective communication, a well-structured onboarding process, and ongoing feedback collection. By embracing data and taking the appropriate action, clubs can bridge the service gap, enhance member satisfaction, and ultimately, help members succeed in their fitness journey. After all, data is a tool, and its power is realized only when it’s put into action. 

If you are ready to measure your member experience and develop a structured onboarding process for your new golf and leisure club members, then help is at hand…  

• Our New Member Integration Survey, Member Retention Survey and Member Exit Survey Templates will deliver the data to support you to tailor your offering throughout your entire member life cycle.  
• And you can follow the education lessons within 59club’s Mentor platform, or request for one of the 59club training managers to guide you through the various training modules.  

Together we can build a successful member integration and retention strategy for your club, ensuring members feel welcome, connected, and valued, with the purpose of encouraging them to visit more often, enter into club life, refer friends and family and linger-longer whilst they are at the club.  

We are thrilled to share some great news about our founder, Simon Wordsworth, who was recently recognised as the latest PGA Member to achieve PGA Master Manager status. This announcement comes from the Professional Golfers’ Association itself, marking a new milestone in Simon’s illustrious career and adding another feather to his cap. 

The PGA Master Manager status is an accolade of the highest order, recognising Simon’s significant contribution to the golf industry and his immense expertise in club management. He is one of only sixty one PGA members to have been granted this honour. 

Our founder has always been a forward-thinker, a trailblazer who has ceaselessly worked towards promoting the golf industry’s best practices. He founded 59club back in 2008, with a vision to revolutionize golf management and service excellence. Under his leadership, we have grown from a handful of clubs in the UK, to a multi-national brand and industry leader with divisions and operations on five continents.  

Reflecting on his achievement, Simon shared, “It’s incredibly humbling to receive this recognition. I’m passionate about delivering excellence in golf management, and I believe this honor represents the collective efforts of our fantastic team at 59club. We’ve always strived to deliver the best, and we’ll continue to do so.” 

Over the years, Simon has always been a proponent of professional development within the industry. He believes that the key to success lies in continuous learning, evolving with changing times, and always striving to improve. This ethos has been ingrained in our organisational culture at 59club and continues to drive us towards excellence. 

Simon’s PGA Master Manager status comes as a result of his vast experience, his dedication to the industry, and his ability to lead, challenge and inspire. It not only recognizes his past achievements but also underscores his potential for future contributions to the golfing industry. We’re confident that under Simon’s stewardship, 59club will continue to reach new heights and redefine industry standards. 

We are absolutely delighted for Simon and immensely proud to be led by a PGA Master Manager. As we continue our journey, we remain committed to the pursuit of excellence, championing the finest standards in golf and leisure management. 

Congratulations, Simon! This is a well-deserved recognition, and we are excited to see where your leadership takes us in the future. 

Golf clubs aren’t merely venues for a beautiful round of golf; they’re spaces where members bond over a meal or drink. As such, food and beverage operations play an essential role in shaping the member experience. However, balancing quality with profitability is a delicate dance that golf clubs across the world grapple with, especially during off-peak days. 

According to recent analysis by 59club Study; 1 in 4 golf clubs reduce or even eliminate their F&B operations during their slowest days of the year, 56% of clubs identified Monday as the slowest day of the week, with Tuesday trailing at 22%.  

In this case, the data – based on research from a global network of managers within the 59club Study community – affords managers industry insights around how other clubs are making changes to their F&B opening or closing times on specific “slower” days.  

Data collection and understanding are fundamental before making any decision at your golf club. Precise data collected from your own members and guests will enable you to objectively assess your club’s operations, track member & guest preferences, and identify trends. It takes the guesswork out of decision-making, giving you a solid foundation upon which to design effective strategies.  

These “slow” days offer an opportunity for creative solutions that can boost sales and enhance member satisfaction. If the data suggests that you should remain open, and lets face it, who wants to shut up shop when there’s potential revenue to gain, maybe it’s a case of kicking your restaurant into gear to boost sales on these slow days. 

Remember, the goal is not just to increase sales but also to enhance the customer experience. The strategies you adopt should reflect your club’s ethos and cater to the needs and preferences of your members & guests, here are some strategies to consider; 

Innovative Marketing and Communication 

Using email newsletters, social media, and even the club’s website to communicate special offers or themed nights can spark interest and increase attendance. Communicate consistently and ensure that your message reaches your customers effectively. 

Customer Engagement Activities 

Involve members & guests in activities such as cookery classes, wine tastings, or a ‘meet the chef’ evening. These initiatives can create a sense of community and encourage members to visit the club on slower days. 

Strategic Partnerships 

Consider partnering with local businesses to create attractive package deals that combine a round of golf with dining discounts. This can help attract new visitors to the club and possibly convert them into regular members. 

Streamline Operations 

Use data and analytics from platforms like 59club Study, alongside your own regular customer satisfaction surveys  to identify trends and monitor member preferences. You can use these insights to streamline your F&B operations, optimize menus, manage inventory, and reduce waste. 

Slow days need not be a drain on your club’s F&B operations. By adopting creative strategies and leveraging data, you can turn these off-peak periods into opportunities for growth and member engagement. Remember, every day at your golf club is a chance to make a lasting impression and deliver an exceptional experience.  

Don’t let the off-peak blues bring you down; instead, use them as a springboard to elevate your club’s F&B operations to new heights. 

In the world of retail, there is a common question that has plagued salespeople for years. It’s an easy question to ask, an easier question to answer and it does exactly nothing for your bottom line.  

The question in question? “Can I help you?”

It seems innocent enough, a well-meaning attempt to assist customers. However, according to 59club Global Trainer Matt Roberts, this question may be the absolute worst to ask in any retail setting, and what’s more staggering is that 59club’s industry leading data suggests that 75% of all mystery shoppers were either asked this very question, or simply ignored after showing interest in a product. 

The Ineffectiveness of “Can I Help You?”: 

According to Roberts, the question “Can I help you?” often falls flat, and worse, creates a negative feedback loop between you and your customer. The most common response? “I’m just looking, thanks.” This lackluster interaction fails to create a meaningful connection between the salesperson and the customer, leaving both parties unsatisfied.  

A fact supported by 59club’s mystery shopping data, which highlights, “of those that were asked this question; 58% identified that they would not wish to make a purchase”. Immediately, nearly 80% of customers who are asked “Can I help you?” aren’t buying. Now that’s a big-time problem. 

Missed Sales Opportunities: 

Asking the wrong question can trip up sales professionals and hinder their ability to create sales opportunities. Instead of resorting to the generic “Can I help you?” query, it is crucial to engage customers in a conversation that promotes active dialogue. By understanding their specific needs and preferences, salespeople can tailor their recommendations and provide a more personalised experience.  

Turning Conversation into Sales Opportunities: 

Having eliminated the “Can I help you?” scenario; 59club’s education stresses the importance of asking engaging questions that promote casual chat. For instance, sales staff asking customers a combination of open and closed questions about their golf game, their abilities, or their favourite part of their game can lead to fruitful conversations. These interactions can uncover areas where customers are struggling and allow sales professionals to offer relevant solutions or services. By actively listening and providing personalised recommendations, retailers can turn missed opportunities into successful sales. What do customers want in a personalised experience? Let’s find out through needs analysis. 

The Power of Needs Analysis: 

One key element of 59club’s education is the importance of conducting a needs analysis for customers seeking a particular product. Rather than immediately showcasing a range of options, salespeople should focus on understanding what the customer is looking for in that specific product. By asking a selection of well-constructed questions about their preferences, why they’re in the market for the product in the first place, current usage, and desired improvements, sales professionals can gain valuable insights to guide their recommendations. Failing to conduct a proper needs analysis can result in further missed sales opportunities. Alarmingly, only 50% of 59club mystery shoppers received a needs analysis during their encounter with the retail team, and to their detriment, 77% of those shoppers stating that they did not feel compelled to make a purchase based on their sales experience. 

What’s a better way?  

A crucial aspect of the retail sales process is the significance of linking product features to their benefits. Rather than overwhelming customers with a laundry list of specifications, salespeople should emphasize how a product can meet their specific needs and provide value. By identifying the benefits that resonate with the customer, sales professionals can create a compelling case for making a purchase. This approach not only enhances the customer’s understanding, but also increases the likelihood of closing a sale. 

In the realm of retail, the question “Can I help you?” may be the worst one to ask customers. It often leads to missed sales opportunities and fails to establish a meaningful connection. By embracing alternative approaches, conducting a needs analysis, linking features to benefits, and promoting engaging conversations, sales professionals can transform their interactions with customers.  

It is through these personalized and attentive strategies that retail businesses can foster stronger customer relationships, increase sales, and provide exceptional shopping experiences. So, the next time you step into a retail environment, remember that a genuine conversation can make all the difference.  

Have you been here before? It’s an innocuous and generally harmless question with enormous upside.

The restaurant industry have used this relatively innocent question for decades in order to prime the pump for an engaging customer experience. Asking someone if they have been to your golf course, restaurant, spa – or any other hospitality or leisure venue – opens the door for conversation and questions, builds rapport and emotional connection between the customer and your staff/brand, and provides an opportunity to share your club’s best stories or things a customer should know before heading out.  

59club has crunched the numbers and, once again, the top-performing clubs never miss an opportunity to ask this question during the tee time booking call. The rest of the pack, however, fails to ask this question 64% of the time.  

On arrival at the club during checking in for golf; even the best performers struggle when it comes to discussing a visitors  previous experiences as they attempt to build a personal rapport, only achieving 68%, with the 59club industry average sat at just 50%. 

Let’s dive in.  

The most effective way to open the door for an engaging conversation and information gathering is to ask personal questions but asking a customer where they see themselves in five years or what makes them the happiest isn’t really appropriate in this instance. Asking a visitor if they have played the course before, however, is a semi-opened-ended question with a clear goal and hundreds of different avenues for additional conversation. If the customer has played the course before, it begs the question “when?” Was it a long time ago or before a recent renovation? Have there been changes to improve the club since then? Why did they take so long in between rounds? Are they from out of town and should their name and email address go into a special “feeder market” list bucket in your CRM system? Enormous amounts of information all gained from starting with one simple question.  

These types of conversation starters not only gather important information for marketing and customer service operations, but also provide an opportunity to tell positive stories or provide important general information about your club to someone who may not know. If someone is playing for the first time, they might want to hear about a featured hole, strategy on how to play the course, where to find locker room, restaurant, practice area and 1^st tee, humorous anecdotes and other positive stories.  

The message is clear, the top performing clubs need to be more consistent from managing the tee time call to greeting a visitor on arrival, far too many other clubs – that feed into the 59club industry average – are leaving easily gatherable information on the table. The golf and leisure clubs who take charge of the first impression and subsequent conversations tend to score higher in other areas as well, creating a domino effect of individual, positive experiences which lead to a better experience overall.  

Working with the data 

Delve into your Mystery Shopping Audits, and analyze how many times the team has asked this question ‘month on month’ and ‘year on year’, paying close attention to the podium performance, industry and your own competitor set average to see how you compare.  

Celebrate those within the team who have witnessed successes, reminding others of the fundamental basics to perfect their engagement techniques.  

Encourage skill-share, role-play, and time away to study, reminding the team of the learning links within the mystery shopping results, and the resources within the Mentor education platform to develop their sales process & customer service experience. 

Review successes and set targets on a regular basis as Mystery Shopping results are released…  

In today’s competitive golf industry, it’s crucial for golf clubs to deliver exceptional customer experiences to attract and retain players. One golf club that has successfully navigated this challenge is We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, located in Scottsdale, Arizona, which – under the leadership of General Manager Matt Barr – has seen significant growth in retail and F&B sales over the past two years. Their secret? Unbiased, actionable data collected from regular mystery shopping audits. 

The Partnership Between We-Ko-Pa Golf Club and 59club 

Barr and his team at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club gained valuable insights into the areas where they could improve their customer service and drive sales growth. According to Barr, what started out as an opportunity to identify on-course condition and maintenance, like turf health and bunkering, turned into an extremely valuable tool for nearly every customer-facing operation at the club.  

“Managers can’t be everywhere at once, so we engaged with 59club in order to make sure our on-course product was up to our standards,” said Barr. “The data we received from our initial golf visitor experience audits opened our eyes to not only the on-course product, but also our retail and F&B operations. We quickly realised we could grow in many ways.”  

Implementing Effective Sales Techniques 

Armed with the insights, Barr and his team at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club implemented new sales techniques that focused on improving customer interactions. By training staff to engage with customers more effectively and to upsell and cross-sell products and services, the club was able to increase its retail sales by double digits in a little under two years.  

“We’ve seen a remarkable retail sales increase since starting with 59club,” said Barr. “This growth can be directly attributed to learning and implementing effective sales processes that focus on upselling and cross-selling. By equipping our team with the right tools and techniques, we’ve been able to enhance the customer experience and drive significant revenue growth for our club.” 

On the F&B front, mystery shopping data allowed Barr and his team to identify areas for growth and double down on quality customer service operations. According to Barr, simple questions asked by F&B staff have led to significant sales increases, and even improved employee satisfaction.  

“Asking simple questions like ‘have you dined with us before’ or ‘would you like another beer’ not only lead to increases in F&B revenue, but also staff wages,” said Barr. “As bills increase from another round of drinks or upselling a more expensive spirit, so do tips for our servers. It’s a win-win across the board and something we might never have seen without data from 59club.”  

Enhancing Customer Satisfaction 

By making improvements in their daily processes, We-Ko-Pa Golf Club was able to enhance the overall customer experience. Satisfied customers are more likely to return to the club and recommend it to others, which will have a positive impact on future sales. The increased focus on customer service, driven by the insights gained from regular mystery shopping audits, helped the club create a more enjoyable guest experience. 

The success of We-Ko-Pa Golf Club demonstrates the significant impact that mystery shopping and data analysis can bring to the golf, leisure & hospitality industry. As the industry becomes increasingly competitive, it’s essential for clubs to prioritize customer service and continually strive for improvement. By partnering with 59club, venues can gain valuable insights and support to help them boost sales and create exceptional experiences for their customers. 

59club Australia & New Zealand, a leading customer service benchmarking and training provider in the golf and leisure industry, is excited to announce its strategic partnership with Clublinks, a premier management and consulting company specialising in public golf, leisure, and hospitality sectors. 

This partnership brings together two industry leaders, combining their expertise and resources to deliver exceptional customer service and operational excellence to golf and leisure facilities across Australia and New Zealand. By leveraging 59club’s proven benchmarking and training programs alongside Clublinks’ extensive experience in management and consulting, the collaboration aims to elevate the performance and profitability of clubs and resorts in the region. 

59club’s innovative benchmarking tools, which include mystery shopper audits and customer satisfaction surveys, will enable clubs and resorts to gain valuable insights into their customers’ experiences. Through detailed analysis and customised training programs, 59club will work closely with Clublinks to enhance staff performance, improve service levels, and drive customer loyalty.

Clublinks’ vast network and industry knowledge will be instrumental in expanding the reach of 59club’s services across the Australian and New Zealand markets. As a leading management company, Clublinks brings a wealth of operational expertise, strategic insights, and industry best practices to the partnership, ensuring public access golf and leisure facilities receive comprehensive support in all aspects of their operations. 

“We are delighted to join forces with Clublinks, a respected leader in the golf and leisure industry,” said Sam Hughes, General Manager of 59club Australia & New Zealand. “This strategic partnership allows us to combine our unique strengths and deliver unparalleled customer service and operational excellence to our clients. We are confident that our collaboration will empower clubs and resorts to elevate their performance, drive revenue growth, and exceed customer expectations.” 

Steve Peverett, NSW State Manager of Clublinks, expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership, stating, “At Clublinks, we are dedicated to providing exceptional management solutions to our clients. Our collaboration with 59club Australia & New Zealand aligns perfectly with our mission, as we strive to enhance customer experiences and drive sustainable growth. Together, we will set new benchmarks for excellence in the industry and help golf and leisure facilities achieve their goals.” 

The partnership between 59club Australia & New Zealand and Clublinks marks an exciting chapter in the golf and leisure industry, where customer service and operational efficiency are paramount. Both organizations are committed to transforming the industry landscape by delivering measurable results and raising the bar for customer satisfaction. 

For more information about 59club Australia & New Zealand and Clublinks, please visit their respective websites at www.59clubau-nz.com and www.clublinks.com.au. 

In the run up to launching 59club Australia & New Zealand, the customer service management specialists delivered a series of Mystery Shopper audits across Melbourne & Sydney that measured the ‘Golf Visitor Experience.

You can view the headline findings from those mystery shopper audits in the ‘Australian Preliminary Insights Report’ below...

Members are the life-blood of many clubs; failure to convert them can prove expensive in both the short and long-term. But maximizing the opportunities which present themselves often comes down to having the correct person adopting the correct policies.

Yet one of the most overlooked aspects of converting a prospect comes at that very first stage: the answering of the call. Firstly, it’s essential that the correct person is available to answer the call. Those who hesitate are lost, and so are those who are not there in the first place.

Ask yourself how many opportunities are lost if the phone goes unanswered? Or if the correct staff member is on holiday or sick? So, when you consider that on only 58% of occasions did our mystery testers get to speak to the correct person on the first attempt of calling – according to the 59club industry score – we begin to appreciate how many opportunities may be lost.

That’s effectively twice in every five calls a prospective member speaks to the wrong person, necessitating a call-back. Worse still, what if the prospect calls a competitor while waiting for your return call, and they went on to impress them so much that they signed up!?

One of the most important aspects of the initial enquiry call is the art of building a rapport with the caller. This comes naturally to an engaging staff member, but this technique is lost when the wrong person tries to deal with an enquiry.

An engaging staff member will attempt to build a rapport; asking the prospect about their golfing background, how often they play, where, and what is their handicap, all simple conversation pieces. Yet the industry are only getting 28% of the picture, while the best-performing clubs glean a much better understanding of their prospects, as they achieve 77%.

Asking what has prompted the enquiry is likely to provide you with further valuable information. They may, for example, be a member elsewhere and be unsatisfied with the condition of the course, or a lack of investment, allowing the staff member to respond with positives about the excellent course condition and raft of recent and future investments. This is designed to edge the caller towards a positive outcome, both now and then later in the sales process when they visit the club.

There are countless reasons why somebody will make the initial call; employees who fail to delve into them will find it harder to persuade the prospect to put pen to paper. The podium performers have realised this and without fail, they established what prompted the membership enquiry every single time; the industry asked the question 70% of the time.

Furthermore, establishing the caller’s primary requirements for a membership – competitive golf, the social aspect, entertaining clients, meet new people etc – leads to other opportunities that will relate to their needs, with the intention of exciting them at the thought of a membership later in the call. Again, the podium score reflects the success therein with 86%, while the industry average drops to 44%.

Effectively, taking the last three areas together, it’s clear that industry-wide we’re failing to establish the caller’s history and membership needs on every other occasion.

A further vital question is required to establish whether the caller is also contacting other clubs with the same enquiry. With relevant SWOT analysis of your competition, your staff are in an ideal position to stress your strengths over your rivals’ weaknesses, without the need to openly criticise them.

However, the importance of this approach seems to be lost on many clubs; with a podium score of just 50% and, even more disappointingly, an overall industry rating of just 14%.

Using all of the personal information gleaned, you are now in a position to make a ‘related’ promotion of the member services, club facilities and USPs, for how else is one to excite the caller? Yet, despite the obvious importance of this action, the industry comes in with a rating of just 55%, and the podium not much higher at 72% when analysing their promotion.

Now that the prospect is excited at the thought of membership, the emphasis is to encourage the individual to visit the club in order to view the facilities and discuss member benefits further.

In future issues, we will look at how the membership sales appointment should be structured.

If you would like to take a closer look at the membership sales process, visit the 59club Mentor education platform to fill any shortcomings in your member sales enquiry process.

For those of you who are new to 59Club Study; the platform connects curious Club Managers and industry personnel from around the globe, creating opportunities to explore operational decision making from a wide range of operators in different locales, under different cultural norms, as we learn from each other.

59Club Study’s goal is to build a professional network of hospitality managers, driven by data and club research, with a strict focus on collaboration and tackling tough topics together.

Each fortnightly report highlights technical, conceptual, and philosophical insights from inside Golf, Leisure & Hospitality businesses across the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Asia, Middle East, Africa, Australia & New Zealand.

Managers are encouraged to submit questions they would like to appear in subsequent surveys, putting you in control of the direction the study takes, providing an industry perspective like no other.

The insight, collaboration, and community that 59Club Study creates, will inspire curiosity, and ultimately empower Club Managers to make informed data-driven decisions.

Sign up now, whilst it’s free to join

Click here to read three of 59Club Study’s most recent reports.

Which is more important for employee retention: higher wages or schedule flexibility? Employee turnover can be costly and time-consuming, and it’s essential to keep your top talent motivated and engaged. Any club manager will tell you it’s much harder to find and train a new employee, than it is to keep good staff members happy.

If you get word a few of your best employees are beginning to think about working elsewhere, what do you do?

You could pay them more, certainly, but that might not be the underlying issue for their unhappiness. Schedule flexibility could help, but you need them at the club as often as possible. After all, they’re your best staff members.

What is more important: higher wages or schedule flexibility? What would work the best? How could you possibly know? It might depend on individual needs.

Higher wages can be an attractive option for employees, as it can increase their sense of financial security and stability. Employees who feel that they are being paid fairly are more likely to be motivated and committed to their work. However, there is only so much you can offer in terms of a salary before it becomes unaffordable for your business. It’s essential to consider whether you can sustain paying higher wages in the long term, especially if it means compromising on other areas of your business, such as investment in training or new equipment.

On the other hand, schedule flexibility can be another key factor in employee retention. Many employees value having the ability to adjust their work schedule to accommodate personal or family commitments, such as attending a child’s school event or caring for a sick relative. Offering schedule flexibility can increase employee satisfaction, which can lead to increased productivity, engagement, and loyalty. However, it’s important to ensure that schedule flexibility doesn’t impact business operations or create any staffing gaps that can impact other employees’ workloads or morale. Can your club operate successfully with that amount of flexibility for just one or two employees? Does it have to be available to every employee?

So, what’s the answer? Which is more important: higher wages or schedule flexibility? It’s challenging to determine what’s more important without asking your employees directly.

By surveying your employees, you can gather unbiased feedback and gain valuable insights into their preferences and needs. You can ask staff about their thoughts on higher wages versus schedule flexibility and use this information to make more informed decisions about how to retain your top talent. All anonymously and without bias.

These are only two answers to a delicate problem faced in the club industry. Both options have their advantages, and the answer to what’s more important may vary depending on the individual needs and preferences of your employees. To make an informed decision, it’s essential to gather feedback from your employees and use this information to make adjustments to your retention strategies.

With 59club’s survey tools at your disposal – you really can ask whatever you like. Plus the HR survey templates make it easy to monitor employee wellbeing, engagement & satisfaction levels, ensuring that you are providing existing employees and new hires with the support they need to thrive in their roles – and there’s always something to learn from an employee exit survey.

If the reality is that ‘happy employees = happy customers,’ then it’s high time we prioritise employee well-being.

As J. Willard Marriott famously said; “Take good care of your employees, and they’ll take good care of your customers, and the customers will come back”.

Running a golf club located in one of the most luxurious destinations in the world, Abu Dhabi, certainly puts a premium on excellent customer service. The city attracts a diverse range of visitors from all around the globe, from business executives to leisure travelers, all of whom expect a high level of service and experience and are accustomed to top-notch treatment wherever they go.

In a place like Abu Dhabi – and for general manager of Abu Dhabi City Golf Club, Rhian Lobo – investing in customer service operations is crucial to meet the expectations of both local and international guests.

“As a premier golf destination in the region, we understand the importance of delivering a world-class experience for our members and guests,” said Lobo. “By investing in our customer service operations, we can ensure that we meet and exceed the expectations of our customers, and maintain our position as a leader in the industry.”

One of the key investments for Lobo and his team was partnering with 59club, to work on many aspects of their customer-facing operations.

“We strive to provide our members and guests with the best possible experience, and 59club has been instrumental in identifying not only areas of improvement, but also how to capitalize on things we already do well. They’ve been instrumental in helping us achieve our goals,” said Lobo.

Identifying needs and opportunities are one thing. Collecting and implementing actionable data is another. Using data collected through 59club’s survey tools, Abu Dhabi City Golf Club was not only able to identify that their customers wanted improvements to their driving range, but also used data to create a pitch to their governing board. With the help of such intel, they now have ball tracking technology on all 48 bays, something their members & guests greatly valued.

Lobo adds, “The reports from 59club has given us a fresh perspective on our operations, enabling us to focus on the areas we might have otherwise overlooked. We’re thrilled with the impact it’s had on our driving range, and we look forward to implementing further changes based on new reports down the line.”

In addition to their unbiased mystery shopping audits and survey data, Abu Dhabi City Golf Club has also benefited from on-site training sessions with 59club. These sessions bring the team together and provide them with the tools they need to excel in their roles.

Lobo explains, “Investing in our team is crucial to maintaining our high standards of customer service. The F&B, golf operations, membership sales and retention training sessions provided by 59club have helped us identify our team’s strengths and weaknesses, enabling us to provide targeted training that has ultimately improved the customer experience.”

The investment in 59club and commitment from Lobo’s team has already paid dividends. According to 59club’s data comparisons over the course of the last three years, Abu Dhabi City Golf Club’s customer service satisfaction scores have shown double digit increases in eight different categories, spanning; staff sales & upselling aptitude, customer engagement, facility management, on-course service standards, and the food and beverage operation to name a few.

“The ability to measure our investment and see our success through these reports has been absolutely incredible,” said Lobo. “It can be easy to implement a new program as a manager and simply forget about it. When you forget about it, so do your staff. With regular mystery shopper reports from 59club, we make sure we’re always focused on what matters to our customers, and we are able to reward our staff for achieving measurable success.”

Abu Dhabi City Golf Club has come a long way in their customer service journey. Starting from a Bronze Flag Designation, they have progressed to the 59club Gold Flag standard, a testament to their commitment to excellence.

Lobo concludes, “59club has been an integral part of our success, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without their support. We’re excited to continue working with them to provide the best possible experience for our members and guests.”

Making members and guests feel valued and welcome is an absolute no brainer for any hospitality venue, but for golf course F&B establishments which often operate with smaller margins and lower foot traffic than traditional restaurants, the line between success and failure is razor thin.

And with labour shortages and employee turnover at levels not seen in decades, the importance of increasing margins through upselling and keeping good employees has never been higher.

According to 59club’s global data; the F&B customer service tactic most in need of improvement is also the least costly, and happens to be a catalyst for increased margins. It also helps raise tips for servers and happens to be one of the key components of exceptional customer service – friendly conversation starters, A.K.A the upsell engine.

Customers are far more likely to purchase additional or premium items when they have a personal connection to their server.

Something as simple as a friendly introduction from the server, with the attempt to involve the table in engaging conversation can be the difference between your customers ordering the least profitable items on the menu, or on their recommendation, opting for the higher ticket, higher return options, or additional courses.  

Developing rapport through the ‘friendly conversation starter’ tactic is something every server in your organisation should strive for at the beginning of each individual interaction. And it works.  

This same tactic is also one of the driving forces of higher tips. Since most diners chose to tip a percentage of the bill; raising the final total through upselling – made easier through friendly communication – will increase gratuities and employee satisfaction, and assist in lowering employee turnover.

The Stats…

Clubs are simply not taking advantage of this tactic. When it comes to a server’s willingness and ability to initiate friendly conversation starters; the podium performers score just 58%, the 59club industry average drops to 40%, showing an industry wide opportunity for growth and higher F&B margins.

Despite all the positive scenarios related to upselling, staff are just not on board. We have to focus their attention and encourage them, and give them the confidence to give upselling a go. The opportunity to sell more and increase F&B profits is easy money, yet the industry only attempts to upsell additional items on 37% of occasions. The podium venues also need to re-focus their servers, as they only achieved 56%.

Let’s do the math based on a club that see an average of 140 players per day, of which 40 of them order a meal after their round.

If the servers use friendly conversation starters to prime the table for the upsell of an additional course priced at $8 (with a 60% margin), and managed to convert just half of the 40 diners; the result is a $35,040 uplift in profit over the course of one year, just by implementing a simple conversation piece in your customer service toolkit. Win win.

And let’s not forget the opportunities to upsell simple but highly profitable snack items & drinks to the 140 golfers before they even teed off ! And that’s something we can all get more bang from our buck; with the podium set performers only attempting to upsell 30% of the time, and the industry missing even more opportunities, as they only attempt to upsell to a fifth of all golfers !

Implement friendly conversation starters today, and watch your profits sore.

John Burbergs, General Manager of Portsea Golf Club on the Mornington Peninsula, is one of the latest Club Managers to engage 59club, sharing the common goal of wanting to deliver the very best service levels and customer encounters for their members and visitors. 

59club opened it’s doors to golf clubs & hospitality providers across Australia & New Zealand at the tail end of 2022; and after a successful round of trial mystery shopper audits – Portsea Golf Club is the latest club, and the first located in Victoria to officially partner with the customer service specilaists.  

As part of the agreement, the golf club; including the Mercure Hotel will now benefit from the continual support and regular feedback that 59club will deliver on all elements of its golf & hospitality operation – including the properties sales process, service offering and facility management.  

With a series of mystery shopper audits which include recorded enquiry calls and live visits from 59club auditors, used to evaluate the experience afforded to customers, all in accordance with 59club’s global ‘objective’ criteria and benchmarking comparison tools.  

The popular holiday destination – which ranks inside Australia’s top 50 – is located less than two hours drive from Melbourne. Adding to the alure of the destination, Portsea Golf Club is also home to the Mercure Portsea Hotel, boasting panoramic views of Port Phillip Bay, catering for upmarket tourists as well as corporate events, meetings and weddings. 

59club’s vision, expertise and universal intel currently supports hundreds of golf clubs, resorts and companies worldwide, with leading names such as TPC Network, Marriott Golf, Troon International, European Tour Destinations, TPC Sawgrass, Emirates Golf Club, New South Wales Golf Club, The Belfry Hotel & Resort, Gleneagles, Le Golf National and Marco Simone, all engaged in the network and reaping the rewards of elevated customer service levels & sales performance.  

John Burbergs, General Manager at Portsea, said: “Portsea Golf Club is proud of its team and is striving towards offering the best golfing experience on the Mornington Peninsula, and we’re always looking at ways that we can improve the experience we afford our members and guests. 

 “We have been very impressed with the range of services that 59club provides, and this knowledge will give us invaluable insight and understanding to help us engage even better with golfers, helping us to analyse each part of our operation in detail, and the process will identify areas that require our focus”.  

Sam Hughes, General Manager of 59club Australia & New Zealand, commented: “The partnership between 59club and Portsea comes at a perfect time as the Club approaches its 100-year anniversary in 2026. We are eager to support John and the team to deliver a service level that not only compliments the quality of the golf course and facilities, but also rivals the best in the 59club global community.” 

For more information on 59club Australia & New Zealand please visit www.59clubau-nz.com or email sam@59clubau-nz.com 

For more information on Portsea Golf Club and to book, visit www.portseagolf.com.au 

59club MEA & Asia brought the Golf & Hospitality Industry together on Thursday 8th March to celebrate elite standards of customer service excellence, as their annual awards event descended on JA Resorts, Dubai.

Festivities began with a round of educational and networking opportunities both on-and-off the course, before the evening celebrations paid tribute to the best performing properties within 59club’s mystery shopper programme of 2022.

59club’s coveted Gold, Silver and Bronze Flag awards were presented to nineteen properties across the Middle East, Africa & Asia for having achieved the required standard of customer service as well as providing the finest facilities and services for their customers enjoyment, as independently adjudicated by 59club’s comprehensive benchmarking system.

Emirates Golf Club received the highest of those accolades on the night – the Ultimate Service Excellence Award for their leading performance within the Gold Flag Designations. They also saw their F&B department awarded the team of the year title, a triumph that Mark Bull, 59club MEA Director previously revealed had seen Emirates’ CX performance across the F&B department rise by 5% and the overall golf operation up by as much as 6% over the past 12 months.

Cian Hurley, Director of Golf at Emirates Golf Club said of the awards, “We are delighted to have won the 59club Ultimate Service Award here at Emirates golf club. This is a true reflection of the overall team effort that goes into reaching and attaining the level of service standard we aim for. Working alongside the team at 59club has helped us to realise this achievement, the support provided is invaluable to us.”

Those properties achieving Gold Flag Designations on the night were: Abu Dhabi City GC; Al Hamra Golf Club; Dubai Creek; Dubai Hills Golf Club; Els Club, Dubai; Emirates Golf Club; Jumeirah Golf Estates; Trump International Golf Club; Yas Acres Golf & Country Club; Yas Links, Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile six Silver Flag Designations were awarded to Al Zorah Golf Club; Arabian Ranches; Bryanston Country Club; Meydan Golf; Montgomerie Golf Club, Dubai and Vattanac Golf Resort. With Aquella Golf & Country Club; Riverdale Golf Club and Thana City Country Club claiming Bronze Flag Status.

Further celebrations were realised for Abu Dhabi City Golf Club, after they took the double crown having seen both their Retail & Membership departments awarded 2022 team of the year titles.

Rhian Lobo, General Manager, “We’re thrilled to win best Membership sales team, best retail store and reach the 59club Gold Flag award. Congratulations to the entire team for providing exceptional customer experience standards throughout the facility.”

Trump International Golf Club, Dubai became the my59 Ultimate Service Excellence Award heroes, an honour they have retained for the fourth consecutive year, having consistently demonstrated their commitment to regularly analyse and advance their customer service levels using a wealth of satisfaction surveys. 

As proceedings unfolded, first time 59club champions Yas Acres Golf & Country Club took to the stage – having only enlisted the customer service specialists’ services the previous year, proving they are true professionals when it comes to service excellence – having been awarded Agronomy Team of the Year for their consistency on the golf course.

Saadiyat Beach Golf Club also had reason to celebrate after seeing their team claim the enviable Golf Operations Team of the year award.

Meanwhile, 59club Asia saw success from two newcomers to the 59club community: with Aquella Golf & Country Club claiming a Flag Designation and both the Retail, and F&B Team of the year accolade.

Speaking of their Bronze Flag Designation and their multiple team of the year successes in what is their first 59club Service Excellence Awards Ceremony; Brian Gibson, General manager of Aquella Golf & Country Club said; “Working with 59club Asia has helped our team achieve the service levels required and elevate Aquella G&CC to be one of the top golfing destinations in Thailand, benchmarking Aquella G&CC against the top clubs & resorts in the world allows the team to focus on the guest experience and continue to exceed customer expectations. The on-site training provided by 59club Asia has been instrumental in our success, the team members are more engaged as a result of the tailored and detailed training sessions delivered by 59club Asia associates, not only are our team consistently delivering a great experience, as individuals the 59club Asia training helps develop and shape their career, providing vital guidance and development”

Renowned Riverdale Golf Club celebrated being awarded Bronze flag designation, having worked tirelessly with their team to develop member and guest experience following the significant challenges Asia experienced during the pandemic, achieving this awards testament to the teams dedication to Excellence.

The same can be said for Thana City Country Club who also celebrated achieving Bronze flag status, Thana City was especially pleased to be recognised after investment saw them rebuild their greens 18 months ago which has been lauded in the region, as they continue to drive customer experience and focus on attaining Golf flag status.

And finally, Vattanac Golf Resort also proved that standards at the Cambodian resort are amongst the highest in Asia, after they scooped 59club’s Golf Operation Team of the year title, and their greens department won Asia’s Agronomy Team of the year award for consistently delivering a well-defined and presented golf course of the highest standard.

Of the annual hallmark event in the golf & hospitality business community, Mark Bull 59club MEA Director said “It was our pleasure to gather the Industry together at JA Resorts for a celebration of the Industry success across MEA & Asia. Congratulations to all winning clubs and managers. We are already looking forward to making the 2024 awards a bigger and better event for all.”

Araya Singhsuwan 59club Asia Director, commenting on the success of the annual event; “We are immensely proud of all our nominees and winners this year, everybody has tirelessly dedicated themselves, not only to deliver above and beyond excellence, but to do better and achieve the best in both their personal and professional lives. It is inspiring, and we are very happy and proud to see their achievements. Once again, congratulations to all, and we will continue to support all of our clubs on their journey”

59CLUB MEA & ASIA ‘SERVICE EXCELLENCE’ AWARD WINNERS (in alphabetical order):

Ultimate Service Excellence Award: Emirates Golf Club;

Gold Flag Designations: Abu Dhabi City GC; Al Hamra Golf Club; Dubai Creek; Dubai Hills Golf Club; Els Club, Dubai; Emirates Golf Club; Jumeirah Golf Estates; Trump International Golf Club; Yas Acres Golf & Country Club; Yas Links, Abu Dhabi.

Silver Flag Designations: Al Zorah Golf Club; Arabian Ranches; Bryanston Country Club; Meydan Golf; Montgomerie Golf Club, Dubai and Vattanac Golf Resort.

Bronze Flag Designations: Aquella Golf & Country Club; Riverdale Golf Club and Thana City Country Club

Golf Operations Team of the Year: Saadiyat Beach Golf Club & Vattanac Golf Resort                                                                                             

Agronomy Team of the Year: Yas Acres Golf & Country Club & Vattanac Golf Resort                                                                                        

Golf Retail Team of the Year: Abu Dhabi City Golf Club & Aquella Golf & Country Club

Food & Beverage Team of the Year: Emirates Golf Club & Aquella Golf & Country Club                       

Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year: Abu Dhabi City Golf Club

My59 Ultimate Service Excellence Award: Trump International Golf Club, Dubai

Many of the UK and Europe’s leading Venues, Teams and Individuals were in attendance as 59club recognised those who delivered the very best service to their Members and Guests during 2022 at their Annual celebration of Service Excellence, which this year took place at The Hilton, St George’s Park on Thursday 2^nd of March.

Delegates enjoyed educational seminars during the day, which included Olympic Gold Medal winner and now Head of Performance for the League Managers Association, Tim Foster MBE; Bestselling author of “The Habit Mechanic” and founder of Tougher Minds Consultancy, Dr Jon Finn; and former Manchester United Captain and Premier League winner, Steve Bruce.

As day moved to evening; host for the evening, seasoned presenter, Vernon Kay opened the glittering awards ceremony that has long been regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the golf & hospitality industry, since 59club’s honours list began some 13 years ago.

The event recognises the finest customer service providers for having achieved the highest standards of excellence across 2022. 59club’s accolades are determined by scores collected from their impartial mystery shopping audits, which evaluate the experience afforded to guests, club members and prospective members, in accordance with 59club’s objective benchmarking criteria.

On the night, 59club saw their UK & Southern European teams present 38 individual & team awards spanning 18 categories, recognising ‘service excellence’ across all areas of the businesses; sales, service, operations, retail, spa, golf course, food & beverage and management. With 59club continuing to reflect the very best performances, regardless of a venue’s size, scale or profile, by segmenting several individual accolades into 3 categories, based on a venue’s average green fee rate.

Of this year’s awards, Will Hewitt, General Manager of 59club UK, commented; “With a growth of over 20% in the number of venues taking our services, an award nomination this year represented an outstanding achievement across a number of hugely competitive categories.

59club awards are based on an objective analysis of the service provided at a venue, therefore recognising the venues, teams and individuals who truly do deliver world class service on a consistent basis”.

The Grove and Belvoir Park Golf Club collected the highest prized awards of the evening – Ultimate Golf Resort and Ultimate Members’ Club respectively. Both venues also achieved multiple individual and team successes; with Brad Gould and his team at The Grove collecting the enviable Golf Manager and Golf Operations Team of the Year titles (>£130 green fee category); with Alice Kozlowski adding the Leading Individual Golf Sales Performance award to The Grove’s trophy cabinet.

Belvoir Park’s celebrations continued long into the night with both Aaron Small and Stuart McDonald having been crowned Greenkeeper and F&B Manager of the Year, before rounding off the evening with the forementioned Ultimate Members’ Club Designation.

Another club seeing multiple successes was Long Ashton, who scooped Golf Manager of the Year for departing GM, Gareth Morgan; F&B Manager of the Year for a 4^th consecutive year for Glenn McNaughton; Golf Operations Team of the Year; and also a coveted Gold Flag Designation. In addition to this they also claimed the Ultimate Service Excellence Award for their fantastic efforts in utilising survey data to enhance their service offering.

Both Finca Cortesin and Branston Golf Club received a double dose of crystalware after Rocio Sanchez was crowned 59club Europe South’s Golf Manager of the year; and their Golf Operations Department claimed the Team of the Year accolade. Meanwhile Branston celebrated with a my59 Service Excellence Award; and a second victory after claiming Leisure Membership Sales Team of the year. 

The Awards became a landmark moment for Matt Aplin, Golf Course Manager at Goring and Streatley, who has now retained the title of Greenkeeper of the Year for an incredible 5^th consecutive year – an outstanding achievement given the quality of those competing in this category.

Alcanada, Camiral Golf & Wellness and Golf Son Muntaner were flying the flag for Spain, having each secured Gold Flag Designations. Marta Castells (Camiral) claimed victory in the Food & Beverage Category, while Paco Gavira (Son Muntaner) was crowned the regions Greenkeeper of the Year.

In Portugal, Quinta do Lago continue to lead the way by also securing a coveted Gold Flag, and in Italy, Royal Park I Roveri celebrated with a Silver Flag, and again as Fabio Vido claimed Retail Manager of the Year.

Lee Mathew Waggott, General Manager59club Europe South said; “Celebrating success is a key pillar of what we believe in and promote within 59club. Our venues across Europe South not only continue to deliver memorable experiences but are always striving to continue to develop their journeys by searching for those extra 1%’s day in and day out.

“In an extremely competitive landscape to receive a nomination and claim an award is a wonderful achievement, and the ability to share this recognition with individuals and teams across the property is incredibly important. We are extremely excited about the season ahead and welcoming even more forward-thinking & progressive properties into our Awards next year.”

Celebrations continued into the night, as 59club’s Industry Benchmark of excellence, it’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Flag Designations, were announced. These highly prized accolades recognise member clubs’ and resorts that provide excellent facilities for golfers to enjoy, as well as having achieved the required standard of customer service throughout 2022.  

This year, 59club presented 28 ‘Gold Flags’. The deserving winners were: Belvoir Park Golf Club; Camiral Golf & Wellness; Celtic Manor Resort; Club de Golf Alcanada; Delta Hotels by Marriott, Forest of Arden Country Club; Dunbar Golf Club; Edgbaston Golf Club; Finca Cortesin; Foxhills Club & Resort; Frilford Heath Golf Club; Gleneagles; Golf at Goodwood; Golf Son Muntaner; Gullane Golf Club; Hanbury Manor, Marriott Hotel & Country Club; Harpenden Golf Club; JCB Golf & Country Club; Long Ashton Golf Club; Mount Juliet Estate; Panmure Golf Club; Quinta do Lago; Rockliffe Hall; Royal Dublin Golf Club; Royal Dornoch Golf Club; The Belfry Hotel & Resort; The Grove; The London Club and The Mere Golf Resort & Spa.

17 ‘Silver Flags’ went to; Barnham Broom; Bowood Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort; Branston Golf & Country Club; Carton House; Cameron House; Clevedon Golf Club; Infinitum; Ladybank Golf Club; La Moye Golf Club; North Foreland Golf Club; QHotels Collection, Slaley Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort; QHotels Collection, Belton Woods Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort; Royal Park I Roveri; Slieve Russell; St Mellion; The Kendleshire and West Herts Golf Club.

And a further 15 “Bronze Flag” Awards were presented to; Conwy Golf Club; Delta Hotels by Marriott, Worsley Park Country Club; Golf Son Quint; Golf Son Vida; Goring & Streatley Golf Club; Hickleton Golf Club; Newport Golf Club; Pula Golf Resort; Teignmouth Golf Club; The Astbury; The Bristol Golf Club; The Vale Resort; Vale Royal Abbey Golf Club; Woodsome Hall Golf Club and Wychwood Park.

For more information about 59club, visit www.59club.com

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Full list of award winners can be seen in the table below.  

59club UK & Europe South ‘Service Excellence’ Award Winners 2022/23:

Ultimate Golf Resort: The Grove

Ultimate Members’ Club: Belvoir Park Golf Club

Gold Flag Designations 2023: Belvoir Park Golf Club; Camiral Golf & Wellness; Celtic Manor Resort; Club de Golf Alcanada; Delta Hotels by Marriott, Forest of Arden Country Club; Dunbar Golf Club; Edgbaston Golf Club; Finca Cortesin; Foxhills Club & Resort; Frilford Heath Golf Club; Gleneagles; Golf at Goodwood; Golf Son Muntaner; Gullane Golf Club; Hanbury Manor, Marriott Hotel & Country Club; Harpenden Golf Club; JCB Golf & Country Club; Long Ashton Golf Club; Mount Juliet Estate; Panmure Golf Club; Quinta do Lago; Rockliffe Hall; Royal Dublin Golf Club; Royal Dornoch Golf Club; The Belfry Hotel & Resort; The Grove; The London Club and The Mere Golf Resort & Spa.

Silver Flag Designations 2023: Barnham Broom; Bowood Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort; Branston Golf & Country Club; Carton House; Cameron House; Clevedon Golf Club; Infinitum; Ladybank Golf Club; La Moye Golf Club; North Foreland Golf Club; QHotels Collection, Slaley Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort; QHotels Collection, Belton Woods Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort; Royal Park I Roveri; Slieve Russell; St Mellion; The Kendleshire and West Herts Golf Club.

Bronze Flag Designations 2023: Conwy Golf Club; Delta Hotels by Marriott, Worsley Park Country Club; Golf Son Quint; Golf Son Vida; Goring & Streatley Golf Club; Hickleton Golf Club; Newport Golf Club; Pula Golf Resort; Teignmouth Golf Club; The Astbury; The Bristol Golf Club; The Vale Resort; Vale Royal Abbey Golf Club; Woodsome Hall Golf Club and Wychwood Park.

Golf Manager of the Year (59club UK)

Brad Gould (The Grove) Over £131 Green-Fee

Sean Graham (Foxhills Club & Resort) £61-£130 Green-Fee

Gareth Morgan (Long Ashton GC) Under £61 Green-Fee

Golf Manager of the Year (59club Europe South)

Rocio Sanchez (Finca Cortesin)

Food & Beverage Manager of the Year (59club UK)

Jacques Hobson (The Belfry Hotel & Resort) Over £131 Green-Fee

Stuart McDonald (Belvoir Park GC) £61-£130 Green-Fee

Glenn McNaughton (Long Ashton GC) Under £61 Green-Fee

Food & Beverage Manager of the Year (59club Europe South)

Marta Castells (Camiral Golf & Wellness)

Golf Retail Manager of the Year (59club UK)

Russell McIntyre (Gullane GC) Over £131 Green-Fee

Andrew Crerar (Panmure GC) £61-£130 Green-Fee

Ryan Crowley (Clevedon GC) Under £61 Green-Fee

Golf Retail Manager of the Year (59club Europe South)

Fabio Vido (Royal Park Roveri)

Greenkeeper of the Year (59club UK)

Scott Fenwick (Gleneagles) Over £131 Green-Fee

Aaron Small (Belvoir Park GC) £61-£130 Green-Fee

Matt Aplin (Goring & Streatley GC) Under £61 Green-Fee

Greenkeeper of the Year (59club Europe South)

Paco Gavira (Son Muntaner)

Golf Operations Team of the Year (59club UK)

The Grove (Over £131 Green-Fee)

Delta Hotels Forest of Arden Country Club (Arden Course) (£61-£130 Green-Fee)

Long Ashton GC (Under £61 Green-Fee)

Golf Operations Team of the Year (59club Europe South)

Finca Cortesin

my59 Service Excellence: Stoke by Nayland; Celtic Manor Resort; Branston Golf & Country Club; Edgbaston Golf Club; Radyr Golf Club; Farleigh Golf Club; The Vale Resort; Rockliffe Hall

my59 Ultimate Service Excellence

Long Ashton GC

Leading Individual Golf Sales Performance

Alice Kozlowski (The Grove)

Leading Individual Golf Membership Sales Performance

Philomena Wilkinson (Delta Hotels Forest of Arden Country Club)

Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year

The Mere Golf Resort & Spa

Leading Individual Leisure Membership Sales Performance

James Flesher (Dunston Hall – Q Hotels Collection)

Leisure Membership Sales Team of the Year

Branston Golf & Country Club

Leading Spa Experience Performance

Rockliffe Hall

Leading Individual Corporate Golf Day Sales Performance                                     

Cameron Dhir (The Astbury)

59club, the industry leading Customer Service Analysts and Training Provider has today announced its expansion into the Nordic regions of Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden & Denmark, bringing their wealth of Mystery Shopper Audits, Satisfaction Surveys and Employee Training Programs – created specifically for the golf & hospitality industry – to the fore.  

Impressive expansion plans have already seen local 59club divisions established, currently supporting hundreds of golf clubs, resorts and management groups within the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa and most recently Australia & New Zealand. It was only a matter of time before the global leaders firmed up their support in the Nordic regions, as they work tirelessly to help clubs shape and develop their sales & customer service cultures.

After a long-standing engagement between 59club HQ and The Scandinavian Golf Club, alongside additional partnerships with European Tour Destinations within the Nordic regions; 59club are delighted at the prospect of having feet on the ground to further support these venues, and attract many more just like them who share the same focus of elevating customer service levels, with the desired effect of driving retention, revenues, and profits.

The new opening welcomes Sebastian Czyz Bendsen, as 59club Nordic’s Sales Manager.

Having graduated from Kent State University, OH, USA with a BA in Finance and a MA in Sport and Recreational Management, and after a well-spent career in golf – most recently in his home Country working with the Danish Golf Union – Sebastian joins 59club with a wealth of attributes and a self-confessed love of educating and guiding leaders towards innovative ideas.

Many would say he’s the perfect fit, offering industry experience and driven by his passion and excitement for connecting Golf Club’s within the Nordic regions, with the resource and global formula to excel their customer experience, and to create an even better community for their members & guests.

Of the announcement, Simon Wordsworth, 59club CEO said “Sebastian is a real go-getter, and well versed in the role that Customer Service plays in growing the game of golf and keeping players enthused and loyal to the sport. And now as he joins 59club, he’s ready to take the support and intel he can offer to clubs a leap further. Sebastian appreciates the complexities of club cultures and has worked with similar principals when supporting the US collaborations with the PGA of America, ClubCorp (now Invited), the TPC Network and Kemper Sports. All private golf corporations, and all searching for means to optimize their business, as well as recent initiatives delivered by the Golf Union.

“We are all excited about the impact that 59club will make in the region, our global benchmarking data is second to none, and as always, we are spurred on by the rewards our clients enjoy, as we deliver the roadmap to measure, train, support and reward the individuals, teams, managers and groups we work with to perfect the art of delivering Customer Service & Sales Excellence – we can’t wait to get started!”  

• Opening offers are now being promoted, all clubs interested in becoming the first to sample 59club’s industry leading Mystery Shopping Services, Satisfaction Surveys and Training Tools are invited to reach out to Sebastian@59club.com to sign up for a demo and to unlock their FREE trial.

New South Wales Golf Club has taken its commitment to delivering a five-star golfing experience to its members and guests a step further by partnering with 59club, the industry’s leading golf & hospitality customer service benchmarking and training provider. Following the official launch of 59club Australia & New Zealand late 2022 – and after a successful round of trial mystery shopper audits – New South Wales is the first club in the region to officially partner with the customer service specialists, and will now benefit from the continual services and detailed feedback 59club will deliver on all elements of its club operations.  

As part of the new agreement, NSW Club’s staff and facilities will be rated across all sectors of its golf business including sales, service, operations, retail, golf course, food & beverage and management. Mystery shopper audits will include a series of recorded enquiry calls and live visits from 59club auditors, who will evaluate the experience afforded to members and visiting golfers, in accordance with 59club’s global ‘objective’ criteria.

The world-famous course – which ranks as #6 in Australia, #14 in the world outside of the US and #49 in the world – has been at the forefront of Australian golf for almost 100 years, with its expansive views of the Pacific Ocean on the La Perouse Peninsula. The world class facilities are now home to a brand new fine dining experience, paired with a degustation menu and wine room.

59club’s objective vision, expertise and universal intel currently supports hundreds of golf clubs, resorts and companies worldwide, with leading names such as TPC Network, Marriott Golf, Troon International, European Tour Destinations, Sawgrass, Emirates Golf Club, The Belfry Hotel & Resort, Gleneagles, Le Golf National and Marco Simone, all engaged in the network and reaping the rewards of elevated customer service levels & sales performance.

Kate Shanks, operations manager at NSW, said: “New South Wales Golf Club prides itself on providing a high quality golf experience based around our superb golf course and attentive service. We are constantly evaluating what we do and are always looking at ways to improve the golfing experience for our members and guests.

“The range of services that 59club provides will help us to analyse each part of our operation in detail, and the process will identify areas that require our focus”.

Sam Hughes, General Manager of 59club Australia & New Zealand, commented: “We are truly delighted to welcome New South Wales Golf Club to 59club. They are undoubtedly an industry leader, and it is always a pleasure to witness clubs of such calibre push the boundaries even further to deliver customer service excellence.

“We will assist the team to measure and compare their service levels against the highest industry standard and the elite performers on a global basis, and with a full schedule of training days to come, we very much look forward to watching the club go from strength to strength. Personally, it will be a great benchmark to see New South Wales Golf Club achieve a ‘Flag Designation’ at the 2024 ’59club Service Excellence Awards Ceremony’, and something that will keep everyone’s focus for the next 12 months.”

The 59club partnership is the latest investment that NSW is making in its golf facilities, with the club engaging renowned course architects, Mackenzie & Ebert, to implement a masterplan that will see all 18 greens complexes rebuilt and improvements to the strategy, playability and aesthetics of the course. Subject to final member approval, this work will be undertaken over a 6-month period commencing September 2024.

The CX Management Specialist has today announced its global operations have expanded into Australia & New Zealand. Bringing with them over 15 years of global customer service intel, plus a wealth of industry leading mystery shopping audits, satisfaction surveys, and employee education pathways.

Golf, Leisure & Hospitality Businesses within the region, can now look forward to enjoying the ‘richest’ rewards of their labor, as 59club’s proven formula of supporting club’s to elevate customer service standards and deliver improved profits is rolled out.

The latest opening serving Australia & New Zealand passes to Sam Hughes, the former Club Operations Manager at Glenelg Golf Club, Adelaide. Hughes’ experience at Glenelg Golf Club – widely regarded as one of the best Golf and Function Venues in all of Australia, boasting a string of awards to boot – coupled with his passion for delivering customer service excellence, will serve him well in his new role.

At the time of launch, Hughes was preparing to represent 59club at the Golf Business Forum / PGA Expo in Melbourne and went on to say; “It’s a privilege to be part of 59club’s global operations, and to be able to support neighboring club managers to integrate 59club’s proven formula to achieve the greatest service standards and financial successes.

“We’ve got off to a great start, planning and delivering a series of trial audits for club managers up and down the country, igniting their passion and desire for achieving service excellence, and I am excited to see our following grow after more trials and contracts are shared and exchanged in the months ahead.”

Hughes is not alone on this journey, and benefits from the support of 59club founder, Simon Wordsworth and his fellow Directors, along with the experience of seven other Regional Managing Partners spanning the UK & Ireland, USA, Canada, Middle East & Africa (MEA), Asia, with two others based in continental Europe.

The Customer Service Specialists are proud to work with hundreds of clubs world-wide, of all sizes and profiles, with customers who include the likes of TPC Network, Marriott Golf, Troon International, European Tour Destinations, Sawgrass, Emirates Golf Club, The Belfry Hotel & Resort, Gleneagles, Le Golf National and Marco Simone to name just a few.

Many of the greatest names in the industry credit 59club for their properties success, having worked with them to measure, train, support & reward their workforce, as they achieve sales & customer service excellence, while elevating customer acquisition, satisfaction and profits.

Head to 59clubau-nz.com for more information, or to sign up to receive a product demonstration; please contact sam@59clubau-nz.com

An exclusive event hosted aboard the Sunborn London; a floating super-yacht hotel in Royal Victoria Dock, marked the special occasion for those having achieved the highest long-serving standards of customer service excellence. With a previous soiree delivered days before at one of Dubai’s leading restaurants; Carine at Emirates, as 59club’s first inductees were welcomed.

Simon Wordsworth CEO of 59club said; “having amassed over 12 years of non-subjective performance data spanning all aspects of customer service, 59club has an unparalleled vision over those within the Golf & Hospitality Business who have proven their excellence, time after time, year after year. In honour of those years of dedication, the Eminent Collection was born to represent an international benchmark of excellence, which recognises the finest individuals & properties who are leading the industry in the customer experience realms. It is the only badge of honour that is an unbiased testament to having created a customer-centric culture, that puts the customer and their needs first, whilst regularly seeking objective affirmation that those needs are exceeded”.

Eligibility into the Collectionis based solely on achievements across the 59club Service Excellence Awards, with individual and team accolades, along with property flag designations, all contributing towards the Eminent Benchmark of Excellence; measuring performances over a minimum of 5 years.

Simon added “There is no debate to be had, you are either in or not, if in it is crystal clear why, if out then likewise you know what you must do. There is no self-assessment, no bias, no cloudy subjective entries – if you are in the Eminent Collection, you are there because you put yourself, your team, your venue up for independent non-subjective scrutiny of your customer service performance. The venues and individuals are proven to be amongst the best operators in the business – that is what the Eminent Collection is there to show. That is exactly why a brand like Club Car, who are all about customer experience and vehicles of the highest quality has chosen to support us in highlighting these achievements.”

Twelve Properties from within 59club’s international network achieved the Benchmark of Excellence. Four were from the UAE, one from Europe and seven from the UK.

2022’s induction roll also included twenty-two individuals. Three are from the UAE, one from the USA, one from Europe, and seventeen from the UK.

The Belfry Hotel & Resort
The Celtic Manor Resort
Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club
Emirates Golf Club
Forest of Arden
Foxhills Club & Resort
Gleneagles
Golf Son Muntaner
The Grove
Rockliffe Hall
Trump International Golf Club Dubai
Yas Links Abu Dhabi

Andrew Whitelaw GM/COO, Aronimink Golf Club
Anna Darnell Resort Director, The Grove
Barney Coleman Club Manager, Emirates Golf Club
Bernat Llobera Area Golf Director, Arabella Golf Mallorca
Chris May CEO Dubai Golf
Gary Silcock General Manager, Murrayshall
Stuart Collier Director of Golf, Stoke Park

Brad Gould Director of Golf, The Grove
Chris Reeve Director of Golf, The Belfry
Fraser Liston Director of Golf, Forest of Arden
Sean Graham Head of Golf Operations, Foxhills
Stephen Hindle Golf Manager, Worsley Park
Stephen Hubner Club Manager, Jumeirah Golf Estates

Angus Macleod Director of Golf Courses & Estates, The Belfry
Craig Haldane Golf Courses Manager, Gleneagles
Jim Mckenzie MBE Director of Golf Courses & Estates, Celtic Manor
Jonathan Wyer Golf Course Manager, Rockliffe Hall
Phillip Chiverton Golf Course & Estates Manager, The Grove
Rob Rowson Golf Course Estate Manager, Forest of Arden

Jacques Hobson Food & Beverage Outlets Manager, The Belfry

Simon Howell Golf Operations Manager, Forest of Arden
Tom Hughes Head of Golf Retail & Operations, The Belfry

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59club Australia & New Zealand – Services & Support

Please contact your regional manager for more information

A welcome return to a “Live Event”, saw the very best Venues, Teams and Individuals from across the UK, Ireland and Europe South assemble at The Belfry Hotel and Resort on March 3^rd 2022, ahead of 59club’s annual Service Excellence Awards.

The day began with a full day’s education provided by Gregg Patterson of Tribal Magic, and Lora Cavan, having flown in from the US and Canada respectively.  And as night fell, aspirations of being recognised with a 59club Service Excellence Award grew, as the curtains opened on the ceremony that has long been regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the golf & hospitality Industry, since the 59club’s honours list began some 12 years ago.

The 2-day event, a long-standing fixture within the golf business recognises the finest customer service providers for having achieved the highest standards of excellence in 2021. 59club’s illustrious accolades are determined by scores collected from their impartial mystery shopping audits, which evaluate the experience afforded to visiting golfers and prospective members, in accordance with 59club’s objective benchmarking criteria.

On the night, 59club presented awards across 29 categories, recognising ‘service excellence’ spanning all areas of the businesses – sales, service, operations, retail, spa, golf course, food & beverage and management. With 59club continuing to reflect the very best performances, regardless of a venue’s size, scale or profile, by segmenting several individual accolades in to 3 categories based on a venue’s average green fee rate.

Portmarnock Golf Club and Gleneagles collected the highly prized awards of Ultimate Golf Members’ Club and Ultimate Resort. Portmarnock achieving success in their first year of working with 59club, with Gleneagles recapturing the title they last won in 2018.

Andrew Whitelaw, General Manager of Portmarnock Golf Club, said; “I am absolutely delighted that the team have won the Ultimate Members Club Experience through their hard work and dedication to service excellence, truly one of the toughest awards to win it is recognition on how hard the team have worked. It really was a team effort in every department, which it has to be with 59club. To win an award that recognises our commitment to our members is extremely satisfying and motivating. After a couple of challenging years when the club operated in unusual circumstances the teams ability to change and deliver a world class experience was wonderful to be part of.”

Of their success Andrew Jowett, PGA Head of Golf of Gleneagles said; “This award underlines an incredible team effort, not just in golf, but across every facet of our 850-acre estate. It is an important accolade because it recognises world-class customer service and experience, something we strive for every day at Gleneagles.

“The fact this award comes as a direct result of authentic, independent and benchmarked visitor feedback, underlines its importance and value to us as a leading hospitality and leisure business.”

The Awards was a great showcase for The Mere Golf Resort and Spa, after they claimed 5 of the 6 available Sales Awards, their success included a magnificent performance from Alice Cox-Cooper, adding a further 2 individual titles to their awards cabinet as well as having led her Membership Team to success in both the Golf and Leisure categories. The Mere also celebrated Max Cornes, after he scooped one of the Golf Event Sales Awards, and the venue went on to secure their first ever Gold Flag Designation.

Of their achievements, Gary Johnson, General Manager of The Mere, commented; “These awards are paramount to the continuing success of our business!

“It has been our strategic plan to focus on all of our service standards and procedures to ensure we are always aiming for excellence!

“59club and Matt have proven that with a proven formula and competitor set analysis drilled down and determination the goals can be achieved and the team at The Mere Golf Resort and Spa make me a very happy and proud leader!

“Finally…That gold flag was always in our cross hairs and it is sat on full display on our trophy wall.”

For other venues there were double celebrations on the night, firstly The Grove saw Phil Chiverton and Brad Gould retain their Greenkeeper and Golf Manager of the Year titles. Next it was Foxhills Club and Resort, who were left reveling after Sean Graham and his Golf Operations Team picked up Awards, and finally, Worsley Park Marriott Hotel and Country Club enjoyed 2 victories with an individual win for Stephen Hindle and a team accolade for his Golf Operations team.

Special recognition must go to Glenn McNaughton of Long Ashton Golf Club after being named F&B Manager of the Year for the 3^rd consecutive year, while Matt Aplin of Goring and Streatley Golf Club fended off tough competition to be named Greenkeeper of the Year for an unbelievable 4^th year in a row, leaving everyone questioning – can he make it 5?!

Of this year’s awards, Will Hewitt, General Manager of 59club UK, commented; “It was an honour to recognise and celebrate our leading service providers in person once again, and while the past year presented huge challenges for the golf industry, relating to both the operation and the people within those businesses, that only added to the splendour, it was incredible feeling seeing all those familiar faces and many newcomers united by their shared passion for delivering the very best customer experiences, the excitement in the room was electric!

“Golf has been incredibly fortunate to benefit from a significant surge in demand, and it is extremely encouraging that more venues than ever before are choosing to work with 59club to focus on their service offering and sales levels whilst working to engage and keep this new audience. 59club’s focus will remain the provision of objective and accurate performance data, providing greater market insights and a supportive network of likeminded professionals which will further aide performance enhancement.”

Celebrations continued into the night, as 59club’s Industry Benchmark of excellence, it’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Flag Designations, were announced. These highly prized accolades recognise member clubs’ and resorts that provide excellent facilities for golfers to enjoy, as well as having achieved the required standard of customer service throughout 2021.  

This year, 59club presented 18 ‘Gold Flags’. The deserving winners were: Celtic Manor Resort, Foxhills, Gleneagles, Long Ashton, Portmarnock, JCB, Royal Dornoch, Hanbury Manor, Gullane, Panmure, Edgbaston, Belvoir Park, Frilford Heath, The Mere, Mount Juliet Estate, Rockliffe Hall, The Belfry Hotel & Resort and The Grove.  

8 ‘Silver Flags’ went to Forest of Arden, Harpenden, Burnham & Berrow, Branston Golf & Country Club, Whittington Heath, North Foreland, West Herts and Radyr Golf Club.

And a further 8 ‘Bronze Flag’ Awards were presented to Worsley Park, The Vale Resort, Ladybank, Dunbar, Royal Winchester, Conwy, Woodsome Hall and Farleigh Golf Clubs.

The following morning all attention turned to the 59club Golf Day which played out on the world famous Brabazon Course, the winning team made up of David Griffin (Celtic Manor Resort), Callum Nicoll (Rockliffe Hall), Jake Rhodes (Golf Genius) and David Kinsey (BRK) claimed the illustrious 59club Claret Jug, with James Sibbles from Golf Genius claiming the individual title which brought the 12^th annual Service Excellence Awards Event to a perfect end, leaving all attendees reinvigorated and focused for the year ahead, and many with heightened hopes of securing their own victories next year.

Full list of award winners can be seen in the table below.  

59club ‘Service Excellence’ Award Winners 2021/22:

The Ultimate Members’ Club: Portmarnock Golf Club

The Ultimate Golf Resort: Gleneagles

Gold Flag Designations: Belvoir Park Golf Club, Celtic Manor Resort, Edgbaston Golf Club, Foxhills Club & Resort, Frilford Heath Golf Club, Gleneagles, Gullane Golf Club, Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club, JCB Golf & Country Club, Long Ashton Golf Club, Mount Juliet Estate, Panmure Golf Club, Portmarnock Golf Club, Rockliffe Hall, Royal Dornoch Golf Club, The Belfry Hotel & Resort, The Grove and The Mere Golf Resort & Spa.  

Silver Flag Designations: Branston Golf & Country Club, Burnham & Berrow Golf Club, Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, Harpenden Golf Club, North Foreland Golf Club, Radyr Golf Club, West Herts Golf Club & Whittington Heath Golf Club.  

Bronze Flag Designations: Conwy Golf Club, Dunbar Golf Club, Farleigh Golf Club, Ladybank Golf Club, Royal Winchester Golf Club, The Vale Resort, Woodsome Hall Golf Club & Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club.  

My59 Ultimate Service Excellence Award: Long Ashton Golf Club & St Austell Golf Club. 

My59 Service Excellence Award: Ashford Manor Golf Club, Farleigh Golf Club, Foxhills Club & Resort, Henbury Golf Club, Langdon Hills Golf Club, Radyr Golf Club & Stoke by Nayland Golf Club.

Golf Manager of the Year: Brad Gould (The Grove), Sean Graham (Foxhills) & Stephen Hindle (Worsley Park)

Greenkeeper of the Year: Andrew Smith (West Herts), Matt Aplin (Goring & Streatley) & Phil Chiverton (The Grove)

Food and Beverage Manager of the Year: Glenn McNaughton (Long Ashton), Greg Smith (Edgbaston) & Susan Robb (Royal Dornoch)

Golf Retail Manager of the Year: David Coles (Harpenden), Tom Hughes (The Belfry) & The Retail Team (Crane Valley)

Golf Operations Team of the Year: Foxhills Club & Resort, JCB Golf & Country Club & Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club

Leading Individual Group Golf Sales Performance: Joel Westwell (The Grove)

Leading Individual Corporate Golf Day Sales Performance: Max Cornes (The Mere)

Leading Individual Golf Membership Sales Performance: Alice Cox-Cooper (The Mere) 

Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year: The Mere Golf Resort & Spa

Leading Spa Experience Performance: Rockliffe Hall

Leading Individual Leisure Membership Sales Performance: Alice Cox-Cooper (The Mere)  

Leisure Membership Sales Team of the Year: The Mere Golf Resort & Spa

59club’s performance management tools have proved hugely beneficial for clubs across the globe – but now clubs can go one better in their efforts to streamline operations management and evaluate and advance member experience; by utilising the new mytell App.

This multi-functioning App captures live performance data submitted by the management team, employees and club members, supporting the venue to make informed decisions to elevate standards, satisfaction levels, retention, and profitability.

The management team through their use of the App can log observations during their daily departmental evaluations, both on and off the golf course.

With technology and convenience at the forefront of development, managers store data within measurable pre-set categories – spanning golf course & practice area presentation, maintenance & amenities, retail & front of house management and employee behaviour and well-being – meaning paperwork, email trails, group chats and the constant transferring of images becomes a thing of the past.

Complete with the ability to share live performance reviews with the team, set targets, track accountability, and monitor progress over time, the App fulfils every need.

A number of industry professionals supported the development of the new App, and they were all quick to praise 59club for the benefit the App would bring to the industry, as well as to them personally, one of those individuals was General Manager of Teignmouth Golf Club; Martin Hucklesby who said;

“Managing a golf club in my view is like any other service industry, it should be driven by its standards.  The vastly different areas of expertise required to be able to measure, manage & record ‘a score’ to these standards has always been something that as a General Manager I have done via a spreadsheet as I have walked through the club & course. Now with Mytell, and using technology I am able to do this via an App. It is brilliant, highly recommended and is on the front page of my phone!”

And it’s not just management who stand to benefit, the App also controls member feedback across golf, health & recreation when it comes to the club’s culture & community, the facilities & member services, its food and beverage outlets, and a huge part of ‘club life’; its people.

Whether a club chooses to invite all club members, or they prefer to limit its users exclusively to those within the management team/board/committee or perhaps they want to go one further and create an engineered focus group; this clever little App will store and channel feedback along with supplementary ratings, comments & images to the relevant department.

59club Director, and the technical brain child behind the Apps content and development; Mark Reed said;

“This is a step-change for club operations, anyone who is responsible for the daily delivery of club standards and ensuring member and guest satisfaction – from Golf Course & Estates Directors to Spa Managers – will tell you that paper trails and breaks in communication detracts from getting the job done, and serving customers well, but now with the launch of our new mytell App; we believe, we have the solution!

“But it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution: each venue can create its own bespoke, white-labelled experience, ensuring it retains control over which elements of the business its users can submit data around. And the App also contains the facility to create and customise subsidiary outlets, if, for example, the property has more than one golf course, fitness studio, or restaurant.

“From a member’s perspective it gives them an unprecedented opportunity to give praise where it’s due and highlight where they feel they are not getting value for money. The mutual benefits are numerous”.

The easily navigable App – available on both Android and iOS platforms – tracks trends, monitors patterns of performance, whilst generating statistics for periodic reviews. With feedback received within a secure dashboard, away from the public eye and with total confidentiality.

For further information on the mytell App, or any area of 59club’s industry-leading service, please contact your regional 59club manager.

We partnered with 59club 2 years ago and have been reaping the benefits ever since.

The ‘mystery shopper’ exercise is a fantastic, authentic way to review the standard of experience we deliver to every guest. Each visit we’ve received has helped us to identify where we need small tweaks to improve.

One important opportunity the exercise identified, is how we can bring forward our best-in-class guest experience, so that, from the resort’s very first touchpoint, even before booking, we set the standard for a seamless travel experience that invites guests to embrace their holiday mentality before they even set foot in the resort. 

We understand our guests are seeking the very best experience, and that begins from the first contact they have with the INFINITUM brand. For our team, this initial engagement is often via a phone call or through our digital channels, and, ultimately, sets the tone for the entire guest journey.

Undoubtedly, our work with 59club has allowed us to better understand this initial experience and how we can use it to elevate the entire guest journey to ensure we deliver excellence at every opportunity.

And we will continue to work on elements of the business highlighted by 59club’s data. At the heart of a world-class guest experience is the team, and we are committed to ensuring our dedicated professionals across the resort are fully equipped to deliver this inspired experience wherever our guests come into contact with our brand.

We pride ourselves on our overall guest experience, delivered through our entire team’s extensive knowledge and dedication, but we are always looking for ways to improve and that is where working with 59club has been really beneficial.

We will, therefore, continue to support our staff with innovative, industry-leading training plans incorporating 59club’s expert guidance, to ensure we remain at the forefront of guest experience, as we continue to evolve and strive for growth throughout the resort. 

That relationship with 59club has allowed us to identify the many strengths of the resort and how we can use them as an opportunity to go above and beyond our current offering.

This benefits the resort in two ways: firstly, it helps to elevate the experience of our guests, which remains at the forefront of every decision at INFINITUM; and, through building on our strengths, we can generate upselling and growth opportunities, which we are pleased to say have already driven value for the resort.  

I see no reason why facilities like ours should not work with 59club. Because we’re always open to understanding how we can better improve our product to provide all our guests with leading service, our work with 59club has created an honest space to reflect on our guest experiences.

I would encourage others to search out such feedback with an open mind when it comes to finding new ways to improve.

Source:
59CLUB CASE STUDY: INFINITUM – Club Management Association of Europe (cmaeurope.org)

Mike Kelly, Managing Partner of 59club USA, has been at the club operations game for a while. And as a general manager of any type of club – especially a golf club spanning hundreds of acres – it’s just not feasible to be everywhere at once. That’s where 59club USA’s mystery shopping services come into play.

Take a look at the video below where Kelly explains the ins and outs of mystery shopping, why it’s important for club managers and how it can help elevate the service level to meet and exceed your customer or member’s needs.

Have you played here before? It’s an innocuous and generally harmless question with enormous upside. Other industries – especially the restaurant industry – have used this relatively innocent question for decades in order to prime the pump for an engaging customer experience.

Asking someone if they have been to your golf course, restaurant, spa – or any other hospitality or leisure venue – opens the door for conversation and questions, builds rapport and emotional connection between the customer and your staff/brand, and provides an opportunity to share your club’s best stories or things a customer should know before heading out. 59club USA has crunched the numbers and, once again, the top-performing clubs never miss an opportunity to ask this question. The rest of the pack, however, fails to ask this question 64% of the time. Let’s dive in.

The most effective way to open the door for an engaging conversation and information gathering is to ask personal questions but asking a customer where they see themselves in five years or what makes them the happiest isn’t really appropriate during the tee time booking process. Asking if they have played the course before, however, is a semi-opened-ended question with a clear goal and hundreds of different avenues for additional conversation. If the customer has played the course before, it begs the question “when?” Was it a long time ago or before a recent renovation? Have there been changes to improve the club since then? Why did they take so long in between rounds? Are they from out of town and should their name and email address go into a special “feeder market” list bucket in your CRM system? Enormous amounts of information all gained from starting with one simple question.

These types of conversation starters not only gather important information for marketing and customer service operations, but also provide an opportunity to tell positive stories or provide important general information about your club to someone who may not know. If someone is playing for the first time, they might want to hear about a featured hole, strategy on how to play the course, where to find restrooms, course rankings or accolades, humorous anecdotes and other positive stories. If your club is undergoing capital improvements or repairing part of the course, this is the perfect time to alert the player so they aren’t blindsided when they encounter the issue on-course and so angry they create a Yelp profile just to leave you a poor review. The truth, they say, shall set you free.

Once again, the top clubs are doing this and the majority of other clubs simply aren’t. Every single club at the 59club USA Podium Level – an aggregate of the highest scoring clubs – asks this question during the tee-time booking process without fail. The industry average, however, is an abysmal 36%, meaning an extremely high percentage of clubs are leaving easily gatherable information on the table, and leaving the first impression of the golf club up to the player. The golf and leisure clubs who take charge of the first impression and subsequent conversations tend to score higher in other areas as well, creating a domino effect of individual, positive experiences which lead to a better experience overall.

What a year it’s been for James Ibbetson, General Manager of Farleigh Golf Club, having been crowned Golf Manager of The Year in the prestigious 59club service excellence awards, whilst simultaneously leading his team to a second victory, earning the enviable ‘my59 Ultimate Service Excellence’ title, in recognition of the club’s commitment to engage, analyse and enrich their members and guest experience utilising the my59 survey tools. All while dealing with the pressures presented by the pandemic, and after only one year with the Surry club.

Glory aside; Ibbetson explains how satisfaction surveys have become fundamental at Farleigh, and how 59club’s performance management tools are supporting his progressive plans…

I’ve been working with 59club for the best part of 12 years now and, when I joined Farleigh, in November 2019, introducing the survey tool was one of the first things I did. Indeed, I think it was the first members’ survey at Farleigh, and it’s something we have continued to do on an annual basis.

The members were given a month to complete the survey, and subsequently their feedback really helped shape the action plan for future development at the golf club, from a policy and procedure perspective, to managing potential investments, etc…

Working in the business, we don’t play the golf course that often, as much as we would like to get out there and see it from a member’s perspective; so we’re heavily reliant on gaining feedback from the members, who play the course day in, day out.

Delivering surveys is not a tick-box exercise; we use the process as a window to gain as much information from the membership as possible, and then we can start acting upon it. There’s very little point in doing a survey if you’re not going to do anything with the information you collate. We’re an open book with the data and try to communicate the results out to the members in as much detail as possible – from experience, the more invested the members are in the process, the more fruitful the feedback. It’s also important for them to feel as though their voice and opinion has been recognised, and the club are actively doing something about this.

We value our members interaction with the entire process and as such, we send out snapshots of the results: highlighting areas where we performed well, the 59club analytics in terms of where we sit in relation to the ‘industry’ and the ‘best performers’; and then also the areas where we didn’t do so well, outlining the actions we’re going to take to improve, and how we’re going to get there. We call this our ‘You Said, We Did’ action plan.

For the most part, members chose to remain anonymous when completing surveys, for those who were happy to waive anonymity it was straightforward to reach out to those individuals. Myself and the team make a point of calling these individuals to try to arrange sit down meetings to discuss their feedback, and any additional points that they may have since completing the survey, in greater detail. Annually, we probably sit down with 30-40 members in person to run through the results.

The 59club survey tool has developed over time, it’s a very user-friendly experience. Pretty much all the questions you’d want to ask new and existing members are already saved within the various templates, meaning you don’t need to spend hours and hours adding your own questions. Over the years they’ve developed a key list of questions and criteria that all club managers need. Or at least providing information club managers would like to have.

I’ve been guilty in the past, perhaps, of making some surveys too long, which has had a negative impact on the response rate. And that came out in some of the early feedback. Nowadays, we are more succinct, and focus on the specific areas we want to explore, and that naturally flows well from a members’ perspective also.

Feedback has helped us shape the decision making on our offering. It just gives you a well-rounded representation and, yes, some of the feedback you get may be a little bit pipedream-esque, but for the most part you do get real, solid insight that you wouldn’t have achieved otherwise.

Sometimes when you’re in the building six or seven days a week you may miss something that’s right in front of you. And you certainly don’t see it from a member’s perspective. It’s easier to push decisions through if members feel they’ve been actively involved in the process and there’s logic behind what we are trying to achieve.

You need to show the members that you’ve taken onboard some of the feedback and that you’re going to action certain things, even if you can’t action them immediately. Simply sending out a survey and then doing nothing with it is counterproductive. If that’s your intention, you’re better off not sending out the survey at all. Members take the time to submit their feedback, the least a club can do is sit down and analyse the results, communicating actions in the process.

The more information you have, the better – and the more a member feels involved in the decision-making process, the easier it is to get their support and their buy-in, which is, ultimately, what we’re after.

We don’t just survey members, though – we also use it for societies. Twenty-four hours after an event, all event organisers receive an automated survey from the my59 software, requesting their feedback: Communication before the event, quality of the F&B and the golf course on the day… amongst many other areas. So, we rely on the information collated by 59club heavily – one of our very early surveys, identified the need for a tee-time confirmation email which has long since been implemented and well received.

We have also taken this a step further in 2021 tailoring surveys for internal use, specifically for our Employee of the month nominations. In the past the nominees had been put forward by the Heads of Department – we felt however that it was important to open this up to all employees to get their buy in. A simple survey is therefore sent out to all staff each month requesting their nominations.

As a result of our 2021 Membership Satisfaction Survey (Sent out in October, over 240 responses, overall satisfaction score of 80%), the following have been identified as priorities for 2022 and beyond. Important to note that some of these areas have already been actioned:

A horsebox halfway house is now available on site during busy days and has been met with some fantastic feedback from members and guests alike.

Inefficiencies were identified with the current booking platform, and as such we are currently working alongside our software provider to make the online customer journey more fluid and ultimately user friendly.

Members can feel a little bit of an anti-climax around renewal time, with feelings as though you hand your money over and that’s it – and so in response to this, the ever-popular membership renewal booklet (with over £1,000 in additional value) will return for 2022. And, for the first time in the club’s history, all renewing members will receive a personalised bag tag on renewal.

Our member communication came out as excellent – during the lockdown, whilst the club was closed, we sent 2 member round ups each week, which we have now scaled back to once a week.

New tee markers, along with new divot bins and replacement tee caddies will be onsite ready for the season.

Full bunker audit instigated, with the most problematic bunkers being addressed as soon as possible with the remainder works scheduled in order of priority as part of a wider 3-5 year plan.

Additional staff training is currently being undertaken with a view to re-instate table service as of January 2022.

If you’re a club that wants to progress and are looking to focus on the things the members & visitors actually want, it’s a very, very useful tool. But the biggest piece of advice I have for anybody contemplating it is: if you’re going to do it, you’ve GOT to do it properly.

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that Michael Gove MP was wrong when he said: “the people of this country have had enough of experts”. If you require a medical diagnosis, consult a medical professional, don’t Google it; if you want accurate information about a pandemic, listen to a virologist, don’t believe social media; and, if you wish to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the global golf and hospitality industries, few organisations are as well placed to offer comment as 59club.

With unprecedented access to performance data from a wide variety of venues across the globe, 59club, with its seven divisions, is in the perfect position to assess the vagaries of the sector, as well as knowing who’s doing what well, and when. And, who isn’t …

Mark Reed, 59club Director, explained: “When comparing 2021 performance levels with pre-covid 2019, we have witnessed a minor decrease in measured service standards within our golf visitor experience mystery shopping programme.

“Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, golf clubs have experienced significant increased traffic, often alongside a depleted workforce and amid challenging operating conditions. It is, therefore, remarkable to think that fewer servicers have been servicing more people, but to almost the same levels of 2019, when it comes to ‘customer experience’.”

Available data shows that the global industry average for service standards across 59club clients had decreased by just 5 per cent in 2021, when compared with the pre-Covid 2019, and that visitor and member rounds increased dramatically, whilst staffing levels reduced.

It’s an anomaly, yet, perhaps, part of the reason for that lies in the fact those facilities are clients of 59club. That means, of course, each is routinely visited and rated. Those facilities where such measurement isn’t undertaken will not have access to such knowledge or data, though data suggests a 20 per cent lag across the industry for non-59club venues. (non-contracted venues receiving 59club trial audits).

Reed is prepared to go further, and posited: “Not only are we able to advise clients of performance stats, we are able to see when they invest a higher proportion of capital into 59club resources to develop and educate both new and existing staff and, ultimately, relate that to maintaining the experience afforded to members and guests.”

During the past couple of years, that investment has been made largely in onsite and/or remote training, in tandem with 59club’s virtual education platform; MyMentor, which affords data driven learning directly linking to an individual’s mystery shopper audit, and, as a consequence, filling any learning gaps for employees.

Indeed, a 34 per cent increase in the number of venues being trained – either in person or virtually – by 59club staff in 2021, compared with 2019, might be seen as a direct correlation with the service standards remaining almost the same. What’s more, across the ‘podium’ venues – the best-performing facilities – service standards have remained stable over the two-year period.

This is also reflected in 59club’s own performance in the years in question. It has seen a 200 per cent increase in contracted venues around the globe, in the two years since 2019 – and all this at a time when the globe – and golf in particular – spent large periods of time in both lockdown and shutdown.

A good example of how investment in staff training and data analysis can have a direct effect on satisfaction levels of members and visitors is Hoburne Golf, which operates three venues in the south of England: Crane Valley GC, in Verwood, Hampshire; Bulbury Woods GC, in Poole, Dorset; and Hurtmore GC, near Godalming, in Surrey.

Each has embraced the challenge of mystery shopping and has engaged in a tailored staff training programme that has delivered, not only, a 10 per cent growth in their 59club visitor experience measurement, but also a four per cent increase in membership satisfaction (measured using 59club’s Survey platform; My59, between 2019 and 2021).

That experience is not solely the preserve of Hoburne Golf, either. Harpenden GC, in Hertfordshire, joined the 59club community shortly after reopening following the first English lockdown in early 2020.

The club’s general manager, Tom Scott, explained: “Having worked with 59club in a previous role, I had a good understanding of what it delivers and felt it could support our aim of delivering a better level of service to our members and guests.

“We began a programme of mystery shopping in 2020 to gain a thorough understanding of our strengths and weaknesses and were thrilled to be awarded a Bronze Flag Designation in the 59club annual awards ceremony, based on our year one results, and a year later we increased to Silver; an incredible achievement in such a short time frame, which is testament to the commitment of our staff members.

“59club has supported the development of our team by delivering a number of engaging training sessions at the club, and we are delighted to report we increased our measured service across all operational departments in 2021, by 16 per cent.

“We plan to continue this training alongside the virtual mentor platform, which can be used on a day-to-day basis. The My59 Survey platform also allowed us to gather valuable feedback from our members on a number of important topics in a very user-friendly way, delivering an overall response rate of more than 75 per cent.

“This gave our data further credibility and allowed the club to make confident and informed decisions. The entire team at the club remains fully engaged in the process and we look forward to challenging ourselves further in 2022.”

Other clubs are following the lead of Hoburne Golf and Harpenden GC according to 59club’s own data. The total number of surveys undertaken by member clubs via the My59 Survey Platform showed a huge leap of 268 per cent in 2021 compared with those launched in 2019, across the globe. Positive engagement with members, guests and staff has never before been so prevalent.

Meanwhile, the MyMentor virtual learning experience now supports in excess of 2,250 employees to develop themselves and the team. And, with 59club clients reporting challenges in recruitment – especially with greenkeepers and catering staff – the on-line training platform is expected to further increase its reach in 2022, not least as recent independent data stated that one in eight roles in the hospitality industry remains vacant.

Ironically, the increase in 59club’s client portfolio may, initially, skew the average figures.

Reed added: “In addition to the challenges facing the industry it is important to note that an influx of new clients is likely to create an initial dip in the industry average as managers and their teams often spend time gathering performance data and generating a full understanding of strengths and weaknesses, before undertaking necessary training, reinforcing standards and developing a plan of improvement.

“However, with golf clubs becoming more accustomed to increased footfall, an increase in skills, and an increased sense of ‘business as usual’ – in tandem with a number of clubs moving in to a second year of measurement – we would expect to see a return to pre- pandemic levels or higher this year.

“Of course, clubs not utilising the 59club toolkit won’t be in a position to discover their strengths and weaknesses until much further down the line, by which time, they may have lost disgruntled staff or members, and be back to square one.”

He concluded: “One challenge that will remain this year is that of attracting and retaining great people. It is, however, very gratifying to hear more and more clubs recognising wellbeing, education and a need to invest in their people, and, to assist with this, 59club UK delivered more than 50 days of training and education within clubs between December and March alone.”

Ian Knox, head of European Tour Destinations – a network of world-class venues with a close association to the European Tour – has worked with 59club for over 10 years. Maybe the last word should sit with him – he is an expert, after all.

He said: “In 2020 and even the start of 2021, for a lot of venues it was a case of controlling costs, and there was almost a survival element. Now … they are realising their operational focus needs to be back on the levels it was, in fact, exceeding the levels it was. So now is the time we have been kicking in with mystery shopper visits and working with venues to look for areas where they can continue to improve.

“The biggest area people are now focussing on is human contact again. You’ve missed that through the problems you had with the pandemic, so that personal service, that personal touch is really going to be the key focus. That’s what we’re looking for our venues to be delivering.”

As the great Willie Nelson once sang, “Nobody said it was gonna’ be easy”, but, with experts available to guide one through the metaphorical minefield, it’s a journey that can be made with a lot more confidence.

59club, the industry leading sales & customer service analysts has today announced its global operations are expanding into Canada. The new opening signals great opportunities for the Canadian golf & hospitality market, as 59club’s signature performance management tools and global intel are now made available to businesses within the region.

59club has driven a data revolution within the industry, and are famed for their insightful customer satisfaction surveys, mystery shopping audits and employee education pathways. Their expertise and industry insight into global sales performance and customer service standards are well documented, and many of the greatest names in the club industry credit 59club for their properties success, working with them to measure, train, support and recognize their workforce as they achieve sales and customer service excellence, while elevating customer acquisition, satisfaction and profits.

Headquartered in the UK and firmly established in golf, hotels, leisure, spa and restaurants, 59club now has seven divisions across the USA, Middle East & Africa (MEA), Asia, two in Europe, with the latest opening in Canada.

With customers who include the likes of TPC Sawgrass, Bobby Jones Links, Emirates Golf Club – Dubai, Thai Country Club, The Belfry Hotel & Resort, Gleneagles, Le Golf National and Marco Simone to name just a few, and hundreds of other properties. When it comes to driving sales and customer service excellence 59club are proud to work with venues of all size and profile, supporting club management to deliver unprecedented service experience whilst simultaneously driving revenues and profits.

And the front man behind 59club Canada is Club Study owner and PGA member Ryan Tracy. Commenting of the new opening, Simon Wordsworth Founder of 59club said; “Ryan will be a great ambassador for our brand, and we are all excited to begin working with him and his existing clients as we introduce our products and services to the wider hospitality business community across Canada. We champion ‘service excellence’, and with this new division, golf as a global entity only serves to become bigger, better and stronger, with enhanced services and greater experiences tailored to the discerning golf & hospitality enthusiast, engineered from real live intel and expertise”.

Tracy added; “I have been fortunate to serve the golf industry in Canada for the last 20 years, specifically with Club Study providing customized pools of operational data in club management over the last two years. When a mutual client made an introduction to Simon, conversations over our shared passions and subsequently the similarities between the two entities made the decision for us to work together a natural progression. I realized immediately that the insight that 59club creates will help operators in Canada, and I am excited to bring these resources to market”.

And now as Club Study falls within the 59club armory, the pair can deliver even more industry insight as the bi-weekly national surveys, which had previously been connecting Club Managers in Canada & US, are now made available to the entire 59club global network.

Tom Rourke is general manager of Troon Golf’s The Els Club, in Dubai. Here he explains how working with 59club has achieved an unprecedented level of membership at the facility and why he regards 59club as an essential service provider, both now and in the future.

Although I had worked with 59club previously, I hadn’t utilised the membership sales experience audit as I was previously based at a daily fee only facility. Upon joining The Els Club and better understanding the membership structure, I thought the best thing to do would be to have 59club involved with some membership enquiries and mystery shops – to go through that experience to see where enhancements could be made to improve the conversion of our prospective member show rounds.

I met with 59club MEA director Mark Bull who discussed the expectations, the history of the previous membership enquiries from past mystery shoppers at The Els Club, the benchmarking process, audit criteria, and the recommendations to get the most success out of a potential new member or membership enquiry.

Subsequently, I sat down with our membership manager, Thomas Nicolson, and gathered his feedback before we instigated the first membership related mystery shopper enquiry. After receiving the initial audit report, Thomas and I analysed the feedback and established there were quite a few areas where improvements could be made. 

Thomas is a great member of the team and together we very constructively worked our way through the audit feedback; with Mark Bull on hand to provide his insightful recommendations on further measures to advance. 

Thomas took all of the data and feedback within the audit on board, and, worked to improve the membership enquiry process, and the following month, achieved a near perfect show round appointment mystery audit. The process has transformed our membership sales procedures, and, after receiving this great feedback, we started to look at the membership offering and made some additional adjustments.

And it’s really paid dividends. Thomas did a fantastic job: in December we had around 30 new members sign up; in January we had 40 new members; and, in February, another 15 – so it’s been a huge success. Since working with 59club, we’ve had more new members sign up at The Els Club than ever before.

It illustrates that by reviewing the customer journey and the show-round experience, utilising the 59club tools, and doing a refresher of all the Troon Golf operational standards as well, makes a massive difference, even at an incredible property such as The Els Club. We’re delighted with the results.

With 59club, the attention to detail from the tester is incredible and, when you’re able to review recordings of the telephone call, when you’re able to analyse the sales techniques demonstrated, and in other audits the upselling measurements in the golf shop, the photographs and the reports from the agronomy perspective as well, it is hugely valuable detail. 

There was already an agreement in place with 59club when I arrived at The Els Club, but I would be looking to work with them at any facility that I would go to within Troon Golf. It’s an absolute no brainer – the costs you’re looking at for 59club, the detail and information you’re going to receive, and the improvements you can make, mean you’re going to get back that investment 10-fold, with all the enhancements you’re able to identify and implement. 

As a new general manager or department head, there’s great value in reviewing the previous 59club mystery shops, so you start to understand the operation with a different set of eyes. And then to be able to meet with 59club and engage with them and understand what’s happened previously, the feedback that was given, and whether any adjustments were made, is a big help.

I’m also a believer in the integrity test side of the business, especially on the driving range or areas where, maybe, there’s fewer associates, or they’re further away from the main hub of the clubhouse. It’s fundamental for department heads and the GM to study these mystery shops and integrity checks, just to have some eyes on those areas from an experience side and a security perspective.

To be engaged with 59club to monitor your business, make improvements, and for it to complement Troon Golf, is for me, just the minimum standard. After the first couple of mystery visits and the results of the integrity tests, associates begin to see things differently and take call handling, sales processes, and cash handling more seriously.

It’s really been an eye opener for the team – you always get a few shocks, speedbumps and hiccups along the way, but you start to make improvements and the revenues will start increasing. Certainly, using 59club services will only increase revenues, whether that be on membership, green fees, retail, or on the driving range. To receive that detailed feedback helps enormously. 

There is such incredible value in the level of detail in the reports, it’s a set of independent eyes, seeing it through the eyes of the guest, which is so incredibly valuable. Nine times out of 10, you are going to see an increase in revenue, and that is an absolute no brainer.  

The wider business goal for The Els Club is to become more of a country club and engage with the local community. The Els Club will always be, fundamentally, built on an incredible golf course – Ernie Els did a fantastic job with the design.

But we’re currently underway with the construction of two padel tennis courts, a spa, ladies hair salon and a gents’ barber shop, and, because 59club does not just specialise in golf, we will also be engaging with 59club in these areas of the business. 

59club is very much across the whole area of hospitality and the business – which Troon Golf also specialises in – and it will further enhance the guest and member experience, help drive revenues and give the general manager, and his decision makers, and department heads the information they need at their fingertips.

As the flagship facility, all the fantastic standards we have within Troon Golf are at the very highest level at The Els Club. But, with 59club – whether it be SOPs, training, uniform standards, or something else – we’re just going to get additional feedback, which will only further enhance what Troon Golf has in place and ensure it is followed, consistently. We’re already at such a high standard, but it will give more information, data and feedback – and it’s always great to receive. 

We can also utilise other platforms within 59club that might not be on the guest side of things, such as associate training. There’s always something, for example, upselling, that you can never improve enough. If you want to improve the engagement with the guest, improve product knowledge, and the way that information is delivered, 59club is a great partner to guide you through that process and deliver training sessions. Department heads at Troon Golf always do an incredible job, but it’s additional support, and that goes a long way.

Having a 59club division ‘on the ground’ here in the region has made a big difference. I was very fortunate, previously, to do my PGA training with (59club CEO) Simon Wordsworth, and have worked closely with both Mark Reed, Matt Roberts and Andrew Etherington, so I know it’s an incredible team; but, having Neal Graham and Mark Bull on the ground here, is a great addition to the club. They are on hand with recommendations, training, or support, and will pop over at any time.

You don’t ever feel with 59club – unlike some – as if you’re on ‘the meter’; you know you’re calling them over to have a coffee, catch up and go through some feedback. You feel they are a pure partner and that they simply want to enhance the guest journey, and the operation, and genuinely care about The Els Club as a business. Both Mark and Neal have great experience in the region and it just further complements the club.

I feel the 59club team understood our goals from the start; the key part for us is we are all about membership – so we want to hit our full membership cap of 200 members which we’re now very close to achieving. They understood that, and, also, the history of The Els Club: that the number one focus is golf. They looked at how they can assist us and give recommendations, improve that mystery shop and guest journey, so that we could attract more members. Then we looked at the F&B experience, the upselling in the golf shop, the engagement during the experience with the guests, the experience on the golf course – every part of the business. But, number one, was membership and, then, the driving range, just looking to make sure policies and procedures were being followed.

It’s an absolute pleasure to be associated with and work alongside 59club and I’m sure the relationship and support will continue to enhance and complement The Els Club and Troon Golf’s operating and hospitality standards.

This year we were delighted to receive two 59club Service Excellence Awards, in both Golf Retail Team of the Year, and, The Els Club was awarded the highest honour, the Gold Flag Designation, which is credit to the hard work and high standards we all work to achieve. 

I do genuinely respect and value what 59club offers and to see it branching out now all around the world, is wonderful. It’s something golf never had previously, and I just hope everyone else values it as much as we do, and doesn’t see it as an expense line. Properties need to see their products and services as something that provides tangible value; with 59club your guaranteed to improve the overall experience, and ultimately that will make a difference to your profits.

North American customer service satisfaction and benchmarking firm59club USA announced today they added Landscapes Golf Management (LGM) – a sister company to Landscapes Unlimited – to their client roster. 59club USA will use their industry-leading proprietary software and objective data analysis tools to provide mystery shopping services to help audit and improve the golf experience, membership sales, event sales and group-outing sales for 20 LGM golf properties in 13 states.

“We’re obviously thrilled to begin working with Landscapes Golf Management and their extensive list of extraordinary golf properties,” said Mike Kelly, managing partner of 59club USA. “We look forward to showcasing our world-class customer service platform and providing knowledgeable insights which will help shape future plans and achieve customer service excellence throughout their portfolio.”

With the addition of 20 LGM properties, 59club USA expands its client roster to more than 80 golf properties in 28 states across the country.

“Landscapes Golf Management invests extraordinary time, effort and resources into all levels of our organization, especially customer service and training, but we understand there is always room for improvement,” said Tom Everett, president of LGM.  “By utilizing 59club USA’s services, we will receive access to real-time, unbiased data which will help us achieve our goal of consistent customer service improvement, and continued success and growth in all customer-facing areas. We’re extremely excited to begin.”

59club is a service-based management tool and customer service provider which uses objective data points and images to measure, improve and then maintain standards of customer service, in turn increasing visitor and member retention. Results of on-site testing from 59club are a boost to customer satisfaction, revenues and profits for clubs who use their services such as customer satisfaction surveys, mystery shopping services and employee training – both virtual and on-site.

Already, 59club USA has established and developed relationships with more than 80 well-known golf clubs and resorts in North America including 14 TPC Network properties, Reynolds Lake Oconee, The Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda, Haig Point in South Carolina, Bobby Jones Links, and now Landscapes Golf Management – two of the world’s largest golf management companies.

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Troon International, a division of Troon, the world’s largest golf management company, has selected 59club to afford its venues full access to their market-leading ‘performance management’ products & services. 

Based from their corporate office in Dubai, Troon International works with clients across Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia. 

Mark Chapleski, President of Troon International, explained: “Troon International has recognised the benefit 59club products bring to its venues. Existing General Managers and Directors of Golf have embraced the external mystery shopping audits and utilised the feedback to improve the customer experience, develop associates, improve financial performance and help provide valuable data in setting out their long-term goals and objectives.

“This enhanced service will allow each of our properties – outside of the Americas – to utilise 59club’s product portfolio, should they so wish.”

The catalyst for the new agreement was centred around 59club Middle East & Africa’s existing successful support of nine Troon International properties in the Middle East The Els Club, Dubai Hills GC, Address Montgomerie, Arabian Ranches GC, and Meydan Golf, in Dubai; Abu Dhabi GC, Yas Links, and Saadiyat Beach GC, in Abu Dhabi; the Royal GC, in Bahrain and 59club’s long standing relationship in the UK with The  Grove.

These venues already utilise 59club’s wide range of mystery shopping products, including the golf visitor experience; golf membership sales enquiry; group golf enquiry call and integrity audits. They have also adopted the my59 survey platform to measure their member experience; custom-fit service, with 59club delivering onsite staff training which is supported by the recently launched ‘My59 Mentor’ virtual training platform. 

59club MEA director Mark Bull explained: “We are delighted to extend our relationship with Troon International on a firmer footing worldwide and, although not mandatory, this allows access to 59club’s full portfolio of products, should the General Managers and Directors of Golf choose to use them.

Troon International venues taking up this opportunity will be provided with a minimum of four mystery shopper audits per year, focussed on both their visitor and member-experience, and will benefit from the additional service & support provided by their local 59club division and the new virtual Mentor training platform.

This partnership will also see Troon International venues eligible for entry into 59club’s Annual Service Excellence Awards, regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the golf industry, as 59club recognise individuals, teams, venues and management groups for delivering the very best member and guest experiences. 

Kristoff Both, the director of Club de Golf Alcanada, on the holiday island of Mallorca, tells all about his time working with 59club, the success it has borne, and the many customer-service accolades celebrated during their seven-year engagement.

We all think, as golf managers, that we know our product; that we don’t need anybody from the outside to tell us if the grass is green or not, because we play golf and we see most of it from the outside.

But there are certain procedures that, sitting in your office, you don’t always get to grips with – that might be the different touchpoints: the restaurant, the pro shop, the caddymaster or the halfway house, where we need to know about the friendliness and professionalism of the staff.

So, for us, 59club’s mystery shopping audits are really productive – plus it takes me out of the line of fire! It’s not me who is saying to somebody ‘I don’t think you’re doing this or that’, it’s somebody independent and it’s there in black and white in front of them.

Once or twice a year, we also receive an on-site teaching seminar with a member of the 59club team whose experience in the industry speaks for itself, so it’s also very convincing and constructive for the team here. You have a professional helping them who’s been there and implemented that practice in the industry.

Most of the seminars or further education we can get here in Spain are not specific to golf, it’s for customer service in general. But to have somebody talking about retail skills, tee-time management and the overall customer experience in golf makes it more entertaining, hands-on, and relevant to the team.

As a consequence, the team is more conscious of things like upselling and cross-selling, and, while we’re some way from being on it 100 per cent, it’s a constant reminder that we have to do these things, and we have to do them better.

The comparison tool, where we can measure our service levels and sales aptitude against our competitors, is very useful and insightful. It’s not a race, but it’s beneficial to be able to demonstrate and ask ‘Why others are performing so much better?; what are they doing differently? Or what are they offering that is different or perceived to be better?’ Learning from others is another way we can progress as a team and as a facility.

I believe the biggest change we have implemented since working with 59club is in our booking procedure, which is now far more professional.

When you look at the results of the mystery shopper audits alongside some of the other venues, it has to be borne in mind that some venues have staff dedicated to simply taking bookings, so they have different procedures to the staff here who are answering other telephone calls and dealing with customers in the shop. But our written confirmations and practices are now more thorough in terms of the information within.

I also believe there’s been a noticeable improvement with the caddymasters in the way they interact with customers. Indeed, everything around the customer touchpoints has evolved down the years we have been working with 59club, and the results from the audits have been instrumental in that evolution.

I’m looking forward to working closely with the new southern Europe 59club division, headed by James Beesley. I was pleased to learn that they will be providing documentation translated into Spanish, for the Spanish market. To be able to give my team access to the system, instead of me having to translate everything, will make it a lot easier.

For the staff who do not have the ability to read English it would be hugely advantageous, and beneficial for Alcanada as a whole, to have everything in Spanish. And I imagine that goes for clubs in all other countries, too, to be able to work in their native tongue.

The history of our relationship with 59club speaks for itself – we have been working with 59club for seven years and we’re very happy. They’re very professional and very helpful in all aspects. And you only have to look at the range of products they continue to introduce to see that it’s not a company that is standing still. They’re progressing and, as their client, we can progress too.

The service excellence awards began as a nice little extra, but as more and more clients become eligible and, as 59club becomes more international, the awards will quickly become the ‘Oscars’ of golf in Europe; just as they have been regarded in the UK for some time now.

It’s always nice to receive recognition for the hard work you have done, so we do appreciate the 59club awards. There’s also an element of competition between colleagues at other venues who’ve known each other for some time, so that adds to the allure.

It’s encouraging for the staff to be honoured with an award – Alcanada is currently a 59club gold-flag destination, the highest accolade available for a venue’s performance. It’s a great achievement for us to be mentioned in the same breath as venues which are regarded as at the top of the game.

I’ve been in the business for some 20 years, and in my 18th year at Alcanada, so it’s very important for me not to be standing still, and products from 59club help me stay alert and abreast of what’s happening and available in the industry.

We need to continue looking for ways to improve and change things, and 59club helps me to do that. It encourages me to look around corners and not to do things the same way they’ve always been done.

If I had to sum up 59club in one word, it would be ‘progressive’: it’s always progressing and pushing the boundaries, and that, in turn, pushes its clients to achieve more, which is of benefit to the whole golf industry.

Addendum: One year after working with 59club, Alcanada received a silver flag in recognition for its service excellence, and has, subsequently, been recognised every year since, culminating with a Gold Flag designation.

For those wanting a proven strategy to retrain and upskill their workforce, measure in-house standards, elevate customer acquisition, satisfaction, and profits, there has never been a better time to engage with 59club.

Visit 59club.com for more information.

North American customer service satisfaction and benchmarking firm 59club USA announced today they have reached an agreement to extend their partnership with TPC Network which operates 30 high-end golf properties in North America many of which are featured on the PGA TOUR. The extension allows 59club USA to continue to use its proprietary, industry-leading software and objective data analysis tools to provide TPC Network with valuable, quantitative and unbiased customer service feedback. 59club USA will provide these services to 14 of TPC Network’s 30 golf properties.

“The training and testing platform created the much-needed visibility into our sales organization that we’ve wanted for a long time,” said Vic Aliprando, VP of Business Development of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties. “We now have a consistent sales training program for all new hires which allows us to focus our retraining efforts specifically on those that need it and on the areas that they need. Mike and his team are incredibly responsive and have done so much to help our sales team.”

59club is a service-based management tool and customer service provider which uses objective data points and images to measure, improve and then maintain standards of customer service, in turn increasing visitor and member retention. Results of on-site testing from 59club are a boost to customer satisfaction, revenues and profits for clubs who use their services such as customer satisfaction surveys, mystery shopping services and employee training – both virtual and on-site.

“TPC Network and their team understands the importance of consistency when it comes to sales and customer service,” said Mike Kelly, Managing Partner of 59club USA. “We’re extremely excited to continue our relationship which has already paid dividends for their tremendous properties.”

59club USA has established and developed relationships with more than 50 well-known golf clubs and resorts in North America including 14 TPC properties, We-Ko-Pa Golf Club in Scottsdale, Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee, The Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda, Haig Point in South Carolina, Ruark Golf Properties in Ocean City, Maryland, and Bobby Jones Links – one of the world’s largest golf management companies.

About 59Club USA

59Club USA is specifically designed to elevate sales and service standards. 59club USA provides mystery Shopper Audits, Customer Satisfaction Surveys, and Training Services, empowering venue managers to analyze their entire visitor and member experience, enabling them to set targets, monitor performance and ultimately make informed decisions to enhance their guest services. To learn more about 59club USA, visit https://www.59clubusa.com/.

About TPC Network

Owned, operated, and licensed by the PGA TOUR, the TPC Network is comprised of 30 premiers private, resort and daily fee golf properties designed by some of golf’s most elite architects. Twenty of the clubs are operated by affiliates of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties, Inc. Each TPC has hosted or has been designed to host TOUR-sponsored golf tournaments. Since TPC Sawgrass first opened its world-renowned PLAYERS Stadium Course in the fall of 1980, TPCs have provided the PGA TOUR with rent-free venues for tournaments, helping to boost championship golf purses and increasing charitable donations to grass roots non-profit organizations. At the same time, TPCs have provided recreational golfers with the unique opportunity to test their skills on the same layouts where the world’s best golfers compete.

TPCs are known for their history of hosting PGA TOUR-sponsored golf tournaments, their outstanding conditioning and amenities, as well as a commitment to environmental excellence. The TPC Network is also distinguished by its unwavering commitment to further the PGA TOUR’s giving back mission through support of charitable and community-based programs. For more information, please visit www.tpc.com. For the most up-to-date news, follow the TPC Network on Twitter (@PlayTPC), Instagram (@PlayTPC) or Facebook.com/TPCNetwork.

One of the UAE’s most-popular all day dining café has partnered with the market-leading performance measurement and management specialist, 59club MEA, to ensure it maintains the highest possible service standards across its branches.

The Coffee Club has engaged 59club MEA (Middle East and Africa) to measure and refine its customer ‘journey’ at 23 of its restaurants in the UAE: 9 in Abu Dhabi, 10 in Dubai, 2 in Al Ain and 2 in Ras Al Khaimah.

Since launching in Brisbane, in 1989, The Coffee Club has become Australia’s largest home-grown café group, with around 400 outlets in nine countries, delighting more than 40 million dedicated customers, with more than 20 of those stores located in the UAE.

Ravi Chandran, CEO of parent company Liwa Minor Food and Beverages, explained: “Like most hospitality businesses we have our core standard operating procedures and staff are measured against those. 

“However, we were hugely impressed with the data and information gathered by 59club MEA during its initial visits to our stores and it became clear to us that its testing procedures were far more thorough and beneficial than anything else we had seen previously.

“The company has an impressive track record in ensuring high-service standards across its client portfolio and this is a further guarantee to our customers that the experience they enjoy at The Coffee Club will be second to none.”

59club MEA’s directors, Mark Bull and Neal Graham had an appetite to demonstrate to the brand how its proprietary mystery-visit data can highlight areas of service which might otherwise be overlooked.

Chandran was so impressed with both the quality of ‘live’ information supplied and the initiative of the pair that The Coffee Club signed a one-year contract for 59club MEA to evaluate their outlets’ service performance. 

Graham explained: “Previously, 59club’s reputation in UAE – and beyond – has been built upon its work within golf and leisure clubs, but this arrangement is testament to the ability of its products across other sectors, including pure food-and-beverage operations. 

“Each of the outlets will receive four ‘casual dining’ visits through the year and each visit will be based on what we call the four pillars of the test: attitude; facility; process; and sales. 

“59club’s reputation is based upon the ability to drill down into each of those areas to ensure the test is not a mere ‘tick-box’ exercise – it’s an in-depth analysis of both the good and the bad of the customer experience. 

“It’s not about pointing fingers; it’s designed to help staff improve – maybe even in areas where they didn’t realise they were lacking – to provide direction for further training where required, and to ensure The Coffee Club continues to be known as the most customer connected café experience by being personalized, easy and rewarding.                     

59club MEA is one of six 59club divisions worldwide, with more to follow. It was created in 2019, initially to service existing clients within the region’s golf industry following the company’s strategic approach to measure, train and support its client properties to elevate sales and service standards from a dedicated local office. 

The subsequent agenda was to introduce its ever-evolving product range – Mystery Shopping, Customer Satisfaction Surveys, Employee Training and Management Development Programmes, plus Financial Operational Comparison Tools – to an emerging audience across the region’s diverse hospitality industry. 

And, as the new partnership with The Coffee Club demonstrates, its expertise and specialist tools are equally effective in a number of other leisure spheres – membership clubs, spa, hotels and F&B are just four sectors into which 59club MEA has expanded in little more than a year.  

Golf Business News Interview with Paul Armitage, a partner in 59club Europe West and North Africa, covering France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Morocco and Tunisia and recently appointed COO of Open Golf Club

GB Paul, your new roles must involve you in a lot of travelling. How are you coping in the COVID-19 crisis?

PA  Well, we can still travel around in France, which is most important for the new job because we have got golf courses dotted around all over the country.

GBN How many courses are in the group?

PA Owned and operated there are 11 – one of them is in Belgium and ten are in France – and then we run a ‘marketing network’ in addition. Golf courses have been brought in under the banner of Open Golf Club and we actively promote them in exhibitions and IGTM. There are about 40 at the moment, all over Europe.

GBN You previously spent six years as Managing Director at Le Golf National, host of The Ryder Cup Matches in 2018. You must look back on that period with enormous pride and satisfaction because it all went so well.

PA  Yes, and that’s one of the reasons why it’s time to move on. When I was first employed back in 2014 I was handed a lot of missions and all those boxes have been ticked. I could have chosen to run all the day-to-day operations at the Club but I’m the sort of person that  needs a challenge. I like to be able to change things. That doesn’t mean I need full autonomy so I can do what I want – no – but I like to have an objective and to go through it from A-Z, changing things on my way to succeed.

GBN Who has been appointed as your successor?

PA When I announced my resignation, which was in December last year, I wrote a letter to my boss suggesting that he should give my deputy manager a chance. Philippe Pilato has been at Le Golf National for 25 years, almost since the day it opened.

He was a golf pro and he looked after the Academy. I thought we’ve got ‘a hidden gem’ here because we needed to implement customer service and a lot of tender loving care to put into what we were going to serve out to customers in the immediate future.

We were going to raise the bar, raise the prices and bring in a new experience. To get that to a successful end you need somebody who’s got a lot of empathy and love.

I said to Philippe look I think you are going to have to change jobs. He looked a bit down, thinking oh I’m going to get the sack here and I said no, no, you’re going to have to go home and think about this but I would like to identify a director of customer service for Le Golf National. Why do I want one? Because the Club needed someone who every day gets up and thinks about how they can give a wow or a great experience to customers. There was nobody in particular on the staff who was doing that.

He came back a few days later and said yes, let’s do it.

So that’s where he came from and he’s been a very, very, extremely good customer service manager. Then last year I took him up to Director of Operations – golf operations – and now he is GM!

GBN What have been the benefits to Le Golf National from hosting The Ryder Cup? Is there a payback for the huge investment of time, money and people?

PA There has definitely been a pay-back especially in the case of Le Golf National. First, the Ryder Cup obliged the French Golf Federation and Le Golf National to change, to not consider itself as a local pay-and-play public golf course but as a world class destination. I think we have created something there which is unique as a model because it’s probably, even at 150 euros or 175 euros, the cheapest round of Ryder Cup golf in the world. And it’s open. It’s not like many major golf destinations where you have to be invited by a member or you can’t get on. And the third thing is that we’ve got an extremely good standard for those who come from those kind of places where they’ll not be too surprised to come in and they’ll have customer service and a team, badged up and  welcoming, and bag-drops and buggies and everything you need at a world-class major tournament destination.

So I think that’s the major benefit. We have repositioned Le Golf National completely keeping at the same time a local, regional and national customer base happy.

GBN And what about golf in France generally?

PA  I think that this year everybody is struggling to have a normal year. I think COVID has knocked that on the head. There’s a lot of golf being played this year but there’s not a lot of normal golf, if you know what I mean: people travelling, playing in as many competitions as they have done in the past.

I think that France is resisting well though – official golfer numbers are down by around 3% this year.

The Ryder Cup in France also delivered as far as the media is concerned. Although we didn’t get live coverage on free to view terrestrial TV, we got a lot of media coverage, much more than we would have got from a French Open, so golf was definitely in the spotlight thanks to the event.

Now, when you talk to anybody about golf in France, there is the demystifying process which has been started so it looks and feels less elite. People in France definitely identify themselves more easily with golf.

A lot of people this September are coming into Open Golf Clubs for our ‘Golf Discovery Days’. They started last weekend and participation and sales have been quite good, in fact very, very encouraging for a COVID year when everything is supposed to be doom and gloom.

GBN  And then golf is coming in the Paris Olympics in 2024?

PA  Yes. I actually think that the Olympics could do even more good for golf in France.

We will get public TV coverage because it’s public television which has the rights to show the Olympics so there’s absolutely no reason why they should not put golf on TV. It’s almost definite that France will have both boys and girls in the Olympics. We probably won’t get a medal, but It won’t be like a Major Championship, at least we’ll have participation. I mean this month in the US Open there were four French players and I think that’s a record.

So from a ticketing point of view there should be a younger public coming to the Tournament because the ticket price will be very much accessible and it’s more of a general public environment. So, I think that the Olympics could do even more good for golf in France and is definitely great for French Golf 6 years after the Ryder Cup.

GBN Right, let’s talk about 59club because soon after you wrote your letter to your colleagues at Le Golf National in December, you must have been making your decision about getting involved with the 59club. We announced that in Golf Business News back in February.

PA Yes, indeed. I did everything the right order and there was absolutely no surprise to anybody about 59club. It was all talked through with the Federation and the staff and hopefully they will be using some of the 59club tools soon too. And the same with Open Golf Club.

There was absolutely no issue either with 59club because Open Golf Club will use the tools and are interested in the success of 59club. My role at 59club is to set up the business with Simon Wordsworth and our associate partner in France called Sylvain Marcati who comes from customer service in another industry to golf. I was determined to get this product on to the French market from 59club which helped me hugely at Le Golf National from 2017 onwards to improve our standards.

I think we were capable of improving them ourselves but we weren’t capable of benchmarking to know if we were doing enough and getting there quick enough and moving things in the right direction and also the training aspect of 59club, the tool is very powerful. I wanted the French market to benefit from the wealth of products which only Le Golf National and another golf club called Terre Blanche were using. Now we’ve got nearly 30 golf courses working on it already.

If golf in France wants to survive we have to stop, and this is important to say, we have to stop playing just the price game. We have to stop just using price as the way of satisfying the customer and getting new customers through the doors.

We have to use the service quality aspect to get results as well and get the prices up because golf has an insatiable thirst for investment in machinery and staffing. It costs a lot of money to run a golf course. So yes, if we all get on the bandwagon of customer service and improving our standards then there’s no way a customer can say, why did you put the price of the green fee up by a pound or two?

And that’s why I brought it in. So we’ve gone through quite a few weeks of translating it. COVID came along and to be honest it’s put us back half a year or a year on our business plans but I’m not bothered because it actually came at a perfect time to get it just right. So we have spent ‘lockdown’ getting the tools translated correctly into French and now German. They will be going into other languages soon.

GBN  Yes, because you’re involved in other countries too, aren’t you? Not just France?

PA Yes. We have created a company which will look after all of Western Europe apart from Spain and Portugal. We also have Morocco and Tunisia. We’ve got France, Germany, Austria, Holland, and Benelux so we’ve got a lot on our plate. A lot of it is taking shape right now and we are even looking at other European markets as we speak.

GBN Your objective to move away from concentrating on price, has that gone a long way?

PA  There were a lot of golf courses just communicating price and not service or standards. Online prices were going, and in fact are still going, way too low because if you start with a rack rate of £40 for a green fee and then you offer 50% off that price; or you are in a network  and you’re offering 50% off with a loyalty card then there’s not much left for the operator after commissions and you’re paying VAT. There’s probably only £15 a round left for you.

Out of that you’ve got to cut the grass, you’ve got to pay the staff to smile and you’ve got to get them in on a Sunday, which can be costly and difficult to recruit in France, etc., etc.

We should train up every single general manager in France, England, wherever about yield management. There’s no shame in saying we don’t know how to do it. Why would you sell a green fee on a Sunday morning for 15 euros? Well some people are doing it because they think that it’s the right thing to do. They think that if they don’t do it they won’t have a customer.

Well that’s not yield management, that’s shooting yourself in the foot. So, yes, I’m heavily into the business of helping managers to increase their customer satisfaction and their customer service which automatically, according to the lessons learned from Le Golf National, will turn into turnover.

People will come back. Repeat play thanks to quality is a reality. Customer service will do that once people have had a chance to compare. Word of mouth is still your best advertisement!

So all of that has gone through my thought process over the years.  I have moved away slightly from discounts without thought process. Which doesn’t mean that I don’t do it at all, but I have really professionalised my attitude towards yield management. I still do reductions, but I want to do them when I have a good chance of increasing my revenues! Not lowering them!

GBN What is the impact of COVID on golf in France?

PA  We’re pretty much back to what I would say is going to be normal as far as golfing is concerned.

GBN  Normal or better than normal? There’s been a lot of talk about an increase in rounds played during July and August.

PA  Oh yes, in terms of business July and August have been record months. They have been record months on a few Open Golf courses.

GBN  Just a few moments left so can we talk about The Open Golf Club specifically? That’s the most recent announcement we’ve had about your career to date. You have been appointed as COO, I believe.

PA   Open Golf Club is highly respected company here in France. They have been under the radar for quite a while. It’s a family business which today is still family-owned. Laurent Boissonas has taken up the reins. He wants to try and keep the spirit of a family company, but he definitely wants to modernise process and operations.

We have some wonderful facilities. They are premium places like Le Touquet with the hotels and 45 beautiful holes and then 30 minutes up the road is Hardelot, which is a European Tour qualifying stage venue – although not this year because there won’t be any, thanks to COVID, but next year I guess. Hardelot has 36 magnificent holes, very, very well-known to the Brits but not so well-known to the French.

Then we’ve got a van Hagge like Le Golf National at Seignosse, which is a magnificent golf course just north of Biarritz. In the mountains behind Cannes we have two golf courses and then around Marseille we have three and then in Paris we have two.

So we’ve got some wonderful sites. These golf courses are not desperate for investment either because the family have always kept high capex levels on the courses and they are pristine but we need to look at positioning the chain even more in the higher end of the golf market, making sure people know who we are and what we are about.

There’s a definite objective to do more customer service, modernising our approach by using modern tools such as online booking services. We also run all of the restaurants and hotels and we have a strategy there with some out of the box thinking.

So we will be coming up with new concepts in 2021, bringing in new lifestyle concepts.

The 9 hole concepts and the 6 hole concepts, they have a reason to be – there’s no doubt about it – but it’s still a lot about having a day out with friends or corporate friends. but you may need to do a couple of hours of work or an hour of work and deal with your emails before you go for the beer after a day of golf or after breakfast. We’re looking at that kind of aspect.

So yes there is lots of work to be done at the golf courses we own and then the other part of my job with Laurent is we’re going to kick off some new business revenue flows and we’re also going to be looking at good opportunities to grow.

GBN  Within France or beyond?

PA I think we would look beyond but not too far.

GBN  You are a very busy man, Paul.

PA  I just love it and my family know it. I just love to be thinking and creating. I like to get into the office early and jot things down. It gives me a couple of hours before everyone else comes in just to formalise ideas. It’s exciting working on new concepts and when I’m happy at work I also perform better at home.

GBN  That’s great Paul, thank you very much. Is there anything else that you would like to tell our readers?

PA  Yes. Stay safe during the COVID crisis but come over to France as soon as it’s over and play some golf!

Asia is a dream destination for golfers, renowned for its abundant natural resources, a great variety of high-quality golf courses featuring challenging and signature designs by world-famous golfers and golf course architects such as Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Sir Nick Faldo, and Robert Trent Jones Jr. Couple this with rich cultures, amazing culinary experiences and warm hospitality makes Asia a must-visit golfing destination.

Asia is also the birthplace of many world-class professional golfers that have won numerous tournaments around the world tours. With a high number of golfers flowing throughout the Asian region, many golf courses in South East Asia continually seek to improve their service standards and product offering, ranging from infrastructure development to enhancing service standards to exceed customers’ expectations.

With this existing opportunity 59club Asia, the global leading Mystery Shopper Audits and Customer Satisfaction Survey programmes, has expanded its network with Asian Tour Destinations to further enhance the growth of the golf industry in the Asian region.

Asian Tour Destinations is an exclusive network of world-class golfing properties which have a stamp of tournament quality and is a hallmark of distinction where their identity is closely aligned with the Asian Tour. Every Asian Tour Destination around the region boasts a range of international-class golf courses and facilities with services to club members, guests and to Asian Tour professionals. Asian Tour members will also be granted access to play and practice at each venue facilitating for the members at each club to enjoy direct engagement with the region’s best golfers.

This innovative partnership will undoubtedly help grow the game of golf and ultimately enhance the growth of the golf industry in the Asian region. 59club Asia will provide their expertise in delivering their intelligence Mystery Shopping Audit programme as part of the partnership. The Asian Tour Destination venues will receive invaluable objective feedbacks, from the mystery guests’ perspective that can be utilised to further enhance their members and guests experiences.

59club Asia offers ground-breaking Mystery Shopper Audits, Customer Satisfaction Surveys and Staff Training and is an ‘All-in-One’ solution for the golf clubs and businesses who seek to uplift their facilities standards along with enhancing their service, sales and product offering, ultimately enhancing customer’s experiences. We are operating in many of the world’s leading golf destinations such as Asia, the UK, the Middle East, Africa, and the USA for over a decade, enjoying many success stories of improving guest experiences and driving revenues. We have helped golf clubs and businesses succeed in their goals, improve staff performance, enhance the customer’s journey, improve repeat business and increase incremental revenues which ultimately increase overall profitability.

The golf industry in the Asian region has developed and grown rapidly in the past ten years, it is undeniable that the golf industry has become very competitive these days. The golf business can’t be left to chance, 59club Asia will work with you to improve your performance and best the competition.

A spa treatment is a reward considered as a soothing, rejuvenating and typically elegant way to pamper oneself. Due to the current stress created by the COVID-19 pandemic, a spa day would be very much appreciated more than usual. Since wellness and spa services are not only about massages or body treatments, they offer self-confidence, calmness and an escape from our hectic lives.

Wellness and Spa industry is also like other industries in the current hyper-digital world relying
significantly on their online presence, since over 90% of consumers seek out and put a ton of trust in online reviews. Online reviews hold tremendous power considering that customer reviews are a powerful marketing tool and a source of unstructured feedback. On the contrary, customer reviews on the online platforms are generally subjective and obscure management team to detect accurate defects. 59club Asia, Asia’s leading sales & service analysts and training provider, is delighted to offer Wellness and Spa industry a global standard solution for ‘sales & service’ etiquette improvements.

Given that subjective criteria restrict you from identifying your actual strengths and weaknesses. Our granular and tailored-made mystery shopping audits offer a highly detailed insight of the service level being delivered daily to customers at your venue in conjunction with non-biased and comprehensively objective mystery shopping audit results. Furthermore, our products identify true strengths and weaknesses within the services & sales area and exceptionally highlight opportunities for development through measuring your opportunity and losses against upselling skills of staff members. The results can be utilised to plan KPI’s and customise training programme s for staff members and departments.

59club Asia is the Mystery Shopping Audit and Customers Satisfaction Survey market leading provider. We deliver our services to hospitality businesses such as Hotels, Spa, Sport Clubs or Leisure Clubs, Fine Dining and Golf Clubs in the Asian region. Our clients benefit from a wealth of benchmarking tools allowing them to improve and maintain sales and service etiquette, increasing customer satisfaction, revenue as well as profits. On the other hand, staff performance and high standards set by their companies will be thoroughly supervised.

Visit www.59clubasia.com to find out more about 59club Asia Spa Mystery Shopping Audits and other products or contact our team at info@59clubasia.com for all enquiries.

During the third phase of easing the Covid-19 restrictions, hotels in Thailand are gradually reopening and resuming their business after temporary closures. Absolute Hotel Services, one of the fastest growing hospitality management companies in Asia with over 60 hotels operating and under development has recently signed a contract with 59club Asia who will be providing hotels under their management with valuable management tools to measure, improve and maintain their standards of customer service, increasing visitor and member retention in turn.

Absolute Hotel Services, headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand with regional offices in Vietnam, Indonesia, Hong Kong, India and now Europe with more expansions in the pipeline, provides a unique range of hospitality services and consultancy as well as hotel management services for the luxury to economy segments through its brands U Hotels & Resorts, Eastin Grand Hotels & Resorts, Eastin Hotels, Resorts & Residences, Eastin Easy, Travelodge and Vienna House.

Mr. Jonathan Wigley, Owner, Founder and CEO of the Absolute Hotel Services Group stated that “Within our group we have been doing mystery audits as part of our annual hotel process for the past 10 years and we worked with an external partner for this. The reason we switched to 59club Asia is very much the flexibility in the mystery audit programme and that we were able to work closely with the 59club Asia organization to develop the programme that works for us. It is also great value for money, I have to say. Third point is we are able to get some comparisons of our audits with other hotel groups which we’ve never had before, we found that’s a great tool and very worthwhile for us. I think once again with the Mystery Shopper Audits, it is viewing our hotels from a customer perspective. It will allow 59club Asia auditors to see our hotels through the eyes of the current consumer, which are obviously very concerned about safety measures and security during their stays with us. It is an integral part in us ensuring that things we have implemented in our hotels to deal with concerns of the Coronavirus from a guest perspective and I regard it is an absolutely paramount part of our check and balance process within our hotels.”

Ms. Araya Singhsuwan, Director of Operations of 59club Asia, stated with excitement about the contract signing with AHS, “59club Asia team is honored to deliver our products to Absolute Hotel Services, which are a renowned management group and operate highly reputable hospitality brands throughout Asia. Our granular and tailored-made Hotel Mystery Shopping Audits will ensure that the hotels under Absolute Hotel Services management with their brand specific standards and procedures will be individualized especially during the post-Covid19 reopening. Having the opportunity to audit the hotel brands under AHS management will allow 59club Asia to work with hotels from within the luxury to economy segments, which will highlight the flexible auditing features of our Hotel Mystery Shopper Audit programmes. It is a very significant first step of 59club Asia Hotel Mystery Shopper programme in Asia and a game changer for the industry.”

59club Asia delivers globally leading Customer Service Analysis, pioneering Member & Visitor Surveys, Mystery Shopping Audits and Staff Training within your business. Our clients benefit from a wealth of benchmarking tools that are used to train staff, set KPI’s, monitor performance, advance overall standards and compare the facility to make service level comparisons across the industry.

59club Director, Mark Reed is back from his Tour of the UAE where he has been busy corrupting the teams at Dubai Golf & Yas Links empowering them to convert more member sales and retain more club members.  

Training has focused on the exact same ‘59club membership sales procedures’ that assisted one of the largest golf group in the UK increase their membership sales performance by 77% in year 1, and 90% in year 4.  

Yas Links is fairly new to 59club after calling on their expertise last year, but the teams wasted no time in getting to grips with the 59club sales and service principals.  

Howie Roberts, Yas Links General Manager was quick to acknowledge the positive impact that 59club has had on staff performance and the way he manages his business when it comes to visiting golfers, members and prospective members.  

“I am confident that when a golfer visits Yas Links that everything we do has been carefully planned, that the service we offer is guaranteed and that when it comes to our bottom line we are doing well. 59club has assisted us to breakdown the customer journey and scrutinise the minuscule to make a big impact.  

Marks training day with the team put the icing on the cake for us, he gave them new focus, ignited the fire in their bellies and has given them new direction and a process that we now need to follow in order to excel.  We are already looking forward to Marks return trip as we constantly strive to do better”.

The team at Dubai Golf have worked with 59club to develop their sales performance & service etiquette for the past 5years where both The Emirates Golf Club & Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club as a result are witnessing some of the best membership conversion and retention rates that the group has ever seen.   

Chris May, Dubai Golf CEO said “Having Mark deliver the training to the team has given them a heightened perspective of the standards that we expect from our staff and the service that our members and guests deserve.  

It’s truly inspirational to see Marks passion and vision for wanting to create the best experience for our members from the very moment they join. The team are literally buzzing and can’t wait to incorporate 59clubs sales and service tactics into ‘club life’.  

59club Director Mark Reed added, “When members choose to join these forward thinking clubs, reassuringly they will never be treated like ‘a number’. These clubs work hard to assist members integrate into club life and guarantee to make their life as a member experience the very best”.  

Dubai Golf famously collected the ‘Golf Group of the year’ Award at the 2016 ‘59club Sales & Service Awards Ceremony’ famously regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the golf industry. The Creek was honoured with the ‘Ultimate Golf Members Award’ and The Emirates went on to collect the 59club Gold Flag Award, further demonstrating the groups commitment to providing the best experience for visiting golfers and their members who are lucky enough to call Dubai Golf their club!  

59clubs UK ‘Sales, Service and Retention Roadshow’, coming to a club near you, takes place between the 5^th and 8^th of December 2016. The 59club Directors will empower you to convert more member sales & maximise member and visitor revenue. Whilst the infamous American, Gregg Patterson, will excite & entertain as he discusses the BUZZ, the LOVE and the GLOW enlarging and enriching the service experience.  

Contact 59club for further information on this must attend event aimed at Owners, Managers, Directors of Golf and all aspiring future managers – come and be enlightened!