 Case
study
Existing Golf Course - South East England*
Golf Management UK were appointed to manage a private golf
club with over 100 years of history.
The course had a great reputation with at least 40% of income
coming from non-golfing activity. Despite this a study of
the accounts showed a gradual decline in profits over 10
years, which needed to be reversed.
Decline in profits
The decline in profits has been partly hidden from the
membership by the lack of spending on routine maintenance
that also meant there was an urgent need for a major refurbishment
programme to bring the clubhouse back up to the standard
required.
The need to generate extra outside income was hindered
(as in many private golf clubs) by the attitude of the membership
who were reluctant to accept the gravity of their financial
position and the reality that visiting golfers are a necessary
part of most clubs’ business plan.
Fortunately the club treasurer was an accountant with a
go-ahead attitude who understood the need to modernise both
the fabric of the building and the attitude of the club.
Focus on the clubs history
Our initial report concluded that the course was a great
attraction and that investment levels had been maintained
in this area. It was then important to bring the clubhouse
up to the standard offered on the course. We are fortunate
to have an experienced interior designer on our books whose
recommendations were to focus on the clubs history and actually
to strip back the clubhouse to showcase many of its original
features.
Our next task was to ensure the staff were up to the task
of delivering a high level of customer service with a smile!
This area is where many established golf clubs let themselves
down due to a lack of staff training and motivation.
Show their potential
Two of the key staff left after less than a month of our
methods which, although unfortunate, allowed other members
of the team to step up and show their potential.
The final piece of the jigsaw, once Golf Management UK were
confident of the product being offered, was the marketing
programme to spread the word about this fantastic golf club.
This is where our expertise, built over many years, came
to the fore using a combination of databases, a strong PR
campaign and a series of local adverts we achieved impressive
results.
Growth of 40%
After 18 months and a £300k refurbishment the turnover
grew by nearly 40% with a trading profit of nearly 15% and
a full order book.
* Due to client confidentiality the naming of this specific
golf club is prohibited |
