Self image and competitive golf
14 Jan 2014

Self image and competitive golf

By: Geoff Bryant, WGCA President In a recent study, as individuals, we average hearing seven criticisms to every one compliment. And most of us remember the negative comments far longer than the positive statements. As we often see ourselves through the eyes of people who discourage us, many of our limitations become self-imposed. This is why Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote: “Most of us die with the music still in us.” The World Golf Coaches Alliance challenges all competitive golfers to remove those self-imposed limitations in order to play your best golf. Believe that you can win. Work to make it happen.
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14 Jan 2014

The Essence of Golf Club Management

By Geoff Bryant, Contributing Writer, US Golf Managers Association Have you ever entered a pro shop facility where the staff barely gives you the time of day, does not make you truly feel welcome or could care less about any idle, friendly chit chat? I’ve always known that the way employees treat customers, reflects the manner in which they’re being treated by management. The pro shop staff for instance can truly set the mood for the facility itself. They can in fact, give any customer “a good feeling“  about the facility. Customers want to be recognized, they want to be greeted with a warm friendly smile along with eye contact and they want to feel as though they’re special.   Which of course they are. A golf club manager therefore has to be wise enough to understand this and hire an individual with the personality that will fit this bill. How you educate your staff therefore can be a huge factor in the popularity of your facility………. a direct reflection on you, the golf club manager. Education of staff takes continual observation to ensure that staff attitudes remain upbeat and positive.  Tommy Lasorda, the legendary baseball manager of the LA dodgers, once said that managing people is like holding a dove in your hand.  If you hold it too tightly , you kill it, but if you hold it too loosely, you lose it.  In other words employees are not necessarily bad or inferior people because they make mistakes.  They may be doing the wrong things the wrong way because no one has taken the trouble to educate them in the business of golf.  Even though we may be living in a sea of information, many individuals are still looking for direction. Most importantly, when handling your staff though, be sympathetic and encouraging. If people make even a little progress, show them you have noticed and appreciate it. In brief, put yourself in the shoes of your employees on occasion and  ask how you would like to be taught by someone who understands the business of golf protocol more than you do.
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TRAINING AIDS
14 Jan 2014

TRAINING AIDS

As golf teaching professionals, we constantly look for ways to help our students get better.  We read books, attend continuing education classes, watch videos, and visit with other golf teaching professionals, all the while trying to learn more and become a better instructor. For anyone has been to a large golf store chain like Edwin Watts or watched  Golf Channel, we have seen numerous training aids.  Ironically enough, each piece of equipment or technique boasts that it can cure every fault in the golf swing.  Now, while it would be nice, we all know there is no quick fix or miracle pill you can take to attain the perfect golf swing. How often do you try these training aids?  Do you research the new training aids as they come into the market?  Are you investing into your own teaching career?  These are some questions you should ask yourself to make sure you are staying current on new training aids and teaching methods. When you are in one of the big golf store chains, head to the training aid section and try a few out.  While there is no reason to buy all of the training aids in the store, it might be helpful for your business to invest in a few that you think can benefit your students.   When you are trying these training aids, think about some of the common problems your current students have and imagine yourself in their shoes, asking, “Will this help me?”  If you think it will, then it will help your students get better, thus helping your business grow.  Don’t be afraid to invest in the future of your business.
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3 Jan 2014

WHAT MAKES A GOLF COURSE GREAT?

By Marc Gelbke, Contributing Writer, US Golf Managers Association As golf course managers, we have to ask ourselves, “What makes a golf course great?”  You can ask around, and some will no doubt say it is the location of the course, the layout, the condition, etc.  While there is no question that these are important, in my opinion, the main reason a golf facility is great and has golfers come back is YOU AND THE STAFF. Time and time again, you hear from golfers and guests that they would come back because of how the staff makes them feel. You can have the best-kept secret, most beautiful facility, but if you don’t have a staff that sincerely cares about the players, members, guests and facility, they will inevitably find fault. Service and profits will increase and decrease according to the level of service provided.  As a manager, the three most important words you can hear from your customer are, ”I’ll be back!” “I’ll be back” means satisfied customers; satisfied customers mean increased profits and a successful facility with staff that cares.  Remember, I always used to teach my staff one important aspect of our business, and that is that I can spend a lot of money on merchandise to stock the golf shop, uniforms for all to wear, and a ton in maintenance to make our course look great, but the one thing that is FREE and makes us the most profits is “customer service.” We can overcome many obstacles in our day-to-day duties of running a golf course when we provide excellent service to our customers and treat them with respect, courtesy, and professionalism.  One way to achieve excellent customer service is to create regular scheduled supervisor and staff meetings.  Short, well-orchestrated meetings allow you to visit your vision and goals as manager, and allow you to bring forth issues that need attention and corrections. These meetings are an excellent time to role-play situations that have occurred on the property, and to remind each other of the commitment to service excellence, despite challenges that we all face from time to time. You can also use this time to provide positive feedback for a job well done. So, the next time you ask yourself, “Is my golf course great?”, you may look at it from a different perspective.
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