As golf professionals, your attention has long been on your students, the golf course and your practice facilities - range, short game area, putting green and indoor golf simulator studios. As GMs, however, your focus goes well beyond the game of golf and becomes about all facets of the club.
F&B, for instance, can be a very lucrative part of a club and a vital point of engagement for your members and staff. Keeping your dining areas and kitchen up to date is a task that no club should disregard. After all, creating a fun and welcoming environment keeps members coming back. And providing your chef and his or her team with the tools they need to best serve your members is key. But who do you turn to to get the ball rolling with F&B renovations? What steps are involved?
According to Bill Ziegler of Boelter, “a foodservice and beverage partner providing immediate insights and lasting solutions to restaurants, breweries, distilleries and a wide range of foodservice operations,” upgrading and refurbishing your F&B facilities serves multiple purposes:
It saves money on energy costs.
It increases member satisfaction and retention.
It helps you keep up with your competition.
It attracts a younger membership.
It increases revenues.
It creates F&B programming opportunities.
It develops labor efficiencies.
With more golfers and non-golfing members on country club membership rosters since the pandemic, it’s important to address all areas of the facility. In fact, we interviewed Brian Dillman of the United States Professional Tennis Association a few months ago to highlight what you can do to maximize your racquets amenities. The insights that Brian Ziegler shares in this month’s Outside Voice feature are just as important.
“There are a lot of companies that do what we do in terms of food service design and selling equipment and so on, but we’re very unique in our strategy around different vertical markets,” Ziegler explains. “We have country club specialists who will be by your side from the first step to the last. These are people who’ve done a significant amount of country club work. They understand the dynamics and know how to work with GMs, executive chefs and club committees.”
Keeping in mind that many country clubs have multiple kitchens - a la carte, banquet, pool and even halfway houses on the course - a company like Boelter, with almost a century of work in the field can really help you get your project going.
“Boelter provides quality products that can be relied upon, and exceed member expectations,” says Phil Anderson, PGA of America General Manager at the storied Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.
Ziegler, who manages the Minneapolis, Minnesota office, laid out the process in pretty simple terms. A Boelter country club specialist is assigned to the job and meets with club brass on-site for the initial assessment. They discuss the pros and cons of the current setup, and individual pieces of equipment are analyzed together. They discuss customer demand in banquets, pool services, daily dining service, etc., and an initial schematic plan is put together. He emphasizes the importance of continued collaboration throughout the project.
In addition, there’s an 8-step process that Boelter provides its new clients. Whatever company you choose to do the job, make sure they’re as thorough and supportive as Ziegler and the Boelter team.
Listen and understand
Collaborate on a creative plan
Collaborate on a budget plan
Create construction documents
Final budget and contract
Procure and project manage
Inspect and approve
Serve and celebrate
Ziegler commented that as recently as 10 years ago, members, when surveyed, declared the golf course as the highest priority of any long-term plan for the club. As the demographics of clubs have changed over the past several years, that priority has changed to the dining services. After all, not only are many club membership rosters full, but they also have waiting lists that are comprised of a good deal of non-golfers.