Hard questions

For many clubs, the season is over. Football and family have taken the place of packed clubhouses and overcrowded tee boxes. Now is the time for review. Time to assess the season, identifying the wins, and deciding on those things that could have been better. No matter the results in 2023, the eyes are planted on next year. Club managers will look hard for ways to streamline costs, improve property aesthetics, and blow away the competition. Once the review has been completed, it is then time to include the world beyond the clubhouse doors. What will the economy look like next year? How will the upcoming election cycle affect the club and its membership? What might be added to enhance the property? What must be cut? Although every season ends with difficult questions sitting on the top of your desk, this next challenge may be the biggest in years. The election, the economy, and the fact that many Americans have less money to spend will all have sway in the decisions you and your team make during the coming weeks.

Do you cut the cap ex budget, hire less seasonal staff, drop a department manager, or even cut back on the course maintenance schedule? No doubt you have a system in place. You likely have a checklist of things you and your leadership group will review, to then bring forward the appropriate questions for the year ahead. With the idea that 2024 may not have much of the positive COVID hangover remaining, the downward income numbers may be an added factor for retrenchment. There are difficult questions at the end of every season. This time, however, there are things at play that have not been a part of the process before. With the golf expansion waning around a shrinking economy, you and your team have hard questions to resolve. Beyond any cutbacks you may plan, how will you keep attitudes and hospitality positive? We all know expectations never go down. How will you decide to move ahead? As importantly, how then will you communicate the decisions? In this In My Opinion post, I suggest three areas that might be important in your 2024 planning. Here are my thoughts: 

It’s people, people, people: The magic is to keep service high, people happy, and costs at bay. Yes, I said magic. The manager’s role is always challenging but more so in a time of change from both sides of the dollar bill. As you review the hard questions, think about the service experience. How can you improve your standards even in the midst of change? How can the team get sharper and more focused on what matters to members and guests? What will the team look like next season? If changes are necessary, how will they be communicated to team members, and to your wider community? As your organization plans, why not step back, think twice before you make final decisions (just to be certain you are certain), and then move forward? If cuts are inevitable, what positive change might you add around them, in order to lessen the blow? Every decision involving people brings great emotion. Be proactive.

It’s the product: Let’s be very clear: The golf course is the product. Even in tough times, golfers want great greens as well as good tee boxes and lush fairways. If sacrifice is part of the plan, look to do it where it might not be front and center. The golf course is why they come. Work with your superintendent on doing all that can be done for the playing conditions while partnering with them on challenges that may lie ahead. In every department, it is important to invite your team of experts in to help you understand what matters. Expect every leader to help.

It’s expectations: Members have expectations, as do guests, employees, and even your suppliers. Everyone understands the state of the economy. Still, as you move forward, it’s important, I believe, to create a communication program for all in your community in order to more closely manage expectations and remain in front of the issues. Every one of these people has a personal stake in the club, from golf course conditions to the dues structure, to the question of whether someone will remain an active vendor; people want to know the future. When change happens, open communication should not be far behind. 

As you prepare for the new season, these three points are, I believe, important to everything that makes up your club. That includes the culture, size, and quality of your membership, as well as the speed and willingness of your staff. Whether the decisions you plan are major or not, the people of your community deserve to know the story as soon as it is appropriate. As leader, you carry the plan, the message, and the energy. Make it all work for the mission in 2024. Thank you.

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Jack Dillon writes the In My Opinion posts. Jack is a longtime consultant, speaker, and writer. His new book, The Grand Tug of War: buying and selling in the Real World is available on Amazon. If you want to improve your 2024, connect with Jack soon. He is available to help support your plan and improve your team. Set up a FREE Zoom call with Jack. Connect with Jack at www.youdontknowjackd.com.