Professional club management began when Bob Dedman created Club Corporation in the 1950’s. Dedman was famous for saying, “The club business is nobody's business because it's nobody's business.” In many ways this rings just as true today as it did then.

PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT IS NOW PROFESSIONAL

Years ago people associated many management companies with a slash and burn mentality, poor service, and less than elite properties. This has changed. Professional management companies now operate some of the most highly reputable and ranked properties in the U.S. and overseas.

For private clubs, hiring a management company seemed inconsistent with their image and often felt like an admission of failure. This has also changed, as more elite properties now engage management specialists to help them improve their performance and member and customer experiences.

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THE SEVEN KEY BENEFITS OF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE

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1. SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE

 A professional management company will bring substantial experience to the table. Their clients will include member-owned clubs, developers, hotels, private equity groups, and wealthy individuals, so they will have been exposed to every situation and type of club imaginable. This broad experience will bring new ideas, a fresh prospective, and plethora of best practices to the club.

2. ECONOMIES OF SCALE

The larger professional management companies receive the lowest pricing from industry vendors and much better than any property can do on their own. Whether it is equipment, merchandise, food and beverage, IT services, supplies, health or property insurance, etc., the savings a company offers sometimes pays for the management fee.

3. DEPTH OF EXPERTISE

The top management companies have principals and managers who are experts in every area of club and property management. This is the wealth of specialists - a whole team – that assists the owner, the General Manager, and the staff.

4. PROVEN MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

The best companies have developed proprietary management systems – a franchise so to speak – that can be tailored to each specific property. These platforms include accounting, training, software platforms, human resources, sophisticated financial models and budgets, agronomic standards, technology, market analytics, inventory management, membership sales and retention, etc.

5. A BUSINESS MENTALITY

Many member and developer owned private clubs are notorious for overspending and operating inefficiently. What industry professionals have learned to do is to operate a club like a business and in most cases, profitably, without any diminution in the members’ or customers’ experience, service levels, or course conditions. This mentality is an attribute that can change the bottom line and financial health of a club substantially.

6. HAPPIER BOARDS

While the professional management group and the General Manager are operating the property according to the member’s wishes, the Board members will be able to focus on the important high level issues and long-term goals of  the club. Ironically, it also frees them up to enjoy the club, which is why they joined in the first place.

7. INNOVATION AND CHANGE

Good companies are innovating, staying on top of recent trends, and offering creative solutions to their clients. This can be everything from progressive membership structures, to greatly expanded lifestyles and activities, embracing new technologies, training and education, etc. Because most companies have experience on the for-profit side of the business too, they have learned to think like entrepreneurs and owners as well.

Of course, Bobby Jones Links checks all seven of these. We’d love to tell you more