April 17, 2025 – Krefeld, Germany The Golf & Country Club Elfrather Mühle, a standout facility in the Lower Rhine region, is pleased to announce a new partnership with 59club, the international leader in customer service benchmarking and staff training for the golf and hospitality industry. This collaboration marks a significant step in the club’s continuous efforts to provide its members and guests with exceptional service across all touchpoints.
Located on the grounds of a beautifully restored windmill built in 1923, Elfrather Mühle is home to an 18-hole championship course designed by Ron Kirby. The venue also boasts a proud tournament heritage, having hosted numerous professional events where golf stars like Martin Kaymer made early impressions on the global stage.
Beyond the fairways, the club is equally renowned for its hospitality—especially the acclaimed on-site restaurant, which is a popular destination for both golfers and locals alike. Known for its stylish atmosphere and excellent cuisine, the restaurant is a key part of the overall experience the club is proud to deliver.
Through its partnership with 59club, Elfrather Mühle will implement a series of performance measurement tools, including mystery guest audits and tailored training sessions. These efforts aim to further refine the club’s service culture and ensure consistently high standards.
“Our focus is always on creating unforgettable experiences,” said Amadora Fernandez, Managing Director of Golf & Country Club Elfrather Mühle. “Working with 59club gives us the data and support we need to keep growing and delivering the quality our members and guests expect.”
James Jewell, Managing Director of 59club Europe Central & East, added: “Elfrather Mühle is a fantastic club with a strong reputation. We’re excited to support their journey toward even greater service excellence.”
This partnership is a clear signal of Elfrather Mühle’s ongoing commitment to innovation and member & guest satisfaction, both on and off the course.
For more information, please contact: Golf & Country Club Elfrather Mühle An der Elfrather Mühle 145 47802 Krefeld, Germany Phone: +49 2151 49690 Email: info@gcem.de Website: www.gcem.de
Golfclub Montfort Rankweil, set against the stunning backdrop of the Vorarlberg Rhine Valley, is proud to announce a new partnership with 59club, the leading provider of customer experience benchmarking and performance measurement for the golf and hospitality industry.
Through a series of detailed mystery shopper audits, the club will gain objective insights into key operational areas such as staff attitude, service processes, facility presentation, and sales effectiveness — all with the goal of identifying clear opportunities for further enhancement.
Founded in 2005, Golfclub Montfort Rankweil features an 18-hole championship course designed by Diethard Fahrenleitner, celebrated for its natural integration into the surrounding landscape and its enjoyable yet challenging layout for golfers of all levels.
“Our aim is to continue offering an outstanding experience for every member and guest — on and off the course,” said Christoph Fröhle, Geschäftsführer of Golfclub Montfort Rankweil. “Working with 59club gives us an independent view of our service delivery, helping us recognize strengths and uncover areas where we can further sharpen our performance.”
James Jewell, Managing Director of 59club Europe Central & East, commented: “Golfclub Montfort Rankweil is a fantastic venue with a forward-thinking management team. We’re excited to support them with actionable insights to help fine-tune their service culture and sales performance even further.”
This partnership reflects Golfclub Montfort Rankweil’s ongoing commitment to delivering first-class golf experiences and ensuring continuous development across all areas of the club.
As one of Europe’s leading golf destinations, Costa Navarino recently celebrated a proud achievement at the 59club European Service Excellence Awards. We sat down with David Ashington, General Manager of Golf, to reflect on what the recognition means to the team and how their partnership with 59club Europe South has helped raise the bar in service, operations, and performance.
A Moment of Pride for the Team
Speaking about the significance of the award, David shared: “It is a proud moment for the whole team who have been so fully focused and dedicated towards delivering the best experiences to our guests. Their attitude, passion and commitment has been notable and consistent for the entire season. The awards are extremely motivational to our teams across all four golf courses to continue this journey of regularly reviewing our processes and journey through the lens of the client.”
Transforming Operations with Training and Insight
David also reflected on how the 59club partnership has tangibly impacted day-to-day operations: “Hosting regular trainings in between our main seasons has been invaluable. This allows our teams to fully understand the opportunities we have to evolve our customer journey whilst regularly reminding our teams of the guests’ expectations. We noticed an improved focus from all teams towards their respective responsibilities and the impact it can make to our guests’ experience.”
Why 59club? A Data-Driven, Client-Centric Approach
When asked what initially drew Costa Navarino to 59club, David pointed to the structure and philosophy behind the service: “It was the comprehensive systems in place at 59club with the Measure, Train, Support philosophy. Having exacting data at your fingertips to fully analyze the journey of your client and the opportunities to review and enhance experiences.”
He adds that beyond day-to-day improvements, the data has helped shape strategic decisions: “The data is also extremely helpful towards showcasing to our stakeholders the reasons required for certain investment needs and how this impacts and improves our guest experience.”
As Costa Navarino continues its journey of service excellence, it’s clear that teamwork, insight, and innovation are driving forces behind their award-winning success.
59club Europe South are delighted to welcome Roda Golf to their growing portfolio of leading golf destinations across the continent. Located on the stunning Costa Cálida, Roda Golf has long been recognised for its dedication to quality and guest satisfaction. As the club approaches its 20th anniversary, this new partnership marks a significant step in its ongoing journey to elevate service standards and enhance the overall guest and member experience.
“As we approach our 20th anniversary in 2026, Roda Golf reaffirms its commitment to excellence. Following significant investment in new machinery and the ongoing enhancement of our facilities in recent years, we are taking another major step by joining forces with 59club, the industry leading benchmark in measuring customer experiences. This strategic partnership will support us in raising our quality standards even further, ensuring that every visit is defined by outstanding service, personalized attention, and meticulous detail” says Director of Golf – Jose Antonio Hernandez Ballesteros
Complementing this commitment to excellence, Roda Golf is set to introduce 10 Toptracer screens to its practice facilities in mid-June. This cutting-edge technology will provide players with a more interactive, engaging, and professional training environment. As part of its continued evolution into a well-rounded sports and leisure destination, the club is also expanding its amenities with the development of new padel and pickleball courts. Scheduled to open during the summer, these additions will further diversify Roda Golf’s recreational offering and enhance the overall member and guest experience.
General Manager of 59club Europe South, Lee Mathew Waggott said, “We’re thrilled to welcome Roda Golf to the 59club Europe South family. Their clear dedication to continuous improvement and guest satisfaction makes them an ideal partner, and we look forward to supporting their journey toward even greater levels of excellence.”
Set along the scenic northeast coast of Mallorca, Club de Golf Son Servera has officially partnered with 59club Europe South, marking an exciting new chapter in its ongoing commitment to excellence in golf, service, and hospitality.
Rooted in a warm and welcoming atmosphere, Son Servera prides itself on delivering service that feels both familiar and first-class. “We are committed to continuously enhancing the experience of our guests and members, striving to deliver exceptional service that feels both familiar and top-quality. Our goal is to make every guest feel like a valued member while enjoying their time with us,” said Stefano Bortolotti, General Manager.
Looking ahead to 2025, Son Servera is embracing a forward-thinking approach through key innovations including the introduction of 59club, Tagmarshal technology and further investments include a 1.3 million euro TORO machinery fleet, a fully renovated Clubhouse Terrace, and a new Premium Club Car buggy fleet equipped with GPS, coolers, and Mallorca’s first built-in security boxes.
We are delighted to welcome the team onboard and look forward to supporting them throughout 2025 and beyond.
La Hacienda Links Golf Resort is proud to announce its recent recognition at the esteemed 59club European Service Excellence Awards, an event that celebrates the best in customer service and operational excellence across the golf and hospitality industry.
Hosted in the stunning setting of Ombria Algarve this March, the awards brought together leading venues from across Europe. Among the winners was La Hacienda Links Golf Resort, who collected an Individual Leading Experience in Retail and a Silver Flag Designation for the second consecutive year.
Fernando Padron, General Manager of Golf at La Hacienda, expressed the team’s excitement and pride in receiving this accolade:
“We are very happy and excited about this award, which is a recognition of the team’s continued effort to achieve excellence in service. This award means a lot to our team as it encourages us to continue on this way, which we are convinced is the right one to reach our goals.”
“Since we started working with 59club, we have been able to better measure our results and make the right decisions,”
Since partnering with 59club, La Hacienda has seen tangible improvements in both team performance and guest satisfaction.
“Since we started working with 59club, we have been able to better measure our results and make the right decisions,” Padron added. “It is a great help for our daily operations and for our sales strategy, while also making the team more cohesive and motivated.”
This prestigious award marks another milestone for La Hacienda Links Golf Resort as it continues to position itself among the elite golf destinations in Europe, offering not only world-class facilities but also a dedication to service that sets a new benchmark in the industry.
Set against the breath-taking backdrop of Sicily’s sun-drenched southern coast, the iconic Verdura Resort proudly joins forces with 59club Europe South as its newest partner venue. With a world-class golf offering and a deep cultural heritage, Verdura continues to raise the standard for luxury and service in the Mediterranean.
Verdura Resort, a Rocco Forte property, is one of Europe’s leading golf and lifestyle destinations on Sicily’s stunning southern coast. Home to 45 holes of championship links golf designed by Kyle Phillips, the courses offer an unforgettable experience across 230 hectares of Mediterranean landscape. In the last 6 months, the luxury five-star resort has undergone an impressive €9m renovation, covering each of the 3 golf courses, all food & beverage outlets, and the lobby area. Verdura will launch its brand new Golf Lounge later this month. These investments highlight Rocco Forte’s commitment to offering a world class golf product for all guests to enjoy.
By partnering with 59club Europe South, Verdura Resort gains access to a wealth of customer experience data and performance analytics across its golf and hospitality operations. This strategic collaboration will empower the Verdura team to further elevate every guest interaction—ensuring that excellence remains the standard throughout the entire customer journey.
“Verdura Resort is in the midst of very exciting developments, and working with 59club will ensure we continue our reputation of exceeding guest expectations across the property.”
Blair Harvey, Golf Director of Sales & Marketing at Rocco Forte Hotels, remarked: “Rocco Forte Hotels maintain the pride of offering the highest level of service and unforgettable experiences to guests at all properties. Verdura Resort is in the midst of very exciting developments, and working with 59club will ensure we continue our reputation of exceeding guest expectations across the property.”
Lee Mathew Waggott, General Manager of 59club Europe South, added: “We are delighted & privileged to partner with Verdura Resort. We are excited to provide unmatched insights into the holistic guest journey, supporting the team to push the boundaries on experiences being delivered in Italy and continental Europe.”
The best in golf and hospitality were honoured at the 59club Europe Service Excellence Awards, held on March 27-28, 2025, at Ombria Algarve, Portugal. Industry leaders from across Europe gathered to celebrate outstanding customer service and operational excellence – all with the aspiration of claiming a prestigious service excellence award.
Foto: 59club Award Winners 2025
Guests were greeted with panoramic views over the majestic hills, as The Ombria Algarve Resort in Portugal, provided the perfect backdrop to celebrate outstanding customer service and operational excellence, and to honour the finest performers of the year.
59club’s awards are based on impartial mystery shopping audits, evaluating real customer experiences against objective benchmarking criteria. This ensures that only the most dedicated and authentic venues, teams, and individuals receive recognition for their commitment to service excellence.
On the night, 15 awards were presented to individuals, managers, and teams who delivered the best one-off experiences across 59club’s three European divisions: Nordic, West & South. Additionally, five major awards were given to clubs that consistently maintained elite service levels throughout 2024.
The evening concluded with the prestigious Gold, Silver, and Bronze Flag Designations, a global industry title honouring golf clubs and resorts that deliver exceptional facilities and world-class service to their members and guests.
Celebrating Excellence
In the main European arena, Costa Navarino emerged as the big winner, securing accolades for both Golf Operations Team of the Year and Golf Manager of the Year, claimed by David Ashington.
Staying with the main European titles, Rutger Smits from The Dutch was named European Food & Beverage Manager of the Year, with Carmen Laguna Aguilar from Son Muntaner awarded European Retail Manager of the Year.
Finally, Russell Anderson from The Scandinavian in Denmark joined the European winners when he was crowned 59club’s European Greenkeeper of the Year.
The evening also celebrated regional individual moments of service excellence across the customer journey, with winners recognized in various categories.
Shining a light on 59club Nordic, Estonian Golf & Country Club enjoyed their share of the celebrations having bagged two regional awards after being named Nordic’s Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience & Leading Individual Retail Experience.
The Scandinavian was victorious for delivering Nordic’s Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation, with Esbjerg Golfklub claiming Nordic’s Leading Individual Golf Operations Team award, and finally Ljunghusens Golfklubb won Nordic’s Leading Individual Golf Experience award.
Heading over the border, the properties within Europe West’s region were next to celebrate with Golf de Terre Blanche enjoying a treble helping of crystalware having been crowned Europe West’s Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation, Leading Individual Retail Experience & Leading Individual Golf Operations Team.
Staying with Europe West, their Individual Food & Beverage Experience award was presented to Golf de Servanes. The Leading Individual Golf Experience accolade went to The Dutch.
Finally, Europe South enjoyed their time in the spotlight, and celebrated another treble winner, after Costa Navarino was awarded Leading Individual Golf Operations Team & Leading Individual Golf Experience while sharing the Leading Individual Retail Experience award with Costa Navarino / ES – La Hacienda / ES – Golf de Andratx.
Son Muntaner celebrated being named Europe South’s Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience, and the region’s Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation was presented to Pirin Golf Resort.
Beyond Europe 59club has already celebrated service excellence in the USA, Canada & the Middle East & Africa & UK & Ireland with Asia and Australia & New Zealand set to crown their award winners in the coming months, further reinforcing 59club’s global commitment to elevating customer service standards across the golf, leisure & hospitality industry.
The pinnacle of these awards will see a number of regional winners invited to represent their club and Country at 59club’s first ever Global Awards, taking place later this summer at World renowned The Belfry Hotel & Resort, in the UK.
59CLUB EUROPE ‘SERVICE EXCELLENCE’ AWARD WINNERS:
Food & Beverage Manager of the Year: Rutger Smits (The Dutch) Retail Manager of the Year: Carmen Laguna Aguilar (Son Muntaner) Greenkeeper of the Year: Russell Anderson (The Scandinavian) Golf Operations Team of the Year: Costa Navarino Golf Manager of the Year: David Ashington (Costa Navarino)
59club Leading Individual Experience Award – Regional Winners:
Europe South – Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience: Son Muntaner Europe South – Leading Individual Retail Experience: Costa Navarino / ES – La Hacienda / ES – Golf de Andratx Europe South – Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation: Pirin Golf Resort Europe South – Leading Individual Golf Operations Team: Costa Navarino Europe South – Leading Individual Golf Experience: Costa Navarino
Europe West – Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience: Golf de Servanes Europe West – Leading Individual Retail Experience: Terre Blanche Golf Europe West – Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation: Terre Blanche Golf Europe West – Leading Individual Golf Operations Team: Terre Blanche Golf Europe West – Leading Individual Golf Experience: The Dutch
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience: Estonian Golf & Country Club Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Retail Experience: Estonian Golf & Country Club Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation: The Scandinavian Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Golf Operations Team: Esbjerg Golfklub Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Golf Experience: Ljunghusens Golfklubb
59CLUB EUROPE FLAG DESIGNATION
BRONZE FLAG DESIGNATION: Son Quint, PGA Argentario, Valle Romano, Marco Simone, Emporda Golf Resort, Ombria, Opio Valbonne Golf Resort, Golf de Roquebrune, Royal Palm Marrakech, Golf d’Hardelot, Linna Golf, Aalborg Golf Klub, Kytäjä Golf.
SILVER FLAG DESIGNATION: Club de Golf Alcanada, INFINITUM, Pula Golf Resort, Son Vida, Quinta do Lago, Golf de Andratx, La Hacienda Links Golf Resort, Le Touquet Golf Resort, Esbjerg Golfklub, Pickala Golf, Estonian Golf & Country Club, Ljunghusens Golfklubb.
GOLD FLAG DESIGNATION: Finca Cortesin, Son Muntaner, Camiral Golf & Wellness, Costa Navarino & PGA Aphrodite Hills, Terre Blanche, Le Golf National, The Dutch, Golf Club St. Leon-Rot, The Scandinavian.
Pacesetter Technology, a leading innovator in mobile technology for private clubs, has announced a strategic partnership with 59club, the industry’s customer service management specialist. The collaboration is driven by a shared mission: helping clubs elevate their customer experience through cutting-edge technology and data-driven insights.
By integrating Pacesetter’s advanced mobile solutions with 59club’s industry-leading analytics and training programs, this partnership will set a new standard for club operations and customer experience. Club leaders will gain real-time access to key performance data, training materials, and access to industry events, enabling them to make more informed decisions and deliver exceptional service.
“I am so excited to start this partnership with Pacesetter,” said Simon Wordsworth, Founder of 59club. “Their product and aspirations match exactly what 59club is all about. Over the next few years, the mobile experience delivered by Pacesetter will dramatically change the way our clients interact with 59club. We will be able to support our venues as they strive for excellence by providing mobile access to results, events, training materials, and much more. In addition, 59club will look to support Pacesetter clients with the data they need to be the best club for their members, and the best employer possible. This partnership is just a perfect match—two companies at the top of their fields, striving for better.”
Pacesetter Technology’s innovative mobile solutions are already transforming club experiences, enhancing personalization, and streamlining operations. By joining forces with 59club, clubs will have unprecedented access to both cutting-edge technology and world-class training resources, allowing them to raise service levels and drive member and guest satisfaction.
“We’re thrilled to partner with 59club,” said George Stavros, CEO of Pacesetter Technology. “Our technology, coupled with the deep industry knowledge and training from the team at 59club, is a perfect fit. Aligning our shared values exponentially helps us both raise the bar on the member experience.”
This partnership underscores both companies’ long term commitment to innovation and service excellence, ensuring that golf clubs & resorts have the tools and insights necessary to thrive in a competitive landscape. For more information about Pacesetter Technology, visit www.pacesettertechnology.com. To learn more about 59club, visit www.59club.com.
Heitlinger Hof, a premier luxury resort in Southern Germany’s Kraichgau region, has formed a new partnership with 59club, the global leader in customer service assessment and sales performance optimization. The collaboration, directed by Warren and Christine Jacklin, Owners and Managers of Heitlinger Hof, will see the implementation of mystery guest testing and tailored service improvement strategies to enhance both hotel and golf operations, while driving cross-selling opportunities for guests.
Renowned for its seamless blend of high-end hospitality, golf, and wine experiences, Heitlinger Hof is set amidst the stunning backdrop of biodynamic vineyards and offers a luxurious spa, gourmet dining, and exclusive wine tastings. Under the ownership of the Jacklins, the resort has consistently maintained a reputation for delivering superior guest experiences (Heitlinger Genusswelten).
With 59club’s support, Heitlinger Hof will deepen its commitment to service excellence through a detailed assessment of guest interactions and service touchpoints. By using 59club’s renowned mystery tests, the resort aims to maximize guest satisfaction and leverage cross-selling opportunities across its various offerings.
Warren and Christine Jacklin, Owners and Managers of Heitlinger Hof, commented on the partnership:
“We are delighted to collaborate with 59club to take our service standards to the next level. By viewing our resort through the lens of our guests, we will continue to enhance their experience and increase opportunities for cross-selling across our hotel, golf, and wine offerings.”
James Jewell, Director of 59club Central & East, added:
“Heitlinger Hof is a truly special property with a unique combination of experiences. We are excited to support Warren and Christine in their efforts to elevate customer service across the resort and ensure that every guest enjoys a seamless, first-class experience.”
This collaboration underscores Heitlinger Hof’s dedication to maintaining its leadership in luxury hospitality, blending world-class service with unmatched amenities.
About Heitlinger Hof: Heitlinger Hof is a luxury resort in Germany’s Kraichgau region, offering a seamless blend of high-end hospitality, golf, and wine experiences. Surrounded by biodynamic vineyards, the resort features a spa, gourmet dining, and exclusive wine tastings, delivering exceptional guest experiences. [Heitlinger Genusswelten]
About 59club: 59club is the global leader in customer service benchmarking and sales performance analysis for the golf, leisure, and hospitality industries. Through mystery shopping, training, and data-driven insights, 59club helps businesses elevate service excellence and optimize revenue opportunities. [59club]
James Jewell, Geschäftsführer, 59club Central Europe & East
📍 Bonn, 17.02.2025 – 59club Europe Central & East, a leading provider of customer service benchmarking and training solutions for the golf and hospitality industries, has announced a strategic partnership with Cart Care Company and its subsidiary IOTee, a provider of innovative IoT solutions for golf cart and fleet management.
Why This Partnership Matters
This collaboration brings together two companies with a shared vision: empowering golf clubs to make better business decisions using data and technology. 59club and IOTee are now preferred partners, promoting each other’s services to help clubs in Germany, Austria, and Denmark improve service quality and profitability.
How Golf Clubs Benefit
🔹 Maximize Fleet Revenue – IOTee’s software helps clubs unlock their fleet’s true earning potential. 🔹 Improve Decision-Making – 59club’s benchmarking tools provide real, objective data to shape club strategies. 🔹 Enhance Customer Experience – Data-driven insights help clubs optimize service delivery for members and guests. 🔹 Increase Operational Efficiency – A smarter approach to fleet management and customer service.
Expert Insights
💬 James Jewell, Managing Director, 59club Europe Central & East: “When Sam from IOTee demonstrated their software, it was immediately clear how its features help clubs increase the earning potential of their fleets while understanding their true operational needs. Similarly, through our testing schedules, golf clubs gain real, objective data that shapes decision-making, improving service delivery and financial performance.”
💬 Frank Ockens, Director, Cart Care Company: “This partnership allows us to showcase how technology and benchmarking can transform golf club operations. Together, we’re helping clubs turn insights into action—improving not only service standards but also financial performance.”
Turning Data into Action
By combining IOTee’s advanced IoT solutions with 59club’s expertise in customer service performance measurement, golf clubs receive tailored recommendations backed by real-time, objective data. This ensures more strategic, impactful decisions—helping clubs thrive in an increasingly competitive market.
59club Europe South, the leading provider of customer experience benchmarking and improvement solutions for the golf, leisure, retail, and hospitality industries, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Pedro Bibiloni Iso as its new Operations Manager.
Pedro brings over a decade of experience in hotels, golf, and hospitality, along with a deep passion for delivering exceptional guest experiences. His extensive knowledge and commitment to service excellence will be instrumental in supporting 59club Europe South’s continued growth and success.
Expressing his excitement about joining the team, Pedro shared:
“I am excited to embark on this new chapter as Operations Manager at 59club Europe South. With a strong background in hotels and golf, I look forward to using my experience to drive innovation and growth in the industry. Collaborating with such a talented team is truly inspiring, and I can’t wait to make a meaningful impact!”
Lee Mathew Waggott, General Manager of 59club Europe South, added:
“We are delighted to welcome Pedro to the team at such a pivotal time of growth for 59club Europe South. As we expand, his expertise and leadership will play a key role in strengthening our presence—particularly in Spain—while also supporting other regions. His passion for excellence aligns perfectly with our mission to elevate service standards across the industry. We look forward to deepening our partnerships with affiliate properties and welcoming new venues into the 59club network, all driven by a shared commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences.”
With Pedro’s expertise and dedication, 59club Europe South is well-positioned to continue setting new benchmarks in customer experience and operational excellence across the region.
The nominees for 59club’s European Service Excellence Awards have today been announced, with many of the Leading Golf & Hospitality Properties across Europe making the shortlist. The winners will be unveiled during the second edition of the prestigious awards ceremony, at Ombria Algarve on Thursday 27th March 2025.
59club’s prestigious accolades honour outstanding Venues, Teams, and Individuals in the global golf & hospitality industry consistently delivering exceptional customer experiences for members and guests.
The selection process remains unbiased, relying on scores attained through an in-depth and objective mystery shopping program. This program meticulously evaluates the experiences provided to members, visitors, and potential members across Golf, Greenkeeping, Retail, and F&B operations.
Highlighting Excellence in Service
This year, Europe’s top golf resorts and member clubs have once again earned multiple nominations. Among the frontrunners, Costa Navarino and Le Touquet Golf Resort have achieved notable recognition for their dedication to delivering world-class service. Other celebrated venues, such as Camiral Golf & Wellness, The Dutch, Finca Cortesin, The Scandinavian and Terre Blanche, stand out for their contributions to the industry and their commitment to elevating the customer experience.
The awards will also honour individual excellence, recognizing the best Food & Beverage Managers, Retail Managers, Greenkeepers, Golf Operations Teams, and Golf Managers of the year. Furthermore, the ceremony will spotlight the finest individual moments across the customer journey, with regional awards presented for standout performances in Europe South, West, Central and Nordic regions.
A Night to Celebrate
The glittering award ceremony, which is supported by 59club’s Industry Partners – Turtleson Apparel, Club Car and Golf Genius will conclude with the presentation of the 59club Bronze, Silver and Gold Flag awards to the Resorts and Members’ Clubs which have demonstrated distinction against criteria for both customer service delivery and the quality of their facilities.
Simon Wordsworth, CEO of 59club, expressed his excitement ahead of the event: “The Service Excellence Awards provide an opportunity to celebrate the incredible achievements of our clients and their teams. It is inspiring to see how these venues continue to set the standard for excellence in our industry. We look forward to sharing in their success and supporting them on their journey to even greater heights.”
*For the full list of nominations, see below.
59CLUB EUROPE ‘SERVICE EXCELLENCE’ AWARD NOMINATIONS (in alphabetical order):
Food & Beverage Manager of the Year:
Audrey NICOL (Golf de la Grande Bastide); Cédric RAVAZ (Le Touquet Golf Resort); Jean BADÉA (Golf de Servanes); Joris LARIGALDIE (Costa Navarino – Dunes & Hills); Kersti KUUS (Estonian Golf & Country Club); Nicole EBNER (Costa Navarino – Bay); Rutger SMITS (The Dutch)
Cédric LE VÉZIEL (Le Touquet Golf Resort); Daniel LÜTTGER (Golf Club St. Leon-Rot); Ignacio SOTO (Finca Cortesin); Lucas PIERRÉ (Le Golf National); Paul O DONOGHUE (The Dutch); Russell ANDERSON (The Scandinavian)
Golf Operations Team of the Year:
Camiral Golf & Wellness; Costa Navarino; Old Course Vilamoura; Finca Cortesin; Terre Blanche; The Dutch
Golf Manager of the Year:
David ASHINGTON (Costa Navarino); Flavio PAPA (Camiral Golf & Wellness); Joaquin MORA BERTRAN (Infinitum); Jose Ignacio OLEA ZORITA (Finca Cortesin); Kristoff BOTH (Club de Golf Alcanada); Phil HELSBY (The Dutch)
59CLUB EUROPE ‘SERVICE EXCELLENCE’ AWARD NOMINATIONS – Leading Individual Experience (in alphabetical order):
Europe South – Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience:
Castro Marim Golfe & Country Club; Costa Navarino – Bay; Costa Navarino – Hills; Ombria Algarve; Son Muntaner; Son Quint
Europe South – Leading Individual Retail Experience:
Costa Navarino; Laguna Vilamoura; Golf de Andratx; La Hacienda Resort; Pula Golf
Europe South – Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation:
Camiral Golf & Wellness – Stadium Course; Club de Golf Alcanada; Finca Cortesin; Marco Simone; Pirin Golf Resort; Son Muntaner
Europe South – Leading Individual Golf Operations Team:
Aphrodite Hills; Camiral Golf & Wellness; Costa Navarino; Old Course Vilamoura; Ombria Algarve
Europe South – Leading Individual Golf Visit Experience:
Aphrodite Hills; Camiral Golf & Wellness; Club de Golf Alcanada; Costa Navarino; Finca Cortesin
Europe West – Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience:
Golf de Servanes; Le Touquet Golf Resort; Opio Valbonne Golf Resort; Royal Palm Marrakech; The Dutch
Europe West – Leading Individual Retail Experience:
Golf de la Grande Bastide; Le Touquet Golf Resort; Opio Valbonne Golf Resort; Royal Palm Marrakech; Terre Blanche
Europe West – Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation:
AA Saint-Omer Golf Club; Golf de Chantilly – Vineuil; Le Golf National – L’Albatros Course; Lyon Salvagny Golf Club; Terre Blanche – Le château; The Dutch
Europe West – Leading Individual Golf Operations Team:
Golf de Sainte Baume; Le Touquet Golf Resort; Opio Valbonne Golf Resort; Terre Blanche; The Dutch
Europe West – Leading Individual Golf Visit Experience:
Golf de Roquebrune; Le Golf National; Le Touquet Golf Resort; Terre Blanche; The Dutch
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience:
Aalborg Golf Klub; Esbjerg Golfklub; Estonian Golf & Country Club; Ljunghusens Golfklubb; Stensballegaard Golf
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Retail Experience:
Aalborg Golf Klub; Esbjerg Golfklub; Estonian Golf & Country Club; Pickala Golf; The Scandinavian
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation:
Aalborg Golf Klub; Esbjerg Golfklub – Marbæk By Norsea Course; Kytäjä Golf – South West Course; Ljunghusens Golfklubb; Miklagard Golf; The Scandinavian – Old Course
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Golf Operations Team:
Aalborg Golf Klub; Esbjerg Golfklub; Estonian Golf & Country Club; Linna Golf; Pickala Golf; The Scandinavian
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Golf Visit Experience:
Aalborg Golf Klub; Esbjerg Golfklub; Estonian Golf & Country Club; Ljunghusens Golfklubb; The Scandinavian
Don’t wait any longer to register and reserve your place to experience this unmissable event : 🔗 https://shorturl.at/RPm2Y
The Finest Properties & Leaders Iconised with Eminent Status in 2024.
The latest properties and leaders from the world of golf & hospitality have been welcomed into 59club’s ‘Eminent Collection’ at two exclusive events, hosted at Park Hyatt, Dubai Creek; and at The Belfry Hotel & Resort on the 19th and 21st of November 2024, respectively.
The intimate ceremonies brought existing members, 59club’s regional teams and industry partners in Club Car, Reesink Toro & Turtleson together to welcome the newcomers into the prestigious Collection.
Glenn McNaughton (Long Ashton Golf Club), Jack Heginbotham (Long Ashton Golf Club), Kristoff Both (Club de Golf Alcanada) and Matt Sandercock (Mount Juliet Estate)were amongst the Leaders who were awarded the enviable title, with the newcomers joining thirty-one existing individuals who were honored with Eminent Status in previous years since its formation in 2022.
With Club de Golf Alcanada; The Els Club, Dubai; Frilford Heath; Jumeirah Golf Estates; The Mere Golf Resort & Spa and Mount Juliet Estate the latest Properties recognised for having met the demands synonymous with the Eminent benchmark of excellence.
With the newcomers officially welcomed, the elite collection of Properties iconised for their commitment to customer service excellence spanning 59club’s international network in 2024 now includes The Belfry Hotel & Resort; The Celtic Manor Resort; Spa; Club de Golf Alcanada; Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club; Emirates Golf Club; Forest of Arden; Foxhills Club & Resort; Frilford Heath; Gleneagles; Golf Son Muntaner; Jumeirah Golf Estates; The Els Club, Dubai; The Grove; The Mere Golf Resort & Mount Juliet Estate; Rockliffe Hall; Saadiyat Beach Golf Club; Trump International Golf Club, Dubai; and Yas links, Abu Dhabi.
“Together we’ve pushed the boundaries and set the ceiling for what excellence is all about. It’s a privilege to come together once again with the people we are proud to call the best of the best. I sincerely look forward to supporting other managers and venues to excel in the Business of Golf, ultimately by exceeding customer expectations and reaping the rewards. The sky’s the limit for everyone within 59club’s network, and when we start to reach the limit, we’ll all continue to push a whole lot more”
Simon Wordsworth, 59club CEO
The ‘Eminent Collection’ was established in 2022 to honor long-serving standards of customer service excellence delivered over a minimum of 5 years; with 59club Flag Designations, along with individual and team accolades, all contributing towards the global Eminent benchmark of excellence.
Recognition is unbiased, independent, and non-subjective, the only industry award of its kind, symbolizing a true badge of honor for those venues and people consistently delivering the finest levels of customer service, during 59club’s vigorous mystery shopper program.
The Belfry Hotel & Resort The Celtic Manor Resort Club de Golf Alcanada Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club The Els Club, Dubai Emirates Golf Club Foxhills Club & Resort Frilford Heath Gleneagles Golf Son Muntaner The Grove Jumeirah Golf Estates The Mere Golf Resort & Spa Mount Juliet Estate Rockliffe Hall Saadiyat Beach Golf Club Trump International Golf Club, Dubai Yas Links, Abu Dhabi
Andrew Whitelaw Angus Macleod Anna Darnell Barney Coleman Bernat Llobera Brad Gould Casper Schonfeldt Chris Eiglaar Chris Fitt Chris May Chris Reeve Clinton Southorn Craig Haldane Francisco de Lancastre David Fraser Liston Gary Silcock Glen McNaughton Houssem Belabed Jack Heginbotham Jacques Hobson Jason Adams Jim McKenzie MBE Jonathan Wyer Kristoff Both Club Matt Aplin Matt Sandercock Phillip Chiverton Rob Rowson Scott Fenwick Sean Graham Simon Howell Stephen Hindle Stephen Hubner Stuart Collier Tom Hughes
Join us for the prestigious annual 59club Europe Service Excellence Awards 2025, hosted at the breathtaking Ombria Algarve in Portugal.
This highly anticipated event will bring together business leaders and their teams from across Europe to celebrate excellence in the golf and hospitality industries. Recognized as the industry’s ‘Oscars,’ the awards honor the finest individuals, teams, and properties, as evaluated through 59club’s independent mystery shopper program during 2024.
The ceremony will spotlight exceptional achievements, including the crowning of Europe’s top managers in Golf Operations, Food & Beverage, Golf Retail, and Greenkeeping. The evening’s highlight will be the presentation of the prestigious Bronze, Silver, and Gold Flag Designations to properties excelling in customer service and facility standards.
Complementing the awards ceremony, the event will offer unparalleled networking opportunities, both on and off the golf course, and conclude with the annual Golf Day at Ombria Algarve, providing attendees the chance to enjoy one of Portugal’s premier golf resorts’.
Andy Siddall is the Director and Co-Founder of Robincroft Consulting. For 20 years he held leadership roles within both educational environments and professional sport as an elite cricket coach and he has worked as a personal performance coach since 2015.
Personal performance coach Andy Siddall explains his theory behind Deliberate Leadership and how it can help you to achieve your business goals
If you are anything like me that question will annoy you! This is because leadership is so complex and dynamic we shouldn’t be looking to categorise people into boxes and one particular style, but instead recognise that the leaders who possess the most skills and flexibility of styles will be the most effective.
The style of leadership adopted by leaders can significantly impact their team’s motivation and performance, and we will all have natural tendencies for one style over another, a default as it were. But when it comes to the styles that leaders adopt a lot goes into the mix.
Naturally there is their personality, the impact of their cultural background and their experience to consider. Add to this their mindset and the time and space they are in, who they are leading, what needs to be achieved and in what timeframe, and of course, what is at stake.
Plenty has been written on leadership styles and a quick internet search will present you with various links and infographics on the subject. So, for this article, we won’t be duplicating a version of these or muddying the water with lots of approaches, but will list Daniel Goleman’s Six Styles of Leadership as a consideration point:
At Robincroft, we believe in leadership effectiveness and being able to make a positive impact is what it’s all about. With this in mind you may want to consider doing these three things:
1: Reflect on the culture, behaviours and outputs of those you lead. What’s good? What’s not? What needs to be different?
2: Reflect on your own leadership behaviours. What style do you spend most of your time in? Consider how those you lead would describe it, and answer the question of ‘what is it like to be led by you?’
3: Consider what the benefits could be if you adopted different approaches. What skills may you need to develop in order to be more effective?
It’s remarkable how many successful professional sports teams across the globe have had a similar mantra plastered across the walls of their changing room:
‘What does the team need from me now?’ The aim? To impact the decision making and behaviour.
As leaders we urge you to embrace a style of what we call Deliberate Leadership and to adopt a similar mantra by constantly asking yourself: What does my business/team need from me now? Or what does this person need from me now?
Deliberate Leadership is a style that requires both conscious thought and conscious action. It requires you to have a quality assessment of those you lead, which allows you to make quality decisions of what they need.
Deliberate Leadership is both purposeful and flexible, transitioning between styles and approaches depending on what’s required.
Deliberate Leadership is having both a clear intention in our approach and being clear where our attention needs to be to achieve the desired results while helping us grow and develop our employees. Leadership is complex, so don’t just do it – do it deliberately!
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Vic Aliprando is the Senior Vice President of TPC Network Operations. Owned, operated, and licensed by the PGA TOUR, the TPC Network comprises 29 premier private, resort and daily fee golf properties designed by elite architects.
I grew up in Pennsylvania, wanted to work away and ended up in Mississippi on an internship for 20 months for Arnold Palmer Golf Management company. Met some great people, one General Manager there really was my first mentor, and he wrapped his arms around me and took me under his wing. I always remember this one comment: ‘Never forget to take out the trash.’ At the time I didn’t understand what he meant. It means to never think that you above doing any of the jobs. Hospitality is why we’re so successful and I want to help our staff and I’m not afraid to roll up my sleeves and work on any project.
PGA Tour/TPC Network is a global brand associated with excellence. How are you trying to transfer that down through the operations?
Our first club opened in 1980 so we have a long history of standards and deliverables. Back at the beginning the leadership really set the standard for excellence in the golf business and we’ve continued to try and elevate and improve things as we’ve gone by.
We’re now in the midst of creating a new mission statement and tweaking some of the experiences that we’re trying to deliver at some of the clubs. It’s all focused on delivering a PGA Tour player’s lifestyle to our members and guests.
“We have a sales process in all areas of our business and that has always been very relationship driven and requires asking a lot of questions and 59club’s process is a perfect match for that”
Vic Aliprando
What is happening in the private member clubs’ marketplace place for you?
Half of our clubs are private and half of them are daily fee clubs. The private club business is still really good and we’re starting to see some attrition return back to pre-pandemic levels, we’re still not there, and membership sales have slowed down – but frankly we have slowed it down.
We’ve been reaching some capacity levels at some of our clubs, so we’ve had to work to sell only enough to fulfil the attrition that is actually left. The golf business is in a very good place, and we continue to hear that industry wide. I continue to speak to our clubs about the need to wrap our arms around these people who are playing golf, we need to keep them playing the game.
What are you trying to achieve in ‘sharing your brand’ with non-owned but carefully chosen properties?
We really have three different structures within our clubs. We own and operate 11 of the 29, we license and operate five more for other owners and the remaining 13 are purely licence-only clubs. The benefit is getting the credibility that the brand brings to their property.
I was talking to the owner of TPC Danzante Bay, he’s not a golfer and he owns a number of timeshare resorts throughout Mexico but only one with golf. He was talking to a friend who was a big golfer and he asked whether he would travel to a golf resort in Mexico and he said maybe. Then he asked what if it was a TPC and then it was an absolute yes as he knew that it would be great. That flipped a switch, there is credibility and an awareness of very high standards.
What does the TPC Network gain from 59club’s mystery shopping products?
We have a sales process in all areas of our business and that has always been very relationship driven and requires asking a lot of questions and 59club’s process is a perfect match for that. What we weren’t doing is measuring how our salespeople were delivering this and that’s what 59club can do for us with the mystery shoppers.
They will visit as a prospective member or guest and give us a clear scorecard on what we are doing and not doing, and we’ll get the results within weeks.
They will give us a comprehensive review, including images of the property, and test various standards from the initial phone call through to playing the course and analysing the conditioning, all the way to measuring the lunch experience at the end of the round.
How do you calculate the ROI on 59club’s services?
We have had a recent instance where we had a new salesperson and we found that there weren’t a lot of relationship-style questions being asked. So, we utilised 59club to go through a full training of the sales process, that person quickly got the hang of it, and they became one of our top salespeople. And a similar thing happened with a second member of staff.
I’m not going to let them go for as long as I’m in the chair, we’re so confident in their processes, it’s invaluable.
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Chris Eigelaar is Resort Director at The Belfry Hotel & Resort. He has been in the role since 2020, having previously been General Manager. Home of the world famous Brabazon course, the Warwickshire property is going through a significant upgrade.
What is happening at The Belfry?
The leisure club has just over 3,000 members. There are extensive events and conference facilities and three amazing golf courses, one being the iconic Brabazon. We employ about 800 people. Part of my overall responsibility is overseeing the current development. We’re investing £80 million into building an additional 149 bedrooms, 600-seater conference space and, on a separate site, a leisure club.
It’s about managing the projects plus ensuring the business keeps ticking over and we continue to hit our targets from a guest satisfaction, revenue and, ultimately, client perspective.
What are the challenges of running a largescale business with such work going on?
We started our bedroom refurbishment programme in October last year. We refurbed our main hotel, the bedrooms, our Brabazon Bar corridors in the resort and that was fairly challenging because it was affecting our main hub.
It was all about communication – understanding guest flow and really managing the volume of guests coming in. The project ran from October until March and we’ve got the larger scale project happening – the £80 million investment.
It’s managed by two different contractors, both accessing the resort from two different areas. There is no movement and no crossover in the resort. One thing we said from Day Dot was we want no high-vis jackets walking around the car park for our guests to see. It’s fine if they see on arrival, or departure, but as soon as you’re in the main resort you don’t want to see any high-vis jackets. We’ve been very fortunate that, to date, we’ve had minimal impact from a normal delivery perspective. But it’s entirely up to my management team, and the great communication we have with our clients and with our internal team, to ensure we mitigate as much disruption as we possibly can. It’s not easy. It takes a lot of time and effort, but the real challenge is you need to be consistent in your expectations.
There was that first month of myself, my team, walking around ensuring the contractors understand what we expect and making sure we lay that down as quickly as possible and be consistent in asking the same questions and ensuring they deliver.
How do you embrace the change?
We were very focused on the innovation piece. We were very open to people offering change and accepting change and that’s the journey we took our team on three to six months before this development happened. Throughout, we’ve kept all 800 staff members involved in what is happening, what is coming, having town hall, having briefings, to ensure it’s not just what we do as a leadership group.
It affects everybody in the business and it’s ensuring we listen to them if there are any challenges. You’ll be 30% bigger with the development.
Will that change your position in the market?
Our number one priority is retaining our current clients. We retain 70 per cent of our conference and event business. Before we start understanding our new customer base, it’s about retaining the current and taking them on a journey with us.
We will be able to host larger events – our current large capacity is 280 – so we will be fishing in a different pond because of size and scale. Some of our current corporate partners who have outgrown us, and potentially utilise bigger event spaces, we need to have conversations with them to say, ‘come back to The Belfry’. We are building this for you because you said, ‘we need something bigger’.
The crucial thing for us, from a location perspective, is we know there are opportunities to attract key events in London or Manchester.
It’s not about taking anything away from current venues in the Birmingham and the Midlands area – we are very keen to go and find new business and new events that are not currently visiting the Midlands.
What lessons can you share from the planning process?
We know there are going to be some curveballs, and nothing will go entirely smoothly. It’s an 18-month development programme, which includes six months of refurb as well. It’s two years of a lot of changes happening around the resort. It was all about myself, my management team, being agile and adapting as quickly as we can to any challenges given to us or set by construction or third parties and facing it head on. And then it’s talking about it, sharing frustrations, sharing any challenges with one another, coming together and ensuring we deliver it and improve as a team.
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The Viya app allows consumers to book golf and leisure activities across hundreds of venues in Dubai. We asked Julian Danby, Viya’s Director – International Business, to explain how it is driving global business.
What is Viya and its role within your organization?
Viya is our dynamic golf lifestyle loyalty and rewards app, launched in Dubai in 2020 under the umbrella of Dubai Golf. Viya was initially designed to enhance the experience for our golfing community and has since evolved into a powerhouse platform spanning nearly 200 venues. Beyond golf clubs, it now includes leading restaurants, beach clubs, gyms, and a variety of activities like fitness classes, personal training, marinas, and spas. Customers can seamlessly book and pay for services through Viya while earning and redeeming points.
Think of it as your all-access pass to living the good life while earning and splurging points between rounds. I am responsible for redefining Viya to suit international markets and roll out the product globally.
This exciting venture involves adapting Viya’s versatile platform to resonate with diverse cultures and preferences worldwide.
We’re not just aiming to expand geographically; we’re crafting tailored experiences that cater to the unique tastes and expectations of global users. It’s about enhancing accessibility and ensuring that, whether you’re in Dubai or London, Viya remains your ultimate golfing companion.
Who owns Viya and how has it impacted your business?
Viya is proudly owned by Dubai Golf, a leading entity under the Dubai government managing iconic properties such as Emirates Golf Club and Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The impact of Viya on our business has been transformative, especially evident in our recent expansion into Abu Dhabi. Taking charge of venues like Yas Links and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Viya quickly became instrumental in driving revenue.
A standout example is Yas Acres, where Viya facilitated a remarkable 70% of our monthly green fee revenue within just four months of operation.
How do you measure Viya’s success, and what metrics are crucial?
Success for Viya hinges on customer loyalty and engagement metrics. We gauge this through repeat visits, customer referrals and of customer spend habits.
“The impact of Viya on our business has been transformative, especially evident in our recent expansion into Abu Dhabi”
Was it challenging to onboard partners to Viya’s concept?
Fortunately, our established golf facilities in UAE provided a strong foundation and a compelling case for potential partners. As Viya expanded to encompass leisure and lifestyle options, it quickly gained traction in the market.
Clubs and vendors recognized that being part of Viya meant offering excellent value and attracting a dedicated customer base. Viya became the word on the lips of every golfer and their close network of friends, and as such we had vendors knocking on our door wanting to be a part of it.
How do you evaluate the return on investment from your collaboration with 59club?
The return on our investment with 59club is evident in improved staff retention, enhanced service delivery, and the consistent delivery of exceptional experiences. While it’s challenging to quantify in purely financial terms, the value lies in our ability to maintain high standards and implement innovative ideas.
What’s the best advice you’ve received and how does it resonate in your work?
The best advice I received from my dad was: “If a job is not worth doing properly, it is not worth doing at all.” This mantra drives our commitment to excellence in planning, execution, and ensuring we have the right resources and team in place to deliver exceptional results.
It’s the same ethos that lights up our game with 59club, pushing us to wow our customers by reinforcing our dedication to exceed customer expectations and achieve operational excellence.
You’ve collaborated with 59club extensively. Why is this partnership crucial?
Our partnership with 59club, spanning more than a decade, has been pivotal. 59club provides invaluable training and customer feedback that enhances our operational standards. By benchmarking against other clubs internationally, 59club helps us continually raise the bar that keeps our F&B and Golf operations running smoother than a ball on a glassy green
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59club continues to expand its presence in the DACH region and is excited to announce a new partnership with the renowned Golf-Club Pfalz. Known for its stunning landscape and outstanding golfing experience, the club is setting new benchmarks with this collaboration, aiming to further enhance the satisfaction of its members and guests.
At the core of the partnership is the regular analysis of the entire Golf Visitor Experience, combined with tailored training programs for the club’s team. These targeted measures will ensure that Golf-Club Pfalz remains at the forefront of customer service excellence.
Axel Rohr, Vice President of Golf-Club Pfalz, expressed his enthusiasm about the collaboration:
“We are very excited to enter this partnership with 59club to further refine the experience for our members and guests. Through regular evaluations of our services and targeted training for our team, we aim to ensure that Golf-Club Pfalz continues to offer first-class customer service and remains one of the top clubs in the region.”
With the tools and insights provided by 59club, Golf-Club Pfalz will be able to conduct a detailed analysis of its Golf Visitor Experience, maintain high service standards, and uncover new opportunities for development. The goal is to strengthen operational processes while ensuring that all guests and members consistently receive the best possible service.
Neil Lubbock, Director of Golf at Golf-Club Pfalz, added:
“We are proud to create an environment that combines the best of our golf course with top-notch service. With the support of 59club, we can take our service to an entirely new level and further enhance the golfing experience at our club.”
James Jewell, Managing Director of 59club Central & East, commented on the new partnership:
“Golf-Club Pfalz shares our commitment to service excellence, and we are very excited to support them on their journey. We are confident that our partnership will position the club as a leader in customer satisfaction in Southern Germany and beyond.”
As 59club continues its expansion in the DACH region, this partnership highlights the growing demand for outstanding customer service in the golf industry. With a unique combination of tailored guest experience analysis and targeted team training programs, Golf-Club Pfalz is set to strengthen its position as one of Germany’s best golf clubs.
For more information on 59club and its services, click here.
For more information about Golf-Club Pfalz, click here.
Location: Spain including Balearic & Canary Islands (remote with travel)
Closing Date: NA
59club
A Global leader in the provision of service analysis, offering Financial Benchmarking, Mystery Shopper Audits, pioneering Survey and Feedback Software & Staff Training within the Golf, Leisure, Spa, F&B and Hotel Industries.
Market leading software and assessment criteria provides the resources to improve and maintain ‘sales & service’ etiquette, in turn increasing customer satisfaction, revenue & profits in the process.
59club was established in 2007, with a Head Office based in the UK. We are now operating in Continental Europe, the Middle East, Asia, United States, Canada and Australasia. The EU South is based in the Costa del Sol, Spain.
The Role
This role is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Manager to join 59club Europe South, supporting and growing a portfolio of partner venues who are looking to develop their business and the processes behind what they do. The Country Manager is the face of our business, a great communicator and educator, confident in the analysis and presentation of data with the ability to proactively source new opportunities and forge lasting relationships.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
• Proactively manage relationships, contracts and outcomes with key stakeholders
• Creation and delivery of bespoke training content to partner venues
• Seek opportunities to develop the footprint of 59club within primarily within Golf, Spa & Leisure
• Manage a portfolio of existing clients in line with 59club account management protocol
• Support 59club in the creation of content and product development
• Ensure the accuracy and timely presentation of monthly venue reports
• Train, Support and Monitor the work of 59club Testers to ensure delivery of agreed programme
• Support the effective delivery of 59club events and 59club attendance of industry events
• Inspire, motivate and engage customers to maximize opportunities for collaboration
• Adhere to 59club account management procedures, CRM protocol and database controls
• Drive brand awareness within the country and wider region through key marketing strategies
Person Specification
The ideal candidate will possess the majority of attributes listed below:
• A passion for Hospitality and a background working within the industries supported by 59club
• A working knowledge of the 59club Benchmarking Criteria
• Excellent communication and presentation skills (both written and verbal)
• A working knowledge of Resort and Club Operations
• A track record of delivering KPI’s including financials and business development
• Experience in the creation and delivery of training programmes
• Skilled in managing, administering and presenting large quantities of data
• Willingness to travel to meet the needs of the business (including overnight)
• Driving Licence essential
• The candidate must speak both Spanish and English fluently
Application Process
To apply for this role, please complete the short form below attaching a copy of your CV. For any additional questions, please contact Lee Mathew Waggott – General Manager 59club Europe South (lee@59club.com)
For more information about 59club, please visit www.59clubeurope.com
59club the global customer service management specialists have today announced their partnership with leading sportswear brand; Turtleson as they head into 2025.
The partnership has been forged with a shared passion for advancing and modernizing the golf industry, with Turtleson famed for reimagining classic sportswear for modern lifestyles, and 59club synonymous for elevating customer experiences and driving sales performance across the global golf & hospitality industry.
With regional divisions spanning the USA, Canada, UK & Ireland, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, Asia, Australia & New Zealand and Korea; 59club’s global uniform needed to reflect the modern brand whilst affording regional teams the flexibility to accommodate cultural nuances.
Of the partnership Simon Wordworth CEO of 59club said “When our teams take to the road, we want them to stand out in the crowd and be noticed, that’s what attracted us to Turtleson. Their sophisticated color palettes, and modern tailoring sets the bar for quality, style, and versatility. Our uniform is a reflection of our brand, of our values and our commitment to excelling standards in the industry. For us Turtleson are the perfect fit to accompany us around the world as we continue to make positive impactful strides as we enter new markets.”
Since 2011, Turtleson has crafted premium golf lifestyle apparel for private clubs, resorts, and men’s specialty stores around the world. Known for their captivating collections and exceptional service, Turtleson has earned its place as a leading apparel partner in North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Greg Oakley, CEO of Turtleson added “When exploring potential partnerships, we look for companies and brands that share a similar vision. After meeting Simon and the 59club, we realized right away this was company we wanted to be associated with. 59club is known throughout the world as the standard measure of quality service and at Turtleson we work hard everyday to set the benchmark for quality and service in our markets, it just seems like a natural fit”.
For stockists & more information visit turtleson.com or call Anneke Self on (423) 217-4950 or email her: anneke@turtleson.com
For advice regarding 59club’s Customer Service Management solutions please visit 59club.com or reach out to your local 59club Manager
Located in the heart of the Algarve, just 25 minutes from the beach coast, Ombria Algarve is a unique destination combining hotel, real estate, golf, and leisure.
Driven by a vision projected by the finnish company Pontos Group, Ombria opened its 18-hole signature golf course in spring 2023, integrated in a resort that offers a blend of traditional Portuguese village charm and modern luxury under with a 5-star hotel under the esteemed Viceroy Hotel brand.We spoke with Salvador Macedo, the Director of Golf at Ombria Algarve, to discuss the impact of partnering with 59club and his vision for the resort’s future.
Q: Salvador, you have recently started working with 59club this year. Can you tell us how 59club has helped Ombria objectively evaluate the current customer experience and identify areas for improvement?
A: It was clear for Ombria from the early start that partnering with 59club was essential. We are focused on providing a high-end customer experience, and ensuring we are on the right path across all client touchpoints can be challenging. That’s where 59club excels. The depth of their reporting truly enables us to identify our strengths and pinpoint areas for improvement.
Q: Ombria Algarve recently opened its doors in 2023 with the golf course. For those who may not have heard of you yet, can you share a little about the property?
A: Certainly. Ombria is a visionary project that started over 2 decades ago, with the Pontos Group leadership. It’s a unique concept combining several aspects like any resort: a 5-star hotel, premium real estate, a signature golf course, and many leisure facilities. What sets us apart is, firstly, our location in the natural haven located in the heart of the Algarve, yet just 25 minutes from the beach. Secondly, our project recreates a traditional Portuguese village with small streets, local coffee shops, a mini-market, and more, all served with the highest standards of the Viceroy Hotel brand. Lastly, sustainability is vital for us, focusing on energy efficiency and minimal environmental and economic impact. We are one of the first to use geothermal energy, solar energy, and ensure sustainable golf course maintenance and water usage.
“59club will play a major role in maintaining these high service levels and guiding us to stand shoulder to shoulder with the top golf courses in Europe”
Q: As Director of Golf at Ombria Algarve, can you share your vision for the club’s growth and how working with 59club contributes to achieving that vision?
A: We aim to position Ombria Algarve golf course as a premier customer and service experience destination, with a focus on exceptional service and high-level golf course maintenance. 59club will play a major role in maintaining these high service levels and guiding us to stand shoulder to shoulder with the top golf courses in Europe.
Q: Can you discuss any specific goals or benchmarks you aim to achieve in terms of service quality and member experience at your properties utilizing 59club’s services?
A: As previously mentioned, we are aiming for top-notch service quality and customer experience. We want to be a reference in areas such as tee time reservation, booking confirmation, arrival procedures, on-course presentation, on-course services, and F&B services.
Q: How do you think the ongoing evaluation through 59club’s mystery shopping services will support Ombria in maintaining a culture of continuous improvement and delivering unparalleled experiences for your members and guests?
A: As a team leader, it’s often difficult to find the time to sit down and thoroughly review indicators to identify areas for improvement. The consistency and regularity of 59club’s mystery client visits keep us and the team constantly aware that we need to perform at our best at all times. We can’t afford to become complacent. We have to continually refine our procedures to ensure we deliver the best service to all our clients, and 59club plays a significant role in that.
Q: As a leader in the golf industry, how do you think the insights and best practices provided by 59club will contribute to the growth and development of golf clubs in Portugal, particularly in the Algarve region?
A: We are part of a larger region with a successful background in the golf tourism market. The Algarve, and Portugal as a whole, is known for its great facilities and high-quality golf courses. We feel that responsibility. In an ever-changing and more demanding world, great facilities and amazing golf courses can be built anywhere. Our differentiation, as a region, will come from the quality, friendliness, and authenticity of the service we provide. That’s why it’s crucial to ensure the client experience is flawless throughout, and 59club helps us achieve that.
Q: Finally, what advice would you give to other golf clubs considering partnering with 59club to improve their customer service, staff training, and overall performance?
A: It is crucial to know that our standards are being implemented correctly. Managers can’t be present all the time, so constant assessment with clear, objective information is mandatory for better and more consistent performance. It’s also a great tool to recognize and commend the excellent work your team is doing. They are out there every day, and based on my experience, it’s a great motivational asset for the team to feel valued and engaged with the project.
Andrew Whitelaw led operations at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai – the first property in the region to work with 59club. He is now General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of the 2026 PGA Championship venue Aronimink.
Andrew Whitelaw, Aronimink General Manager and Chief Operating Officer
Tell us about the set-up and model at Aronimink?
It is a traditional American country club and golf is the primary function of the club. The governance structure is fairly typical, with a board of governors – including a President, Secretary, Vice President and Treasurer. We have 14 committees and they are involved in the running of the club. It is a modern governance model and is progressive. We have a forward looking board and we are in the middle of a $30m renovation of the whole property with clubhouse renovations and an upgrade of some of the golf facilities as well as our sport and leisure areas.
We have a new golf learning centre which is now finished. The membership are fantastic, they really love this club and they are very involved and passionate about everything Aronimink. The course is incredible, which is important, and is the basis of everything we do – we are a walking-only course and everybody who plays it will say that the conditioning is as good as you are going to see anywhere. Visually it is stunning and it is most definitely one of Donald Ross’s finest creations.
What is happening now in the planning stages for the 2026 PGA Championship?
The PGA of America have a future sites programme, so for the last three years we have been going to events and meeting the committees who are running all these tournaments from their clubs’ perspectives and learning from their experiences.
The PGA will come on site in the next month and hospitality sales have already started. Our main priority at the moment is working with the local townships or various permits that we need to host such a large event. It is a big year for Philadelphia; it is the 250th anniversary of the United States, the FIFA World Cup is in town that year and the PGA Championship will kick it all off.
How do you calculate a return on investment when working with 59club?
Nearly 15 years ago we started working with 59club at the Emirates GC in Dubai and it was an important piece of how we improved our service at the property. In those days we were focused on customer satisfaction and understanding how we could improve the service side at every touchpoint. We weren’t using 59club to deliver a return of investment or upselling, our main use was to identify gaps
in our service and drive engagement and satisfaction among members and guests. When I moved to Trump Dubai in 2016 we introduced mystery shopping and training and achieved Gold Flag status in the first year. We did the same thing at Portmarnock in 2019.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve had?
Listen carefully and understand what is being said to you before you reply. A lot of people jump in with a response before they completely understand what they are being asked a lot of the time. You don’t always have to be the first person to speak. I have found that invaluable. Also, when you are starting out, always try and do more than you have been asked and take on things that maybe you weren’t asked to do.
Out of everything that 59club do, what do you like the most?
You can’t be everywhere all the time and, when you work in operations, you don’t always experience what the member or guest experiences. I like the view you get of the personal experience of individuals who understand golf who are then able to give you an unbiased view of every aspect of the service journey. If you get the service at a level where it needs to be people are going to return, they are going to come more often and enjoy their experience more. For me this is the key part of the 59club product although there is so much more to what they offer which is of value.
• Featuring over 150 service providers • Global Insights • Education • Industry Interviews • Partner Features • Meet your regional team
59club’s commitment to elevate Sales & Customer Service across the entire golf & leisure industry, has seen the Customer Experience Management Specialist launch the industry’s first independent B2B magazine, concentrated solely on excelling standards, service optimization and elevating club profitability.
With operations spanning the UK & Europe, Middle East & Africa, Asia, the USA, Canada, Australia & New Zealand and Korea, 59club are perfectly positioned to become the authentic voice of the global golf business, something their clients, associates and those on the inside have been championing for decades.
Thousands of affiliate properties have benefited from the customer service insights and data collected through 59club’s extensive mystery shopping program and real-time customer satisfaction surveys. And now, the eagerly anticipated Insights Magazine will act as a platform to share that wisdom and education with a wider audience, as the new publication fills the void and counteracts any misinformation that the industry has suffered.
Simon Wordsworth, 59club founder & CEO, said; “With opening rates of digital magazines falling, engagement in that digital space can be very difficult and in general any interaction is short lived. We don’t want to be ‘read today, forgot tomorrow’, we’ve just got too much to share for that.
“I wanted us to produce a high quality and informative piece of work that simply ‘lingers longer’in a venue, to remain open at point of interest with the reader, affording them the time and perspective to make positive changes within their business based on fact and understanding. In addition, there are more people within the club/organisation to educate and stimulate discussion. For that reason, digital alone just wouldn’t do for us.
“We can see from our Club Study results what is on our managers minds and the Insights Magazine will allow us to discuss these topics with the trade and other influencing factors.”
The global edition of the aptly named ‘Insights’ magazine will be hard mailed four times per year to club’s within 59club’s immediate and growing network, a digital counterpart is also available to download on mass.
The first edition celebrates the best operators in the world having achieved 59club flag status for excelling Customer Service standards and also features the elite Leaders and Properties within 59club’s Eminent Collection – the list to end all debates, as those included truly are the industries finest service providers.
Subsequent issues are driven by live industry data, as 59club’s universal intel uncovers the truth behind visitor perception, member satisfaction, onboarding processes, attrition behaviours, and event management, right the way through to the Club Study survey results that are posted every two weeks.
The magazine will also delve into the success and life-lessons shared by some of the greatest operators and most celebrated properties in the world of golf & hospitality. The final publication of the year, will always review the annual customer experience wins & losses, seeking predictions and forecasting for the future.
Each edition will be informative, educational and focus on insights that you can’t find anywhere else, it’s a guard-down approach to excel.
Read the Insights Magazine now, and for more information about 59club and the lasting change they can bring to the overall success and profitability of your club, simply visit 59club.com and reach out to your regional 59club Manager.
In the ever-evolving landscape of sports and hospitality management, DETAILS is striving within innovation and excellence. At the helm of this transformative journey is Nuno Sepulveda, Co-CEO of DETAILS, who is steering the company towards unprecedented heights. In this exclusive interview, Nuno shares insights into their partnership with 59club, the strategic vision for their newly acquired properties in Portugal, and the exciting projects that are set to redefine luxury leisure and sports.
Nuno, you have recently started working with 59club this year, can you tell us how 59club has helped the properties managed by DETAILS objectively evaluate the customer experience and identify areas for improvement?
Working with 59club has been transformative for DETAILS. They have provided us with precise, actionable insights into the customer experience across the assets we manage. This feedback has allowed us to identify specific areas for improvement, from service delivery to facility maintenance. The data-driven approach of 59club ensures our evaluations are unbiased and thorough, helping us enhance the overall guest experience significantly.
DETAILS recently took over the management of several properties in Portugal including Dom Pedro facilities, Aroeira & Palmares. For those who may not have heard of you yet, can you share with us a little about DETAILS and your mission?
DETAILS is an independent sports and hospitality management platform dedicated to elevating the standards of leisure and lifestyle experiences. Our mission is to transform renowned destinations into premier global hotspots by leveraging innovation, sustainability, and excellence in service. By managing properties like the Dom Pedro facilities, Aroeira, and Palmares, we aim to create unparalleled experiences that attract discerning travellers and golf enthusiasts from around the world.
As Co-Chief Executive Officer, can you share with us an overview of your vision for all clubs’ growth and how working with 59club contributes to achieving that vision?
Our vision at DETAILS is to position our clubs as the epitome of luxury and excellence in the hospitality and golf sectors. We aim to continually improve our facilities and services to offer exceptional experiences. Collaborating with 59club is crucial to this vision, as their expertise in customer feedback & experiences helps us maintain high standards, ensure consistent quality, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. This partnership supports our goal of becoming leaders in the industry.
Can you discuss any specific goals or benchmarks you aim to achieve in terms of service quality and member experience at your assets utilizing 59club’s services?
In my previous role in the luxury development market, I helped establish Costa Navarino in Greece as a first-rate destination with improved performance and enhanced positioning within the market. This is a benchmark I am setting myself to help reproduce some of the successful approaches adopted there.
The way we work in general as well as the partnership with 59club is all about benchmarking and ensuring that as a business ecosystem we are dedicated to improving every aspect of what we do. We turn up every day focused on improving the way we interact with customers. Initiatives like mystery shopper, satisfaction surveys and our intense internal focus on improving staff training and retention form a key part of our benchmarking strategy.
How do you think the ongoing evaluation through 59club’s mystery shopping services will support DETAILS in maintaining a culture of improvement and delivering unparalleled experiences for your members and guests?
Ongoing evaluation through 59club’s mystery shopping services is important to us. Regular, unbiased assessments provide a clear picture of our performance, highlighting both strengths and areas for enhancement. This continuous feedback loop allows us to make informed decisions, implement necessary changes promptly, and ensure we consistently deliver and meet our guests’ and members’ expectations.
“The insights and best practices provided by 59club are invaluable. By adopting these strategies, clubs can improve operational efficiency, enhance service quality, and offer superior member experiences.“
As a leader in the golf industry, how do you think the insights and best practices provided by 59club will contribute to the growth and development of golf clubs in Portugal?
The insights and best practices provided by 59club are invaluable. By adopting these strategies, clubs can improve operational efficiency, enhance service quality, and offer superior member experiences. This not only boosts member satisfaction and retention but also elevates the reputation of Portuguese golf clubs on an international stage, attracting more visitors and fostering tourism growth.
Can you share with us any exciting projects and plans you have coming up at your facilities?
We have several exciting projects in the pipeline, including the development of a state-of-the-art multi-sport facility and significant upgrades to the existing equestrian centre in Vilamoura. We are so proud of the Old Course – the second oldest in the Algarve – and are currently improving the course, facilities and clubhouse with a series of major updates and improvements. We are doing similar upgrades at the Aroeira Pines Classic course too. Additionally, we are investing in sustainability initiatives to future-proof our facilities and enhance the overall guest experience. These projects are part of our broader strategy to position Vilamoura and our other properties as leading destinations for luxury leisure and sports.
Finally, what advice would you give to other golf clubs considering partnering with 59club to improve their customer service, staff training, and overall performance?
My advice to other golf clubs would be to consider a partnership if they need data to support their strategy. The data provided by guests is the most valuable feedback for a business who wants to grow, improve and achieve excellent standards. 59club’s expertise in customer service, staff training, and performance management is unparalleled. By leveraging their insights and tools, clubs can significantly enhance their operational standards, boost member satisfaction, and achieve sustainable growth. Investing in such a partnership is a strategic move that pays dividends in the long run, ensuring that your club remains competitive and highly regarded in the industry.
Situated in a privileged position overlooking the Mediterranean and the iconic Rock of Gibraltar with Africa in the distance, the new Links course features one of the best panoramic views in Spanish golf. Originally opened in 1992, the Links course underwent a major upgrade in 2021 transforming it into a modern and sustainable golf course.
Now with a new hotel managed by Fairmont opening on-site soon, we had the pleasure of speaking with Fernando Padron CCM, the General Manager of Golf at La Hacienda Golf Club, to discuss the impact of partnering with 59club and the future of the club.
Fernando, since joining La Hacienda in 2023, this is your first time working with 59club. Can you share with us how you have found utilizing the platforms and tools to your and your team’s advantage?
“I am really impressed with 59club. It’s a very useful tool that measures the entire golf visitor experience. It provides valuable information on staff attitudes, facility quality, and sales results. The comprehensive golf experience, including booking information, tee time reservations, the arrival process, locker rooms, retail experience, practice areas, and the F&B experience, is analyzed in detail by 59club. The most important aspect is that the staff understands their duties much better after reviewing the scores and identifying areas for improvement”
As General Manager of Golf at La Hacienda, can you share with us your vision for the club’s growth and how working with 59club contributes to achieving that vision?
“La Hacienda has invested significantly to enhance the quality of both courses, the Club House, driving range, Proshop, and locker rooms to provide an unforgettable golf experience. We continuously monitor our processes to achieve our goals, and 59club plays a crucial role in this. We are deeply concerned about every player’s experience, so we track every part of that experience, and 59club provides all the tools we need to do so”
You are currently in the process of building a new hotel on site. Can you share with us a little about the project and what will be on offer?
“We are very excited about the opening of the new hotel, which will be managed by Fairmont. We are confident that the hotel will be a fantastic complement to the golf resort, sharing a similar target market. The Fairmont hotel will be a benchmark in Sotogrande and across the Costa del Sol. In addition to rooms with stunning views over the Mediterranean Sea, the hotel will feature fine dining restaurants, a modern spa, and luxury villas, many of which will be managed by Fairmont”
Can you discuss any specific goals or benchmarks you aim to achieve in terms of service quality and member experience at your properties utilizing 59club’s services?
“We strongly believe that small details make a big difference. We focus on staff attitude and how they treat clients which we have seem makes a positive difference impact & difference in terms of upselling at the Proshop”
How do you think the ongoing evaluation through 59club’s mystery shopping services will support La Hacienda in maintaining a culture of continuous improvement and delivering unparalleled experiences for your members and guests?
“After receiving each 59club report, we organize a meeting to review the results and discuss what can be done to improve scores. With every meeting, I see the staff becoming more involved and motivated, which is crucial for developing our culture of continuous improvement in the golf experience”
“59club is an excellent tool that helps all staff members improve and achieve our goals. It’s absolutely necessary, as it allows us to compare with other 59club partners and understand our position”
As a leader in the golf industry, how do you think the insights and best practices provided by 59club will contribute to the growth and development of golf clubs in Spain, particularly in the Costa del Sol region?
“I am certain that 59club is an excellent tool that helps all staff members improve and achieve our goals. It’s absolutely necessary, as it allows us to compare with other 59club partners and understand our position. At the end of the year, clubs can are awarded 59club flags which we are delighted to be a part of”
Finally, what advice would you give to other golf clubs considering partnering with 59club to improve their customer service, staff training, and overall performance?
“I would simply say, “What is not measured is of no use.” 59club provides the essential tools to measure your daily experiences at the Club and is something which other venues should adopt”
Building on the momentum of its recent expansion into the DACH region, 59club is delighted to announce its second prestigious partnership with Das Achental, one of Germany’s finest golf courses. This collaboration signals an ongoing commitment to excellence in customer service within the region’s golf industry.
Das Achental, renowned for its stunning natural setting and first-class facilities, has decided to work with 59club to further refine its high quality standards and enhance the overall golfing experience for its members and guests.
Simon Hangel, Golf & Leisure Manager at Das Achental, expressed his enthusiasm for the new partnership:
“Das Achental is looking forward to the joint partnership with the renowned 59club to further advance the high quality standards on our golf course Das Achental and to optimise the golfing experience for our guests. We have been looking for a long time to take our golf course to the next level and integrate feedback more efficiently into our daily work. In 59club, we have found a partner who lives service excellence just as much as we do.”
The partnership will enable 59club to conduct its renowned satisfaction surveys aimed at gathering detailed feedback from members and guests about their experience. These surveys will provide valuable insights into customer satisfaction, allowing Das Achental to measure its performance against local, regional and global standards and identify areas for improvement.
James Jewell, Director of 59club Central & East, commented on the new partnership:
“We are delighted to welcome Das Achental to the 59club family. They join a prestigious group of golf facilities worldwide that are committed to achieving the highest standards in customer service and operational excellence. We look forward to working closely with Simon, Tobias and the team at Das Achental to push the boundaries of what can be achieved in the DACH region.”
As 59club continues to expand its presence in the DACH region, the success of its partnerships with world-class clubs such as Das Achental and Golf Club St. Leon-Rot demonstrates the growing demand for superior customer service and operational efficiency standards within the golf industry. The proven impact of 59club’s services, including significant improvements in customer satisfaction, emphasises the value of this collaboration.
For more information about 59club and its services, visit www.59club.com
About Das Achental:
Achental is a first-class golf, hotel and spa resort in the heart of Chiemgau in Bavaria. The resort is renowned for its stunning 18-hole championship golf course, which is seamlessly integrated into the natural landscape and offers golfers of all abilities a challenging yet enjoyable experience. In addition to its world-class golf facilities, Das Achental offers luxurious accommodation, fine dining and a state-of-the-art wellness centre, making it a top destination for relaxation and recreation. With a commitment to excellence and a passion for hospitality, Das Achental endeavours to provide an unforgettable experience for all its guests.
About 59club:
59club was founded in the UK in 2007 and is now the market leader in the provision of bespoke performance measurement and management programmes for the golf, leisure, spa, events, F&B and hospitality industries with ten territorial divisions around the world: UK & Ireland (Head Office), Asia, USA, Canada, Middle East & Africa (MEA), Western Europe, Southern Europe, Scandinavia, Central & Eastern Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
The company’s premise is to raise service standards to a new level in a number of industries through the collection of primary data – mystery shopping, customer satisfaction surveys and business metrics – and the implementation of strategic training and development solutions.
59club’s ultimate goal is to improve the customer experience and revenue performance of its clients by optimising their approach to customer service and sales. By identifying where the strengths and weaknesses lie through analysing raw consumer data, 59club can help establishments implement sustainable change for the benefit of their members, guests, staff and revenue.
For further information please contact James Jewell, 59club Europe Central & East james.jewell@59club.com
59club, the leading provider of customer experience benchmarking and improvement solutions for the golf, leisure, retail, and hospitality industries, is excited to announce the appointment of Maxence Boireau as its new Managing Partner for 59club Europe West & North Africa overseeing operations in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Tunisia, and Morocco. In the golf industry for the past decade, Maxence brings a wealth of expertise and passion to 59club and is committed to continuing the company’s legacy of providing exceptional service to its clients.
Colin Bosio and Maxence Boireau (from left to right)
“I’m thrilled to join 59club at such a pivotal time,” shared Maxence. “59club has a long-standing reputation for helping businesses across golf and hospitality deliver exceptional customer experiences. I am dedicated to building on this legacy. With a deep passion for both golf and hospitality after a decade in these industries working for well-recognized brands like Le Golf National or Golfbreaks, I believe 59club possesses the tools and expertise to empower businesses of all sizes to achieve their customer experience goals. I am excited to join 59club as they enter this exciting phase of growth! The introduction of new services and ongoing updates to their industry-leading tools make this a perfect time to be on board.”
Under Maxence’s leadership, 59club will continue to focus on providing golf courses, hotels, restaurants, spas and gyms with the data, objective analysis, and insights they need to make informed decisions about their customer experience programs with the help of Mystery Shopping, Satisfaction Surveys, and Training & Education. The company will also be expanding its product offerings to include innovative solutions that will help golf courses attract and retain more customers.
“We are confident that Max is the right person to lead 59club Europe West & North Africa into the future,” said Simon Wordsworth, founder of 59club. “He has a deep understanding of the golf and hospitality industry, and a proven track record of success. We are excited to see what he will accomplish in the years to come.”
With a presence in over 20 countries and serving nearly 1,000 businesses in the golf, restaurant, retail, spas, and hospitality industries, 59club is the world leader in comparative analysis and customer experience improvement. The company provides performance management solutions and leverages the collection of objective and subjective data to enhance the business performance and customer experience of its partners. 59club helps them identify their strengths and areas for improvement to deliver an exceptional customer experience.
Partnering with a prestigious portfolio of properties across Europe and North Africa, including Le Golf National, Terre Blanche, Le Touquet Golf Resort, Golf de Chantilly, The Dutch, or Royal Palm Marrakech for example.
59club is the ultimate choice for owners, managers, or site managers who want to stand out from the competition and build customer loyalty while boosting their turnover and profitability.
Castro Marim provides a fantastic 27-hole golf course designed by English golf architect Terry Murray. The resort boasts 61 beautifully decorated, large semi-detached villas located in ‘The Village’ each with a breath-taking view on the the Atlantic Ocean.
The property is just 10 minutes from award-winning sandy beaches, making it an ideal getaway for the entire family offering year-round sunshine, exceptional villas, fine dining, and top-notch amenities.
We asked Henrique Guilherme, Director of Sales, why they have chosen to partner with 59club Europe South:
“We joined 59club with a view to achieving better performance, both in terms of better customer satisfaction and in terms of results with better market positioning. We believe that 59club, through its industry know-how, can be a great asset to Castro Marim Golfe & Country Club by helping us to improve and perfecting customer service and differentiating ourselves from our main competitors”.
Castro Marim will benefit from industry leading experience data from across the entire customer journey throughout 2024, we are excited start this journey and support the team
59club Europe South is delighted to announce Empordà Golf Resort as its newest partner venue.
Emporda Golf Resort is nestled in the heart of Catalonia’s breathtaking landscape and boasts two championship golf courses, designed by Robert von Hagge and Rick Baril, as well as a newly renovated 4* star hotel, Hotel Terraverda.
We asked Ginevra Perotti, Golf Manager, why the club has chosen to partner with 59club Europe South “We are excited to start working with 59club as one of our key goals is to now focus on the delivery of quality service & service excellence. We are looking forward to utilizing 59club tools & insights to help support and achieve these goals”.
59club Europe South will provide Emporda bespoke industry leading data to maximize performance management as well as unique customer journey benchmarking data. We look forward to working with all of the team throughout the season and beyond📊
Within days of opening a dedicated 59club office in Germany, the iconic Golf Club St. Leon-Rot located on the Southwest of the Country, has become the first German club to partner with the leading customer service specialists – signaling that demand across the DACH region for 59club’s global insights, management tools & training services will be high.
Golf Club St. Leon-Rot was famously founded on one man’s vision of wanting to create a unique golfer’s paradise of world-class golf courses, club houses and practice facilities. That ethos quickly attracted some of the industry’s highest profile golf tournaments, and also saw the academy turn out Major Champions in Bernhard Langer and Martin Kaymer.
That same passion and desire to compete at the very highest level was the driving force that led current General Manager, Moritz Lampert, to select the perfect partner in 59club to support the club’s ambitions of achieving customer service ‘excellence’.
Of the partnership, Lampert, said;
“We are delighted to be the first German golf club to join the internationally renowned 59club. With 59club’s industry-leading management tools, we hope to measure and collect high-quality data in order to optimise our business processes with the aim of offering our members and guests the best possible service.”
Moritz Lampert, General Manager, Golf Club St. Leon-Rot
The affiliation will see 59club deliver a diligent program of mystery shopper audits that measure all areas of the customer experience & sales performance – spanning the reservation, arrival, locker-rooms, retail enquiry, practice facilities, on-course services, golf course presentation & amenities including the food & beverage experience & upselling skills – providing comprehensive insights, and also drawing monthly performance comparisons to the regions local community, the global industry average and the best performing properties world-wide.
Affiliate properties also benefit from 59club’s customer satisfaction surveys, and their renowned training services, globally credited for developing some of the finest people, processes, and performance within the world of Golf Club Management.
Newly affiliated clubs are reported to have achieved a 112% increase in sales performance & upselling alone, with one property remarkedly enjoying an uplift of 200% after combining mystery shopping with 59club training services.
With data like this, it’s only a matter of time before more clubs in the region enlist 59clubs support, wanting to reap the benefits of improved customer service standards and elevated sales performance.
James Jewell, Director of 59club Central & East said “I am delighted to welcome our first partner in Golf Club St. Leon-Rot, they join other celebrated properties from around the globe which include The Belfry, Emirates Golf Club and TPC Sawgrass to name a few, and hundreds others who regard 59club as the best in business when it comes to our transformative approach to customer service standards and club profitability.
“I look forward to working with Moritz and the team, and the wider golf club community as we push the boundaries of how customer service is perceived and delivered in the DACH region and across our neighboring countries”.
Following a bout of recent openings across continental Europe, 59club; the industry’s leading Customer Service Analysts and Training Provider, has today announced its latest division will serve Central & Eastern Europe, with a dedicated local office based in Germany.
Under the expert guise of James Jewell – newly appointed Director of 59club Central & East- the local club community will reap the benefits of improved customer service standards and elevated sales performance, as other 59club regions have enjoyed before them, some for as many as 13 years.
With a wealth of customer service management resources; including, Mystery Shopper Audits, Satisfaction Surveys and Employee Training Programs; 59club are delighted to announce that they have made a number of *Free Trials available for eager club managers in the region to experience their customer service tools firsthand.
On opening, Jewell said,
“I am very excited to begin supporting the golf industry here in Germany, and across our neighboring countries. Calling on 59club’s expertise and personal industry experience, my hope is that through excellent communication and unwavering support, 59club will transform the customer service standards and overall club profitability within the DACH region initially before looking further East towards the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Poland”.
Jewell is no stranger to the plight a club manager takes, following subsequent positions held at IMG and Leadbetter Golf Academies, culminating in his role as COO of Golfzon Leadbetter, and, as a former manager at a ‘59club Ultimate Gold Flag’ bearing Resort [Stoke Park, UK], he also appreciates the complexities and nuances that contribute to managing a world-class venue, delivering excellent customer service standards to match.
Welcoming Jewell to the growing family, 59club CEO Simon Wordsworth said; “James is absolutely the right Manager to introduce 59club for us, he is passionate, eager to help and dedicated to supporting the growth of customer service standards in the region. Any Club Manager who engages with James, is very lucky to have that knowledge and experience on tap, he’s already off to a flying start, as he prepares to welcome his first clients later this month”.
Offers are now being promoted, all clubs interested in becoming the first to sample 59club’s industry leading Mystery Shopping Services, Satisfaction Surveys and Training Tools are invited to reach out to james.jewell@59club.com to sign up for a demo and to unlock their *FREE trial.
Headquartered in the UK; 59club supports 10 regional divisions operating across the USA, Canada, UK, Europe South, Europe West, Nordic, Asia, Middle East & Africa, Australia & New Zealand; with Central & Eastern Europe now open for business. 59club works with hundreds of golf clubs, resorts & management groups around the world, from high-profile properties such as The Belfry, TPC Sawgrass, and European Tour Destinations, to smaller lesser-known venues, all who share the same emphasis and commitment to achieve customer service excellence under 59clubs expert guise & direction.
59club Europe has recognised the very best Venues, Teams, and Individuals for their dedication to customer service excellence, in a lavish awards event hosted at Camiral Golf & Wellness in Spain on March 14th, 2024, with many of the leading Resorts and Clubs from across Europe attending, all with the aspiration of claiming a prestigious service excellence award.
59club’s industry accolades are determined by scores collected from their impartial mystery shopping audits, which evaluates the experience afforded to patrons all in accordance with 59club’s objective benchmarking criteria.
On the evening 15 awards were presented to the Individuals, Managers and Teams responsible for delivering the very best one-off experience across the three divisions serving 59club Europe (namely, Nordic, West & South).
A further 5 main award titles collectively recognised 59club Europe’s finest Customer Service Providers for maintaining elite levels of service excellence throughout 2023, before the presentation of 59club’s iconic Flag designations took centre stage.
Lee Mathew Waggott, General Manager of 59club Europe South, commented;
“It has been an honour to recognise the dedication, passion, and hard work demonstrated by our leading individuals and teams throughout the year. Being nominated for an award is a remarkable achievement; all winners should take immense pride in their accomplishments.
“We are thrilled to have hosted such a fantastic event at the beautiful Camiral Golf & Wellness, and its credit to our long-standing Signature Partners – Club Car & Golf Genius that we were able to host our European Service Excellence Awards on Spanish soil for the first time. I’d also like to thank Asbri, Albatross & Tagmarshal who also supported this year’s event, it’s the first of many to come, as we eagerly anticipate hosting the next edition in 2025.”
In the main European arena, Finca Cortesin emerged as the big winner, securing accolades for both Golf Operations Team of the Year and Golf Manager of the Year, claimed by Rocio Sanchez. Notably, this marked the second consecutive year that Finca Cortesin has triumphed in these categories.
Staying with the main European titles, Golf de Servanes saw Jean Badea named European Food & Beverage Manager of the Year, with Lionel Gardes-Bus from Golf de Terre Blanche awarded European Retail Manager of the Year.
Finally, Borja Azpilicueta from Club de Golf Alcanada in Mallorca joined the European winners when he was crowned 59club’s European Greenkeeper of the Year.
The evening also celebrated regional individual moments of service excellence across the customer journey, with winners recognized in various categories.
Shining a light on 59club Nordic, The Scandinavian enjoyed their share of the celebrations having bagged two regional awards after being named Nordic’s Leading Individual Golf Operations Team & Leading Individual Golf Experience.
Esbjerg Golfklub was victorious for delivering Nordic’s Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation, with Aalborg Golf Klub claiming Nordic’s Leading Individual Retail Experience award, and finally Estonian Golf & Country Club won Nordic’s Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience award.
Heading over the border, the properties within Europe West’s region were next to celebrate with Golf de Terre Blanche enjoying a double helping of crystalware having been crowned Europe West’s Leading Individual Golf Operations Team & Leading Individual Golf Experience.
Staying with Europe West, their Individual Food & Beverage Experience award was presented to Golf du Grand Avignon. The Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation accolade went to Golf d’Arcachon and two winners shared the title to been named Europe West’s Leading Individual Retail Experience, they were Golf de Lyon Salvagny & Golf de Servanes.
Finally, Europe South enjoyed their time in the spotlight, and celebrated another double winner, after Antalya Golf Club was awarded Europe South’s Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience & Leading Individual Golf Operations Team.
Club de Golf Alcanada celebrated being named Europe South’s Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation, and the region’s Leading Individual Golf Experience was presented to Finca Cortesin. Excitement grew when Europe South welcomed joint winners in our host venue Camiral Golf & Wellness & Quinta do Lago who share the regions Leading Individual Retail Experience award.
The ceremony culminated with the presentation of 59club’s Gold, Silver & Bronze Flag Designations – The ultimate recognition for clubs & resorts who strive to deliver the best facilities and service offering to their Members and Guests. The full list of winners can be found below:
59CLUB EUROPE ‘SERVICE EXCELLENCE’ AWARD WINNERS (in alphabetical order):
Food & Beverage Manager of the Year: Jean BADEA (Golf de Servanes)
Retail Manager of the Year: Lionel GARDES-BUS (Terre Blanche)
Greenkeeper of the Year: Borja AZPILICUETA (Club de Golf Alcanada)
Golf Operations Team of the Year: Finca Cortesin
Golf Manager of the Year: Rocio SANCHEZ (Finca Cortesin)
59club Leading Individual Experience Award – Regional Winners (in alphabetical order):
Europe South – Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience:
Antalya Golf Club
Europe South – Leading Individual Retail Experience:
Camiral Golf & Wellness & Quinta do Lago
Europe South – Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation:
Club de Golf Alcanada
Europe South – Leading Individual Golf Operations Team:
Antalya Golf Club
Europe South – Leading Individual Golf Experience:
Finca Cortesin
Europe West – Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience:
Golf du Grand Avignon
Europe West – Leading Individual Retail Experience:
Golf de Lyon Salvagny & Golf de Servanes
Europe West – Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation:
Golf d’Arcachon
Europe West – Leading Individual Golf Operations Team:
Terre Blanche
Europe West – Leading Individual Golf Experience:
Terre Blanche
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience:
Estonian Golf & Country Club
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Retail Experience:
Aalborg Golf Klub
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation:
Esbjerg Golfklub
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Golf Operations Team:
The Scandinavian
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Golf Experience:
The Scandinavian
59CLUB EUROPE FLAG DESIGNATIONS
(in alphabetical order):
BRONZE FLAG DESINATION : Aalborg Golf Klub, Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort, Københavns Golf Klub, Golf du Touquet, Golf d’Hardelot, Golf de Seignosse, Golf d’Opio Valbonne, Golf de Servanes, Golf de Roquebrune, Pula Golf Resort, Son Quint & Son Vida.
SILVER FLAG DESINATION: Aphrodite Hills, Esbjerg Golfklub, Golf de Andratx, INFINITUM, La Hacienda, Le Golf National & Pickala Golf.
GOLD FLAG DESINATION: Camiral Golf & Wellness, Club de Golf Alcanada, Costa Navarino, Finca Cortesin, Golf de Terre Blanche, Quinta do Lago, Royal Park I Roveri & Son Muntaner.
59club Europe South are thrilled to announce Details – Hospitality, Sports, Leisure as their latest partner which includes working with the following venues: Palmares Ocean Living & Golf located in the Algarve, Dom Pedro Hotels & Golf Collection in Vilamoura and Aroeira Golf Courses in the Lisbon region.
Totaling 8 golf courses, Details will receive a wealth of experience data from across their facilities allowing for incredible experience insights, unique customer journey measurement tools, employee training, and tailored benchmarking vehicles.
We asked Nuno Sepúlveda, Co-CEO of Details – Hospitality, Sports, Leisure why Details have partnered with 59club Europe South
“This collaboration is a significant step in enhancing customer satisfaction at our prestigious golf courses in Vilamoura, Palmares, and Aroeira. By using 59club’s advanced data analysis and comparison tools, our goal is to refine operational standards, elevate staff performance, and solidify our reputation as leaders in golf course management. This strategic alliance perfectly aligns with our commitment to excellence, promising an even higher standard of service for our valued customers.”
59club Europe South is excited to announce Real Club Sevilla Golf as its newest partner venue.
Real Club Sevilla Golf, nestled in the scenic beauty of Seville, offers a premier golfing experience on its exquisite 18-hole championship course designed by José María Olazábal which is consistently ranked as one of the best courses in Spain. With lush fairways, top-notch facilities, and a history of hosting major international events such as the Andalusia Open, 3x Spanish Opens & the WGC-World Cup, the club seamlessly blends tradition and sophistication. Whether you’re a seasoned golfer or seeking refined leisure, Real Club Sevilla Golf promises an unforgettable blend of elegance and sporting excellence.
We asked Gonzalo Goy Gallardo, Operations Manager, why he has made the decision to join us at 59 Club Europe South – “Having external data from an expert company in our industry was key for us in order to maintain our levels of excellence. I believe it is something that can help us all in our day-to-day basis and we are excited about starting this journey”.
59club Europe South are delighted to announce its latest partner venue, Aravell Golf & Country Club.
Nestled in the picturesque Pyrenees mountains near the Andorran-Spanish border – Aravell Golf & Country Club combines all the touristic attractiveness to create a golf destination where golfers will find a varied range of golf courses and a wide selection of Andorran hotels. Whether you’re into skiing, cycling, shopping, or golf, Avarell Golf promises fantastic year-round activities.
Through the partnership with 59club Europe South, Aravell secures access to a wealth of customer experience data spanning its exceptional 18-hole golf course & collaboration yields invaluable insights into the overall journey of patrons, enabling the team to consistently elevate the customer experience and innovate to create unforgettable moments.
The nominees for 59club’s European Service Excellence Awards have today been announced, with many of the Leading Golf & Hospitality Properties across Europe making the shortlist. The winners will be unveiled during the prestigious awards ceremony, at Camiral Golf & Wellness Resort on Thursday 14th March 2024 – the first ceremony of its kind to be hosted on European soil.
59club’s prestigious accolades honour outstanding Venues, Teams, and Individuals in the global golf & hospitality industry consistently delivering exceptional customer experiences for members and guests.
The selection process remains unbiased, relying on scores attained through an in-depth and objective mystery shopping program. This program meticulously evaluates the experiences provided to members, visitors, and potential members across Golf, Greenkeeping, Retail, and F&B operations.
This year sees several of the finest Golf Resorts & Member Clubs in Europe securing multiple nominations. Notably, renowned Portuguese resort Quinta do Lago and Italy’s northern gem Royal Park I Roveri, lead the pack with eight & seven nomination respectively. Joining the elite group are Camiral Golf & Wellness, voted the #1 golf resort in Spain, along with 2023 Solheim Cup host & winner of Golf Manager & Golf Operations team of the year at last year’s event, Finca Cortesin. Additionally, Club de Golf Alcanada, the host of the Challenge Tour Final and Københavns Golf Club, the oldest golf club in Scandinavia, who celebrated 125 years of service in 2023, all boast several nominations across various service excellence award categories.
Golf de Servanes, located just a few minutes from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, is in the running for an impressive 5 awards. Since it began working with 59club in 2021, the positive development of its course and customer service are clearly paying off.
The nominations list also includes the likes of: Aalborg Golf Klub, Esbjerg Golfklub, Golf de Roquebrune, Golf de Sainte Baume, Golf de Seignosse, Terre Blanche, Golf des Yvelines, Golf D’Opio Valbonne, Golf du Touquet, Infinitum and Pickala Golf, all contending for service excellence awards.
Additionally, this year’s Ceremony will showcase the best individual moments of service across the customer journey. These awards are highlighted in each region: Europe South, West & Nordic.
The glittering award ceremony, which is supported by 59club’s Industry Partners – Club Car and Golf Genius will conclude with the presentation of the 59club Bronze, Silver and Gold Flag awards to the Resorts and Members’ Clubs which have demonstrated distinction against criteria for both customer service delivery and the quality of their facilities.
Looking ahead to the first ceremony to be held on the European mainland, founder of 59club, Simon Wordsworth expressed his excitement, stating:
We are delighted to finally be offering a European version of our Service Excellence Awards. Europe hosts a plethora of fantastic venues that span all corners of the golf industry from resort to private member’s club, and our mystery shopping over the last year has measured their successes. It is only right that those high-performing venues are given their moment in the limelight at our awards ceremony. We feel privileged to be able to share in their success and look forward to supporting them further to achieve their goals in the future.
Simon Wordsworth, CEO of 59club
*For the full list of nominations, see below.
59CLUB EUROPE ‘SERVICE EXCELLENCE’ AWARD NOMINATIONS (in alphabetical order):
Food & Beverage Manager of the Year:
Attilio GIRELLO (Royal Park I Roveri); Charles DE BRUYNE (Golf du Touquet); Christophe RONDELE (Golf de Seignosse); Hugo OLIVEIRA (Golf de Roquebrune); Jan NIELSEN (Esbjerg Golfklub); Jean BADEA (Golf de Servanes); Lionel GARDES-BUS (Terre Blanche); Savaş NUHOĞLU (Antalya Golf Club); Vicky FARRIOL (Infinitum)
Retail Manager of the Year:
Anne-Mette BENDIX MAJGAARD (Københavns Golf Klub); Carla BICA (Quinta do Lago); Hugo OLIVEIRA (Golf de Roquebrune); Jean BADEA (Golf de Servanes); Lionel GARDES-BUS (Terre Blanche); Richard STANISLAS (Golf de Sainte Baume); Teresa MOLL (Club de Golf Alcanada)
Greenkeeper of the Year:
Alfredo ÁLVAREZ (Camiral Golf & Wellness); Borja AZPILICUETA (Club de Golf Alcanada); Daniel Lüttger (Golf Club St. Leon-Rot); Guillaume VERNEY-CARRON (Golf d’Opio Valbonne); Ignacio SOTO (Finca Cortesin); Markus SUOJOKI (Pickala Golf); Morten TERKELSEN (Esbjerg Golfklub); Philippe PILATO (Le Golf National); Scott McLean (Quinta do Lago); Victor Wood ESCUTIA (Marco Simone)
Golf Operations Team of the Year:
Club de Golf Alcanada; Camiral Golf & Wellness; Finca Cortesin; Golf de Roquebrune; Københavns Golf Klub; Quinta do Lago; Royal Park I Roveri; Terre Blanche
Golf Manager of the Year:
Brian EVANS (Quinta do Lago); Christian Tage NYVANG HANSEN (Københavns Golf Klub); Flavio PAPA (Camiral Golf & Wellness); Hugo OLIVEIRA (Golf de Roquebrune); Kristoff BOTH (Club de Golf Alcanada); Lionel GARDES-BUS (Terre Blanche); Marco AQUILINO (Royal Park I Roveri); Rocio SANCHEZ (Finca Cortesin)
59CLUB EUROPE ‘SERVICE EXCELLENCE’ AWARD NOMINATIONS – Leading Individual Experience (in alphabetical order):
Europe South – Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience:
Antalya Golf Club; Aphrodite Hills; Quinta do Lago; Royal Park I Roveri; Son Muntaner – Arabella Golf
Europe South – Leading Individual Retail Experience:
Camiral Golf & Wellness; Costa Navarino; La Hacienda; Quinta do Lago; Son Muntaner – Arabella Golf
Europe South – Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation:
Club de Golf Alcanada; Costa Navarino; Marco Simone; Royal Park I Roveri; Son Muntaner – Arabella Golf
Europe South – Leading Individual Golf Operations Team:
Antalya Golf Club; Camiral Golf & Wellness; Finca Cortesin; Quinta do Lago; Royal Park I Roveri
Europe South – Leading Individual Golf Visit Experience:
Antalya Golf Club; Camiral Golf & Wellness; Finca Cortesin; Quinta do Lago; Royal Park I Roveri
Europe West – Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience:
Golf de Oued Fès; Golf de Servanes; Golf du Grand Avignon; Golf du Médoc; Royal Golf de Fès
Europe West – Leading Individual Retail Experience:
Golf de Lyon Salvagny; Golf de Marseille la Salette; Golf de Servanes; Golf du Médoc; Golf d’Ormesson
Europe West – Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation:
Golf d’Arcachon; Golf d’Ormesson; Golf de AA Saint Omer; Golf de Paris Val d’Europe; Golf National Aigle
Europe West – Leading Individual Golf Operations Team:
Golf de Lyon Salvagny; Golf de Roquebrune; Golf de Sainte Baume; Golf National Albatros; Terre Blanche
Europe West – Leading Individual Golf Visit Experience:
Golf d’Hardelot; Golf de Lyon Salvagny; Golf de Servanes; Golf du Médoc; Terre Blanche
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience:
Esbjerg Golfklub; Estonian Golf & Country Club; Linna Golf; Pickala Golf; The Scandinavian
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Retail Experience:
Aalborg Golf Klub; Esbjerg Golfklub; Københavns Golf Klub; Linna Golf; The Scandinavian
Europe Nordic – Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation:
59club Europe South is thrilled to announce its newest partner venue located on stunning Costa del Sol, Valle Romano Golf & Resort – three-time host of the European Tour, the 2nd Stage Qualifying School in 2011, and two Challenge Tours in 2018 and 2019.
Spread across 122 hectares in the area of Estepona, the course was designed by Cabell B Robinson and offers breathtaking views of Estepona, the Alboran Sea and Northern Africa. The resort includes an 18-hole layout that provides an exciting test of golf with elevated tee boxes, fairways and greens as well as unique dining experiences at Columela restaurant.
We asked, Ildefonso Esquivel, Director of Valle Romano Golf why he made the decision to partner with 59club Europe South:
“Our vocation and priority at Valle Romano Golf is to enhance the customer experience through the training of our teams. In this regard, we want to continue improving and differentiate ourselves from our competitors through our service and customer attention. Therefore, we believe it is the right time to partner with 59club to leverage their expertise in customer service excellence within the golf industry. We are eager to apply their tools and know-how within our club to enhance our service standards.”
59club Europe’s Annual Service Excellence Awards Event comes to Camiral Golf & Wellness, Girona, Spain on 14 & 15 March 2024.
The Service Excellence Awards will see business leaders and their teams come together from across Europe, as 59club continue to recognise the leading individuals, teams, and properties for their outstanding achievements realised within 59club’s independent mystery shopper program during 2023.
The event promises to deliver networking opportunities both on and off the golf course; all centred around the prestigious Annual Service Excellence Awards Ceremony.
Widely regarded as the industry ‘Oscars’ amongst the Golf & Hospitality community, the 2024 Awards Ceremony will be hosted on European soil for the first time, recognising the significant growth experienced following 59club’s expansion, with the addition of four local divisions – Europe South, Europe West, Central & North Europe and the Nordic region – in recent years.
As well as crowning the finest European Managers of the year, spanning Golf Operations, Food & Beverage, Golf Retail, and Greenkeeping, plus a number of regional ‘best of’ awards realised for individual experiences; the highlight of the evening will see 59club’s renowned industry benchmark – the Bronze, Silver and Gold Flag Designations – presented to the European Properties that not only achieve the required standard of service as part of 59club’s mystery shopping program, but also provide excellent facilities for customers to enjoy.
And to round off the celebrations, 59club will host its annual Golf Day at Camiral the following day, as members of the 59club community bask in the Spanish climate while enjoying the delights synonymous with Spain’s No.1 Resort.
In addition to 59club’s European Awards Event, the global Customer Service Management Specialists, will host six additional ceremonies during 2024 – starting in the UK in February, before heading off to Europe, the MEA, Asia, USA, Canada and finally finishing in Australia – as 59club continue uniting the world of golf & hospitality around their commitment to deliver customer service excellence.
Tickets for the European Awards Event are available now
One Day
Awards Ceremony & Dinner, with Education Seminar (non-golfers)
Get inspired, network with like-minded folk, celebrate in style.
59club Europe South is thrilled to announce COSTA NAVARINO as its newest partner venue
The prestigious resort is nestled in the enchanting region of Messinia, southwest Greece. Boasting a breathtaking golf experience, Costa Navarino features four exceptional golf courses: The Dunes, The Bay, The International Olympic Academy & The Hills Course. The resort also offers unparalleled accommodation options including: The Westin Resort, The Romanos, W Costa Navarino & the Mandarin Oriental.
By joining forces with 59club Europe South, Costa Navarino gains access to a wealth of customer experience data spanning its four magnificent golf courses and hotels, therefore, providing incredible insight into the holistic journey of its patrons. This invaluable resource empowers the team to continuously enhance the customer journey in their vision & push the boundaries on unforgettable experiences.
We are delighted to partner with Costa Navarino and look forward to working David Ashington & his team, as well as contributing to the ongoing success and excellence of Costa Navarino’s golf and hospitality offerings.
59club Nordic Partners with GolfStar to enhance customer service standards and golfing experiences across scandinavia.
Aarhus, Denmark December 15 — 59club Nordic, a leading provider of training and customer service analytics in Northern Europe is proud to announce its collaboration with GolfStar, the largest Golf ownership group in the Nordic region.
With its headquarters in Stockholm, GolfStar operates 13 golf facilities in Sweden, featuring a total of 19 golf courses, GolfStar Indoor and more than 50,000 customers. This new partnership aims to further elevate the golfing experience for its members, guests, volunteers, sponsors, and employees.
Andy Gordon, Senior Business Developer at GolfStar, emphasized the organization’s commitment to delivering the best experience possible, stating:
“Our core belief at GolfStar is to provide the best experience for our members, guests, volunteers, sponsors, and employees. We want to offer flexibility and to understand in what direction our members and shareholders wish to go in the future. The main reason behind our collaboration is that we are aligned with 59club Nordic in our core values. We put our customers first and we want to create a future shaped from their feedback. Exactly this is why a collaboration will enable us to deliver excellent customer service and great experiences for our entire GolfStar community.”
Sebastian Czyz, General Manager of 59club Nordic, expressed his excitement about the partnership, saying:
“As we continue our journey in Northern Europe, we are extremely thrilled to join forces with Andy, Stefan, Anna, Maria, and the entire team at GolfStar. They have an ambition to excel, a mindset that allows them to make business-informed decisions for the betterment of their customers, and a willingness to elevate satisfaction, service, and the overall experience. We have a shared passion for the game, and we are excited for the journey ahead.”
Key Areas
This collaboration between 59club Nordic and GolfStar will focus on enhancing customer service, training, and analytics to provide the best golfing experience for GolfStar members and golf enthusiasts across the Nordic region.
59club’s spotlight shines as the 2023 Eminent Collection is announced.
The latest properties and leaders from the world of golf & hospitality have been welcomed into 59club’s ‘Eminent Collection’ at two exclusive events, hosted at Trump International Golf Club, Dubai; and at Wentworth Club, England on the 21st and 23rd of November 2023, respectively.
The ‘Eminent Collection’ was established in 2022 to honor long-serving standards of customer service excellence delivered over a minimum of 5 years; with 59club Flag Designations, along with individual and team accolades, all contributing towards the global Eminent benchmark of excellence.
Recognition by 59club is unbiased, independent, and non-subjective, the only industry award of its kind, symbolizing a true badge of honor for those venues and people consistently delivering the finest levels of customer service,during 59club’s vigorous mystery shopper program.
The intimate ceremony, saw 59club welcome nine industry ‘leaders’ who join twenty-two individuals honored with Eminent Status in 2022. The newcomers receiving the enviable Eminent titles were; Casper Schonfeldt, Discovery Land Dubai; Chris Eigelaar, The Belfry; Chris Fitt, Moor Park; Clinton Southorn, Troon; Francisco de Lancastre David, Finca Cortesin; HoussemBelabed, Gleneagles; Jason Adams, Rockliffe Hall; Matt Aplin, Goring & Streatley; and, Scott Fenwick, Gleneagles.
With only one new property having met the demands synonymous with the Eminent Collection in 2023; as Saadiyat Beach Golf Club join twelve existing ‘properties’ from within 59club’s international network. The elite Collection now represents The Belfry Hotel & Resort;TheCeltic Manor Resort; Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club; Emirates Golf Club; Forest of Arden; Foxhills Club & Resort; Gleneagles; Golf Son Muntaner; The Grove;Rockliffe Hall; Saadiyat Beach Golf Club; Trump International Golf Club, Dubai; and Yas links, Abu Dhabi.
Of the honors, Simon Wordsworth, 59club CEO said; “What an incredible celebration of ‘excellence’! The Collection all came together to welcome our newcomers to this elite group of industry champions, whilst we honored our existing members for a second term. The Eminent Collection is the ultimate accolade we can bestow on any venue or individual, and it remains 59club’s honour and privilege to continue to shine a light on the people who are shaping the direction the industry continues to take, by maximising the experience that every single customer can enjoy.”
59club’s signature partner; Club Car once again extended their commitment to the Collection, in true reflection of their devotion to honor customer service excellence; with both Reesink Toro & Golf Genius also aligning their brands with this unique portfolio of industry professionals.
The Belfry Hotel & Resort The Celtic Manor Resort Delta by Marriott, Forest of Arden Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club Emirates Golf Club Foxhills Club & Resort Gleneagles Golf Son Muntaner The Grove Rockliffe Hall Saadiyat Beach Golf Club Trump International Golf Club Dubai Yas Links Abu Dhabi
Andrew Whitelaw, Aronimink Golf Club Angus Macleod, The Belfry Anna Darnell, The Grove Barney Coleman, Burnham & Berrow Bernat Llobera, Arabella Golf Mallorca Brad Gould, The Grove Casper Schonfeldt, Discovery Land Dubai Chris Eigelaar, The Belfry Chris Fitt, Moor Park Chris May, Dubai Golf Chris Reeve, The Belfry Clinton Southorn, Troon Craig Haldane, Gleneagles Francisco de Lancastre David, Finca Cortesin Fraser Liston, Forest of Arden Gary Silcock, Murrayshall Houssem Belabed, Gleneagles Jacques Hobson, The Belfry Jason Adams, Rockliffe Hall Jim Mckenzie MBE, Celtic Manor Jonathan Wyer, Rockliffe Hall Matt Aplin, Goring & Streatley Phillip Chiverton, The Grove Rob Rowson, Forest of Arden Scott Fenwick, Gleneagles Sean Graham, Foxhills Simon Howell, Forest of Arden Stephen Hindle, Worsley Park Stephen Hubner, Jumeirah Golf Estates Stuart Collier, Stoke Park Tom Hughes, The Belfry
Strategic collaboration formed: 59club Nordic teams up with Sweetspot to enhance golf club revenue management.
Copenhagen, 28.11.2023 — 59club Nordic is thrilled to unveil its strategic partnership with Sweetspot, a leading data-driven revenue management platform, dedicated to helping golf facilities worldwide reach their full potential. This collaboration will provide Golf Simulators and Golf Clubs with a comprehensive, tailor-made solution.
Sweetspot, headquartered in the heart of Stockholm, is at the forefront of data-driven revenue management. With a strong presence, they currently support 400+ indoor Golf simulators and 75 Golf Clubs across Sweden. Beyond this, they extend their support to golf clubs in Denmark, Scotland, the UK, dedicated to assisting these clubs in realizing their full potential. This dynamic partnership seeks to further advance the revenue management model for golf clubs.
Inspiring partnership
Henrik Ahlin, CEO at Sweetspot, emphasizes “At Sweetspot, our core belief is to offer our customers solutions that precisely match their needs. We aim to optimize not only their revenue but also to create an exceptional user experience for golfers. We see a profound alignment with 59club Nordic in our core values. Placing our customers first, we are committed to assisting industry leaders in making sound business decisions that benefit their members, guests, sponsors, employees, and all stakeholders within their operations.”
Sebastian Czyz, General Manager of 59club Nordic, shares his excitement, saying, “As we continue our expansion into Northern Europe, specifically Sweden, we are excited to join forces with Henrik, Gustav, and the entire Sweetspot team. Their shared vision of guiding the industry in the right direction and their willingness to adapt, challenge the status quo, and implement strategies to enhance the industry is truly inspiring.”
Key Focus of the Partnership
The collaboration between Sweetspot and 59club Nordic centers around delivering a bespoke solution for Golf Simulators and Golf Clubs. The primary goals include improving customer service, enhancing training programs, optimizing revenue management, and providing analytics to deliver the ultimate golfing experience.
For more information: To learn more about Sweetspot, please visit https://sweetspot.io/ To discover more about 59club Nordic, please visit www.59club.com
59club is all about detail & data, and our technology plays a vital part in all of that, providing you with the ability to collect survey data direct from 1-1 survey invitations, or the simplicity of a well-positioned QR code or shareable link. We’ve also made some loyal friends along the way via mutual clients, and working together we can generate even more intelligence, while eradicating human error – that’s right, today we’re opening your eyes to CRM & POS hook-ups!
For the average golf & hospitality business, that simply means each time member and guest data is entered into your software, 59club’s survey platform will ‘auto-invite’ the customer to complete the venues bespoke satisfaction survey based on their recent encounter. For example; having joined the club, paid to play, visited the spa or F&B outlet, attended a golf club fitting appointment, made a retail purchase, or having relinquished their club membership.
The functionality can even track a customer’s experience at significant landmarks during their journey, auto generating a ‘series’ of questionnaires, in sequence at set intervals, as programmed by the venue; measuring a new member’s experience over a set timeframe, or even a ‘get into golf program’ as a guide.
Over the years we have managed integrations with a number of the leading CRM & POS providers globally on behalf of our mutual clients.
Most recently we have been linked with Lightspeed; a global innovative ePOS system, and we have also delivered integrated surveys for many clients with the help of other leading providers such as Concept, EZLinks, imaster.golf and Premier Software, all with the ultimate goal of supporting our shared clients to maximise the intel they receive from their customers.
With technology always at the ready, and a wealth of flexible survey templates that cover all areas of the hospitality industry, club staff can save valuable admin time, with elements of human error also eradicated, as the POS & CRM takes over. That means more time to spend on analysing the data, utilising the industry specific benchmarking comparisons, and ultimately; on the important parts of customer experience – spending time with the customer and subsequently around planning improvements!
And while our survey platform is all algorithms, metrics and values, there’s no bots here! We are human, with expert servicing teams located in 9 international regions – from ideation and build support, to launch assistance, data analysis & next-level advice – when you need us, we are with you every step of the way.
We’ll even support your CRM & POS provider with all the necessary’s tech-talk to maximise your data-capture. So, what are you waiting for? Talk to us about your provider, and let’s get you hooked-up and away to go.
Never again will you make decisions blindly or be left wondering why… because you’ll have the hard and fast data at your fingertips, as we open your eyes to the wonderful world of wisdom…
As always; reach out to your regional 59club Manager for more information and to get started…
WARNING!!! Please be assured that 59club will guide you through the process of becoming a tech wizard – no former data-geek experience necessary – full 59club support provided, we have an open API, we’re friendly like that, and we’ll even manage the integration process with your CRM & POS provider as required.
The greatest thing about golfers is that they like to play in groups. No one likes to play golf alone and that gives us a huge advantage, whether that’s a monthly seasoned away day, or an annual group of 40+ visiting golfers, we want them to choose to visit us, right?! But are we consistently hitting all the high notes during their enquiry? After all, they’re probably canvasing a few other venues for the best rates.
But does rate really matter?
To some, absolutely! Rate may be everything – but when you consider;
Value = Experience less Cost, it’s the experience that we really need to pitch, and that’s where excellent customer service and call management will always win, but how do you know what to pitch?
Well, I’ll let you in to a little secret – it all comes down to following a solid sales process – none of this wishy-washy stuff – and at 59club we’re experts at mapping out the perfect journey, so here’s some helpful hints & tips, just for 10.
Phone rings – so where do you start?
1. Has the group been before?
2. What’s their previous experience, where did they visit; what did they enjoy; and what are the most important factors to ensure a successful event?
3. Discuss their previous budget and typical spend.
4. Sniff out the competition; who are we up against, have they made other enquiries, have they been given any package prices?
5. Discuss the frequency of the event?
6. Data collection – name, email, number, address, how did they hear of us, what prompted them to call – we want it all…
7. Event data – date, times, number of golfers and their level of flexibility
8. Establish the parameters of their budget?
9. Understand the event specifics – and boy there’s a lot of technicalities to cover here, from F&B requirements, on-course services, and prize tables, to golf clinics and leaderboards.
10. Demonstrate that you truly value their business.
Promotion begins…
Then it’s a simple case of delivering a ‘tailored’ promotion to exceed expectations; as you discuss the venue, your product and your USP’s – demonstrating added value along the way!!! And please ALWAYS give more…
Sales close & Follow up…
Finally, you start your ‘sales close’ and agree your follow-up protocol, because we’re going to be proactive with our next steps. Whether that’s still attempting to convert the business, offering to hold space, or issuing a personalized proposal; or simply providing pre-visit advice having secured the booking.
Yes, the rate may be high on a specific day or time, but by simply understanding the flexibility of your group; you may well be able to come up with an alternative tee time to help shape a great package for them. That’s what group golf is all about, keeping the group happy, and if we can be seen to value their business, tailoring our offering to accommodate them, tweaking this and that to give them the very greatest experience for their buck, then we are hard to beat!
Stop thinking of golf as a solid flat rate – how can it be, when there are so many SPECIFICS to navigate with the group organizer, and added extras that may well cost you nothing, but make the group feel like a million dollars.
If you start out with a solid sales process, designed to glean the information necessary to over-pitch your offering, then you’re on to a winning formula.
Ask your regional 59club manager about our Group Golf Sales audits, education and survey tools. There really is a better way to do things, and we are here to help guide you through initiating that sales process…
From the second an employee arrives for work, and even before they’ve slipped their coat off and settled into their daily duties, there are customers waiting to be supported & served, and we expect that interaction to be delivered with a smile and genuine interest to help. (As well as hitting all the high notes within our Mystery Shopper audit criteria)
On the whole, performance is true to form, but from time-to-time standards slip – employees may feel the pressures of their role, they may feel undervalued, they may have unknowingly inherited bad traits from other team members – and slowly that smile becomes strained.
The customer may not even notice the difference in behavior at first, but over time it starts to show, you may even hear customers speaking of the uncharacteristic behavior of their favorite employee.
“Motivate them, train them, care about them, and make winners out of them… they’ll treat the customers right.And if customers are treated right, they’ll come back.”
J. Willard Marriott, American entrepreneur, businessman and founder of the Marriott Corporation
To consistently deliver exceptional service, you must nurture your people, inspire their behavior, support them with the right tools and training to perform well within their role, predict their needs, and listen to their woes.
With so many customers to serve and departments to oversee, time often slips away, and every good intention becomes lower down the priority order, but it doesn’t need to be that way.
Just like your customers, there is also a ‘need’ to survey your employees, and for that matter we created a bundle of HR Survey Templates, to make analyzing employee wellbeing that much easier, whether they are an existing employee, new recruit or a leaver.
There’s a whole load of pre-set questions for you to include – as always, we try and take the guess work away, but there’s also the freedom to add any custom questions to your surveys – you’re always able to do that within any of our golf & hospitality templates, you can even make a survey entirely of your own if you prefer.
What always captivates me with the inclusion of a templated question, is the ability to compare your own outcomes with the global industry & podium set averages, that’s what fascinates me the most. How other employees’ experiences, preferences, willingness and loyalty compares to yours, and what you can take from the wisdom of stepping out of your own four walls.
The venue will also be able to identify what motivates individuals, and how they can support continued growth within their employees existing role, also providing clarity and vision over personal career progression.
There may be other survey providers out there – heck one google search and you can find a ton of them! But what you don’t get from any of them is the specialized industry expertise, the flexibility, and the miniscule analytical data that only 59club is synonymous for.
We aren’t just here as a survey provider like some of our competitors are, or as a mystery shopping company either, we are here for the greater good. We don’t just help you to spot flaws or celebrate excellence with you, we give you the solutions to perfect experiences.
Circling back to Mr. Marriott, our very own mantra is cut from the same cloth, we exist solely to help you to motivate your team, to care about them, to train them, and every year we make winners out of them. Your people are the foundation to achieving customer service excellence, that’s the business we are all in, and we’re all in it together!
The Human Resource Survey Templates are free to use within your Survey Platform, they address all areas of the employment roster – from measuring the New Employee Experience, general Employee Satisfaction, plus an Employee Exit Survey.
So, while we’ve got your attention, take some time out today, look into the HR Survey Suite. Give us a call if you prefer, and let’s set some time aside to prioritize employee wellbeing, as we look forward to enjoying the perks of increased customer service delivery.
59club’s ‘Eminent Collection’ celebration is set to return this fall, as we continue to recognize the finest properties & leaders across the world of golf & hospitality, for their unwavering dedication to Customer Service Excellence.
With exclusive events taking place at Trump International Golf Club, Dubai, and at Wentworth Club, England on the 21st and 23rd of November 2023 respectively; 59club are delighted to announce that their signature partner; Club Car has once again extended their commitment to the Collection; with both ReesinkToro & Golf Genius also aligning their brands with this unique portfolio of industry professionals, as the 2023 inductees are set to be announced.
Eligibility into the ‘Eminent Collection’ is based solely on achievements across the 59club Service Excellence Awards, with individual and team accolades, along with 59club Flag Designations, all contributing towards the Global Eminent Benchmark of Excellence; measuring performances over a minimum of 5 years.
In 2022, just twelve ‘properties’ from within 59club’s international network had achieved the required benchmark synonymous with the Collection, with a further twenty-two ‘leaders’ honored with Eminent Status.
Of the impending celebrations, Simon Wordsworth, 59club CEO said;
“The ultimate accolade 59club can bestow on any venue or individual is to grant them entry into The Eminent Collection.The calculation is fair, transparent, objective, and open to all industry professionals, and by design showcases individuals and venues who not only invite independent scrutiny, but who then deliver outstanding and consistent performances across a minimum of five years.
“It is my honour and privilege to continue to shine a light on the people who are ultimately shaping the direction the industry continues to take, by maximising the experience that every single customer can enjoy.”
As the wider industry waits on bated breath for the 2023 announcement to be made later in November; 59club are preparing to host a full house, as the entire Collection reconvenes to officially welcome the newcomers as they join this elite group of industry champions.
For more information about the Eminent Collection, or to learn about 59club and their plight towards elevating service standards and profitability across the golf & hospitality industry; please visit www.59club.com
Quinta do Lago, is nestled within the Algarve and located next to the beautiful Rio Formosa nature reserve. The resort offers an incredible selection of experiences and it has been making waves in the hospitality industry for its commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences.
We sat down with Luis, the Corporate & Leisure Relations Director of Quinta do Lago, to discuss their ongoing partnership with 59club and how it has transformed their approach to customer service and performance management.
Luis, you have been working with 59club for a number of years now across the resort. Can you tell us how 59club has helped Quinta do Lago objectively evaluate the current customer experience and identify areas for improvement?
Our partnership with 59club has significantly improved the guest experience at Quinta do Lago. Through their analysis, we have identified and addressed weaknesses and enhanced various aspects of our guests’ stay, from the golf courses to the dining experience and also within the leisure club. Collaborating with 59club has spurred positive reviews and reinforced our commitment to excellence. They’re a crucial partner in our journey to providing outstanding guest experiences.
Considering the size of the resort, can you share with us how utilizing 59club helps in managing the guest journey not only in Golf but in Hotel, F&B & Leisure?
We initially started working with 59club to manage the development of our golf visitor experience through a mystery shopping program across our 3 courses, However, we soon realized that the guest experience cannot only be restricted to a specific department, but that it is fundamental to ensure all of the departments are in-line with our main focus in delivering a unique guest experience throughout the resort.
Therefore, we asked for a bespoke program for the resort which includes Hotel, F&B and Leisure, as well as some unique mystery shopper audits in relation to property sales & guest services. 59club has provided these for us, and the data we now receive covers the entire guest journey; from hotel check-in, to using the state-of-the-art facilities within ‘The Campus’; as well as measuring the experience across several of our dining outlets. 59club provides an incredibly in-depth picture, and a wealth of data of what our guests are experiencing across the property.
“Collaborating with 59club has spurred positive reviews and reinforced our commitment to excellence. They’re a crucial partner in our journey to providing outstanding guest experiences“
As Corporate & Leisure Relations Director, can you share with us your vision for the resort’s growth and how working with 59club contributes to achieving that vision?
The majority of Resorts in Europe and in the world are nowadays offering the same facilities to guests. However, where Resorts can stand out is by delivering a quality of service which differentiates them from the rest. In the end, what remains in his/her memories is the interaction and experience with the resort staff who deliver the service in the hotel or in the restaurant.
By working with 59club we are not only reviewing previous visits, but pro-actively performance managing experiences across the resort. We always endeavor for Quinta do Lago to be a leading resort in the world, offering unforgettable experiences, and 59club assists us to ensure this.
Can you discuss any specific goals or benchmarks you aim to achieve in terms of service quality and member experience utilizing 59club’s services?
We are obsessed about service! And our aim is always to be amongst the best in the industry and to be seen as Market leaders. To achieve this, we need to deliver an excellent product, but above all an excellent service. This is a never-ending story, as service can always be improved and is always changing, influenced by epidemics like Covid or in accordance with the evolution of technology. Consistent training is crucial to achieve the ambitious standards we strive for, and by working with 59club we can identify the areas where training is urgently needed to improve it.
59club don’t just provide the data, we get together for regular service meetings following each month’s audit, they help with data interpretation and explain to the team how improvements can be made. We then use this insight to focus our goals and targets each quarter to delight guests.
Having multiple outlets across the resort, how does working with 59club help to evaluate & manage the team across your venues?
Our aim is that all the outlets can deliver a similar service to our guests in the Resort. Consistency is very important for us and with the help of 59club, we are able to measure the service level in all departments, and to raise red flags when necessary. This way, we are able to work with specific teams and bring them to the service level we are aiming for.
How do you think the ongoing evaluation through 59club’s mystery shopping services will support QDL in maintaining a culture of continuous improvement and delivering unparalleled experiences for your members and guests?
59club’s Mystery Shopper program is invaluable for us. They deliver a service that is based on actual facts. This creates the basis for an honest and clear approach to the areas needing attention and improvement with the commitment from associates and management team.
QDL secured a Service Excellence Flag at our recent Service Excellence Awards, what does this mean to you & the team?
This is a great honor for the Resort, but above all, it makes our associates immensely proud of their work and commitment in delivering a great service to our customers. It makes us feel that we are all working together, and headed in the right direction.
As a leader in the golf industry, how do you think the insights and best practices provided by 59club will contribute to the growth and development of golf clubs in Portugal, particularly in the Algarve region?
We were the first Resort in Portugal to be working with 59club. This has generated the curiosity of many other resorts to understand more about the services they are delivering. The best practices implemented are being followed by other golf clubs and that is setting the bar in the region.
Finally, what advice would you give to other golf clubs considering partnering with 59club to improve their customer service, staff training, and overall performance?
I would strongly advise them to explore the opportunity of working with 59club, and to take advantage of their market knowledge, as they can guide a property to achieve their desired service levels. It is invaluable to have access to data which is transparent, and a specialist on hand helping you to provide consistent service to customers, in all areas.
In the tranquil haven of Costa del Sol, where the lush greens meet the boundless blue skies, Finca Cortesin stands as a testament to golfing magnificence.
As it prepares to host the prestigious Solheim Cup this week, we had the privilege of sitting down with Rocío Sánchez, the Golf Manager of Finca Cortesin, to unveil the secrets behind their journey towards golfing greatness and their transformative partnership with 59club.
“Rocío, first things first, with the Solheim Cup just around the corner, can you share with us how everything is shaping up for the event, and how exciting is it for you and your team?”
“ We are all thrilled to be hosting the Solheim Cup this week, and have left no stone unturned in preparing to provide an exceptional experience for the players and guests. Over the past two years, all areas of our resort have been tirelessly improved to ensure we’re in top form. The excitement is building as we eagerly anticipate the event and we can’t wait for it to start”
“You have been working with 59club for a couple of years, can you tell us how 59club has helped Finca Cortesin objectively evaluate the customer experience and identify areas for improvement?”
“59club’s definition of excellence in service matches our own at the Club. With its well-defined parameters spanning various aspects of the golf reservation process, from the initial booking call to the ultimate visit day, we gain a comprehensive understanding of our service performance. The clarity offered by these parameters allows us to identify both our strengths and areas in need of improvement. By analyzing the entire customer journey, we can pinpoint specific touchpoints where we excel, and areas where we may fall short, enabling us to implement targeted strategies for enhancement.”
“As the Golf Manager of Finca Cortesin, can you share with us your vision for the club’s growth and what contributes to achieving that goal?”“As the Golf Manager of Finca Cortesin, can you share with us your vision for the club’s growth and what contributes to achieving that goal?”
“In achieving the high-quality standards that we set ourselves, my role involves evaluating the ratings provided by 59club’s mystery shoppers, and preparing comprehensive reports. These reports are then discussed with team leaders to identify areas where we excel and those that require improvement. Based on the findings, new guidelines are established to enhance our service further. Subsequently, I lead a meeting with the team to communicate the significance of this information and emphasize the importance of maintaining our level of excellence. Through this process, we aim to continuously elevate our service standards and provide exceptional experiences to our valued customers. “
“Collaborating with 59club has been instrumental in our continuous efforts to monitor customer service data and elevate our renowned service and facility standards. The ability to track each parameter over time ensures that we remain vigilant and take initiative, never letting our guard down“
“Can you share any specific goals or benchmarks you aim to achieve in terms of service quality and member experience, utilizing 59club’s services?”“Can you share any specific goals or benchmarks you aim to achieve in terms of service quality and member experience, utilizing 59club’s services?”
We have a very clear vision in the quality of service that we want to offer, so our standard rate to achieve this memorable experience for our members and visitors should be always to be in the top 3 clubs and maintain a 59club Golf Flag designation.
“How do you think the ongoing evaluation through 59club’s mystery shopping services will support Finca Cortesin in maintaining a culture of continuous improvement and delivering unparalleled experiences for your members and guests?”
“Over the years, collaborating with 59club has been instrumental in our continuous efforts to monitor customer service data and elevate our renowned service and facility standards. The ability to track each parameter over time ensures that we remain vigilant and take initiative, never letting our guard down. This partnership empowers us to stay responsive to our customers’ needs, identify areas for enhancement, and consistently deliver exceptional experiences that set us apart in the industry.”
“You & the team led the way at our recent Service Excellence Awards by winning Golf Manager of the Year & Golf Operations Team of the Year, what does this mean to you & the team?”
“We are delighted to receive these two awards; it is a testament to the hard work and effort demonstrated by the team day-in-day-out. Undoubtedly, these awards recognize the teamwork that we apply at Finca Cortesin, and we are very fortunate to have an incredible team that allows us to maintain our standards of service each and every year.
Personally, it has given me immense pride in winning 59club’s Golf Manager of the Year & Golf Operations Team of the Year awards. Being recognized in such a unique way makes us feel thrilled! Customer service has always been about exceeding customer expectations, and our team is very professional when it comes to daily tasks and responsibilities. We understand the established standards at the Club that are required to maintain an excellent level of service.”
“As a leader in the golf industry, how do you think the insights and best practices provided by 59club will contribute to the growth and development of golf clubs in Spain, particularly in the Costa del Sol region?”
“The adoption of tools such as 59club by clubs in the Costa del Sol can help raise the overall standards of service, setting a wider benchmark for excellence – as Clubs can monitor their levels of service in a very transparent way and therefore take action to improve on the required areas.”
“Finally, what advice would you give to other golf clubs considering partnering with 59club to improve their customer service, staff training, and overall performance?”
“Finca Cortesin has received some prestigious awards over the last few years for its quality of service and standards that set the benchmark in our region. Our partnership with 59club has been extremely helpful to track our metrics from a non-biased perspective, and take action where needed. So, any service and assistance that can help you achieve your goals, I think its always a good thing”
Royal Park I Roveri, located in the stunning setting of the La Mandria Natural Park at the foot of the Alps, is now in its third year with 59club and it also just happens to be one of the most prestigious clubs in Italy.
“59club’s objective evaluations and strategic support empowered us to continuously improve our performance, striving to be among the best in the industry“
We caught up with General Manager, Marco Aquilino, as he highlighted the journey he and the team have been on with 59club, the benefits they have realised and his future plans for the team and the club.
“Throughout the years, Royal Park I Roveri has been on a transformative journey, continuously striving to provide exceptional customer experiences and elevate service quality. Our partnership with 59club has played a crucial role in this pursuit, revolutionising our approach and propelling us towards new heights.
And like so many Managers that find themselves engaging with 59club, Marco had the same common law of attraction to 59club, and went on to say;
“It all began with a realization – the danger of becoming complacent when working in the same environment day after day. We needed an objective lens to evaluate our operations and identify areas for improvement, this is where 59club came in to help with our pursuit of excellence. Their evaluations provided us with a fresh perspective, uncovering blind spots and bringing awareness to our starting point.
“Our vision at Royal Park I Roveri has always been to create an unforgettable experience for our members and visitors. We wanted our club to be more than just a place to play golf; we aimed to cultivate an environment where everyone felt genuinely valued, even if they were just visiting for a day. This vision required exceptional service that went beyond delivering a good product. Partnering with 59club became instrumental in turning this vision into a reality.”
Marco explains that certain elements of the club’s member & guest experience were prioritised, and he details how 59club supported the team to succeed in those areas …
“Through our collaboration, we focused on key touchpoints such as the welcome on arrival, booking confirmation, and guest management on the course. 59club’s insights, coupled with their online educational tools, allowed us to enhance the training of our staff, and elevate their attention to these critical areas. 59club’s objective evaluations and strategic support empowered us to continuously improve our performance, striving to be among the best in the industry.
“Our goal is to provide a customer experience which is recognised alongside the best international venues, and with data collected through 59club platforms, this becomes our catalyst for shaping operations and driving further success. Analysing this data enables us to refine our offerings based on the needs of our customers, optimising our investments to deliver exceptional experiences.”
Looking ahead, Marco sees the insights and best practices provided by 59club contributing to the growth and development of golf clubs in Italy…
“In Italy, unfortunately, there are not many of us who are able to travel around the world to experience and explore new ideas, not due to lack of will but for lack of time. However, 59club’s international expertise bridged this gap, bringing fresh insights and igniting innovation. Their evaluations, explanations, and dedicated support serve as a foundation for golf clubs in Italy to grow and excel, even without extensive travel experiences.”
Most recently the team at Royal Park I Roveri enjoyed multiple successes at 59club’s Regional ‘Service Excellence Awards’. The club displayed some of the highest standards of customer excellence achieved within their impartial mystery shopping audits, spanning Spain, Portugal, Greece & Italy.
“Our dedication to excellence was recognised when we received our Silver Flag Designation, and Retail Manager of the Year Award at this years’ ceremony. These accolades served as validation for our hard work, and affirmed our commitment to continuous improvement.
“The recognition we received bolstered our team’s morale, inspiring us to aim higher and exceed our achievements. Our sights are now firmly set on obtaining Gold Flag Status next year.”
Marco had this advice for other clubs currently considering partnering with 59club;
“To golf clubs considering partnering with 59club, my advice is simple: seize the opportunity. Regardless of budget constraints, 59club offers a bespoke approach that caters to different needs. Even with minimal audits and staff training, immediate results can be observed. Embracing this partnership will undoubtedly enhance customer service, elevate staff training, drive overall performance and financial gain. To all clubs in Italy, it’s a step towards growth and positioning your club on an international path, ultimately contributing to the reputation of Italy as a premier golf destination”.
59club Europe South are delighted to announce GOLF COSTA ADEJE as its newest partner venue.
Based on the south side of the Island of Tenerife & only 15 minutes from the South Airport, Costa Adeje offers a wonderful escape for all visitors with fantastic Golf, directly located in La Caleta, an exclusive environment.
With partnering with 59club Europe South, Costa Adeje will benefit from a wealth of customer experience data scheduled from visits in 2023 & throughout 2024. This allows the club to continually develop their customer journey in their vision and help with staff training & service, all whilst being able to benchmark against other venues in the region and across the globe. We are delighted to partner with Costa Adeje and we look forward to working with the team.
El Paraiso Golf Club, located in the middle of Marbella & Estepona on the Costa del Sol, is a newcomer to the 59club community, having started working closely with the leading sales & customer service management specialists at the start of this year.
The club, who are currently celebrating their 50th anniversary, has found solace in 59club’s intelligent mystery shopping program, and the perfect survey platform to monitor their customer journey at the club, along with a support network to help them achieve their ambitious goals.
We asked Managing Director, David Ramos, to share his experience of this journey and how it is shaping his vision for the future of the club.
“I have been pleasantly surprised by the insights gained from the mystery shopper platform. It has been eye-opening to measure the level of service provided by the various departments at our golf course. Previously, monitoring the performance of each department at the club was challenging, but the 59club platform has provided a comprehensive overview of strengths and areas for improvement. It has highlighted specific aspects that stood out positively, such as the friendly and welcoming atmosphere we have created.
Additionally, our audits have emphasized the excellent condition of our course, which received high praise, and it’s not a subjective opinion, the course is measured against 59club’s global benchmarking criteria, and I am confident of knowing where we sit regionally and internationally. These findings from the data have been invaluable in guiding our efforts to continuously enhance the overall experience for our guests. We are using this information to address any areas that need improvement and to reinforce the positive aspects of our operations.”
“These findings from the data have been invaluable in guiding our efforts to continuously enhance the overall experience for our guests. We are using this information to address any areas that need improvement and to reinforce the positive aspects of our operations.”
For this Managing Director, there is no resting on his laurels, as Ramos is eager to describe his vision for the club’s growth, and this partnership with 59club will contribute to the realisation of that vision.
“As Managing Director, especially during this milestone year as we celebrate our 50th anniversary, I have a clear vision for the growth and continued success of the club. Over the past few years, we have made significant investments in improving both the course and the clubhouse, ensuring that our facilities are of the highest quality. However, we believe that there is always room for improvement in every aspect of our operations.
One area that we want to focus on to enhance the overall experience for our members and guests is customer service. While we have received very positive reviews from clients in the past, we recognise that monitoring key aspects of the customer journey can help us provide an even better experience.
This is where our partnership with 59club becomes invaluable. With access to the mystery shopper services and intelligent survey software, this allows us to gain valuable insights into our customer service performance. This data-driven approach enables us to understand the needs and expectations of our guests more comprehensively, and subsequently tailor our services to exceed their expectations. By actively monitoring and addressing key aspects of customer service, we aim to create a truly exceptional and memorable experience for everyone who visits El Paraiso Golf Club.
We are working on implementing effective strategies, refining our operations, and ensuring that our growth as a club aligns with our vision of providing the highest level of service and satisfaction to our valued members and guests”.
The intel that 59club has delivered has empowered Ramos to set specific goals & benchmarks that he and the team are aiming for in terms of service quality and experience. Ramos explains just how he plans to implement these strategies and the tools he will use.
“We have specific goals and benchmarks in mind, one of our key focuses is improving the information provided to clients, particularly those who are playing El Paraiso for the first time. This includes offering comprehensive details about our facilities, services, and any special events or promotions. We want to ensure they have all the necessary details and guidance to make their visit seamless and enjoyable. By proactively communicating with our clients and addressing their inquiries or concerns ahead of time, we can enhance their overall experience and ensure their expectations are met or exceeded.”
And it’s not just to the benefit of El Paraiso, David firmly sees the insights and best practices provided by 59club contributing to the growth and development of golf clubs in Spain, and particularly in the Costa del Sol region, he explains
“I believe that the insights and best practices provided by 59club will have a significant impact on the growth and development of golf clubs in Spain, particularly in the Costa del Sol region. The customer service experience is a key differentiating factor among the 70 courses in our area, and this is where the information provided by 59club becomes invaluable.
The challenges and opportunities we encounter at El Paraiso Golf Club are likely to be similar to those faced by other clubs in the region. By leveraging the insights and best practices shared by 59club, we can collectively elevate the standard of customer service throughout the Costa del Sol. This will not only enhance the experience for golfers visiting the region, but also contribute to the overall reputation and competitiveness of our golf clubs.
By embracing the data-driven approach and implementing strategies, golf clubs in the Costa del Sol can ensure that they are delivering exceptional customer service and exceeding the expectations of their members and guests. This, in turn, will drive increased satisfaction, loyalty, and positive word-of-mouth, ultimately leading to the growth and success of the golf industry in the region”
The message that Ramos is eager to share with his industry peers and other golf clubs considering partnering with 59club is clear
“I strongly recommend partnering with 59club to improve customer service, staff training, and overall performance at their golf clubs. We have been delighted with the insights gained in just a few months. Embrace this data-driven approach, utilise their mystery shopper services, support network and survey tools. It will undoubtedly benefit your club and contribute to its long-term success.”
The game of golf has seen significant changes over the past few decades and so have the people who play it. Once stuck with the stigma of being stuffy and elitist, golf is now showing signs of getting younger, more inclusive and available to players of all abilities.
As a result, what was expected of a golf course in the past – in the way of customer service and player experience – is changing at the same rapid rate. In phrase: the days of focusing only on turf conditions are coming to an end.
Bernat Llobera receiving his Eminent Collection award in 2023, presented by 59club EU South General Manager Lee Mathew Waggott
In this 59club Spotlight on Service, we head to Mallorca, Spain to catch up with Bernat Llobera, Area Golf Director at Arabella Golf who echoes the importance of providing exceptional customer service across the board, and uses 59club’s industry leading services to objectively evaluate their customer experience, drive continuous improvement, and establish a club-wide culture of service across their three golf properties on Spain’s largest island.
“We see nowadays that it is not only about having a course in great shape. It is about a journey, a full experience.” – Bernat Llobera.
For Llobera, identifying growth opportunities – for revenue and service operations – begins with understanding the experience from the player’s perspective. Working with 59club has made that objective infinitely easier through regular mystery shopping services at Arabella Golf.
“59club’s evaluations are incredibly valuable assets as they provide a client’s perspective which resembles a real guest experience,” said Llobera. “The objective insights provided by 59club are far more valuable than internal assessments. The ‘extra bonus’ is being able to compare ourselves, our three courses, and the ability to compare this to the wider industry benchmarks. And once we have identified areas for growth, 59club’s training and education services allow us to make improvements to our systems and protocols extremely quickly.”
Llobera went on to say identifying and fixing problems as they arise is only half the battle. A commitment to continuous improvement must be the driving force behind changes to customer service protocols.
“Once we receive our evaluation results, we immediately sit down to discuss them as a group,” said Llobera. “We look at everything from comments and images to objective ratings and begin to identify trends and long-term solutions, something that wouldn’t be possible if every team member wasn’t completely committed.”
That commitment to improvement at Arabella Golf, and regular training through 59club has created a culture of customer service at the club. Employee training sessions are completed every year in many aspects of hospitality service, including phone skills, upselling options and retail protocols.
“We see nowadays that it is not only about having a course in great shape. It is about a journey, a full experience.”
“Our team members love the training sessions,” said Llobera. “It’s clear to see that everyone takes them seriously and strives to improve. The common feedback from the team is that 59club knows and understands the intricacies of the business, and from what I know, there is nothing that can be compared to what 59club offers. Most recently 59club training sessions have been instrumental in improving our reservations department – often the first impression with your customer.”
Another goal for Llobera this year? Pick up a few awards.
“We were extremely proud of all three of our properties’ recognition at the most recent Service Excellence Awards, with Son Muntaner leading the way with a gold flag,” said Llobera. “It encourages you to keep working hard. Ultimately, our team members are the ones who create an incredible golf journey for our guests, so it’s especially gratifying to see the entire team recognized for their commitment and hard work.”
Arabella Golf, Mallorca – Son Vida Course, Hole 16
The age old saying goes, ‘that great managers lead by example’; and 59club are quick to point out that Llobera was recently invited into 59club’s Eminent Collection, joining only twenty-two managers spanning 59clubs global territory – and the very first in Europe – having achieved this international benchmark of excellence, which recognises the finest individuals who are leading the industry in the customer experience realms.
Eligibility into the Eminent Collection is based solely on achievements across the 59club Service Excellence Awards, with individual and team accolades, along with property flag designations, all contributing towards the Eminent Benchmark of Excellence; measuring performances over a minimum of 5 years.
Golf experience in Spain is being elevated by managers such as Llobera who seek analysis and feedback to support their team to strengthen their proposition in the marketplace. The advice that he would give to other club managers in Europe and across the wider golfing landscape is that “59club’s wide range of services and solutions improve the business, and therefore, the bottom line. Through personal experience they understand the golf operation and the hospitality industry better than anyone we have met before; they are a great support specialising in customer service; I highly recommend them and their services.”
In the world of club operations, having the right people, in the right places, behaving in the right way is paramount to success. A customer only has to receive one bad experience to disassociate themself with a brand or organisation, while spreading news of that poor experience far and wide.
To some, the notion of reinvesting surplus back into operations specifically to educate and develop the team may seem groundbreaking, but could it potentially become the standard for future budgeting?
Now, imagine we shift our perspective slightly and ask: what if a ‘specific portion’ of your overall revenue is dedicated to staff training and development in your budgeting process, just like McDonalds, Starbucks and other enormous global companies earmarks a particular amount for advertising each year?
Although training and development have always found a place in your annual expense report, how can you be certain that your investment is enough, and how can you be sure that it’s paying dividends?
Over the past three years, Club Study has conducted multiple surveys via its industry network to understand the investment trends in staff training and development.
Interestingly, the Club Study industry peers report that their investment seems to have slightly dipped since 2021, as seen in the graphic below.
Surprisingly, these numbers seem rather underwhelming for something so crucial to club operations. Observing the expenditure as an absolute dollar value, however, changes the narrative.
A club with a $3 million turnover will spend less than $30k on average on training & development. Given the financial constraints that club budgets often have to grapple with, including break-even targets, slim profit margins, and increasing inflation, this amount suddenly seems justifiable, even generous to some. But can we really justify increasing this budget?
In the wake of a recent increase in club activities and longer wait lists, many clubs may not see the immediate need for investing more in staff training. The decision-making process is typically reactive rather than proactive, and clubs often prioritize preventing losses over seeking gains. But wouldn’t you agree that the clubs investing more than 2% in staff training probably enjoy a more robust staff culture, leading to better relationships, longer staff tenures, and an overall happier environment? Ultimately, selling and servicing customers to better degrees.
We are pleased to report that we have seen an increased appetite for staff training in recent times, with many 59club clients who receive ‘mystery shopping’ audits investing heavily in training, probably for the same reason they are challenging the golf industry by delivering some of the finest customer experiences in the world of golf.
59club handles enormous quantities of live data and insights, so much so that we are the only authority in golf who can go out on a limb and make such bold accusations about global CX benchmarks and industry trends.
Surprisingly, these numbers seem rather underwhelming for something so crucial to club operations.
Just as we support our clients to understand their customers, we know our clients and we know them very well, and we can whole-heartedly confirm that they take education extremely seriously – so much so that we have witnessed a 166% increase in the number of training sessions delivered by the 59club UK team between 2021 & 2022.
Taking it back to the wider industry, the Club Study network reports that the largest proportion of development dollars is spent on middle management. So, where exactly do these training dollars go? The most logical answer seems to be conferences, organised by various associations and governing bodies at national and regional levels. Conferences can provide inspiration, reflection, and innovative ideas, not to mention the fantastic networking opportunities and the fun that they provide.
Yet, it remains hard to precisely calculate the ROI from these events.
The crux of the matter when justifying expenditure lies in quantifying the return on investment (ROI) from training and development, which is no easy task. If we don’t measure it, it’s likely to be overlooked.
To quantify improvement in training and development, we need a benchmark. This is where “mystery shopping” comes in. As an unbiased, ground-level measure of your customer service, it provides the perfect service benchmark. After a period of conducting such audits, you’ll have a robust dataset highlighting your strengths and weaknesses, confirming (or disproving) your suspicions.
So, what’s next? The answer is simple: Train! Use the data, celebrate the successes, and develop strategies to address the weaknesses. Department-specific training, consistent programming, and building an ongoing relationship geared to enhance club culture, audit after audit, will make a world of difference.
Your focus should always be on measuring. Once you start doing that, you’ll start viewing training as an investment that yields a return. This brings us back to the heart of the industry: relationships.
As the world continues to blaze the digital frontier, there are now more ways than ever to book a tee time or make a dinner reservation at your club. At face value, that’s a good thing. Additional ways to sell tee times and restaurant covers mean more ways to make your club more accessible and potentially profitable.
But new digital pathways also create opportunities for digital missteps. Mainly, customers want to know their credit card information is secure and they want to know when you have reserved their spot – whether that be for a tee time booking, a dinner reservation or even a treatment at the health spa. And if you’re not providing a written record of their place on your tee sheet or a table at your restaurant, customers may start to feel uneasy about the entire process.
More importantly, an inquisitive written confirmation – which we’ll discuss below – eliminates common customer service problems and opens additional upsell opportunities at your club and restaurant.
Golf Visitor Experience Mystery ShopperInsights:
The global golf industry failed to request an email address during 40% of all tee time reservations made during 2022.
17% of all email confirmations went astray; either the incorrect email address was recorded, or possibly never sent.
Only 56% of golfers ever received their booking confirmation…
What’s the point?
The initial purpose of a written confirmation is to acknowledge the correct date and time of the reservation. Simple. The bare minimum.
If you ordered a widget from Amazon without a confirmation of the purchase, you would be left wondering if Amazon is, in fact, fulfilling the order. That kind of digital misstep creates enormous uncertainty and is unlikely to be the first impression you want to convey to your customer.
With email fields being mandatory, most online tee-time and restaurant booking engines provide immediate and automated written confirmation, allowing customers sight of their booking details and the opportunity to spot any potential errors. When the reservation is booked over the phone the duty of collecting the email address sits with the reservations agent. According to Matt Roberts, 59club’s Director of Training & Education, the absence of a written confirmation can lead to uncertainty and potentially some level of confrontation, not to mention the potential loss of revenues.
“If you’re taking the reservation by phone, it’s imperative to take the customer’s email address and ensure it is correct by repeating it back to your guest to avoid errors. From our experience, you would be amazed at how many people show up at the wrong time or even on the wrong day. This leads to an awkward conversation at the check-in counter trying to figure out how the error may have occurred.”
Additional Components
“Mycustomerhasbooked, mysoftwaregeneratedanimmediatewrittenconfirmation, ormystaffhaveaccesstosend a ‘templated’email. Doneanddone. Right?” Not exactly. For many places around the world, golf and secondary revenue channels like restaurants and bar are seasonal. Operating hours, menu items, club dress code and practice facility access and other large parts of the overall golf experience can change and be different from week to week. How often do you rehash the templated message? – and does it contain everything you’d expect?
Small additions to a written confirmation with updated restaurant hours, dress code or practice facility access, for example, ensure customer expectations match your club’s operations. According to Roberts, clubs who don’t include this information in their written confirmation are leaving themselves open to poor customer experience.
“Everything in the written confirmation has to match the customer expectations,” said Roberts. “The last thing you want to happen is someone arriving at your club expecting to eat breakfast and the restaurant is closed or wishing to hit some balls prior to play and it just happens to be that one day the range is closed for maintenance!
Worse yet, and the one that can cause confrontation, is when a player arrives wearing an outfit outside of the club’s dress code policy. The staff are now faced with an undesirable dilemma: do I make a concession to this one visitor and risk others perceiving this as special treatment, or do I force this customer to purchase attire from the club shop to then adhere to the dress policy? A bad experience either way. Both are avoidable with an informative written confirmation.”
Revenue generation
Asking questions or providing additional information within the written confirmation also creates upselling and subsequent marketing opportunities. A common example is the promotion of a golf cart/buggy if one hasn’t been reserved at the call stage. Just by offering a link or a contact to the consumer for them to be able to reserve prior to arrival is imperative for increasing revenue. It also allows the club to prepare this hire item for the arrival of the guest.
Any operator will tell you that the whole check in experience can be busy, but then throw in additional needs of the customer, such as buggy hire, club rental, use of a caddy, or even a personalized gift that the club wasn’t aware of, will lead to more time servicing the guest’s needs and a delay in an already busy operation.
Multiple course operators can also promote the options of an upgrade or highlight other courses within a group. The booking confirmation can also promote elements such as accommodation either on-site, or at other local establishments that offer preferential rates when booked via the club.
And, let’s face it, the opportunities to upsell are endless, when you consider other services and facilities such as high-ropes, custom-fitting, score card marking, leisure & spa usage, private dining etc that can be accessed either on the day, or that may tempt a future return to the club.
Directions or a link to an interactive map, potential transfers and how to book them as well as any information about how to access the club are always useful for any visitors who may be unfamiliar with the area.
Finally, and possibly the most important, are the Terms and Conditions of the club which are there to provide clarity on payment and cancelation, pairing up policy, bad weather and course closures must also be included within the confirmation. You will always be in a more comfortable position, when facing any confrontation, if your T’s and C’s are set in place.
Of course, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to customer service at your club, and your fellow 59club manager can guide you through industry best practices.
Last year, 59club announced its commitment to become carbon neutral across its global operations by 2030, and is unbelievably excited to have taken a huge step on that journey, with its UK & Ireland business now officially accredited with achieving neutrality in 2022.
To help guide them through the transition to carbon neutral, 59club found solace in the services provided by “Neutral Carbon Zone (NCZ)” – a leading consultancy, management and certification platform.
“Strategically we decided to start with the UK business as it is our most mature business. If we can achieve carbon neutral here, we know we can share best practice and achieve it in our Asia, Australia, Canada, European, MEA, Nordic & USA businesses.” said Simon Wordsworth, Founder and CEO of 59club.
Over the last 16 months, Alan Stenson & Krys Stanton from NCZ supported Will Hewitt, Andy Etherington and the 59club UK team to adopt NCZ’s three scope structure to tackle the key areas of emissions, by creating strategies for every emission line, either at the company’s cost or simply behavioural changes within the business.
59club even went further than ‘required’ to help its team members tackle their own carbon emissions through their personal travel and home energy use.
“We reviewed emissions directly generated by the company’s activities, emissions that are indirectly generated by energy purchased by the company, and lastly emissions that arise from organizational activities, but from sources owned or controlled by other organizations.
“It’s taken time simply because of the complexity of our business, as it’s not just our office and our people, but all the emissions created by our mystery testers and auditors as they move around the UK & Ireland, the events that we host such as the annual awards ceremony, client golf days, the servers that our software runs on…the list could just go on.” continued Wordsworth.
The business even went further than ‘required’ to help its team members tackle their own carbon emissions through their personal travel and home energy use.
To date, 59club’s UK & Ireland division has completed the first phase of its pledge, having received the results of a recently commissioned carbon footprint assessment, which measures the carbon emissions generated by the organisation’s activities. The assessment is the critical first stage of a comprehensive and commercially focused carbon management plan. The measurement of 59club’s carbon emissions follows the internationally recognised standard ISO-14064-1:2006.
Wordsworth added; “As we progress through this journey, will start to change company buying decisions to ‘fellow green businesses’ who are positively seeking neutrality – where we stay, where we eat, who we buy from etc.”
Achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2030 across 59club’s Global Operations
“For 59club, the pursuit of excellence extends beyond exceptional customer service; it encompasses a responsibility towards our planet. Today, we proudly reaffirm our commitment to achieving carbon neutrality across our global operations by 2030. With this effort, 59club is dedicated to creating a brighter future, where exceptional experiences coexist with a greener world.
“Today’s announcement marks an important milestone in 59club’s journey towards global carbon neutrality. We firmly believe that every long journey begins with a first step, and this commitment to becoming carbon neutral across our entire global operations by 2030 is just the beginning.”
Wordsworth concludes; “Some of our operations that cover huge geographical areas are going to find this really difficult whilst still trying to grow and be profitable, but we believe this is an absolute necessity for the preservation of our planet. Over the coming decades, we will continue to forge ahead, implementing innovative measures and collaborating with partners worldwide to ensure a sustainable future. We have always tried to be amongst the first/early movers, tried to be creative and innovative and this journey allows us to flourish, playing our part to inspire positive change for generations to come.”
In the ever-evolving world of golf club and hospitality management, being a successful manager involves juggling multiple roles. In the whirlwind of these responsibilities, there isn’t enough time to play guessing games about your member or guests’ needs. The best way to learn what your customers want at your club? Ask them !!!
Over the years, we have witnessed a significant shift in customer behaviour within our Survey Software. What started out with aspirations of becoming the most comprehensive pick & mix survey tool in the golf & hospitality industry, has inspired a new-age of club managers who stretch beyond the realms of typical club surveys, to solicit feedback on a whole host of areas to help inform their decision making and the direction the club chooses to take.
Some of those uses border on being radical – a phrase that doesn’t usually appear in the context of Customer Service Management or in Golf in general… but then again, we’ve always been a magnet for those in the industry who like to do things better, and in doing so we like to support them to behave a bit differently…
So, what exactly are these new radicals up to?
They’re putting the club’s destiny in the hands of their members, guests and employees, they’re not just seeking opinion, they’re making instant ‘data-driven’ decisions to help guide the most suitable offering for their customers without prejudice and based on science.
A new age of club managers are delivering surveys for a whole multitude of reasons, some even to establish where their members would prefer grant monies to be spent – on the course, or in the clubhouse?
We’ve seen a club make their entire stock selection based on responses to a simple ‘one question’ survey to establish which brands members would prefer to see in the pro shop – giving different supplier options to both male & female members.
Many clubs are now turning to their members requesting feedback on the club’s competition calendar in an attempt to increase participation, with others collating data to help shape their social events calendar, based on likes and dislikes from previous years, whilst ascertaining interest on potential new themes.
There are so many daily decisions that as managers we face, but the new-age of club managers are involving their members, guests and employees, after all it’s their club and we need them to enjoy it to the absolute maximum, if we want to secure their loyalty.
We’ve always been a magnet for those in the industry who like to do things better, and in doing so we like to support them to behave a bit differently…
We’ve witnessed members inspire seasonal menu changes, and on occasion beer and wine suppliers being switched to the delight of those thirsty members. And then there’s a whole bunch of clubs who made member driven changes to their tee-sheets.
There’s so many survey templates to choose from, and so much data to gain and take inspiration from, but there’s one that remains a favorite, always topping the usage charts – and that’s the new member survey. Designed to ensure all newbies are integrated into the club community from day one. Some club managers go one step further using the intelligent software to send their new members a ‘series’ of surveys at specific landmarks during their first three months at the club – monitoring their journey into club life, and addressing any weaknesses along the way.
But let’s not forget the most important people within your business – your employees!!! Forward thinking managers are gathering critical data from the HR survey template bundle, to analyse new and existing employee’s satisfaction levels, along with finding out why some chose to leave.
We’ve noticed a huge shift from being reactive to pro-active, and that in itself is pure 100 percent karat gold, gone are the days of making assumptions of what will sell in the shop, or what events members may enjoy attending, or why suddenly a loyal group of members went AWOL.
The best way to learn what your customers want at your club?
Ask them!!!
Big shout out to all our radical customers – you know who you are!
And if you’re just starting out on your journey with us – let us guide you to get the best out of your customers, and to give the best back.
In the competitive world of golf and country club management, staying ahead of the curve requires a combination of dedication, innovative strategies, and utilizing the right tools.
Today, we bring you insights from an industry leader who’s making headway in optimizing member experiences, Jason Hanna, COO of the Credit Valley Golf and Country Club in Canada. We talk about his vision, 59club’s transformative role in their operations, and the future of golf clubs in the region.
The Visionary Path
Under Jason’s stewardship, Credit Valley aims to grow its member service standards by “creating means to measure our progress year over year and benchmarking with similar clubs in our market.” This ensures they’re either meeting or exceeding industry standards and expectations.
Jason highlights the significance of 59club’s industry benchmarking services, calling them “an invaluable tool, not only for club managers but for committees and Boards to better understand industry standards.”
Striking a Better Club Experience
Credit Valley is focusing on enhancing locker room and outside golf operations. They’ve found an ally in 59club, whose survey software and mystery shopping audits has resonated with the club’s team, mainly due to its granularity. This has facilitated more accurate evaluations, streamlined internal communications, and enriched staff training.
“Benchmarking and surveys have been instrumental in setting targets. We have used the HR survey templates exclusively on staff to date in order have a sense of their comfort heading into a busy season, and a peer assessment method with our management team that folds into their appraisals. We will also be expanding to use surveys for Board and committee effectiveness,” Jason shares. This bespoke approach has been pivotal in understanding Credit Valley’s unique aspects, and driving continuous improvement.
On Course for Continuous Improvement
When asked how they intend to capitalize on data, Jason expressed that the information gathered has already contributed to shaping their operational plans, especially around staff engagement.
He also emphasizes the role of mystery shopping services in evaluating customer experiences, stating, “Receiving a timely, comprehensive report covering all areas of interaction at the club allows management to make real-time adjustments, or seek further inquiry into areas performing below standard.”
Industry Influence and Future Forecasts
As a leader in the golf industry, Jason believes that 59club’s insights will contribute significantly to the growth of golf clubs in Canada, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area, that holds about 20% of the nation’s population and many of the top-tier clubs.
“Implementing new operations or software can be daunting at times, but working with 59club makes implementing new protocols and services fairly routine,”
He advises other golf clubs considering a partnership with 59club; “Due to the ability to build services around the specific needs and nuances, 59club will capture data and measure service standards at any club.”
On the horizon for Credit Valley is further integration of these performance management services, especially in terms of member satisfaction surveys on targeted areas of the club’s amenities and additional mystery shopping across other areas of the business such as member onboarding. According to Jason, 59club’s regular training and support will make this a walk in the park.
“Implementing new operations or software can be daunting at times, but working with 59club makes implementing new protocols and services fairly routine,” said Hanna. “59club is with us every step of the way, not only helping us read and interpret mystery shopping data, but also recommending and helping us with our employee education and training plans, as well as providing operations support, they are always focused on identifying opportunities for growth.”
The partnership between Credit Valley Golf and Country Club and 59club paints a picture of progress and promise. With a vision to improve, the right tools in place, and a commitment to service excellence, the future seems bright for Credit Valley and the Canadian golf club industry as a whole.
The world of golf and country club management, as observed through Jason’s lens, is one of relentless innovation, continuous improvement, and unwavering dedication to service excellence. As we navigate the future, these insights serve as a testament to the transformative power of collaboration, and the drive for progress that defines leaders like Jason Hanna and organizations like Credit Valley Golf and Country Club.
“We are pleased to introduce our first official clothing partner at 59club Nordic – J.Lindeberg!” General Manager at 59club Nordic Sebastian Czyz says. “We are extremely proud welcoming Joakim Ågren and the entire J.Lindeberg family to 59club Nordic. J.Lindeberg has been a partner with 59club UK for many years, and we look forward to further expand the partnership, and to create and share exciting stories in the Nordic countries.”
J.Lindeberg first launched in the summer of 1996, in Stockholm and New York simultaneously. Their founder, Johan Lindeberg, had a desire to challenge conventions and an idea to modernize the golfing fashion landscape, leaving the stale and the conservative behind.
“The history behind J.Lindeberg and the mindset of why Johan Lindeberg founded it, is very intriguing” Sebastian Czyz says. “A shared desire and vision for the game, yet in different areas, we believe this partnership is a great match. 59club Nordic exists with the sole purpose of supporting and guiding the high end and ambitious golf clubs to deliver the ultimate customer experience for their members, guests and employees. In order to do so, a mindset like Johan Lindeberg is valuable – a mindset who wants to challenge the current state; a mindset who is willing to think differently and a mindset who wants to excel.”
“At J.Lindeberg, we partner with companies with shared values. We have had a long-lasting relationship with 59club UK, due to our similar vision and desire for the entire industry. The fact that we have 59club Nordic in our own backyard now, just makes it even that more exciting. We look forward to partner with 59club Nordic and join them on their journey to support golf clubs in the Nordic region,” Scandinavia Wholesale Manager Joakim Ågren says.
59club’s Annual Awards Ceremony recognises the outstanding individuals, teams, venues, and groups within the global golf & hospitality industry for having achieved the highest standards of customer service excellence & sales performance.
59club’s Industry Benchmark of excellence, it’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Flag Designations are also awarded annually, these highly prized accolades recognise member clubs’ and resorts that provide excellent facilities for golfers to enjoy, as well as having achieved the required standard of customer service throughout the year.
Qualification for these prestigious accolades is unbiased; and determined by scores achieved through a detailed and objective mystery shopping program, which measures the experience afforded to members, visitors and prospective members spanning the entire Golf, Leisure, Spa, F&B & Hotel operation.
A case Study exploring global New Member Onboarding trends
In the modern landscape, data stands as the pivotal cornerstone guiding our actions and shaping our strategies. It offers insight, reveals patterns and uncovers hidden opportunities.
In short, data becomes our road map. Insights collected from our recent multi-national survey of new club members reinforces not only the importance of data collection in this industry, but also how action – or in this case, inaction – can create a mismatch between Member needs and Club operations.
Out of more than a thousand global respondents to the member onboarding survey, a striking 80 percent cited “lose weight or get in shape” as the primary motive for joining the health club. This clearly signals a profound desire among members to prioritize their fitness journey and take proactive steps towards health and wellness.
However, there exists a disconnection in the club’s member service ecosystem, indicated by other data points from the survey. A sizable 82 percent of the respondents disclosed that they had not received a new member welcome call within 5 days of joining the club, and only 47 percent received any type of health & fitness induction with the personal trainer, with 40 percent failing to even receive a fitness class schedule.
This data demonstrates a significant gap in communication and service delivery that can hinder members from realizing their wellness goals. It paints a stark contrast between what members expect and what they experience.
Data is a powerful tool, but it’s only as valuable as the action it inspires. What can we, as industry leaders and club managers, do with this data? How can we turn these insights into effective strategies?
Firstly, this data suggests a crucial need to improve communication with new members, ensuring they are well informed about the fitness services available to them. This should involve a personalized welcome call, with an invitation to attend a face-to-face meeting with the personal trainer and / or operations manager, to provide all the necessary items and advice to help them integrate instantly into club life. This simple act of proactive engagement can not only facilitate their fitness journey but also build a stronger rapport, promoting a sense of belonging within the club community from day one.
Secondly, the importance of implementing a comprehensive and structured onboarding program for new members. This should start with a new member initiation meeting, this could include guided tours, allowing the club to emphasize the various fitness services, the different fitness classes or group activity programs and to make introductions to other employees within the fitness team as well as like-minded members, those of a similar ability, or members with relatable fitness goals.
Subsequent appointment scheduling – should not be overlooked, employees should as part of their regular service calls attempt to engage new members in health assessments, equipment inductions, fitness programs and future goal settings, with appointments set aside for regular reviews – and perhaps a complimentary session with a personal trainer. The goal is to provide an enriched experience that encourages members to actively utilize the club’s fitness offerings, and engage with fellow club members and the wider fitness team, whilst serving them to meet their goals.
Lastly, feedback mechanisms should be put in place to continuously gather member input. These might include regular surveys and service calls where members can share their experiences and ideas. This ongoing data collection not only helps to identify any areas needing improvement, but also to anticipate changing member needs, fostering a responsive and adaptable club environment.
This example is a wake-up call for clubs to re-evaluate and reinforce their new member engagement strategies. It’s a clear testament to the importance of effective communication, a well-structured onboarding process, and ongoing feedback collection. By embracing data and taking the appropriate action, clubs can bridge the service gap, enhance member satisfaction, and ultimately, help members succeed in their fitness journey. After all, data is a tool, and its power is realized only when it’s put into action.
If you are ready to measure your member experience and develop a structured onboarding process for your new golf and leisure club members, then help is at hand…
Our New Member Integration Survey, Member Retention Survey and Member Exit Survey Templates will deliver the data to support you to tailor your offering throughout your entire member life cycle.
And you can follow the education lessons within 59club’s Mentor platform, or request for one of the 59club training managers to guide you through the various training modules.
Together we can build a successful member integration and retention strategy for your club, ensuring members feel welcome, connected, and valued, with the purpose of encouraging them to visit more often, enter into club life, refer friends and family and linger-longer whilst they are at the club.
We are thrilled to share some great news about our founder, Simon Wordsworth, who was recently recognised as the latest PGA Member to achieve PGA Master Manager status. This announcement comes from the Professional Golfers’ Association itself, marking a new milestone in Simon’s illustrious career and adding another feather to his cap.
The PGA Master Manager status is an accolade of the highest order, recognising Simon’s significant contribution to the golf industry and his immense expertise in club management. He is one of only sixty one PGA members to have been granted this honour.
Our founder has always been a forward-thinker, a trailblazer who has ceaselessly worked towards promoting the golf industry’s best practices. He founded 59club back in 2008, with a vision to revolutionize golf management and service excellence. Under his leadership, we have grown from a handful of clubs in the UK, to a multi-national brand and industry leader with divisions and operations on five continents.
Reflecting on his achievement, Simon shared, “It’s incredibly humbling to receive this recognition. I’m passionate about delivering excellence in golf management, and I believe this honor represents the collective efforts of our fantastic team at 59club. We’ve always strived to deliver the best, and we’ll continue to do so.”
Over the years, Simon has always been a proponent of professional development within the industry. He believes that the key to success lies in continuous learning, evolving with changing times, and always striving to improve. This ethos has been ingrained in our organisational culture at 59club and continues to drive us towards excellence.
Simon’s PGA Master Manager status comes as a result of his vast experience, his dedication to the industry, and his ability to lead, challenge and inspire. It not only recognizes his past achievements but also underscores his potential for future contributions to the golfing industry. We’re confident that under Simon’s stewardship, 59club will continue to reach new heights and redefine industry standards.
We are absolutely delighted for Simon and immensely proud to be led by a PGA Master Manager. As we continue our journey, we remain committed to the pursuit of excellence, championing the finest standards in golf and leisure management.
Congratulations, Simon! This is a well-deserved recognition, and we are excited to see where your leadership takes us in the future.
Golf clubs aren’t merely venues for a beautiful round of golf; they’re spaces where members bond over a meal or drink. As such, food and beverage operations play an essential role in shaping the member experience. However, balancing quality with profitability is a delicate dance that golf clubs across the world grapple with, especially during off-peak days.
According to recent analysis by 59club Study; 1 in 4 golf clubs reduce or even eliminate their F&B operations during their slowest days of the year, 56% of clubs identified Monday as the slowest day of the week, with Tuesday trailing at 22%.
In this case, the data – based on research from a global network of managers within the 59club Study community – affords managers industry insights around how other clubs are making changes to their F&B opening or closing times on specific “slower” days.
Data collection and understanding are fundamental before making any decision at your golf club. Precise data collected from your own members and guests will enable you to objectively assess your club’s operations, track member & guest preferences, and identify trends. It takes the guesswork out of decision-making, giving you a solid foundation upon which to design effective strategies.
These “slow” days offer an opportunity for creative solutions that can boost sales and enhance member satisfaction. If the data suggests that you should remain open, and lets face it, who wants to shut up shop when there’s potential revenue to gain, maybe it’s a case of kicking your restaurant into gear to boost sales on these slow days.
Remember, the goal is not just to increase sales but also to enhance the customer experience. The strategies you adopt should reflect your club’s ethos and cater to the needs and preferences of your members & guests, here are some strategies to consider;
Innovative Marketing and Communication
Using email newsletters, social media, and even the club’s website to communicate special offers or themed nights can spark interest and increase attendance. Communicate consistently and ensure that your message reaches your customers effectively.
Customer Engagement Activities
Involve members & guests in activities such as cookery classes, wine tastings, or a ‘meet the chef’ evening. These initiatives can create a sense of community and encourage members to visit the club on slower days.
Strategic Partnerships
Consider partnering with local businesses to create attractive package deals that combine a round of golf with dining discounts. This can help attract new visitors to the club and possibly convert them into regular members.
Streamline Operations
Use data and analytics from platforms like 59club Study, alongside your own regular customer satisfaction surveys to identify trends and monitor member preferences. You can use these insights to streamline your F&B operations, optimize menus, manage inventory, and reduce waste.
Slow days need not be a drain on your club’s F&B operations. By adopting creative strategies and leveraging data, you can turn these off-peak periods into opportunities for growth and member engagement. Remember, every day at your golf club is a chance to make a lasting impression and deliver an exceptional experience.
Don’t let the off-peak blues bring you down; instead, use them as a springboard to elevate your club’s F&B operations to new heights.
In the world of retail, there is a common question that has plagued salespeople for years. It’s an easy question to ask, an easier question to answer and it does exactly nothing for your bottom line.
The question in question? “Can I help you?”
It seems innocent enough, a well-meaning attempt to assist customers. However, according to 59club Global Trainer Matt Roberts, this question may be the absolute worst to ask in any retail setting, and what’s more staggering is that 59club’s industry leading data suggests that 75% of all mystery shoppers were either asked this very question, or simply ignored after showing interest in a product.
The Ineffectiveness of “Can I Help You?”:
According to Roberts, the question “Can I help you?” often falls flat, and worse, creates a negative feedback loop between you and your customer. The most common response? “I’m just looking, thanks.” This lackluster interaction fails to create a meaningful connection between the salesperson and the customer, leaving both parties unsatisfied.
A fact supported by 59club’s mystery shopping data, which highlights, “of those that were asked this question; 58% identified that they would not wish to make a purchase”. Immediately, nearly 80% of customers who are asked “Can I help you?” aren’t buying. Now that’s a big-time problem.
Missed Sales Opportunities:
Asking the wrong question can trip up sales professionals and hinder their ability to create sales opportunities. Instead of resorting to the generic “Can I help you?” query, it is crucial to engage customers in a conversation that promotes active dialogue. By understanding their specific needs and preferences, salespeople can tailor their recommendations and provide a more personalised experience.
Turning Conversation into Sales Opportunities:
Having eliminated the “Can I help you?” scenario; 59club’s education stresses the importance of asking engaging questions that promote casual chat. For instance, sales staff asking customers a combination of open and closed questions about their golf game, their abilities, or their favourite part of their game can lead to fruitful conversations. These interactions can uncover areas where customers are struggling and allow sales professionals to offer relevant solutions or services. By actively listening and providing personalised recommendations, retailers can turn missed opportunities into successful sales. What do customers want in a personalised experience? Let’s find out through needs analysis.
The Power of Needs Analysis:
One key element of 59club’s education is the importance of conducting a needs analysis for customers seeking a particular product. Rather than immediately showcasing a range of options, salespeople should focus on understanding what the customer is looking for in that specific product. By asking a selection of well-constructed questions about their preferences, why they’re in the market for the product in the first place, current usage, and desired improvements, sales professionals can gain valuable insights to guide their recommendations. Failing to conduct a proper needs analysis can result in further missed sales opportunities. Alarmingly, only 50% of 59club mystery shoppers received a needs analysis during their encounter with the retail team, and to their detriment, 77% of those shoppers stating that they did not feel compelled to make a purchase based on their sales experience.
What’s a better way?
A crucial aspect of the retail sales process is the significance of linking product features to their benefits. Rather than overwhelming customers with a laundry list of specifications, salespeople should emphasize how a product can meet their specific needs and provide value. By identifying the benefits that resonate with the customer, sales professionals can create a compelling case for making a purchase. This approach not only enhances the customer’s understanding, but also increases the likelihood of closing a sale.
In the realm of retail, the question “Can I help you?” may be the worst one to ask customers. It often leads to missed sales opportunities and fails to establish a meaningful connection. By embracing alternative approaches, conducting a needs analysis, linking features to benefits, and promoting engaging conversations, sales professionals can transform their interactions with customers.
It is through these personalized and attentive strategies that retail businesses can foster stronger customer relationships, increase sales, and provide exceptional shopping experiences. So, the next time you step into a retail environment, remember that a genuine conversation can make all the difference.
Have you been here before? It’s an innocuous and generally harmless question with enormous upside.
The restaurant industry have used this relatively innocent question for decades in order to prime the pump for an engaging customer experience. Asking someone if they have been to your golf course, restaurant, spa – or any other hospitality or leisure venue – opens the door for conversation and questions, builds rapport and emotional connection between the customer and your staff/brand, and provides an opportunity to share your club’s best stories or things a customer should know before heading out.
59club has crunched the numbers and, once again, the top-performing clubs never miss an opportunity to ask this question during the tee time booking call. The rest of the pack, however, fails to ask this question 64% of the time.
On arrival at the club during checking in for golf; even the best performers struggle when it comes to discussing a visitors previous experiences as they attempt to build a personal rapport, only achieving 68%, with the 59club industry average sat at just 50%.
Let’s dive in.
The most effective way to open the door for an engaging conversation and information gathering is to ask personal questions but asking a customer where they see themselves in five years or what makes them the happiest isn’t really appropriate in this instance. Asking a visitor if they have played the course before, however, is a semi-opened-ended question with a clear goal and hundreds of different avenues for additional conversation. If the customer has played the course before, it begs the question “when?” Was it a long time ago or before a recent renovation? Have there been changes to improve the club since then? Why did they take so long in between rounds? Are they from out of town and should their name and email address go into a special “feeder market” list bucket in your CRM system? Enormous amounts of information all gained from starting with one simple question.
These types of conversation starters not only gather important information for marketing and customer service operations, but also provide an opportunity to tell positive stories or provide important general information about your club to someone who may not know. If someone is playing for the first time, they might want to hear about a featured hole, strategy on how to play the course, where to find locker room, restaurant, practice area and 1st tee, humorous anecdotes and other positive stories.
The message is clear, the top performing clubs need to be more consistent from managing the tee time call to greeting a visitor on arrival, far too many other clubs – that feed into the 59club industry average – are leaving easily gatherable information on the table. The golf and leisure clubs who take charge of the first impression and subsequent conversations tend to score higher in other areas as well, creating a domino effect of individual, positive experiences which lead to a better experience overall.
Working with the data
Delve into your Mystery Shopping Audits, and analyze how many times the team has asked this question ‘month on month’ and ‘year on year’, paying close attention to the podium performance, industry and your own competitor set average to see how you compare.
Celebrate those within the team who have witnessed successes, reminding others of the fundamental basics to perfect their engagement techniques.
Encourage skill-share, role-play, and time away to study, reminding the team of the learning links within the mystery shopping results, and the resources within the Mentor education platform to develop their sales process & customer service experience.
Review successes and set targets on a regular basis as Mystery Shopping results are released…
In today’s competitive golf industry, it’s crucial for golf clubs to deliver exceptional customer experiences to attract and retain players. One golf club that has successfully navigated this challenge is We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, located in Scottsdale, Arizona, which – under the leadership of General Manager Matt Barr – has seen significant growth in retail and F&B sales over the past two years. Their secret? Unbiased, actionable data collected from regular mystery shopping audits.
The Partnership Between We-Ko-Pa Golf Club and 59club
Barr and his team at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club gained valuable insights into the areas where they could improve their customer service and drive sales growth. According to Barr, what started out as an opportunity to identify on-course condition and maintenance, like turf health and bunkering, turned into an extremely valuable tool for nearly every customer-facing operation at the club.
“Managers can’t be everywhere at once, so we engaged with 59club in order to make sure our on-course product was up to our standards,” said Barr. “The data we received from our initial golf visitor experience audits opened our eyes to not only the on-course product, but also our retail and F&B operations. We quickly realised we could grow in many ways.”
Implementing Effective Sales Techniques
Armed with the insights, Barr and his team at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club implemented new sales techniques that focused on improving customer interactions. By training staff to engage with customers more effectively and to upsell and cross-sell products and services, the club was able to increase its retail sales by double digits in a little under two years.
“We’ve seen a remarkable retail sales increase since starting with 59club,” said Barr. “This growth can be directly attributed to learning and implementing effective sales processes that focus on upselling and cross-selling. By equipping our team with the right tools and techniques, we’ve been able to enhance the customer experience and drive significant revenue growth for our club.”
On the F&B front, mystery shopping data allowed Barr and his team to identify areas for growth and double down on quality customer service operations. According to Barr, simple questions asked by F&B staff have led to significant sales increases, and even improved employee satisfaction.
“Asking simple questions like ‘have you dined with us before’ or ‘would you like another beer’ not only lead to increases in F&B revenue, but also staff wages,” said Barr. “As bills increase from another round of drinks or upselling a more expensive spirit, so do tips for our servers. It’s a win-win across the board and something we might never have seen without data from 59club.”
Enhancing Customer Satisfaction
By making improvements in their daily processes, We-Ko-Pa Golf Club was able to enhance the overall customer experience. Satisfied customers are more likely to return to the club and recommend it to others, which will have a positive impact on future sales. The increased focus on customer service, driven by the insights gained from regular mystery shopping audits, helped the club create a more enjoyable guest experience.
The success of We-Ko-Pa Golf Club demonstrates the significant impact that mystery shopping and data analysis can bring to the golf, leisure & hospitality industry. As the industry becomes increasingly competitive, it’s essential for clubs to prioritize customer service and continually strive for improvement. By partnering with 59club, venues can gain valuable insights and support to help them boost sales and create exceptional experiences for their customers.
In this edition of our Partner Spotlight, we highlight Finca Cortesin, the host venue of the 2023 Solheim Cup.
Finca Cortesin led the way at our recent Service Excellence Awards claiming: Golf Operations Team of the Year & Golf Manager of the Year, which was won by Rocío Sánchez Clavijo. In addition to this, the team also secure our prestigious Gold Flag Award.
We asked, Francisco de Lancastre David, CCM, General Manager of Golf and Leisure Operations at Finca Cortesin, what these awards meant to the club.
“Finca Cortesin is proud and humbled to have received two prestigious accolades at the 59club Awards. It is great to see our golf operations team rewarded for their dedication to creating a culture of high-quality service, and providing a unique experience that is unlike any other resort in Europe.
The resort also has a long-standing history and commitment of supporting women in the golf industry, both on and off the course, which makes it even more special to see our very own Rocio Sanchez collect the ‘Golf Manager of the Year’ award. Rocio is an integral part of our operations team and continues to excel in her day-to-day role that allows Finca Cortesin to be renowned as one of golf’s best experiences.”
All of us at 59club wish the team the very best with hosting the Solheim Cup and are excited to see how the week unfolds.
59club Europe South are delighted to welcome GOLF DE ANDRATX as it’s newest partner venue.
59club Europe South will help Golf de Andratx with their long-term vision of providing service excellence by delivering industry leading data across the customer journey. Golf de Andratx joins several other facilities in Mallorca who currently work with us and with this data, the team across the property can analyze focus areas and continue to grow the overall golf experience.
Located less than 30 km from the island´s capital Palma de Mallorca, Golf de Andratx is nestled in the beautiful coastal town of Camp de Mar. The spectacular surroundings, picturesque views and some of the most stimulating hole designs provide an unforgettable experience for golfers.
We are thrilled to welcome another great facility in Mallorca onboard & look forward to working with the team throughout the year.
In this edition of our Partner Spotlight, we highlight Pula Golf Resort who recently secured a Bronze flag at our recent Service Excellence Awards within their first year of partnering with us.
Pula Golf has utilized 59club in-depth analysis to review the entire customer journey to strive to provide the best experience possible from start to finish. We asked, Arnau Sala (CEO), his thoughts from his first year of working with 59club Europe South:
“I am really happy about our collaboration together with 59club. After one year working together, we have been upgrading our services standards which is great to see in the data delivered.
As we all know, the service we deliver to our clients is one of the most important things of tourism and ensuring we gain them back at our properties. I am also very proud of how my team is delivering our service and how they can improve every time with working with 59club”
Situated in one of the most beautiful and peaceful spots in Mallorca, the old manor house dates back to 1581 houses today’s hotel and country club facilities, which welcomes guests with the warm and friendly hospitality typical of the Mallorcan people.
The course was founded in 1995 and completely redesigned by José María Olazábal between 2004 and 2006 in order to satisfy the demands of international and professional golf. In addition, Pula Golf Resort has a magnificent outdoor swimming pool and sauna, as well as a massage service to relax after a day of golf.
59club Europe’s French division hosted their Customer Service Excellence Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 21, 2023, at the Ormesson Golf Course.
The event which recognises golf clubs & resorts for achieving the highest customer service standards within the region, started with an Education seminar which took place in front of an audience representing the French golf industry.
As evening fell, a cocktail reception allowed attendees to continue their exchanges, ahead of the annual 59club Service Excellence Awards Ceremony & Dinner, sponsored by Toro/Solver, Ransomes/Jacobsen and Piguy Golf Challenge.
Winners for the French Service ‘Excellence’ titles were determined through scores collected by a set of mystery shoppers, who use 59club’s unique and objective evaluation criteria. The scores to qualify for these awards, include a series of audits that analyse the properties customer service levels, sales performance, staff engagement and facility management.
During the evening, the golf venues & resorts were also rewarded for their use of the survey tools within the my59 platform, as they continually work to enrich the experience afforded to both members and guests.
A highlight of the evening saw 59club present their global benchmark of excellence, the Gold, Silver & Bronze Flag Designations. These highly prized awards recognise member clubs’ and resorts that provide excellent facilities for golfers to enjoy, as well as having achieved the required standard of customer service throughout 2022. On the night, 59club presented a total of 7 Golf Flag Designations, which included a Gold Flag awarded to Golf de Terre Blanche, and a Silver Flag presented to Golf National Albatross. A further 5 Bronze Flag Designations recognized Golf de Seignosse; Golf de Servanes ; Golf d’ Hardelot; Golf d’ Opio Valbonne and Golf du Touquet.
Of the evening, 59club Global Director, Mark Reed who flew over to present the Golf Flag Awards said; “It was a pleasure to join Claude Rousseau and Colin Bosio as they hosted the 2nd annual French Service Awards Ceremony, it was a very personal affair, and naturally, Claude brought his charm and wit to the evening – which everyone appreciated.
“59club Europe is split into three territories, Europe West, Europe South (who celebrated their award winners earlier in the year), and most recently 59club Nordic who opened at the tail end of 2022. Europe West: the territory that represents France, is just beginning their awards journey with their clients, and it was heart-warming to see so many venues recognized with the 59club Global benchmark of excellence for having delivered some of the finest customers experiences recognized in the world of golf.
“To subject your club to independent evaluation, and claim a title that has to be earned through hard work & determination after the culmination of a successful series of mystery shopper audits, is something that we are incredibly proud to recognise, and I look forward to returning again early next year”.
Full list of Award Winners
59club Golf Flag Designations:
Gold Flag Designation: Golf de Terre Blanche
Silver Flag Designation: Golf National Albatross
Bronze Flag Designation: Golf de Seignosse; Golf de Servanes ; Golf d’ Hardelot; Golf d’ Opio Valbonne & Golf du Touquet
Complete list of Trophées de l’Excellence winners:
Performance Award for Customer (Reception) Service:
Golf d’HARDELOT
Proshop Experience Award:
UGolf de BOURGES
Best Restaurant Experience Award:
Golf BlueGreen de GUJAN MESTRAS
Best Sales Team Award:
Golf BueGreen de SAINTE-MAXIME
On Course Services Experience Award:
Golf d’Opio Valbonne
Best Greenkeepers Team Awards: (3 trophies according to the average price of greenfees)
Golf Club de LYON SALVAGNY
Golf BlueGreen de SAINT LAURENT
Golf Blue Green de MAZIERE EN GATINE
my59 Customer Survey Performance Award:
Golf International d’Arcachon
Customer Experience Progress Award:
Golf de CHANTILLY
Global Visit of the Year Award: (3 trophies according to the average greenfee rate)
59club Europe South are delighted to announce La Cala Resort as their newest partner venue.
La Cala have taken their commitment in endeavouring to deliver service excellence by partnering with 59club Europe South who will deliver industry leading experience data across Golf, Hotel & Food & Beverage.
Situated in the foothills of the Sierra de Mijas with breath-taking views of the Andalusian countryside and distant Mediterranean, La Cala Resort is a golfing mecca with three championship courses, designed by world-renowned architect Cabell B. Robinson, providing an exhilarating challenge while their four-star 107-room hotel is the perfect place to stay between rounds
We are delighted to welcome another fantastic facility in the Costa del Sol onboard & look forward to working with the team throughout the year.
For those of you who are new to 59Club Study; the platform connects curious Club Managers and industry personnel from around the globe, creating opportunities to explore operational decision making from a wide range of operators in different locales, under different cultural norms, as we learn from each other.
59Club Study’s goal is to build a professional network of hospitality managers, driven by data and club research, with a strict focus on collaboration and tackling tough topics together.
Each fortnightly report highlights technical, conceptual, and philosophical insights from inside Golf, Leisure & Hospitality businesses across the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Asia, Middle East, Africa, Australia & New Zealand.
Managers are encouraged to submit questions they would like to appear in subsequent surveys, putting you in control of the direction the study takes, providing an industry perspective like no other.
The insight, collaboration, and community that 59Club Study creates, will inspire curiosity, and ultimately empower Club Managers to make informed data-driven decisions.
Which is more important for employee retention: higher wages or schedule flexibility? Employee turnover can be costly and time-consuming, and it’s essential to keep your top talent motivated and engaged. Any club manager will tell you it’s much harder to find and train a new employee, than it is to keep good staff members happy.
If you get word a few of your best employees are beginning to think about working elsewhere, what do you do?
You could pay them more, certainly, but that might not be the underlying issue for their unhappiness. Schedule flexibility could help, but you need them at the club as often as possible. After all, they’re your best staff members.
What is more important: higher wages or schedule flexibility? What would work the best? How could you possibly know? It might depend on individual needs.
Higher wages can be an attractive option for employees, as it can increase their sense of financial security and stability. Employees who feel that they are being paid fairly are more likely to be motivated and committed to their work. However, there is only so much you can offer in terms of a salary before it becomes unaffordable for your business. It’s essential to consider whether you can sustain paying higher wages in the long term, especially if it means compromising on other areas of your business, such as investment in training or new equipment.
On the other hand, schedule flexibility can be another key factor in employee retention. Many employees value having the ability to adjust their work schedule to accommodate personal or family commitments, such as attending a child’s school event or caring for a sick relative. Offering schedule flexibility can increase employee satisfaction, which can lead to increased productivity, engagement, and loyalty. However, it’s important to ensure that schedule flexibility doesn’t impact business operations or create any staffing gaps that can impact other employees’ workloads or morale. Can your club operate successfully with that amount of flexibility for just one or two employees? Does it have to be available to every employee?
So, what’s the answer? Which is more important: higher wages or schedule flexibility? It’s challenging to determine what’s more important without asking your employees directly.
By surveying your employees, you can gather unbiased feedback and gain valuable insights into their preferences and needs. You can ask staff about their thoughts on higher wages versus schedule flexibility and use this information to make more informed decisions about how to retain your top talent. All anonymously and without bias.
These are only two answers to a delicate problem faced in the club industry. Both options have their advantages, and the answer to what’s more important may vary depending on the individual needs and preferences of your employees. To make an informed decision, it’s essential to gather feedback from your employees and use this information to make adjustments to your retention strategies.
With 59club’s survey tools at your disposal – you really can ask whatever you like. Plus the HR survey templates make it easy to monitor employee wellbeing, engagement & satisfaction levels, ensuring that you are providing existing employees and new hires with the support they need to thrive in their roles – and there’s always something to learn from an employee exit survey.
If the reality is that ‘happy employees = happy customers,’ then it’s high time we prioritise employee well-being.
As J. Willard Marriott famously said; “Take good care of your employees, and they’ll take good care of your customers, and the customers will come back”.
Running a golf club located in one of the most luxurious destinations in the world, Abu Dhabi, certainly puts a premium on excellent customer service. The city attracts a diverse range of visitors from all around the globe, from business executives to leisure travelers, all of whom expect a high level of service and experience and are accustomed to top-notch treatment wherever they go.
In a place like Abu Dhabi – and for general manager of Abu Dhabi City Golf Club, Rhian Lobo – investing in customer service operations is crucial to meet the expectations of both local and international guests.
“As a premier golf destination in the region, we understand the importance of delivering a world-class experience for our members and guests,” said Lobo. “By investing in our customer service operations, we can ensure that we meet and exceed the expectations of our customers, and maintain our position as a leader in the industry.”
One of the key investments for Lobo and his team was partnering with 59club, to work on many aspects of their customer-facing operations.
“We strive to provide our members and guests with the best possible experience, and 59club has been instrumental in identifying not only areas of improvement, but also how to capitalize on things we already do well. They’ve been instrumental in helping us achieve our goals,” said Lobo.
Identifying needs and opportunities are one thing. Collecting and implementing actionable data is another. Using data collected through 59club’s survey tools, Abu Dhabi City Golf Club was not only able to identify that their customers wanted improvements to their driving range, but also used data to create a pitch to their governing board. With the help of such intel, they now have ball tracking technology on all 48 bays, something their members & guests greatly valued.
Lobo adds, “The reports from 59club has given us a fresh perspective on our operations, enabling us to focus on the areas we might have otherwise overlooked. We’re thrilled with the impact it’s had on our driving range, and we look forward to implementing further changes based on new reports down the line.”
In addition to their unbiased mystery shopping audits and survey data, Abu Dhabi City Golf Club has also benefited from on-site training sessions with 59club. These sessions bring the team together and provide them with the tools they need to excel in their roles.
Lobo explains, “Investing in our team is crucial to maintaining our high standards of customer service. The F&B, golf operations, membership sales and retention training sessions provided by 59club have helped us identify our team’s strengths and weaknesses, enabling us to provide targeted training that has ultimately improved the customer experience.”
The investment in 59club and commitment from Lobo’s team has already paid dividends. According to 59club’s data comparisons over the course of the last three years, Abu Dhabi City Golf Club’s customer service satisfaction scores have shown double digit increases in eight different categories, spanning; staff sales & upselling aptitude, customer engagement, facility management, on-course service standards, and the food and beverage operation to name a few.
“The ability to measure our investment and see our success through these reports has been absolutely incredible,” said Lobo. “It can be easy to implement a new program as a manager and simply forget about it. When you forget about it, so do your staff. With regular mystery shopper reports from 59club, we make sure we’re always focused on what matters to our customers, and we are able to reward our staff for achieving measurable success.”
Abu Dhabi City Golf Club has come a long way in their customer service journey. Starting from a Bronze Flag Designation, they have progressed to the 59club Gold Flag standard, a testament to their commitment to excellence.
Lobo concludes, “59club has been an integral part of our success, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without their support. We’re excited to continue working with them to provide the best possible experience for our members and guests.”
Opened in 1973 the club are celebrating their 50th year anniversary & designed by the legendary Gary Player, El Paraíso has long been recognised as one of the best championship courses on the Costa Del Sol. Nestled between the La Concha mountain and the Mediterranean sea, the course offers a true test of golf for all levels of player.
With now partnering with 59club Europe South, El Paraíso will benefit from a wealth of customer experience data scheduled from visits throughout 2023. This allows the club to continually develop their customer journey in their vision and help with staff training & service, all whilst being able to benchmark against other venues in the region and across the globe. We are delighted to partner with El Paraíso and we look forward to working with the team.
In this edition of our Partner Spotlight, we highlight Royal Park I Roveri who recently secured a Silver flag at our recent Service Excellence Awards which demonstrates fantastic growth developing from a bronze flag gained the previous year. Not only this but Fabio Vido was successfully crowned Retail Manager of the Year.
Royal Park I Roveri have skilfully made 59club part of their clubs DNA which allows the entire team across the venue to work towards common goals. We asked Marco Aquilino (CMDip) his thoughts on working with 59club Europe South.
“Joining 59club was an important and strategic choice to improve our standards of hospitality and have concrete goals to improve our services. For the Royal Park I Roveri, it is a tool that can give us an international vision on hospitality methods and help on the road to continuous improvement. We are looking forward to continuing on this path on constantly raise the bar we started a few years ago”.
Located in the stunning setting of the La Mandria Natural Park, at the foot of the Alps, Royal Park I Roveri is one of the most prestigious clubs in Italy, scene of several international events including the Italian Open and the European Amateur Championship.
Making members and guests feel valued and welcome is an absolute no brainer for any hospitality venue, but for golf course F&B establishments which often operate with smaller margins and lower foot traffic than traditional restaurants, the line between success and failure is razor thin.
And with labour shortages and employee turnover at levels not seen in decades, the importance of increasing margins through upselling and keeping good employees has never been higher.
According to 59club’s global data; the F&B customer service tactic most in need of improvement is also the least costly, and happens to be a catalyst for increased margins. It also helps raise tips for servers and happens to be one of the key components of exceptional customer service – friendly conversation starters, A.K.A the upsell engine.
Customers are far more likely to purchase additional or premium items when they have a personal connection to their server.
Something as simple as a friendly introduction from the server, with the attempt to involve the table in engaging conversation can be the difference between your customers ordering the least profitable items on the menu, or on their recommendation, opting for the higher ticket, higher return options, or additional courses.
Developing rapport through the ‘friendly conversation starter’ tactic is something every server in your organisation should strive for at the beginning of each individual interaction. And it works.
This same tactic is also one of the driving forces of higher tips. Since most diners chose to tip a percentage of the bill; raising the final total through upselling – made easier through friendly communication – will increase gratuities and employee satisfaction, and assist in lowering employee turnover.
The Stats…
Clubs are simply not taking advantage of this tactic. When it comes to a server’s willingness and ability to initiate friendly conversation starters; the podium performers score just 58%, the 59club industry average drops to 40%, showing an industry wide opportunity for growth and higher F&B margins.
Despite all the positive scenarios related to upselling, staff are just not on board. We have to focus their attention and encourage them, and give them the confidence to give upselling a go. The opportunity to sell more and increase F&B profits is easy money, yet the industry only attempts to upsell additional items on 37% of occasions. The podium venues also need to re-focus their servers, as they only achieved 56%.
Let’s do the math based on a club that see an average of 140 players per day, of which 40 of them order a meal after their round.
If the servers use friendly conversation starters to prime the table for the upsell of an additional course priced at £5 (with a 60% margin), and managed to convert just half of the 40 diners; the result is a £21,900 uplift in profit over the course of one year, just by implementing a simple conversation piece in your customer service toolkit. Win win.
And let’s not forget the opportunities to upsell simple but highly profitable snack items & drinks to the 140 golfers before they even teed off ! And that’s something we can all get more bang from our buck; with the podium set performers only attempting to upsell 30% of the time, and the industry missing even more opportunities, as they only attempt to upsell to a fifth of all golfers !
Implement friendly conversation starters today, and watch your profits sore.
In this weeks’ edition of our Partner Spotlight, we highlight Arabella Golf Mallorca who operate: Golf Son Muntaner, Golf Son Vida & Golf Son Quint, in Mallorca.
Arabella Golf received a superb 4 awards at our recent Service Excellence Awards which included 3 flag awards (one for each facility) & Greenkeeper of the Year, Francisco Gavira.
By using our industry leading experience platform across all of its properties, Arabella Golf can review & compare their customer journeys at each venue. We asked Bernat Llobera (Area Director of Arabella Golf) his thoughts from working with 59club Europe South & the recent awards ceremony.
“We were the first course that signed with 59club in Continental Europe, and I think they deliver a service we all need for our facilities. We are in the hospitality business and 59club provides great tools to evaluate how you do it, and how you compare to other great venues and properties. This is why we work with 59club. It is the best tool to gain invaluable data of your operations and experiences from an external point of view”.
“Having received 4 awards is a great feeling. From one side, we received again the Gold Flag for Golf Son Muntaner, our flagship course which belongs to the European Tour Destinations network, and which hosted for its first time, a DP World Tour event last October. We received for the second time a Flag at Golf Son Vida, and a Bronze Flag in Son Quint for the first time. The fourth award was for our Head Greenkeeper, Paco Gavira. He is such a great professional that is more than well deserved. He received the Greenkeeper of The year award from the Spanish Association about 5 years ago, and now he has received this one. We are all proud of what Paco and his team are doing”.
Members are the life-blood of many clubs; failure to convert them can prove expensive in both the short and long-term. But maximizing the opportunities which present themselves often comes down to having the correct person adopting the correct policies.
Yet one of the most overlooked aspects of converting a prospect comes at that very first stage: the answering of the call. Firstly, it’s essential that the correct person is available to answer the call. Those who hesitate are lost, and so are those who are not there in the first place.
Ask yourself how many opportunities are lost if the phone goes unanswered? Or if the correct staff member is on holiday or sick? So, when you consider that on only 58% of occasions did our mystery testers get to speak to the correct person on the first attempt of calling – according to the 59club industry score – we begin to appreciate how many opportunities may be lost.
That’s effectively twice in every five calls a prospective member speaks to the wrong person, necessitating a call-back. Worse still, what if the prospect calls a competitor while waiting for your return call, and they went on to impress them so much that they signed up!?
One of the most important aspects of the initial enquiry call is the art of building a rapport with the caller. This comes naturally to an engaging staff member, but this technique is lost when the wrong person tries to deal with an enquiry.
An engaging staff member will attempt to build a rapport; asking the prospect about their golfing background, how often they play, where, and what is their handicap, all simple conversation pieces. Yet the industry are only getting 28% of the picture, while the best-performing clubs glean a much better understanding of their prospects, as they achieve 77%.
Asking what has prompted the enquiry is likely to provide you with further valuable information. They may, for example, be a member elsewhere and be unsatisfied with the condition of the course, or a lack of investment, allowing the staff member to respond with positives about the excellent course condition and raft of recent and future investments. This is designed to edge the caller towards a positive outcome, both now and then later in the sales process when they visit the club.
There are countless reasons why somebody will make the initial call; employees who fail to delve into them will find it harder to persuade the prospect to put pen to paper. The podium performers have realised this and without fail, they established what prompted the membership enquiry every single time; the industry asked the question 70% of the time.
Furthermore, establishing the caller’s primary requirements for a membership – competitive golf, the social aspect, entertaining clients, meet new people etc – leads to other opportunities that will relate to their needs, with the intention of exciting them at the thought of a membership later in the call. Again, the podium score reflects the success therein with 86%, while the industry average drops to 44%.
Effectively, taking the last three areas together, it’s clear that industry-wide we’re failing to establish the caller’s history and membership needs on every other occasion.
A further vital question is required to establish whether the caller is also contacting other clubs with the same enquiry. With relevant SWOT analysis of your competition, your staff are in an ideal position to stress your strengths over your rivals’ weaknesses, without the need to openly criticise them.
However, the importance of this approach seems to be lost on many clubs; with a podium score of just 50% and, even more disappointingly, an overall industry rating of just 14%.
Using all of the personal information gleaned, you are now in a position to make a ‘related’ promotion of the member services, club facilities and USPs, for how else is one to excite the caller? Yet, despite the obvious importance of this action, the industry comes in with a rating of just 55%, and the podium not much higher at 72% when analysing their promotion.
Now that the prospect is excited at the thought of membership, the emphasis is to encourage the individual to visit the club in order to view the facilities and discuss member benefits further.
In future issues, we will look at how the membership sales appointment should be structured.
If you would like to take a closer look at the membership sales process, visit the 59club Mentor education platform to fill any shortcomings in your member sales enquiry process.
In this edition of our Partner Spotlight, we highlight Quinta do Lago who successfully secured another Gold Flag from our recent Service Excellence Awards.
Quinta do Lago intelligently collects a wealth of data from across the resort by reviewing their customer journey including Golf, Hotel, Retail, F&B, Sports Facilities and Guest Services.
By analysing the entire journey in incredible detail, this helps teams across the resort to deliver world-class experiences consistently. We asked Luis Filipe (Corporate & Leisure Relations Director) his thoughts from working with 59club Europe South.
“At QDL we are obsessed about service and to keep improving the guest experience on the Resort.
Therefore, it is a great honor to receive this award from our partner 59club, who help us to identify areas where we can improve and to work on. We are excited to continue to work with 59club throughout 2023 and beyond.”
Quinta do Lago is nestled within the Algarve and the privacy and security of the Ria Formosa nature reserve. The resort is proud of world-class golf courses, superb restaurants, a premier sports hub, boutique hotel & an unforgettable golden sand beach.
In our continuing Partner Spotlight, Club de Golf Alcanada recently secured another Gold Flag from our Service Excellence Awards which is now their fourth in a row and an exceptional achievement.
Alcanada Golf Club proactively utilizes the in-depth data from our Golf Visitor & bespoke dining experience tools to help provide unforgettable experiences across the property. We asked Kristoff Both (Director of Club de Golf Alcanada) what it means to work with 59club Europe South.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve in every department, whether that’s in our sustainability initiatives, the quality of the golf course, or perhaps most importantly our customer service and the experience we offer to our members and guests.
After first being awarded by the 59Club in 2015, I am very proud that Alcanada has reached a level where we have secured Gold Flag Designations every year since 2020. With lots of exciting plans in place this year, we’re confident of keeping that run going in 2023”
Camiral Golf & Wellness successfully gained a prestigious Gold Flag at our recent Service Excellence Awards, not only this but Marta Castells was crowned F&B Manager of the year. Camiral uses the in depth data provided from the Golf, Hotel & F&B journey as well as the sales enquiry calls to enhance their experiences, we asked David Ashington (Director of Golf) to share his thoughts on working with 59club Europe South.
“I have been working with 59club across three properties over many years, all of different dimensions, needs and requirements. At each venue we have found a wide range of extremely qualitive points of use and quite often more than 59club actually announce as their main purpose
Firstly, having so much data to analyse at your starting point and then measuring your quest for change allows you to detail and study your strengths and weaknesses of the customer journey and most importantly in the eyes of an independent client. With so many customer check points along the journey this ensures, as a leader, you are focused in the right areas for improving. The support of having the 59club team visit you on property to then demonstrate and quantify this to your teams is invaluable and quite often enlightens the teams to areas they might not see as overly important, in equal measure it allows you to praise certain areas that they are improving in their performance levels.
Secondly, I find it invaluable to spend time on the visit to allow myself and my senior staff to brainstorm ideas and processes you might wish to implement. Given that 59club evaluate a huge number of properties worldwide they can often assist with support or valid points of view towards operating procedures that are successful (or not) which in turn can add justification to your decision making or systematic processes.
Overall, I am absolutely delighted to have been working in close capacity with 59club and can only highly recommend that other fellow Managers and Directors take serious consideration towards utilizing the benefits that 59club can offer to your venue”
Many of the UK and Europe’s leading Venues, Teams and Individuals were in attendance as 59club recognised those who delivered the very best service to their Members and Guests during 2022 at their Annual celebration of Service Excellence, which this year took place at The Hilton, St George’s Park on Thursday 2nd of March.
Delegates enjoyed educational seminars during the day, which included Olympic Gold Medal winner and now Head of Performance for the League Managers Association, Tim Foster MBE; Bestselling author of “The Habit Mechanic” and founder of Tougher Minds Consultancy, Dr Jon Finn; and former Manchester United Captain and Premier League winner, Steve Bruce.
As day moved to evening; host for the evening, seasoned presenter, Vernon Kay opened the glittering awards ceremony that has long been regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the golf & hospitality industry, since 59club’s honours list began some 13 years ago.
The event recognises the finest customer service providers for having achieved the highest standards of excellence across 2022. 59club’s accolades are determined by scores collected from their impartial mystery shopping audits, which evaluate the experience afforded to guests, club members and prospective members, in accordance with 59club’s objective benchmarking criteria.
On the night, 59club saw their UK & Southern European teams present 38 individual & team awards spanning 18 categories, recognising ‘service excellence’ across all areas of the businesses; sales, service, operations, retail, spa, golf course, food & beverage and management. With 59club continuing to reflect the very best performances, regardless of a venue’s size, scale or profile, by segmenting several individual accolades into 3 categories, based on a venue’s average green fee rate.
Of this year’s awards, Will Hewitt, General Manager of 59club UK, commented; “With a growth of over 20% in the number of venues taking our services, an award nomination this year represented an outstanding achievement across a number of hugely competitive categories.
59club awards are based on an objective analysis of the service provided at a venue, therefore recognising the venues, teams and individuals who truly do deliver world class service on a consistent basis”.
The Grove and Belvoir Park Golf Club collected the highest prized awards of the evening – Ultimate Golf Resort and Ultimate Members’ Club respectively. Both venues also achieved multiple individual and team successes; with Brad Gould and his team at The Grove collecting the enviable Golf Manager and Golf Operations Team of the Year titles (>£130 green fee category); with Alice Kozlowski adding the Leading Individual Golf Sales Performance award to The Grove’s trophy cabinet.
Belvoir Park’s celebrations continued long into the night with both Aaron Small and Stuart McDonald having been crowned Greenkeeper and F&B Manager of the Year, before rounding off the evening with the forementioned Ultimate Members’ Club Designation.
Another club seeing multiple successes was Long Ashton, who scooped Golf Manager of the Year for departing GM, Gareth Morgan; F&B Manager of the Year for a 4th consecutive year for Glenn McNaughton; Golf Operations Team of the Year; and also a coveted Gold Flag Designation. In addition to this they also claimed the Ultimate Service Excellence Award for their fantastic efforts in utilising survey data to enhance their service offering.
Both Finca Cortesin and Branston Golf Club received a double dose of crystalware after Rocio Sanchez was crowned 59club Europe South’s Golf Manager of the year; and their Golf Operations Department claimed the Team of the Year accolade. Meanwhile Branston celebrated with a my59 Service Excellence Award; and a second victory after claiming Leisure Membership Sales Team of the year.
The Awards became a landmark moment for Matt Aplin, Golf Course Manager at Goring and Streatley, who has now retained the title of Greenkeeper of the Year for an incredible 5th consecutive year – an outstanding achievement given the quality of those competing in this category.
Alcanada, Camiral Golf & Wellness and Golf Son Muntaner were flying the flag for Spain, having each secured Gold Flag Designations. Marta Castells (Camiral) claimed victory in the Food & Beverage Category, while Paco Gavira (Son Muntaner) was crowned the regions Greenkeeper of the Year.
In Portugal, Quinta do Lago continue to lead the way by also securing a coveted Gold Flag, and in Italy, Royal Park I Roveri celebrated with a Silver Flag, and a again as Fabio Vido claimed Retail Manager of the Year.
Lee Mathew Waggott, General Manager59club Europe South said; “Celebrating success is a key pillar of what we believe in and promote within 59club. Our venues across Europe South not only continue to deliver memorable experiences but are always striving to continue to develop their journeys by searching for those extra 1%’s day in and day out.
“In an extremely competitive landscape to receive a nomination and claim an award is a wonderful achievement, and the ability to share this recognition with individuals and teams across the property is incredibly important. We are extremely excited about the season ahead and welcoming even more forward-thinking & progressive properties into our Awards next year.”
Celebrations continued into the night, as 59club’s Industry Benchmark of excellence, it’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Flag Designations, were announced. These highly prized accolades recognise member clubs’ and resorts that provide excellent facilities for golfers to enjoy, as well as having achieved the required standard of customer service throughout 2022.
This year, 59club presented 28 ‘Gold Flags’. The deserving winners were: Belvoir Park Golf Club; Camiral Golf & Wellness; Celtic Manor Resort; Club de Golf Alcanada; Delta Hotels by Marriott, Forest of Arden Country Club; Dunbar Golf Club; Edgbaston Golf Club; Finca Cortesin; Foxhills Club & Resort; Frilford Heath Golf Club; Gleneagles; Golf at Goodwood; Golf Son Muntaner; Gullane Golf Club; Hanbury Manor, Marriott Hotel & Country Club; Harpenden Golf Club; JCB Golf & Country Club; Long Ashton Golf Club; Mount Juliet Estate; Panmure Golf Club; Quinta do Lago; Rockliffe Hall; Royal Dublin Golf Club; Royal Dornoch Golf Club; The Belfry Hotel & Resort; The Grove; The London Club and The Mere Golf Resort & Spa.
17 ‘Silver Flags’ went to; Barnham Broom; Bowood Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort; Branston Golf & Country Club; Carton House; Cameron House; Clevedon Golf Club; Infinitum; Ladybank Golf Club; La Moye Golf Club; North Foreland Golf Club; QHotels Collection, Slaley Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort; QHotels Collection, Belton Woods Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort; Royal Park I Roveri; Slieve Russell; St Mellion; The Kendleshire and West Herts Golf Club.
And a further 15 “Bronze Flag” Awards were presented to; Conwy Golf Club; Delta Hotels by Marriott, Worsley Park Country Club; Golf Son Quint; Golf Son Vida; Goring & Streatley Golf Club; Hickleton Golf Club; Newport Golf Club; Pula Golf Resort; Teignmouth Golf Club; The Astbury; The Bristol Golf Club; The Vale Resort; Vale Royal Abbey Golf Club; Woodsome Hall Golf Club and Wychwood Park.
Gold Flag Designations 2023: Belvoir Park Golf Club; Camiral Golf & Wellness; Celtic Manor Resort; Club de Golf Alcanada; Delta Hotels by Marriott, Forest of Arden Country Club; Dunbar Golf Club; Edgbaston Golf Club; Finca Cortesin; Foxhills Club & Resort; Frilford Heath Golf Club; Gleneagles; Golf at Goodwood; Golf Son Muntaner; Gullane Golf Club; Hanbury Manor, Marriott Hotel & Country Club; Harpenden Golf Club; JCB Golf & Country Club; Long Ashton Golf Club; Mount Juliet Estate; Panmure Golf Club; Quinta do Lago; Rockliffe Hall; Royal Dublin Golf Club; Royal Dornoch Golf Club; The Belfry Hotel & Resort; The Grove; The London Club and The Mere Golf Resort & Spa.
Silver Flag Designations 2023: Barnham Broom; Bowood Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort; Branston Golf & Country Club; Carton House; Cameron House; Clevedon Golf Club; Infinitum; Ladybank Golf Club; La Moye Golf Club; North Foreland Golf Club; QHotels Collection, Slaley Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort; QHotels Collection, Belton Woods Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort; Royal Park I Roveri; Slieve Russell; St Mellion; The Kendleshire and West Herts Golf Club.
Bronze Flag Designations 2023: Conwy Golf Club; Delta Hotels by Marriott, Worsley Park Country Club; Golf Son Quint; Golf Son Vida; Goring & Streatley Golf Club; Hickleton Golf Club; Newport Golf Club; Pula Golf Resort; Teignmouth Golf Club; The Astbury; The Bristol Golf Club; The Vale Resort; Vale Royal Abbey Golf Club; Woodsome Hall Golf Club and Wychwood Park.
Golf Manager of the Year (59club UK)
Brad Gould (The Grove) Over £131 Green-Fee
Sean Graham (Foxhills Club & Resort) £61-£130 Green-Fee
Gareth Morgan (Long Ashton GC) Under £61 Green-Fee
Golf Manager of the Year (59club Europe South)
Rocio Sanchez (Finca Cortesin)
Food & Beverage Manager of the Year (59club UK)
Jacques Hobson (The Belfry Hotel & Resort) Over £131 Green-Fee
Stuart McDonald (Belvoir Park GC) £61-£130 Green-Fee
Glenn McNaughton (Long Ashton GC) Under £61 Green-Fee
Food & Beverage Manager of the Year (59club Europe South)
Marta Castells (Camiral Golf & Wellness)
Golf Retail Manager of the Year (59club UK)
Russell McIntyre (Gullane GC) Over £131 Green-Fee
Andrew Crerar (Panmure GC) £61-£130 Green-Fee
Ryan Crowley (Clevedon GC) Under £61 Green-Fee
Golf Retail Manager of the Year (59club Europe South)
Fabio Vido (Royal Park Roveri)
Greenkeeper of the Year (59club UK)
Scott Fenwick (Gleneagles) Over £131 Green-Fee
Aaron Small (Belvoir Park GC) £61-£130 Green-Fee
Matt Aplin (Goring & Streatley GC) Under £61 Green-Fee
Greenkeeper of the Year(59club Europe South)
Paco Gavira (Son Muntaner)
Golf Operations Team of the Year (59club UK)
The Grove (Over £131 Green-Fee)
Delta Hotels Forest of Arden Country Club (Arden Course) (£61-£130 Green-Fee)
Long Ashton GC (Under £61 Green-Fee)
Golf Operations Team of the Year (59club Europe South)
Finca Cortesin
my59 Service Excellence: Stoke by Nayland; Celtic Manor Resort; Branston Golf & Country Club; Edgbaston Golf Club; Radyr Golf Club; Farleigh Golf Club; The Vale Resort; Rockliffe Hall
my59 Ultimate Service Excellence
Long Ashton GC
Leading Individual Golf Sales Performance
Alice Kozlowski (The Grove)
Leading Individual Golf Membership Sales Performance
Philomena Wilkinson (Delta Hotels Forest of Arden Country Club)
Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year
The Mere Golf Resort & Spa
Leading Individual Leisure Membership Sales Performance
James Flesher (Dunston Hall – Q Hotels Collection)
Leisure Membership Sales Team of the Year
Branston Golf & Country Club
Leading Spa Experience Performance
Rockliffe Hall
Leading Individual Corporate Golf Day Sales Performance
Leading Golf & Hospitality properties from across Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and the UK, have been shortlisted ahead of 59club’s Annual Service Excellence Awards Ceremony, which comes to Hilton St. Georges Park on the 2nd of March 2023.
59club’s prestigious accolades, recognise those outstanding Venues, Teams and Individuals within the global golf & hospitality industry who consistently deliver outstanding customer experiences for their members and guests.
Qualification is unbiased; and determined by scores achieved through a detailed and objective mystery shopping program, which measures the experience afforded to members, visitors and prospective members spanning Golf, Leisure, Spa and F&B operations.
A number of the finest Golf Resorts & Member Clubs in the UK & Europe receive multiple nominations this year; and leading the stakes is four-time Ryder Cup host; The Belfry with nominations realized across seven award categories.
Camiral Golf & Wellness – voted the number #1 golf resort in Spain, join 2010 Ryder Cup host; Celtic Manor Resort, Delta Hotels – Forest of Arden and The Grove as they each receive five nominations across multiple service excellence award categories.
Hot on their heels with four nominations are; Long Ashton and The Vale, both regulars in the 59club winners arena, and Quinta do Lago – also no stranger to the 59club spotlight having impressively scooped four of the main award titles in the ceremony just 12 months ago. They are all followed closely by Branston Golf and Country Club who uphold three nominations.
A newcomer to the 59club community having started their journey with the customer service specialists back in 2022; is Finca Cortesin, host of the 2023 Solheim Cup who find themselves in the running for two accolades.
With Belvoir Park, Bristol Golf Club, Clevedon, Foxhills and Ryder Cup giant Gleneagles – who famously claimed 59club’s highest accolade of Ultimate Resort in 2022 – also in contention for two accolades.
Gullane, Harpenden, JCB, Panmure, The Mere and Royal Park I Roveri – another previous winner having seen Riccardo Russo crowned European Greenkeeper of the Year – also feature double nominations.
Others hoping to receive a prestigious Service Excellence Award include a selection of 2022’s 59club Gold Flag bearing properties; Alcanada, Son Muntaner, Hanbury Manor and Mount Juliet Estate, who each feature in the Golf Retail, Greenkeeper, Golf Membership Sales and Golf Manager of the year nominations respectively.
Finally, the nominations listing see’s Barnham Broom, Carton House, Delta Hotels Worsley Park Country Club, Dunston Hall, Eden Hall, Fornby Hall, Goring & Streatley, Hoar Cross Hall, North Foreland, Oulton Hall, Rockliffe Hall, Slieve Russell, St Mellion, The Astbury, The Kendleshire, West Herts, Woodsome Hall and Wychwood Park all in contention for a service excellence award.
Looking ahead to the Service Excellence Awards, and the first for Lee Mathew Waggott, 59club Europe South’s new General Manager said: “We are extremely excited that this year’s Service Excellence Awards are now just around the corner. This day allows us to celebrate and recognize venues and teams delivering great experiences from across the continent. Additionally, with colleagues attending from properties across Europe, it gives property leaders a unique networking opportunity.”
59CLUB EUROPE SOUTH ‘SERVICE EXCELLENCE’ AWARD NOMINATIONS (in alphabetical order):
Food & Beverage Manager of the Year:
Marta Castells (Camiral Golf & Wellness); Attilio Girello (Royal Park Roveri); David Maderia (Quinta do Lago)
59club, the industry leading Customer Service Analysts and Training Provider has today announced its expansion into the Nordic regions of Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden & Denmark, bringing their wealth of Mystery Shopper Audits, Satisfaction Surveys and Employee Training Programs – created specifically for the golf & hospitality industry – to the fore.
Impressive expansion plans have already seen local 59club divisions established, currently supporting hundreds of golf clubs, resorts and management groups within the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa and most recently Australia & New Zealand. It was only a matter of time before the global leaders firmed up their support in the Nordic regions, as they work tirelessly to help clubs shape and develop their sales & customer service cultures.
After a long-standing engagement between 59club HQ and The Scandinavian Golf Club, alongside additional partnerships with European Tour Destinations within the Nordic regions; 59club are delighted at the prospect of having feet on the ground to further support these venues, and attract many more just like them who share the same focus of elevating customer service levels, with the desired effect of driving retention, revenues, and profits.
The new opening welcomes Sebastian Czyz Bendsen, as 59club Nordic’s Sales Manager.
Having graduated from Kent State University, OH, USA with a BA in Finance and a MA in Sport and Recreational Management, and after a well-spent career in golf – most recently in his home Country working with the Danish Golf Union – Sebastian joins 59club with a wealth of attributes and a self-confessed love of educating and guiding leaders towards innovative ideas.
Many would say he’s the perfect fit, offering industry experience and driven by his passion and excitement for connecting Golf Club’s within the Nordic regions, with the resource and global formula to excel their customer experience, and to create an even better community for their members & guests.
Of the announcement, Simon Wordsworth, 59club CEO said “Sebastian is a real go-getter, and well versed in the role that Customer Service plays in growing the game of golf and keeping players enthused and loyal to the sport. And now as he joins 59club, he’s ready to take the support and intel he can offer to clubs a leap further. Sebastian appreciates the complexities of club cultures and has worked with similar principals when supporting the US collaborations with the PGA of America, ClubCorp (now Invited), the TPC Network and Kemper Sports. All private golf corporations, and all searching for means to optimize their business, as well as recent initiatives delivered by the Golf Union.
“We are all excited about the impact that 59club will make in the region, our global benchmarking data is second to none, and as always, we are spurred on by the rewards our clients enjoy, as we deliver the roadmap to measure, train, support and reward the individuals, teams, managers and groups we work with to perfect the art of delivering Customer Service & Sales Excellence – we can’t wait to get started!”
Opening offers are now being promoted, all clubs interested in becoming the first to sample 59club’s industry leading Mystery Shopping Services, Satisfaction Surveys and Training Tools are invited to reach out to Sebastian@59club.com to sign up for a demo and to unlock their FREE trial.
59club, the industry’s leading Customer Service Management Specialist, has today announced that Lee Mathew Waggott will continue 59club’s growth across the South of Europe, supporting golf and leisure clubs, hotels, restaurants, and spa destinations to drive customer service & sales performance across their respective properties.
With nearly 15 years industry experience gained during time with Yas Links Abu Dhabi and European Tour Destination, The London Club; Lee is well suited to the role, and is no stranger to the 59club model either.
Under 59clubs direction, Lee played an instrumental role in developing the customer journey at Yas Links, realised at the 2022 MEA Service Excellence Awards, as the property scooped four gongs which included Golf Agronomy Team of the Year, Golf Operations Team of the Year, a Gold Flag Designation, and the leading award of the year; 59club MEA’s Ultimate Resort of the Year. All at a time when Yas Links hosted the 2022 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championships.
Lee went as far to say “Having used and experienced what 59club can do first hand as a customer makes me extremely excited to start my new role within Europe South. To be able to explore different visions, and support venues in the region following our Measure, Train, Support, Reward mantra, I strongly believe 2023 and beyond can truly be history making for all types of properties across the continent”.
Simon Wordsworth, CEO of 59club added; “We are all delighted to see Lee join 59club’s expanding network, representing clubs across Spain, Portugal, Italy & Greece.
“We have been fortunate to work with some incredible managers in the region over the years and have some of the finest properties in continental Europe within our portfolio. Many of whom have been with 59club from the very beginning of our overseas expansion. It was their willingness to work with the 59club brand, that led to our globalisation, and ultimately the formation of ‘local’ 59club divisions, serving its immediate community.
“That expansion from our headquarters in the UK led to openings across Europe, the USA, Canada, Asia, Middle East, Africa; and most recently within Australia & New Zealand, and we are delighted to strengthen our support in Europe South as we welcome Lee to the family.”
With leading venues such as Finca Cortesin, PGA Catalunya, Son Muntaner and Alcanada in Spain, as well as Quinta do Lago in Portugal and Marco Simone in Italy all engaged with 59club Europe South, Lee will continue to support the regions current roster of mystery shopping audits and customer satisfaction surveys, whilst introducing education pathways, networking opportunities and new innovations to Club Managers.
Those interested in a proven strategy to measure, train, support and reward staff performance to elevate the overall customer experience and operational outcomes, are urged to visit www.59clubeurope.com or reach out to Lee Mathew Waggott lee@59club.com for more information.
The industry’s best performing properties and leaders were announced as 59club unveiled their Eminent Collection – signifying the benchmark of excellence within the Global Golf & Hospitality landscape.
An exclusive event hosted aboard the Sunborn London; a floating super-yacht hotel in Royal Victoria Dock, marked the special occasion for those having achieved the highest long-serving standards of customer service excellence. With a previous soiree delivered days before at one of Dubai’s leading restaurants; Carine at Emirates, as 59club’s first inductees were welcomed.
Simon Wordsworth CEO of 59club said; “having amassed over 12 years of non-subjective performance data spanning all aspects of customer service, 59club has an unparalleled vision over those within the Golf & Hospitality Business who have proven their excellence, time after time, year after year. In honour of those years of dedication, the Eminent Collection was born to represent an international benchmark of excellence, which recognises the finest individuals & properties who are leading the industry in the customer experience realms. It is the only badge of honour that is an unbiased testament to having created a customer-centric culture, that puts the customer and their needs first, whilst regularly seeking objective affirmation that those needs are exceeded”.
Eligibility into the Collectionis based solely on achievements across the 59club Service Excellence Awards, with individual and team accolades, along with property flag designations, all contributing towards the Eminent Benchmark of Excellence; measuring performances over a minimum of 5 years.
Simon added “There is no debate to be had, you are either in or not, if in it is crystal clear why, if out then likewise you know what you must do. There is no self-assessment, no bias, no cloudy subjective entries – if you are in the Eminent Collection, you are there because you put yourself, your team, your venue up for independent non-subjective scrutiny of your customer service performance. The venues and individuals are proven to be amongst the best operators in the business – that is what the Eminent Collection is there to show. That is exactly why a brand like Club Car, who are all about customer experience and vehicles of the highest quality has chosen to support us in highlighting these achievements.”
Twelve Properties from within 59club’s international network achieved the Benchmark of Excellence. Four were from the UAE, one from Europe and seven from the UK.
2022’s induction roll also included twenty-two individuals. Three are from the UAE, one from the USA, one from Europe, and seventeen from the UK.
The Belfry Hotel & Resort The Celtic Manor Resort Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club Emirates Golf Club Forest of Arden Foxhills Club & Resort Gleneagles Golf Son Muntaner The Grove Rockliffe Hall Trump International Golf Club Dubai Yas Links Abu Dhabi
Andrew Whitelaw GM/COO, Aronimink Golf Club Anna Darnell Resort Director, The Grove Barney Coleman Club Manager, Emirates Golf Club Bernat Llobera Area Golf Director, Arabella Golf Mallorca Chris May CEO Dubai Golf Gary Silcock General Manager, Murrayshall Stuart Collier Director of Golf, Stoke Park
Brad Gould Director of Golf, The Grove Chris Reeve Director of Golf, The Belfry Fraser Liston Director of Golf, Forest of Arden Sean Graham Head of Golf Operations, Foxhills Stephen Hindle Golf Manager, Worsley Park Stephen Hubner Club Manager, Jumeirah Golf Estates
Angus Macleod Director of Golf Courses & Estates, The Belfry Craig Haldane Golf Courses Manager, Gleneagles Jim Mckenzie MBE Director of Golf Courses & Estates, Celtic Manor Jonathan Wyer Golf Course Manager, Rockliffe Hall Phillip Chiverton Golf Course & Estates Manager, The Grove Rob Rowson Golf Course Estate Manager, Forest of Arden
Jacques Hobson Food & Beverage Outlets Manager, The Belfry
Simon Howell Golf Operations Manager, Forest of Arden Tom Hughes Head of Golf Retail & Operations, The Belfry
Trump International Golf Club, Dubai affords an exquisite championship links-style golf course, world-class golf, leisure & retail facilities, and the finest dining experience complete with the promise to exceed all members and guest expectations.
We caught up with the Director of Golf Operations at Trump International Golf Club, Phil Waine to discuss how the stunning property located in the heart of the DAMAC Hills ensures its promise of ‘excellence’ is realised.
Utilizing the feedback from 59club’s Mystery Shopper feedback over a 5-year period has enabled us to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the business at all touch points of the golfer’s experience. From here, we have been able to conduct our internal training around the areas of opportunity that have been collectively flagged within the audits. For example, upsell training in the retail department combined with product knowledge seminars and utilizing our preferred vendors such as Taylormade to conduct additional training.
We were also able to highlight potential staff shortages within certain areas of the operation and used this indicator to schedule staff amendments and instigate additional recruitment. Using the Mystery Shopper feedback, we can highlight and justify to our ownership the areas of recruitment required to ensure the Trump brand standards are provided on a consistent basis, and to also benchmark our experience against other leading golf facilities.
In addition, 59club’s mystery shopper feedback has been utilized for supporting justification around staff recognition awards such as employee of the month/quarter/year, combined with annual performance reviews.
We deliver our annual membership survey with 59club and without doubt it’s the most important satisfaction survey that we conduct each year at the facility. We deliver the survey in May each year and it is active for around a 3–4-week period. We feel it is important to provide members with a constructive communication platform to express their opinion on the membership experience at Trump International Golf Club, Dubai, and to highlight the strengths and areas of opportunity from their own personal standpoint. Members can also remain anonymous when conducting the survey which allows them to feel comfortable when expressing certain views.
Each year we have received excellent feedback and there is always a new concept or idea that appears within the comments that we have implemented into the membership experience. This can range from a new competition event/schedule, tee sheet format, additional practice facilities on the TrackMan Driving Range, golf course upgrades, menu item/pricing amendments within the restaurant outlets etc.
Once the survey is closed, the results are distributed to the membership via a newsletter communication with the summer (June – August) action plan attached. Since we launched the membership survey in 2019, we have seen an increase in overall membership satisfaction each year, with 2022 being our record satisfaction score.
On the back of the 2022 Member Survey action plan, we have outlined further facility enhancements and renovation projects for 2023 to ensure we can continue the member satisfaction trend into next year. These enhancements will not only benefit members but also visitor golfers and non-golfers from the surrounding community. In addition, we also deliver a daily guest survey, which is sent to each non-member just 24 hours after their round of golf. On completion, each participant will receive a personalized response from the golf team within 24 hours of receiving their survey response. This is an opportunity to address any concerns from the golfer, and to potentially encourage repeat play by applying a Promo Code for the next visit.
The daily visitor survey provides additional data obtained from the mystery shopper and member survey to again benchmark the golfing experience we are delivering to all non-members. We have applied incentives for guests to complete the survey to ensure we maintain a healthy capture % rate throughout the year.
In addition to the staff training, we align all satisfaction survey scores to individual and departmental annual KPI’s and include these within the annual business plan at the start of the year. All survey scores are reviewed monthly and benchmarked against the budget, prior year, and industry averages. They are included within all owner and management reports.
The action plans and training implemented on the back of the satisfaction scores from members, guests and mystery shoppers has been supported with positive trends on commercial performance year on year. We have seen growth in areas such as merchandise spend per round, membership and green fee in all non-member round segments. In addition, the Golf Club has received prestigious global accolades within the golfing industry in recent years and continues to be nominated in 2022. We feel the service provided by 59club has been a huge support mechanism to help us achieve these goals.
The 59club service excellence awards are recognition that the club is delivering the Trump brand standards to members and guests throughout the year. Working within golf facilities in the Middle East with demanding commercial targets, it is important to ensure service standards are not compromised when achieving these objectives.
The current Director of Golf role involves a lot of administration tasks and attending meetings throughout the week. Therefore, there is a limited amount of time where I can personally oversee all touch points of the operation firsthand. We operate a floodlight facility on the Par 3 Course which means we have tee times starting from 6am in the morning until 9pm in the evening with over 70 thousand rounds of golf accommodated during the year. The 59club software we implement at Trump International Golf Club, Dubai basically provides the team and I external feedback on the golf experience we delivery on a daily basis throughout the year. The information received can be measured and allows us to make key strategy decisions based on factual data received from all golf round segments.
To anyone not working with 59club, I would have to question how they are auditing their member and guest experience, and what information they are using to make key operational strategy decisions to help them advance and deliver excellence in a competitive marketplace.
59club are industry leaders in Customer Experience Management, with a wealth of ground-breaking Mystery Shopper Audits, Customer Satisfaction Surveys, and Employee Training Programs. They support many of the greatest names in the Golf, Leisure, Spa, F&B and Hotel Industries, to elevate Sales Performance and the Customer Experience across their respective client properties.
Stoke by Nayland is one of the busiest 36-hole venues in the UK with a significant membership who like to play a lot of golf.
Managing the differing needs of members, hotel residents and pay-and-play golfers represents a challenge, but also being just one moving part in a significant resort business means I have to coordinate the activities of the various elements of my own department – booking, retail, starters and marshals, greenkeeping and academy – as well as managing a relationship with key partners such as membership committees and other hotel departments, such as rooms and F&B.
I’ve worked with 59club for around 11 years – the last three here at Stoke by Nayland. Of all the many benefits we’ve enjoyed from working with 59club, I would say the most significant – and something that helps us grow as a golf club – is the ability to benchmark against other venues.
For example, how do you know that what you’re doing is any good, in comparison to other properties? The beauty of 59club is that it gives us the ability to choose a cluster of venues that are very similar to us and our operation and to see how they perform as a collective; and with that peripheral view ultimately, we’re able to benchmark ourselves in terms of where we lie in the market.
And that mystery shopper intel isn’t limited to those competitor properties either; we also benefit from insight into 59club’s industry benchmark defined by the 3 best performing venues, which is always slightly higher than the actual industry average data. So, we’re comparing ourselves constantly not only to our immediate competition but also with a range of properties, which really helps us.
I have an excellent relationship with 59club and we speak regularly, whether it is to discuss ideas related to the club, or to discuss challenges. We also use the data we receive as part of our internal induction process and ongoing staff training. We have monthly team debriefs where we use that data as the key training issue or the tool to highlight the training need.
If, let’s say, our mystery audit comes back and it appears that a retail member of staff wasn’t particularly clued up on an item of clothing they were trying to sell, that indicates, clearly, a requirement for further training for the team. Pretty much every month we’ll highlight the big downfall, for want of a better word, within any audit and we focus our training on that area over the next few weeks.
Again, the ability to benchmark our member and guest survey data against similar facilities, is absolutely vital for us. An example is where I ask the members to survey the bunkers – and we score six out of 10. To the untrained eye that score may look pretty poor, but what 59club can do for us, in terms of the survey platform, is telling us the average score that club members across the industry have rated their bunkers, and a lot of the time that industry data is not as high as you’d imagine.
In a perfect world you’re aiming for a 10 out of 10 but the ability to know that some of the better courses may only be scoring 8.8, for example, is a good tool for us to be able to manage what we’re trying to achieve. Six no longer looks as low as it might have done previously.
The benefits to staff training and planning are also manifold. It could be somebody in the halfway hut, who hasn’t greeted a guest in a particularly great manner, or the example of the retail staff. We go through a series of meet and greets and building relationships with people.
We sit down at the start of the year and one of the big things we do is we review the mission statement we have with the golf club. The mission statement doesn’t necessarily change much, year to year, but some of the measurements we use to ensure we’re on track do change.
In the last couple of years, we’ve set benchmarks in terms of the member satisfaction scores generated from our 59club surveys and a guest satisfaction score from our mystery shopper audits, and, additionally, one of the measurements we aim for has been the 59club silver flag award, which are presented to the venues that not only achieve the required standard of service as part of the mystery test audit criteria, but also provide excellent facilities for customers to enjoy… It plays quite a big role in the bigger picture.
We didn’t get to win the silver flag award we covet, so that’s something we’re aiming for this year, but we have seen multiple success at the awards based on our appetite for gathering feedback from members and guests and the effective management of the survey data we received. We won an ultimate service excellence award in 2019, being one of only two venues recognised at that standard, and again in 2020 we retained that premium title, and also in 2021, we were honoured with a service excellence award in the same category.
From a personal perspective the most important and valuable element 59club delivers for me, is the data; collecting data, helping make sense of the feedback and being able to action any kind of changes accordingly, because of what our actual customers and a panel of mystery shoppers are telling us. Ultimately, it’s a really objective measure of the performance of the golf business.
Furthermore, every year we run the members’ survey and, as a result of that, we identify the three or four lowest scoring areas, and we implement changes based on the feedback. The changes we’ve made in the past are ongoing, and we will address any further necessary changes when we complete this year’s member survey.
We deliver pretty much the same survey, annually – albeit we break it down into three different parts: you and your membership; the course and its facilities; and staff. So, we can track progress that way.
In 2020 we used the survey platform more frequently for really nuanced stuff. For example, when coronavirus hit, we surveyed the membership on its preferred choice of touch-free hole inserts and, from the golf-club perspective, it’s really factual. It’s not my decision to use option A, for example, it’s the decision of the membership, because they’ve voted on it. I’ve found it’s far easier to justify a decision with a set of data to support you.
Without doubt, if we weren’t working with 59club we’d have a really subjective view of the golf club’s performance. I would only have opinions to judge my business on, rather than truly objective measurements.
If you look at the real top-quality venues in the UK, there’s a very high possibility those venues are working with 59club and what that says to me is that 59club gives you a really good, stable platform upon which you can build your business, whether that be a service or a product.
There’s a very experienced team of people inside 59club, and, ultimately, if you follow the guidance of these guys you’re not going to go far wrong.
Knowing that, I don’t understand why clubs in our sector wouldn’t work with 59club, to be frank. It’s a tool that offers so much in terms of looking at the broader picture, as well as somebody who wants to look at minute details in terms of, for example, selling golf shirts.
It’s a no-brainer for me. I’ve worked with 59club for years and I will continue to work with them wherever I go in the future. It’s incredible value for money.
59club, the industry leading sales & customer service analyst, has today announced its global operations are expanding into Canada.
The new opening signals great opportunities
for the Canadian golf & hospitality market, as 59club’s signature performance
management tools and global intel are now made available to businesses within
the region.
59club has driven a
data revolution within the industry, and are famed for
their insightful customer satisfaction surveys, mystery shopping audits and employee
education pathways. Their expertise and industry insight into global sales
performance and customer service standards are well documented, and many of the
greatest names in the club industry credit 59club for their properties success,
working with them to measure, train, support and recognize their workforce as
they achieve sales and customer service excellence, while elevating customer
acquisition, satisfaction and profits.
Headquartered in the UK
and firmly established in golf, hotels, leisure, spa and restaurants, 59club
now has seven divisions across the USA, Middle East & Africa (MEA), Asia,
two in Europe, with the latest opening in Canada.
With customers who include the likes of TPC Sawgrass, Bobby Jones Links, Emirates Golf Club – Dubai, Thai Country Club, The Belfry Hotel & Resort, Gleneagles, Le Golf National and Marco Simone to name just a few, alongside hundreds of other properties. When it comes to driving sales and customer service excellence, 59club are proud to work with venues of all size and profile, supporting club management to deliver unprecedented service experience whilst simultaneously driving revenues and profits.
And the
front man behind 59club Canada is Club Study owner and PGA member Ryan Tracy. Commenting
of the new opening, Simon Wordsworth Founder of 59club said; “Ryan will be a
great ambassador for our brand, and we are all excited to begin working with
him and his existing clients as we introduce our products and services to the
wider hospitality business community across Canada. We champion ‘service
excellence’, and with this new division, golf as a global entity only serves to
become bigger, better and stronger, with enhanced services and greater
experiences tailored to the discerning golf & hospitality enthusiast,
engineered from real live intel and expertise”.
Tracy added; “I have been fortunate
to serve the golf industry in Canada for the last 20 years, specifically with
Club Study providing customized pools of operational data in club management
over the last two years. When a mutual client made
an introduction to Simon, conversations over our shared passions and
subsequently the similarities between the two entities made the decision for us
to work together a natural progression. I realized immediately that the insight
that 59club creates will help operators in Canada, and I am excited to bring
these resources to market”.
And now as Club Study falls within the 59club armory, the pair can deliver even more industry insight as the bi-weekly national surveys, which had previously been connecting Club Managers in Canada & US, are now made available to the entire 59club global network.
Agustin Garcia is chief business officer at Infinitum (formerly known as Lumine), in Tarragona, on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. It offers exclusive seafront homes, three golf courses, and top-quality facilities and services
We partnered with 59club 2 years ago and have been reaping the benefits ever since.
The ‘mystery shopper’ exercise is a fantastic, authentic way to review the standard of experience we deliver to every guest. Each visit we’ve received has helped us to identify where we need small tweaks to improve.
One important opportunity the exercise identified, is how we can bring forward our best-in-class guest experience, so that, from the resort’s very first touchpoint, even before booking, we set the standard for a seamless travel experience that invites guests to embrace their holiday mentality before they even set foot in the resort.
We understand our guests are seeking the very best experience, and that begins from the first contact they have with the INFINITUM brand. For our team, this initial engagement is often via a phone call or through our digital channels, and, ultimately, sets the tone for the entire guest journey.
Undoubtedly, our work with 59club has allowed us to better understand this initial experience and how we can use it to elevate the entire guest journey to ensure we deliver excellence at every opportunity.
And we will continue to work on elements of the business highlighted by 59club’s data. At the heart of a world-class guest experience is the team, and we are committed to ensuring our dedicated professionals across the resort are fully equipped to deliver this inspired experience wherever our guests come into contact with our brand.
We pride ourselves on our overall guest experience, delivered through our entire team’s extensive knowledge and dedication, but we are always looking for ways to improve and that is where working with 59club has been really beneficial.
We will, therefore, continue to support our staff with innovative, industry-leading training plans incorporating 59club’s expert guidance, to ensure we remain at the forefront of guest experience, as we continue to evolve and strive for growth throughout the resort.
That relationship with 59club has allowed us to identify the many strengths of the resort and how we can use them as an opportunity to go above and beyond our current offering.
This benefits the resort in two ways: firstly, it helps to elevate the experience of our guests, which remains at the forefront of every decision at INFINITUM; and, through building on our strengths, we can generate upselling and growth opportunities, which we are pleased to say have already driven value for the resort.
I see no reason why facilities like ours should not work with 59club. Because we’re always open to understanding how we can better improve our product to provide all our guests with leading service, our work with 59club has created an honest space to reflect on our guest experiences.
I would encourage others to search out such feedback with an open mind when it comes to finding new ways to improve.
From L-R: Pablo Guerrero Jaureguizar of Infinitum Golf, Luis Filipe from Quinta do Lago, Francisco Ruíz from Golf Son Muntaner, Marco Aquilino & Riccardo Russo of Royal Park I Roveri.
A welcome
return to a “Live Event”, saw the very best Venues, Teams and Individuals from
across the UK, Ireland and Europe South assemble at The Belfry Hotel and Resort
on March 3rd 2022, ahead of 59club’s annual Service Excellence
Awards.
Festivities
began with a full day’s education provided by Gregg Patterson of Tribal Magic, and
Lora Cavan, having flown in from the US and Canada respectively. And as night fell, aspirations of being recognised
with a 59club Service Excellence Award grew, as the curtains opened on the
ceremony that has long been regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the golf &
hospitality industries, since the 59club’s honours list began some 12 years ago.
The 2-day
event, a pinnacle fixture in the golf business realms recognises the finest
customer service providers for having achieved the highest standards of
excellence in 2021. 59club’s
illustrious accolades are determined by scores collected from their impartial
mystery shopping audits, which evaluate the experience afforded to visiting
golfers and prospective members, in accordance with 59club’s objective
benchmarking criteria.
On the night, 59club
UK and Europe South presented awards across 29 categories, recognising ‘service
excellence’ across all areas of the businesses – sales, service, operations,
retail, spa, golf course, food & beverage, and management. With 59club
continuing to reflect the very best performances, regardless of a venue’s size,
scale, or profile.
The Awards was a great showcase for Quinta do Lago, after they claimed 3 of the 5 Awards presented for the Europe South region, including European Golf Operations Team of the Year. Luis Filipe, Corporate & Leisure Relationships Manager at Quinta do Lago, commented:
“Quinta do Lago has a long-term commitment to delivering the best possible customer experience across all our golf and lifestyle facilities to our residents, members and guests, and receiving this award is deserved recognition for the hard work our all staff, especially in the difficult circumstances of the last two years. This year, Quinta do Lago marks its 50th anniversary and its semi-centennial year of unique history, so we are very proud to see how Quinta do Lago has become a truly timeless destination in which residents and guests can enjoy a clean and secure environment.”
For two of our most
recent client venues there were also celebrations on the night; Infinitum Golf saw
Vicky Farriol recognised as European Food & Beverage Manager of the Year,
while Riccardo Russo of Royal Park I Roveri was present to receive his European
Greenkeeper of the Year award.
Of this year’s
awards, James Beesley, Regional Director of 59club Europe South, commented;
“It
was an honour to recognise and celebrate our leading service providers in
person this year. Even more so to share the stage with our sister company,
59club UK, who laid the foundations for this annual celebration. It’s been an
incredible pleasure to see our regional venues, who came on board in the last
18 months, presented with their awards amongst some of the UK’s golf legacy
venues.
59club
Europe South and our client venues share our passion for delivering the very
best customer experiences, and this evening’s celebrations have certainly done
all the nominees and winners justice!”
Will Hewitt, General
Manager of 59club UK, commented:
“Golf
has been incredibly fortunate to benefit from a significant surge in demand, and
it is extremely encouraging that more venues than ever before are choosing to work
with 59club to focus on their service offering and sales levels whilst working
to engage and keep this new audience. 59club’s focus will remain the provision
of objective and accurate performance data, providing greater market insights
and a supportive network of likeminded professionals which will further aide
performance enhancement”.
Celebrations continued into the night, as 59club’s
industry benchmark of excellence, its Gold, Silver and Bronze Flag
Designations, were announced. These highly prized accolades recognise member
clubs and resorts that provide excellent facilities for golfers to
enjoy, as well as having achieved the required standard of customer service throughout
2021.
This year, 59club Europe South presented 2 “Gold Flags”. The deserving winners were Club de Golf Alcanada and Son Muntaner Golf, ‘flying the flag’ for the island of Mallorca.
3 “Silver Flags” went to Quinta do Lago (IT), Infinitum Golf (ES), Royal Park I Roveri (member club, IT), worthy representatives from across all 3 active countries under the Europe South regional division.
59club ‘Service Excellence’ Award Winners
2021/22:
Gold Flag Designations: Club de Golf Alcanada & Son Muntaner (both Mallorca, ES)
Silver Flag Designations: Quinta do Lago (PT), Infinitum Golf (ES) &
Royal Park I Roveri – Member’s Club (IT)
European Golf Manager of the Year: Brian Evans (Quinta do Lago, PT)
European Greenkeeper of the Year: Riccardo Russo (Royal Park I Roveri, IT)
European Food and Beverage Manager of the Year: Vicky Farriol (Infinitum Golf, ES)
European Golf Retail Manager of the Year: Carla Bica (Quinta do Lago, PT)
European Golf Operations Team of the Year: Quinta do Lago (PT)
59club’s performance management tools have proved hugely
beneficial for clubs across the globe – but now clubs can go one better in
their efforts to streamline operations management and evaluate and advance member
experience; by utilising the new mytell App.
This multi-functioning App captures live performance data submitted
by the management team, employees and club members, supporting the venue to make
informed decisions to elevate standards, satisfaction levels, retention, and
profitability.
The management team through their use of the App can log
observations during their daily departmental evaluations, both on and off the
golf course.
With technology and convenience at the forefront of
development, managers store data within measurable pre-set categories – spanning
golf course & practice area presentation, maintenance & amenities,
retail & front of house management and employee behaviour and well-being –
meaning paperwork, email trails, group chats and the constant transferring of
images becomes a thing of the past.
Complete with the ability to share live performance reviews
with the team, set targets, track accountability, and monitor progress over
time, the App fulfils every need.
A number of UK industry professionals supported the development of the new App, and they were all quick to praise 59club for the benefit the App would bring to the industry, as well as to them personally.
One of those individuals was General Manager of Teignmouth Golf Club, Martin Hucklesby who said;
“Managing a golf club, in my view, is like any other service industry; it should be driven by its standards. The vastly different areas of expertise required to be able to measure, manage & record ‘a score’ to these standards has always been something that as a General Manager I have done via a spreadsheet as I have walked through the club & course. Now with myTell, and using technology I am able to do this via an App. It is brilliant, highly recommended and is on the front page of my phone!”
And it’s not just management who stand to benefit; the App also controls member feedback across golf, health & recreation when it comes to the club’s culture & community, the facilities & member services, its food and beverage outlets, and a huge part of ‘club life’, its people.
Whether a club chooses to invite all club members, or they
prefer to limit its users exclusively to those within the management team/board/committee
or perhaps they want to go one further and create an engineered focus group; this
clever little App will store and channel feedback along with supplementary
ratings, comments & images to the relevant department.
59club Director and the technical brain behind the App’s content and development, Mark Reed, said:
“But it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution: each venue
can create its own bespoke, white-labelled experience, ensuring it retains
control over which elements of the business its users can submit data around.
And the App also contains the facility to create and customise subsidiary outlets,
if, for example, the property has more than one golf course, fitness studio, or
restaurant.
“From a member’s perspective it gives them an
unprecedented opportunity to give praise where it’s due and highlight where
they feel they are not getting value for money. The mutual benefits are
numerous”.
The easily navigable App – available on both Android and iOS
platforms – tracks trends, monitors patterns of performance, whilst generating
statistics for periodic reviews. With feedback received within a secure
dashboard, away from the public eye and with total confidentiality.
For further information on the myTell App, or any area of 59club’s industry-leading service, please contact your regional 59club manager.
59club will call on their team of Mystery Shoppers to deliver the agreed agenda of mystery tests. 59club monitor proceedings and deliver a comprehensive and completely impartial online report. The report is measured against 59clubs industry leading benchmarking criteria, confirming your sales etiquette & customer service levels against the best performing venues and the industry average. The audit will provide clear action points that assist you to succeed in line with industry standards.
Service Excellence Awards
Venues who receive the required number of audits per product,
qualify for 59club’s acclaimed Service Excellence Awards –
famously regarded as the Oscars of the Industry. The Awards are designed
to reward individuals, teams and clubs for delivering great service within their respective fields.
Venues who offer the very best service and facilities are honored with
59clubs coveted Gold, Silver or Bronze Designation Flag Award.
My59 Customer Satisfaction Survey Software
My59 contains industry leading Customer Satisfaction Survey Templates,
for managers to utilise the online platform independently as they work
proactively to succeed.
The golftell member app, also included within the my59 software, creates
a channel for club members (and their guests) to privately communicate
their views directly with club management, from the convenience of their
mobile device.
All survey products empower venues to measure their customer
satisfaction against the best performing venues and the industry
average.
Training & Education
59club’s training modules has assisted hundreds of venues worldwide to
excel and perfect their sales & service offering. Training can
address weaknesses highlighted by mystery shopper audits and customer
satisfaction survey feedback, ensuing clear action points are addressed.
Additional 24/7 education is provided by 59club’s interactive online
training platform, with built in push notifications linked to your
performance data.
Service Excellence Guaranteed!
59club affords venues the complete ‘Quality Assurance’ package to achieve Sales & Service Excellence.
Help is just a phone call away, contact us today, we look forward to working for you…
59club, the Industry leading Customer Service Analysts and Training Provider, operates within, Europe, UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia & New Zealand.
With a wealth of ground-breaking Customer Satisfaction Surveys, Mystery Shopper Audits, Financial Comparison Tools and Employee Training Programs; 59club UK provides performance management solutions and global data to the Golf, Leisure, Spa, F&B and Hotel Industries, to elevate Sales Performance and the Customer Experience across their respective client properties.
The 59club Golf Flag virtual ceremony hosted by presenter and broadcaster Dan Walker, which recognises venues across Europe, UK & Ireland for their service quality
13 clubs received the highest accolade of all, 59club’s coveted ‘Gold Flag’ designations.
What’s more, they were
joined on the virtual podium by eight silver and eight bronze award winners,
illustrating that despite everything that has plagued the UK & European
golf industry since early 2020, many clubs refuse to allow their standards to
drop.
The designations
recognise commercial venues and member clubs that have achieved the
required standard of customer service, as determined by 59club’s impartial mystery
shopping audits, along with additional recognition for having provided the very
finest facilities and services for golfers to enjoy.
Employee
qualifications, restaurant accolades, member communication, and
environmental accreditation, are just some of the additional determining
factors within the qualifying golf flag criteria.
Huge congratulations to
all of our deserving Golf Flag bearing properties, we trust you enjoy the
presentation and as you enter into the spirit of the awards, please be reminded
that you are a beacon of light to the future prosperity of the golf &
hospitality industry.
And finally, we are
delighted to confirm that preparation is under way that will see all 59club
territories invited to compete in the inaugural ‘World hospitality service
excellence awards ceremony’ taking place in 2022-23…
Tom Rourke is general manager of Troon Golf’s The Els Club, in Dubai. Here he explains how working with 59club has achieved an unprecedented level of membership at the facility and why he regards 59club as an essential service provider, both now and in the future.
Although I had worked with 59club previously, I hadn’t utilised the membership sales experience audit as I was previously based at a daily fee only facility. Upon joining The Els Club and better understanding the membership structure, I thought the best thing to do would be to have 59club involved with some membership enquiries and mystery shops – to go through that experience to see where enhancements could be made to improve the conversion of our prospective member show rounds.
I met with 59club MEA director Mark Bull who discussed the expectations, the history of the previous membership enquiries from past mystery shoppers at The Els Club, the benchmarking process, audit criteria, and the recommendations to get the most success out of a potential new member or membership enquiry.
Subsequently, I sat down with our membership manager, Thomas Nicolson, and gathered his feedback before we instigated the first membership related mystery shopper enquiry. After receiving the initial audit report, Thomas and I analysed the feedback and established there were quite a few areas where improvements could be made.
Thomas is a great member of the team and together we very constructively worked our way through the audit feedback; with Mark Bull on hand to provide his insightful recommendations on further measures to advance.
Thomas took all of the data and feedback within the audit on board, and, worked to improve the membership enquiry process, and the following month, achieved a near perfect show round appointment mystery audit. The process has transformed our membership sales procedures, and, after receiving this great feedback, we started to look at the membership offering and made some additional adjustments.
And it’s really paid dividends. Thomas did a fantastic job: in December we had around 30 new members sign up; in January we had 40 new members; and, in February, another 15 – so it’s been a huge success. Since working with 59club, we’ve had more new members sign up at The Els Club than ever before.
It illustrates that by reviewing the customer journey and the show-round experience, utilising the 59club tools, and doing a refresher of all the Troon Golf operational standards as well, makes a massive difference, even at an incredible property such as The Els Club. We’re delighted with the results.
With 59club, the attention to detail from the tester is incredible and, when you’re able to review recordings of the telephone call, when you’re able to analyse the sales techniques demonstrated, and in other audits the upselling measurements in the golf shop, the photographs and the reports from the agronomy perspective as well, it is hugely valuable detail.
There was already an agreement in place with 59club when I arrived at The Els Club, but I would be looking to work with them at any facility that I would go to within Troon Golf. It’s an absolute no brainer – the costs you’re looking at for 59club, the detail and information you’re going to receive, and the improvements you can make, mean you’re going to get back that investment 10-fold, with all the enhancements you’re able to identify and implement.
As a new general manager or department head, there’s great value in reviewing the previous 59club mystery shops, so you start to understand the operation with a different set of eyes. And then to be able to meet with 59club and engage with them and understand what’s happened previously, the feedback that was given, and whether any adjustments were made, is a big help.
I’m also a believer in the integrity test side of the business, especially on the driving range or areas where, maybe, there’s fewer associates, or they’re further away from the main hub of the clubhouse. It’s fundamental for department heads and the GM to study these mystery shops and integrity checks, just to have some eyes on those areas from an experience side and a security perspective.
To be engaged with 59club to monitor your business, make improvements, and for it to complement Troon Golf, is for me, just the minimum standard. After the first couple of mystery visits and the results of the integrity tests, associates begin to see things differently and take call handling, sales processes, and cash handling more seriously.
It’s really been an eye opener for the team – you always get a few shocks, speedbumps and hiccups along the way, but you start to make improvements and the revenues will start increasing. Certainly, using 59club services will only increase revenues, whether that be on membership, green fees, retail, or on the driving range. To receive that detailed feedback helps enormously.
There is such incredible value in the level of detail in the reports, it’s a set of independent eyes, seeing it through the eyes of the guest, which is so incredibly valuable. Nine times out of 10, you are going to see an increase in revenue, and that is an absolute no brainer.
The wider business goal for The Els Club is to become more of a country club and engage with the local community. The Els Club will always be, fundamentally, built on an incredible golf course – Ernie Els did a fantastic job with the design.
But we’re currently underway with the construction of two padel tennis courts, a spa, ladies hair salon and a gents’ barber shop, and, because 59club does not just specialise in golf, we will also be engaging with 59club in these areas of the business.
59club is very much across the whole area of hospitality and the business – which Troon Golf also specialises in – and it will further enhance the guest and member experience, help drive revenues and give the general manager, and his decision makers, and department heads the information they need at their fingertips.
As the flagship facility, all the fantastic standards we have within Troon Golf are at the very highest level at The Els Club. But, with 59club – whether it be SOPs, training, uniform standards, or something else – we’re just going to get additional feedback, which will only further enhance what Troon Golf has in place and ensure it is followed, consistently. We’re already at such a high standard, but it will give more information, data and feedback – and it’s always great to receive.
We can also utilise other platforms within 59club that might not be on the guest side of things, such as associate training. There’s always something, for example, upselling, that you can never improve enough. If you want to improve the engagement with the guest, improve product knowledge, and the way that information is delivered, 59club is a great partner to guide you through that process and deliver training sessions. Department heads at Troon Golf always do an incredible job, but it’s additional support, and that goes a long way.
Having a 59club division ‘on the ground’ here in the region has made a big difference. I was very fortunate, previously, to do my PGA training with (59club CEO) Simon Wordsworth, and have worked closely with both Mark Reed, Matt Roberts and Andrew Etherington, so I know it’s an incredible team; but, having Neal Graham and Mark Bull on the ground here, is a great addition to the club. They are on hand with recommendations, training, or support, and will pop over at any time.
You don’t ever feel with 59club – unlike some – as if you’re on ‘the meter’; you know you’re calling them over to have a coffee, catch up and go through some feedback. You feel they are a pure partner and that they simply want to enhance the guest journey, and the operation, and genuinely care about The Els Club as a business. Both Mark and Neal have great experience in the region and it just further complements the club.
I feel the 59club team understood our goals from the start; the key part for us is we are all about membership – so we want to hit our full membership cap of 200 members which we’re now very close to achieving. They understood that, and, also, the history of The Els Club: that the number one focus is golf. They looked at how they can assist us and give recommendations, improve that mystery shop and guest journey, so that we could attract more members. Then we looked at the F&B experience, the upselling in the golf shop, the engagement during the experience with the guests, the experience on the golf course – every part of the business. But, number one, was membership and, then, the driving range, just looking to make sure policies and procedures were being followed.
It’s an absolute pleasure to be associated with and work alongside 59club and I’m sure the relationship and support will continue to enhance and complement The Els Club and Troon Golf’s operating and hospitality standards.
This year we were delighted to receive two 59club Service Excellence Awards, in both Golf Retail Team of the Year, and, The Els Club was awarded the highest honour, the Gold Flag Designation, which is credit to the hard work and high standards we all work to achieve.
I do genuinely respect and value what 59club offers and to see it branching out now all around the world, is wonderful. It’s something golf never had previously, and I just hope everyone else values it as much as we do, and doesn’t see it as an expense line. Properties need to see their products and services as something that provides tangible value; with 59club your guaranteed to improve the overall experience, and ultimately that will make a difference to your profits.
Philippe Pilato has worked at Ryder Cup venue Le Golf National for more than 26 years and now holds the position of general manager. He outlines how 59club helped elevate the facility to a top service provider and explains how its processes can help French golf in general.
We have been with 59club since 2016, just two years before the Ryder Cup, and, at that time, we were not able to provide a good service to the visitor, in particular, to international clients. Working with 59club helps us improve our services and the quality of our services.
In 2015 and 16 we were only used to working with French visitors and members. Two years out from the Ryder Cup we started working with foreign visitors and it was clear we needed to improve the quality of our service. We needed independent analysis of our strong and weak points, which is important for both the manager and the team.
We use 59club’s visitor-experience analysis and the my59 customer survey tool, as we needed to know better the needs and wishes of our clients.
We have many different clients at Le Golf National – we have subscribers, we have players who play one or two times a week, visitors from abroad including a lot from the USA, corporate customers and day guests – and, at the beginning, we didn’t know what they needed or expected when they played here.
We segment by type of customer with the survey tool and it’s very interesting and beneficial to receive the varied feedback it gives us.
When we started with 59club, in 2016, our initial results weren’t particularly good – we’d been geared up primarily for domestic visitors until that point. When we started receiving the results of the visits we shared the information with the whole team – the greenkeepers, the welcome desk, in the back office – which was hugely beneficial and we also started staff training with 59club.
We focused on our strong points, which we knew – the golf courses and the pro shop – and the weak areas, such as the service. We’re in France and it’s very expensive to have a lot of employees. We can’t have the same number of employees on the service side of the business as our contemporaries abroad. We needed to be very strong when the customer arrives in the pro shop because this is the first contact they get with a Le Golf National employee.
Across the five years of testing we’ve seen around a 50 per cent improvement in our mark for the ‘meet and greet’ part of the test, and this comes because, thanks to 59club, we trained our staff to be focused solely on the client. Previously, employees were only focused on themselves; we showed them that the most important person at Le Golf National is not them, but the client in front of them.
We did that a lot; it remains a job we do every day as a matter of course and this is why we have improved substantially since 2016. We are much more focused on the golfers, what they expect, and why they’ve chosen to come to Le Golf National. That simple thing – and the way we were able to do it – is the reason our scores are now so much better.
We’ve also tried to be better before and after the arrival of the client. We achieved more consistency with reservations and written confirmation, and things we did not do before partnering with 59club.
We tried to train all the team to adopt a 360-degree vision – the only job on the front desk is not just to offer a smile and to welcome the golfer, you need to be focused on every point: the car park, the driving range, on the first tee, and so on.
I think encouraging staff to think outside of their own sphere and look at the bigger picture has been instrumental in our overall improvement. Indeed, overall, I believe our average rating is among the best in France. The benchmark 59club offers is showing this with our above-70 per cent averages.
We still have a lot to do when it comes to on-course service because, as I explained, we do not have a lot of people in the marshalling team, the buggy bar, the starter, or speaking to the players on the course and asking if they need anything, for example. This area, admittedly, we can still improve upon and we will improve this aspect of the customer experience. I’m not saying we will be perfect but it will be a better experience – nobody’s perfect.
Much of this can be put down to the expense of employing people in France – as I have already mentioned – but the client expects a certain level, with a starter and a marshal, and somebody to take their golf clubs for them at the end of a round. We do have wonderful employees, really, because on some days we may have 200 people on the golf course and it’s very tough for them with so much to cover, yet our customer satisfaction figures remain good.
I would have no hesitation in recommending the services of 59club because it helps professionalise the service one offers to golfers. I think we need this is France. I recently visited a golf club with three of my colleagues from Le Golf National and was astonished that of the three people at the reception desk, not one looked up and said ‘Hello’ or welcomed us in any way. And that’s the simplest thing to do anywhere in the world.
In France we need to continue to professionalise our service teams because this is often the case at golf clubs in the country. We receive a lot of feedback from visitors to Le Golf National, and, because of 59club and what it does for us, they’re saying the services and quality of service here is one of the best they’ve experienced in France.
The problem is not the people, it is a management issue. The team needs to know what it has to do and, I believe, in France, they’re not sure what they should be doing, and that comes from the management. People come in, they take the credit card and take 50€ and send them out to the course and the job is done. But there’s so much more to it than that – or there should be. Sadly, in France, people on the front desk are not sure of what they need to do, so there is much training to be done across the industry.
Working with 59club has helped me, personally, to concentrate on the right things and I think that would help many general managers in France. I think it’s a ‘magic’ tool and has helped elevate Le Golf National to where it is now.
For those wanting a proven strategy to retrain and upskill their workforce, measure in-house standards, elevate customer acquisition, satisfaction, and profits, there has never been a better time to engage with 59club.
