Partner Spotlight – Finca Cortesin

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.

New Venue Announcement – Golf de Andratx

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.

Partner Spotlight – Pula Golf

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.

New Partner Venue Announcement – La Cala Resort

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.

#Measure#Train#Support#59clubEuropeSouth

59Club Study – Connects Managers with Industry Insights and a Global Community

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.

Sign up now, whilst it’s free to join

Click here to read three of 59Club Study’s most recent reports.

59club Think Tank: Employee Retention

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”.

Spotlight on Service – Featuring Abu Dhabi City Golf Club’s General Manager; Rhian Lobo

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.”

New Partner Venue Announcement – El Paraíso Golf Club

We are delighted to announce our new partner venue, El Paraíso Golf Club

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.

Partner Spotlight – Royal Park I Roveri

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.

The F&B Upsell Engine

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.

Partner Spotlight – Arabella Golf Mallorca

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”.

#Measure #Train #Support #59clubEuropeSouth #ArabellaGolfMallorca

Prospective Member Enquiry – The Power of the Phone Call.

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.

Partner Spotlight – Quinta do Lago

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.

#Measure #Train #Support #Reward

Partner Spotlight – Club de Golf Alcanada

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”

Partner Spotlight – Camiral Golf & Wellness

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”

Leading Clubs & Resorts honored at 13th Annual 59club Service Excellence Awards

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.

For more information about 59club, visit www.59club.com


Full list of award winners can be seen in the table below.  

59club UK & Europe South ‘Service Excellence’ Award Winners 2022/23:

Ultimate Golf Resort: The Grove

Ultimate Members’ Club: Belvoir Park Golf Club

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                                     

Cameron Dhir (The Astbury)

59club Europe South & the UK announce nominees ahead of the 13th Annual Service Excellence Awards Ceremony.

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)

Golf Retail Manager of the Year:

Teresa Moll (Alcanda); Diana Torres (Camiral Golf & Wellness); Fabio Vido (Royal Park Roveri)

Greenkeeper of the Year:

Alfredo Alvarez (Camiral Golf & Wellness); Scott McLean (Qunita do Lago); Paco Gavira (Son Muntaner);

Golf Operations Team of the Year:

Camiral Golf & Wellness; Finca Cortesin; Quinta do Lago

Golf Manager of the Year:

David Ashington (Camiral Golf & Wellness); Rocio Sanchez (Finca Cortesin); Brian Evans (Quinta do Lago)

59club’s European Division serving Spain, Portugal, Italy & Greece comes under new leadership

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.

59club Eminent Collection

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

59club Service Spotlight on Trump International Golf Club, Dubai with Phil Waine

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.

For more information visit www.59club.com  

59club Spotlight on Service as told by Karl Hepple of Stoke by Nayland

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 expande sus operaciones a Canadá con un maridaje perfecto

59club, empresa líder en análisis de ventas y servicio al cliente, ha anunciado hoy la expansión de sus operaciones globales a Canadá.

La nueva apertura apunta a una gran oportunidad de mejora en el mercado canadiense del golf y la hostelería ya que las herramientas de gestión del rendimiento e información global exclusivas de 59club ya están disponibles para las empresas de la región.

59club ha impulsado una revolución de datos dentro de la industria, ganando fama mundial por sus concienzudas  encuestas de satisfacción del cliente, auditorías de “compra misteriosa” y formaciones de los empleados. Su experiencia y conocimiento de la industria sobre el desempeño de las ventas globales y los estándares de servicio al cliente están bien avalados, ya que muchos de los nombres más importantes en la industria de golf dan crédito a 59club por el éxito de sus propiedades, trabajando con ellos para medir, capacitar, apoyar y reconocer a su fuerza laboral mientras logran la excelencia en ventas y servicio al cliente, al mismo tiempo que elevan la adquisición y la satisfacción de clientes y las ganancias operativas.

Con sede en el Reino Unido y firmemente establecida en los sectores de golf, hoteles, ocio, spa y restauración, la empresa 59club ya cuenta con siete divisiones en los EE. UU.,  MEA (Medio Oriente y África),  Asia, dos en Europa y ahora también en Canadá.

Entre sus clientes figuran nombres como TPC Sawgrass, Bobby Jones Links, Emirates Golf Club – Dubai, Thai Country Club, The Belfry Hotel & Resort, Gleneagles, Le Golf National y Marco Simone, por nombrar solo algunos, ya que cuentan con cientos de propiedades repartidas entre sus diferentes regiones. Cuando se trata de impulsar las ventas y la excelencia en el servicio al cliente, 59club se enorgullece de trabajar con lugares de todos los tamaños y perfiles, apoyando a la administración del club para brindar una experiencia de servicio sin precedentes y, al mismo tiempo, generar ingresos y ganancias.

El líder detrás de 59club Canadá es el propietario de la empresa “Club Study” y miembro de la PGA, Ryan Tracy. Según Simon Wordsworth, fundador de 59club, “Ryan será un gran embajador de nuestra marca, y todos estamos emocionados de comenzar a trabajar con él y sus clientes existentes a medida que presentamos nuestros productos y servicios a la comunidad empresarial de hostelería en Canadá. Somos líderes en la ‘excelencia en el servicio’ y, con esta nueva división, el golf como entidad global sólo puede volverse más grande, mejor y más fuerte, con servicios mejorados y mayores experiencias adaptadas a los entusiastas del golf y la hospitalidad más exigentes, diseñadas a partir de información y experiencia en vivo ”.

Tracy añade: “He tenido la suerte de servir a la industria del golf en Canadá durante los últimos 20 años, y específicamente con Club Study los últimos dos años proporcionando datos operativos personalizados para la gestión de clubes. Cuando un cliente mutuo me presentó a Simon, las conversaciones sobre nuestra pasión común  y, posteriormente, las similitudes entre las dos entidades hicieron que la decisión de trabajar juntos fuera una progresión natural. Inmediatamente me di cuenta de que la información que crea 59club ayudará a los operadores en Canadá, y estoy emocionado de llevar estos recursos al mercado”.

Y ahora que Club Study forma parte del arsenal de 59club, la pareja puede brindar aún más información sobre la industria, ya que las encuestas quincenales nacionales que anteriormente conectaban a los gerentes de clubes en Canadá y EE. UU., ahora están disponibles para toda la red global de 59club.

Para obtener más información dirígete a 59clubcanada.com.

El CMAE destaca un estudio de caso 59club: INFINITUM, marzo 2022


‘Identificando las fortalezas de INFINITUM con 59club’, por Agustín García Pascual

Nos asociamos con 59club hace dos años y hemos cosechado los beneficios desde entonces.

El ejercicio del mystery shopper es una forma fantástica y auténtica de revisar el nivel de experiencia que brindamos a cada huésped. Cada visita que hemos recibido nos ha ayudado a identificar dónde necesitamos pequeños ajustes para mejorar.

Una oportunidad importante que identificó el ejercicio es cómo podemos llevar adelante nuestra mejor experiencia de huéspedes en su clase, de modo que, desde el primer punto de contacto con el resort, incluso antes de reservar, establezcamos el estándar para una experiencia de viaje perfecta que invita a los huéspedes a abrazar su mentalidad vacacional incluso antes de poner un pie en el resort.

Entendemos que nuestros huéspedes buscan la mejor experiencia y eso comienza desde el primer contacto que tienen con la marca INFINITUM. Para nuestro equipo, este compromiso inicial suele ser a través de una llamada telefónica o a través de nuestros canales digitales y, en última instancia, marca la pauta para todo el recorrido del huésped.

Sin duda, nuestro trabajo con 59club, nos ha permitido comprender mejor esta experiencia inicial y cómo podemos usarla para elevar todo el viaje del huésped y asegurarnos de brindar excelencia en cada oportunidad.

Y continuaremos trabajando en los elementos del negocio destacados por los datos de 59club. En el corazón de una experiencia del huésped de clase mundial está el equipo, y estamos comprometidos a garantizar que nuestros profesionales dedicados en todo el resort estén completamente equipados para brindar esta inspiradora experiencia donde sea que nuestros huéspedes entren en contacto con nuestra marca.

Nos enorgullecemos de la experiencia general de nuestros huéspedes, brindada a través del amplio conocimiento y la dedicación de todo nuestro equipo, pero siempre estamos buscando formas de mejorar y ahí es donde trabajar con 59club ha sido realmente beneficioso.

Por lo tanto, continuaremos apoyando a nuestro personal con planes de capacitación innovadores y líderes en la industria que incorporan la guía experta de 59club para asegurarnos de permanecer a la vanguardia de la experiencia de los huéspedes a medida que continuamos evolucionando y esforzándonos por crecer en todo el resort.

Esa relación con 59club nos ha permitido identificar las muchas fortalezas del resort y cómo podemos usarlas como una oportunidad para ir más allá de nuestra oferta actual.

Esto beneficia al resort de dos maneras: en primer lugar, ayuda a reforzar la experiencia de nuestros huéspedes, que permanece al frente de cada decisión en INFINITUM; y, al desarrollar nuestras fortalezas, podemos generar oportunidades de crecimiento y ventas adicionales, que nos complace decir que ya han generado valor para el resort.

No veo ninguna razón por la que instalaciones como la nuestra no deban funcionar con 59club. Debido a que siempre estamos abiertos a comprender cómo podemos mejorar nuestro producto para brindar a todos nuestros huéspedes un servicio líder, nuestro trabajo con 59club ha creado un espacio honesto para reflexionar sobre las experiencias de nuestros huéspedes.

Animaría a otros a buscar estos comentarios con una mente abierta cuando se trata de encontrar nuevas formas de mejorar.

Agustín García Pascual es director general de negocio de INFINITUM.

El artículo ’59CLUB CASE STUDY: INFINITUM’ se publicó recientemente en la web de CMAE.

Leading Clubs & Resorts honoured at 12th Annual 59club Service Excellence Awards

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)

Home ES

Thursday September 9, 2021

59club, líder del sector de Análisis de Atención al Cliente y Proveedor de Formaciones, que mantiene operaciones dentro de Europa, RRUU, EEUU, el Oriente Medio, África y Asia.

Con una gran cantidad de encuestas innovadoras, tales como Satisfacción del Cliente, Auditorías de Comprador Anónimo, Herramientas de Comparación Financiera y Programas de Formación del Personal; 59Club Europe South facilita soluciones para la gestión de rendimientos y datos mundiales para los sectores de Hoteles, Golf, Ocio, Spa, Hostelería y Eventos, con el fin de elevar el Rendimiento de Ventas y la Experiencia del Cliente por todas las sedes de nuestros clientes.

“59CLUB GOLF FLAG OF HONOUR” MARCA LA CALIDAD PARA LOS CLUBES LÍDERES EN EL SERVICIO AL CLIENTE

La ceremonia virtual presentada por el locutor de radio y presentador, Dan Walker, que reconoce los clubes en Europa, Reino Unido e Irlanda por la calidad de su servicio al cliente

13 clubes han recibido el honor más alto de todos, las “59club Gold Flag Designations”.

Además, se les unieron en el podio virtual ocho ganadores de premios de plata y ocho de bronce, que muestra que a pesar de todo lo que ha afectado a la industria de golf en el Reino Unido y Europa desde principios de 2020, muchos clubes se niegan a permitir que bajen sus estándares.

Las nominaciones reconocen a los resorts y clubes privados que han logrado el estándar exigido de servicio al cliente, determinado por las auditorías imparciales de 59club Mystery Shopping, junto con el reconocimiento adicional por haber proporcionado las mejores instalaciones y servicios a los golfistas.

Las calificaciones de los empleados, los elogios de los restaurantes, la comunicación a los miembros y la acreditación ambiental son solo algunos de los factores determinantes adicionales dentro de los criterios de calificación de la ‘Golf Flag’.

Enhorabuena a todas nuestras propiedades ‘Golf Flag’, confiamos en que disfrute de la presentación y, al entrar en el espíritu de los premios, recuerde que usted es un faro de luz para la futura prosperidad de las industrias de golf y hostelería.

Y finalmente, es nuestro placer confirmar que nos estamos preparando para un evento que verá a todos los territorios 59club competir en la ceremonia inaugural de los ‘World Hospitality Service Excellence Awards’ que se celebrarán en 2022-23 …

Gracias a nuestros patrocinadores

3D-IFS Albatross Asbri Golf BRK Club Car Comesto Eagle Golfbreaks.com Golf Genius Kennet Leasing Kinsey Tacit Toro

59club Spotlight on: Troon Golf’s The Els Club, in Dubai and why Tom Rourke General Manager hails 59club as an essential service provider

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.

59club seleccionado para realizar auditorías imparciales que miden los estándares de servicio y del desempeño comercial para Troon International

Mark Chapleski de Troon Golf & Mark Bull de 59club MEA

Troon International, una sociedad de Troon, la empresa más grande del mundo en la dirección de golf ha elegido a 59club como proveedor de los productos y servicios de gestión de rendimientos para todos los clubs en la red Troon International.

Troon International tiene su sede corporativa en Dubái y trabaja con los clientes en Europa, el Oriente Medio, Asia y Australia.

Mark Chapleski, presidente de Troon International, explica: “Troon International reconoce los beneficios que 59club ofrece a los clubs dentro de su red. Los directores y gerentes de golf han adoptado las auditorías externas y utilizan los comentarios para mejorar la experiencia del cliente, desarrollar asociados, mejorar el desempeño financiero y proporcionar datos valiosos para establecer objetivos y metas a largo plazo.

“Este servicio aumentado nos permite a todas nuestras propiedades – fuera de las Américas – utilizar la amplia cartera de productos de 59club, si lo desean.”

El catalizador de este nuevo acuerdo estaba centrado en el éxito de 59club Middle East & Africa en apoyar las nueve propiedades de Troon International en el Oriente Medio, que cuenta con: The Els Club, Dubai Hills GC, Address Montgomerie, Arabian Ranches GC, y Meydan Golf, en Dubái; Abu Dhabi GC, Yas Links, y Saadiyat Beach GC, en Abu Dhabi; el Royal GC, en Bahrain y la relación duradera entre 59club en el RRUU y The  Grove.

Estos clubs ya están utilizando la extensiva gama de productos de Compras Anónimas de 59club, incluso ‘La Experiencia de Visitante Golfista’; ‘Solicitudes de Membresía de Golf’; ‘Solicitudes de Grupos Golfistas’ y las auditorías estructurales de integridad. También han adoptado la plataforma my59 Encuestas para medir la experiencia de sus clientes y los servicios de fitting personalizados. 59club proporciona formaciones presenciales para los empleados, respaldadas por el recién lanzamiento de la plataforma virtual de formaciones ‘My59 Mentor’.

El director de 59club MEA, Mark Bull, dice: “Nos complace extender nuestra relación con Troon International de forma global. Aunque no sea obligatorio, este permite acceso a la cartera completa de productos 59club si los gerentes y directores de golf deciden hacer uso de ellos.

Los clubes de Troon International que quieren aprovechar de esta oportunidad recibirán cuatro auditorías de compra anónima al año, enfocadas en las experiencias de sus visitantes, así como sus socios. Beneficiarán del servicio y soporte adicionales facilitados por su división regional de 59club en la nueva plataforma virtual de formaciones, MyMentor.    

Esta colaboración hace que los clubs de Troon International sean eligibles para participar en los Premios de Excelencia en el Servicio de 59club, que se considera como los ‘Óscar’ del mundo de golf. Con estos premios, 59club reconoce a los individuos, los equipos, los clubs y los grupos de dirección que entregan las mejores experiencias a sus socios y visitantes.”

59club’s Spotlight on Service Featuring Philippe Pilato of Le Golf National

Philippe Pilato directeur du Golf National.

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.

Visit www.59club.com for more information.

El servicio destacado de 59club con Kristoff Both del Club de Golf Alcanada.

Kirstoff Both en los premios 59club 2021
Iqda-drcha: Dan Walker (presentador BBC), Kristoff Both (Alcanada), Mark Reed (Director 59club) & Simon Wordsworth (CEO 59club)

Kristoff Both, el director del Club de Golf Alcanada, en la isla de Mallorca, cuenta todo sobre su tiempo trabajando con 59club, el éxito que ha tenido y los múltiples galardones de servicio al cliente celebrados durante sus siete años de compromiso.

Todos pensamos, como directores de golf, que conocemos nuestro producto; que no necesitamos que nadie de fuera nos diga si el césped es verde o no, porque jugamos al golf y la mayor parte lo vemos desde fuera.

Pero hay ciertos procedimientos con los que, sentado en su oficina, no siempre se familiariza, que podrían ser los diferentes puntos de contacto: el restaurante, la tienda profesional, el caddymaster o el buggy bar, donde necesitamos saber sobre el amabilidad y profesionalidad del personal.

Entonces, para nosotros, las auditorías de mistery shopping de 59club son realmente productivas, ¡además me sacan de la línea de fuego! No soy yo quien le dice a alguien ‘no creo que estés haciendo esto o aquello’, es alguien independiente y está ahí en blanco y negro.

Una o dos veces al año, también recibimos una formación presencial con un miembro del equipo de 59club cuya experiencia en la industria habla por sí misma, por lo que también es muy convincente y constructivo para el equipo aquí. Tienes un profesional ayudándolos que ha estado allí e implementó esa práctica en la industria.

La mayoría de la formación o la educación superior que recibimos aquí en España no son específicos al golf, pero están dirigidas al servicio al cliente en general. Tener a alguien que hable sobre las habilidades de ventas, la gestión del tee time y la experiencia general del cliente en el golf lo hace más entretenido, práctico y relevante para el equipo.

Como consecuencia, el equipo es más consciente de cosas como la venta adicional y la venta cruzada y, aunque estamos lejos de estar al 100%, es un recordatorio constante de que tenemos que hacer estas cosas, y tenemos que hacerlos mejor.

La herramienta de comparación, donde podemos medir nuestros niveles de servicio y aptitud de ventas frente a nuestros competidores, es muy útil y esclarecedora. No es una carrera, pero es beneficioso poder demostrar y preguntar ‘¿Por qué otros se están desempeñando mucho mejor?; ¿Qué están haciendo diferente? ¿O qué están ofreciendo que es diferente o se percibe como mejor? Aprender de los demás es otra forma en que podemos progresar como equipo y como club.

Creo que el mayor cambio que hemos implementado desde que trabajamos con 59club está en nuestro procedimiento de reserva, que ahora es mucho más profesional.

Cuando observa los resultados de las auditorías de mistery shopping junto con algunos de los otros lugares, debe tenerse en cuenta que algunos lugares tienen personal dedicado simplemente a tomar reservas, por lo que tienen procedimientos diferentes a los del personal aquí que atiende a otras llamadas por teléfono y trata con los clientes en la tienda. Pero nuestras prácticas y confirmaciones en escrita ahora son más completas en relación con la información que contienen.

También creo que ha habido una mejora notable con los caddymasters en la forma en que interactúan con los clientes. De hecho, todo lo relacionado con los puntos de contacto con el cliente ha evolucionado a lo largo de los años que llevamos trabajando con 59club, y los resultados de las auditorías han sido fundamentales en esa evolución.

Tengo muchas ganas de trabajar en colaboración con la nueva división 59club Europe South, encabezada por James Beesley. Me complació saber que proporcionarán documentación traducida al español para el mercado español. Poder darle a mi equipo acceso al sistema, en lugar de tener que traducir todo, lo hará mucho más fácil.

Para el personal que no tiene la capacidad de leer inglés, sería muy ventajoso y beneficioso para Alcanada en su conjunto, tener todo en español. Y me imagino que eso también se aplica a los clubes en el resto del país, para poder trabajar en su lengua materna.

La historia de nuestra relación con 59club habla por sí: llevamos siete años trabajando con 59club y estamos muy contentos. Son muy profesionales y muy útiles en todos los aspectos. Y solo hay que mirar la gama de productos que siguen introduciendo para ver que no es una empresa que se quede parada. Ellos están progresando y, como su cliente, nosotros también podemos avanzar.

Los premios a la excelencia en el servicio comenzaron como un pequeño extra, pero a medida que más clientes se vuelven elegibles y 59club se vuelve más internacional, los premios se convertirán rápidamente en los ‘Oscar’ del golf en Europa; tal como se han considerado en el Reino Unido desde hace algún tiempo.

Siempre es bueno recibir reconocimiento por el arduo trabajo que ha realizado, por lo que apreciamos los premios 59club. También hay un elemento de competencia entre colegas en otros lugares que se conocen desde hace tiempo, por lo que se suma al atractivo.

Es alentador para el personal ser honrado con un premio: Alcanada es actualmente un destino con bandera oro de 59club, el galardón más alto disponible para el desempeño de un lugar. Es un gran logro que se nos mencione al mismo tiempo que los lugares que se consideran los mejores del juego.

He estado en el sector durante unos 20 años, y en mi 18.º año en Alcanada, lo que es muy importante para mí es no quedarme quieto, y los productos de 59club me ayudan a estar alerta y al tanto de lo que sucede y está disponible en la industria.

Tenemos que seguir buscando formas de mejorar y cambiar las cosas, y 59club me ayuda a hacerlo. Me anima a mirar por los rincones y no hacer las cosas como siempre se han hecho.

Si tuviera que resumir 59club en una palabra, sería “progresivo”: siempre está progresando y superando los límites, y eso, a su vez, empuja a sus clientes a lograr más, lo que beneficia a toda la industria del golf.

Anexo: Un año después de trabajar con 59club, Alcanada recibió una bandera de plata en reconocimiento a su excelencia en el servicio y, posteriormente, ha sido reconocida todos los años desde entonces, culminando con una designación Gold Flag.

Para aquellos que desean una estrategia comprobada para volver a capacitar y mejorar las habilidades de su fuerza laboral, medir los estándares internos, elevar la adquisición de clientes, la satisfacción y las ganancias, nunca ha habido un mejor momento para comprometerse con 59club.

Visite 59club.com para obtener más información.

PROGRAMA DE MENTORÍA PARA LOS GERENTES ACTUALES Y FUTUROS

59club, el analista de ventas y servicios y proveedor de formaciones, ha anunciado hoy su nuevo y emocionante programa de desarrollo personal; ‘Succession’.

La iniciativa está abierta a todos los gerentes, sus delegados y otras estrellas emergentes dentro de su negocio, independientemente de si trabajan con 59club o no. Está diseñado para ayudarte a alcanzar tu máximo potencial dentro de tu puesto actual, mientras amplía las oportunidades de aprendizaje, la progresión profesional y el crecimiento personal. Además, la membresía anual tiene un precio de solo € 59 por persona al año. El principal titular en los lugares con un contrato 59club recibirá acceso a Succession sin costo durante 2021.

El CEO de 59club, Simon Wordsworth, dijo; “El mantra de 59club es ‘Medir-Forma-Apoyar’, y Succession cumple con los dos últimos elementos fundamentales. Al hacerlo asequible y abierto a todos los gerentes / posibles gerentes, nos permite involucrarnos con los más avanzados pensadores de nuestra industria, personas que quieren aprender y mejorar”.

Aunque adopta varias formas, en su forma más simple, Succession contiene 3 elementos centrales; “En el éter” actúa como un eje que conecta a las personas con el objetivo de desarrollar nuevas ideas y nuevas percepciones. El aprendizaje está respaldado por una extensa biblioteca equipada con video, audio y documentos, además de acceso a paneles mensuales en línea y seminarios web en vivo organizados por expertos de diferentes industrias. Estos vehículos de aprendizaje centrados en un tema relevante, están diseñados para expandir el desempeño del individuo y su capacidad para generar un impacto. 59club ha trabajado con varios contribuyentes para desarrollar cursos de aprendizaje electrónico únicos que sean creativos, interactivos y verdaderamente relevantes para el gerente o el equipo a su cargo. Esta área de la plataforma crecerá significativamente en los próximos meses.

Para dar una idea de lo que está por venir; En un primer lanzamiento previo a la Navidad, varios socios de 59club acompañaban al gerente de fútbol de Inglaterra, Gareth Southgate, mientras dirigía un seminario sobre “estilos de liderazgo y cambio de culturas”. También se invitó a un panel anterior a unirse a Harry Redknapp mientras hablaba de sus 34 años de experiencia de gestión en todos los niveles del fútbol profesional, con la idea de que Succession se inspire en otros deportes e individuos clave de fuera del mundo del golf. Cuando Succession se lance el lunes 18 de enero, incluirá un artículo perspicaz sobre los “equipos líderes” protagonizado por el capitán de cricket de Inglaterra, Joe Root, justo antes de su vuelo a Sri Lanka.

El segundo elemento de Succession “En el Camino”; incluirá una serie de eventos en vivo durante todo el año. El primer evento de ‘aprender y jugar’, sujeto a la relajación de las medidas de COVID-19, se llevará a cabo en abril, en el Centro Nacional de Entrenamiento de Fútbol de Inglaterra, St George’s Park. Se trata de una mañana de capacitación de la más alta calidad, un recorrido por el lugar y, por la tarde, un torneo de fútbol con entrenamiento de los gerentes embajadores de la LMA.

Por último, y no menos importante, en ‘En el Campo’ hablamos con los amantes del golf entre los líderes empresariales y personalidades deportivas sobre las lecciones y los logros de sus vidas, en la sección de ‘Buggy Banter’ y ‘Mower Mayhem’ – apoyado por nuestros socios 59club: Club Car y Toro por supuesto !!

Wordsworth añadió; “Succession tiene como objetivo aprovechar los talentos y las calificaciones que los gerentes ya poseen, proporcionando un repositorio de información adicional, recursos de aprendizaje y oportunidades únicas para mejorar aún más esas habilidades prerrequisito.

“Buscamos ampliar los horizontes de quienes ocupan puestos gerenciales, ayudándoles a prosperar dentro de su función actual, mientras les apoyamos a ellos y a sus adjuntos para que tengan éxito en las trayectorias profesionales que elijan.

“Hemos creado a Succession pensando en tu tiempo, para que lo consumas a tu ritmo, cuando y donde quieras. Uno de los mejores ejemplos de este “enfoque en el tiempo” es el carrusel de la “tómbola” en el que cada semana los gerentes podrán acceder a una sesión de capacitación del personal de 30 minutos. Como gerente, deseas aprender y debes hacerlo, pero no dispones del tiempo: Succession te ayudará.

“No nos vamos a sentar ahí y enseñarle cómo analizar la cuenta de resultados o rellenar una declaración de renta; eso lo dejaremos a otras entidades. Succession existe para aumentar el valor personal, para darte los toques finales como individuo”.

Succession es mérito a la colaboración entre 59club y sus principales socios a largo plazo: Club Car, Golf Genius & Toro, más 3dIFS y CGI Seguros. Para más información, visite www.succession.digital o póngase en contacto con su representate de zona hoy.

JAMES BEESLEY LIDERA LA EXPANSIÓN EUROPEA DE 59CLUB QUE SIRVE A ESPAÑA, PORTUGAL, ITALIA Y GRECIA

James Beesley, Director General de 59Club Europe South

59club, el Analista de Ventas y Servicio al Cliente y Proveedor de Capacitación líder del sector, hoy ha anunciado un crecimiento adicional en el sur de Europa con la formación de un equipo dedicado regional que apoya a los clubes de golf y de ocio, hoteles, restaurantes y destinos de spa para impulsar el servicio al cliente y el desempeño comercial en sus respectivas propiedades

La nueva división está dirigida por James Beesley, cuya experiencia previa en Monte Rei Golf & Country Club (Portugal) y en su puesto actual en Finca Cortesin Hotel & Golf Resort (España), dos de los principales resorts de lujo de Europa, reforzarán la posición de 59club dentro de la amplia selección de destinos golf en España, Portugal, Italia y Grecia.

James posee una formación académica en Negocios, Marketing y Gestión Deportiva, y es miembro de la PGA y de la Asociación de Gerentes de Clubes de Europa. Los lugares de la región también se beneficiarán de la experiencia práctica de James, habiendo aumentado el desempeño comercial y los estándares de servicio al cliente como usuario del 59club en varios lugares.

Al comentar sobre su nuevo emprendimiento, James dijo: Como cliente de 59club, he experimentado de primera mano los increíbles percepciones y beneficios de sus productos y servicios, aplicando los análisis a la toma de decisiones y siendo testigo de la mejora tanto en los resultados operativos como en los financieros. ¡Estoy encantado de poder asumir este rol adicional y espero trabajar junto con nuestro equipo regional, cuyo conocimiento y experiencia locales brindarán un servicio dedicado y personalizado a nuestros clientes actuales y futuros!

Con lugares líderes tales como PGA Catalunya (Barcelona), Finca Cortesin (Marbella), Quinta do Lago (Algarve), y Verdura Resort (Sicilia) – todos nombrados entre los 20 principales centros turísticos de Europa continental – disfrutando de relaciones prósperas con 59club desde hace mucho tiempo, los estándares locales se elevarán a medida que más propiedades se sienten atraídas por la ventaja seductora de una mayor adquisición y satisfacción del cliente y mayores ingresos y ganancias, descrito por muchos como el ‘efecto 59club’.

Julián Romaguera, director general de Los Naranjos y cliente de 59club desde hace mucho tiempo, dijo: Fuimos remitidos al 59club por La Manga Club durante el show de la PGA, y a los 30 minutos de nuestra reunión nos habíamos inscrito. Para mí, era importante tener una herramienta externa para identificar nuestras fortalezas y debilidades, y aunque puede tener la percepción de que es bueno en algo, esta herramienta mantiene los pies en el suelo y le permite saber exactamente en qué tiene que concentrarse, cuáles son las urgencias y qué se debe priorizar. 59club debe ser compartido entre el personal y por la dirección al mismo tiempo, para que todos estén involucrados y dedicados a trabajar juntos para avanzar en los altos niveles de servicio que estamos comprometidos a lograr. Estamos utilizando las herramientas para orientarnos más hacia la hospitalidad, alejándonos del énfasis en golf, para introducir un servicio más personalizado. 59club le permite comprender cómo trabajan los demás, y puede comparar su desempeño de ventas y servicio con ellos.”

Simon Wordsworth, director general de 59club, dijo sobre el anuncio: Estamos muy ilusionados de trabajar con James en la expansión de 59club en el sur de Europa. Estos son tiempos difíciles; no obstante, aquellos lugares que ofrecen la mejor experiencia de servicio en golf y hotelería siempre ganarán. James y el equipo son la opción perfecta para ayudar a los lugares que se esfuerzan por avanzar mientras llevan nuestras herramientas de gestión del rendimiento y los servicios de formación de empleados a un mercado más amplio.

Aquellos interesados en una estrategia probada que mide, analiza y aumenta el desempeño del personal, la experiencia general del cliente y, en consecuencia, los resultados operativos, deben visitar www.59clubeurope.com o comunicarse con james@59club.com para obtener más información.

Para información a la prensa, póngase en contacto con: Marielle Meulenberg, Director Comercial Regional – marielle@59club.com

AVANZAR LA SATISFACCIÓN Y EL COMPROMISO LABORAL DE LOS EMPLEADOS CON LA NUEVA SUITE DE ENCUESTAS RRHH de 59CLUB

59club, el Analista de Servicio al Cliente y Proveedor de Capacitación líder del sector, ha lanzado tres plantillas de Encuesta de Recursos Humanos que abordan todos los aspectos de la lista de empleo, incluso la medición de la Experiencia del Nuevo Empleado, la Satisfacción General del Empleado y una Encuesta de Salida del Empleado.

Cuando se trata de los clientes, las encuestas de satisfacción desempeñan un papel fundamental a la misión de 59club de impulsar la experiencia de los miembros e invitados en toda nuestra industria. Si es verdad que “empleados felices es igual a clientes felices”,  ya es hora de dar prioridad al bienestar de los empleados. Como dijo el famoso J. Willard Marriott: “Cuide bien a sus empleados, ellos atenderán bien a sus clientes, y los clientes volverán”.

Las nuevas plantillas de encuestas se pueden utilizar para cuantificar los niveles de bienestar personal, compromiso laboral y satisfacción profesional de los empleados. Permiten también al equipo directivo de identificar lo que motiva a las personas y cómo la dirección puede apoyar el desarrollo continuo de sus empleados dentro de su función actual, proporcionando también claridad y visión en la progresión de su carrera personal.

Las Plantillas de Satisfacción del Empleado ya están disponibles y “gratuitas” para todos los titulares de licencias my59 Survey, junto con una gran cantidad de Plantillas de Satisfacción del Miembro e Invitado de Golf & Hotelería.

Las plantillas de versión inglés están disponibles inmediatamente y en breve se pondrán en marcha en todos los idiomas de nuestros territorios 59club. Para solicitar información sobre la Licencia de Encuestas my59, visite www.59clubeurope.com.

El software inteligente se puede ajustar y moldear para adaptarse al carácter de las distintas propiedades, lo que significa que el sector puede obtener valiosa información de Recursos Humanos desde dentro de sus cuatro paredes, con la capacidad de realizar comparaciones directas en el sector para controlar y mejorar la experiencia de sus empleados.

Simon Wordsworth, director general y fundador de 59club, dijo: “Su personal es su activo principal, si se les fomenta, se les permite desarrollar y avanzar, no hay nada más que aspectos positivos para el negocio: ahorros de costos y, sin duda, mayores ingresos y clientes habituales. Como empresa, siempre hemos estado involucrados en medir el desempeño del personal y brindar soluciones de capacitación para remediar los puntos débiles; este nuevo desarrollo permite evaluar y mejorar el desempeño del empleado, del gerente y de los empleadores.

“En el clima actual, con tanta inseguridad, con personal ‘fuera de posición’ y la necesidad de emprender funciones nuevas y múltiples, debemos asegurarnos de elevar la moral y priorizar la satisfacción de los empleados. Como negocio e industria, seremos capaces de capturar y retener el talento para ofrecer un mejor servicio a nuestros clientes e impulsar el disfrute del juego que todos apreciamos.

“Si tiene acceso a my59 Mentor, nuestra plataforma de formación virtual, a medida que las necesidades de la industria evolucionen como resultado de los datos, nosotros y nuestros socios podremos trabajar juntos para fortalecer nuestra oferta de educar a su equipo in situ.

Para hablar de sus necesidades comerciales y cómo 59club le puede ayudar a lograr la excelencia en el servicio utilizando una variedad de Encuestas de Satisfacción, Auditorías de Compra Misteriosa, Herramientas de Comparación Financiera y Programas de Capacitación para los Empleados, comuníquese con su agente regional de 59club y haga hoy mismo un cambio positivo para realizar todo su potencial.

59CLUB LANZA UNA NUEVA EXPERIENCIA VIRTUAL DE MENTOR

59club, el proveedor líder de formación y principales analistas de servicios y ventas, ha lanzado my59 Mentor, una experiencia inteligente de aprendizaje virtual, que salvaguarda el regreso triunfal de los clientes al golf.

La nueva plataforma virtual presenta los aclamados programas de formación de 59club dirigidos a las ventas y el servicio – desde estrategias de ventas y retención de membresías hasta perfeccionar las consultas de ventas corporativas y mejorar la experiencia general del cliente – en golf y hospitalidad.

Los lugares pueden aprovechar de la experiencia virtual del mentor para aumentar su conocimiento existente, educar al nuevo personal, mejorar las capacidades del personal de ayuda y proporcionar vías de desarrollo personal para todos los aspirantes. También se puede acceder a documentos técnicos, videografía y contenido complementario de colaboradores tal como el famoso Gregg Patterson, disponible ahora las 24 / 7, según la conveniencia del personal.

La plataforma también es una manera perfecta para que los lugares almacenen y comuniquen todas las políticas internas de la empresa y los manuales de formación directamente, y proporciona la tecnología para crear cursos de formación virtuales, verificar los resultados del aprendizaje y realizar un seguimiento de las aceptaciones de responsabilidad en una sola plataforma virtual de fácil acceso y etiqueta blanca.

Simon Wordsworth, director ejecutivo del 59club, dijo: “Reconocimos la necesidad de que las organizaciones tengan control sobre su experiencia de aprendizaje en línea, por lo que creamos una plataforma que nuestros socios pueden administrar sin ningún conocimiento de codificación. My59 Mentor se ha desarrollado pensando en la sencillez; su diseño limpio e intuitivo hace que la plataforma sea una experiencia fácil de usar para administradores y estudiantes en todos los dispositivos.

“Durante este momento difícil, entendemos el reto de motivar al personal y la necesidad de mejorar el desarrollo personal, por lo que la educación debe seguir siendo una prioridad. Todo nuestro contenido educativo está esperando ser descubierto dentro de la plataforma. ¿Qué mejor manera de involucrar al personal y generar impulso, asegurándose de que estén en la cima de la ola y con muchas ganas de comenzar?”

“No existe ni un club de golf, restaurante o lugar de hospitalidad que, a corto plazo, sigue funcionando como de costumbre. Cada club o lugar enfrentará retos agudos y significativos derivados de la pandemia de COVID-19, problemas que my59 Mentor puede aliviar”.

Las notificaciones automáticas se vincularán directamente a las compras misteriosas y a los datos de rendimiento de la encuesta, dirigiendo el personal a la lección relevante dentro de la plataforma, ya que My59 Mentor actúa instintivamente para mejorar las habilidades del personal y mejorar cualquier deficiencia.

Los lugares pueden crear sus propios programas internos de educación digital y personalizar la apariencia de la plataforma. Guardar manuales y archivos de soporte para comunicar el conocimiento y la política de la empresa directamente al equipo, al mismo tiempo que recopila todo el contenido digital y en papel en una biblioteca multimedia. La plataforma proporciona también una manera eficaz para que los gerentes se comuniquen con el personal sobre las normas y los procedimientos de COVID-19, y el protocolo por fases a partir de entonces. Dentro de my59 Mentor hay una función de “Examen” integrada que evalúa el conocimiento antes y después de hacer un curso para averiguar el progreso del aprendizaje. Al finalizar un curso, el personal puede descargar un certificado para autenticar sus estudios. Este proceso se prestará  a la organización y la comunicación de los nuevos procedimientos operativos de COVID-19 de manera eficaz, demostrando que todos los miembros del personal han leído y adquirido una comprensión clara de las nuevas políticas a medida que entran en vigencia.

59CLUB ENTREGA INTELIGENCIA FINANCIERA AL GOLF CON LA NUEVA PLATAFORMA ‘METRICS’

59club, los analistas líderes de ventas y servicios y el principal proveedor de formación del sector, siguen apoyando a los clubes de golf con un movimiento para producir datos financieros comparables junto con sus famosas herramientas de evaluación comparativa.

Simon Wordsworth director de 59club dijo: “El lanzamiento de my59 Metrics estaba ya previsto para la primavera. Hemos estado trabajando duro para proporcionar la información que la industria había faltado sobre varios datos monetarios de pérdida y ganancia. Los eventos recientes nos han empujado a adaptar esta tecnología para proveer la retroalimentación adicional a los gerentes sobre los efectos de COVID-19 en sus clubes en el primer trimestre, y posteriormente a lo largo de 2020, brindando análisis a corto, medio y largo plazo.

“Estos son datos en vivo que todos necesitan en este momento, no solo ahora en esta crisis, sino para siempre. Queremos apoyar a la industria para que pueda tomar las decisiones financieras correctas en el futuro, basadas en evidencia estadística real del sector.

“Durante mucho tiempo, el golf ha tenido pocos datos sobre los que tomar las decisiones, y sentimos que esto tenía que cambiar. Producimos datos en vivo de servicio al cliente durante años y ahora hemos desarrollado la inteligencia dentro de my59 Metrics para medir las finanzas. La confidencialidad siempre ha encabezado nuestra lista de tareas pendientes, cual ética nos pone en la posición perfecta para llegar a toda la industria y a todas las diferentes partes interesadas para ofrecer un producto que se necesita y se necesita ahora”.

My59 Metrics, es una plataforma analítica que proporciona datos comparables sobre las tasas operativas de la industria, como ganancias brutas, el volumen total de negocios, ingresos y atrición de membresías, tasas de compra, niveles de existencias, promedio de ventas mensuales, nóminas, niveles de personal y otras variables.

Todos los datos permanecen anónimas salvo al titular único de la cuenta de su club. Tal como todos los productos de 59club, las aplicaciones inteligentes contienen una gran cantidad de filtros que generan datos comparables con lugares parecidos, lo que permite a la administración del club tomar decisiones y hacer juicios astutos sobre su operación financiera. Todos los lugares podrán filtrar los resultados por estilo de negocio (privado, resort, etc.), por provincia / región, por tamaño del lugar (número de hoyos) y por estilo de campo (zonas verdes, brezales, etc.). La funcionalidad adicional está disponible dentro de una licencia prima.

Hace 12 años que 59club evalúa el servicio al cliente, el rendimiento de ventas del personal y la gestión de operaciones, proporcionando indicadores claves de rendimiento en golf y hospitalidad. Ahora con el lanzamiento de my59 Metrics, completamos el círculo de datos, ayudando a los clubes de golf a medir y fortalecer sus operaciones financieras.

Los gerentes, los proveedores de la industria y las partes interesadas han participado en la configuración de la primera versión de my59 Metrics, que incluye las principales medidas claves que facilitarán la claridad sobre los ingresos, las partidas jugadas, los costes y los márgenes. Los lanzamientos posteriores permitirán a los clubes de golf profundizarse en esas ámbitos principales y comprender los costes de mantenimiento, las ofertas de servicios profesionales y los salarios de los clubes.

El primer lanzamiento tendrá lugar el 8 de mayo para los clubes de Inglaterra, Irlanda del Norte, Escocia y Gales, y se invitará a los gerentes a completar el my59 Metricsdataset antes de los finales de mayo. Al completar los datos de 2019 al mismo tiempo, se dará cuenta del efecto que COVID-19 ha tenido en su club y en el sector en general.

Los datos mensuales se coordinarán a partir de entonces, generando datos comparables en toda la industria. 59club también planea trabajar con otros proveedores de tecnología para automatizar el proceso, con el ambicioso objetivo de que para los fines de 2020 el golf pueda tener datos EN VIVO. Para aprovechar de esta oportunidad y tomar decisiones informadas sobre la mejor manera de capear el temporal y los efectos financieros del COVID-19, visite www.59clubeurope.com

59CLUB PROPORCIONA ENCUESTAS COMPLEMENTARIAS PARA LOS EMPLEADOS, AYUDANDO AL SECTOR IDENTIFICAR LAS NECESIDADES DE SU PERSONAL EN ESTOS TIEMPOS DIFICILES


Los analistas de servicio al cliente y la empresa de evaluación comparativa 59club anunciaron hoy que proporcionarán herramientas de encuesta de COVID-19 para los empleados diseñadas específicamente para el golf y otros lugares de hospitalidad, de forma gratuita en medio de la crisis actual. Las herramientas de encuesta capturan los desafíos, las preocupaciones y las oportunidades potenciales de los empleados, todo en una instantánea fácil de usar.

Esta adición se produce poco después de que 59club pusiera a disposición herramientas de encuesta equivalentes para dirigirse a los clientes, miembros e invitados de los sectores del golf y la hospitalidad. Estas ofertas complementarias permanecerán disponibles durante la crisis actual.

“Muchos clubes se preguntan si es apropiado encuestar a sus empleados durante este tiempo”, dijo Will Hewitt, gerente general de 59club UK. “Las implicaciones a largo plazo de la mala gestión de las necesidades de los empleados son insuperables, y hay datos disponibles que muestran que los comentarios de los empleados y la comunicación directa no solo son apropiados, sino necesarios durante esta crisis. Las empresas de alto rendimiento buscan constantemente formas de mejorar ellas mismas y mejorar a sus empleados”.

Las herramientas de encuesta propias de 59club permiten a los gerentes identificar las necesidades tanto de los empleados como de los clientes, fortalecer los niveles de retención y da una dirección clara sobre cómo mejorar la experiencia general. El panel de control inteligente analiza los datos de una manera clara y concisa y proporciona filtros demográficos para segmentar aún más la información, creando una instantánea completa, manejable e inmediata de las opiniones y actitudes de los usuarios.

Los gerentes y responsables pueden usar las plantillas de preguntas COVID-19 para construir una encuesta personal, con la libertad de incluir preguntas adicionales personalizadas dentro de una plantilla, también tienen la posibilidad de construir una encuesta propia utilizando el software para adaptarse mejor a sus propios necesidades y objetivos.

“La retroalimentación efectiva, tanto positiva como negativa, es un conocimiento crítico en cada momento, y puede ser más importante ahora que nunca durante estos tiempos de cambio continuo” dijo Hewitt.

“Los clubes de mejor rendimiento siguen siendo los que tienen los mejores resultados porque buscan constantemente las formas de hacer el mejor aún mejor. Los gerentes que piden comentarios a propósito obtendrán un valioso conocimiento que puede abordar cualquier debilidad o descuido dentro de su negocio. Con tanta incertidumbre, el personal y los clientes necesitan ser nutridos ahora más que nunca, ese proceso comienza con hacer las preguntas correctas, en el momento correcto”.

Venue Spotlight: The Scandinavian Golf Club 

– After almost three years of unprecedented growth, David Shepherd, Chief Executive – The Scandinavian, reflects upon the power of 59club survey data and handing decision-making power back to his members.  

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