Regional Business Meetings bring managers together for expert insight, practical discussion and the opportunity to share experiences with colleagues facing many of the same challenges.
Autumn is a busy time of year for golf club managers.
The summer season may be drawing to a close, but there is rarely any let-up. Budgets need reviewing, plans for the year ahead start to take shape, staffing and operational challenges continue, and there is always another issue demanding attention.
So, when a GCMA Regional Business Meeting appears in your diary, it can be tempting to think there are more pressing demands on your time.
But stepping away from the club for a day can offer something that is increasingly difficult to find in a busy working life: space to think, learn and talk.
Your meeting, your input
GCMA Regional Business Meetings bring members together to learn, discuss and share experience.
Each meeting is a standalone day, combining expert-led presentations with facilitated discussions and opportunities for managers to raise concerns, discuss challenges and share best practice with colleagues from across their region.
The content is shaped around the issues that matter to managers. If there is a particular topic you would like your regional committee to explore, you can let them know. Equally, if you are dealing with a challenge that others might have experience of, the meeting provides a space to raise it.
That exchange of experience is what makes each meeting different.
As someone who attends these meetings as part of my role at the GCMA, I am always fascinated by the direction some of the conversations take. A presentation might introduce a subject, but the discussion that follows can raise a challenge or solution I hadn’t previously considered.
I often leave knowing considerably more about a topic than I did when I arrived – not just because of what the expert has presented, but because of what managers have shared with one another.
Learn from people doing the job
Education is an important part of GCMA membership, and Regional Business Meetings provide opportunities to hear from experts on issues affecting golf clubs.
But learning doesn’t always happen from the front of the room.
A manager might share how their club has approached a staffing issue, while someone else offers a solution to a problem another manager has been wrestling with. A seemingly small comment can introduce an entirely different way of looking at an issue.
As Peter Smith, General Manager at Hexham Golf Club, said after attending a previous Regional Meeting: “There’s huge value just in getting the head space away from the job and being able to talk to other managers.”
There is something energising about leaving your place of work and exploring ideas away from it. The knowledge gained can help with the challenges you’re dealing with now, but stepping away can also give you the space to think differently.
Sometimes, when you’re no longer right in the middle of a problem, a solution becomes easier to see.
Building relationships that last
One of the things I find most rewarding about the regional meetings is seeing relationships develop over time.
You watch people who may have initially only known each other professionally become friends and trusted colleagues. They share experiences, support each other and, in some cases, develop relationships that extend well beyond the meetings themselves.
Golf club management can be a demanding role, and having people who understand what the job involves can make a real difference – particularly when work gets challenging.
Gareth Anthony, Club Manager at South Staffs Golf Club, highlighted this wider benefit, saying managers “come away from the meetings with useful information and contacts to help your golf club.”
Those relationships might start with a conversation over coffee, but can become the people you turn to for a second opinion, a recommendation or simply a conversation with someone who understands.
Knowing that GCMA membership can help provide that network of support is something I find incredibly rewarding.
Bringing the benefit back to your club
The value of attending doesn’t stop when the meeting ends.
Ideas, contacts and knowledge can be taken back to the club and shared with colleagues. Hearing how other clubs approach common challenges can provide useful context when making decisions of your own.
Every club is different, but understanding how others are tackling similar issues can offer a fresh perspective – and sometimes simply having had the chance to step away and think can be useful in itself.
These are your meetings
With the autumn Business Meeting season now getting underway, there are plenty of opportunities to connect with colleagues across the regions.
Perhaps there is a topic you’ve been keen to explore, a challenge you’ve been wrestling with or an area where you have experience that could help someone else. These are all things that can shape the conversation on the day, and your regional committee will always welcome ideas about what members would like to see discussed.
These are, after all, your meetings.
The GCMA can bring together expert speakers and create the space, but much of the value comes from the people in the room and the experiences they bring with them.
For me, that is what makes these days so worthwhile. I leave having learned something new, heard perspectives I hadn’t considered and, often, had conversations that continue to make me think long after the meeting has finished.
You return to the club with more knowledge, more perspective and perhaps a solution to something that was occupying your thoughts when you arrived.
I hope to see you at a regional Business Meeting this autumn.
