By Gareth Morgan, GCMA Professional Development Manager
How do you measure whether you are becoming a better Golf Club Manager?
We spend so much of our working lives measuring the performance of our Golf Clubs. Membership numbers, visitor income, course conditions, financial performance, member satisfaction, staff retention etc etc…
We produce budgets, review KPIs, monitor performance against targets and report regularly to our Boards and Committees.
But how often do we apply the same level of scrutiny to our own professional development? How do we know whether we’re improving as managers? And what are we actually doing to make that improvement happen?
My Five-Day Vision
In a recent article, I shared my personal ambition for our industry.
I want every Golf Club Manager to spend at least five days each year out of their office undertaking some form of professional development.
Five days.
Out of approximately 260 working days in a year, that’s less than 2% of our working time. And yet, for many managers, finding those five days can feel almost impossible.
There’s always something happening at the Club. A member who needs something or a Committee meeting to prepare for.
Or can it?
I’ve spent enough years sitting in the General Manager’s chair to understand those pressures. I also know how easy it is to convince ourselves that the Club simply cannot function properly without us being there.
But if we’re so indispensable that we cannot leave the building for five days across an entire year, there is definitely something there that requires some thought and action to resolve.
Professional development isn’t time away from doing your job. It’s an investment in becoming better at it. And the benefits shouldn’t stop with us.
A better-informed, more confident and more capable Club Manager should ultimately help create a better-run Golf Club, a better working environment for employees and a better experience for members. Surely that’s something every Club should want?
So, What Does Good Actually Look Like?
I don’t believe professional development should simply be measured by the number of courses we’ve attended or certificates we’ve collected. Those things can be valuable, of course, but they’re not the end goal. For me, the real measure is what changes as a result.
- Are we making better decisions?
- Are we more confident in our conversations with our Boards?
- Are we delegating more effectively?
- Do we have a better understanding of our finances, our people, our governance structures and our strategic responsibilities?
- Are we spending less time firefighting and more time leading?
- Is our Golf Club a better place to work and a better place to be a member because of what we’ve learned?
There Isn’t Just One Route to Becoming a Better Manager
One of the things I particularly enjoy about my role with the GCMA is helping managers recognise that professional development doesn’t have to follow one prescribed route.
We all arrive in Golf Club Management from different backgrounds, with different experiences, strengths, weaknesses and ambitions. Some are just beginning their careers. Others have been managing Clubs for decades. Some want to become General Managers, while others are looking to develop the skills and confidence to excel in their current roles. And that’s why the GCMA offers a range of educational and career development opportunities.
The GCMA Accreditation Programme
Accreditation is about recognising and demonstrating professional competence.
The GCMA Accreditation Programme provides a structured framework through which managers can assess and evidence their knowledge, skills, experience and professional development.
It’s an opportunity to look at where you are in your career, recognise what you’ve already achieved and identify areas where further development may be beneficial.
For employers and Club Boards, it also provides a valuable indication of a manager’s commitment to professional standards and ongoing development.
The GCMA Principles of Golf Club Management
Whether you’re relatively new to Golf Club Management or aspiring to take the next step, the Principles of Golf Club Management Certificate provides a comprehensive introduction to the breadth of knowledge required in our industry.
The course explores the many different responsibilities involved in running a modern Golf Club, including governance, leadership, finance, employment law, health and safety, golf course management, marketing and the member experience.
Delivered through a combination of expert-led sessions, practical learning and discussion, it also offers something that I believe is hugely valuable: the opportunity to learn alongside other people working in our industry.
Time and again, delegates tell us that some of their most valuable learning comes from the conversations they have with each other. And that’s no surprise, because sometimes discovering how another Club approaches a familiar challenge can completely change how we think about our own.
The GCMA Advanced Management Programme
For managers looking to develop their knowledge and skills in specific areas, the GCMA Advanced Management Programme offers the opportunity to explore key management disciplines in much greater depth.
Through our Advanced Management Certificates, delegates can focus on subjects such as strategic planning, governance, finance, marketing, golf course management, leadership and other important areas of Club operations.
These Certificate courses aren’t simply about sitting in a classroom and listening to someone talk. They’re designed to challenge thinking, encourage discussion, share practical approaches and equip managers with knowledge and tools they can take back to their Clubs.
One of my favourite questions to ask delegates towards the end of a course is what they are going to do within the first 6 weeks of returning to their Clubs, because that’s where the real value lies. Not in what you heard over the previous few days, but in what you actually do with it afterwards.
The GCMA ASPIRE Series
Not everybody is currently sitting in the General Manager’s chair. And not everybody wants to be.
Our industry depends on a huge range of talented people working in various roles.
The GCMA ASPIRE Series has been developed to support those who are looking to grow their knowledge, confidence and career opportunities within Golf Club Management.
Through a combination of webinars and in-person education days, ASPIRE provides accessible learning opportunities, career development guidance and the chance to build relationships with others at similar stages of their careers.
It’s about helping people understand the opportunities available to them, recognise the skills they already possess and identify what they may need to develop next.
And for those who do aspire to become General Managers in the future, it can provide an excellent starting point.
GCMA Regional Meetings
Sometimes, the most valuable professional development doesn’t take place in a classroom at all.
It happens over a coffee with another Club Manager, during a conversation at lunch, or while listening to someone explain how they’ve dealt with a challenge that you’re currently facing at your own Club.
And that’s one of the reasons I believe our GCMA Regional Meetings are such an important part of professional development.
Across our regions, managers have regular opportunities to come together, hear from industry experts, participate in educational sessions, share experiences and, perhaps most importantly, build relationships with people who genuinely understand the challenges of managing a Golf Club.
Because let’s face it, Golf Club Management can be a lonely job. There aren’t many people outside our industry who fully appreciate the complexities of balancing the expectations of members, volunteers, employees and Boards, while trying to keep the whole operation moving in the right direction.
But walk into a room full of fellow Club Managers and you’ll quickly discover that many of the challenges you’re facing aren’t unique to you or your Club. Someone else has probably experienced something similar. And there’s a good chance they’ll be happy to share what worked for them, what didn’t and what they’d do differently next time.
Our Regional Meetings also provide an opportunity to step outside our own environments and see how other Clubs operate. They expose us to different ideas, different approaches and different ways of thinking.
And, of course, they help us develop the professional networks that can become invaluable throughout our careers.
You don’t always need to attend a formal course to become a better manager. Sometimes you just need to spend a day in the company of other managers.
In fact, if you’re wondering where to find those five days of professional development each year, your local GCMA Region might be one of the easiest and most valuable places to start.
Your Development Shouldn’t Be Left to Chance
We regularly encourage Golf Clubs to have strategic plans.
We talk about setting objectives, identifying priorities, allocating resources and measuring progress. So why wouldn’t we take exactly the same approach to our own careers?
Imagine starting each year with a simple professional development plan.
- Five days set aside.
- A handful of areas you want to improve.
- Some clear objectives around what you want to learn and, crucially, what you intend to do differently as a result.
Those five days might include a formal GCMA course, a couple of Regional Meetings, an ASPIRE event or time spent working towards Accreditation.
There isn’t a single correct combination. What matters is that the activities you choose are relevant to your development needs and that you make a conscious decision to invest the time.
Then, at the end of the year, you review your progress. Not just which courses you attended, but asking yourself “what difference has my development made this year?”
That’s what good looks like to me. And I would love to see more Golf Club Boards actively encouraging their managers to take this approach. After all, if a Club is prepared to invest significant sums in machinery, facilities and course improvements, surely it should also be willing to invest in developing the person responsible for leading so much of its operation?
The Golf Season Is Drawing to a Close. What About Your Next Season?
As the main golf season draws to a close, many of us will begin reflecting on the year we’ve had and turning our attention towards plans for the next one.
Budgets will be prepared, projects prioritised and objectives agreed. But where does your own professional development feature in those plans?
If you’ve been thinking about this, now is an excellent time to start that conversation.
And you don’t need to work out the best route on your own!!
Through our GCMA Career Pathway 1-2-1 sessions, we can spend time discussing where you are in your career, where you’d like to go, what development opportunities might be most valuable and how we can help you build a plan that works for you.
Book your Career 1-2-1 here
So, as you start planning for your Club’s next year, make sure you also spend some time planning for your own.
Five days a year. Less than 2% of your working time.
Imagine the difference that could make to you, your colleagues, your members and your Club.
Because investing in yourself might just be one of the best investments your Golf Club makes next year.
