W i n t e r 2 0 0 6 G O L F B U S I N E S S C A N A D A 2120

IN CONVERSATION PAMELA STEWART

regarding the labour market due to a BOOMING economy. How is WillowPark Golf & Country Club adapting to this crisis?Each Alberta business, golf clubs included, has their own unique experience withpeople. Our golf course team is led by veterans in their fields, and their years ofexperience have resulted in work environments that are fun, inspiring and some-thing for staff to tell their friends about.

What is your basic philosophy regarding human resources and what advicewould you offer up to other operators to consider? Well for one, keep those in authority who are not good ‘cheerleaders’ away fromyour staff. If you are one of those individuals who are not people-friendly, realizethat the happier your staff are, the more frequently you will see return golfers! TheHR mantra we operate by reads, “A one per cent increase in staff morale causes atwo per cent increase in customer satisfaction.”

G O L F B U S I N E S S C A N A D A W i n t e r 2 0 0 6

But work and fun are not always typical partners. How do you work tocreate a unique and enjoyable workenvironment?By putting an effort into having fun! Twovery elaborate examples come to mind.Our annual ‘All Departments Saturday’morning staff orientation includes abreakfast omelette station and coffee anddonuts. A power point display flashesphotos of staff at our staff golf tournamentthat showcases members cooking backribs, bartending, waitering, as well asother photos of the staff ball game and

scenes in the clubhouse, golf shop andon the golf course doing the things theylove to do. Member event photos showmembers and staff getting their facespainted prior to departure for Cirque du Soleil as well as showcases the highwire walker by the 9th green! Our stafforientation then tours over to the pro shopwhere the pro staff serve champagne &cranberry juice while describing theirrole at the club. We then cruise out viacarts to the turf maintenance buildingwhere our chef is flambéing prawns – allthis while the golf course superintendentintroduces the entire staff to his responsi-bilities. It is a fun introduction to somepotentially dry subjects, and it shouldgive you an idea of our approach.

If this is just the orientation, what other staff events contribute to thisculture of creativity at Willow Park? Youmentioned that you had two examples?Oh yes. Our world famous MagicalMystery Bus Tour!!! Our staff Christmasparty is “blow your mind” over the topFUN. We gathered at the club about 3:00 p.m. on November 10th this yearand immediately dug into my personalfavourite pre-Mystery Bus appetizer, KFC(Kentucky Fried Chicken) while enjoyinga beverage. The Bus arrived and stoppedsoon thereafter at mystery stop #1 wherethe crew engaged in an entertaining

activity...we carried on to stop #2 whichwas back to the club where the Chef hadprepared stations with recipes, set up forgroups of six, to create a cocktail recep-tion item to share with the entire staff. Inother words, it was dinner and a cookinglesson simultaneously. Then it was backon the bus for a stop at a KaraokePub…Oh, the talent in that staff...!

Treat your staff like stars, like theyare important to you...and they will reciprocate by doing the same with yourgolfing customers.

Jon, what was stop #1?I can’t tell you because we are hosting aGolf Business Canada Magical MysteryBus Tour at this year’s conference here inCalgary this November! It just might beone of the stops…

So your philosophy is to give your staffmystery, intrigue and great perks…?If you treat your staff as if they are yourcustomer – and I mean that in everysense of the word – you don’t just gainloyal staff, you gain in business. Whenan applicant for a job walks into ourclub, all of us drop whatever we aredoing to introduce ourselves. We ask acouple of job-related questions, and servethem a non-alcoholic beverage whilethey wait. Yes, we treat them exactly aswe would a prospective member.

IN C NVERSATION …with Jon FisherGeneral Manager, Willow Park Golf & Country Club, Calgary, AB

In Conversation, Golf Business Canada’s newest feature department, is about connecting golf

course operators with other golf course operators. It is a dialogue, a meeting over coffee, a look

from one operator’s perspective at business, the industry, his or her place in it, and it aims to help

owners get a glimpse inside another operator’s business.

Named after a television series developed and hosted by Canadian media legend

Peter Gzowski, the feature will attempt, through leisurely and literate conversation, to do what Mr.

Gzowski himself did best – encourage Canadians to understand each other better. If all goes well,

it may also make our readers, the operators of golf facilities, better at what they do.

Alberta is front page news

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So what is it you look for in an employee;how do you get the right ‘fit’? Attitude is everything in business, and wedon’t necessarily pay top attention towork experience. Now, professional stan-dards exist in each related position, buthospitality and attitude are the onlyrequirements in many of our service andturf positions. In my opinion, youshould expect to promise a lot to yourstaff and expect a lot in return for allthat you promise!

And it sounds like you do promise alot! Where does the profit come from?Profit is your ROI (return on investment).Create a positive work environment. Payfair. Demonstrate how you value theircontribution. Reward staff for making a‘real’ difference in your golf business and social experience. Have meaningful discussions and planning opportunities.Share your appreciation for their perfor-mance. Show them where they can startworking in areas to improve. Invest heavily in each individual who contributesto bringing positive change to your orga-nization. The profit, not so surprisingly,will appear loud and clear.

IN CONVERSATION

WILLOW PARK GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB / CALGARY, ALBERTA

Willow Park Golf & Country Club is a privatemembers-only golf club built in 1965. Itsinner-city location lends well to its activemember play. The club is a unique membersgolf club that enjoys a membership whocelebrates the gift of belonging to a clubthat embraces the family and all of theactivities that makes this a fun place toplay. The golf course was designed byNorman Woods, a Canadian golf coursearchitect, who mentored under StanleyThompson.

detailOwnership: Privately owned by seven directorsDate Course Opened: May 1965Size: 135 acresNumber of Holes: 18-hole championship course Course Design: Norman WoodsMarket Size: Local Traffic (Calgary - population 1, 000,000)Type of Club: PrivateGreen Fees: $90 Number of Rounds (April-October): Over 35,000 rounds/yearTournaments: NoneStaff: Approximately 80Amenities: Driving Range

Practice Putting GreenShort Game Practice AreaPro ShopDining Room and LoungeHalfway House

Cart Fleet: Club Car Special Programs/Events:

• Men’s Match Play League• Into the Kitchens of the Mind - Extraordinary 9 hole golf/social• International member golf vacations• Annual Willow Park Charity Golf Classic (2006 donating $610,000)• Junior Golf Program

Designations and Accolades:

• Calgary Spirit of Giving Award to Willow Park Directors • Peter Gzowski Award for club’s contribution to Literacy in Calgary• One of Moe Norman’s favourites as mentioned in his story

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

How do you structure your salaries - doyou place financial importance on per-formance incentives and maintainlower base salaries?In the initial interviews, we listen carefullyto the applicant and follow up with duediligence in discussions with employmentreferences. References can be fair & factualbetween industry peers, especially if youhave worked to develop a tight-knit networkin hospitality locally. After assessing a candidate and making sure that they arethe right fit for your organization, you willknow their value to your club…so paythem this value versus a formula! Possibly,the right fit for some is incentive pay,though I see where it puts the focus on self as opposed to your customer.

We need stars on the team naturallyinspired to serve versus those motivated bythe buck. If it is the ‘right fit’ the rewardsare in the job and fair pay combined.

I believe people get up every day wantingto be good at what they do for a vocation.You almost need to have this conversationwith a psychologist, if you are out of touchwith reality and you do not wake up everyday excited about going to work in thegolf business. Yes, it is challenging, but ifbeing good and fair is not your calling inlife, then stay away from the hospitalitybusiness…and let’s face it, golfers are asendearingly quirky as people get.

Does it matter that you are a privatefacility? Do you think even smallerpublic course operators can adoptsome of your philosophies?As it relates to people philosophies, thereis no discrimination between private versus public. It is all the same. The uniqueadventure in ‘private’ versus ‘public’ isthat it is always the same 900 people andtheir guests. Being private suggests a littlemore subtle service is required, and thereality is that our staff, with strong supportfrom our seven owners, come to workevery day to make it better, more uniqueand let’s face it, needing to maintain anextraordinary golf and social experience.This is because our members are ourmembership sales force.

Our staff, to some degree, becomes‘family’ immersed in the authentic com-munity that exists here. We thrive whenour hiring is right and our product is atthe top of its game, and we profit by ourmembership waitlist along with golf &social events that are fully subscribed.

Extraordinary public courses are ourcompetition. Our members benefit fromthe high levels of service that we must compete with, but we knowpublic courses are growing the game, andwe see the benefits.

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IN CONVERSATION

• Portable, STAINLESS STEEL self-contained unit• Twin-tap dispensing system with

EASY INSTALLATION onto your existing beverage cart, bar facility or halfway house

• GUARANTEED NO-FOAM while servingor Product Loss on Keg change-overs

• Convenient Inventory & Accountability Management System Supplied

• Increases Beverage Cart Capacity by1400 ounces of beer!

• Golfers prefer Draft Beer over bottled beer 3:1• Minimizes Beverage Cart downtime

for restocking

26 W i n t e r 2 0 0 6 G O L F B U S I N E S S C A N A D A

Back to the labour crisis…how wasstaffing for the 2006 golf season? Didyou struggle?It was clearly an issue, like many weoperators face, to manage. We were shortof turf staff and back shop staff and thekitchen brigade was a little younger thanusual. Turnover was above ordinary. Ourgolf pro, Jim Jempson, has been cleaningclubs while the chef has been washingdishes. The GM is working the BBQ &beverage cart and turf management isriding the mowers. The post Labour Dayseason has been tough! The hotel downthe street is advertising housekeepers at$14 per hour with accommodation, ifthat gives you any indication. Yes, thegolf clubs might not have been as cleanas they should have been from time-to-time, yet golf in Calgary thrives.

And finally, Jon, how did you start inthe business and what influenced yourcurrent human resource philosophies?Let me tell you a story. My Uncle Ed, agrade six dropout who was stationed with

the Canadian Forces in Korea, came homeand drove a truck for Shell, borrowed, thenbought, his own gas station in our home-town. When that bell at the pumps rang…you ran to the pumps! If he didn’t hearthe pitter-patter of racing feet he wouldlet out an ‘inspirational holler’ at the topof his lungs. The restrooms sparkled orhe hollered. The mechanical service areasparkled as if the garage had just opened.If the customer purchased a dollar of gas or filled his tank, you opened the hoodand checked the fan belt, brake fluid, oiland windshield washer fluid. You washedthe headlights, tail lights, windows,

mirrors. You checked their tires and thankedthem for buying their gas from you.

Bottom line…I observed how entre-preneurs make money. From that I realizedhow much he loved his work and I set outto find my own way, without having toholler! Upon graduation from hospitalityschool at Ryerson in 1979, I had a dreamof being in the golf business. I arrived atWillow Park 15 years ago having met oneof the owners in the hotel business. Theseseven have been partners here in privategolf club ownership since 1972. They treattheir staff well. They treat their memberswell. That is leadership by example.

IN CONVERSATION

Over the years, we have provided professional services to owners and operators of more than 1700 golf courses. As a result, wehave accumulated invaluable benchmarking data on the golf industry. The beneficiaries of such statistics are of course our clients.We are not only involved in helping established golf clubs achieve their objectives in the face of competition and the economicrealities of the new millennium, we are also deeply involved with new golf developments. Our golf umbrella includes:

T H E T E A MGlobal Golf Advisors’ highly trained professionals have all the required skills tohelp clients develop, manage and maintain golf facilities.

E S TA B L I S H E D G O L F C L U B Sn Market Studies / Diagnostic Studiesn Business Plansn Long Range Strategic and Capital Plansn Membership Sales and Marketing Plansn Clubhouse Consultingn Operational Reviewsn Transaction Structuringn Monitoring Operationsn Expert Testimonyn Due Diligencen Purchase and Salen Business Valuation Servicesn Human Resource Supportn Real Estate Developer Exit Strategies

N E W G O L F D E V E L O P M E N T Sn Market Studiesn Business Plans / Feasibility Studiesn Business Valuation Servicesn Sourcing financingn Membership Sales and Marketing Plansn Membership Document Creationn Clubhouse Consulting and Master Planningn On-site Monitoringn Human Resource Supportn Financial Forecasting and Budgetingn Transaction Structuringn Real Estate Developer Exit Strategiesn Integration/Planning of Golf

with Real Estate/Resorts

S e r v i n g t h e G o l f I n d u s t r y Wo r l d w i d e

T H E B U S I N E S S O F G O L F GLOBAL GOLF

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OperationsAVG. SPENDING AVG. SAVINGS

Club Car $323*Golfmax Insurance Plans $15,500 $2,325Jencess Software& Technology $7,500 $525Lenbrook $1,000 $250Moneris Solutions $5,250 $750

Total Savings $4,173

The bene f i t s o f membersh ipG O L F M A X P U R C H A S I N G P R O G R A M

*Savings are based on one half of an 18 hole golf course NGCOA annual membership fee.

PRO-SHOPCallaway Golf CanadaDollco PrintingFWGOLFGDF DistributionGolf Supply HouseNearly New Golf Balls OntourSrixon Sports, USATournament Sports Marketing

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FOOD SERVICESOntrak Purchasing &

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OPERATIONSClub Car Golfmax Insurance PlansJencess Software &

Technologies Lenbrook CanadaMoneris Solutions

For more information, contact (613) 226-3616ngcoa@ngcoa.ca, or visit www.ngcoa.ca