Success
Lessons from Alice in Wonderland
This refrain from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland could not be more relevant to clubs today who neither have a published, “board-approved” Mission Statement nor constructed an annual budget that is focused on a financial outcome, rather than member-experience outcome. Clubs who have reached out to McMahon Group for assistance in improving their operational outcomes to…
Read MoreCreating the Private Club Version of Topgolf
Transforming Your Golf Practice Range What takes a golf practice range and makes it a year-round, night-and-day golf entertainment center? A few little additions do the deed. Add a competitive game, some good food, a little libation and camaraderie among friends, and you have the private club version of Topgolf. In other words, create a…
Read MorePrivate Club Innovation – The Secret to Having the Club of the Future
We are at an interesting point in our nation where the innovators are carrying the day. Look at technology, especially the iPhone, where the predominant use of this phone is no longer voice communication. Look at the auto industry where the Tesla of the new age is whizzing by the old-line companies like General Motors…
Read MoreRebirth at The Country Club of New Canaan
This fine Connecticut club found itself in an interesting position after weathering the great recession. Pre-recession, the Club had a long waiting list of potential members waiting to join. Post-recession, that waiting list disappeared along with a generation of members under age 50. The problem was a very basic one – every nearby club had…
Read MoreHow Achieving “Favorite Place Status” Drove $20 Million Club Improvement Project
In 2014, Country Club of New Canaan surveyed its members, which exposed opportunities for growth in upgrading facilities, programs and services. They then developed a club improvement master plan to upgrade their facilities; but, there was a problem. Over the years, the Club’s membership had not been very happy with their experiences in a la…
Read MoreStrategic Planning Enables “Favorite Place Status”
Legends Golf & Country Club in Fort Myers, Florida is a private, gated and bundled country club community of 1,291 residences. Led by General Manager/COO Ranae Frazier, CHAE, CAM and Club President Mike Gordon, in 2016, the Club’s Master Board wisely realized they needed a written strategic plan to be the guiding rudder ensuring the…
Read MorePools: The Gateway Amenity
The amount of money country clubs spend to rebuild or renovate their pools can be staggering these days. Multimillion dollar projects are common with recent reports of a club in the southeast hitting the $10 million mark. While the budgets might be eye-popping, most of the clubs that have completed their improvement programs will tell…
Read MoreFilling Buckets
The process of developing a Strategic Plan for your club will go through two distinct phases. The initial part of the program will be to establish the club’s vision, or direction for the future. This will be the result of studying your environment through tools like a marketplace and competitive analysis and member survey research,…
Read MoreThe Secret to Club Success
As we look to the future of the private club industry, we see two interconnected issues having the most impact on club success: How clubs are governed How clubs are managed Without effective leadership in both areas, clubs will languish and slowly decline. The days of member waiting lists to join golf and country clubs…
Read MoreKnow Your Members, Know Your Strategy
The amount of change in society is so significant, it is essential that leaders develop an individualized strategy for their club. The starting point for this process is often a comprehensive survey of the members. They are the owners and primary users, so it is important to have a great understanding of their needs and…
Read MoreThe Club of the Future – Major Societal Trends Shaping Clubs
McMahon Group’s four principal club consultants, Bill McMahon, Sr., Frank Vain, Richard Lareau, CCM, CCE and I had the privilege of presenting the Club of the Future program to a standing-room-only crowd at the CMAA World Conference. The everchanging world we live in from the impact of the rising Millennials to the still important Boomers…
Read MoreHow to Assure Your Dining Is a Favorite Place
Time and again though, the root cause of disconnect is that a club’s governance, membership and management all do not have a common understanding of what the promised product should be. As the general manager, responsible for producing a highly desirable member experience they can’t get anywhere else, you’ve just learned that only 24% of…
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