T H E S O U R C E F O R P R I V A T E C L U B E X C E L L E N C E™ APRI L 2026 McMahon Report® THE 3Why A Facility Master Plan is So Critical to Club Success 4Designing Clubhouses for the Work-From-Club Movement 15 10 Missouri Athletic Club: City Club Success Story of the Year 6Member Satisfaction and Value: A 10-Year Perspective 9The McMahon Quality Index™: Where Does Your Club Rank? "Dos and Don'ts" for Successful Club Improvements CALL NOW TO SCHEDULE YOUR F I RST IMPRESS I ONS V I S I T FOR 2026 ! New Clubhouse Brings New Life toWilderness Country Club
FROM THE CHAIRMAN Dear Club Leaders, The private club industry is navigating one of its most dynamic periods in recent memory. As clubs across the country emerge from the post-pandemic boom, new challenges and opportunities are reshaping how clubs think about their facilities, their members, and their future. In this edition of The McMahon Report, we explore the trends and strategies that are defining club excellence in 2026. From the growing importance of purposeful facility master planning to the rise of the "Work-From-Club" movement, today's most successful clubs are those that think ahead — anticipating members' evolving needs rather than simply reacting to them. Our feature stories highlight real-world examples of clubs getting it right. Wilderness Country Club in Naples, Florida, undertook a bold $18 million clubhouse replacement that earned an extraordinary 91% member approval rate — and transformed the energy of its entire community almost overnight. Meanwhile, the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis continues to redefine what a city athletic club can be, expanding its reach across the region while modernizing its facilities to serve a new generation of members and families. We also take a data-driven look at member satisfaction trends over the past decade. While the pandemic gave the industry a needed boost, our 10-year survey analysis reveals that member expectations have grown alongside membership numbers —with dining satisfaction, perceived value, and engagement among younger members all presenting areas that demand leadership attention. Rounding out this issue, our architecture and consulting teams offer practical guidance on the most pressing capital-improvement priorities clubs are facing today, from dining-room renovations and pickleball expansion to coworking spaces and staff housing. The clubs that will thrive in the years ahead are those that plan thoughtfully, listen closely to their members, and invest with vision. We hope this issue provides the insight and inspiration to help your club do exactly that. Sincerely, Frank Vain, McMahon Group Chairman ABOUT MCMAHON GROUP Our Mission: “To be the premier club consulting firm dedicated to private club excellence by providing clubs and their management with the best possible strategic and facility planning expertise. We are committed to identifying the key trends impacting the club industry, enhancing the profession of club management and to assisting presidents and Boards with adopting the best practices to foster effective governance to create successful clubs.” Family- and managementowned since 1983 with an outstanding professional staff. We have served clubs and communities throughout the world in all aspects. OVER 2000 CLUBS SERVED OVER 150 HOA’S SERVED McMahon Group, Inc. 670 Mason Ridge Center Drive, Suite 220 St. Louis, Missouri 63141 • 314.744.5040 info@mcmahongroup.com www.mcmahongroup.com www.clubmanageraward.com www.mcmahoncommunity.com WHATWE OFFER • Strategic Planning and Implementation • Facility Planning and Funding Programs • Membership Surveys and Research • Existing Facilities Condition Analysis • HOA Community Consulting • McMahon Quality Index™ Rating Program $3.5 BILLION RAI SED 40+ I N BUSI NESS YEARS 2 The McMahon Report® For more information or to schedule a First Impressions Visit, please contact Alison McMahon at amcmahon@mcmahongroup.com. CONNECT WITH US ONLINE FOR VIDEOS, BROCHURES AND EVEN MORE UP-TO-DATE CLUB INFORMATION! Florida | Illinois | Missouri | New Hampshire | North Carolina | South Carolina
By Chris Coulter, CCM, ECM, Vice President of Club Consulting Why a Facility Master Plan is So Critical to Club Success The McMahon Report® 3 costs. Most clubs ask us, with our facility expertise, to develop the framework of a Facility Master Plan, but then quickly abandon it when they actually build the golf course or clubhouse project that the Board wants now. Without a Master Plan identifying and prioritizing future projects, initial projects get built in ways that limit future project expansions. Take, for example, the numerous club innovations we’ve seen over the past few years, especially with the surge in clubs’ popularity following the pandemic. That’s spurred the growth of wellness/ fitness, pickleball, changes in dining styles (both indoor and outdoor), swimming pool offerings, staff facilities, year-round adult recreation like golf simulators with member lounges, golf practice areas, improved kitchens with expanded dining areas, refocused club party rooms—the list goes on and on. Effective master planning can make it possible for all of these innovations to come on stream in a way that helps to improve future club facilities and lower future costs at the same time. But that hasn’t always been the case. Clubs need to think ahead to get ahead, and visionary facility master planning is needed to do this. As your club seeks to improve and enhance its facilities, be sure you have a good Master Plan that guides your future improvements. Innovative and visionary master planning lets a club plan ahead and allows for future expansion in ways that save money. It prepares the membership for funding future projects on feasible time schedules—which is always a major challenge—by showing how future projects can be programmed, and by utilizing and extending phase-one payment plans to build phase-two and -three projects with little member resistance. To properly plan for your club’s future, be sure to begin your facility improvements with a good Master Plan. A major challenge for clubs today is the significant cost of providing and continually updating facilities. Millions of dollars are required to build, maintain and operate today’s clubs—and then every seven to ten years, major additions and upgrades are needed to address new offerings that are needed to stay competitive, not only with other nearby private clubs, but with emerging commercial clubs like Life Time Fitness as well. Successful clubs today need a Facility Master Plan to guide their future improvements. But most clubs today don't really have meaningful master plans. That’s a risky way to operate, if they want to stay relevant in our ever-changing club world. Over and over again, clubs generally plan and build projects for today with no real understanding of future facility needs or Contact us today at 314.744.5040 or www.McMahonGroup.com
MISSOURI ATHLETIC CLUB A cross the country, we are watching a subtle but important behavior shift take hold, especially among younger, professionally active members. They are no longer treating the clubhouse as a place they visit only after the workday ends. Increasingly, they want their clubs to support the full member day: A place where they can be productive for an hour, take a confidential call, meet a colleague, then seamlessly transition into fitness, golf, dining, and family time. Two real-world examples illustrate why this is not theoretical. At the Missouri Athletic Club (see page 15), demand for business-ready space is not hypothetical—it is showing up in daily utilization. As General Manager Donald “Chip” Misch, CCM, puts it, “We have private workspaces at our Downtown and West campuses, and many times they are on a waitlist or over-subscribed. When we met with focus groups at our [suburban] Clayton facility, one of the key takeaways was the need for coworking space, and we actually added that to our plan." (See photo above.) At Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, members approved a new $47.7 million clubhouse with strong support (84.4%)—a clear signal of confidence in a forward-looking program. What is especially relevant about a project of this caliber is not just the three-level layout, By David Dew, CCM, CCE Vice President of Club Consulting the indoor/outdoor flow, expanded dining, and upgraded locker rooms. It is the inclusion of purpose-built business accommodations—spaces that recognize members may need a quiet, private place to handle a Zoom meeting, take a sensitive call, or step away from the energy of the clubhouse to review an electronic document without leaving the property. Why Now: Merging Work, Home, and Club Life These examples illustrate the pattern we see nationally: Once members have access to discreet, reliable places to take a call, join a Zoom meeting, or knock out focused work, those spaces quickly become some of the most utilized—and most appreciated—square footage in the clubhouse. Before COVID, many professionals tried to keep work, home, and leisure separate—three distinct worlds with clear boundaries. In the post-COVID era, we see those realms melding together like never before, and particularly for members whose work can travel with them on a laptop or iPad. The illustration at left captures the shift: Instead of separate circles, members’ lives now overlap in ways that make working from the club feel natural and, for many, essential. This is reinforced by broader workforce patterns. Tracking by Gallup (see chart, pg. 5) continues to show that the majority of remote-capable employees work in hybrid or fully remote arrangements, and that most remote-capable employees prefer hybrid flexibility over fully on-site work. Even in organizations that are now encouraging—or even demanding—more office time from their employees, the reality remains that members can—and do—work from anywhere. The question for clubs is whether they will provide a setting that supports productivity in a way that fits club culture. What Members ActuallyWant In our observations, “working from the club” typically shows up in two distinct ways. The first way is through casual productivity. It may be practiced by a member who arrives early for lunch and answers e-mails in a comfortable lounge. Or, by a parent who gets settled near a coffee bar while waiting for a family member to finish an activity. Or by another member who hangs out in the smoothie bar by the pool, shops online, reviews travel plans or knocks out quick tasks between a workout and a late-afternoon tee time. In all cases, these members do not need a dedicated office suite. They need reliable Wi-Fi, convenient power, comfortable seating, good lighting, and a setting where quiet focus feels socially acceptable. The second way is through private focus. This is where clubs either deliver an exceptional experience or create friction. Increasingly, members need short windows of privacy for video meetings, confidential calls, or sensitive conversations—often in the middle of an otherThe Work-From-Club Movement: Designing Clubhouses for a Productive Member Day 4 The McMahon Report® MODERN MEMBERS EXPECT THEIR CLUB TO FLEX WITH THEIR LIVES, AND THE CLUBS THAT RESPOND THOUGHTFULLY ARE POSITIONING THEMSELVES FOR STRONGER ENGAGEMENT AND DEEPER LOYALTY.
wise leisure-oriented club day. When a club has a few small, reservable phone rooms or “pods,” members immediately understand their value. When it does not, members improvise in hallways, corners, or locker-room lobbies—“solutions” that compromise privacy and can unintentionally erode the atmosphere for others. The important takeaway is this: Members are not asking clubs to become corporate workplaces. They are asking clubs to accommodate their modern lives in a way that feels seamless and discreet. Business-ready Zones That Fit the Culture Boards sometimes worry that adding coworking space means turning the clubhouse into a co-working brand. But the best clubs like Bel Aire Country Club and the Missouri Athletic Club are proving the opposite: With thoughtful design and location, clubs can support productivity and still protect the social heartbeat of the clubhouse. The formula is less about adding square footage and more about intentional zoning. Work-friendly areas should be close enough to the clubhouse’s energy that they feel connected, but also separate enough—through placement, acoustics, and subtle etiquette—that they do not compete with dining, bar, and gathering spaces. These are truly “third spaces”— not the office, and not the home, but a comfortable extension of both. This is also where operational clarity matters. Members appreciate a club that sets quiet expectations in designated areas, provides a simple method of reserving private rooms, and designs spaces that support confidentiality. In other words, the club’s culture doesn’t get diluted by workspaces—it gets reinforced by doing them thoughtfully. Giving Space the Proper Purpose Not every club needs a major capital project to meet this need. In fact, some of the most successful solutions we see are created by repurposing underutilized areas, such as a library that is rarely used, a dated sitting room, a card nook that is seldom active outside peak hours, or even an overlooked corner near an allday coffee or juice bar. What matters is that the space feels purposeful. Members will tolerate a small footprint, but not when the basics are missing: convenient power, comfortable The McMahon Report® 5 posture, lighting that works, and the ability to take a call without becoming part of everyone else’s conversation. This is why coffee bars and casual-lounge zones have become “ground zero” for modern club life. They naturally support short, informal visits. They serve members who are waiting on family or friends. And they encourage members to stay on property longer—often leading to additional use of dining, wellness, golf, and retail. Airport Lounges Solved This Years Ago While clubs should never feel like airports, there is a practical lesson worth noting. Premium airport lounges recognized long ago that travelers sometimes need privacy inside a hospitality environment. Delta Sky Clubs, for example, have incorporated sound-proof telephone booths for focused work in many of its lounges. The logic is straightforward: People want to relax, but they occasionally need a quiet space to handle something important. If that need exists in a high-traffic lounge, it certainly exists in private clubs, where members expect comfort, discretion, and a sense that the club supports their real life. A Necessity, Not an Amenity Clubs have always been places where business relationships happen. What has changed is the medium. Business now happens through cloud platforms, rapid video calls, and mobile calendars, and members need privacy in smaller, more frequent intervals than they did a decade ago. That is why we increasingly view “work from club” not as a boutique feature, but as a relevance issue. When clubs support the productive member day, members don’t just visit—they linger. A short work session turns into lunch. Lunch turns into fitness. Fitness becomes nine holes, and nine holes becomes dinner. The club becomes the center of the day, not simply the destination after everything else is finished. The examples from Bel-Air and the Missouri Athletic Club show the spectrum of possibilities, from large-scale reinvention to highly practical business accommodations. But the direction is consistent everywhere: Modern members expect their club to flex with their lives. The clubs that respond thoughtfully, by protecting culture while enabling productivity, are positioning themselves for stronger engagement, deeper loyalty, and a clubhouse that works the way members live today. WITH THOUGHTFUL DESIGN AND LOCATION, CLUBS CAN SUPPORT PRODUCTIVITY AND STILL PROTECT THE SOCIAL HEARTBEAT OF THE CLUBHOUSE. Contact us today at 314.744.5040 or www.McMahonGroup.com
McMahon Group has been conducting surveys of club members for over 40 years, amassing the ratings of thousands of members for their satisfaction with their club and its facilities, amenities and management, as well as their perceived value of club membership. In addition to the power that the McMahon database offers for individual clubs to benchmark the ratings from their member surveys against those from comparable clubs, the database can also provide insights into key industry trends over time. We recently compared results from our country club database from the five years just prior to COVID (2016-2020) with those from the first five post-pandemic years (20212025). While COVID certainly provided a needed boost to the industry, the results of our study did unearth some trends worth noting that reflect new challenges facing club leadership. Here are some highlights of what our 10-year study revealed: Overall Member Satisfaction: There has been a dip in the percentage of members who have said they are very satisfied with their clubs, from 40% in the pre-COVID years to 38% in the last five. Concurrently, there has been an increase (from 2% to 3%) in those who have said they are dissatisfied (see chart below). By Bill McMahon, Jr., Vice President & Director of Surveys, and Natalie Ernst, Survey Data Analyst WHILE COVID PROVIDED A NEEDED BOOST TO THE INDUSTRY, OUR STUDY REVEALED TRENDS THAT REFLECT NEW CHALLENGES. Member Satisfaction and Value: A 10-Year Perspective 6 The McMahon Report®
Overall Value Received for Membership Cost: The percentages for members who have said they agree or strongly agree that they receive good value for the cost of their club membership (dues and fees) have dropped in the post-COVID period. Where 23% said they strongly agreed and 49% said they agreed that they were receiving good value in surveys conducted between 2016-2020, those numbers have dropped to 22% and 47%, respectively, in the surveys of the past five years. At the same time, the percentage of those disagreeing or strongly disagreeing has gone from 8% to 9% (see chart above). Dining Satisfaction: Throughout the 10-year period, dining has remained the second-highest rated facility, service or amenity plotted on McMahon’s Value Boundary™Matrix, with 92% importance (behind only the clubhouse, with 93%). Dining satisfaction, however, has dropped from 70% in the pre-COVID period to 68% in the last five years, with dissatisfaction rising from 14% to 15% (see table, below left). Broken down by the age of surveyed members, the decline in dining satisfaction was evident for all groups except those over 65, where satisfaction held steady during the two periods at 73%. But declines were seen for all other age groups, including members under 46 (from 67% satisfaction and 16% dissatisfaction in the pre-COVID period to 64% and 18% in the past five years); members 46 to 55 (69%/15% to 65%/18%), and members 56 to 65 (71%/14% to 69%/15%). Other Notable Trends: Comparisons of overall satisfaction in the two periods also showed declines for private events (from 54% prior to COVID to 52% in the past five years), youth activities (45% to 43%) and tennis (56% to 52%). Amenities and activities showing an increase in satisfaction included swimming (65% post-COVID vs. 63% prior), fitness (63% vs. 61%), paddle tennis (56% vs. 55%) and most notably pickleball (47% vs. 37%). In all cases, however, the areas showing an increase in satisfaction registered higher dissatisfaction as well. Overall, the analysis of survey results between the two periods highlights that while clubs have seen a boost in membership since the pandemic, members’ expectations have also grown, and the increase in activity has added to the challenge of maintaining optimal levels of satisfaction in all areas of the club. Further, the growing dissatisfaction with dining among younger age groups, as well as with youth activities, directly reflects how club memberships have become more diverse and how the needs and expectations of different age groups within the club can vary significantly. These significant shifts seen over the past 10 years of our conducting member surveys reinforces the importance of surveying a membership regularly to closely monitor changing preferences and areas where satisfaction may be slipping. If you’d like more insights into what our 10-year analysis has revealed, or to discuss member-survey options for your club, please contact us or your McMahon consultant. Contact us today at 314.744.5040 or www.McMahonGroup.com The McMahon Report® 7
A t member-owned clubs across the country, staff housing is making a comeback. From coastal resorts to mountain golf clubs, facilities that once phased out employee residences are building them again. The reasons are economic. Highend clubs require experienced staff who can deliver personalized service—from remembering members' preferences to maintaining exacting standards. Meanwhile, housing costs in desirable locations have risen sharply. A dining room or housekeeping supervisor often cannot afford market-rate housing near clubs located in affluent zip codes. The gap creates operational challenges. Long commutes lead to fatigue and turnover. Seasonal workers struggle to find short-term rentals. As a result, clubs competing for quality staff have found that offering housing provides a significant recruiting advantage. Modern staff housing looks different than it once did. New facilities typically include private bedrooms or studios, shared common areas, fitness centers, and amenities like laundry and Wi-Fi. Some clubs have renovated historic cottages on their grounds; others have built new apartment-style complexes. Rent is usually subsidized or deducted from paychecks at below-market rates. For employees, the arrangement offers obvious benefits: reduced housing costs, eliminated commutes, and built-in community with coworkers. The tradeoffs are also clear: less separation between work and By Christian Clerc, AIA Vice President of Club Consulting CLUB SUCCESS personal life, housing contingent on employment, and limited control over living situations. For clubs, staff housing solves multiple problems. It stabilizes the workforce, reduces tardiness and absenteeism, and makes it easier to fill positions requiring early mornings, late nights, weekends or seasonal availability. It also represents a significant capital investment—we’ve seen the cost for staff-focused facility projects range from $5 million up to $20 million. At the same time, for some clubs it is not even on the radar. The model isn't new; it's a return to historical practice. Country clubs and estates once routinely provided staff housing, a norm that faded in the late 20th century as suburban development and car ownership made commuting viable. Rising housing costs have reversed that calculation. Whether this trend expands depends largely on local housing markets. In areas where workforce housing remains affordable, clubs continue to rely on commuting staff. But in high-cost markets where clubs struggle to maintain service levels, staff housing is increasingly viewed as infrastructure—as essential as the clubhouse kitchen or maintenance facilities. As a result, it has now become an essential part of many clubs’ long-range strategic planning as well. Staff Housing Makes a Comeback 8 The McMahon Report® Dormy House, a workforce housing solution created by Matt Welter, was founded to provide affordable, onsite workforce housing that enhances the quality of life for club and resort employees.
By Kevin Morganfield - Consultant O ver the last 40-plus years, McMahon Group has served over 2,000 clubs and surveyed many thousands of club members on their overall satisfaction, perception of membership value, and ratings of specific facilities, amenities and services. This experience has allowed us to compile a database that permits an individual club to benchmark its member-survey scores against industry averages for comparable clubs. Now, McMahon is taking its survey data a step further, by using its database to compute an overall quality rating that compares a club’s member ratings to those from other clubs in the industry. The McMahon Quality Index™ (MQI™) program assigns each club a score on a scale of 0 to 1000, based on points given for how members have rated key criteria of their club’s management, governance, operations and member experience. Five quality levels, from Bronze to Diamond Plus, are recognized based on the club’s overall score. That score can then be compared to averages from McMahon’s national database for a specific club segment, including community clubs, country clubs and city clubs. The McMahon Report® 9 Meaningful Assessments MQI™ scores are much more meaningful than other quality ratings offered by outside groups that use unknown and often arbitrary or inconsistent criteria. MQI™ scores are drawn directly from input provided by the members who actually use your club and are most knowledgeable about how and where it provides quality—and where it falls short. This is the best way for clubs to objectively identify their strengths and weaknesses and assess how to proceed to enhance member satisfaction with all that it offers and provides. For clubs that have engaged McMahon since January 1, 2020 to conduct a member survey that has included our primary MQI™ questions, we can provide you with your MQI™ score, determine its quality category, plot it against industry averages, and provide a quality achievement recognition certificate upon request, all at no charge. New qualifying surveys that we conduct will now also include an MQI™ score as an added benefit, again at no additional cost. Clubs that have not had McMahon conduct a member survey since 2020, but are interested in knowing their MQI™ rating and level of quality recognition, can arrange to have a special survey conducted for an affordable tabulation cost that will be determined by the size of the membership that will be surveyed. The survey will be conducted with members electronically and take about two months to complete. In addition to providing the MQI score™ and quality achievement certificate, McMahon will also provide a brief analysis of the results. In all cases, each club's results from the Index program are kept completely confidential and made available only to the club's management and Board, and never to the public or other clubs. This ensures that the Quality Index Score serves its true purpose as a strategic diagnostic tool to guide your club's improvement efforts. Whether your score reveals areas of excellence to celebrate and build upon, or identifies specific opportunities for enhancements, the Index provides the objective, member-driven insights your leadership needs to make informed decisions about priorities, investments, and initiatives. Each club is then free to use or promote its results externally as it chooses—but the real value lies in the internal roadmap it provides for strengthening your club's future. Contact us today to learn your club's McMahon Quality Index™ score - Call Lexi Shipp at 314-744-5040 or e-mail lshipp@mcmahongroup.com. The McMahon Quality Index™: Where Does Your Club Rank? MEMBERSHIP SURVEYS National Database for Community Clubs - 652 National Database for City Clubs - 688 National Database for Country Clubs - 669 1000 100 200 300 400 500 700 800 900 0 McMahon Quality Index™ is confidential and intended solely for use by a Club's own Board and Manager, and is not shared publicly. DIAMOND P LU S BRONZE SILVER GOLD DIAMOND 600 Mc MA H O N Q UA L I T Y I N D E X MA I N D E X™ M Q I™ Contact us today at 314.744.5040 or www.McMahonGroup.com
Identify the key “timeless” themes that will keep your members happily coming back to their “home away from home” time and time again. Consider capacity and dining styles. Howmany people can you now seat comfortably, and what does the future look like? Make sure the kitchen, service stations, furniture storage, and member-care facilities (restrooms, family restrooms, hallways, living rooms, waiting areas, etc.) are appropriately sized and well-located in relation to the dining areas. If the kitchen is undersized or poorly located, the entire project can backfire, no matter how beautiful the new dining and social spaces may be. Remember, the dining style will determine furniture size and spacing—for example, larger furniture requires more furniture storage and reduces the room's capacity. Support your Club’s Mission and Vision. How does this dining room experience support your club’s shared cultural values? Dining is often the most important activity that clubs offer, outpacing golf, tennis, fitness, and swimming. Everybody eats, and the dining room is a key club space for camaraderie and socializing. The architecture and design will support your club’s social mission. Select the right professionals to help. Are you creating a fun gathering space where members expect to be up and about visiting each other's tables? Or is this a more upscale, quiet environment, with a theme like wine dining? Will additional capacity require an architect and kitchen designer, in addition to the interior designer? A clear vision of what you are trying to accomplish will help you hire the right professionals. When you receive responses to your Request for Proposals for the projBy Glen Selligman, AIA Director of Architecture 10 The McMahon Report® A s part of its annual “Outlook” Pulse Survey for 2026, McMahon Group asked club managers and Board members to identify the capital-improvement areas (beyond the golf course) that they feel are important for their club but have not yet been addressed. As shown in the table at right, survey respondents cited a number of different areas in their responses. As the new year gets into full swing, I thought it might be helpful to provide some quick “dos and don’ts,” based on our experience at McMahon helping clubs with their facility planning, that should be kept in mind for capital-improvement projects in the areas that are at the top of the list, to give them the best chance for success. Keep in mind that a key metric for successful facilities of any type should always be to create them in a way that offers opportunities for members to have meaningful social interactions around the programs and activities that the facilities provide. A key metric for successful facilities should always be to create them in a way that offers opportunities for members to have meaningful social interactions around the programs and activities that the facilities provide. Dining-room Updates DO: Think long-term. Most dining rooms are renovated every 7 to 10 years. "Dos and Don'ts" for Successful Club Improvements CLUB ARCHITECTURE Capital Improvements % Dining-room updates 49% Adding/expanding pickleball (including indoors) 31% Fitness/wellness 30% Casual bar/lounge 29% Sports simulators 28% Resort-style pool 23% Children’s activity room 20% Adding/expanding platform tennis 7% Adding bocce 6% Wi-Fi café 6% Beyond the golf course, what are some capital-improvement areas that you feel are important for your club that have not been addressed? (Mark all that apply.)
participate with more seasoned veterans, and everyone has a good time. Remember that participants waiting for their turn need a place to watch and wait, and that covered areas are key. Brand the whole experience in your club’s tradition. Use the club logo and other club identifiers to make the place feel special. Think through the accessories and amenities that can tie the experience at the pickleball courts to your club’s identity, mission, and other programs. Consider dedicated indoor pickleball courts. Currently, in my experience, having dedicated indoor pickleball is largely an aspirational future project at most private clubs. Many clubs with permanent indoor tennis facilities have instead converted some of their indoor tennis courts to pickleball by painting additional pickleball lines on some courts and using portable nets. But over the last several years, we have included dedicated indoor pickleball facilities in several clubs’ Master Plans. If your club is ready to make this leap, here are some factors to consider. • Adding year-round programs and amenities has become a hot topic for most of the clubs we work with. Enclosed, dedicated pickleball is in the sweet spot for year-round activity, because it can appeal to a broad cross-section of members with a fun, social game that creates natural demand and engagement, and one that continues to expand in popularity across the country. • Many enclosure options exist for developing a year-round pickleball program. Clubs are considering things like air-supported structures (bubbles), tension-fabric buildings, metal buildings, and traditional gymnasium-style buildings. Factors that should be examined when deciding how to enclose a pickleball structure include its flexibility of usage through the seasons, budget, and aesthetics. • Keep in mind city setbacks and building-height limits. There is likely to be less flexibility in locating a pickleball building than a pickleball court. DON’T: Forget Support Facilities. Groups of members and guests will want a convenient place to use the restroom and to find water and ice stations. Benches are important, but we’ve also seen setups for buffets, grilling, and bars. Locate new pickleball courts close to adjacent properties or tennis courts. Pickleball has its own peculiar sound and social environment. While it may seems convenient to convert some existing underutilized tennis courts into new pickleball courts, that often results in serious tennis players or neighbors finding the sound disturbing and leads to dissatisfaction and problems across the board. If there is no other choice, realize that the project's budget will need to include sound-mitigation solutions. In future issues of the McMahon Report, our Architecture column will take in-depth looks at the “dos and don’ts” for other areas of the club that showed up on the Pulse Survey’s capital-improvement “wish list.” (It should be noted that the respondents to the Pulse Survey added many other areas to the list that they would also like to see improved, including: ballroom space, the golf shop, kitchens, the lobby, maintenance facilities, office space, overnight accommodations, parking lots, and tennis facilities and courts, both indoors and outdoors.) And don’t forget, McMahon Group experts are always available to come take a look at any area or facility at your club that you’re targeting for improvement, as part of our complimentary First Impressions Visit that includes a report with recommendations for how to best approach making an effective change. For more information and to schedule your First Impressions Visit, call or e-mail Alison McMahon at 314-744-5040 or amcmahon@ mcmahongroup.com. The McMahon Report® 11 ect, you will want to select a lead designer whose previous experience and portfolio will help to design and create spaces that align with your vision. DON’T: Start the project without a well-defined vision that has broad member support. Do a one-off project that is outside of the scope of the club’s Master Plan Overprogram or underprogram the room. Aim for the “Goldilocks solution,” with spaces that are “just right” for how your members will want to use them. In the commercial world, there is a trend toward smaller, more intimate restaurants and dining rooms. In clubs, we’ve seen a steady trend to dedicated member dining rooms with more built-in furniture and less flexibility to close the room for private parties. Members appreciate the consistent reliability of knowing that their club’s dining room is open and easily accessible. Hire a member or a friend of a member to do the work without proper vetting of all the options. While it may seem easy and convenient to get a “good guy” to help do the work, we’ve seen far more regrets arise, and far less satisfaction among members and staff, when this approach is taken. Adding/Expanding Pickleball (Including Indoors) DO: Provide enough courts to make a program. Too few courts won’t create enough interest to drive members' involvement and socialization. If access to courts is unreliable, the hot new activity will quickly become an afterthought in members' minds, leading to underutilization. Have a covered social-gathering area adjacent to the courts. Pickleball is an incredible vehicle for driving social engagement at the club, driving more frequent group participation than sports like tennis and golf. It is easier for novices to Contact us today at 314.744.5040 or www.McMahonGroup.com
By Bill McMahon, Sr., AIA, OAA, Founder and Chris Coulter, CCM, ECM, Vice President of Club Consulting Wilderness Country Club was founded in 1974, on land that had originally been developed 30 years earlier as a ranch and then had a golf course built on it in 1975. The club holds the distinction of being the first gated golf course community in Naples, Fla.—but as it approached the 2020 decade that would include its 50th anniversary, the Wilderness leadership recognized that major steps needed to be taken to not only ensure the continued appeal of both the club and the community when that milestone was reached, but into its next half-century of existence as well. A strategic plan was developed for Wilderness that defined four major challenges for the club: • Improve the conditions of the main clubhouse, which still dated to the club’s founding in 1974, so it could better serve existing members while also attracting the next generation of membership • Improve the community’s condominium buildings to enhance their property values • Develop a long-term strategy for purchasing the leased land that the club and community occupied • Address the need for additional sources of revenue The plan emphasized that improving the clubhouse would be the most immediate priority, not only to improve the club’s image and member experience, but also to create an exciting attraction for new condominium owners as turnover occurred within the community (membership in Wilderness CC is mandatory for the owners of the 300 residences). The Naples area had seen explosive growth since Wilderness’ founding that had added many other club communities, and the Wilderness leadership had seen how newer clubhouse facilities at many of those properties had a direct impact on increased property values and greater community success. A Fresh Start As the focus turned to how to improve the clubhouse, an initial plan for a new facility was drawn up that was deemed too opulent for the club and community, which has always strived to maintain a “low-key, understated” profile, reports Alan Raulerson, CCE, CCM, CAM, who became the club’s General Manager/COO at the end of 2019. The matter of how to finance a clubhouse improvement was also caught in what Raulerson describes as a “chicken and egg” situation between how bank loans and member contributions could be determined and prioritized. McMahon Group was then engaged to help gain newmomentum for both issues. “We first looked for McMahon to help us get member feedback, through a pulse survey that would take the membership’s temperature and test their tolerance: Do they want a new clubhouse, and what would they be willing to spend "Getting McMahon Group involved helped to ensure that we didn’t waste time with designing a building until we could see howmuch our membership would help us afford. And then we built the right team to get the most out of the clubhouse we did build. After that, it was full speed ahead.”—Alan Raulerson, CCE, CCM, CAM, General Manager/COO 12 The McMahon Report® New Clubhouse Brings New Life to Wilderness Country Club
to help service the debt from bank loans?” Raulerson says. “By getting McMahon involved at that stage, we were able to not waste any more time with trying to design a renovated or new building without first seeing howmuch we could afford.” The results of the initial survey established howmuch Wilderness members were willing to commit to additional monthly debt-service payments that would provide sufficient support for a loan the club had confidence it could secure, based on initial discussions it had already had with banks, and pending members’ approval of the project. Moving Forward To take the next steps towards gaining that approval, Wilderness then worked with McMahon and local architects, engineers and contractors to address the question of whether building a new clubhouse would be the right option, rather than trying to renovate and/or expand the existing facility. The Wilderness leadership and McMahon provided members with a more detailed explanation and comparison of the options. A Clubhouse Improvement Program booklet was prepared that reiterated the shortcomings of the existing structure and included an engineering cost analysis that showed how confining the improvement project to a renovation or expansion would not yield any significant savings, compared to building new. The booklet described how the original, multi-leveled clubhouse had a flood-prone basement, as well as mechanical, electrical, plumbing and sewer systems that would be very costly to bring up to code, and other structural issues. Renovating within its existing footprint (20,000 sq. ft.) would also limit Wilderness’ ability to account for future club usage and growth, and not address site-layout deficiencies that included too-distant parking and a poorly positioned loading dock. Floor plans and renderings of a new building were also presented in the booklet that highlighted the new features and benefits it could provide, including: • A slightly larger footprint (24,000 sq. ft. from the existing 20,000) that would accommodate a new grill room, additional meeting rooms (from two to four), men’s and women’s locker rooms (where none existed previously) and new employee and administrative spaces • A one-story design with no basement and the elimination of all steps in the building • A rotated building orientation, from the original clubhouse’s footprint, to allow covered and open outdoor dining areas to face the golf course, and enhance the views from all upgraded dining venues and rooms • Increased dining capacity from 165 persons to 250 indoors and increased outdoor seating from 62 persons to 120 • Easier access to member parking • A separation of loading-dock traffic from the main entry drive In addition to the much longer building-life expectancy that the new construction would deliver, it was also emphasized that it would operate with much greater energy efficiency and provide an upgrade in hurricane protection that would have a favorable effect on operating costs and insurance coverage. In addition, there would be an aesthetic benefit, with the elimination of the more than two dozen individual air-conditioning units that had been located around the previous clubhouse’s perimeter The McMahon Report® 13
14 The McMahon Report® and had to be hidden by hedges and fences. But in keeping with the desire to maintain Wilderness’ unpretentious culture and honor its distinctive history, the presentation to members also emphasized that the new clubhouse would have “an understated and attractive, old Florida rustic design” that would retain important touches from its past. For example, Raulerson notes, the original clubhouse’s classic overhead lights would be refurbished to be used in the renovated pro shop (photo, pg. 13) and the native pecky cypress wood used in the original building would be reclaimed and incorporated into a new pro shop counter and wainscoting for the new grill room. The double doors from the front of the original clubhouse would also be refurbished, along with their unique “brass knuckle” handles, to be used as the entry for the new clubhouse’s boardroom. “Every member, and their guests, had used those handles at some time over the first fifty years,” Raulerson notes. “It was important to retain them as part of the charm and pride that goes with being the oldest gated golf course community in the area.” Easy Decision After the case for a new clubhouse was presented to the Wilderness membership and their opinions were solicited through another survey, the club’s leadership incorporated the feedback it received into a final project proposal that was submitted for member approval. While approval from two-thirds of the voting members would be needed for the $18 million project to proceed, an overwhelming 91% gave their assent—one of the highest approval ratings for a capital project that McMahon has ever seen. While it would still be several years from the time of the vote until the doors of the new clubhouse could be opened, the positive impact from the news that it was coming on streamwas seen immediately. “There were about 30 condominium units in the community that had been on the market for a long time,” Raulerson reports. “But after the vote [for the new clubhouse] was approved, they were off the market in months. That let me knowwe were on the right path.” And once the clubhouse was opened In January 2024, another surge of enthusiasm quickly occurred. “Members came in mass,” Raulerson reports. “It was in the thick of the season and we had some growing pains, but we worked through them. By continuing to refine our teamwe have not only elevated our food-and-beverage operation to new levels, but have enhanced our members' experience in all areas of the club." That combination has since produced what Raulerson calls an “explosion” of activity in all parts of the club that shows no sign of subsiding. “We used to consider 120 covers to be a big night for dinner,” he notes. “Nowwe do 160 to 180 routinely, and that’s for just a 300-door community. The challenge is nowwhere do we put people, especially when we can get 50 walk-ins a night.” And in the pro shop, Raulerson adds, the new look under its new decor and leadership has produced steady growth leading to record sales in 2025 that represented a 49% increase from five years earlier. "The shop is now one of our biggest go-to spots." he says, "and it has been recognized for the last two years as one of the Top 100 pro shops by the [Association of Golf Merchandisers]." With the Wilderness community continuing to see a brisk pace in turnover of its residences, Raulerson reports, the new clubhouse has been a key in attracting new buyers/members. To sustain the appeal and success of the club and community through its next half-century, he says, Wilderness will now turn its attention to designing a master plan for a golf course renovation and pursue other improvements to solidify its standing as “a boutique community that people want to know is the very best.” “Two things really got us moving again in the right direction,” Raulerson says. “Getting McMahon Group involved helped to ensure that we didn’t waste time with designing a building until we could see howmuch our membership would help us afford. And then we built the right team to get the most out of the clubhouse we built. After that, it was full speed ahead.”
Many people might think that the city athletic clubs of yesterday have become a bygone concept—but surprisingly, many have adjusted to become one of the best club options for members and their families. One of the most successful city athletic clubs in the nation is the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) in St. Louis, Mo. After more than 120 years, the MAC remains the only full-service club serving men, women and families in the St. Louis area, having extended its reach to stretch beyond the city of St. Louis and now include suburban counties including Jefferson and St. Charles, as well as counties in southern Illinois. The MAC’s original downtown club served the heart of the St. Louis business community as an athletic and business club for men. Its 14-story, classic clubhouse, built in 1916, includes space for dining, ballrooms, an overnight hotel, and extensive athletic facilities for basketball, swimming, squash, handball, racquetball, fitness and a sunbathing roof. But today, the actual St. Louis city area has become the smallest contributor to the MAC's membership. Normally, the decline of the city’s population, from 900,000 people at one time to under 300,000 today, would have brought about the MAC’s demise, as it did for many other clubs in downtown St. Louis like the Noonday Club, Media Club and Stadium Club. But the MAC was wise enough to strategically add suburban club facilities in St. Louis’ surrounding counties. It first did so with a major family-recreation club facility in the western suburb of Town & Country 25 years ago, and now it is opening a new club location in Clayton, the county seat of St. Louis County that is the center for residential life in the region. Its three locations are further complemented by reciprocal arrangements with four golf clubs in the region that are offered to MAC members. By taking these steps, the MAC continues to prosper as the St. Louis area’s most important private club, mirroring the success of four other noted city clubs—the Detroit Athletic Club, New York Athletic Club, The Union League of Philadelphia and the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles—that provide their members with multiple locations and reciprocal arrangements. As such, the MAC has become a major contributor to the success of the St. Louis region. Management and Leadership Make It Happen Much of the MAC’s success can be attributed to some very fine managers who helped to steer the club through some very trying times. The real contributors in assuring the 100+ years of MAC prosperity have been the club’s legendary manager for 25 years Larry Thompson, ECM; talented Wally Smith, and today's visionary General Manager/ COO, Donald “Chip” Misch. CCM. No other city athletic club in the country has had to face the challenges and serious decline of its downtown area and reacted with such a broad vision to help save not only the club, but its city as well. Today's Missouri Athletic Club still has its original, well-maintained downtown clubhouse, its extensive family-recreation county clubhouse, and its soon-to-open suburban dining-club location in the new heart of the St. Louis region. We offer our congratulations to the Boards, management and members who are making it all happen. This shows how important clubs are for a city’s success. By Bill McMahon Sr., AIA, OAA, Founder The McMahon Report® 15 Contact us today at 314.744.5040 or www.McMahonGroup.com MISSOURI ATHLETIC CLUB: The City Club Success Story of the Year
SCOTT B. FAIRBAIRN Vice President of Club Consulting We are excited to welcome Scott Fairbairn, CCM, CCE, as a club planner and strategic consultant! It is great to have a friend and past client join the McMahon Team. Scott is a seasoned private club executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience, including nearly two decades as General Manager of Tampa Yacht & Country Club, in Tampa, Florida. During his tenure, he led all facets of operations for a premier, member-owned club while overseeing more than $23 million in capital improvements, strengthening governance, and driving sustained membership growth. Scott now brings his knowledge and expertise to McMahon Group as Vice President of Club Consulting. Welcome Aboard Scott! The Long Range Plan has been transformative for our club—a new Golf and Tennis Performance Center, resort-style pool complex, upgraded driving range, and paddle tennis courts with warming hut. Our membership is extremely pleased with the new amenities. It all began six years ago with the McMahon Group survey. Joe Napolitano, CCM, CCE - GM, Bonnie Briar Country Club “ WELCOME! We Can Help Make Your Club Successful Click to download our brochures today! OVER 2000 CLUBS SERVED $3.5 BILLION RAI SED Scan to view all of our online brochures 40+ I N BUSI NESS YEARS T H E S O U R C E F O R P R I V A T E C L U B E X C E L L E N C E™
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTY4MTkx