Why is Strategic Planning So Important For Achieving Club Facility Success?

The answer is simple and basic. Good facility planning must work towards achieving a club’s mission/purpose and its aspirational vision for the future. If facilities at a club don’t contribute to achieving the mission and vision, they should not be done. The real challenge at many clubs today for their facility programs is that well-meaning Boards see a need to fix a facility problem, but not in the context of a club’s future development and membership needs. There is little vision beyond fixing the one facility deficiency that exist at the time. Take the classic example of clubs continuing to place open bars in the family mixed grill where men, women and children members want to enjoy a family meal without a raucous group at the bar loudly using four-letter words. There is a time and place for everything offered in a club. But a club with a mission that is family-friendly should surely not be subjecting family members to issues caused by a poor mixed-grill design. A club’s mission should directly affect the grill room’s and open bar’s design. For instance, a three-quarter screen wall might protect the bar area from the rest of the grill dining area. Or the bar should be placed in a room of its own for an adults-only bar/lounge.

Clubs today must have a clear mission and vision that only a basic strategic plan can provide. Key words in a club’s mission, such as family, golf, dining, club of choice, year-round, etc., should tell facility designers how to design facilities. At your club, make sure the Board provides a facility-planning committee as part of a club strategic plan before asking it to design and construct improvements. It is the Board’s responsibility to do strategic planning before facility planning is done.