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BIG NAMES OUT IN FORCE FOR GOLF INDUSTRY ‘OSCARS’

Danielle — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 10:37:13 +0000

Dan Walker

Compered by BBC Breakfast News & Football Focus presenter Dan Walker, the 7th annual 59club Service Excellence Awards Ceremony, regarded by many as the Oscars of the Golf Industry, takes place at The Belfry, February 27, 2017.

The awards ceremony is the culmination of a day of thought provoking training seminars which all golf clubs are invited and encouraged to attend. The theme will see an expert line-up of speakers consider ‘what golf can learn from other industries’.

As night falls, 59club will recognise ‘Sales & Service Excellence,’ and offer individuals, teams, management & venues the chance to be acclaimed for their performance during 2016 across all business elements – sales, service, operations, retail and management.

59club will also present their coveted ‘Gold, Silver & (new for 2016) Bronze Flag Awards’ on the night to golf resorts and private-member clubs which not only deliver great service, but also provide excellent facilities for golfers to enjoy.

The Belfry, Emirates Golf Club, The Dukes St Andrews and Monte Rei are just some of the big-name golf venues vying for accolades at the Service Excellence Awards Ceremony.

Up for seven awards, the team at Stoke Park lead the nominations, closely followed by Emirates Golf Club and two Marriott venues Worsley Park and Breadsall Priory who are all up for six awards.

Dubai Golf will be looking to retain the title of ‘Golf Group of the Year’, for the third consecutive year and face competition from Arabella Golf, three-time winner Marriott and Foxhills/Farleigh.

The ‘Leading Individual Golf Sales Performance’ award will be hotly-contested with six individuals named in the list of nominations, including two from Marriott venues: Emma Thompson (Worsley Park) and Pete Turner (Forest of Arden) who are also joined by Graham Auld (Macdonald’s Linden Hall), Chloe Picton (Stoke Park), Jack Bowen (The Belfry) and James Sibbles (The Grove), also in contention for this award.

To ensure venues of all sizes are recognised for their outstanding levels of achievement, 59club took the decision last year to introduce two categories for each of the four following awards: ‘Golf Retail Manager of the Year’, ‘Food and Beverage Manager of the Year’, ‘Greenkeeper of the Year’, and ‘Golf Manager of the Year’. Clubs will again be segmented by their average green fee of either above or below £75 per person, to ensure that clubs of all sizes and budgets have the chance to win based on their market positioning.

Venues such as Breadsall Priory, Emirates Golf Club, Stoke Park, The Dukes St Andrews, Worsley Park, Yas Links and newcomer Louth Golf Club all receive multiple nominations in these categories.

Not every venue will win a major award, but 59club will be recognising the efforts being made by all clubs by presenting the ‘Striving for Excellence’ award to every venue attending the ceremony.

Simon Wordsworth, chief executive at 59club and a Fellow of the PGA, explained: “The event offers a great opportunity for those within the industry to get together and recognise the best individuals and teams for their outstanding performance over the past 12 months.

“The ceremony will once again illustrate how the 59club awards are like no other – recognising all venues, irrespective of size – for the level of service consistency they deliver to members and visitors. And it’s all judged objectively and quantifiably, as the results are based on real data collected by 59club’s team of golf mystery shoppers throughout 2016.”

Other awards to be presented on the night include: ‘Golf Sales Team of the Year’ ‘Membership Sales Team of the Year’ and ‘Golf Operation Team of the Year’.

The 59club awards’ evening – sponsored and partnered by England Golf, The PGA, Club Car, Toro, Golfbreaks.com, Tacit, golftell, Fluid Productions, Kennet Equipment Leasing, Colt Mackenzie McNair, CGI Insurance, Golf Retailing and 3D ifs – has always been labelled by those on the inside as a ‘must attend’ event, and its awards are all highly prized and this year is set to be the best yet.

59club has become the industry standard for measuring and comparing customer-service levels, analysing all key revenue streams for golf & leisure venues, and is committed to the on-going development of club managers and PGA professionals.

To book a place at the seminars, the awards evening, or both – taking place on Monday, February 27 – please contact naime@theaspirationgroup.com. Prices start at £75pp plus vat. For more information visit www.59club.com

Full list of award nominations:

Leading Individual Golf Sales Performance:

Chloe Picton (Stoke Park) Emma Thompson (Worsley Park) Graham Auld (Linden Hall), Jack Bowen (The Belfry), James Sibbles (The Grove) and Pete Turner (Forest of Arden)

Golf Sales Team of the Year:

Carden Park, Forest of Arden, Herons Reach, Linden Hall, Stoke Park and The Grove.

Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year:

Breadsall Priory, Carden Park, Forest of Arden, Herons Reach, Dubai Creek and Emirates Golf Club.

Leading Individual Golf Membership Performance:

Debbie Hollis (Breadsall Priory), Gary Beves (Goodwood), Matt Mustow (Herons Reach), Rashid Hamood (Dubai Creek), Rhys James (Emirates Golf Club) and Steve Webster (Worsley Park)

Leisure Membership Sales Team of the Year:

Celtic Manor, Cranleigh, Stoke Park, Dubai Creek, Emirates Golf Club and The Vale.

Golf Operation Team of the Year – Under £75 green fee:

Breadsall Priory, Kingswood, Louth Golf Club, The Mere, Tudor Park and Worsley Park

Golf Operation Team of the Year – Over £75 green fee:

Dubai Creek, Emirates Golf Club, Monte Rei, Stoke Park, The Dukes – St Andrews and The Grove.

Golf Retail Manager of the Year – Over £75 green fee:

Ayden Roberts-Jones (The Dukes, St Andrews), Carmen Laguna (Son Muntaner) Darren Wood (Royal Automobile Club), Kristoff Both (Alcanada), Rob Sturgeon (The Addington) and Tim Harris (Stoke Park).

Golf Retail Manager of the Year – Under £75 green fee:

Joe Smith (Hollins Hall),Lauren Dickenson (Breadsall Priory), Mike Platt (Carden Park), Nick Taylor (Louth Golf Club), Paul Heaton (Herons Reach) and Steve Hindle (Worsley Park).

Food and Beverage Manager of the Year – Over £75 green fee:

Angelos Kyrousis (Gleneagles), David Abel (Roehampton Club), Grant Ross (The Dukes, St Andrews), Mohamed Hidhayath (Yas Links), Moses Solomon (Royal Automobile Club) and Tinicka Young (Forest of Arden)

Food and Beverage Manager of the Year – Under £75 green fee

Darren Mercer (Worsley Park), Graziano Sem (Castelconturbia), Mike Norton (Hill Valley), Paul O’Hara (Rockliffe Hall), Ryan Gill (Meon Valley) and Will Green (Ramside Hall)

Greenkeeper of the Year – Over £75 green fee:

Angus MacLeod (Belfry), Alex Millar (Stoke Park), Craig Haldane (Emirates Golf Club), Mike Clarke (Yas Links), Phillip Chiverton (The Grove), Scott Fenwick (Gleneagles) and Stewart Duff (Gullane Golf Club)

Greenkeeper of the Year – Under £75 green fee:

Barry Robinson (Portal), Dave Beardwood (Spey Valley), Davy Cuthbertson & Jon Wyer (Rockliffe Hall), Ian Brawn (Worsley Park), John Smith (Breadsall Priory), Richard Banning (Bolton Golf Club) and Simon Berry (Goodwood)

Golf Manager of the Year – Over £75 green fee:

Anna Darnell (The Grove), Ayden Roberts-Jones (The Dukes, St Andrews), Barney Coleman (Emirates Golf Club), David Shepherd (The Scandinavian), Howie Roberts (Yas Links), Stephen Hubner (Dubai Creek) and Stuart Collier (Stoke Park).

Golf Manager of the Year – Under £75 green fee:

Adam Moule (Royal Birkdale), Davy Cuthbertson (Rockliffe Hall), Henry Alliss (Old Thorns), Mark Stewart (Kingswood), Neal Grist (Meon Valley), Richard Bowman (Herons Reach) and Steve Turner (Breadsall Priory).

Golf Group of the Year:

Arabella Golf, Dubai Golf, Foxhills / Farleigh Fox and Marriott Golf.

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Leeds Cup is coming home!

Danielle — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 13:50:36 +0000

THE iconic Leeds Cup, professional golf’s oldest trophy, returns to its spiritual home Cobble Hall after an eight-year absence on May 15-17.

And that’s great news for the club that nearly went into administration in 2012.

“We did a complete review of our operations and we have since increased membership by 30 per cent and 85 per cent in visitors,” said secretary Paul Mawman.

“It’s been a significant turn-round which we could not have done without the loyal support of the members.

“We’re delighted that the cup is coming home and we’ve been endorsed by the PGA. We are also the only club that can use the Leeds crest. Staging the competition here also helps our marketing initiatives.”

PGA North secretary Jonathan Paine revealed: “The club were very keen to stage the Leeds Cup again based on the huge success they enjoyed the last time they hosted it.

“It’s great news for Yorkshire golf. The 36-hole tournament will be preceded by a pro-am and if everything goes to plan we expect it will continue at Cobble Hall on a regular basis.”

There’s been plenty of drama over the years, notably in 2008 when Waterton Park’s Scott Barber won a play-off on the final hole, an uphill par three, at the 10th attempt! The last winner was Wath’s Chris Clarke the ensuing season.

The parkland course, situated on the north side of the city and founded in 1896, staged the tournament for the first time 1902 when the great Harry Vardon won.

Penrose Green, president and subsequent Lord Mayor of the City, presented him with the magnificent trophy, which is showcased at the PGA Belfry headquarters because of its value.

Apart from Vardon, many other famous names have been inscribed on the cup including former Open champions, Ryder Cup players and well known club professionals from both sides of the Pennines.

In the early years the competition was played alternately in Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Harry Vardon’s winning score over two rounds was 149 followed by Alex Herd and J.H. Taylor who were four off the pace. Prize money in the early days was derisive and yet the tournament attracted most of the big names of that era. It is recorded that in the 1911 tournament, the Leeds Club had generously given £18 to provide £2 each for the first 14 players who would qualify for a foursomes competition at Walton Heath.

The PGA had provided £20 in prize money for which £4 was voted as assistant’s prizes, divided into four prizes of £2, £1, 10s, and 10s. Penrose Green also donated a prize of 5 guineas to any player breaking the course record of 72.

It was won by Horace Fulford of Moortown, with an afternoon round of 71. The previous record of 72 was set by Leeds Golf Club professional, Mr Caird, on November 3, 1901.

LEEDS CUP FACTS

Leeds Cup winners and also Open Champions between1902-1930: Harry Vardon, Sandy Herd, George Duncan.
In 1911 there were 96 entries compared to 26 in the inaugural year, and the competition was played in heavy showers with a chilly wind compared to hail and snow showers in 1902.
The 1929 winner, Abe Mitchell, was the private professional to Samuel Ryder who was a member at the Veralum (St. Albans) club and the figure on the Ryder Cup is modelled on him.
Leeds Cup winners and Ryder Cup players George Duncan, Archie Compston and Abe Mitchell were part of the historic 1929 team who played at Moortown Golf Club. Bill Davies, Ted Jarman, Jack Busson, Jon Fallon, Eric Green, Syd Scott, Alec Caygill, Gordon J. Brand and Howard Clark were all Leeds Cup winners and played in the Ryder Cup in later years.
The 1939 winner was Bill Davies of Wallasey who, at the outbreak of WW2, buried the Leeds Cup along with other silverware from his club in an ice box and sacks in the sand dunes along the Lancashire coast until the end of hostilities in 1945. He became a very popular Secretary of the PGA North Region until well into the 1950s.
Bert Myers, Cobble Hall professional for 50 years from 1930-1980, the first two years as an assistant, played many times but never won the trophy. His lifetime eclectic score at the club is 32. He achieved holes-in-one at the following holes: 5,6,7,9,13,15,17 and 18. Among his many other achievements are Northern Open Champion 1952 and Yorkshire PGA President 1956.

The PGA in England & Wales (North), No 2 Cottage, Bolton Golf Club, Lostock Park, Chorley New Road, Bolton, Lancashire, BL6 4AJ. Tel: 01204 496137 Fax: 01204 847959

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