Flourishing Forsyth Country Club

THE McMAHON REPORT®
108 Years of Architectural Experience
October 2014
Flourishing Forsyth Country Club:
Dramatic Change Drives the Club to New Heights
by Frank Vain, President
We often cite how today’s club leaders need to be creative as well as visionary and serve
as a catalyst for change. There is no better place to witness the benefits of this approach
than at Forsyth Country Club in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Since 2005, when
the leadership and management set a strategic planning process in motion, the Club has
been steadily moving towards its Vision of being the premier family-oriented country
club in its region. The leadership and management have done an outstanding job of
embracing, managing and updating a plan that has changed the Club’s approach to
membership development, operations and facilities while remaining true to its classic
roots.
As is often the case, the facility renewal process started with the golf course. Although the
course was originally designed by Donald Ross, it had lost its character over time. This
was corrected with a golf course restoration plan lasting from 2007 – 2008. The practice
facilities were improved significantly at the same time, correcting another weakness.
This plan was also supported with re-working the entrance drive and parking. These
enhancements created a wonderful sense of arrival and exposed the traditional character
of the clubhouse.
IN THIS ISSUE 
Flourishing Forsyth Country Club:
Dramatic Change Drives the Club to
New Heights
page 1
Getting Focused Through
Strategic Planning
page 5
Excellence in
Club Management® Awards:
Accepting Nominations
page 5
What’s Hot │ What’s Not
page 6
New Club Trends – Now Available!
page 7
8 Reasons We Join Clubs
page 7
continued on page 3
ABOUT McMAHON GROUP
Founded in 1983, McMahon Group is a full-service,
private club consulting firm dedicated to serving clubs in
all aspects of their strategic planning, clubhouse, golf and
membership needs. Our extensive and diverse experience
includes service to country, golf, city, dining, athletic,
yacht and military clubs. To date, McMahon Group has
served over 1,700 clubs throughout the United States,
Canada, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. McMahon
Group has planned, presented and gained approval for
over $1.7 billion in capital improvement programs.
McMahon Group’s services include:
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Strategic Planning
Facility Master Planning
Clubhouse & Golf Course Improvement Programs
Membership Strategic Surveys
Clubhouse & Golf Course Asset Reserve Studies
Project Management
Quality Assurance Programs
Membership Development Programs
Golf Conditions Consulting
Governance Consulting
Assistance with Developer Club Conversions to
Member-owned Status
No other consulting firm has McMahon Group’s proven
track record and experience in solving club problems be
they strategic, membership or facility in nature.
As a service to clubs and the club management
profession, McMahon Group:
• Founded and co-sponsors the Excellence in Club
Management® Awards and Rising Star Award
• Manages Clubtopia®, the online business directory
for clubs
• Co-publishes Club Trends®, the quarterly publication
on topics facing private clubs, with the National Club
Association
Be sure to visit us online at:
• www.mcmahongroup.com
• www.clubmanageraward.com
• www.clubtopia.com
OUR MISSION
“To be the premier facility planning, survey and strategic
planning consulting firm for achieving private club
excellence.
“We strive to be the firm of choice for club leaders and
members in their efforts to identify and solve facility,
strategic and membership issues affecting club success.
We are dedicated to the well-being of the private club
industry and the profession of club management.”
SCAN THE CODE TO VISIT OUR WEBSITE!
From the Chairman
Dear Club Executive & Board Member:
As we move into fall with football in full swing, we see
clubs trying to close out a busy year before the snowbirds
head south. At McMahon Group, we see this activity concentrating
on the presentation of many facility projects for clubs so winter can be
productive in moving them forward. With low interest rates, now is the
time to build or renovate. However, some markets are beginning to heat
up and inflation will soon be rearing its ugly head.
In this edition of The McMahon Report®, we focus on strategic planning as
the way to assure club success. It is no surprise that the clubs which have
developed and followed strategic plans are the most successful. One of
the most difficult challenges is to get club boards to plan during the good
times so they are prepared for the bad.
We also have fun playing “What’s Hot | What’s Not”. Jeans and bars in
lounges are hot. Offer these and your members will flock to your club. If
you have any suggestions for what’s hot and what’s not, email them to us.
We continue to see success stories all over the club landscape as we look
at Forsyth Country Club and how it achieved facility success. More and
more clubs are getting on the high-quality dining bandwagon as this
is one place where real satisfaction can be achieved without spending
millions of dollars on capital improvements. However, it only happens
when there is a good partnership between the manager and chef. They
have to work together.
Here is another bit of good news; we are receiving calls regarding raising
initiation fees. The clubs that had significant drops in such fees are now
seeing demand for membership pick-up. We advise not to go crazy, but
small increases make sense.
Finally, the second home market is showing real signs of life and this is
affecting clubs in gated communities. As a club facility firm serving this
market segment, we have many significant projects now in planning
for clubhouses to re-energize home sales and member retention in such
communities. The big challenge for gated communities, like in all clubs,
is understanding what both the aging Boomers and next generation of
members want in their clubs and then convincing the older members that
it is in their interest to support such improvements.
In closing, we wish you a happy holiday season as Thanksgiving and
Christmas will soon be upon us. As always, please feel free to call any of
us if we can help you in any way.
My best,
Bill McMahon, AIA
Chairman
Flourishing Forsyth Country Club (continued from page 1)
Once the Club digested the golf and
exterior work, it was ready to move
to the clubhouse. The opening of the
new bar and casual dining areas with
an improved outdoor patio this past spring represents
the first phase of improving the clubhouse and nongolf recreational amenities that will further update this
classic Club. The initial phase modernized the member
dining level to create an up-to-date layout, look and feel
that is competitive with the growing choices in the area.
It also focused on leveraging the opportunity to bring
golf course views into play, which was something that
was missing from the former layout.
Chief Operating Officer, Lee Smith, CCM, CCE
and the management team have brought forth a
contemporary social and dining experience that
is completely new to this Club. The architectural
solution was well-executed and supported by cuttingedge mixology and culinary skills. A recessed service
bar was replaced by the new bar which is designed to
spark conversation and interaction among members.
Judging by the reception, it was something they were
ready to embrace. Since reopening this facility in April,
member dining revenue is up more than 40% over
2013 and the pace of activity suggests it will remain at
this level through the remainder of this year. Along with
the increased activity, the Club has found significant
support for the improvements in the community as
some 65 new members have joined since the program
was launched.
The Club recently broke ground on phase two of
the program, which is the construction of a new
sportshouse: a combination locker building, fitness
center with wellness components and pool support
facilities including a kitchen, snack bar and back of
the house maintenance support facilities. The fitness
component will hold about a 4,400 s.f. strength
and conditioning area with personal training space
supported by three dedicated studios and a massage
service on the lower floor. The project’s targeted
completion date is Spring 2015.
Clubs often struggle with looking at the long-term
view. Many well-intentioned club leaders want to
change everything all at once. This is something
that is near impossible to pull off in the private club
environment. It is also what makes the Forsyth story
so compelling. The leadership has embraced a forwardleaning view and are passing it on from administration
to administration with Lee Smith at the helm
continually supporting, coaxing and guiding the Club
through its evolution. The results are both instructive
and impressive.
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McMahon Group Is Proudly Serving the Following Clubs
•EXISTING•
NEW
Laurel Creek Country Club (NJ) • Meridian Hills Country Club (IN)
Presidio Golf Club (CA) • The Quechee Club (VT)
RETURNING
Boca Grove Golf & Tennis Club (FL) • Elk River Club (NC)
Fox Den Country Club (TN) • River Oaks Country Club (TX)
Sea Pines Country Club (SC) • The Bedens Brook Club (NJ)
The Greenwich Country Club (CT)
Bald Head Island Club (NC) • Belle Meade Country Club (TN)
Big Spring Country Club (KY) • Century Country Club (NY)
ClubCorp (TX) • Colleton River Plantation Club (SC)
Contra Costa Country Club (CA) • Country Club of Fairfield (CT)
Dataw Island Club (SC) • Del Paso Country Club (CA)
Denver Country Club (CO) • Estero Country Club (FL)
Exmoor Country Club (IL) • Fishers Island Club (NY) • GCSAA (KS)
Heritage Palms Golf & Country Club (FL) • Hound Ears Club (NC)
Houston Racquet Club (TX) • Hudson National Golf Club (NY)
Huntingdon Valley Country Club (PA) • Interlachen Country Club (FL)
Interlachen Country Club (MN) • Ivanhoe Club (IL)
Kelly Greens Golf & Country Club (FL)
Kiawah Island Community Association (SC) • Lake Wildwood (CA)
Lakewood Country Club (MD) • Longmeadow Country Club (MA)
Maryland Club (MD) • Milbrook Club (CT) • Morris County Golf Club (NJ)
Navesink Country Club (NJ) • Newport Harbor Yacht Club (CA)
Noroton Yacht Club (CT) • Pinehurst Country Club (CO)
Richmond County Country Club (NY) • River Hills Country Club (SC)
Round Hill Club (CT) • Roxiticus Golf Club (NJ)
Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club (FL) • Royal Poinciana Golf Club (FL)
San Gabriel Country Club (CA) • Southern Hills Country Club (OK)
Spring Hill Golf Club (MN) • Sylvania Country Club (OH)
The Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands (CA) • The Club Pelican Bay (FL)
The Country Club (OH) • The Country Club at DC Ranch (AZ)
The Country Club of Naples (FL)
The Country Club of North Carolina (NC)
The Country Club of St. Albans (MO) • The Kahkwa Club (PA)
The Kirtland Country Club (OH) • The Landings Club (GA)
The Oaks Country Club (OK) • The Plantation at Ponte Vedra Beach (FL)
Village Club of Sands Point (NY) • Walnut Creek Country Club (MI)
Westwood Country Club (TX)
Recently Approved Facility Programs
Lake Wildwood Association
Penn Valley, California
$5.5 Million Clubhouse Improvement Program
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San Gabriel Country Club
San Gabriel, California
$8.4 Million Club Improvement Program
Over $1.7 Billion Raised for Capital Programs
Getting Focused Through
Strategic Planning
by Frank Vain, President
In interviews and surveys on club governance,
we have found several consistent and troubling
points. First, 70% of general managers feel
their board’s involvement in daily operations
is a persistent problem. YIKES! Second, lest
we want to reject this feedback as a complaint
®
by managers who don’t want someone
watching over their shoulder, directors say pretty much the
same thing. In fact, exit interviews with retiring directors
often find them regarding to their time on the board as a
missed opportunity, or worse, a wasted effort. They report
frustrations with scripted, backward-looking meeting agendas,
lack of opportunity to apply their full range of talents to true
challenges or any goal setting and inability to conduct any sort
of objective assessment about accomplishments.
PRIVATE CLUB STRATEGIC PLANNING
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“If you don’t know where you are
going any road will get you there.”
-Lewis Carroll
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P R I VAT E C L U B P L A N N E R S & C O N S U LTA N T S
In the survey research we conducted in preparation of our
landmark study, Navigating the Future: The Outlook for Private
Clubs (jointly produced with the National Club Association),
a majority of directors (53%) reported that their meeting
agendas left little time for strategic discussions. It also showed
that only 47% of clubs conducted a member survey within
the last five years. Despite strategy being the true domain
of the board, a majority of clubs (52%) reported assigning
the development of a strategic plan to an ad hoc or standing
committee.
Financial pressures, intergenerational differences and other
bumps in the road can combine with the lack of strategic
clarity and undermine good governance. It’s crucial that the
board takes time to evaluate the big picture. Whether these
strategic discussions take place at regular board meetings –
something that is more likely to occur once a plan is in place
and strategic agendas have replaced operational ones – or at
special board strategy workshops, they need to take place.
A large part of a board’s responsibility is making sure their
club’s culture and traditions don’t erode over time; while at
the same time, consistently weighing the changing preferences
of members. The latter part is hard to discern if there is not a
formal member survey.
Club challenges come and go. Some are financial in origin,
while others reflect the inevitable divergence of member
preferences. What holds true is that resourceful board
members and talented managers working together in a
complementary way have the best chance of arriving at the
best strategic solution to a challenge and then executing that
solution successfully. Clubs that develop strategic plans are
best able to reduce, even eliminate, conflicts between the
board and management.
We are still accepting nominations for the 2014
Excellence in Club Management® Awards. A winner will
be selected in each of the following categories:
The James H. Brewer Award
Country/Golf Club with 600 or More Full Privilege Members
The Mead Grady Award
Country/Golf Club with Under 600 Full Privilege Members
The Mel Rex Award
City/Athletic/Specialty (Non-Golf) Club
The Rising Star Award
Up & Coming Assistant Managers
NOMINATIONS ARE DUE NOVEMBER 7!
Please visit www.clubmanageraward.com for more
information on how to nominate managers.
AWARD PRESENTATION
(Martha Acker & Maria McGinity)
On August 28th, Maria McGinity, CCM, ECM of
River Oaks Country Club received her 2013 Excellence
in Club Management® Award from Martha Acker.
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What's HOT
What's NOT
We are back again playing "What's Hot | What's Not" for private clubs. Below are further insights on the very contrasting
conditions we continue to see at private clubs. These conditions very much affect club success in attracting usage and members. If
you have any suggestions, please send them to Bill McMahon, Jr. at [email protected].
Bars in Lounges are HOT
Bars in Mixed Grills are NOT
Jeans are HOT
Neckties are NOT
When you are in a mixed grill with a seated bar, have you ever
noticed the small number of people who actually sit at the bar?
What about diners there who gravitate away from the bar and
its "sometime" drinking crowd?
We are finally getting it. A true bar/lounge complete with
seating, drinking and snacking should not be part of a mixed
grill. A true bar/lounge is one of the most important social areas
in a clubhouse; and, it should have an atmosphere all its own
that creates a very spontaneous aura. Members will love the bar/
lounge, use it and social connectivity among them will spike.
After one drink, we all become great friends.
As for good mixed grills, there is nothing wrong with having an
attractive stand-up service bar in it; just don’t add any seats or
stools. Have it be the focal point of the room with a charismatic
bartender holding court.
Lakewood Country Club
(Rockville, MD)
We live in a casual world. Members want their clubs to reflect
that casual, relaxed lifestyle. It’s the members of a club that
matter, not what clothes they are wearing. Just like jeans are not
the issue, it’s what they stand for that matters. Clubs that allow
their members to wear jeans send a welcoming message to their
next generation of members. Those that do not are living in the
past and will soon be part of it.
That being said, this does not include tattered, raggy jeans.
Anyone that is a member of a club is expected to have enough
common sense to know how to dress properly. After all,
these younger members are most likely the children and/or
grandchildren of Senior members.
"The Services & Products Directory for Clubs"
6|
Help Us Help You
www.clubtopia.com
New Club Trends – Now Available!
by Bill McMahon, Jr.
McMahon Group and the National Club Association
are pleased to announce the latest edition of Club
Trends titled, “Precision Marketing: Positioning Your
Club for Success”, is now available! This issue focuses
on sound business models and strong marketing
practices for private clubs. We feature great clubs who
are connecting with their members and enriching their
club experience through solid business and marketing practices.
Featured clubs include the Monterey Peninsula Country Club
in Pebble Beach, California, Chicago Yacht Club and the Union
League Club of Chicago. Be sure to get your copy today!
We are currently working on the next edition which is the
annual Private Club Outlook report. To help us gather
information for this edition, we are conducting a Pulse Survey
which is available on our website at www.mcmahongroup.com.
You may also request a paper version by emailing
Bill McMahon, Jr. at [email protected].
How Do I Subscribe?
To subscribe to Club Trends, please
visit www.mcmahongroup.com and
click on “Reports & Trends”. You
will be able to purchase an annual
subscription or individual Club Trends reports.
"Just a brief note to tell you that the summer edition of
Club Trends is fantastic. Well written, timely information
that hits the mark regardless of the size or type of club
you are managing. I am very proud to be a friend of
both NCA and the McMahon Group and pleased that
the cooperation has produced a product as useful as
Club Trends."
Zachary Platek, CCM, CCE
General Manager/COO
Grandfather Golf & Country Club
We thank everyone for their support of Club Trends and we
would love to hear from you on the quality of the reports. Please
send any comments, questions or suggestions to
Bill McMahon, Jr. at
the email address listed
above.
8 Reasons We Join Clubs
1. OTHER PEOPLE
6. NETWORKING
We are social animals who, for the most part, enjoy one another.
2. RECREATION
We need to enhance our social and business successes by
building friendships. Believe it or not, business is still successfully
conducted at clubs.
We want high-quality offerings that provide enjoyable and
healthy experiences.
7. DINING
3. PRESTIGE
Everyone must eat and our clubs should be “one of our favorite
places to do so”. It is all about having good, consistent dining at a
convenient/attractive club with our friends.
Yes, this is still a factor at almost all levels of clubdom. Show me
your club and I know all about you.
4. CONVENIENCE OF USE
Time is an important commodity. No one wants to waste it.
5. FOR OTHERS
8. ENTERTAINMENT
For social, business and family events where no place does it
better. A man’s home may be his castle, but his club is where he
is treated like a king. Or said another way, a woman’s home may
be her castle, but her club is where she is treated like a queen.
We want to provide benefits for our families (spouses, children
and extended families [grandchildren]). We are charitable
people.
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Suite 220
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Tel: 314.744.5040
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Fax: 314.744.5046
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McMahon Group’s First Impressions Visit & Report
The Insightful Visit by Club Specialists
The complimentary McMahon Group First Impressions visit is an excellent opportunity to take
advantage of McMahon Group’s club expertise. One of our club specialists will visit your club,
learn about its issues, tour the facilities and issue a First Impressions report. They will then meet
with you and your board to explain trends, review the club’s issues and recommend innovative
solutions. Your club’s only cost is travel expenses. Schedule your First Impressions visit with
Alison Duffy at 1.800.365.2498 or [email protected].
Let Us Help You & Your Board!