Lessons in becoming renaissance managers.

If you are the manager of a golf club or a country club that offers golf, odds are that you recently missed out on one of the most outstanding opportunities afforded to you to promote the game of golf at your club. I say that because--of the thousands of club managers who read Club Management--only 81 of you (including one from Japan and one from Korea) managed to field a golfer for the CMAA National Club Championships held at The Woodlands outside of Houston, TX.

From the Top-100 ranked courses at Carlton Woods, to the lavish poolside spread for the golfers complete with a floral tribute to tournament sponsor Cadillac floating in the pool, to the commentary by golf broadcasting legend Jim Kelly, to the private lessons for each participant provided by coach to the stars David Ledbetter, this tournament was as close to golf Nirvana as most amateurs will ever get. You could see it in the eyes and hear it in the banter of the players as they left the greens.

So why should YOUR club's champion have been a participant? Because when the best players in your club get together with the best players from other clubs--their true peers--it doesn't matter whether they play well or horribly. They will become ambassadors of and advocates for the game at your club. As the leader of your club, you are responsible for protecting the traditions and stewarding the assets of your club.

If you're a golf-playing club, you most assuredly have a strong golf tradition and a boatload of assets tied up in golf. So why didn't more managers seize this opportunity to recognize the importance and promote the future of the game? Discussion around the greens at the tournament suggested that it's because many managers don't really understand the game of golf at a deep level. Their background is in management or in food and beverage. Therefore, they rely too heavily on their department heads when it comes to golf.

I am absolutely not saying that the manager should not depend on his or her team members--pro, superintendent, chef, F&B director, etc. Rather, the manager should be in a position to lead in all areas and to know when what they're hearing from a department head makes sense and when it doesn't. Today's club manager must be a true Renaissance man or woman when it comes to the widely diverse elements of running a private club.

One of the things we will be doing in upcoming months is converting our Club Management website into a database of online information that will include a comprehensive search engine as well as forums and blogs on everything from how to handle club purchases more effectively, to wine, information technology, and balance in your personal life. Because of that, I have been on a quest that has taken me to both coasts and points in between. I don't expect to stop traveling or stop asking club managers questions any time soon.

That's also why I recently found myself sipping from side-by-side glasses of white wine at 8:30 in the morning. While I'm sure that there are those unkind souls who would suggest that Sauvignon Blanc is my breakfast of choice, the real reason for this breakfast hour tippling was that I was sitting in a class of 40 club managers who were participating in CMAA's weeklong business management institute (BMI) on food and wine programs. The program was conducted by the staff of the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, CA.

The morning was spent in technical presentations of why flavors complement or "push back" from a particular food and the ways in which wine can become an additional "ingredient" in the preparation of a meal. Such culinary basics as salt, lemon, thyme, goat cheese, and cayenne were tasted with sips of two wines: a Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc.

Following the lengthy discussion of food chemistry, the managers went upstairs to Greystone's kitchens and donned toques and whites. They were divided into teams with each preparing several luncheon entrees in amuse-bouche-sized portions. Then they were asked to critically evaluate how the two wines added or detracted from each food, and vice versa.

By the end of lunch, palate fatigue had set in and one of the managers spoke achingly of the desire for "just one beer." The group was only three days into a six-day program, mind you. Does such immersion in a particular element of your club management repertoire make sense? The answer is, emphatically--YES!

CMAA's certification process addresses nine key competency areas. They are: private club management; food and beverage operations; accounting and financial management; human and professional resources management; marketing; golf/sports and recreation management; external and governmental influences; and building and facilities management.

Can you be an expert in all of these areas? You can't be in the purest sense of "expert." But you can aspire to educate yourself to the highest level of which you are capable, so that you know what questions to ask and understand and can evaluate the answers that your team members give you.

This year's Club Management Club Manager of the Year, George P. Carroll, CCM, has set himself the admirable goal of "making the little things better" at his club every day. In the process, George has become a recognized expert on golf and agronomy and has developed relationships that reach around the world that are constantly bringing him new ideas.

Do you want to become a Renaissance man or woman in the area of golf at your club? Consider another total immersion program--the CMAA Business Management Institute on Golf Management from April 28 to May 3, 2007 at the World Golf Village in Jacksonville, FL.

If you make the quest for learning your top priority, you will succeed in the club industry. Please look to Club Management, our website, our e-newletters, and our programs to help you in that search. Contact us and tell us what you need.