BY Glenn Phillips   What’s New Arnold Palmer is back! Yes, that is correct.  After being pulled from the Canadian marketplace for a year Arizona Ice Tea has brought back the very popular Arnold Palmer. For those of you that may not be familiar with this, it is half iced tea and half lemonade. It’s a great thirst quencher blend that leaves you feeling satisfied and hydrated. Now I’m not someone who has a sweet tooth or drinks a lot of sweet beverages, (I even drink my coffee black) so for the most part I drink water or PowerAde on and off the golf course. However, I know sometimes I need a little sugar to make it through the round,…

[READ THE FULL COLUMN...]

By Rick Young   If you’re on the service side of the golf industry you don’t have to go back far in the past to remember what a lot of food & beverage managers might refer to as ‘simpler, less stressful times.’ Within the structure of overall operations the food and beverage portfolio was considered a club amenity, a necessary albeit secondary function boards of directors more than willingly subsidized as part of the annual club budget. Break even? Quite often that was considered a successful season for F & B especially if a year was punctuated by a run of bad weather, a late start or an early wind up. Miracles were never expected nor were huge profit margins….

[READ THE FULL COLUMN...]

By Rick VanSickle   WELLAND, Ont. — Thinking of beefing up the wine list at your golf course? Stephen Billyard, general manager of LochNess Links Golf Course in Welland, Ont., has a word of advice. “Always have something special tucked away for your high-end customer. It’ll keep them coming back.” Billyard, who is part of the family operation at the modern-style links golf course in the heart of Niagara, has built up an impressive wine program at the private-public course from humble beginnings just 10 years ago to over 60 different choices on a well-rounded list today. And he has seen a big difference where it counts — on the balance sheet. Billyard, who has been GM for a little…

[READ THE FULL COLUMN...]

F&B by Glenn Phillips   What’s cooking Vegetarian dishes! As the Canadian population‘s demographic changes we are going to see a large increase in vegetarians over the next 10 years. This change has already started and is only going to pick up speed as time goes on, so you better to get prepared now.  There are lots of reasons why vegetarianism is increasing so rapidly. People are becoming vegetarians because of  lifestyle or health reasons, but the biggest reason for the large increase in vegetarians in Canada is mostly due to immigration.   According to the federal government we are going to see a large growth in the South Asian population across Canada. Regardless of the reasons for the increase from a…

[READ THE FULL COLUMN...]

Critics or fan, the choice is yours! This has to be one of the worst parts of a mangers job. No one likes confrontation; it is often uncomfortable for both parties. It is also important to realize that most people will only complain if they think they will be heard and it will make a difference, so in some ways if you are receiving a complaint it is a compliment to you as a manager because what they are saying is they have confidence in you as a manager to listen and make things better. I am not sure when it happened but sometime ago someone started this awful rumour that when someone complains they are just looking for something…

[READ THE FULL COLUMN...]

New Experiences for Your Golfers As a golfer you are always looking for something new on the course to eat or drink (most of us anyway) and as a manager you are looking for new products to offer the guests and members as a way to increase the experience (o.k. and maybe revenue). As manufacturers you are looking to produce new products to increase profits and market share. So it goes with reason there is never a shortage of new products being introduced to the market place, some good, some great, some not even worth mentioning. Let’s look at some of these new products that I think are interesting and that could be a good fit at most golf courses….

[READ THE FULL COLUMN...]

If you’re on the service side of the golf industry you don’t have to go back far in the past to remember what a lot of food & beverage managers might refer to as ‘simpler, less stressful times.’ Within the structure of overall operations the food and beverage portfolio was considered a club amenity, a necessary albeit secondary function boards of directors more than willingly subsidized as part of the annual club budget. Break even? Quite often that was considered a successful season for F & B especially if a year was punctuated by a run of bad weather, a late start or an early wind up. Miracles were never expected nor were huge profit margins. Times have clearly changed….

[READ THE FULL COLUMN...]

One of the great wine service stories occurred in Calgary a number of years ago. A customer had ordered a rare bottle of 1982 Chateau Petrus, reputedly the world’s most expensive Bordeaux that was on the Chicago Chophouse wine list for $10,000. The waiter at the high-end downtown Calgary eatery gingerly went about securing the wine from the wine cellar and was carefully bringing the bottle to the table when the unthinkable happened. The waiter tripped and sent the bottle smashing to the floor. The most expensive bottle of wine that anyone in Calgary can remember opening, was gone in a matter of seconds. Ironically, the waiter did not get fired. The restaurant parlayed the accident into a front-page story…

[READ THE FULL COLUMN...]