The answer simply, is YES, and there are many reasons why.
Social and golf events at a private club play a large role in the club’s success, and vibrant club events create engaged members, and subsequently can drive new business, increase revenue and profits, create excitement and stimulate membership.
While events can help add value to the membership and create revenue, the most important thing that club events do is improve the club’s culture. It doesn’t matter if it is a Nine and Dine, lobsterfest, pig roast, or black-tie gala, they all bring the membership together in a new and unique social environment.
These social events, if done well, will encourage your membership to spend more time at the club and in turn, more money. These events offer a different way for your members to interact with others outside of their usual circle. They provide an environment for people who may not normally be social outside of their group to strike up conversations in a relaxed and enjoyable environment.
These events allow new friendships to develop, business contacts to be made, or at the very least, someone new to call when looking for a partner to sneak in a last-minute round. They will also offer the opportunity for your members to bring guests to the club for an event that could potentially wow them, versus just for dinner to use up their minimum spend. A well put together event could have those friends wondering why they don’t have a membership at your club.
Club memberships are a very competitive market. People who are looking for a club to join are not only looking for the quality of golf that they will be getting, but the added value and the overall experience they will have when they choose a club.
Many members look at the club as their second home during the golf season. They spend many hours a week there, playing golf, doing business, socializing and hosting friends and family. They look at the club as an extension of their home and it needs to represent them well.
I have always thought that this was important to the membership but didn’t realize how much it influenced a member’s decision on where they would call “home” until recently. Just the other day, I was touring a prospective member who was being transferred to the area from the United States. He wasn’t so concerned about where his house would be located but was determined to find a great club to join. He wanted to know about what kind of social calendar the club provided, and what opportunities there were for him and his wife to meet new people and socialize. He made it very clear that the club he would choose would be one that both he and his wife would feel at “home” at, as previously in the States their club was a very large part of their lives.
So, now that we have sold you on the importance of events and how they benefit the club, let’s break down the steps to organizing successful events. The real key is knowing your audience. With that being said, you also have to remember that you cannot please all of the people all of the time. So, when developing your event calendar take a good look at your membership and do your best to ensure that everyone has at least one event that is geared towards them.
You will always have some members who are strictly there to golf, but if you plan well you will also have those members that come to every event. As mentioned earlier, the events don’t all have to be galas, nor should they be. I don’t care how social you are, you can only take so many of those all-night affairs.
Consider some ways to have smaller less lengthy social events such as the Nine and Dine. This kind of event may allow members who can’t commit to a full 18 on a weekday, the added opportunity to play a round and grab a bite to eat. This style of event also enables the member who is an avid golfer, who has a spouse who is not as keen on the game, to show that spouse in a social environment why they enjoy spending time at the club.
Another smaller way to provide an event is by beefing up your weekly member nights. Add a theme to your men’s and ladies’ night programs by creating a theme for the weekly meal that is provided.
Things like “Whole Beast” BBQ’s, Italian night with stationed food, a Marché concept with interactive stations, are all ways you can make that weekly game of golf into something special and worth bragging about.
With this kind of event you are not recreating the wheel; you are simply enhancing what you already have. This also allows you to show off the culinary diversity of your team and provides an insight into what your club can offer, and possibly entice your members to come out to a larger event. It is a simpler route to take but still requires a good amount of thought, preplanning and creativity, especially from your culinary team.
On a larger scale, you can look at events that may have a seasonal theme such as Thanksgiving dinner where members can host their family and not need to cook or clean. Mother’s Day brunch that puts the focus on Mom, which allows her to enjoy all her favourite foods with the ones she loves without lifting a finger, and makes Dad look like a rock star! Father’s Day BBQ – bring Dad out for a round of golf and a dinner that features all the best of the BBQ without him standing over the grill or feeding the smoker all day long.
If you decide you are all in and are going to be the club that rocks the social circuit, then adding in monthly themed events will take planning, organization and creativity to the next level.
Events that are the most memorable are those that include all aspects of a great party – themed food, beverage and décor. For these types of events it is best not to tackle them alone, so draw on your resources.
To host events that will have the best attendance, reach out to your membership to find out what events they would like to see. To make sure you deliver on their suggestions, have a brainstorming session with your team to come up with ideas on how to bring the vision to life, including the transformation of the space that the event will be held in. This may include employing the expertise of a décor company. It will cost you but in the long run it will be worth it.
Reach out to suppliers you use to enhance what you are offering; this could be a food supplier to help offset the costs, or a beverage provider to either provide product or expertise. Your suppliers are a great asset, and most love having the opportunity to showcase their products, so ask them. Whether it’s a flight of wines being paired with your Italian themed night, with an introduction from the wine maker as to why it pairs best with the course they are about to eat, or a keg of 25-year-old rum being sampled at your Caribbean themed night, these are unique offerings that your guests will be thrilled you gave them the opportunity to experience.
So, don’t underestimate the importance of having a healthy event and social calendar at the club. Events can take a lot of work to develop, market, sell and execute, but the payoff is not just a healthy profit but a healthy membership.
Whether private or public, having a strong event and social calendar is integral to having a successful club.
