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JIM SINGERLING’S LEGACY
By Dave White, Editor
Leader, Educator, Mentor, Visionary, Friend…and so much more!
SO WHAT BECOMES THE LEGACY OF ONE
MAN WHO HAS CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH TO
THE CLUB MANAGERS ASSOCIATION OF
AMERICAN OVER THE PAST 23 YEARS?
In the words of colleagues, friends and associates
Jim Singerling’s legacy will be “forward thinker,
mentor, an undeniable promoter of the CMAA,
generous, warm, strong inner values, throwaway
the rearview mirror, trust, educator, a genuinely
great human being…a visionary leader.”
Wonderful words of tribute for Singerling
who earlier this month let it be known he’ll
retire as the Club Managers Association of
America CEO in 2015.
“The opportunity to lead this organization
and continue to develop the club industry and
its leaders has been tremendously gratifying,”
said Singerling in making the announcement.
“Our industry is well positioned to continue
expanding the scope and reach of clubs across the
nation while also providing jobs and supporting
local small businesses as we have for decades.”
Singerling began his time as CEO in 1990 and
the CMAA, in 1990, was but a shadow of what
the organization is today.
“Jim took an association that was on life support and over the years has taken it to a new
level,” explained Ryan Shaw, general manager of
the Las Vegas Country Club. “He’s a class act,
through and through, especially with the little
things he’s done for people.” And we’ll come
back to that a little later.
“Jim Singerling has single handedly influenced the private club business more than anyone else in the history of our industry,” injected
Mike Leemhuis, CEO/general manager of the
Congressional Club.
“Before Jim we were a good organization that
took care of club professionals, since Jim we
have been a great organization of club professionals. He has elevated the club business by elevating the offerings to its members.
“Education and the development of education
programs will be one of Jim’s great legacies. The
creation of the BMI (Business Management
Institute) has allowed club managers to elevate
their standings within clubs to rival and surpass
what the PGA of America and the Golf Course
Superintendents of America are doing. I consider my achievement of my CCM the most significant career move I have made to date,”
Leemhuis explained.
The introduction of the COO/CEO concept
to the private club industry marked a major
thrust by Singerling…it has brought private
club governance into the present.
“Before this change, club general managers
were part of the trilogy of club management,
with the golf professional and the superintendent. The COO/CEO concept vaulted our industry into the professional management status that
it needed and deserves in this day and age.
“It was this concept and the Certified Club
Manager (CCM) that allowed club managers to
really excel in the professional business of club
management,” Leemhuis professed.
“During Jim Singerling’s tenure I have
watched this association grow in leaps and
bounds,” said Linda Carroll, general manager,
White Bear Yacht Club, White Bear, MN. Linda
is a spouse of a past president (George Carroll),
and a 28-year CMAA member who also has
been board member and past president herself.
“When I got into this business, club managers
were called ‘hamburger flippers’ by more than
one of these organizations and Jim changed all
of that. We are finally recognized both nationalSEE SINGERLING - PAGE 28
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ly and internationally as an important part of the golf world
and the organization with the best educational programs for
clubs and club managers. We now have a number of PGA
and GCSAA members attending our education programs
and going on to pursue their CCM (Certified Club
Manager),” Carroll explained.
“Having been involved with CMAA since the early 80s, I can
attest to the dedication and professionalism Jim brought to our
organization. Jim worked tirelessly…with a multitude of elected boards, committees and CMAA staff to elevate the stature of
our positions in the club to that of the senior most staff member,” commented William E. Langley CCM, VP/ managing
director, The Club at Carlton Woods, Houston, TX.
“Certainly Jim was the driving force for many of the most successful programs in CMAA today. He achieved this by challenging the status quo, working in concert with managers, university
faculty and allied associations to make CMAA matter!”
So it is these many programs that mark much of CMAA’s
brand and Singerling’s achievements.
“CMAA’s growth and brand have been built as a direct
result of Jim’s efforts,” enthused Jesse Thorpe, general manager of Hammock Dunes Club, Palm Coast Fl., and also a
former CMAA president, who worked with Singerling.
“Identifying education as a key component…Jim strengthened that characteristic by partnering with universities, first
on a national basis, and then on an international basis,”
Thorpe added. “The BMI, the development of the governance model for clubs, the development of strategic partnerships with international associations and industries, the
development of the Club Foundation, the gathering of a professional, highly dedicated professional staff are all a tribute
to his exceptional leadership,” Thorpe commented.
No question club education is one outstanding legacy for the
man who took over the reins of CMAA after serving as a leader
in the golf course design and management companies of Robert
Trent Jones, Sr., and also as vice president and general manager
of the Coral Ridge Country Club in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
“Jim Singerling is a visionary, a leader with strong inner
values, who is others focused. He has served mightily to
encourage the development of individual club professionals
and, in turn, advance the private club profession,” opines
colleague Dr. Ronald Cichy, director and professor, The
School of Hospitality Business, Broad College of Business,
Michigan State University.
Singerling’s legacy as a leader stimulated the school alumni
association to honor him as The 2002 Industry Leader of the
Year in the year that both CMAA and MSU School of
Hospitality Business celebrated their 75th Anniversary Years.
“We invited 75 of our alumni to join us for annual gathering
of leaders in Chicago at the Union League Club and nearly 150
alumni, as well as our mascot Sparty showed up. Some years later
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during a return visit to campus, we designated Jim Singerling an
honorary faculty member. He was so overwhelmed that he wept
tears of joy,” Cichy related of that occasion many years earlier.
“When our school was invited to serve as the sole source of
BMI III in 1989, the course was tactical and management
focused. Today it is strategic leadership focused as it serves as
preparation for CMAA’s CCM, “ Cichy explained.
“MSU’s faculty has delivered many BMI courses, and staff
has also traveled with CMAA representatives several times to
deliver BMI in China. They have also participated in numerous research studies partially funded by The Club Foundation
over the last two decades, and we have published the results in
BoardRoom and Club Management, as well as academic refereed journals, nationally and internationally,” Cichy related of
research in which Singerling also has participated.
Clubs unquestionably have benefitted because of his leadership. “Certainly CMAA managed clubs benefit from the unbelievable education and certification programs that exist within
our organizations. CMAA has created a life long learning
model that allows managers to stay relevant, well informed and
access to a network of peers second to none,” Langley added.
The evolution of the general manager and chief operating
officer position under Jim’s leadership is clearly evident when
considering club operations, and that’s been evident to those
with BoardRoom’s Distinguished Club program.
“I’ve had the privilege of visiting and surveying many of
the top clubs throughout nation, and one thing is clear, all
the clubs that have earned Distinguished Clubs status have a
strong general manager as their leader. They are general managers with the operational skills to run all facets of the club’s
business, and who also help with the club’s vision set forth by
the board. Because of the skill-set acquired under CMAA
and Jim’s vision, the GM is highest paid employee at the
club… and deservingly so,” explained Keith Jarrett, president of BoardRoom’s Distinguished Clubs.
Singerling helping international associations establish a
foothold in their countries is well documented, and that’s been
a first hand experience for many of Singerling’s colleagues.
“Whether it has been the European, Canadian, South
African or Chinese Club Managers Associations, Jim has
been in the forefront of making this happen. Always explaining that we as CMAA are not there to impose ‘how we do
things in America’, but rather ‘how we can help you get
where you would like to be?’ Jim is truly the ‘international’
face of club management!” Leemhuis commented.
“I was among the first board members when we went to
Canada to begin the bridge building process that led to the
sharing of our certification process abroad,” added former
CMAA president Thorpe of his first hand knowledge of
Singerling’s worldwide efforts.
“It has been remarkable to see how associations around the
globe have embraced CMAA, through Jim’s committed methods, to view CMAA as the world leader. As I have watched him
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interact with the world community I know how much they
respect him. He is the face of our association,” Thorpe added.
“I’ve had the personal experience of traveling with Jim to
China, South Africa, Russia, Canada, Europe, and the UK,”
outlined George Carroll, general manager/COO, Interlachen
Country Club, Edina, MN. “It has been a pleasure to watch
Jim elevate the education throughout the world, especially
leading our BMIs and helping start CMAE in Europe.”
Carroll by the way happened to be a CMAA board member and involved in the interviews for the CMAA CEO position when Singerling was hired.
“The board decided Jim was our man, we never looked
back; it was a great choice.” George while CMAA president
in 1996, worked closely with CEO Singerling.
The continuing interaction with allied organizations certainly enhances Singerling’s legacy.
“Jim’s acknowledgment that private golf clubs revolve around
the golf culture led to unprecedented BMI training on golf —
the rules of golf, playing the game and how clubs must provide
different golf experiences to different groups within the club,”
explained Joe Steranka, recently retired CEO of the PGA.
“Jim reached out to the PGA and invited the association’s
education faculty and staff to contribute to CMAA programs. This brought the two organizations closer and better
equipped managers to partner with their golf professionals.”
And it has been much the same for the Augusta National
Golf Club and Singerling’s colleague Jim G. James, CCM, and
senior director, club and hospitality operations for Augusta.
“Jim has certainly elevated the status and stature of CMAA
with all the allied associations. His relationship building skills
within our industry have been remarkable,” commented James.
“I personally have the opportunity to watch Jim every April,
build on the friendships we already have…and cultivate new
relationships within the industry. In my mind, he is second to
none in this regard. His ability to lead and elevate CMAA from
an educational and personal development standpoint has been
remarkable and one of Jim’s greatest achievements.
“Jim has always been, and continues to be a consummate
gentleman and visionary leader within our industry but in
my mind his greatest accomplish is the way in which he has
balanced all of this, while remaining true to his wife, children and friends,” James offered.
And for a little more of the Singerling’s personal side Ryan
Shaw, GM of the Las Vegas Country Club – at age 37 a
younger general manager – offers this:
“I had worked at a private club as during my undergraduate
years, and completed my graduate school education at Central
Michigan University,” Shaw related. “Along the way my parents called and said they had a friend whose friend was top dog
in the Club Managers Association of America. So I called Jim.
“I didn’t know him but he called me back and took the
time to speak with me. He outlined different opportunities
such as internships and other career paths that might be
available and I ended up with a graduate assistantship position at Disney World with their PGA TOUR event.”
In launching his career, Ryan joined American Golf in
Manassas, Virginia as director of golf and one day while
checking golfers in, heard Jim’s Singerling named mentioned. Ryan asked to meet him.
“Even though we had spoken previously, I had never met
him. Jim came in, we sat down and talked for half hour, and
he said ‘I’ll buy lunch come and see me.’
“I visited him at his office and we’ve made it a routine a
few times a year. He saw something in me, and said, ‘We’ve
gotta get you into a private club,’” Shaw explained.
Singerling also personally sent Shaw to several national conferences until “I got a job where I could pay for myself to go.”
Shaw left Virginia, transferred to a private club, and then
four years ago took on the general manager’s position at the
Las Vegas Country. Ryan’s active as vice president in the
CMAA’s greater southwest chapter, and soon will be a
national committee member.
“Jim’s gone out of his way to visit our chapters whenever
we’ve asked and personally, I probably wouldn’t have gone
this route if Jim wasn’t as generous as he has been to me. I
owe him a lot for my success.
“I’ve made it a point to mentor young people coming into
the business in an attempt to give back the same way Jim did
for me. His mentoring made me a better manager and an
even better person,” Shaw offered.
But we leave it to Linda Carroll to add the final bit to Jim
Singerling’s legacy.
“A number of years ago the PGA Championship was at
Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota. My husband,
George and I along with Jim Singerling were honored to
work on the grounds crew.
“The highest compliment I think Jim ever received from a
golf course superintendent came when a superintendent
turned to him and said that he couldn’t imagine the CEO of
the GCSAA, showing up at 4:30 a.m. volunteering to ‘fluff
the ruff ’ on his golf course!”
The result is a personal relationship between Jim, the
Carrolls and a number of local golf course superintendents.
“Each year, Jim, my husband George and I along with 12-15
other superintendents from around the world get together at
the GCSAA Conference for a ‘Round Table on Stress
Reduction’ (another name for a great dinner and lots of wine!)
“This isn’t a CMAA or a GCSAA function but rather a
group of friends in the industry that appreciate each other
and what they do. This is just an example of Jim’s unique
ability to promote CMAA on a personal level.
“It is an honor to be a CMAA member under Jim
Singerling, but I am especially honored to call him ‘my
friend.’”
To which many others obviously will add, ‘Right On!’ B R
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