28 Mystery Golf Tours

Jeff Scott, CCM CCE
Jeff is the GM & COO of Southwood Golf & Country
Club. He has achieved his Honours Society
Certified Club Manager (CCM) and Certified Club
Executive (CCE) and is currently working on his MCM
designation. Contact Jeff at jscott@southwood.ca or
204-269-7867 (Ext. 203).
G
olf for many of us, is a mystery.
You may experience nothing but
success one day on the links, followed
by nothing but disappointment the
next. Or, you may be puzzled by the
case of the missing ball, as you are
positive it landed in the middle of the
fairway, yet it is nowhere to be found.
Southwood Golf & Country Club in
Winnipeg, Manitoba has recently
used mystery to keep our golfers
intrigued and coming back for more.
Mystery
Golf Tours
at Southwood Golf
& Country Club
MEMBER ENGAGEMENT
Southwood Golf & Country Club
has golfing roots dating back to
1894 and today, now stands
majestically on 297 acres just south
of the city in St. Norbert, Manitoba,
adjacent to the La Salle River
and Trappist Monastery Provincial
Heritage Park. Relocated in 2009
from grounds adjacent to the University of Manitoba and designed by
acclaimed architect Thomas McBroom,
Southwood Golf & Country Club
28
Golf Business Canada
has played host over its rich history
to countless Provincial and National
Championships, including serving
as the host golf venue for the Canada
Summer Games in 2017.
Member engagement is paramount because that is what club
life is all about. Golfers have their
choice of numerous golf courses,
so making our club a place where
members come and see their
friends and enjoy that camaraderie
is important. We are constantly aware of our club
atmosphere and always looking to enhance the social
aspects of what we offer.
MYSTERY TOURS CREATION
In 2014, I returned to Winnipeg and was appointed
General Manager and Chief Operating Officer to lead
the Southwood team. We quickly recognized that
amongst all the positives associated with our Club,
opportunities existed to enhance the level of member
engagement and add to the pure enjoyment and fun of
being a member at Southwood.
Reflecting on my years of experience at clubs
across Canada, we were able to draw upon past
successes to launch the Mystery Tour, a new concept
at Southwood, but a concept that had previously
won recognition for the idea at the World Conference
on Club Management in the Golf Course Operations
category. The idea worked very well at our course,
and could easily be implemented or crafted to fit the
needs of any golf facility, regardless of size.
At many private member clubs, our weekly tee
sheet can look very similar whether it be a Monday
or Thursday, with many players choosing to play
Golf Business Canada
29
A classic Manitoba summer
morning complete with breakfast
on the outdoor patio at Southwood
Golf & Country Club.
With the mystery solved,
participants gather on the patio
at Minnewasta Golf & Country
Club prior to boarding the bus
for the return trip home.
“Lady members were
invited to sign up for
a Mystery Tour and no
details were provided
other than the event
date, departure time
from the golf course,
price ($100) and
messaging about it
being a fun event. “
with the same group at the same
time of day. There is nothing wrong
with that, however we recognized
the challenge to keeping members
engaged and enjoying their club
experience, which is exactly why
the concept of a mystery golf tour
was conceived.
SHHH! IT’S A SECRET
Lady members were invited to sign
up for a Mystery Tour and no
details were provided other than
the event date, departure time from
the golf course, price ($100) and
messaging about it being a fun
event. Immediately, we had total
buy-in from the ladies and it did
not take long to fill up the forty
spaces available for the event. The
key to the event was that it was a
mystery and everything was a
surprise, other than informing the
guests they had to show up at the
golf course for 7:30 am.
When participants arrived on
what turned out to be an ideal
Manitoba morning, they were
greeted and directed to the outdoor
patio for a full breakfast, complete
with linens and flowers on the
tables. Immediately, expectations
were exceeded so the day was off to
a fantastic beginning. As the ladies
were enjoying their breakfast, club
staff were pulling clubs and loading
them on to the bus along with
coffee and beverages for the trip.
30
Golf Business Canada
Following breakfast, Southwood
members boarded the bus headed
for the unknown destination.
Window seats were at a premium
as many were speculating where
they were headed on every turn of
the bus to determine what golf
course they would be playing that
day. At no time was the destination
revealed and the participants were
provided a chance to guess where
they were headed while cruising
down the highway, with the correct
answer receiving a token prize. The
bus driver also got into the spirit of
the day by taking a few back roads
to our destination.
The mystery destination was
the Minnewasta Golf & Country
Club in Morden, Manitoba, a mere
120 kilometers south of Southwood
Golf & Country Club and located
on the edge of the Pembina Valley
escarpment. Their host for the day
was Geoff Kehler, General Manager
and Head Professional.
At Minnewasta, Geoff and his
team executed a modified shotgun
format to ensure that all participants
finished at the same time. A delicious
luncheon at the golf course followed
much to the delight of the golfers,
while Minnewasta staff coordinated
loading the golf clubs for the trip
home. A few small prize presentations and the Southwood members
were back on the bus for their
return travel home.
WIN-WIN
Operationally, we charged $100 per
participant and as a first time event,
it was simply designed to be costneutral while making it a special
day for our ladies. The majority of
the costs were to cover the bus as
well as the golf and meals at both
Southwood and Minnewasta along
with a few small prizes.
Staffing wise, our Golf Professional and I attended. In other areas,
pro shop and back shop staff along
with food and beverage staff were
already in place so no additional
costs were incurred at either golf
course. The only real unique element
of the day was coordinating the
booking of the bus and finalizing the
itinerary based on event elements
and travel time.
Feedback from the first Mystery
Golf Tour has been phenomenal and
very gratifying. Making forty ladies
happy and having them tell their
friends that they had a phenomenal
time has been rewarding for the
entire Southwood team. Questions
have already been asked as to the
next Mystery Tour, which will be in
2016, with no other details being
released at this time.
Suffice to say that the male
golfers at Southwood have already
been asking when a mystery tour
event will be designed for their
category based on the success and
feedback from our inaugural ladies
event in 2015.
Our management team at
Southwood Golf & Country Club is
proud of the fact that after hosting
a successful event, we conduct a
complete de-briefing to identify
how the event went as well as to
identify enhancements for next
year. We are always looking to
improve and determine how we
can continue to meet and exceed
our members’ expectations.
This event has helped elevate
the other club events as members
do not want to miss out on other
exciting happenings at Southwood.
Events like this are paramount to
creating a healthy and vibrant club
culture. Introducing all these new
ideas is driving the bottom line and
everything from our prime rib
nights which we are now selling
out, to a night of “glow golf”, to 9
and dine events during open times
on weekdays are booming. The
success of these member events are
continuing to build momentum
within the club while adding
positively to the bottom line. Our
member dining, for example, is
currently up 15% this year over last
year.
because we are able to offer far
more than just a great golf course.
We have been able to revitalize our
club atmosphere and social aspects
of the club while having a positive
effect on both our member
satisfaction levels, as well as our
bottom line.
Golf
Business
Chronogolf-Ad-NGCOA-OUT.pdf
Canada
1
2015-09-17
ADDED VALUE
Mystery Golf Tours are the type of
event that fits into our mandate for
club activities. Our goal is to make
Southwood Golf & Country Club a
fun, golfing environment and when
we do events such as this, it brings
added value to our membership
Golf Business Canada
31
1