Press releases
Good communication ensures a well-managed golf course
10 December 2007
The GTC sees Golf Course Manager/ Secretary Manager partnership as a significant step forward in golf clubs allowing professionally trained and qualified personnel to manage the day to day business of a golf club. One example of this is at Ashburnham Golf Club, Burry Port, Carmarthenshire where a new partnership has reaped success and shows the need to communicate within a team.
Secretary Manager, Ian Church, and Course Manager, Huw Morgan, joined forces to take Ashburnham’s fine reputation to even greater heights. By bringing their expertise together they see their success can be greater than the sum of what they bring separately to Ashburnham.
Ian Church states: “I don’t see how I can achieve my goals without Huw doing his job. I know he is one of the best there is and that means I can give him free reign to achieve the goals that we want.”
Huw Morgan realises the importance of Ian’s job: “Ian brings in the money to help finance the tools, materials and resources needed to execute the work on the course. We have many areas where large sums of money need to be spent and this will have to come through visitor greenfee income.
“A good relationship is vital to the success here at Ashburnham. I have worked for some great secretaries who have trusted me and wanted to work with me. I have also worked with people who wanted to control my job as well as trying to do their job. One job is hard enough, no-one will benefit if we interfere in each other’s work.” Huw continues.
Planning has already started at Ashburnham for future tournaments, including the Home Internationals in 2010. Ian and Huw are vital cogs in that process. They meet or speak daily to communicate what is going on in both departments.
Standards required at golf clubs have risen to unprecedented levels in the last 10 years. All staff must be trained to be able to cope with these demands. Golfers demand high standards on the course, in the clubhouse, proshop and administration office. Golf clubs have to employ professional people with the correct skills, experience and customer service to manage their departments and produce the standards required.
The relationship must be down to trust, respect and shared positive experience. At Ashburnham, Ian and Huw trust each other to do their jobs professionally, respect each other for the areas that they bring to the team and which invariably allows them to focus on their own areas of expertise. The shared positive experiences are that Ian delivers what Huw needs (money to pay for the materials and tools Huw and his team use to get the course to the required standard) and Huw delivers what Ian needs (a golf course that exceeds expectations and acts as a springboard for Ian to use to generate further business).
After only nine months working together, great progress has been made with increased visitors giving positive views of the course improvements. The GUW has bestowed its approval by naming the club to host the 2009 Welsh Amateur Strokeplay Championship and the 2010 Home Internationals.
Huw continues: “[The GUW] is not only saying it approves of the path we are laying down, but this is its vote of confidence in the ability of Ian and I to achieve the required standards. We are both reaping the rewards of each others hard work and the future looks very bright for the members of Ashburnham.”
