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PT:
At my company, CCM Golf Management,
we focus on the consulting and management of
high-end, private golf clubs, and city clubs; an
industry which probably contains less than 0.5
percent of the population worldwide.We have
a very small niche position in the market, and
our business is done through word of mouth
rather than through a website. The people we
get referrals from are the Who’s Who of the
CEO world or the ownership world, and we only
have so much capacity.
For example, in Europe, we operate four
exclusive facilities, stretched through four
different countries. Four different cultures, four
different kinds of restrictions, four different lan-
guages, which obviously makes management
a bit more complicated.We also manage three
high-end facilities here in the States that are
the crème de la crème of private clubs.
In a nutshell, CCM management solutions
include financial and HR management, admin-
istration services, association management,
agronomy for the golf course, golf course man-
agement, food and beverage.We operate all
the restaurants, all the retail shops, the golf pro
shops.We also help improve retail sales, and
provide all the development services.
LS:
How would you define a city club?
PT:
The city club, by definition, is a dining
club. For reference: the London Capital Club– a
155-year-old, private member club in the heart
of the London business district.We cater to all
the bankers and anyone who can spend a lot of
corporate money. In fact, I just gave a speech at
the National Golf Foundation a few weeks ago
and my opening line was “I’m not in the Golf
EXECUTIVE VIEW
Club industry” which caused a little bit of an
uproar. I added, “I’m in the entertainment indus-
try, I entertain wealthy people.”
It’s an interesting industry, 50 percent of
members are retired or semi-retired business
owners who know the finer things in life. They
want the best food possible, the nicest $100
shirt, the best golf course, the best golf instruc-
tion, the fantastic tennis program, and amazing
pool area. They want that service delivered
daily, and are willing to pay for it.
LS:
What is the most unusual or unique situa-
tion you’ve worked in?
PT:
The most unique thing we’ve ever done is
got involved in a private club in Florida, which
only had 18 members; hand selected by the
family who owned the club. The property had
a golf course, a hunting lodge, lakes for fishing,
and a private airstrip. Besides those 18 people
and 50 staff members, nobody knew it was even
there. The staff was employed year-round, yet
the owners only came down during spring for a
month, and maybe two weeks in fall.
It was at the level where friendship is more
important than money.Where connections are
waymore important than your bank account.We
observed those 18 members and their families
come in for weekends, or weeks at a time, and
there must have been multi-billion dollar deals
done, but the interesting thing is that they were
all respectful to staff. During our time at that un-
believable facility,we never overheard one con-
versation about business. It’s amazing nowadays
to see any club that’s driven bymoney and ego,