Golf Club Talk UK

Over seven months on from our first International Round Table episode, Leighton and Eddie revisit with Kevyn Cunningham from Half Moon Bay in Jamaica and John Caven from Oakdale Golf & Country Club in Toronto, Canada. This time they're also joined by Luis Rio, Secretary at Morgado Golf Club in Portugal and David Shepherd of The Scandinavian outside Copenhagen, Denmark. The guys explore how they have got on since May when things were in the early days of COVID-19. What have been the successes and challenges as well as direction for 2021 but they also talk about leadership through a crisis such as this. There's some fascinating stuff in here and we're really lucky to benefit from the panel's experience and knowledge. www.morgadogolfhotel.com www.halfmoon.com www.thescandinavian.dk www.oakdalegolf.com Sponsored by BRS Golf - www.brsgolf.com

Eddie speaks with Matt Adamski ( General Manager ) of Sweetens Cove Golf Club . Sweetens Cove has developed a cult following, a unique nine hole golf course in Tennessee, it's recently been included within the top 100 modern golf courses , also the New York Times mentioned it as " The Little Course That Could " Matt shares the amazing story about Sweetens Cove, as one of the coolest golf experiences, while focusing on quality golf surfaces. https://sweetenscovegolfclub.com/ @SweetensCove Second up, Leighton chats with Bob and Lesley from BRS Golf about their new Membership software. This is now creating a seamless system which integrates perfectly with tee bookings and all other aspects of BRS Golf. Also, welcomed to the show is Fame Tait, Owner and Director of Stanedge Golf Club in Derbyshire. Fame gives a first hand account of how she uses the BRS Golf system to her advantage and how it has completely modernised her administration of memberships www.brsgolf.com www.stanedgegolfclub.co.uk Contact Leighton & Eddie: golfclubtalkuk@gmail.com @golfclubtalkuk Thanks to our show partners - BRS Golf

We welcome back Stuart Finlay, GM of Radyr Golf Club in Cardiff. Stuart first appeared on the show two years ago, not long after starting in his new role as GM, having come from Wales Golf. We look back at what Stuart has done at Radyr as well as the successes, tough times and what's ahead. Stuart is open and honest and it's a fascinating interview form one of the industry's sharp operators. Feel free to get in touch with Stuart at http://www.radyrgolf.co.uk

After Leighton and Eddie catch up to look at what's happening in the industry currently, Eddie sits down with John Cockayne: Specialist Golf Consultant based in Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands. John has extensive experiences within the golf industry and shares his ideas and insights with the developments of the golf business. Leighton then chats with Doug Philip of DPSM Consultants. DPSM are a specialist Golf Recruitment firm and he lends some great advice to anyone in the industry. Doug, a member of Elie Golf Club, also owns Oswald House Hotel in Kirkcaldy, Fife. Within 45 minutes of some of Scotland's best courses, Oswald House provides a warm welcome and is an ideal base for a Golf trip in this area. http://dpsmconsultants.com http://oswald.house

Episode 28 features our new sponsor "BRS Golf". Leighton talks to Bob and Peter from BRS about how COVID has affected rounds played as well as membership but they also talk through some of the great innovation that BRS are producing to help clubs. From membership management to member finance they are building the complete package for golf clubs. Leighton then talks to Torbjorn "Toby" Johanssen, Director of Education with CMAE. CMAE are moving towards more online education platforms and Toby explains. He also touches on such things as Golf in Sweden and Scandinavia. BRS Golf - BRS Golf – Online Golf Tee Time Booking Reservation System Software – BRS Golf – Ireland, UK, England, Scotland, Wales CMAE Europe - https://www.cmaeurope.org/home

A brief in between episode this time with Leighton chatting through his experiences over the last 5 months and the effect that it's had on his club, Cirencester as well as him personally. This is followed by Michelle Baker from the Melanoma Fund who explains the "Slip, Slap, Swing" campaign designed to raise awareness around melanoma and skin cancer. The campaign has many UK Golf Clubs on board. Michelle can be found on Twitter - @melanoma_fund, or on Linkedin - Michelle Baker. The website is Melanoma Fund | Tackling Rising Rates of Melanoma

Golf Club Talk UK welcome Harriet Shephard and Kim Wild who head up, Women and Golf magazine, UKs leading golf magazine for women. The magazine has recently made the transition to purely a digital platform, Harriet and Kim share their vision moving forward and why clubs need to embrace the female community. Visit https://womenandgolf.com/ to check out the magazine. Leighton speaks to Chris Duffy, formerly GM of Huddersfield Golf Club but currently exploring opportunities. Chris and Leighton talk about redundancy, Chris' previous business venture, lessons learned from over 120 Golf resorts around the world, the industry in general and what's ahead for Chris Duffy. Chris can be contacted on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisduffygolf/

Leighton and Eddie have a catch up discussing among other things, the reopening of Clubhouses, Bryson De Chambeau and the European Tour recommencing. On the back of this, Leighton interviews Gavin Robinson, Personal Development Manager of the GCMA. Gavin has been playing a pivotal role in keeping members informed throughout the COVID-19 crisis. He explains how he has done this and talks about some of the challenges that Golf Club employees have faced. Gavin also talks about some of the education offerings through the GCMA. Gavin can be reached via email: gavin@gcma.org.uk

Leighton and Eddie have a general chat on Episode 24. They explore many of the issues that have come out of the COVID-19 crisis. They delve into areas such as what they've both been up to, new members and the spike that clubs have seen here, 9 hole competitions, club culture, tee time bookings at members clubs, innovation and technology and much more. Many opportunities have arisen out of COVID-19 and now is the chance for the industry to seize some of these opportunities for their future benefit. Clubs will no doubt be looking at their business models and is it time to reset?? Please share your ideas, experiences and thoughts with Eddie and Leighton on Twitter @golfclubtalkuk or email golfclubtalkuk@gmail.com

As the pandemic hit, many golf businesses were scaling their preparations for the return. We wanted to talk with golf leaders and gain first hand knowledge what is happening in other countries around the world of golf , and how they view the unexpected problems presented and the effect within their respected golf businesses. Our ambitious plan was to bring everyone to the Golf Club Talk UK table at the same time, it's our pleasure to share with our listeners the thoughts and ideas of our international guests. Welcome to: Richard Sorell : Chief Executive - Golf de Vidauban , France Chris Bentley: Chief Executive - Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Club , South Africa Miguel Franco de Sousa: President - Portuguese Golf Federation Kevyn Cunningham: Director of Golf- Half Moon Golf , Jamaica Marco Aquilino: General Manager -Royal Park Golf Club , Milan, Italy John Caven: Chief Operation Officer - Oakdale Golf & Country Club , Ontario, Canada