It was one of the best clubs I have ever visited and five miles away was one of the worst clubs I have ever visited. With appreciation and thanks to Charles Dickens, one of my favorite authors, I want to engage his syntax to tell you a story of physically similar yet philosophically very contrasting clubs. While Dickens’ genre was fiction the following club tales are factual and true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

It had been over seven years since I worked with Happy Hills Country Club, located in a major mid western city and about five years since I was engaged by Slippery Slope Country Club in the same city only a few miles away. Both clubs have strikingly similar demographics, facilities, initiation fees and dues structures.

Both clubs are managed by capable and experienced general managers, who are supported by equally dedicated and talented department managers. Both clubs are governed by a nine-member board and each elects their club president for a one-year term. But that’s where the similarities end.

Happy Hills Country Club engages at least three of what I describe as “best practices” in the governance and management of their club while Slippery Slope Country Club seems oblivious to the trends and business practices so apparent in successful clubs. There are at least three significant “best practices” which clearly differentiate how these clubs function in the marketplace.

First, the general manager of Happy Hills Country Club is not only active in the Club Management Association of America, but he is currently a director for his local CMAA Chapter and has attained his CCM designation. The board at Happy Hills has encouraged the general manager to participate in CMAA and they have seen the many benefits that his membership in that association has brought to the club.

The general manager at Slippery Slope Country Club, while a member of the Club Management Association of America, seldom participates in the monthly chapter meetings and has not attended a national conference in over seven years. He is not pursuing his CCM designation, even though he has many years of experience in the club business.

The second “best practice” engaged by Happy Hills Country Club is a very thorough new board member orientation. Following the annual meeting and prior to the first board meeting with the newly elected members the general manager schedules a half-day orientation. The three new board members and the current club president meet the general manager at 8:00 a.m. at the club on a day when the club is fully operational. The general manager begins by taking the new board members and the club president on a walking tour of the facilities.

He introduces them to every department manager in the club and allows the managers to explain to the board members how they operate their departments. Board members have an opportunity to see firsthand what is really required to keep every area of club operations functioning on a daily basis.

Following the tour the general manager invites the new board members and club president to have lunch while he reviews the past three months financial statements, board meeting minutes, and also discusses how he will work with each of them and their respective committees.

The new board member orientation at Slippery Slope Country Club is very different. The general manager copies the minutes from the past six months of board meetings and also provides financial statements for the past three months. However, there is little or no additional guidance provided to these new board members.

The third “best practice” engaged by Happy Hills Country Club is an annual “board retreat” day. The general manager and the entire board would typically go to a neighborhood club that would allow them the use of their board room for the day. The agenda allows for a thorough discussion of the strategic issues and is usually led by an outside consultant or facilitator.

The general manager and board at Slippery Slope Country Club don’t believe in the value of this type of seminar or meeting outside of the club. The current board is struggling with some issues internally and is having difficulty keeping some board member conversations confidential following the board meetings. I wonder why.

As I continue to observe these clubs I can almost predict the ultimate outcome. I believe Happy Hills Country Club will continue to thrive and enjoy outstanding management and enlightened governance while Slippery Slope Country Club will muddle through with mediocre management and fractured governance, almost oblivious to how much better their club could function.

This “tale of two clubs” is being played out in almost every city I visit. When private clubs engage “best practices” they can experience the best of times, while clubs that ignore those practices will surely encounter the worst of times. It’s a choice Dickens would understand. This much I know for sure!

THE BOARDROOM MAGAZINE – April 2026

“This Much I Know for Sure” is a regular feature in BoardRoom magazine. Dick shares some of his reflections based on his 50-plus years of working in the private club business.