In my “Board Dynamics/Model Clubs” seminar, I ask for a volunteer board member with a golf handicap of 20 or higher to raise their hand. I then select this volunteer as my “golf student,” and I make the following wager to the rest of the board members.
“I will bet anyone in this room one hundred dollars (and I toss my money clip with at least that amount to another board member to verify and hold) that I can have Joe, my golf student volunteer, my 20 handicapper, hitting to the pin on the 18th hole from 75 yards, with more accuracy than
Rory Mcllroy. Any of you in this room can take Rory by wagering your hundred dollars against my golfer, Joe, and we will take Rory and Joe out to the 18th hole at the same time.”
Typically, I will have at least one board member who will gladly take the opportunity to bet on the legendary Rory against my high handicapper, Joe.
After I have secured the board member who accepts the wager, I tell him the “rest of the story.” I am going to take Joe, my high handicapper, along with a bucket of range balls, out to the 18th hole to make sure that he can physically hit the golf ball onto the green from 75 yards. Then I am going
to take your guy, Rory McIlroy, and I am going to blindfold him and spin him around a few dozen times. Then I ask, “Do you still want the bet?”
“Of course not,” will be the typical response. And I agree with you withdrawing from such an unreasonable bet. After all, how do you expect someone to hit a target they can’t see?
But I have an even better question for you. How do you expect your club general manager to hit targets they don’t even have? How do you expect your club department managers to achieve goals they don’t know about? And most importantly, how do you expect to lead this club as board members if you don’t know what direction your club is taking?
If you don’t have a mission statement and clearly defined supporting goals for your club board, you will be like a blindfolded, dizzy Rory McIlroy, popping off balls in any direction and hoping that some of them might come close to the target. “Model clubs” have taken the time to develop a meaningful mission statement that continues to be a guiding light for successive boards.
Let me share with you a couple of club experiences that underline my premise that mission statements and supporting goals form the foundation for true success in model clubs.
While meeting with a recent search committee, a committee member who had also served as a past club president was adamant about the importance of the club’s mission statement. He was emphatic that prospective club general manager candidates should understand how important the club directors
viewed the mission statement and supporting goals.
This club has enjoyed great success in a competitive environment in its Southern California market. The club president would credit the mission statement and supporting goals for the club’s ongoing success.
The second story I want to tell you is about a small club that had financial problems and was ready to sell the course to a home developer. Then the club discovered the power of the mission statement and supporting goals.
After the club formed an ad hoc committee to craft a mission statement, it proclaimed the new statement to the entire membership and published a list of supporting goals. Each club committee developed its own set of supporting goals, which fed into the club’s mission statement.
The net result of this goal-oriented planning was a complete financial turnaround. Within one year, the crisis was over, and within two years, the club was on solid footing, with nearly full membership. Today, the club enjoys a waiting list for new members and a new clubhouse that is the envy of every club in the city.
The model clubs that set themselves apart in the private club world are the clubs that have clearly defined their mission statement and supporting goals. For the board, committees and the management team. They will thrive regardless of the challenges the economy or competition may present, and they will achieve the goals they have defined in a carefully crafted plan.
If your club develops an appropriate mission statement and supporting goals, you will also enjoy the success of the model clubs. This much I know for sure.
THE BOARDROOM MAGAZINE – July/August 2025
“This Much I Know for Sure” is a regular feature in BoardRoom magazine beginning Fall 2022. Dick will share some of his reflections based on his 50-plus years of working in the private club business.