Season 1 Almost Completed – Time for an Impact

Well as we are bringing this year’s Season to a close in the coming month I am in the process of planning our winter maintenance. LOL never thought I would get to say that……. having been used to 365 days a year this is a welcomed change.

Season 1 was a huge difference from me coming in at the tail end of the last one. As large as this property is and the current fleet age of many of the pieces of equipment has offered a rather large challenge. We have however gone from an operation that is 100% reactive to I would say this season 50/50. I believe if you are running an exceptional operation this number should be around 90/10 (90% being proactive). This all comes with time. I spent the first complete season here working to get the equipment operational, systems in place, and trying to understand how we function so the changes that are made can be effective over the long term. In doing this I believe the major thing you have to get on your side is “buy-in”. What I mean by that is that you need to have the members, staff, managers, owners, etc witness the changes that are being made and embrace them. It’s also understanding that it’s not just about the Capital dollars to make rapid change happen it’s also about the changes you make having a lasting effect and providing some financial benefits along the way. The great thing about the Four Seasons Resort has been that despite the many challenges that today’s economy offers in the uncertain times, they have responded and continue to respond to the needs and processes we are implementing. While this doesn’t always happen as quickly as we might like, it happening is better than most facilities around the country.

I believe in any facility you move to the most important factor is how willing the Director of Agronomy and staff are to the changes you want to make as well as the relationship you build with these individuals throughout the process. I have been very fortunate to have the support of our Club Manager, Director of Golf, Director of Agronomy and many others to help make some positive changes. While we all wish we could flip a switch and everything happen the reality is that change takes time. Our team is commited to making progress in every area of our operation and recent membership survey’s tell us that we are not the only ones witnessing the improvements.

As we begin preparing to start our winter maintenance program this is where we get to dive into all the equipment and get it ready for next season and in reality for us we are getting it ready for the Byron Nelson Championship that really gets us started as we come out of winter. While last year a lot of our practices were focused on new equipment and repairing we spent really very little time on the facility itself. This winter we are working on plans to try and have our floor and walls repainted, reorganizing some areas and really trying to make a drastic impact on the feel of the operation. I have always felt that if you walked into a place and you were scared to touch anything for fear of getting grease on you then we are not keeping a clean house. I expect that if a member came to our facility that they would be “wow’ed”. I would expect people walking out of our facility to wonder what work actually happens from our facility to keep it that clean. I believe that a since of pride spreads to the staff when this is the case and that they want to come to work and want to do their part.  While we are still working on the plan I hope to be posting some pictures of changes throughout the winter. 

(Pictured Below: Ritz-Carlton Painted Floor)

The reality of it all is that change isn’t easy on anyone. It’s not easy for the person trying to implement it, it’s not easy for the staff to always understand the vision, it’s not easy to explain funding that is needed, and it’s not easy to get people on board. However once you break through the walls and people begin to see the light there’s no better place to be than on the otherside of a changed operation.