Bruce Gerlander;
Walt Disney World Golf
“We try and hang our hat on the Arnold Palmer style of hospitality, and we want everyone that comes here to feel comfortable, important and appreciated. That was the way Mr Palmer treated everybody. Mr Palmer never met a stranger, and he treated the bellboy the same as the president of the company. He always had time for you and shook everybody’s hand.”
Tony Pennock;
Seckford
“With early signs of dementia, you don’t feel that you have it. You don’t recognise it or at least want to. One of the guys here at Seckford, he wouldn’t come initially. Once he did come, I can’t get him away. He loves it. He’s not under any pressure. We’ve got two or three of them now come, with one more to come in. But they vanished from the club because they felt embarrassed to come. That’s no longer the case.”
Traci Irons Izzo;
Heritage Palms
“I was keen to do something part-time, get out of the house, and make a little money, so I accepted a beverage cart position. But within a couple of weeks, the head professional, and the owner came to me and said, ‘We see something in you. Are you interested in learning this business?’ And I thought, what the hell? Why not? And so, I took the position as food and beverage director.”
Sean Graham;
Foxhills
“We are really excited to transform the par-three into a signature hole. A pond, which currently sits too far away from the green to influence club selection, will be extended to the putting-surface edge to create a more dramatic hole. The size of the green will also be increased to provide room for additional pin locations and a new bunker will be built on the left side of the green to remove the temptation of bailing out.”
Gareth Macklin;
Obbi Golf
“As an operator, I didn’t want to have lots of different systems — I want it all in the same place and under one system. It didn’t need to be complicated — it just needed to be easy to use for the most senior manager down to the operational staff on the floor. The bottom line is, I couldn’t find it anywhere. So, I literally drew this idea up on a whiteboard and some clever people then took that information and built it accordingly.”
Royal Palm;
Morocco
Upon arrival in Marrakech, you are instantly aware of the fact that you are most definitely not in Europe, something British Nationals are now getting more and more accustomed to post Brexit. The culture, the language, the currency. Everything is different to Europe, and that also includes the golf — but in a good way. The courses are nowhere near as busy, and the cost of the golf, nowhere near as expensive either.