Situation
In 2011, prior to Up to Par’s arrival, the club was on the brink of bankruptcy. Through fiscal management and operational efficiencies, we’ve been able to pay down all outstanding accounts and invest back into the club’s infrastructure.
The Client
A private, equity-owned club nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia. Members’ amenities include 18-hole golf course, four tennis courts, short game facility, junior olympic swimming pool, restaurant, and special event spaces including a ballroom that accommodates up to 250 people.
Challenges
When Up to Par arrived on property, here is what we found:
- Accounts Payable – $180,000 – 80%, past 120 days
- Line of Credit – $160,000 Fully extended
- Long-Term Liabilities $2,300,000
- Cash on Hand – $5,000
- Additionally, the golf course had lost the greens 3 out of the last 4 years
Once we established the club’s financial position, a meeting with the board and membership was held to establish the Long Term Strategic Plan. The board established the Four Pillars of Sucess for the club – our guiding goals:
- Live within our Means – Do not borrow/Reduce Debt
- Establish and maintain a quality golf course
- Establish and maintain Enjoyable Member experiences
- Create a unified management team dedicated to the success of the club
Solutions
DEBT REDUCTION
We implemented a debt reduction plan that closed the gaps between accounts payable and accounts receivable in order to make the club sustainable. When a club is struggling, that means local vendors – who in most cases are also members, are not able to make money which means dues are going unpaid. It’s a vicious cycle in which the whole community suffers. By renegotiating debts, we were able to put money back into the community and our members were able to get caught up with dues.
TEAMWORK
To welcome members back to the club, we re-structured the labor hours and operational schedule to maximize our payroll dollars while serving our members. By pulling all the existing associates together as a team, we were able to find major savings through hard work and going the extra mile. A good example of this is how every team member pulled together to tackle the clean-up from the 2012 Derecho which resulted in over 500 trees on the golf course. By doing the majority of the work in-house, we were able to save the club over $200k.
MARKETING
Implemented new marketing strategies for the club focused on the five pillars of country club messaging: location/atmosphere/lifestyle, amenities, promotions/events, candid, and sales.
Additionally, we refreshed the club’s brand, modernized the website, and developed solid group sales and membership drives to attract extra revenue.
Results
Thanks to the hard work of our associates and continuous member support, the club is now profitable and we’ve been able to invest back into the facility a total of $490,000 funded through operations. Here are a few highlights:
wine cooler, stump removal, rebuilding of the dam, cart paths, TVs for clubhouse, irrigation towers, AC unit for kitchen, fertilizer spreader, beer cooler, debris cleanup, kids play room, AC / heating unit clubhouse, clubhouse roof, gutters, new fire suppression system, ice machine, pool furniture, coping joint at the pool, pool filters, irrigation pump replacement, bridges, pool expansion joint, new china, new short game complex, new rough unit, new roof on pool house, repaint pool house, resurface all fours tennis courts, new a/c units in banquet area, painted inside banquet rooms, repainted baby pool