Following a recent gathering at Stirling Business Centre, the Scottish Golf Union and the Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association have once again successfully staged industry-leading education training for Scottish Golf Club Managers within the Management Development Programme.
Back in 2011, the national governing bodies for amateur golf blazed a trail for the rest of Europe to follow after successfully staging the Management Development Programme Level 1 – the first comprehensive course of its kind.
The training programme offers Club Managers and Secretaries the opportunity to build on the skill sets they have brought with them from a previous career, by supplementing these with specific training in each of the core competencies areas of the modern club manager.
The two Club Managers’ Associations of America (CMAA) and Europe (CMAE) placed faith in Scotland to roll out the first-ever approved programme of training courses in Europe, commencing with Level One, targeted in particular at those managers who are either new to the post, recently appointed or simply want to enhance their knowledge.
The Level 2 course builds on the knowledge gained at Level 1 and assists managers on the educational pathway to the internationally recognised CCM (Certified Club Manager) qualification. The curriculum for both training courses is provided by the Club Managers Association of Europe (CMAE) and endorsed by the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA).
The recently-held training week in Stirling saw the award of 17 CMAE diploma certificates (full list of names at the foot and pictured above), helping these individuals cope in the challenging economic times and implement business strategies that guarantee the continued success of their clubs.
The week-long training course focused on core competencies areas such as club governance, accounting and financial management, strategy and leadership, golf (and sports) operations, facilities management and membership and marketing.
In an additional evening education session, the renowned journalist and broadcaster Graham Spiers was in attendance, for an enlightening debate on club membership.
Kevin Fish CCM, Scottish Golf Club Development Officer and Head of the Education Policy Board for the CMAE, said: “It was another hugely successful week at Stirling and congratulations go to all the new diploma holders, adding to the list of ‘trailblazers’ who were awarded their CMAE Diplomas earlier this year.
“Delegates were united in their support of the management training and extremely appreciative of the vision and support demonstrated by Scottish Golf. We look forward to further success with the courses in the near future as we approach our 100th Scottish club to attend the courses.”
Fish added: “Together, we all strive to provide world-class facilities for our customers. Club Secretaries/Managers invariably come into the industry with strong skill-sets and the comprehensive training programme can now supplement those.”
Les Durno, General Manager at Cruden Bay Golf Club, was one of the graduates at Stirling and he heaped praise on the experience. “The Management Training Courses have both been excellent – a real wide range of areas covered, with some first-class presenters,” said Les.
“One of the main benefits has been the ability to mix with likeminded individuals who all know what the job entails and the many problems we encounter daily. We all keep in touch, utilising each other when we come upon new issues or require assistance.”
In order to obtain the new CMAE Diploma qualification a candidate must:
- Attend the Level 1 & Level 2 courses hosted by Scottish Golf at Stirling each year
- Pass the (60-question closed book) test at the end of Level
- Deliver a group presentation of a case study that runs throughout week of Level 2
- Submit a written work based assignment addressing a real life problem in the club industry, highlighting the tools and practices learned on the course and how this helped resolve the problem. This test is marked by the external educational advisors to the CMAE, at Scotland’s RuralCollege (previously ElmwoodCollege).
The next step for club managers is to continue to expand their knowledge and better serve their clubs by attending either the Golf Management course, being piloted in St Andrews from w/c 8 December 2013, or attend the Food & Beverage Management course currently being scheduled for the spring of 2014.
New CMAE diploma holders: Ian Beattie (Dumfries & Galloway); Michael Braidwood (Braemar); David Brodie (Whitekirk); Anthony Caira (Kirkcaldy); Gavin Cook (Prestonfield); Les Durno (Cruden Bay); Iain Evans (SGU); David Gemmell (Aberdour); Scott Grieve (Turnhouse); Lesley MacKenzie (Crieff); Claire Riddell (Royal Dornoch); John Robertson (Torvean); Allan Taylor (Aboyne); Jacqueline Thomson (Sandyhills); Dean Vannet (Peterculter); Lesley Walker (Angus Council); John Young (Gourock)
Find out more information on all Scottish Golf Club Management Training