When Heath Streat progressed from a junior member into a PGA Trainee at Southern Golf Club these were not the duties associated with being a PGA Professional.

Three years ago, Heath and Box Hill Golf Club General Manager Russell Donovan reviewed Heath’s current Director of Golf role and expanded it to Director of Golf, Membership and Communication, Streat is proving again that a PGA Professional’s influence knows no bounds.

After an initial closure due to COVID-19, Box Hill has received in excess of 150 membership enquiries in the last three months. With limited capacity on timesheets under previous COVID-19 restrictions and a second closure now in place under stage 4, there are now wait lists for most membership categories.

“The comment that was made in our last match committee meeting was that five years ago we would loved to have had this problem,” explains Streat, who first came to Box Hill from Southern as Director of Golf in 2009.

“In a funny way it reflects well on the club – we’re so popular we’ve had to put you on a waiting list – but we’d much rather have those people who want to join now out on the golf course playing.”

So how did a club in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs with more than a century of history behind it embrace a new way of operating to put it in a position of strength that is the envy of many?

Excellent decision

Membership applications are historically sterile, administrative duties.

Fill in a form, somehow find two seconders within the club’s existing membership and pay the joining fee.

Don’t call us, we’ll call you.

When Box Hill Golf Club’s membership coordinator retired in 2017 Heath Streat saw an opportunity to do things a little differently.

Heath and Russell approached the Board of Directors to absorb the membership coordinator duties into his existing role.

Russell was already considering a similar suggestion, the pair agreeing to an incentive-scheme that would reward Heath not only for converting new enquiries into paying members but maintaining the ones that the club already possessed.

“One of the really big KPIs built into our agreement is member retention,” Heath says.

“It’s not simply a matter of me saying that we achieved 120 new members.

“In the year just passed, our attrition rate for sub renewals was 5.8 per cent, which is really low.

“That is because every quarter I run a report.”

Accessing data through Microsoft Excel formulas is a far cry from changing grips or fitting clubs yet it has been crucial in Heath regularly hitting his membership targets.

“I work on 24 rounds of golf a year being the break-even point in terms of value for a lot of people,” he explains.

“Anyone playing less than that pro-rata each time I run the report receives an e-mail saying that we have noticed they haven’t been playing as much and whether they are happy with their time at the golf club. Phone calls are also made.

“The feedback that we get is that they really appreciate the fact that we’ve noticed that they haven’t been there and touch base to make sure that they’re OK.

“Accessing that information means that we know exactly who is under-utilising their membership and we therefore put them in an at-risk category. Otherwise you’re guessing.

“I’ve got data that tells me that they have played only four times in the past three months and we need to touch base.”

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Saturday’s should be for golf! 10 greens have been cored and the rest will be done next week. The course will be looking amazing when we get back to golf #golfphotos #golfcourses #golf #boxhillgolfclub #boxhillgolf

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Member benefits

By bringing new members directly through the front door of the pro shop, Heath and the rest of the Box Hill Golf Club staff establish mutually beneficial relationships from the opening conversation.

Heath and the pro shop staff speak the language of golf that gives prospective members the information base that they crave when making such a decision and builds a level of trust that they have immediate access to expert advice.

Coaching opportunities, equipment offers and otherwise unknown member benefits are all outlined before they have spent a dollar.

“I had one guy tell me that he joined the club because I gave him a beer,” says Heath.

“I have no doubt it was more than that, that was merely the icing on the cake.

“This club welcomed me in, bought me a beer and made me feel comfortable. That’s what I want from a golf club.

“Perception is everything. Yes we are a private golf club – we have standards, we have everything that goes with that – but we would like you to join us and experience it.

“We have a public bistro that was doing 1,000 meals a week prior to coronavirus. We let them know as a member they can bring the family down and even if the bistro is booked out, they can ask for a table on the members’ side, which they wouldn’t have been aware of.

“We’re not too strict on the parameters around having a potential member play golf.

“If they are of good ability or have a GolfLink number we do try to have that trial round on a comp day where I ask a member to host them for the day. Give them a feel of the culture of the place, what the membership type is like, buy the group a round of drinks after the round.

“That brings them into the clubhouse to get a feel of the place and the culture but also makes them feel welcome.”

Communicating through COVID

There’s a third element to Heath’s role at Box Hill that has taken on extra significance since the COVID-19 pandemic caused serious disruptions to operations at Victorian golf clubs in particular.

Immediately following the initial forced closures of clubs the Box Hill Board of Directors rang each member individually to inform of them of the impacts and then Heath provided weekly updates and pieces of content to keep the membership engaged.

He leaned on friends such as former PGA TOUR players Scott Gardiner and James Nitties to provide video tips as well as renowned mental performance coach Jamie Glazier.

There were regular updates on the construction of the new 16th tee and other course works, all designed to keep members connected to the club even when they couldn’t be there physically.

“Every time I asked someone to do a video for me, it started with ‘Hey Box Hill members’. It was a personalised message to our membership from someone with a certain status within the game,” adds Heath.

“Golf movies to watch, golf books to read, heaps of stuff where it was far more interactive than simply reading a PDF.

“We rebuilt the 16th tee during lockdown and sent through photos to members of that progress over the weeks.

“They saw that while they were still paying their fees but unable to play golf, when they return the greens will be pure because we cored them straight away.

“With all of the work that was being undertaken they could see that they were receiving value from their membership even though they couldn’t access the club.”

And for those still intimidated by data, columns, cells and constant questions from members, Heath has no doubt that no one is better positioned to facilitate new membership enquiries than a PGA Professional.

“The job description has changed,” says Heath.

“I have had a couple of people ask me about what I do. Some have said that it’s not the pro’s job but there are a lot of things that we do now that traditionally was not the head professional’s job. “Russell and I agree, all staff need to be flexible and should aim to constantly improve their knowledge base. Golf shop staff are the face of every golf club; membership satisfaction starts with us!

“We found that when it was an administrative role we would hand out the membership pack and tell people to come and see us if you want to join.

“Now it is documented and followed up.

“I’ve got a spreadsheet of some 300-400 people over the last few years that I’ve had contact with, documenting what date that we had a chat, what we spoke about, what I offered and I go through that list touching base every few months or so.

“A number of the members we have picked up post-lockdown came from that list.

“Member retention and acquisition is the responsibility of everyone who works at Box Hill Golf Club but having the pro shop as a first point of contact allows us to create a first impression that is welcoming and to be able to guide them into the category that best suits their needs.”