Nominees unveiled ahead of 59club’s European Service Excellence Awards ceremony

The very best individuals, teams and venues in golf unveiled for 59club’s 10^th Annual Awards Ceremony, celebrating excellence across sales, service, operations, retail and management, with some of the highest-profile and best-loved venues in the running for a golf industry ‘Oscar’.

The glittering affair, hosted by BBC’s Dan Walker will be staged at Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, 12^th & 13^th March 2020, and will see the leading figures from the world of golf come together to honor individuals, teams and venues across Europe for their industry-leading performance throughout 2019.

The accolades are determined by scores collected from 59clubs impartial mystery shopping team, who evaluate the experience afforded to visiting golfers and prospective members in accordance with 59club’s objective benchmarking criteria.

Each venue is judged on its performance in the following areas: sales, service, operations, retail, golf course,food & beverage and management. 59club continues to reflect the very best performances, regardless of  a venue’s size, scale or profile and as has been the case in recent years, five of the main titles will be further segmented, creating two categories for nominees, based on an average green fee rates; of either above or below £75 per person.

Leading the stakes is none other than the host venue itself, as Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, are nominated across 8 award titles which sees; Justine Friedrich nominated for her Individual Group Golf Sales Performance, Simon Howell nominated for Retail Manager of the Year, Rob Rowson for Greenkeeper of the Year, and Fraser Liston for Golf Manager of the Year as well as three further nominations within Golf Sales & Golf Operation Team categories.

Foxhills Club & Resort is nominated 7 times, with The Belfry Resort, Rockliffe Hall and Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club each up for 6 awards, with the four-time Ryder Cup venue returning to defend their title ‘Ultimate Golf Resort’, after claiming one of the highest prized accolades of the evening last year in St Andrews.

Another Ryder Cup venue, this time Celtic Manor Resort, are in contention for 4 awards, which sees Jim McKenzie MBE in the running for Greenkeeper of the year, and Brian Duncan nominated for Golf Manager of the Year. Hannah Howells is nominated for her Individual Leisure Membership Sales Performance, and Celtic Manor’s Leisure team up for Membership Sales Team of the year.

In contention for Golf Group of the year are previous winners Marriott Golf who face stiff competition from Arabella Golf, Almarose Hotels, De Vere Hotels, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts and Foxhills Collection.

Looking ahead to a glittering evening, Simon Wordsworth, 59club CEO and a Fellow of the PGA, said: “This is the 10^th year of our awards, a milestone for 59club which signifies 10 years of data, 10 years of passion & dedication and countless successes for our venues who work tirelessly to perfect their customer experiences. Over the past 12 months, our clients have again demonstrated their incredible commitment to achieving the golf industry’s highest service standards. Each year the bar gets higher and higher, with individuals, teams, managers and groups all battling it out to claim top spot, and what better way to recognise our greatest achievers, than with an evening to remember at The Forest of Arden. We can’t wait to get the celebrations underway”.

Other European venues to receive multiple award nominations include; Barnham Broom, Belton Woods, Club de Golf Alcanada, Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, Herons Reach, Ladybank Golf Club, La Manga Club, Monte Rei, Stirling Golf Club, Stoke Park, St Pierre Marriott Hotel & Country Club, The Grove, The Mere, The Vale Resort and Tudor Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club.

With; Ashburnham Golf Club, Branston Golf & Country Club, Breadsall Priory Marriott Hotel & Country Club, Cranleigh Golf & Country Club, Deeside Golf Club, De Vere Wokefield Park, Dunbar Golf Club, Gleneagles, Goring & Streatley Golf Club, Haggs Castle, Langland Bay Golf Club, Long Ashton Golf Club, Longniddry Golf Club, Macdonald Linden Hall Golf & Country Club, Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa, Old Thorns, Pennard Golf Club, Royal Automobile Club, The Dukes, St Andrews and Thorpeness Hotel & Resort, each all nominated.

The night’s proceedings will also see 59club bestow accolades upon venues for their commitment to engage, analyse and enrich their member and guest experience, utilising a collateral of survey tools across the my59 software platform.

15 venues will be recognised within this category, including: Aldenham Golf & Country Club, Branston Golf and Country Club, Celtic Manor Resort, Cotswold Hills Golf Club, Edgbaston Golf Club, Goring & Streatley Golf Club, Long Ashton Golf Club, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, Moor Park Golf Club, Mount Juliet, North Middlesex Golf Club, Radyr Golf Club, Stoke by Nayland Hotel Golf & Spa, The Scandinavian and The Vale Resort. These venues will all compete to win an Ultimate Service Excellence accolade.

The award ceremony – sponsored by; 3DIFS, CGI Insurance, Club Car, Golf Genius, Golfbreaks.com, Gunners Cocktails, Kennet Leasing, Tacit and Toro – will also see 59club’s Industry Benchmark, its Gold, Silver and Bronze Flag Awards presented to golf resorts and private member clubs which have demonstrated distinction against broad criteria for both customer service delivery and the quality of their facilities.

59club is the world’s leading customer service & sales analysts and training provider and is set upon raising the service standards of the leisure industry to new highs through the gathering of primary data and implementation of strategic solutions. 59club’s ultimate objective is to transform the revenue performance of its clients by enhancing their approach to customer service and sales. By understanding where strengths and weaknesses lie (information provided via raw consumer data) 59club can help venues implement lasting change to the benefit of their members, guests, staff and revenue.

For more information visit www.59club.com 

59CLUB ‘SERVICE EXCELLENCE’ EUROPEAN AWARD NOMINATIONS (in alphabetical order):

Leading Individual Group Golf Sales Performance: Ben Stokes (Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa), Daniel Leigh (Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club), Justine Friedrich (Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club), Kathryn Collier (Barnham Broom), Rachel Palmer (Tudor Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club) and Sylvia Norris (De Vere Wokefield Park)

Golf Sales Team of the Year: Barnham Broom, Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, Herons Reach Golf Resort, Macdonald Linden Hall Golf & Country Club, Tudor Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club and Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club

Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year: Foxhills Club & Resort, Rockliffe Hall, Stoke Park, St Pierre Marriott Hotel & Country Club, The Mere and Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club

Leading Individual Golf Membership Sales Performance: Ashley Freeman (Rockliffe Hall), Chris Dowrick (Foxhills Club & Resort), Phil Stickler (St Pierre Marriott Hotel & Country Club), Richard Bowman (Herons Reach Golf Resort), Sophie Whitmore (Foxhills Club & Resort) and Steven Webster (Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club)

Leisure Membership Sales Team of the Year: Branston Golf & Country Club, Celtic Manor Resort, Old Thorns, Stoke Park, The Mere and The Vale Resort

Leading Individual Leisure Membership Sales Performance: Alice Cox-Cooper (The Mere), Hannah Howells (Celtic Manor Resort), Louise Ringham (The Vale Resort), Michelle Bees (The Vale Resort) and Ursula McMillan (Cranleigh Golf & Country Club) 

Golf Operations Team of the Year – Over £75 green fee: Forest of Arden (Arden Course), Foxhills Club & Resort, La Manga Club, Monte Rei, The Belfry Hotel & Resort and The Grove

Golf Operations Team of the Year – Under £75 green fee: Belton Woods, Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club (Aylesford Course), Rockliffe Hall, Tudor Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club and Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club

Golf Retail Manager of the Year – Over £75 green fee: Jacky Montgomery (Dunbar Golf Club), Jesús Moreno (La Manga Club), Kristoff Both (Club de Golf Alcanada), Sean Graham (Foxhills Club & Resort), Simon Howell (Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club) and Tom Hughes (The Belfry Hotel & Resort)

Golf Retail Manager of the Year – Under £75 green fee: Campbell Elliott (Haggs Castle), Christine Langford (Thorpeness Hotel & Resort), Jonathan Clewett (Langland Bay Golf Club), Jonny Dye (Rockliffe Hall), Kenny Monaghan (Stirling Golf Club), and Matt Bradley (Belton Woods)

Food & Beverage Manager of the Year – Over £75 green fee: Bernat Llobera (Son Muntaner), Gloria Cortés (La Manga Club), Jacques Hobson (The Belfry Hotel & Resort), Marianna Maraviglia (The Grove), Matthew Penman (The Dukes, St Andrews) and Rui Silvestre (Monte Rei)

Food & Beverage Manager of the Year – Under £75 green fee: Caroline Lees (Ladybank Golf Club), Caroline Taylor (Pennard Golf Club), Glenn McNaughton (Long Ashton Golf Club), John Rix & Paul Walker (Dunston Hall), Jordan Pails & Alex Maclachlan (Ashburnham Golf Club) and Pamela Dixson (Longniddry Golf Club)

Greenkeeper of the Year – Over £75 green fee:

Angus MacLeod (The Belfry – Brabazon), Borja Azpilicueta (Club de Golf Alcanada), Jamie Wade (The Belfry – PGA National), Jim McKenzie MBE (Celtic Manor Resort – 2010 Course), Rob Rowson (Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club – Arden Course) and Scott Fenwick & Craig Haldane (Gleneagles – Kings course)

Greenkeeper of the Year – Under £75 green fee:

Colin Powrie (Ladybank Golf Club), James Lindsay (Stirling Golf Club), John Smith (Breadsall Priory Marriott Hotel & Country Club), Jon Wyer (Rockliffe Hall), Matt Aplin (Goring & Streatley Golf Club) and Neil McLoughlan (Deeside Golf Club)

Golf Manager of the Year – Over £75 green fee: Brad Gould (The Grove), Brian Duncan (Celtic Manor Resort – 2010 Course), Chris Fitt (Foxhills Club & Resort), Chris Reeve (The Belfry Hotel & Resort), Darren Griffiths (Monte Rei) and Fraser Liston (Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club – Arden Course)

Golf Manager of the Year – Under £75 green fee: Alex Davies (Belton Woods), Fraser Liston (Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club – Aylesford Course), Martyn Stubbings (Rockliffe Hall), Philip Worthington (Royal Automobile Club), Sam Oliver (Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club) and Stephen Hindle (Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club)

Golf Group of the Year: Almarose Hotels, Arabella Golf, De Vere Hotels, Foxhills Collection, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts and Marriott Golf

my59 Service Excellence: Aldenham Golf & Country Club, Branston Golf and Country Club, Celtic Manor Resort, Cotswold Hills Golf Club, Edgbaston Golf Club, Goring & Streatley Golf Club, Long Ashton Golf Club, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, Moor Park Golf Club, Mount Juliet, North Middlesex Golf Club, Radyr Golf Club, Stoke by Nayland Hotel Golf & Spa, The Scandinavian and The Vale Resort.