Buckinghamshire club claims golfing ‘Oscar’
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Just 24 hours after Eddie Redmayne claimed an Academy Award in a star-studded ceremony in Hollywood, Stoke Park’s director of golf Stuart Collier was able to celebrate a similar success in the golf service industry’s own ‘Oscars’ … in Birmingham.
For the luxury five-AA Red Star country club, spa and hotel in Stoke Poges was awarded the title of ‘Ultimate Members Club’ at the fifth annual 59Club Service Excellence Awards, held at the Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club.
The event, compered by BBC sports presenter Dan Walker, is designed to reward the top golf venues across all business elements – sales, service, operations, retail and management. And 59Club’s industry benchmark, the Gold and Silver Flag Awards recognise the finest membership clubs and commercial venues.
In total 14 awards were given out, celebrating the achievements of the very best individuals, teams and venues within the golf industry, while another 17 golf venues saw their commitment to continued quality recognised with the award of a prestigious ‘flag’ – with Stoke Park among just four clubs to achieve the required standard to receive a gold flag.
“It’s the fourth year for Stoke Park – it started in year one with an award for the best breakfast in golf I think,” laughed Collier.
“I’ve referred the 59Club system to a lot of people because, being a step out of the operation on a day-to-day basis, it gives you a real chance to understand what your customer is experiencing. We’re blessed with great physical elements at Stoke Park – we have an amazing golf course and a beautiful clubhouse – we know we’ve got the ‘wow!’ factor and expectation comes with that
“But those things are not as welcome as the personal touches, such as the welcome from the starter, the pro asking how your day is going to pan out and making sure you’re comfortable in the surroundings and you know where you’re going … all those little touches are the things that make a difference for a golfer and make you want to come back.”
Simon Wordsworth, chief executive at 59Club and a fellow of the PGA, said: “Our congratulations go out to Stuart and the team at Stoke Park. It’s a great honour for 59Club to be able to host this event which is now a fixture in the industry calendar and very popular with those working in golf.”
