497: Renovations, Committees, & A Great Caddie Program w/ Brian Tulk

Welcome To Private Club Radio

Denny Corby 0:00

Welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, the show where you get the scoop on life inside private golf and country clubs. I'm your host, Danny Corby, and each episode is a real conversation with club leaders, the pros, the people and partners who help clubs thrive. We talk leadership, culture, food and beverage, member experiences, member engagement, marketing, governance, and so much more. If you want practical ideas, better teams in a club experience, members actually feel and talk about. You are in the right place now. Welcome to the show.

Meet Brian Tulk And His Path

Denny Corby 0:31

In this episode, I am chatting with my friend Brian Tulk, And as I'm recording this, I'm realizing he and I have been friends for almost 10 years. That's crazy. and we always kept in touch, always stayed friends, and I always liked his story, just former club caddie to GM. Just in it, all in just on golf, PGA pro, and, and I like that how passionate he is for the caddying program and just knows how important that can be, not just for the club, but also just for kids and just people in general. It's just, it, it, it's, it's such a small and important part of the overall experience that we give to the members. So he and I were catching up, and he was telling me everything he's got cooking, and I was mentioning that I also was performing at the Evans Scholar Invitational, and then that's just how he started telling me more about how much he, uh, cares for and does for the caddying program. So not only is this episode do we talk about the renovations and all of that stuff that he's doing, but also what's, what's a good caddie program, the significance of a good, successful caddying program and what that means for the club, what that means for the community. And just general tips for how to maybe enhance your current caddying program. And if you don't have a great young caddying program, how to get that started. Great conversation, great episode And real quick before we get to the episode, you know what's coming.

Shameless Plugs And Upcoming Events

Denny Corby 2:04

#shamelessplugs. There's two, both on the same site. If you go to DennyCorby.com, you have, of course, the Denny Corby Experience. If you are looking for one of the most fun member event nights you can have, you have the Denny Corby Experience. There's excitement, there's mystery. Also, there's magic, mind-reading, and comedy, a ton of laughs, gasps, and holy craps, over 350-plus clubs. To great success. If you wanna learn more, head on over to DennyCorby.com. And while you're there, you can also see a tab for Management in Motion, and this is my day-and-a-half club manager experience. It's hosted by me, Denny Corby, at the Monticello Motor Club in New York, limited to 50 people. We have club managers coming from all over the country for this day-and-a-half event. We're halfway sold out. It's where I take adrenaline and leadership and bring it together. We spend the day doing high-speed laps, drifting, drag racing, Auto-X, having so much fun in BMWs M2s, 3s, and 4s. And in between all of this, I have relevant ed-education led by y-you and your peers. So these aren't professional speakers. It's other GMs talking about how they use their own motions in leadership. It's amazing. This year we have Ed Rhoden from Bretton Woods ta- and how he brings cycling and scuba diving, how he brings that to his leadership and to his club, and how he just runs his amazing club and culture there. And also, we have Alfredo Hildebrandt from Lakewood Country Club in Ohio coming. He loves his extreme sports, cycling, Ironmans, swimming, running and the significant of motion and action in his life. And I have a couple other surprises I'm working on, but if you wanna learn more, that is also on DennyCorby.com. If you have any questions about anything, wanna set up a call, just let me know. Fill out the form on the site. Enough about those, though. Let's

Renovation Phases And Course Changes

Denny Corby 3:58

get to the episode. "Private Club Radio" listeners, let's welcome to the show Brian Tulk.

4:03

So the renovation We've just started the first we have a lot to do yet. We have the first phase of, we call it, it was WIC 1.0. That was our cart barn, and the, um, some pool upgrades. WIC 2.0, which we had to go to the membership with, uh, an assessment vote, which passed 75%, with 75% of the members voting, so that was positive. And then we have the bunker project starting, uh, this summer actually. We are doing the, uh, fairway bunkers. We had already done our green side bunkers, but we're putting the be- better Billy bunker system in, um, the, the existing fairway bunkers along with some design changes. We lost about 200 old oak trees, large trees on the golf course, so we have to do some rerouting of a couple of holes. And not rerouting really, but just kinda changing, uh, the, the, the way you play certain holes because the trees are no longer there. If you're standing out there now, you're looking at a fairway going a certain direction, you'll... If it was the first time playing, you would scratch your head going, "Why in the world is it going there?" Well, that's because it was lined with trees- Yeah um, you know, prior to the to- tornado. So just trying to- Yeah you know, uh, make it a little bit more, uh, you know, logical on the, on the layout. And then we start the irrigation project hopefully this fall. Um, we haven't got a confirmation yet, but the latest is that we're gonna start this fall and finish in the spring. And by this time next year we should be completely done with, uh, with all the renovations. Fingers crossed Fingers crossed, yes. So- What's, what's, what's the biggest stressor? I would say, uh, right now it's just the, the coordination of, you know, the, the uncertainty of not knowing exactly, you know, when everything's gonna come together. We're still waiting for the, the irrigation timeline, um But yeah, I think most of the stress is behind us. A lot of the, the design and the, you know, permitting and, and all the planning, you know- Yeah to bring it to the membership. You know, you have to do all these things in advance, you know, to have a good package to deliver to the membership to get them to, to vote. And then of course now, you know, we have to maintain, you know, all that planning and, and the, the pricing of course is gonna fluctuate, uh, you know, I'm sure, um- So much you know, by the time we get this done. So we've got a contingency built into our budget, but we're hoping, you know, that'll, that'll be enough and it, it should be. The club's in a, a good, a good financial position. Yeah, but anything just unexpected and all that stuff is still just annoying and frustrating and just like a pain in the butt. Like whether you have it or not, it doesn't matter. It's just like, it's still just annoying. Like Well, you know, the, the club is full. Like I guess always on our, our back burner, you know, is, is the, you know, if there was a, a big economic issue or something where we, we had a, a mass exodus of membership. Of course, you know, every club always has that kind of on the, on the back of their mind where... But outside of that I think we're in a pretty good spot,

Board Buy-In And Assessment Planning

7:00

so. So when, when you started doing all those things, what's the first domino? Like what's the first step to doing it all? You know, that all starts in the boardroom. as you, you realize the projects that need to be done. Of course, we had a lot of deferred maintenance, um, and deferred projects for, for decades that was never done and should have been addressed probably a long time ago. Um, but the, you know, the club wasn't always in the position it was in, though. You know, like a lot of clubs are- Yeah are, are all doing these things now because they're all, you know, in, in, in a much better position than they were, say, 10 years ago. it, it, the planning starts in the boardroom and, and there's a lot of buy-in. You know, you've gotta get your board all, you know, on the same page. Um, and I've been very fortunate to have a, a great board to work with. and then we broke that into committees for the different projects to kinda carry some of that burden, you know, and bring it back to the board and eventually, you know, get it- When- work, work- When committees are actually useful. No, sorry. Well- That's the, that's the name of the episode. I'm kidding. You know- I'm kidding I've always been a big advocate of, of committees, um, especially at a member-owned club. You know, I've worked at some privately owned clubs like where you and I first met, uh, 10 years ago. But, um, you know, committees really were just, um, you know, making recommendations. At that point they really didn't have a whole lot of, uh, skin in the game, you know, so to speak. So, um, like you would at a, a, a regular, you know, member-owned facility or club- Yeah like we've got now. So, um, and, you know, it's, it's important I think to reach all corners of the membership and to get Without it, you know, you've, you've got to get, um, that approval, you know, to, to move forward with a, a, a, you know, $10 million assessment like we had. It's important to have everybody on board. Yeah.

Transparency With Members Under Pressure

8:41

When, when, when did you start communicating, and, and how transparent are Like, like, okay, so, like, what, what is your communication style with, like, you, the membership, the club, the board? And you ha- you probably have to walk that line too with- without unintentionally, like, over-promising. 'Cause, like, you're 'Cause everyone's probably excited, right? It's a big, "We got this. We got this." You probably have to, like, make sure you keep, like, a level-headed expectation of, like, what's coming, how it's gonna happen, the process of everything. Like, "Hey, there's gonna be some disruptions." Like, but there, there has to be that, like, line of But also, like, "Hey, you know, we're all gonna get through it," but let's not, let's not overpromise either. Um, and then how do you kinda, you know, when do you start communicating, like, all of the stuff? That, that, that's a great question. So transparency is huge, and we made sure that we were keeping everybody informed. But a lot of the planning takes place behind the scenes and, and I think some people probably were surprised that all of a sudden there's an assessment. But, um, you know, that's why it's important to make sure when you present to, to, to the members that it's packaged with a, with a, a nice little bow, um, that's easy to understand and, and makes sense on why these things need to be done. And, and of course, you know, we had our meeting and several people were questioning why this or why that, or why don't we do it this way or do it that way, and, we were ready for those answers. So that's We're ready for those questions. Um, so that's, you know, just part of the, the process. There you are gonna have, you know, you've got f- we have 452 member families. Everyone's gonna have an opinion on something, right? And- Yeah it's, uh, it's important to keep that, that feedback, open line of communication. Um, you know, everybody knows that certain things need to get done, but I think any time you see that the actual number, you know, it sometimes can be a little, little shocking to some. in, in our case, we're not doing a total course renovation that's gonna shut- Yeah anything down. So, you know, hole by hole, um, you know, there'll be some, some bunkers closed and, and some- Yeah heavy machinery in, in certain areas, but for the most part I think it'll be, it'll, it'll be a pretty easy process. Um, members are excited, which is, which is the main thing, you know? Yeah.

Training Staff For Member Feedback

10:55

Do you, do you prepare staff for Like, how do I I don't wanna sound, like, negative, but, like, there's gonna be people and probably members who complain about things. Like, do you prepare staff, like, for situations and interactions like that? Like, "Hey, probably better to say things like this instead of like that," or Well, yeah. So, you know, as we went in Over the winter we're having our planning meetings with the staff, and we had brought, recently brought some new staff members in. And, um, I had said to, to the staff, you know, going, been, been through this before on, on a couple of different projects with different clubs, that everything's gonna make a difference now to the members, you know? Now they're, now they got skin in the game. They're paying an assessment. Things they may not have even thought of being an issue before all of a sudden is an issue, the other thing we found out is that nobody ever complains to the, the right people, you know? So we got our team together. You know, someone gets a bad steak, they're telling the golf pro about it. Or, you know, or somebody gets a- Mm has a bad experience on the golf course, they're gonna tell the bartender, you know? So, um, we make sure that we have that open line of communication behind the scenes with the staff to get that information, you know, to the right channel so they can address those things. It's, uh, the way of the private club, you know? It's The locker room attendant hears more feedback than anybody, right? So, um, we try to make sure we're tuned in behind the scenes. But we, we did kind of prep everybody for, you know, everything is under the radar now, uh, more than it was before. And, we're raising the bar. And then I think it's a good thing, you know, for the overall, the longevity of the club. Keeps our staff on their toes.

Keeping The Experience Strong Mid-Project

12:25

You've had a wonderful career. Um, just, you know, coming from caddy and just hustle and bustle and taking different experiences, different positions, different things, moving all the way up to GM. What You know, and you've experienced different projects, different things. When it comes to, like, this project coming up, how do you maintain a great experience while parts of the area and the club are disrupted? We try to keep everything, um, behind the scenes. You know, we were doing a renovation, so, you know, at other facilities, um, you know, trying to do it when the, when the facility is, is closed. You know, we're gonna have our shutdown period, um, in January of every year, and that's when it's all gonna get knocked out. So we're, we're getting everything lined up, you know, to make sure that when the members come back, you know, for Valentine's Day dinner, it's ready to go. Um- Is, is that, like, deadline? Yes and no. You know, we're- Unofficial not gonna be totally done by that time, but we wanna make sure our, our new restrooms are ready and that issue temporarily where there won't be any restrooms to use while we're, you know, rebuilding some of that, so. Yeah. Um, you know, it's- It's always a challenge, where right now we're, we're gonna have heavy equipment parked in our parking lot for, for the next several months, you know, and we're gonna have piles of sand, you know, for top dressing, and we're gonna have, you know, a lot of, uh, m- materials around that people aren't gonna wanna see, But we al- it's just part of the, part of the package, and I think, you know, being able to let them know, you know, we do a monthly newsletter, um, we have a lot of communication and then get it out to everybody that what the expectation is and, um, hopefully, you know, they're understanding and not gonna, you know, worry too much about it. Are there any parts of the renovation that people, like, usually mis- misunderstand? I would say y- y- not until, you know Nothing's an issue until it's an issue, right? So it's, um- you do your best to try to, try to maintain, um, the schedule. But, you know, I, I think s- you know, w- we're here, we're booking weddings and events, a year out, right? We've gotta make sure that we don't have any disruptions to those events coming up. Um, so we've, we've got a block on h- when the club's gonna be available, you know, and when we have to shut it down to get the work done. So it's- Yeah that's probably gonna be the biggest frustration, if there's any, any deadline changes or any, any- Right schedule changes. we did our first project, dining pavilion, way ahead of schedule. We were able to, you know, pour concrete, get the steel work done last fall before the winter storms came and, and, and the, and the cold weather. So we, we're able to open up this spring with a, a nice, bright, shiny, new facility for, for the members to enjoy, and I think that helps, you know- Yeah get, keep, keep the process going, so. There's, like, treats along the way. Right. Absolutely. You know, you've got When we decided this- No, it's- what we're gonna do first, you know, a lot of the golfers are like, "Well, that's not a priority." "Let's get the bunkers done." It's like, well, you know, everybody's We wanna give them a space everyone can use, and you know, the feedback's been tremendous. Everyone really enjoys the, the new, the new dining pavilion. I'll have to send you a picture of it. It came out great. Yeah.

The Dining Pavilion Win And Lessons

15:39

What was, uh What was that project like? How long did that take, soup to nuts, s- start to finish? We were able to start demolition right after, um, Thanksgiving. I'm sorry, right after Halloween. That's We had a big Halloween party. We were able to start demoing the patio, closed it down, and then by, uh, right after Thanksgiving we were, we were pouring concrete and, uh, you know, getting the steel work up. And the rest- Yeah of it was k- you know, whenever we had nice days to, to get every- all the carpentry and, and things like that, electrical, plumbing. So what we're, uh We were able to stay on schedule. Nice. And then, uh, what does that look like out, out there? I, I can't remember. Did you guys do, like, the, uh, doors, or no? Is it, like, just straight, like, outdoor area? It's completely outdoors. Okay. Um, it's a, it's a covered pavilion with a, with a bar, uh, seating for about 150 people. Yeah, I wasn't sure if you put in those, like retractable doors or not, so it was kinda, like, indoor, outdoor. We've got a, uh, retrofit concept to where we can, we can do some accordion style- Yeah or similar to, like, a closet door sort of, sort of thing. Uh, telescoping doors. Yep. So we're, uh We did not include that in the original plan, but we've got it set if we decide to move forward with that in, in another, another phase. Wick, Wick 3.0. So, um- Podcast episode f- 33 years from now. Put- Yeah. Well, yeah 8- Yeah 185.2. Like, just I, I think, uh, you know, we should be good. A- after all this, we'll, we'll be, uh, right where we need to be. After all these years of being in the club space, seeing all the projects, being a part of projects- You, you learn things a- along the way, I would assume. So when you start a brand new project- Mm-hmm something happens, something comes up. Is there anything that you just, like, automatically think, say, or do? Like, a, so meaning like, okay, it's like, okay, brand new project. Is there one thing that, like, is, has become, like, your thing over the years? Meaning, is it, you know, what are you most concerned about? Like, what's, like, your first thought, first step when you are t- tasked with, like, "Okay, project time." What are you, like, step one doing? I mean, you're immediately going into, you know, the financial discussion- Yeah right out of the gate, you know, and starting to figure out exactly what this is gonna look like, how long is it gonna take. Um, those are probably the two biggest factors. You know, b- do, especially with the seasonality of our business of when you can get these things done. We've got a pretty small window in the summertime of, of access to the club, and we try to be very careful with hav- having to close down any part of the facility. Um- Yeah but I, you know, we, we also have that time in the winter where, you know, a lot of our members are snowbirds and they, they disappear for, for six months. So, um, we can, you know, do those things w- without disrupting that, that timeline. But, um, th- you know, going back to, to your question though, the finances, um, are big. You know, you, you'll st- like I mentioned earlier, you'll start with a, a budget for something that could be two or three years out, and having to maintain that, those numbers, you know, all the way through. So it's one of the biggest challenges definitely.

Advice For Young Caddies That Lasts

18:59

what advice do you have to any, uh, young caddies? 'Cause that- that's where you came up. Uh, did you, did you know you were gonna be a GM? Like, was GM path in, in little Brian's- Well, I, I've- uh, you know- You know when I, when I caddied- vision I was at Joliet Country Club. I was a caddie there, uh, not far from where I'm at now. Um, and oddly there's members on my board that I caddied with as a kid, so it's, it's just an interesting- No way connection. Yeah. Um. So we meet again. Yeah. Good thing we weren't meeting each other. It's been very This whole thing's been a, a nice long- You never know. Always gotta be nice to the people- That's right everyone rung on the ladder. You never know. But, you know, even when I was caddying, uh, there, you know, there was a course renovation, so you kinda see it, you know? And then the Then I went, when I went away to school, um, even before that I opened Cinder Ridge down in, uh, Coal City, Illinois, and we had, uh, an owner that bought a reclaimed or, or bought an old, the old coal mining land, strip mines, and turned that into a, a awesome golf course. Just played it last week actually. Um, and now he's doing even more work, you know, 30 years later. But then in college, you know, you're, you're in a, the same thing. We had a, uh, a g- a golf course architect came in, uh, same architect that actually did the Joliet Country Club plan s- a decade earlier, um, coincidentally did another renovation there at Western Illinois University. So these things have kind of always been right in front of me. Um, and then of course we go down to, uh, Kankakee, Lincolnshire Fields, you know, they all did renovations. Um, so, you know, you gain more and more experience as you go. Um, y- and one thing I, I tell our, all of our caddies now is you've got to anticipate what's coming next, you know? Just like you're on the golf course and you, you n- you need to know, uh, exactly what that golfer's gonna need before he even knows it, you know? So, um, that's probably the best advice I can, I can give to the caddies outside of just being nice. Be friendly, 'cause you never know when you're gonna, um, run into to, to them again, you know, 30 years down the road. So, um- We're fortunate to have a, a great caddy program at Prestwick, uh, with, with over 100 caddies and several Evans scholars awarded annually. So we're, we're very proud of that program. How many? Seven? Uh, several. Usually it's just- Several uh, you know, two or three, um- Yeah e- every year, hopefully. That's great. We don't pick them. Obviously, we, we, uh- Yeah we make recommendations and then the, the, you know, Evans Western Golf Association and Evans Scholars Committee picks, picks those. Um, but we, we... It's been great just having those, those caddies come back every year and, and talk to the other caddies on, you know, things that they've experienced and what they need to do to, um, you know, line themselves up to be eligible for those scholarships. Full ride. It's, uh, fantastic. If you're not familiar with the, uh, the caddy scholarships, it's, uh, it's a great program. I am performing at the Evans Scholar Invitational in July. Where is that? Uh, the Glen Club. Nice. Yes, it should be at the Glen Club. That, that's where, uh, the Illinois PGA is currently. It might not be the, like, the official tournament. I think it's, like, some dinner- Yeah you know. We'll probably have... I'm sure we'll have people there. I, I'm gonna have to look into that. Yeah. It's on the 21st, 'cause, 'cause it's like a multi... It's a, it's part of a bigger, a bigger thing. But yeah. I see.

How To Build A Caddie Program

22:31

you've clearly have, you know, been a caddie. You have a good caddie program there. You know, what do... Or m- maybe just from what you've seen, what separates a good caddie program from a non-good caddie program? Or, like, you know, what's, what are things that you've seen that maybe people do wrong? You know, wherever you wanna riff with it. Well, you know, members need to be on board, and we have huge support. Um, we have an annual donation all of our members make To the Evans Scholar Foundation, you know, to make sure that that relationship is strong. Um, you know, and members actually participate in the training. We have several caddie training days, and the members are out there walking with the kids, explaining, you know And a lot of th- lot of them are caddies themselves. Um, so at the end of the day, you've got a golf cart and you've got a caddie option, you know. Um, and in some cases, the, the golf cart might be a little bit cheaper than taking a caddie. But I think, you know, if you've got your members involved, um, and willing to, uh, support the program is, is the only way it's gonna work. Um, but we've got, uh, you know, 100 kids in our program. Wow. W- Have you, have you worked at any clubs that had maybe a I don't, I don't, I don't wanna dog anybody, but like, you know, not maybe like a s- but maybe a, a not as high functioning, um, caddie program. And like how do you, how, how do you get a membership in? Like, how do you get more buy-in when maybe there's really nothing there or you're just starting? How do you get the juice I don't know why I made that face, but how do you get a little- Yeah little juice going? You know, in the, in the old days when I was caddying, you know, there was not nearly as much training technology, you know, GPS, you know, rangefinders, all those things. You didn't have that then. You had- You had to know- You had rulers and abacuses and I mean, you knew where the You know, I knew how many s- paces it was from the honeysuckle bush, which was the 150 marker to the creek, and the creek to the green. And, um- Stop it th- that's the only way. And the courses weren't, wasn't even, didn't even have yardage, you know. And, and j- just like, you know, the original golf courses didn't have any, any real yardage, um, plates like you see out there now or the, um, you know, the kids are all shooting rangefinders and, you know- This is like gut instinct. This is like- Right feel. This is like, yeah. It is. Absolutely. Um, but there was very little training, you know, as I recall. You know, there was some, but most of it you learned by just going out and doing it and, uh, figuring it out on your own. Yeah. Or sometimes at the expense of the golfer, you know. It, it was, uh I can give you several, several scenarios, but, um, you know, you learned as you went. Yeah. For sure. So how do you, how do you revamp or how do you get like a little program, like how do you reinvigorate the membership to kinda get them on, on board? I, I It's a different world, you know, than it was back then. But, um, we, we've got, um- Just great support from the membership, and they have relationships with the kids. And some of the members' kids are, are caddies. We allow the members' kids to be caddies, so- Oh, that's cool um, we've got a handful of them that are, that are out there as well. And, um, you know, they all have to take a test and, and, uh, you know, the expectation from the golfers is, is pretty high, you know? And we want the kids to be as educated and knowledgeable about the golf course and golf course etiquette, you know, as much as they can before they, you know, get out there and carry the bag. We do a lot of fore caddies, you know, where they're taking, uh, a runner along with them instead of having, you know, carry the bag or carry doubles, um, like we had to do. But, um- The, uh, members are, are, are, are on board, you know? And, and they, they all love to see, see the kids doing well, you know? Mm-hmm. So I think we had The amount of members that showed up even to the caddy meeting just to be there was, was pretty remarkable, um, these last two seasons that I've been at Prestwick. And our golf professional and, and his staff obviously do a great job. We have a great golf committee. Um, we have a, a champions fund, you know, that also helps, um, direct, you know, some of the activity with the training, and it's, it's just all around a great program. But, um, you know, when you, when you need to get a, a caddy program going it, it's You got The members have to want it. You know, we actually have a, uh, a couple of requirements that if you've got over two guests you have to take caddies, you know, just for pace of play purposes and- Yeah you know, it's, it's everyone's gotta be Everyone's gotta buy in, you know, across the board. No matter what everybody- Yeah has to have a caddy. You're like, "Okay, if you show up by yourself you have to have a caddy." It's like- No, no, no "If you have a golf cart, also need a caddy." Yeah. "If you bring three people you don't need a caddy, but if the three..." It's like it's no matter what you have a- Well, it's, it's not- I'm busted. I'm busted. Quite that, quite that much. But, um, you know, we do have, uh, have some rules around it. And then partially we wanna make sure the kids are getting out, you know? And, and ma- Yeah and getting paid. If they, you know, they don't get out, eventually you're, you're they're gonna find other sources of, uh, of employment. But, um, and, and most of our kids are They're college kids or high school kids, you know, so they're, um, they're working weekends and, uh, you know, this isn't a full-time gig for them. Yeah. Yeah.

Where Private Clubs Go Next

27:49

You've been, uh, you've been in this industry quite a while. What does, uh, what's the next chapter of private clubs look like, uh, to you? Where do you think the, where do you think the industry's headed? You know, for the first time ever since COVID, we've been in the driver's seat and have had-- in, in my experience, and I, I, I could speak for, for a lot of my, uh, my friends in the business too that, you know, you were kind of at the mercy of your golfers or of your members and, you know, just so-- it's such a competitive market, you know, in golf. There's, there's a million golf courses that people can play, right? So you wanna make sure that, uh, you're giving everybody the best experience. But for the first time, because of, you know, some of the parameters that were put in place, um, and now that we're full again, you know, we, we were able to really get the, the best handle I think on the, on the industry that we've ever had. Right now it's, it's strong. You know, there's, um, a lot of young golfers getting back into the game and, you know, we just started a, a legacy-- restarted a legacy program, uh, for our members' kids, you know, to make sure that, uh, the assessment they're paying is-- You know, some, some were saying, "Well, you know, what, what am I getting out of this?" And I said, "Well, you have an opportunity for your, your, your kids to join and at a, at a, a discounted rate, um, you know, as they fall off your membership at age 23, and they can come in and, and be members of the club." And we've got a, a great program that the dues they pay over time goes towards the initiation fee when they do decide to join. So it gives them that incentive to come in quickly. But I, I, I think the industry's pretty strong, you know, outside of any, um- Yeah you know, economic issues. You know, right now we're looking at like all the robotic mowers, you know, and, and all that is, uh, you know, kind of a, a crazy thing and, and everybody's doing it, you know. And it's, uh, gonna be the next, the next phases of, uh, you know, picking your driving range and, and, uh, mowing the f- fairways and, and even the greens and, and rough. I know a couple courses by us are, are, are starting to get into that as we are too. So that's-- it's interesting to see all these things changing. And the technology is, you know, um, incredible. You know, when you look at the uh, software that's out there for, um, you know, even top dressing on, you know, down to the, the square foot on how much sand you're putting on each area, and it's got all the thermodynamic, uh, you know, qualities of the software. It's, it's, it's pretty cool. So that, that, that obviously didn't exist a long time ago, but, um, when we first got started in the business. But, you know, I, I think the business is strong. We got a lot of new golfers coming in and, and, uh, and the facilities are able to, I, I think, you know, maintain the type of environment they wanna maintain. Sir, thank you for coming on the show. Appreciate it. Absolutely. All right. It's great to catch up.

Wrap-Up And Website Call To Action

Denny Corby 30:39

Brian, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for sharing and giving some useful information about the caddying program. If you wanna learn more about the Denny Corby experience or Management in Motion, head on over to DennyCorby.com. But for now, that's this episode. Private club radio listeners, I'm your host Denny Corby. Catch y'all on the flippity flip