Grey Oaks Country Club is an exclusive private country club community located in the heart of Naples, Fla. Its 1,200 members enjoy all the amenities resort-style living provides such as exclusive social opportunities, 54 holes of championship golf, a state-of-the-art golf performance center, tennis, casual dining, a 30,000-square-foot world-class wellness center and a host of recreational amenities for residents and nonresidents alike.
South Florida is a club-dense area in the state with the highest concentration of private clubs. The club’s development planning began in the 1980s with the club opening in 1993 with all aspects of the facility complete and ready for members to fully enjoy. This approach to the development and construction of the club ensured that every member enjoyed best-in-class facilities from day one. It also meant that 100 percent of the physical plant aged at the same rate and, subsequently, needed refurbishment, redesign or a complete overhaul simultaneously. As the 20-year mark was approaching, club leaders recognized that Grey Oaks had an ambitious capital project on its hands.
When Jim Butler, CCM, became the general manager in 2001, he and the leadership team switched gears to take a holistic, collaborative approach to management, which led to an evolving business plan that focused on communication and leadership development to enhance both the member experience and the value of membership. As a self-proclaimed data nerd, Butler knew a critical component of this approach was collecting and analyzing data to drive the direction of the club.
What Do the Members Want?
The club conducted—and continues to use—regular member surveys to gauge member wants and needs and quantified all data in a manner that allowed them to prioritize areas to improve. They also heavily weighted the qualitative insights from member comments on satisfaction and expectations and segmented those by demographic. The result was a new business plan that kept current members satisfied while increasing the sale of memberships and maintaining property values.
Butler noted, “Two very specific things have been happening in clubs over the last 15 years: club members are aging and club members are getting younger. The trick is to appeal to both demographics simultaneously and seamlessly. We paid particular attention to that in charting our course, and I think the club satisfies both demographics quite successfully.”
Butler pointed out that the gathering of data and planning a course of action took several years, multiple surveys, 19 separate focus groups and a lot of listening. Leadership should expect resistance, but the key is to build consensus through communication and using the data you have. You will never achieve unanimity—but you can reach a consensus to move forward.
Despite the economic downturn, Grey Oaks moved forward, armed with financial data analysis, peer research and reviews, exhaustive market research, and a committed team who had met weekly for five years. What they embarked upon was quite ambitious: 22 capital projects in 22 months while remaining operational.
What Needs to Be Renovated or Built?
Members enjoy an active lifestyle and the club is dedicated to providing and maintaining exceptional facilities to cater to that. Members enjoy hosting guests to play the club’s three challenging championship golf courses: the Pine, the Palm and the Estuary. Other amenities include an 18-hole putting course, two driving ranges, two practice greens, and a tennis center featuring eight Har-Tru tennis courts. The Grey Oaks golf courses and tennis courts are consistently maintained throughout the year at the highest level in Southwest Florida.
Among the projects undertaken to overhaul the club’s facilities were a renovation of the golf course comfort stations, a remodeling of both the East and Estuary Clubhouse Fitness Centers, and extensive driving range/golf course improvements including renovating bunkers, improving drainage and improving tee boxes.
The social and recreational centerpiece of the club is its 62,000-square-foot main clubhouse that offers a casually elegant setting for fine dining, a full calendar of events, a wine tasting room, men’s and ladies’ card and locker rooms, and a new 30,000-square-foot fitness center featuring state of the art equipment. Within the Estuary neighborhood at Grey Oaks, members also enjoy the added comfort and convenience of the nearly 20,000 square-foot clubhouse at the Estuary golf course. In response to a trend in casual dining, Grey Oaks opened its 300-seat casual venue that was well received—an unexpected 900 members were served on opening night. What’s more, the added dining options have increased F&B by 100 percent.
Current General Manager Michael Stott, CCM, said the data collected by his predecessor and the leadership team pointed to a desire for more casual dining and fitness amenities. These amenities abound at Grey Oaks and if member usage is a good barometer of success, then Grey Oaks has hit the mark.
The club’s updated amenities provide a world-class resort experience including an incredible new lagoon beach entry pool, fire pits, both indoor and outdoor restaurant and bars, a tennis center, and a golf performance center.
Most recently, Grey Oaks’ unveiled a more than 30,000-square-foot wellness masterpiece that includes a 12,000-square-foot fitness area with certified personal trainers and instructors offering more than 60 classes for members of all ages and abilities, physical therapists, massage and spa treatments as well as beautiful locker rooms and community space.
Stott points out that “Grey Oaks has something spectacular for everyone, whether they are a golfer, tennis player, foodie, fitness enthusiast, young family or snow birds. Grey Oaks members have made the commitment of continuous investment in their facilities to enhance enjoyment and remain attractive to new members while remaining debt free. I’d say that we will continue to monitor the trends and needs of members and keep moving forward as necessary.”
Club Trends Winter 2018