Hospitality expert Tony Adams on why the PGA Professional is a key ingredient to a club’s catering service.
Think about the occasions that have mattered in your life; the celebrations, the gatherings, the meals that became memories. I would bet almost every one of them comes back to food and drink in some way or other. Not because the food was the point but because, pardon the pun, it sets the table for everything else.
Now think about the ones that didn't quite land, where the service was slow or the food arrived cold or something just wasn't right. It influences the whole experience.
People won't remember what they ordered, but they will remember how they felt, and that feeling shapes their entire perception of the occasion.
This is why F&B in golf clubs deserves far more attention than it typically gets.
When a member brings guests to the club, whether that's friends, family or business contacts, they're not just showing off the course. The club's hospitality becomes an extension of their own personal hospitality, and when you think about that for a moment, you realise how powerful it is.
A club with wonderful hospitality that members can showcase makes them feel good. It helps them welcome the people they care about in a way that reflects well on them. A club with tired hospitality reflects too, just not in the way anyone wants.
Pictured: F&B Consultant, Tony Adams
I've been in hospitality for over 20 years and one thing is truer today, than ever – the power of simple quality, brilliantly executed. Street food in the UK has taught us this lesson; a small menu, fresh ingredients, cooked with care, no pretension, just honest food done really well. People queue for it, they pay premium prices happily, and they come back again and again.
Do the simple things really well because a small, high-quality, well-executed offering will always beat a big, mediocre one. This isn't about having the biggest menu or the fanciest dining room, it's about quality, about being premium, about creating somewhere special that feels aspirational to visit.
So what can PGA professionals actually do about any of this? And why should a PGA Pro care about F&B?
You’re more important than you might give yourself credit for. You occupy a unique position in the club, with daily contact with members, which means you see who stays after their round and who rushes home, you hear the unfiltered comments in the pro shop, and you notice when the spike bar is quieter than it should be. This viewpoint is invaluable, and General Managers and boards often don't have access to it.
The point being, there’s not just lots of care and pride amongst the pro ranks, there’s hugely valuable perspective too.
“When a member brings guests to the club, they're not just showing off the course. The club's hospitality becomes an extension of their own personal hospitality” - Tony Adams
I’d urge you to champion quality and encourage engagement by using the clubhouse yourself. When you grab a coffee between lessons or eat lunch alongside members, you’re saying, this is a place worth spending time in. Advocate strategically when investment decisions are being made because your voice carries weight, precisely because you see the whole picture.
F&B isn't a cost centre to be minimised, it's an opportunity to differentiate and to show members and their guests what a genuinely hospitable club looks like.
PGA Professionals who understand the power of hospitality, who champion it and model it and advocate for it, strengthen everything else the club does. Golf excellence and hospitality excellence aren't competing priorities, they're two sides of the same coin.
About Tony Adams
For the past 20 years Tony has worked in the hospitality industry, owning restaurants, bars and nightclubs. He is also a county first-team golfer for Kent and he began Hospitality in Golf to help golf clubs simplify operations, improve member experience and grow F&B profits.
