Jack Frances is the new ‘Golf Operations Supervisor’ at Hadley Wood Golf Club – and he is relishing the change in career direction that the role offers.
Frances spent just over three years as the head PGA Professional at North Middlesex Golf Club before moving to fresh pastures at the start of February.
He has swapped a pro shop for an office environment, taking on a diverse remit that includes delivering golf society days, liaising with Hadley Wood’s green-keeping team and playing a part in outreach projects that seek to promote the golf club in the wider community.
Frances, 30, said: “It’s very, very different and I’m really enjoying it. I’ve done the assistant’s role, I’ve done the head professional’s role. And with how golf is now, you’ve got to have a lot more on your CV to progress further in your career, rather than just trying to do one thing, like teaching, being a business or custom fitting or any other aspect of golf. So I thought it was a bit more of a different career path that I wanted to try for quite a while.”
His interest in life beyond a pro shop was kindled during the early stages of the Covid pandemic. As golf clubs adjusted to the challenges accompanying the pandemic, Frances found himself getting stuck into work that he’d had little or no previous involvement in.
He spent time in the office, learning about the business of golf and then putting his newly-acquired knowledge into practice. Not only did he help with the admin relating to membership renewals, he also contributed to North Middlesex gaining a raft of new golfers.
“It opened my eyes to how much a golf club has got to do to keep themselves alive,” said Frances, reflecting on his initial office experience. “When you are a golf pro, it’s very much retail, shop, repairs, business side of it. But I wanted to know a bit more about the integral parts of a golf club – the day-to-day running of it basically. Through my time at North Middlesex where I was taking on roles left, right and centre, I think I fell into that category into quite easily.”
Learning on the job has been key. But Jack also outlined how that the education provided by the PGA Foundation Degree course has given him a great framework for a career within different elements of the golf industry.
“Through the Foundation Degree you learn a lot,” he said. “It’s good that it’s split into four different sections: sports science, custom fitting, teaching, business. You do tend to find what you like. My favourite part was the business side of it. I think that’s really held me in in good stead going forward in this job.”
The golf operations supervisor role is a new one for Frances – and Hadley Wood. It has been created to work externally, as well as with the club’s existing stakeholders. There’s a marketing aspect to the position and Frances is involved in what he refers to as “community outreach programmes”, connecting with local schools and other sectors of society in the vicinity.
While fulfilling the brief in terms of his new job is taking up much of Frances’ attention, there will still be room this season for his love of competition golf. Often competitive on his outings in the East region, he has recorded pro-am successes in each of the last two years. He’s also been victorious in the Searles Spring Classic and plans to launch his tournament programme at the same event (April 26-27, Hunstanton, King’s Lynn).
“I’m looking forward to playing this year,” he said. “It will be pro-am based. I will be getting stuck into those – and hopefully winning a few more events.”
He’ll certainly have a bit more time available to practise than in the past. After summer Saturdays and Sundays based in the pro shop, Frances’ new role means he’s no longer working at weekends. Yet another upside to life for the golf operations supervisor at Hadley Wood...
