Since his appointment in 2017, Chris Reeve has overseen significant changes at The Belfry, including its return as a major tournament venue, particularly as the long-term host of the British Masters. A large-scale redevelopment of the hotel and leisure facilities is nearing completion, with the refreshed resort set to be unveiled in late 2025.
Home to three 18-hole courses, including the Brabazon, and a vast retail area with custom-fitting facilities, The Belfry remains one of the UK’s busiest and most successful golf resorts. They also employ an array of PGA Members in a variety of roles across the resort.
Here, Reeve talks about the skills he and his team look for when recruiting, the roles of PGA-qualified staff at The Belfry, the value of PGA Excel and the evolution of skills and specialisations within the industry.
Tell us about your role and how you spend your time
My role here is Director of Golf and Leisure. Anything to do with golf that doesn’t grow basically. I also look after the leisure club and the gym.
A typical day involves looking at business strategies, ensuring we’ve got the right profitability, the operational teams, we’ve got all the tools they need to do their jobs properly, and making sure that we keep on top of our game.
When I think back on my career to date, I’m really proud of myself. I came to do my PGA training at The Belfry and also did my yearly residentials here. I never would have thought I’d be back one day as Director of Golf and Leisure.
I am super-excited to try and get the new Belfry development under my belt. It’s a really amazing thing to be part of. There are lots of challenges ahead, I’m sure, but we’ll get through them. I’ve got a great team around me.
Describe the setup at The Belfry. What roles are there for PGA Members?
We’ve got a diverse array of roles with PGA Pros in. All the way from our golf sales team, to golf operations, our golf shop, teaching pros and fitters – there are lots of different roles that we have PGA Pros in, and it works really well for us.
There are two elements to our retail. One is obviously the shop, and while we do have clubs in there, that’s not where we sell the vast majority of them, that is over in fittings. But we can’t not have it - the brands want us to showcase their products and so we’ve got a really big golf shop.
Then separately to the shop, we’ve obviously got four great fitting studios over at the Golf Academy where we fit for hardware.
What works really well for us is the strength of our brand that we can put onto a lot of clothing. We get people who want to buy souvenirs and the team work really hard to make sure we’ve got the right offering in the right space. When you switch over to the Golf Academy where you’re spending quite big chunks of money on golf equipment, we want to make sure that it’s right for you. It makes a huge difference to your golf game if you’ve got the right kit and we want to make sure we deliver that. The guys do really well, and the support that we get from the brands is unbelievable.
The role of a PGA Pro is diversifying massively. How have you seen the role evolve?
Going back to when I started, there was an image of a club pro who ran the shop and did some teaching. That still exists, don’t get me wrong, but I think there are a lot of PGA Pros now who are specialising, whether that’s in teaching or fitting or business or retail. There are lots of different ways that people are specialising now, rather than doing a bit of everything.
What is your perspective on continuous learning?
It’s super-important. We’ve got some really great programmes that we do internally at The Belfry. Obviously, you’ve got CPD with The PGA Pros here, making sure that everyone’s got the ability to keep progressing or specialising in what they want to do. And if you want to branch out, we still have training available for that. Going into specialisms of fitting, using our friends at the brands, is a key part. Training is key.
How important would you say PGA Excel is when recruiting PGA Members?
For me, really important, especially when we recruit for the specialist roles. It means we’re getting a quality of candidate rather than, if we go into some of the broader spectrums, getting quantity of candidate. We know that if a candidate is going down the PGA Excel route, we’re going to get someone who is interested in that aspect of the game and can demonstrate impact and achievement in that area. And it is key for us to do that. We find it is a great way to differentiate candidates.
To read more about the importance of PGA Excel, click here.
We’ve seen the evolution of the PGA Pro and the diversification into managerial roles. What qualities does the PGA Pro need to be able to succeed in those senior roles like yours at big resorts around the country?
There’s definitely been a transition to PGA Pros taking on more senior management roles. I think what sets those PGA Pros apart is having a really in-depth understanding of the game of golf and how things work. Because there are other candidates that may have great managerial experience but don’t necessarily have the understanding of golf, and that’s the harder bit to learn. Golf pros have a full understanding, and they’ve got business knowledge and they offer commitment. That’s what sets them apart.
What are the benefits of hiring so many different PGA Members?
There are lots of benefits. I think the main benefit is we want to make sure that people give the right experience. We know we’ve got really good facilities here, and PGA Pros have got a love of the game and are real people people. They need to make sure they look after the guests that come. There is no point in having great facilities and then terrible service.
In terms of the attributes that you’re looking for, what’s at the forefront of your mind?
I’m looking for what makes them different. I don’t want everyone to be the same. I want them to be people people, service people. They’re definitely the sort of attributes that I’m looking for when you come here. Our job is to look after people. You want guests to come here and have a great time, and that means you need to look after them.
How does the PGA training programme ensure that the right people are in the right job?
Take golf operations as an example - if you’re a PGA Pro and you have an understanding of the day, you’re going to know what a good golf day looks like, what a good golf stay looks like, and so they’ll be able to move around and enhance experiences because they’ve got a knowledge of the game.
To read more about how the golf industry is evolving for PGA Professionals, click here.
