Meet the manager: West Hove Golf Club’s Gary Salt

The Sussex club’s general manager talks to The Golf Business about the branding exercise the club has undertaken, which includes a new logo.

You’ve been managing golf clubs since the 1990s. Can you take us through your career path?

I started at Rustington Golf Centre in 1998, and really enjoyed my time at this proprietary-owned facility. There was lots of progression and major projects took place during my term such as the creation of a health club, the construction of a large indoor play facility, the increase of the pro shop from 1,000 square feet to 3,000 square feet and many other improvement-based projects.

I moved to West Hove Golf Club in 2010, which is a traditional members’ golf club, so had to learn this side of club management, which I thoroughly enjoy. The club has a rich history, it’s had incredibly hard times, especially when the club had to completely relocate due to the creation of the A27 Shoreham bypass and it’s enjoyed very good times – I am now into my ninth year at West Hove (21 years in golf management) and it sounds incredibly ‘cheesy’, but I really do love the job and am blessed to work with such a great team, they really are in a league of their own. We have great members who are so supportive, proud and who really do care about the club – which you can appreciate knowing the ‘rollercoaster’ journey the club and it’s members have had over the past 30 years or so.

Gary Salt (left) with Eagle’s Phil McInley and the new signage at West Hove GC – including the new logo

Can you describe to our readers what West Hove is like?

West Hove is a very busy members’ club with an almost full seven-day membership – golfers of all ages and abilities are most welcome at our friendly club and the management, club professional and members create a great environment to enjoy, learn and play golf. The club provides for those with disabilities, having easy access to our first-floor restaurant and bar where shower and toilet facilities are also provided.

West Hove GC can now be found off the A27 trunk road at the Hangleton Interchange. The ‘new’ clubhouse and golf course are situated in the midst of the South Downs, in an area of outstanding natural beauty, and from 2010 we have been included within the South Downs National Park.

The 18-hole golf course is laid out over rolling chalk downland and is a challenging par 70. Being in one of the warmest and driest parts of the country, coupled with the chalk terrain, the course is almost always playable.

The superb modern clubhouse caters for wedding receptions, private functions and business seminars. The first class restaurant and bar both have panoramic views over the course.

West Hove has its own very popular 21-bay driving range, the only one in Brighton and Hove, which is open to the public. Tuition from PGA qualified staff is available for individuals or groups every day.

You’ve recently rebranded – why did you think this was necessary?

All businesses have a brand but most don’t have a brand strategy. I felt that although we communicated well across most platforms, our style looked disjointed and we were giving out mixed messages.

For example our signage is typical of many golf clubs – different decision makers have ordered cheap looking signs over the years – therefore it was time to upgrade.

It is not about just buying a product, if we want to create better impressions, we needed a design service.

How was the process handled?

I turned to Eagle who provide an ‘Identity Upgrade’ service as well as high quality collateral products. Not something I had done before but Eagle have a lot of experience and backed by their design team, they took the marketing committee and myself through this stage by stage.

At the end of the day we took elements of the old brand and de-cluttered, by eliminating the cross clubs, which are a bit dated, dropped the circle and tweaked the martlets. The main title font was then added and by careful choice of a new colour, supported by a colour palette, we had a modern logo that resembled the old but gave us a much cleaner and more modern look.

How did your committee react to a change of logo?

I was pleasantly surprised by the reaction – when I took them through the brand guidelines they were genuinely impressed as it was obviously a step in the right direction.

Since the professional carries a stock of clothing with logos, how did he react when he learned of the change?

I felt that is was very important to involve our professional, Ryan Fenwick, early on. The last thing I wanted was for him to be holding large stocks of the old logo-style. He works hard with the membership to provide a good service and he was pleased because it gave him a new emphasis to bring in new clothing options using the logo-style and new colours that the ‘Brand Guidelines’ document gave us to follow.

Eagle also offer an embroidery section within the document that interprets the brand for embroidery purposes.

How did you notify members of the change of brand?

I set up a notice board in the lounge that explained some of the process behind what we were doing and everyone really seemed to embrace the new style. Email circulars, Facebook updates and website bulletins helped keep members informed, plus I operate an ‘open’ door policy so anyone could call in and give me their feedback.

A rebrand affects all platforms of communications – do you anticipate any issues here?

Not really – we can’t change everything at once due to expenditure. As there is a similarity to the old style we will renew items when required.

Within a year I would have thought most collateral will be aligned and looking much smarter. What has surprised me is what a huge difference it can make – having a strategy that everyone buys into.

West Hove seems to be a particularly well marketed facility. What do you do to attract potential new members?

One of the first things we have done is to have a new entrance sign manufactured.

Our entrance is off a busy roundabout and we now have a large – reflective – new sign that must create a huge number of quality impressions from all those that pass by.

This project with Eagle fitted in seamlessly with our marketing committee and the marketing strategy that had the approval of the board. Tee plaques are being manufactured now, so we look forward to receiving those in due course.

How is the club marketing for more green fee visitors?

We are very digitally driven, so the multimedia platforms provide us with great engagement tools plus we always focus on repeat and referral driven business.

West Hove is a popular location for weddings and functions. How did this come about, how do you market to this non-golfing demographic and what returns do you receive?

As with most clubs, we needed solid supplementary income streams to ‘soften’ the seasonality in the business / club. We have a fantastic clubhouse – very attractive, and wedding, private parties, functions, wakes and other gatherings seemed an obvious area to explore.

We have a truly brilliant catering manager working alongside an equally talented events manager, both are now vastly experienced and what they do is backed up by a well-stocked, well run and recently re-fitted bar.

Our traditional marketing is focused on the conveniently placed roundabout at the bottom of our entrance, we have recently run successful digital campaigns and  several years ago, as a club, we decided to provide regular Sunday lunches to members and non-members on a prior reservation basis – these Sunday lunches have great support, the food and beverage is excellent and this weekly event is the perfect ‘shop window’ to display the facility and showcase what we do, needless to say we get lots of referrals and enquiries via this area.

What is the club’s approach to customer service?

Customer service is everything, especially these days with mobile devices and multimedia! As I previously stated, repeat business and referrals are key to our operations. We really do focus on making people feel welcome and providing the services and facilities for members and non-members so they relax and enjoy themselves. Treat people as you would like to be treated yourself.