Meet the general manager: Glenn Rayner

From Bedfordshire Golf Club, Rayner details the investments the club has made in the last two years, driven by the surge in participation, such as into a swing studio, changing rooms, dining facilities, course machinery and bunkers, the club’s governance structure and how it has run county teaching sessions for girls.

Can you tell us a bit about Bedfordshire Golf Club?

Bedfordshire Golf Club was established in 1891 but moved to our current freehold site in 2000. We are situated just west of Bedford in Stagsden. We are a members’ club with an 18-hole championship course, nine-hole academy short course, 23-bay floodlit driving range, short game area, swing studio and large retail shop. In our clubhouse, we have a first-floor bar and terrace with views across the Bedfordshire countryside, a dining room with its own terrace and a function suite for up to 120 guests.

The club has 600 full members and over 200 academy short course members. Both our courses are maintained to very high standards and our Academy Course is great for the experienced golfers’ short game, but also for new and aspiring golfers.

In terms of membership and visitor numbers, what changes have you seen since the pandemic started?

Our membership is full, with a waiting list of nearly 200. We have seen a tremendous uptake in golf and demand from new members and visitors over the last two years, probably one of the only positive things to come out of Covid! Our nine-hole academy short course, driving range and retail have seen excellent growth, aided by the many new golfers coming through. The revenues from our Academy Course and driving range on top of our usual membership income have enabled us to reinvest heavily in the last few years.

What does the club do to get more girls playing golf?

Bedfordshire County Golf put together a targeted girls academy for our county that we ran over six sessions on Sundays offering lessons with our team of pros on the range, short game area and short course. We had over 20 girls each session with a high return rate every week. The key factor I took from this was that the girls really enjoyed making new friends as much as the golf. Indeed, I have a daughter who is 12 and I want to get her playing, but it’s about bringing girls together to enjoy the game.

We have been part of Girls Golf Rocks which is a great initiative. We have also hosted The Rookie Schools event recently with over 30 juniors from local schools with a high proportion of girls playing.

The real success of our junior section has been the commitment of our junior organiser, Jason Mowe, who has done a fantastic job.

A new swing studio has opened at the club, can you tell us about that?

We decided to invest into a new Swing Studio and worked with Creative Interior Contracts on the construction and Golf Swing Systems on the fit out. The main reason was for club fitting our brands of Ping, Titleist and Callaway, but we can also carry out putter fitting. The take-up even before we have marketed the studio has been fantastic and we have seen great club sales since the new studio has opened.

You’ve recently opened a new changing room, how much did you invest in this and what does it now offer that the previous one didn’t?

We have totally renovated both our men’s and ladies’ changing rooms and toilets. The old showers and toilets were not of the right standard for our club and needed significantly upgrading. Creative Interior Contracts were local to our club and they did an excellent job.

We were very fortunate that we have two board members – one who has built and designed hotels around the world and another who ran his own building company renovating listed buildings – who put together the space plan and designs and worked with Creative Interior Contracts throughout the project. The outcome has been stunning and came in at just under £400,000.

Ridgeway Lockers were our locker provider and did a fantastic job.

What else has the club been investing in?

The club’s focus over the last few years has been to improve the overall member and guest experience. With stunning views over the Bedfordshire countryside we decided to extend our first floor terrace with new furniture and a six metre parasol. We are open to non-members and these improvements have resulted in greater number of visitors eating and drinking.

We have also spent a considerable sum on new machinery with Toro and purchased four new pieces of equipment, including a new fairway mower, greens mower, semi rough mower and Workman.

New rubber crumb paths by Redlynch on many holes have really improved the experience and appearance of our course. We have also worked with Fineturf to deliver major improvements to our 15th hole and John Greasley on our recent bunker project reshaping and rubber crumbing the bunkers on three holes.

We are now focusing on the future with plans to build a reservoir and make significant improvements to our greens’ maintenance facility.

What’s the model for the club’s governance?

We have a management board of eight who are responsible for the club’s strategy and finances and a general committee who focus more on the golf and social side.

Having a separate board to the general committee focused on strategy and finance has meant they have been decisive in reinvesting the club’s surpluses wisely into upgrading our golf course and clubhouse. I would encourage other private members’ clubs to adopt a separate board away from the day-to-day discussions around dress code for example.

Keeping the two separate really also keeps meetings focused and timely.

You’ve been managing golf clubs since the 1990s. Can you take us through your own history? How do you think the industry has changed since you started out?

I originally worked in restaurants for Whitbread and Marriott before moving to golf. From here, I moved to The Club Company and this culminated in me running The Warwickshire Golf & Country Club for nine years with at the time over 5,000 members across the health club and golf courses. In September 2016 we opened a four-star 56 bedroom hotel. I have been at Bedfordshire Golf Club for two years now and have really enjoyed my time at the club. What I enjoy the most is knowing that any surplus funds are reinvested in the club for the benefit of both members and visitors.

I’ve played golf since I was 12 starting as a junior at Knebworth. The biggest pleasure I get is being at a  club that is for the beginner and experienced golfer alike. I see first-hand every day how this game positively affects so many peoples’ lives and keeps them fit.

The key challenge over the last few years and especially since Covid, has been staff recruitment. Like many clubs and hospitality businesses, we have been busier, but finding the right people to fill key positions has been a challenge. It’s only recently that we have recruited for all our positions and have a wonderful team who really care about looking after our members and guests.

I also really enjoy dealing with our members who have been extremely patient through all the works.

What are your predictions for the industry for the next few years?

I believe golf will continue to do well as so many new to golf have enjoyed its benefits. I have seen from our driving range and short course that there is a real demand from new people who have taken up golf and it’s great to see so many women who have started playing and now moving through to full membership. The rising costs will be a challenge for many clubs but clubs that continue to invest in their core product, the golf course and experience, will continue to prosper.