“I am relishing the increased responsibility”

The head golf professional at Halifax West End Golf Club, Darren Arber, discusses how his workload is changing since he achieved a director of golf qualification, teaching the game to children, marketing via YouTube and how TGI Golf has helped him in his career.

How has your business adapted to the golf industry’s changes since the start of this decade?

A motto I learned from a past captain who was a very close friend was ‘If you are standing still you are going backward,’ and this has helped me improve and reinvent myself over time.
I think Covid changed the landscape and you had to adapt and change to the environment you found yourself in.

I never sold online, but I do now have a small shop which allows me to cast my net slightly wider than before.

My lesson diary is online which helps people to book lessons without having to ring up. My staff can book them in with confidence and at the end of each lesson my diary is on my phone to book in any follow up lessons.

What daily challenges do you face in running a pro shop and teaching?

Every day is different, and you face different challenges, but time management is really crucial – you don’t seem to have enough hours in the day at the height of summer.

I have a great team at the club with lots of experience and without their help it would make life a lot more difficult. I tend to have a planned working schedule that is put together months in advance, which helps you have a more structured work pattern and is flexible to adapt to the changing nature of the role.

Having completed my director of golf qualification in 2020, my role within the running of the club has changed and the responsibilities have increased dramatically. Squeezing these additional roles on top of the responsibilities I already had as head professional can be problematic, but having a great team to delegate tasks to allows me to meet these daily challenges.

Despite this I am relishing this increased role and responsibility as I feel it will be beneficial for future career development.

There is a constant flow of new golf products – how do you manage your stock to serve the needs of your members and visitors?

I tend to stock a maximum of three hardware brands and three clothing lines and keeping track of buying trends has helped. I do this by analysing the reports in my EPOS system to keep an eye on stock turns and poor selling products. This has helped us merchandise the shop to bring these more to the forefront.

Marketing is key, and when there is a product launch or slow selling products, I like using all the media I have at my disposal. I like to make sure I have a full plan in place to promote products at key times, and making sure I have a hot spot in the shop which changes depending on the weather.

How do you manage your day?

I am old school when it comes to this and we have a paper ‘Things To Do’ list, which is accessed by all my staff. When I am not there it allows me to get them to concentrate on the tasks that are most important and I find it quite satisfying crossing things off.

You are only as good as your staff and I encourage them to have an input in the list to show the jobs that need to be done the following day when AN Other member of staff may be working.

What are you doing to support junior golf and introduce kids to the sport?

Junior golf is very close to my heart as I was the junior organiser in the early years of my role as assistant and we were very successful in attracting young golfers to the game.

Throughout the year I have weekly coaching sessions using the Junior Golf Passport, as well as having golf camps during the school holidays.

I have created a link with a local school where I have gone in and delivered golf as part of their learning to 180 children – some of whom have never played golf before. I have also developed a girls-only group during the past 12 months.

I think to date this year I have introduced over 40 children to golf through lessons at the club.

Are you trying to attract more women to golf?

Simple answer yes, as with most ladies’ sections it is a struggle with a declining membership and Halifax West End was no different.

I recognised this and went about delivering group lessons to beginner ladies. I then suggested to the club to create a ‘New To Golf’ membership and through this we recruited a number of new members.

Developing on the first year, I put together a ‘Pathway to Golf’ programme, which had eight members. From this, the club recruited eight new members and it has developed further this year with two groups and four new lady members joining the club.

The golf club has been awarded the Women in Golf charter early this year, which I was instrumental in putting together

Do you have any programmes in place such as academy membership to make it easier to introduce beginners to the game?

We have the ‘Pathway Membership’ for ladies, which is £399 in year one – within that you have six one-to-one lessons included and it is followed by half price membership in year two.

We have found that this works well because when joining a club there is a steep learning curve and you might not really get full value in the first couple of years when taking into account playing in competitions, team matches and so on.

We also offer free junior membership for all juniors who have a relative that is already a member of the club.

This has been a massive benefit in attracting young golfers who come up with their mum, dad, grandma or grandad to play a few holes or do some putting. Both my children are on the course access membership, which has allowed them to use the club to practice, play and see it as a place to come. By being a member, it is their club, which creates an association.

A lot of PGA pros are having to be a step ahead of their competitors in their offerings and technology – what additional added value services do you provide?

Like most PGA professionals, I offer custom fitting using a launch monitor, but over the past few seasons I have invested more time and money in providing a more comprehensive putting lesson, which has resulted in an increase in bookings.

But I think the most dramatic service I now offer is YouTube. I set up a channel during November 2020 as a way to bring golf instruction to my members during lockdown and it has just blossomed from there.

I didn’t think I would really carry it on after things got back to normal, but I have really enjoyed the experience and post weekly videos.

I have more than 150 videos online, with more than 1,600 subscribers.

The reach of YouTube has really blown my mind with over 80 percent of my views taking place outside the UK.

Has TGI Golf been of benefit to you as a PGA professional?

Without question, the fact that we have a team who work hard to create the best terms for us as a group, the facilities that are offered, such as the newsletter, have transformed how I contact my members and customers.

Due to the workload, it can feel very isolating and it is pleasing to feel that you have someone who you can contact to bounce ideas off of. If things are just not quite right, you have that support.

The yearly business conference I have found extremely beneficial, to keep learning as well as speaking to fellow TGI professionals

What year did you turn professional and what have been your career highlights, both playing and employment?

I turned professional in 2000, after having an enjoyable amateur career, playing in union golf and playing in a few English events, but not winning anything of note.

When I turned professional, I played in everything I could and the highlight to date would be playing in the PGA Welsh Open on two occasions.

The highlight on an employment front was becoming the head professional at Halifax West End Golf Club, where I started my golf as a 14-year-old boy.