“Time management is the biggest challenge”

The club manager and PGA professional at Lightcliffe Golf Club in Yorkshire, Tim Pollard, discusses the challenges involved in carrying out his two roles, introducing juniors to golf and the benefits he gets from being a partner at TGI Golf.

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

The business started a few years ago and focused on coaching. Over the past 19 months we have adapted to running a professional shop including custom fittings, coaching and more recently including a club manager’s role.

More and more PGA professionals are becoming involved with the running of a golf club through manager roles and I think this is very important to the club and the role as a professional.

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

Time management is the biggest challenge, particularly now with the club manager role I have taken on.

I book my diary around the club events and mainly teach or offer custom fittings in the afternoon. I then use my mornings to catch up with all the admin and the club manager tasks.

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 mainly stock two major brands of hardware, clothing and shoes, while letting my customers know that should I not have a certain product or brand in stock I will be able to source through the many relationships I have built in the industry over the years.

Also being a partner of TGI Golf means that I have around 500 other PGA professionals that I can lean on for products through the group’s Swap Shop.

How do you manage your day?

I manage my day through Google Calendar. The diary varies from one day to the next to accommodate customers’ own diaries. I offer a few mornings a week for coaching and fittings matched with afternoons for admin work. Other days will allow for admin to be done in the morning while coaching in the afternoons. I also offer evening sessions so there should be a suitable time for all.

I believe the shop is the club’s community hub – it needs to be a welcoming place for all members and visitors to pass through. Therefore, I believe a high level of customer service is very important, if their experience of coming to the club is a good one, they are more likely to return as a customer for you and the club. Managing the diary the way we do allows us to maximise our service and offerings.

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

Encouraging juniors into the game has always been at the top of my list since turning professional. Having taken up golf at 15 with not much coaching or other juniors to play with, I always found it quite hard to get into the game.

When I started at Lightcliffe Golf Club last year I launched a junior academy and summer camps to try to boost the club’s members, doubling their membership in this age bracket.

This year we held a ‘New to Golf’ junior afternoon which, despite the typical British weather, was well attended. We had more than 30 juniors from the local community come up and give golf a go.

During the session they received some free coaching, played a few games, won prizes and had some food.

This year, I partnered with England Golf for ‘Girls Golf Rocks’ and ‘Get into Golf Rookies’ while maintaining and growing our own junior academy, the Junior Development Squad and the summer camps.

The Junior Development Squad is for those members that have a handicap or just on the borderline of getting one and the coaching is included with their membership.

Are you trying to attract more women to golf?

Yes, the ladies’ section and I put on a free taster session back in May, where we had 12 ladies come along and try golf for the first time. After that they can join the academy which gets them 10, one-hour group coaching sessions or discounted rates on one-to-one lessons.

From those that attended the taster day we have had nine take up some form of coaching. Once the academy finishes there is a pathway for them to join the club.

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

After attending the academy coaching sessions mentioned, we have discounted rates in year one and two before paying full membership in year three. We have found we retain more members this way and it makes it more attractive as they learn the game while they play.

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?

During coaching sessions, I use video to give valuable, immediate feedback to customers. I use FlightScope for custom fittings and Gapping sessions. This enhances the customer experience and can give them valuable feedback which they can physically see rather than interpretation.

When did you join the TGI Golf Partnership and what was it about it that attracted you?

I joined TGI Golf 19 months ago when I took my first head professionals’ role at Lightcliffe Golf Club. All my time as an assistant was under a professional who was part of TGI Golf and I really like how they assist you with all aspects of the business, including the very best buying terms from the brands.

I love the different events they run throughout the year like the Business Conference, TGI Golf Foundation Days, The Srixon Amateur Championship and the Team Challenge.

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

Without doubt. They have really helped me in my first two years of business, nothing has been too much for them and they are always on hand if I need help with anything. The service is exceptional.

The Team Challenge in Turkey really makes being part of the TGI family enjoyable and the main factor that is beneficial to my business.

I have entered a team into the Team Challenge more than six times. The feedback from members on each trip has been very positive and has helped engage other members to participate with more activities run within the business.

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

I turned pro in 2011 after working for a few years in the pro shop at Halifax Golf Club and getting my handicap down so I could enrol in the PGA Foundation Degree.

My playing highlight was probably getting my first and only hole-in-one in the TGI Team Challenge in Turkey on the Faldo Course at Cornelia – luckily it was all inclusive!

My employment highlight would be getting my first head professionals’ role at Lightcliffe Golf Club and becoming club manager 12 months later.

I hope the future brings many more glorious achievements, not just for me but for the members.