High-profile venues across the country were recognized for service excellence at glitzy ceremonies in Calgary and Toronto
Some of the golf industry’s very best clubs and Operators descended on The Glencoe Club and The National Club over the last week with the hope of claiming an industry ‘Oscar’ at 59club Canada’s first Service Excellence Awards.
A couple of days that started with some insight on members followed by an impressive panel, ended in a glittering awards ceremony honouring the finest customer service providers for having achieved the highest standards of excellence across 2023.
59club’s illustrious accolades are determined by scores collected from their impartial mystery shopping audits, which evaluate the experience afforded to visiting golfers and prospective members, in accordance with 59club’s objective benchmarking criteria. On the two nights, 59club presented 11 awards across different categories, recognizing ‘service excellence’ across all areas of the businesses – sales, service, operations, retail, golf course, food & beverage and management. With 59club continuing to reflect the very best performances, regardless of a venue’s size, scale or profile.
Kudos to clubs or courses with multiple nominees including Credit Valley Golf & Country Club with seven, Sarnia golf & Curling Club with six and Oshawa Golf & Curling Club, Carleton Golf & Yacht Club, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge Golf Club and Fairmont Banff Springs all with four a piece.
It was a pleasure to see some large teams from Carrying Place Golf & Country Club, Fairmont Banff Springs and Mickelson National there to celebrate the evening. Some awards are individually awarded but more often than not they’re shared among the entire department. Team spirit is what these evenings are all about.
59club’s Industry Benchmark of excellence, it’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Flag Designations, are always a highlight of proceedings. These highly prized accolades recognise member clubs’ and resorts that provide excellent facilities for golfers to enjoy, as well as having achieved the required standard of customer service throughout 2023.
This year, 59club presented three ‘Gold Flags’. The deserving winners were: Donalda Club, Oshawa Golf & Curling Club and Credit Valley Golf & Country Club while Silver Flags were captured by four clubs; The Club at North Halton and three Fairmont properties: Jasper Park Lodge, Chateau Whistler and Banff Springs.
Of this year’s awards, Simon Wordsworth, CEO at 59club, commented:
“The Glencoe Club and The National Club were perfect hosts for our first-ever awards ceremony in Canada, and my unerring congratulations go to our nominees, tonight’s winners, our supporters and everyone involved with 59club for their commitment to perfecting service standards across our industry.
Just over 13 years ago, we celebrated our first award winning performances in the UK, and as I look back at that wealth of data, I am privileged to have witnessed 59club quite literally reinvent member and guest experiences across Golf & Hospitality using technology & data to measure, train and support our clients to achieve service excellence.
Our promise to our clients, and to those just embarking on their journey with 59club – as 12 Franchises take hold around the world servicing golf, leisure, spa & hospitality providers – has always been to continue supporting their customer journey, with new tools and more intel, to equip our most ambitious companies in their pursuit of excellence.”
Other prestigious award winners on the night included Andrew Hart, Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club, who took home the Superintendent of the Year award and Steven Young was congratulated with the Golf Manager of the Year award.
Gavin MacIver was hailed Golf Retail Manager of the Year, while the Food & Beverage Manager of the Year title went to Michael Binns from Credit Valley Golf & Country Club.
Individual experience awards were issued to Pinebrook Golf & Country Club for Best Overall Experience, Oshawa Golf & Curling Club for best F&B experience, the Fairmont Chateau Whistler for the best Retail Experience as well as the Highlands Golf Club and Oshawa Golf & Curling Club splitting the Best Individual Golf Course Experience award.
To recognise venues which have shown continued commitment to engage, analyze and enrich their member and guest experience, utilizing a collateral of survey tools across 59club’s software platform, a ‘Service Excellence’ designation was awarded to Hamilton Golf & Country Club.
For more information on 59club, visit www.59club.com
Full list of award winners can be seen below;
Gold Flag Designations
Donalda Club, Credit Valley Golf & Curling Club, Oshawa Golf & Curling Club
Silver Flag Designations
The Club at North Halton, Fairmont Banff Springs, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, Fairmont Chateau Whistler
My59 Service Excellence Award
Hamilton Golf & Country Club
Golf Manager of the Year
Steven Young, Fairmont Banff Springs Golf Club
Superintendent of the Year
Andrew Hart, Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club
Food and Beverage Manager of the Year
Michael Binns, Credit Valley Golf & Country Club
Golf Retail Manager of the Year
Gavin MacIver, Oshawa Golf & Curling Club
Golf Operations Team of the Year
Credit Valley Golf & Country Club
Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation (tie)
Highlands Golf Club & Oshawa Golf & Curling Club
Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience
Oshawa Golf & Curling Club
Leading Individual Overall Experience
Pinebrook Golf & Country Club
Leading Individual Retail Experience
Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club
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