PGASOFEUROPE THE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
Michael Braidwood – PGA of Great Britain & Ireland Advanced Fellow Professional; Operations Director, Braemar Golf
What does your current role involve? I am the Operations Director for Braemar Golf
Developments who are a golf management company. My role is to oversee any project we have from a Golf Operations standpoint of view, however I do get involved in Human Resources and Sales, Marketing and PR related issues. I have for the past 2 seasons been on secondment to
a Russian developer called Millhouse (owned by Roman Abramovich) who have developed a golf course on the outskirts of Moscow. Skolkovo Golf Club is unique in many ways, however with its location so close to the centre of Moscow it is fast becoming the most desired club in Russia. My role here is actually closer to General
Management and Director of Golf and is very much at the coal face meeting prospective clients, selling memberships, organising the golf operations and events.
What was your reason for going into your
area of the industry? I moved to Braemar Golf in 2010 aſter spending 12
years in Bahrain as the General Manager of Riffa then the Royal Golf Club. During my time in Bahrain I got involved with Braemar Golf on a couple of projects and we jointly did the pre- and post- opening of the Sahara Golf and Country Club in Kuwait. The progression from running one facility in Bahrain to running multiple facilities on behalf of Braemar Golf seemed a natural one and one that I find interesting as it poses many challenges.
What are the main obstacles you face in
your position? The main obstacles I come across are – 1. Vision- many of our clients don't really
understand golf and don't have a clear vision from their project! This leaves me trying to tease out of them what they really want! 2. Communication- In some of the locations we
work English is not widely spoken and the language of golf is almost non-existent! (Golf is very alien to many people we deal with). This means we have to be very, very clear in how we communicate. I am currently trying to learn Russian - My Russian language handicap must be around 34!! 3. Procurement- in some parts of the world you just cannot get some
things you would expect to have to run a successful golf operations, or it takes a very long time to get it. Procurement internationally is really planning and planning so far ahead. In the UK now we are spoilt, we want something today and it is delivered tomorrow. This is not the case in Russia and other parts of the world!
What are the main pieces of advice you would give to a
PGA Pro looking to move into your area of the industry? Learn every aspect of the golf club operation plus a few things more! I
could not do my role if I did not understand the structure of a good human resources framework, understand the sales, marketing and PR process,
www.pgae.com
have a good insight into F&B operations etc. You also need to be good and efficient at writing reports, as that‘s what our clients like. I was lucky early in my career to work at Gleneagles and they were very
progressive with training and cross-training. I volunteered to spend time with the housekeeping department so I could understand how the process of cleaning rooms worked. I also went on the Hotel Duty Manager rota, which gave me an insight into how the hotel operated. Signing up for the PGA Director of Golf Program is also a good way of ensuring that you have competency and knowledge across all of the disciplines required.
Is there one key thing that you have learnt in your area of expertise that could be applied to all areas and if so what
is it? There are 2 key ones really - planning in detail and communication. You can't do enough of both.
Article provided courtesy of the PGAS of Europe SGBGOLF 7
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