Attendees at a sales meeting take a much-needed break and play a round of golf. An hour into the game, the players high-five after one of them hits a perfect shot that lands on the green inches from the cup. One hole back, another group can’t help laughing as one sales rep’s drive sails through the air, hits a tree and plunks into the pond. At a scenic 3-par around the bend, another foursome pauses for a moment as a red-tailed fox races across the fairway.
Roughly four hours later, they meet in the clubhouse for awards and a casual buffet. The attendees engage in good-natured back-slapping and friendly chatter — a 180-degree turn from the early shotgun start when most of them met for the first time. The dramatic change is the result of a few relaxing hours of camaraderie, teambuilding and new relationships that can only be forged on a golf course.
Meeting Platform
A golf course is an “18-hole boardroom” — a wide open meeting platform, according to Bryce Finnman, PGA golf professional at The Resort at The Mountain.
“The ballroom isn’t the only place where business gets done,” said Finnman. “Golf is about building relationships; meetings are about getting those people in one place. That’s why so many contracts are 
signed during the hours spent on a golf course. Golf and meetings are two ingredients that equal a recipe of success.”
In some cases, golf is not the focus; it’s just a different setting, away from the stress of the office or a meeting. For example, Finnman cites an ethics committee from a lawyer’s firm that plays an 18-hole round every year at The Resort at the Mountain.
“The players are given specific agenda items to discuss and accomplish at each hole,” explained Finnman. “While hitting shots, they’re brainstorming topics. Golf provides a great way to open up the mind. Players are away from the confines of the boardroom and the stress of the economy. Golf simply allows people to relax, and when they are relaxed, creativity can flow.”
What better setting than The Resort at The Mountain, nestled in the highlands of Mt. Hood an hour east of Portland? This premier Oregon golf, ski and meeting resort is putting the finishing touches on its $17 million renovation, which includes 18,000 new square feet of meeting space and a spa as well as renovations to the golf course, lobby and guest rooms.
Golf is a swing away from its three 9-hole courses: Thistle Nine, Pine Cone Nine and the signature Foxglove Nine. In addition to its own prize-winning courses, The Resort at the Mountain is close to 16
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Golfers of all levels are eager to test their talents and skills on one or more of the five championship-level layouts designed by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and others at PGA National Resort & Spa, Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
Photo courtesy of PGA National Resort & Spa |
public golf courses.
Paul Sawyer, senior vice president of the Portland, OR-based Miller Paint Company, an employee-owned manufacturer of quality products, has been hosting golf meetings at The Resort for 22 consecutive years. He plans two golf-themed events: the first day for 80 golfers and, on the second day, 204 clients and vendors fill all three nines. “Our attendees fly in from all over the country for this golf-focused meeting,” said Sawyer. “The first day is devoted to our vendors, and the second is a mix of customers and vendors. The result is that every level of player gets an opportunity to swing a club on a course with amazing views. It’s relaxing; yet it provides great networking opportunities to meet new people and build on those established relationships.”
Sawyer said Miller Paint Company hosts this annual event because it meets their company’s objective: spend time with customers in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
“You really do get to know your partners on a golf course,” explained Sawyer. “Sure it’s a game, but the game is a true reflection of an individual’s personality: You’ll see who cheats, and you’ll see who plays fair. Golf is a common meeting place that allows players to get to know each other. That’s good business.”
A few years ago, Sawyer said that they changed their policy and requested a small fee to join the popular tournament, which is also subsidized by vendors. “It wasn’t about financing the outing. We’d been getting a few no-shows, probably because of our close proximity and distractions to many of our clients’ home base. No-shows meant those that we turned away because the tournament was full might’ve actually gotten to attend. When money comes out of the customer’s pocket, the result was that everyone shows up.”
Appeals To All
Golf is the most popular sporting activity in the world, according to Oregon-based golf meeting expert Tom Newton, who is also a strategic marketing consultant, executive coach and author of Great Games for Golf (Gravity Resources LLC, 2002).
“Golf appeals to all skill levels and ages,” said Newton. “Golf programs provide one of the best opportunities for networking and teambuilding for meeting programs. It’s fun, engaging and gets everyone involved.”
Newton reminded planners that it is very important to know their audiences well. For example, he said, 
“Inviting good golfers to an unknown resort course won’t meet the same objective as bringing recreational golfers to the same course. Conversely, bringing in a group of once-a-year hackers to a Pebble Beach course won’t have the same impact, and it will be very frustrating to those players that prefer a relaxed setting to network.”
Incorporating a golf outing into your meeting takes as much strategizing and brainstorming as planning the rest of the structure of your event, said Newton. “Know what your objectives are and how you are going to achieve them. Is this a golf incentive? Then, your strategy might be to include a well-known course, such as PGA National Resort & Spa. Throwing in a golf event, just because your meeting takes place at a golf resort isn’t doing your attendees, or your bottom line, any favors,” he added.
Newton suggests that proficiency in golf, or at least friendly participation, is an important tool for career advancement in the corporate world. Furthermore, he said that today’s players no longer fit old stereotypes. They are male and female and as young as they are old. Professions range from entry-level sales to executives and everything in between, he explained.
The unique thing about golf, according to Scott Verrue, director of sales at the Bellevue, WA-based resort, Suncadia Resort, is that it bridges so many gaps. “Golf has developed from a match between friends to a meeting place to network or conduct business.”
Conversations during the course of play may meander from personal to business discussions, according 
to Verrue, “but golf is an opportunity to bring people together to connect on a more personal level in an environment that is distraction-free.”
That is if you don’t include the distractions of the rugged mountains and the random interruption of wildlife crossing the fairway.
Located just 80 miles from Seattle, Suncadia Resort is a new, 6,400-acre, year-round mountain resort destination adjacent to the 2.2-million-acre Wenatchee National Forest. Its three scenic championship golf courses are any golfer’s dream set within a pine and fir forest with lakes and ponds. The Lodge at Suncadia's conference and meeting facilities include more than 16,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, plus an additional 30,000 square feet of breathtaking outdoor venues.
Before the AIG effect, a golf resort meeting was a chance to mix the game of golf with business, a calming mixture of scenery, golf clubs and balls, yet another opportunity to network in a different venue. Sometimes the focus was on the golf; other times it was another optional activity for attendees.
Today, meetings are being cancelled, and companies are thinking twice about meetings — much less those that are centered on golf. Now, everything has changed — yet everything is the same, according to Verrue.
“It really goes back to the basic premise that meetings are a necessary part of doing business,” said Verrue. “The need to bring individuals together hasn’t dissipated. What’s surfaced is the need for planners to return to the core objectives of a meeting.”
Face-To-Face Is Best
Verrue explained the benefits of a golf program when the objective is to bring a team together to communicate more effectively. “Too often, employees simply trade e-mails all day when their co-worker may be two cubes away. A golf event provides, almost forces, one-on-one and face-to-face communication for an extended period of time,” he said.
“The recent intense scrutiny is all about the public’s perception,” added Verrue. “However, that scrutiny has always existed, although recent events have escalated the focus. A planner’s response should be to do
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The boardroom at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando is designed for serious business meetings.
Courtesy of Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge |
her homework and articulate the message or objective of a meeting before the questions are asked.”
Mike Ditter, regional vice president of the Gig Harbor, WA, office of ConferenceDirect, a third-party site selection, conference management and housing registration company, recently coordinated a customer appreciation golf tournament at Suncadia. “We were clear about our objective to hold a golf tournament at a reputable golf resort,” said Ditter. “Our goals demonstrated the value of the golf itself: to keep morale high, thank the customers for their business and get to know the customer on a more personal level. There is no better cost-effective way of holding a client’s attention for four hours than on a golf course like Suncadia.”
Ditter concedes that it’s a difficult time for planners to incorporate the game of golf in a meeting. “Now more than ever, a planner must bring his A-game each time when coordinating an event. For example, the A-game might be as simple as adding a community service component to the golf game to put a positive PR spin on it.”
Whether your event incorporates golf or not, meeting planning today is about being proactive rather than reactive, said Ditter. “It’s about basic meeting planner techniques. When a planner is strategic, she knows the objectives of the meeting and has metrics to measure those objectives already in place. She’s informed, and her supervisors and C-level management teams are informed, so no one will be blind-sided when questions are asked,” he explained.
New Meeting Values
The silver lining about the economy is that there are plenty of deals available. Take a look at these noteworthy golf resorts that are long-time favorites with planners and golfers alike.
“We perform. Or it’s free,” said Steve Bartolin, president and CEO of The Broadmoor, the longest consecutive winner of both the AAA Five Diamond and the Mobil Travel Guide Five Star award. Bartolin’s simple message promises that “if your Broadmoor meeting doesn’t deliver superior value in service, facilities and quality, the master account will be waived.” John Washko, vice president of sales and marketing for The Broadmoor, added that client satisfaction will be determined by results of a independent, third-party survey of attendees in areas such as service, staff and facilities. If The Broadmoor falls short, the meeting guarantee will kick in and the meeting will be free. The offer is valid for groups of 50 or more who stay for a minimum of two nights.
The Broadmoor Cottages celebrate their grand opening this month with six buildings offering up to 6,300 square feet per complex and will bring the total guest accommodation space to 744. They are an ideal place to gather associates for a unique and unparalleled experience.
Located in Colorado Springs just 90 minutes from Denver, The Broadmoor features 185,000 square feet of flexible function space, including the 60,000-square-foot Broadmoor Hall. The original Broadmoor Golf Club, a Donald Ross design, opened with the hotel in 1918. Thirty years later, Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed an additional 9-hole course, which formed the East Course. In 1963, the West Course was added, and in 2005, the Mountain Course, renovated and reconfigured by Nicklaus Design, was reopened. For more information, visit thebroadmoor.com.
Want to motivate attendees? Tell them they’re going to Florida to the PGA National Resort & Spa, home to five famous 18-hole golf courses and host to more professional golf events than any other resort in the U.S. The Palm Beach Gardens resort recently completed a resort-wide $65 million transformation including an extensive restoration of all 39,000 square feet of expanded meeting space and the creation of two new ballrooms. The resort boasts the new outdoor Honda Pavilion featuring views of the new zero-entry resort pool, 26-acre lake and championship golf courses. PGA National Resort & Spa offers a special meeting package for qualified groups on certain dates, which includes luxury accommodations starting at $229 per night, plus any four of these value-added incentives: 10 percent off F&B, 15 percent audio-visual discount; one complimentary room per 40 booked, complimentary one-hour welcome reception, complimentary continental breakfast or attrition of up to 20 percent per group. For details, visit pgaresort.com.
Another popular golf resort is Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, located 20 minutes from downtown Orlando. The site of the annual Palmer Invitational PGA golf tournament, the 70-room property offers 27 holes of championship golf, the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy, four dining locations, and 9,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space.
The Bay Hill property recently announced a new all-inclusive meeting package that combines meeting facilities and world-class golf. Available through the end of 2009, the $243 per person, per day package includes deluxe lodge guest rooms, daily meeting room space, breakfast, a.m. and p.m. meeting break, coffee stations, lunch and Internet connections.
The Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Destin, FL, offers 600 guest rooms and 32,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 10,000-square-foot Emerald Ballroom, a 106-seat theater and 20 breakout rooms. Value group rate offers often range from 10–30 percent off standard seasonal group rates.
The Sandestin resort community golf courses include Baytowne Golf Club, featuring views of the Gulf of Mexico and Choctawhatchee Bay; Burnt Pine Golf Club, ranked as one of the top 30 courses in Florida; The Links Course; The Raven Golf Club, which features water on 11 of its 19 holes; and The Dunes, a contoured, 51-par putting course. For more information, go to sandestinbeachhilton.com.
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Golfers will appreciate the stunning Rocky Mountain setting and the extra distance at the Keystone Ranch Golf Course and The River Course at Keystone, 36 holes of championship golf at Keystone Resort & Conference Center, 70 miles from Denver, CO.
Photo courtesy of Keystone Resort & Conference Center |
New & Noteworthy
Planners are eagerly awaiting the October 1st opening of Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, the largest Hilton golf resort in Orlando and the largest development in the company’s history. The 1,000-room hotel will feature 122,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and prefunction areas, including the 36,000-square-foot Bonnet Creek Ballroom, 27,500-square-foot Junior Ballroom and a total of 42 meeting rooms. In addition, amenities will include six restaurants and lounges, a zero-entry resort pool, retail space and access to the Waldorf Astoria Spa by Guerlain and fitness center. The adjacent 497-room Waldorf Astoria Orlando will feature 28,000 square feet of meeting space, and the 72-par Rees Jones-designed championship golf course and Waldorf Astoria Golf Club.
In 2010, the PGA of America will play its PGA Professional National Championship on the new Pete Dye course, which opened in April at Indiana’s French Lick Resort. Dye’s course was carved on a dramatic hilltop offering a variety of elevation changes, along with spectacular views from every hole that stretch for more than 40 miles. French Lick Resort includes the West Baden Springs Hotel, French Lick Springs Hotel and the new French Lick Casino, offering a total of 686 guest rooms and suites, 45 holes of golf, and 115,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
Mountain Golf Resorts
“Mountain meetings are more often associated with winter skiing, rarely warm weather sports like golf,” said Bill Van Loon, director of sales and operations for the Vail, CO, office of Rocky Mountain Connections, a full-service destination management and special event management company located throughout the Rockies. “Yet mountain resorts contain some of the highest quality golf resorts in the world without the 
uncomfortable humidity of other golf-dense areas.”
Van Loon noted that Colorado is the second sunniest state in the nation with summer temperatures in the 70s and 80s during the day, but cools down slightly, sometimes requiring a sweater in the evening. He said, “I’ve played some bad golf at good courses all over the world, and I would put our mountain golf courses up against any of the well-known golf courses.”
Mountain golf resorts offer great value and can be “under the radar” so to speak if public perception is an issue. “How many have heard of the golf mecca of Beaver Creek?” asked Van Loon. “Yet, The Beaver Creek Golf Club, designed by noted course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. is respected for its stunning scenery and challenging fairways. Or how about Vail Valley’s two new world-class golf courses at Red Sky Ranch & Golf Club, designed by golf greats Tom Fazio and Greg Norman, also featuring the David Leadbetter Golf Academy?”
In the Vail Valley, planners can combine a golf event with great meeting space at area resorts, such as Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa, with more than 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, or the newly opened Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa with 8,000 square feet of meeting space.
For planners requiring extensive meeting space and accommodations as well as superior golf, mountain resorts such as Colorado’s Keystone Resort and Conference Center offer the best of both worlds.
The largest conference site in the Colorado Rockies, Keystone Resort and Conference Center offers 1,300 accommodations and more than 100,000 square feet of meeting, exhibit and function space. Rated as one of the top golf resorts in the country by Golf magazine and Golf Digest, golfers will appreciate its two 18-hole championship golf courses.
Final Thoughts
“Golf: For Business & Life” is a PGA-underwritten college course that demonstrates how to use golf as a business tool. Over the years, golfers have learned none too soon that partners who cheat on the course, cheat in the boardroom, too. No doubt, especially in these tough times, golf programs at top-notch golf resorts can provide unique and valuable learning experiences on the “18-hole boardroom.” C&IT