Page 39 - GBC English Winter 2022

Duntroon Highlands is located just minutes from the booming town of Collingwood, ON, which is a year round, outdoors focused community which attracts families with young kids to the region.
THE IMPORTANCE OF A STRATEGIC PLAN
When I sat down with Rydlo on the patio overlooking the 18th fairway and green, he brought out his metrics scorecard and bound strategic plan. As a consultant who helps organizations create strategic plans, Rydlo was eager to share his work, get my perspective on what he was doing right, and make some suggestions on how to improve. As a passionate golfer, consultant, and strategist, I listened with enthusiasm.
Rydlo brings a lot to the table as an experienced businessperson and strategist. Before signing up to be a golf club owner, he held several senior roles with Fortune 100 companies, led the marketing and business development portfo- lio for the Town of Collingwood, participated in some entrepreneur- ial ventures, and spent a decade as an internationally competitive triathlete.
Rydlo’s strategic plan was well laid out. The vision, goals, objects, strategies, and metrics were clear. As best he could, he would re-visit and execute on his plan. By doing this, he would avoid getting tied up in reactive or emotional decision making.
One interesting and rare element to Duntroon’s plan, but a very useful component, is a clear picture of what they’re not going to
do. “Everyone always asks me how I’m doing with weddings. This is a big part of revenue for many golf courses. But when I look at my event space, the time and effort to bring in the personnel, quality caterers, and our local competition, weddings are not a focus for us right now. We’ll host them if that’s the request, along with other sorts of parties, but we’re not actively seeking out this type of business,” says Rydlo.
Amongst the points of pride for Rydlo is his commitment to follow metrics and adjust to better serve his customers and improve his bottom line. On a near daily basis KPIs are reviewed and measured against targets and past performance. These targets are shared and discussed with manage- ment to continually improve and stay on top of their game. Where there’s success, the windfall is shared. Where there’s setbacks, corrective action is taken.
“I often test ideas and use the metrics to see if we’re moving the needle. Our cafe sales were beginning to dip a little. I questioned whether the unchang- ing menu was partially to blame. Maybe our regulars were bored with what was on offer. Within days, we introduced weekly specials. Sales went back up, and we could see through our software
that the specials addressed the problem. If weekly specials didn’t work, we would have tried something else.”
LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE
As Rydlo surveys his property, his biggest challenge is what to priori- tize next. The strategic plan he put together 3-years ago helped him navigate the pandemic, improve the golf course, and get the business to a spot where revenue is up and customers recognize the improve- ments. And, while many parts of the plan are still valid, a post COVID world has changed things materially. Staff shortages, increas- ing wages, and inflation are new realities that will impact any plans.
“After buying the business, I spent weeks thinking, reflecting, reviewing research and data, and having as many conversations with experts as possible to create my plan. I was lucky that I’ve been involved in and created dozens of strategic plans in my career,” says Rydlo. “And as I look forward and start to update my plan in a post-pandemic world, the choices of where I spend my time, effort, and capital to build Duntroon into a true destination retreat will be some of the most difficult.”
Golf Business Canada
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