GOLFLINKS BIG interview - Stephen Lewis of Crown Golf

Posted on 01/07/09. Source: GOLFLINKS (By Steve Brine)

Stephen Lewis graduated with a degree in psychology and started his career in a private family business developing a Golf Hotel and Country Club.

Having sold the leisure business to Allied Lyons Plc in 1984, he joined their hotel division for four years to gain experience of a large corporate environment. He has since held CEO/MD positions at Wentworth Club; Pinnacle Leisure Group, a very successful hotel, golf and fitness business; Elixia, a pan- European health and fitness chain; and TopGolf, a revolutionary new golf entertainment experience.  He was for 10 years a board member of the Fitness Industry Association including 2 years as Chairman.

Stephen Lewis is currently the Chief Executive of Crown Golf, a position he has held since May 2008. He spoke to GOLFLINKS Editor Steve Brine, exclusively for the Business Lounge BIG Interview from the revamped and re-launched Nicklaus St Mellion International Resort in Cornwall ...

Win with GOLFLINKS - to celebrate the relaunch of St Mellion and our BIG interview with Stephen Lewis we have a fabulous golf break to be won. Enter our competition here today!

1. We meet at St Mellion which is very much the flagship property of Crown Golf. What do you hope to achieve here?

SL - Our aim is to put St Mellion back to its deserved preeminence and honor the brave decision that was made many years ago by the Bond Brothers to put an international golf venue down here in Cornwall.

I think with the latest development and the £20m we've put into the site, we have put St Mellion back on the map, both in terms of the course, the range of facilities, the hotel, the health and leisure facilities but also preparing it for the housing development that we plan down the line.

2. Clearly the decision to invest so heavily in St Mellion was not made yesterday but £20m looks like a brave investment in the current economic climate. So how are you going to get it back?

SL - Timing is everything of course and you are dead right that two years ago is when the strategic decision was made. But we're a private company and we don't have the immediate time pressures that a public company would have so we can take the pressure off.

We know the overall market will come back, it's just a question of timing and as far as the actual housing development here at St Mellion is concerned, we're in no rush to do that. We will do it when the market suits and we're talking to new partners now as to the various options available to us. It can be developed in various stages; there are actually five phases of the plan.

Also the strength of the Euro this year is making people think about taking their holiday in the UK and of course that plays into our launch marketing. We think there is a latent awareness of this place that has been built up over many years and a lot of customers who probably came and thought the facilities were a bit tired now have an opportunity to come and see the new St Mellion.

The course still has the charismatic challenge of being a real golf challenge and together with the second course, which will be a really good quality golf course, we have the golf the attract them. I think it will appear back on the golfing holiday roster for a lot of people.

3. The English Open will be here at St Mellion in 2011, why is the relationship with the European Tour so important to Crown?

SL - I think it is partly historic, partly to embellish the history and it does give it a ringing endorsement as a golf challenge. Also I think it appeals to a sector of the market that likes to follow where the tour plays and it gives you broader branding within the golfing world.

And crucially it attracts investment into Cornwall which was key to our partnering with the local Cornwall Tourist Authority. It has a local as well as a national promotional purpose.

4. Crown remains Europe's largest owned and operated golf group and yet you don't actually exist outside the boundaries of the UK. I guess that says a lot about European golf course management but what does it say about Crown and what does the future hold?

SL - I think in the short-term it is consolidation. We already have 33 sites which represents 55 golf courses. I took over the group in 2008 as Chief Executive and my philosophy in business has always been to strive to be the best, not necessarily the biggest.

So we are looking to invest in our existing estate, and St Mellion is obviously a big example of that, but also across the rest of our business to ensure our facilities are as good as they can be and that they represent value.

Then we want to look for opportunities; we don't have any great appetite to jump abroad because we feel the UK golfing market is the strongest golfing market in Europe and also I think there's a lot to be said from a management point of view to have a really focused estate.

5. But does the current UK recession pave the way for that number to rise or fall over the next 12-18 months? Surely as some clubs go to the wall an opportunity to acquire arises for Crown?

SL - I think potentially to acquire but only potentially. I think because we're much more commercial in our attitude than perhaps the traditional member club, we've been facing up to market challenges and anticipating what they might mean for our business for years. That means we can react in a slightly more dynamic way than a members own club can.

I think also, in discussing what would happen with the economic crash at the end of last year, we had a lot of internal debate for sure but I have always felt that golf would not fall off a cliff like car sales have and that is because the decision to give up golf is a decision to give up friendships. Golf is a very sociable sport and so it's not a solely economic decision to walk away.

What we weren't sure was how it would affect new people coming into the game because the decision to join a golf club is an economic decision. We've tried to address that with some incentives such as joining fees have been reduced and we've done 15 (months) for 12 introductory offers to get people across the threshold. You have to bond them into a golf club because once in they actually remain a very loyal customer for a very long time.

6. How does Crown handle the so-called ‘missing generation' of golfers in the 18-30 age bracket?

SL - When you look at our stats you see that 88% of our membership is male. We have a good selection of juniors but the 18-35 is a missing group and you can understand the reasons why as they are busy with young families, work commitments etc.

We've produced an "intermediate" membership now for 18-30 which is low-cost with full 7 day rights and limited numbers; we're targeting 50 at several of our clubs. The theory is it keeps them in touch with the game and we can do that because they play less but hopefully it produces loyal customers in the long-term.

And now we are looking at how we market to ladies and one of the key messages there is the sociable nature of the game which a lot of ladies in more progressive clubs really enjoy.

7. You have been in and around the UK golf industry for many years now, and will have seen previous downturns in the economy. How will the pieces fit together once the UK emerges from this recession?

SL - I think what we've seen lately is that even in these tough times, when the sun shines people want to play golf. They still see it as a core activity. Our pay-and-play division is 25-30% up year-on-year so what does that tell you?

It's fallen away on the corporate side and also on the size of societies, if not the number of them booking. I think going forward the corporate market will come back and also the people who have been putting off that decision to get involved in golf will start to show more interest again and making a commitment on the membership side.

8. Crown now operates 14 golf academies across the UK. How are they working out for you and what do they offer that any well trained, stand-alone resourced club professional does not?

SL - They are a long-term play for us. They don't immediately produce golf clubs full of high net worth individuals but they help us target introducing participation at the junior level and also taking the golf experience outside the parameters of the golf club.

So first of all each our golf academies has a clear remit to teach in the local schools; Oak Park in Surrey, which launched last year, now teaches 250 local children in the local schools and we have 130 kids in our golf academy at the club!

I think that's because we have a little driving range where they can all have free tuition, we have a little short game area where they can practice and we have a separate 9-hole course which enables them to use it as a safe introductory area. We are getting a great response to that.

Infact the professional (at Oak Park) is now attracting the mum's who want to take up the game and that's going to culminate in a really fun competition at the end of the holidays this year!

9. What one thing have you learnt, which you would pass onto anyone entering the industry today, above anything else?

SL - I have managed member organisations in many different areas and the psychology of golf members is something you have to understand very clearly. When a golf member joins they have a unique attitude; they have a sense of ownership and managing that sense in a pro-active way is the key to success in golf

All Business Lounge guests answer our quick-fire round of questions to close ....

SB - Are you a member of a golf club and if so, where?
SL - Wentworth for the last 20 yrs (past captain of the club)

SB - What is your current handicap?
SL - 8

SB - What brand of clubs do you play?
SL - Ping

SB - Best Crown Golf Course in the UK (go on ...)?
SL - Nicklaus St Mellion

SB - Will Casey win a Major in 2009?
SL - Judging by the way he hit the ball at the PGA this year there's no reason why he can't

SB - Prediction time .... Monty will be a success or failure as Ryder Cup Captain?
SL - An outstanding success

Elsewhere on GOLFLINKS ...

St Mellion re-born with £20m makeover

Photo; GOLFLINKS Editor Steve Brine talks to Stephen Lewis (right) for the BIG interview at St Mellion in June 2009 (image courtesy Steve Brine, GOLFLINKS).

GOLFLINKS Editor Steve Brine visited St Mellion over Monday 8 - Tuesday 9 June 2009 as part of an organised press visit; courtesy of Crown Golf and Hiseman Partners.