INTERVIEW: Ted Pease - GM, Tarandowah Golfers Club - Timeless Management Precepts & Principles, Leading Through Crises, Leveraging Intergenerational Wisdom
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The Timeless Leadership Playbook for Golf Club GMs: Insights from Ted Pease
In the latest episode of The AceCall.ai Podcast, we had the privilege of speaking with Ted Pease, General Manager of Tarandowah Golfers Club, about the core principles that define successful golf club management.
With over 30 years of experience—including a decade in Asia managing top-tier courses—Ted shared invaluable wisdom on leadership, crisis management, and the future of golf club operations.
Key Takeaways from Our Conversation:
✅ People Are the Core of Club Success
Ted emphasized that staff engagement and retention are among the biggest challenges in today’s industry. His approach? Empower employees, foster a culture of ownership, and recognize achievements. The best staff don’t just work at a club—they take pride in it.
✅ Crisis Management: Stay Flexible, Stay Focused
From natural disasters like the 2004 tsunami in Thailand to economic downturns, Ted has faced it all. His advice: Stick to your long-term vision but be ready to adapt. Protect your club’s core business, avoid knee-jerk financial decisions, and never discount your value—always value-add instead.
✅ The Power of Intergenerational Learning
Ted encourages club managers to learn from younger staff members, especially when it comes to technology. AI, automation, and data-driven insights are reshaping the industry, and the best leaders are those who embrace change while leveraging traditional management wisdom.
✅ AI and the Future of Golf Club Management
Ted sees AI-powered tee sheet optimization as a game-changer. By predicting slow periods and dynamically adjusting strategies, clubs can maximize revenue and efficiency. He also believes that AI-driven analytics can help clubs benchmark against industry trends and collaborate to grow the game of golf.
This episode is packed with practical insights for golf club managers looking to build resilient, high-performing operations that can weather any storm.
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Episode Transcript
Clayton Elliott [00:00:21]:
Welcome to the Ace Call AI podcast where we help golf club managers win with AI. Managing a golf club today is harder than ever, so we created simple AI solutions and a podcast to make it easier for you. I'm Clayton Elliott.
Brad Milligan [00:00:37]:
And I'm Brad Milligan. Together, we bring a mix of entrepreneurial innovation and decades of golf club management experience to help you optimize your club, increase profitability, and elevate the member experience. So let's dive in. Today's episode, we are fortunate to have Ted Pease, the general manager of Tarandawa Golfers Club. I love how it's called the Golfers Club in Springfield, Ontario. Join us for a conversation about the golf club industry. Ted, thank you so much for joining us.
Ted Pease [00:01:08]:
Thank you for having me.
Brad Milligan [00:01:10]:
It's our pleasure. We're looking forward to speaking with you and and are grateful for you being actually our first guest. So this is, groundbreaking for us. We're very excited. I'm gonna quickly introduce you, and then we can jump straight into it. So Ted Pease has thirty years of golf course management, including over ten years in Asia where he helped hope hopefully, I pronounce all these right. Zhuhai Golden Golf Golf Club earned the title of best new golf course in China in 02/2003. How's my pronunciation?
Ted Pease [00:01:41]:
It was really good. You got the Mandarin you got the Mandarin side of Vu Hai. We'll we'll get the Perfect. Perfect. Cantonie later.
Brad Milligan [00:01:49]:
Okay. Thank you. I I can't handle that much. That's too much for me.
Ted Pease [00:01:53]:
No. No.
Brad Milligan [00:01:56]:
As a GM, he helped Blue Canyon Golf Club in Phuket, Thailand win best golf course in Asia in 02/2005. He has been a general manager for over a decade as well. Over his career, he's hosted major golf events conducted by Golf Canada, European Tour, Asian Tour, and IMG, including the Thailand Open in 02/2006 on the Asian Tour. Also hosted the Tiger Skins in 02/2006 with IMG and the Johnny Walker Classic two thousand seven, European Tour and Asian Tour, and also has hosted the Canadian Mid Amateur. He has extensive background and experience with pre openings and reorganizations, But his main focus as a GM has been an operational efficiency, sales and marketing, and administration optimization. So thank you for joining us. We are excited to speak with you.
Ted Pease [00:02:49]:
Thanks, Brad. I'm looking forward to talking with you guys.
Brad Milligan [00:02:52]:
Yes, sir. So let's just get right into it. Why don't you tell us about Tarandala and, you know, 2025 and what you guys up to this year and most excited about?
Ted Pease [00:03:03]:
Tarandala is what is truly a LYNX golf course, and, there's lots of others that claim to be. We are a a true links golf course. One trip around it, and you will know that, very quickly. London's home for me, and and Springfield is quite close. When I moved back here, I knew nothing about Tarandua. And everybody's going, you've gotta go play it. You've gotta go play it. And I went out and I just went, wow.
Ted Pease [00:03:33]:
This really is what they claim to be. And it wasn't on the map. Like people didn't know about it. And, you know, this is gonna be my fifth year here. We've climbed substantially in the national ranks to sixty eighth last year in Canada. And we we wanna keep pushing that. As people get to know us, we're becoming a destination. In the last two years, we've hosted a Canadian Open qualifier, a US amateur qualifier, and the and the men's and senior men's match play championships.
Ted Pease [00:04:06]:
So that speaks to the quality of the golf course, the the layout, the the maintenance, and just the general playability of it. So, and this year, we've got another the men's match play and senior men's match play is returning, and we just look to continue to to try and push us to our ultimate, you know, level of excellence.
Brad Milligan [00:04:32]:
Amazing. Yeah. It it looks it looks like a really cool experience, the whole I just love the the Tarandawa golfers club because you don't see that. I I had to take a double double take when I was looking up the the course, and I haven't had the the the fortune of playing it yet. But, you know, it's it just it looks like the full experience when you go there, and looks like a True Links golf course. So, yeah, I I think, people should definitely head out there, give it a shot, and play it. And it says a lot about your product when you have when you're hosting big tournaments at your golf club, and that gives people a chance to play it who really know the game at a higher level and, you know, can speak on that. So that's, that's phenomenal stuff.
Brad Milligan [00:05:12]:
So, yeah, we'll just get in some questions here. Basically, the biggest challenges in golf club management today, we'll we'll touch on that for a little bit right now. So, Ted, in your experience and in your observations of the trends shaping this industry's future, what do you believe is the single biggest challenge facing golf clubs and club managers today and why?
Ted Pease [00:05:33]:
Probably the biggest challenge is, managing people, whether it's managing your members or your guests and then managing your staff. We're lucky at our golf course. Our staff retention is high, but, it's getting people into the industry, that are passionate about the game. You know, you it's not a nine to five Monday to Friday job, and and the expectations, from a lot of, you know, candidates is, oh, I need weekends off and this well, those are our busiest days. So it's finding people who are willing to be flexible in their scheduling and and being dedicated and being up at 06:00 in the morning and working till 09:30 at night, not in one shift, but I mean, it can it it it changes so much as you know, Brad. And, it it's finding the people that are committed to doing that and then take some pride in their work, you know? And and that's what I look for is, you know, people that wanna come to work. And I'm so lucky with our team that they all wanna come. They all wanna come back.
Ted Pease [00:06:47]:
They all wanna help. They all wanna pitch in. So we're lucky. I I know a lot of other courses aren't as fortunate as us. And and to me, that's probably their biggest challenge.
Brad Milligan [00:07:00]:
Mhmm. Yeah. That the we're I think we're talking about the clock puncher. Right? The one who who just wants to work their their their allotted their shift, and then they're they're gone. And, you know how it is. You have you have tournaments that literally run an entire day long. And and if you're if you're taking ownership, you you seem to have some staff there that take ownership of of their their projects. But if you're if you're running a tournament, you don't just, you know, say see you later halfway through, and I'll I'll see you tomorrow.
Brad Milligan [00:07:29]:
It's it's it's a full days, all comprehensive type of event. Right? So, yeah, having having staff that want to be there is is as opposed to just being there and and collecting a paycheck and saying, see you later, that goes so far in this industry. And those are the people you want leading your clubs in the future.
Ted Pease [00:07:49]:
Absolutely. And and with us being a public facility, we're fortunate that we can encourage our our team members, our staff to go and play golf. Go play. We we say go play, and they do. And, like, they'll they'll finish their shift and they'll do everything. Then they they change their shoes and they're on the golf course. And And when they come in, you know, if if we're getting ready to close, they'll pitch in and help. You know? It's it's not like they it's not mercenary.
Ted Pease [00:08:15]:
It's not about money. It's about being a team player and being passionate about success.
Brad Milligan [00:08:22]:
Yeah. Yeah. And that says that says a ton about your club if you're you're fostering that type of culture amongst your staff. Because you have your you have your golfer culture, the the people who are coming paying paying for green fees and playing the product, and then you have your staff culture. So those are, you know and that that shows in your product, Ted. Like, you you know this as well as I do. When you have happy staff, it it radiates through the whole property. And therefore, the people coming to your your course can tell, you know, wow.
Brad Milligan [00:08:51]:
Everybody loves to work here. This is just such a great environment. And then they're they're gonna be inherently happier too, your golfers, if your staff are happy.
Ted Pease [00:08:59]:
Yeah. At work, you know, as, like, as all courses do, we'll have a staff session at the start of the year. And one of the things that, you know, we'll we'll tell them is when you start your day to try and do something that you really enjoy right off the bat because that creates that positive mindset and gets you in a good a good place mentally and gets you positive and happy and and smiling. And that projects. And then our clientele see that. And it just feeds off itself, you know, and and continues to grow. And we want it to people come out to golf. They're not serious.
Ted Pease [00:09:37]:
They're, they're relaxed. This is their second home, you know, for a lot of people, and they're out to have a good time. And, and if our staff are in a good place and make it a really good experience for them, then, you know, it's a win win.
Brad Milligan [00:09:53]:
Yeah. Yeah. %. Sorry. %.
Clayton Elliott [00:10:00]:
Well, I was gonna say on that note, it in the theme of the biggest challenges in club management today, hiring and retaining top talent. It's a major issue across all industries. And it sounds like it's not a huge issue for you from what you shared with us, you know, in our previous conversation that you guys have such great retention that this isn't an issue you face. How would you say that you've accomplished that, that that really dialed in and little retention? And how do you how do you what's your opinions or what's your perspective on clubs that are able to achieve that? What what are they doing differently than you guys? What do you guys do differently than them?
Ted Pease [00:10:45]:
You know, I I can't speak to other golf courses. Every every every facility has their own sets of challenges. You you try and, develop your team by leadership and then give them empower them, give them a chance to grow and to learn. And, I mean, it's golf. We're gonna make mistakes. Learn from your mistakes. But it's not it's not life threatening. And and give them a chance to grow and and learn new things and be responsible.
Ted Pease [00:11:17]:
And and, you know, it's it's a life lesson, really. It's instead of just standing behind a counter taking money, it's engaging with the people and, you know, being proactive and not being afraid to make mistakes. And, and then when they accomplish something, they can see their success. And, and we recognize that, you know, and it even if it's just a thank you or a pat on the back and say job well done, you know, it's that that means a lot. People people, don't do it enough, I think. And just those simple little things mean a lot.
Brad Milligan [00:11:55]:
Yeah. I I couldn't agree couldn't agree more. Yeah. There's
Clayton Elliott [00:11:59]:
Praise and recognition are the most affordable currency you could pay your staff in.
Ted Pease [00:12:04]:
Absolutely. I was taught praise publicly, criticize privately. You know, it's that that shows respect for the person.
Brad Milligan [00:12:14]:
And and these stuff, they want they wanna they wanna feel that that back and forth, that respect level. And and it when when you have rock stars on your team, you know, it's they need to know. It's not like you wanna separate them and say, hey. You're you're the you're the best, and everybody else isn't as good as you. But you wanna you wanna recognize them. And it could be something as as small as bringing your team coffees in the morning or just little things that that go a long way, treating them to a a nice dinner at the end of the season. There's ways that you don't have to spend a fortune, but it really, really shows your staff how much they matter, to the entire operation. And that's that's a thing that will keep them coming back, and they will tell other people of their ilk, other friends of theirs, you know, brothers, sisters about the golf club, and they'll they'll they'll end up working there.
Brad Milligan [00:13:01]:
I'm sure you've seen that, Ted. You've seen you know? Absolutely. It becomes a a family affair at some point.
Ted Pease [00:13:07]:
Yes. We don't we've got a you know, even though I live in London, which is half a million, the golf course is located in a very rural area, and we don't have a big population to draw. And and the kids are telling their friends, hey, go and apply at Tarrandoa because, you know, it's a great place to be. And, you know, that's boy, I mean, that's the highest compliment you can have, I think.
Brad Milligan [00:13:29]:
Great. I'd agree. Alright. Let's, we'll shift here to a this one's a technology based question here. Technology is, reshaping golf golf club operations from AI driven customer service to advanced turf management. What innovations doesn't have to be AI necessarily, but one of what innovations have you embraced already, or which are you thinking of adopting at your club? How have they helped so far or how do you hope they will help as you get new tech implemented?
Ted Pease [00:14:00]:
Boy, I'm I I can remember the days of standing with two phones in my ears and doing tea time bookings, you know, where we are today, but, you know, on a bigger scale. You know, like, I used to know the tea sheet, for example, if you wanna use that as the example. And I know who would play, when they would play, who they would play with, and I could almost do it, you know, in advance without them calling. At a public facility, it's a lot different, but we you still recognize trends visually, but it's because now we've adopted, you know, good software, you know, good management software that the time I would spend before where it would be hours, now I can look I can pull up reports quickly and see them, and now I can go observe.
Brad Milligan [00:14:47]:
Mhmm.
Ted Pease [00:14:47]:
Well, you know, technology is freeing up my time to spend more time with our customers, with our staff, with our owners, and and paying attention. You know? You talk to people, but you're at the same time you're listening and watching. So technology gives you that. And then I'd look at AI is obviously going to get make analytics even quicker. So, you know, time management is so critical. I'm I mean, in a public golf course like where I am, where, you know, I'm the senior person on yeah. I've got some a couple more, you know, junior management, members. But after that, there's no accountant.
Ted Pease [00:15:28]:
There's no marketing director. There's no, golf pro. There's, you know, head pro because I'm carrying both hats on that one. So it's kind of a one man show. So this is making my time more efficient. And so as I become more educated in AI, then whatever I can use, I'm gonna use it. You know, I'd rather I'd rather spend time with my wife and my my my family than working. You know? I'm, like, I love my job, and I like going out there.
Ted Pease [00:15:59]:
But if I can be more efficient in what I do and it frees up time personally, then, you know, I'm all for it. Going to the I know and I just wanna expand a little bit. Going to the agronomy side of it, we're fortunate. One of our our superintendents, his father is a rep with John Deere. Now I know John Deere is going to a lot of AI in in their, equipment. So, you know, almost like GPS.
Clayton Elliott [00:16:29]:
Getting LG tied in GPS. It's all
Ted Pease [00:16:31]:
it's all GPS. It's, you know, you can set your cutting patterns, and it's all self driven. It's, you know, I it it just makes the product more consistent. You know, it it it takes a lot of the objective out of it, and it makes it factual to me. You know? Like, it's not opinion based. It's factual based. So and that's that you know, anything that we can do to deliver a better product, whether it's in terms of quality or consistency or both, then I'm all for it. So, you know, this is an area that I have to really get up to speed on.
Ted Pease [00:17:07]:
But, you know, I'm all for it. I I I see it being a good thing.
Brad Milligan [00:17:14]:
Excellent.
Ted Pease [00:17:15]:
Cool.
Clayton Elliott [00:17:16]:
And so then looking ahead, what what would you say what do you think will separate thriving clubs from the struggling ones in the next, like, five to ten years? It could be tech wise. It could be management, policies, and it could be anything at all. But tied into tech if you can, if you do see the way the tech is changing and how it's gonna affect the management and how it's gonna kinda trickle down and affect the full club operations.
Ted Pease [00:17:44]:
And what what what do
Clayton Elliott [00:17:44]:
you what should be g what should general managers and owners be doing now and and considering now and researching now to stay ahead? Well,
Ted Pease [00:17:55]:
coming from me, this is gonna sound kinda funny, but as an old school guy, but I think we have to embrace the generations that have grown up with technology. And, you know, I don't know everything. I I need to learn from 20 year olds and 30 year olds who've grown up with tech. You know, who've grown up with tech as a way of life. And for them, it's so easy. And and why not instead of being, well, I'm the I'm the general manager, you know, like, I'm not gonna learn from you. Well, I'm the general manager and I should learn from you. And and I think that we have to have good conversations with candidates that are going to possibly come into our facilities and say, can you help me with this? Can you help me with technology to make this a better facility? And if we can take one even one little aspect out of an element of some kind of AI that makes it better, good.
Ted Pease [00:18:53]:
Because we'll take that, and then the next thing is going to come, and the next thing is going to come. And I look at, like, my kids and my grandkids. Like, technology evolves so quickly. Like, the industrial age lasted a hundred years. Well, phone, phones, for instance, they're obsolete in a year. So it's, it's been, it's been, it's, it's adapting to that change so quickly, you know, and, and that my, my generation, it's a very, very exceptional person that can do that, you know, without some assistance. So I, I embrace the, the younger generation. I, I think that they're going to be a leading factor in in the next, you know, era of of golf course development.
Ted Pease [00:19:43]:
Yeah.
Brad Milligan [00:19:44]:
I would I would agree a %. Yeah. We've and that's that's partially why we created this this podcast was to help educate because we keep learning as we speak with general managers, uses for this tech going forward. And, you know, we always say there you you either are going to embrace this technology and persevere ahead or you're you're not and you're gonna fall behind. So I think that's a really good attitude to have. Let's let's get into some crisis management, Ted, because as you've you've touched on this, we had some some convos, and you had some amazing stories, the best ones I've heard actually. But, you know, in in this field here. But can you can you share a time when, when a club you managed faced an unexpected crisis, whether it was a natural disaster, major operational failure, or PR nightmare? What happened, and how did you handle it in the first, twenty eight to forty eight hours?
Ted Pease [00:20:39]:
Yeah. Actually, in a period of, three years, there was two phenomenal crisis. But probably the one that was most devastating on a human level was in 02/2004, the tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean. And that was the third one for me. So that was on Boxing Day in 02/2004, and it was, I think, the third strongest earthquake, ever recorded, whether it was maritime or on land. The loss of life was phenomenal. Like, it was just it was devastating. It was it was absolutely devastating.
Ted Pease [00:21:19]:
And Phuket, is an island in the Indian Ocean on the southern part of of Thailand, and the loss of life there was over ten thousand. I don't know the exact numbers. Across onto Sumatra, which is part of Indonesia where it was centered, there was two hundred and fifty thousand people died. So Phuket being a destination, like, we had 36 holes on our golf course, and it being a destination, people just stopped coming. So, my wife and I weren't allowed to leave the the property the first day. We went out and toured it the second day, but it just chain people were canceling. It would just change the whole dynamic. Once we got past the human element, which, I mean, the critical stages of it, then it became, how do we deal with this as a business? And our golf course, we had 36 holes.
Ted Pease [00:22:21]:
We had 40 hotel rooms in the clubhouse. We had a hundred and almost 200 condominiums and a hundred estate lots that were being prepared to build on. Well, our core business was the golf, so we had to protect that. And, this is where, you know, and we can talk about this later with owners, but we had to protect our pricing integrity, which goes to our brand, by value adding. So we would give away hotel rooms. We would, give away food and beverage. We would get our pros to chip in some free lessons, anything to bring people back. And we would appeal to our database, which at least we had one at that time, that was pretty substantial and reach out and say, please come back.
Ted Pease [00:23:11]:
It was almost a personal appeal, and it took time, but then the club survived it where others didn't. But it was it was not making a rash decision, and it was also recognizing what the core business elements are. And, I know other facilities have that are hotel based that happen to have a golf course. So the hotel would be the core business. So they would protect that element first by offering maybe golf or whatever, you know, they can do to value add. But this was such a tragedy in so many, senses of the word. I mean, it was just it was devastating. It was it it was, you know, it just it was life changing.
Brad Milligan [00:23:59]:
Yeah. That sounds, yeah, sounds very alarming to be a part of and, yeah, very devastating like you said. Just an awful I remember watching it on on TV. I can't can't imagine being there, but that was it was just mind blowing seeing all of those waves just whip through entire streets and and how high everything was and then then all of it going back out to sea. It was just just alarming to watch all of that. So Yeah. I can imagine being there.
Ted Pease [00:24:25]:
Yeah. My wife, Pam, and I had a a condo right on the golf course. And from our front balcony, we could see the intercoastal side of the island. Out the back, We could see the ocean if they cut the jungle down and it was less than a mile. Now we were up high. It's quite hilly, this island, Phuket. So we were safe, but anything that was flat, was just wiped right out. Some of the, some of their survival stories were were were almost at, I mean, put the devastation aside, they're almost inspirational people's, survival, you know, grabbing onto jet skis to hold on for dear life and trying to outrace the water, going up a hill in your car, you know, all kinds of different stories.
Clayton Elliott [00:25:13]:
So. I've I've been to I've been to, Phuket myself in 2011. I I spent about three months in Asia myself. And so I went over Thailand for about six weeks and, like, went to Phuket and went went to Co Co PP and some of the other surrounding islands around there. So I I kinda I was down around the the beach, the lower altitude areas that were hit. And the 2011 then cleaned up pretty much everything. Right?
Ted Pease [00:25:42]:
It was,
Clayton Elliott [00:25:42]:
you couldn't even tell it happened there over that time, but I got the lay of the land, and I kinda I I just kind of imagined, like, the swells of ocean just coming in and taking it. And I can't I can't I can't imagine. You can try to imagine it, but and even when you're in it, I imagine it's completely surreal. You're like, this isn't happening. This isn't real. Yeah. It's it's so out of the ordinary. Some people don't know how to respond to it even.
Clayton Elliott [00:26:07]:
No. I mean,
Ted Pease [00:26:08]:
who's who's ever experienced one? You know, it's it Yeah. Like, you know, like, it's if you, you know, if if you're working on in a team environment where you create business plans and you have crisis policies, who would ever think of putting something in for a tsunami? You know, it's Hey.
Clayton Elliott [00:26:27]:
And you'd think in Thailand, you'd think they would. You think it would be more normal. I it is now, I imagine now, but I think
Ted Pease [00:26:35]:
Yeah.
Clayton Elliott [00:26:35]:
You know, back then when it happened, Ireland was just starting to open up for tourism. It wasn't in the nineties. It was like the renegade backpacker who would travel to Thailand by himself by, you know, 02/2004. I think it was Leonardo DiCaprio's movie, the beach that was getting popular. And so now all the Westerners are like, let's go to Thailand. It looks like paradise.
Ted Pease [00:26:56]:
It is.
Clayton Elliott [00:26:57]:
By February and it is it's it's quite nice. And so I imagine by February and, what year was it you were down there? 02/2004. And '4. Yeah. Yeah. So right right during the tsunami. So you guys are building that, but tourism was just starting. You guys were kinda getting there ahead of the trend, ahead of the the movement for tourism there that and you guys were trying to capitalize on it by getting ahead of it.
Clayton Elliott [00:27:22]:
And I imagine had you not been been responding appropriately and correctly in the twenty four to forty eight hours immediately following the crisis, but this crisis lasted for months and months and months following it wasn't it wasn't over when the, when the water went away, the, the problems were just starting then. And the accounting was just beginning then when the water was all gone. And so it sound it sounds like you guys handled it. It sounds like you guys were able to weather the storm literally and and proverbially, but then we're able to to keep running. And and now that club's still there, the club's still still holding strong.
Ted Pease [00:28:00]:
Yes. Yes. And that's one of one of the things that we did is is we reached out to, parts of our or, like and this is where AI would help us. And it would it would really speed that process up because we reached out to certain elements in our demographics that whether it was based on, you know, financial, where they are from, what their beliefs are, anything like that, and and said, please come. We need you. We need your support. We need you to come and spend some money. You know, it's it's not for the ownership now.
Ted Pease [00:28:36]:
It's for our staff, and it's for the people that rely on this to as their livelihood. Yeah. Mhmm.
Clayton Elliott [00:28:44]:
And and that's and that's the thing too. That that's the appeal in that moment is the humanitarian appeal with the side benefit of, like, you get to play some golf and get to do what you like to do. You already came here before and you already spent money here before. If you enjoyed yourself, come do it again. And now is the time please to come do it again.
Ted Pease [00:29:00]:
So it's not in a,
Clayton Elliott [00:29:01]:
it's not like a charity ask. It's like they've already came here. They've already spent money. They did a great time. Well, how about another great time? Right? And so it's, it's aligned. It's, it's an aligned ask as they say. And so it wasn't, it wasn't out of the ordinary. It wasn't, you know, it it, crossing any boundaries or appropriate, relationship dynamics with with your audience and with your demographic.
Clayton Elliott [00:29:28]:
It was perfectly aligned. So from that, how many people came out and supported? How how quickly before
Ted Pease [00:29:33]:
We would talk about kinda back
Clayton Elliott [00:29:34]:
on his feet and and recouping itself.
Ted Pease [00:29:37]:
So that typically would be just at the start of the high season there, which, you know, would be the same as our snowbirds going south. So that was December 26. It took a couple of months, but we didn't lose all of that one high season. We we were lucky that our we had a thousand members there, but it only represented about 20% of our play. Was diverse. We had members in Japan. We had members in The States. We had members in Australia.
Ted Pease [00:30:09]:
We had members in Canada. It was a very international was definitely an international destination. And, yeah, it took a couple of months, but, we came through it pretty good. And I think it was the personal appeal that came from, you know, the whole team that was working there, you know, reaching out to their friends and their colleagues and, you know, saying, come on out. We need you. Very cool. And it's not and it's and it's being not afraid to ask for help. Yeah.
Ted Pease [00:30:42]:
You
Brad Milligan [00:30:42]:
know? Yeah.
Clayton Elliott [00:30:43]:
I mean, this humility there. Humility.
Ted Pease [00:30:45]:
Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Mhmm.
Clayton Elliott [00:30:49]:
And it ties back into what you're mentioning regarding the previous point, which was, you know, to work with younger people and to have the humility to say, listen, I don't know what I don't know. And they know I don't know it, but I know you know it. So teach me. Tell me tell me how we can use this tech that I'm not even aware of, but you seem to be fluent in. Come let's let's work together, and you can help me with this tech. Right? But it does there's a there's a there's a a humility, but it's a super productive and profitable humility. It's not like, a groveling or, oh, I'm so I don't understand this. Please help me.
Clayton Elliott [00:31:24]:
It's like, no, you know what? I don't, I don't need to know it because you know it. That's what I'm gonna pay you for. Let's let's use this to our advantage. And then just explain to me in layman's terms, how
Ted Pease [00:31:33]:
it works.
Clayton Elliott [00:31:33]:
That's all I need to know is how it works in layman's terms. And then I need to know that the, the members, when the members are coming, giving two thumbs up for this thing, that's all I care about. Layman's understanding thumbs up from the members. The rest can stay in the magic black box for all I care. You know how it works?
Ted Pease [00:31:49]:
Yeah. Yeah. You know, and, and that goes back to what I've mentioned about staffing too, in retention is, you know, it's a, it's another form of leadership by going to, you know, it's generational maybe, but going to your younger staff and saying, listen, I need your help because I don't know what I'm doing. You know, that that they love
Clayton Elliott [00:32:07]:
to hear that. They love to hear that from from from their elders. They love it. It makes them feel so like they have a purpose. Like they have, some authority, some autonomy, and some authority too. Right. And it applies trust.
Ted Pease [00:32:20]:
You know, those are human qualities that are so you know, Brad, as you know, in golf, I mean, it it's a it's I mean, I don't know if you'll ever meet a more generous group of people than golfers. And and, you know, we're surrounded by good people. And if we can build teams through leadership and empowering them, you know, e even if they go into something else, it's growth. And and I'm, you know, I think it's so critical.
Clayton Elliott [00:32:47]:
Yeah. And so my my to to continue on my question that ties still under the crisis management umbrella of questioning. And I imagine in Canada, in all your years working in Canada and managing clubs in Canada, that you haven't encountered a crisis at all that compares to what you handled there in Thailand. So, but just accumulatively after, you know, all the challenges you faced in your, for your whole career, all the challenges that you've led your teams through, what's the single best piece of advice that you could distill, the best pearl of wisdom that you would give that you would offer other general managers, regarding, you know, the preparation for and the managing of, and the leading through crises at their clubs?
Ted Pease [00:33:47]:
I would say, first of all, don't forget what your vision was and what the end objective was in getting that. Secondly, I would say, do we need to make adjustments? You know, not being afraid to say, you know, we have to change course. You know, you you you have to be you have to you have to be black flexible. You have to retain some level of flexibility, and think long term. I think sometimes there's a tendency to have knee jerk reactions to situations. One of the big ones I would say is when we have upturns and downturns in in the economy and in the financial world. 02/2008, I think, was a big one, when, you know, the markets all crashed for a year or two, well, they're going to come back. You know? And and so I think, you know, and especially for bigger clubs, but for all clubs, you should have a reserve to get you through tough times financially.
Ted Pease [00:34:58]:
I think if you can survive financially through crises, which tend to be the biggest ones, you're gonna be fine. So create a capital reserve. Stay on course, pay attention to what's going on, retain some flexibility, you know, and try and stay on course as much as you had originally planned. But again, again, you know, circumstances might dictate that you're gonna have to make some significant changes. So, it's just being alert to what's going on.
Clayton Elliott [00:35:37]:
Yep. So being alert, adaptive, responsive to the situation, eyes on and obviously paying attention to the most, urgent aspects of whatever crisis it is. But as a GM, you're not the one living and existing and operating in the trenches. You might jump down into the trenches with your team, in moment, certain moments, but you can't lose that vantage point, that 30,000 foot aerial perspective of the whole battleground. Right? Because that's the general's, role. He has to know what's happening downfield behind the supply lines left at the flank, right flank, left flank. When the guy down in the middle facing the crisis on one front has no other perspective and it's easy to get pulled in. I imagine in all, in all management positions, get pulled into the crises of your staff or your department or your team or whatever.
Clayton Elliott [00:36:34]:
And they may want you to stay there with them, but you're also considering a much bigger vantage point, a much bigger, consideration, which is not just supply lines, logistics. It's also time horizons. It's also different time horizons where you're making decisions and your, your, your, your junior staff aren't computing all those other considerations, which impact longer time horizons. So you gotta gotta get in the mix, but not get like swallowed up by the mix and wallow in the mix because you're also considering much, much other interconnected pieces and parts at play. That makes sense.
Ted Pease [00:37:10]:
Abs absolutely, it does. And I say I would say, you know, protect your hard your hard assets, you know, your buildings and and your your fleets and your rolling stock and, you know, anything that's a physical asset. Make sure that you've got that covered. Yes. You might have to be boots on ground a little bit more, but this go this goes back again as giving your staff you're empowering your staff to show what they can do. Now they might want more backup from from the general manager. They might wanna lean a little more, and that's being accessible. But it doesn't mean solving all the problems.
Ted Pease [00:37:50]:
It it's it you might, as the general manager, prioritize. These are the first things that we need to do. Leave this other stuff beside to the side for now. We'll come back to it. But get this done, this done, this done, and then we'll come back and take care of the rest of it. You know? But but, again, let them perform, but because you have to see everything as a gym. You can't just, you know, it it almost leads to micromanagement. So it it's that fine balance between being a leader, having your finger on the pulse, knowing exactly what's happening, but again, relying on your team.
Clayton Elliott [00:38:30]:
Yeah. %. Because you can't fix it all. No. And you and you're not being hired to do so.
Ted Pease [00:38:37]:
No. No. That's not your job. It's, you know, like, if we once for me, once we get past, June, you know, our golf course, our team can run it on a day to day basis. You know, they they need they need guidance. They need lit leadership. They need to see you there, but they're empowered. You know? And and, for me, I'm so lucky.
Ted Pease [00:39:05]:
You're like, I can rely on.
Clayton Elliott [00:39:09]:
That's the best, it's the best situation to be in, before crisis has arrived before crisis has arise is I always say you don't really know someone until, until you're with them in some kind of emergency. Or there's another, like, I think it's a Mike Mike Tyson quote. He says, everyone has a plan. They'll get punched in the face. Yes. So I imagine it's the same, but you, you, you, you build your golf course and you, you make all these plans and you get everything working and you do all your test runs. Usually not under crisis circumstances. Usually it's a nice calm, situation or relatively when you're kind of training for these things with the hopes they never arise with the hopes they never come up.
Clayton Elliott [00:39:52]:
But then when they come up, you're like, okay, now we're actually putting our emergency, plans into, into play here. And there's never perfection when you implement your crisis, protocols and plans because you don't have the benefit of trading under in crises, in the middle of a crisis. So when you're implementing your plans, I imagine, like you said, it's about empowering and giving them, autonomy to make decisions to not micromanaging and kind of thinking you have to micromanage everyone, which allows them to have ownership. Was it Brad, a word Brad used earlier, but the best staff take, they take ownership and you wanna give them all the tools and all the authorization and everything they need to to feel comfortable taking ownership. And then if it doesn't go perfectly, once they do, you don't attack them, you don't condemn them. You don't put them down when because then they're never gonna wanna pick up more ownership. They're never gonna take on when crises happen, they'll be the first guy looking to someone else being like, hey, man, what do I what do you think we should do? When in crisis, sometimes everyone has to kind of make executive decisions in the moment, at the moment, every moment. And then afterwards, you debrief and you say, okay.
Clayton Elliott [00:41:03]:
A bunch of us meant to make some executive decisions there. How did that play in? What could we learn from it for future crises that may come up?
Ted Pease [00:41:10]:
That's the exact that's to me, that's the exact style of management that that is so critical is, you know, do the things. Take take responsibility, and then we'll look we'll talk about it later. You know? Nobody nobody got hurt. Nobody got nothing got damaged. Sure. We could have been a little more efficient or whatever whatever could have been better, but, I mean, at the end of the day, like I said before, it's golf and, you know, was if we protect our our assets, like I said, and nobody gets hurt, then as long as people's well-being is is good and and the physical assets are good, then there's no reason to panic, I don't think.
Brad Milligan [00:41:53]:
Yeah.
Clayton Elliott [00:41:54]:
And just to to finish that point, like you said, most people are not dealing with human loss of life with call. Most people are not dealing. That's a very rare situation where that happens in whatever crises you're facing. It's usually not an environmental disaster that that you're dealing with on a regular basis. So it brings it into perspective of whatever crisis you're dealing with. If you have the physical assets protected, you have, you know, the staff's healthy, no one's injured or hurt. All those everything else can be fixed. Everything else can be addressed.
Clayton Elliott [00:42:23]:
None of it is like a world ending or business ending catastrophe, and there can be some lightness and some lightness even from the the manager from top down and from bottom up when dealing and navigating crises and and golf related golf course and golf club, daily play related kind of, crises and such, I imagine.
Ted Pease [00:42:46]:
Yes. Absolutely. It's, you know, it it it's in perspective. Yeah. I think, you know, my my wife, when we first met, she was an emerge nurse. You know? She's dealing with crisis. The the Yeah. Exactly.
Ted Pease [00:43:01]:
I'm dealing with a guy that his tee time got screwed up and he didn't get to go in the golf course. Well, you know, like, for us, let's get that in perspective. You know?
Brad Milligan [00:43:11]:
Yeah. Exactly. It's something you can never say that to the individual who's who's who's tea time whose tea time got messed up. To them, it's it's a massive crisis. I mean, some I've I've had to catch myself. I'm like, you know, we're not dealing with, nobody's died here today. Like, you're you always that comes to your mind. Nobody's died here today.
Brad Milligan [00:43:28]:
Those can be a real I mean, you do have scenarios where people will have heart attacks at golf courses. I'm I'm sure, Ted, you've been on golf courses where worked at courses where people have had heart attacks, but generally speaking, our our issues when it comes to golf are exactly what Ted said, like, a tee time gets messed up or somebody's power caddy didn't get charged or someone's sand wedge is missing from their bag. It's such it's such minimal things, but to that individual in the moment, they are so broken up about it. And and and your job, if you have good staff, is they're they're gonna they're gonna level with these these, these members, these golfers, you know, whoever whoever's in front of them at guest and really, you know, talk them down off the ledge and and say, don't worry. We're gonna we're gonna find your sandwich. I I'm so sorry that your your your power caddy didn't get charged, this time. We're really we're gonna we're gonna start really working on some systems to get this to work in the future. And then that's all they really want is that, Clay and I have talked about this.
Brad Milligan [00:44:19]:
It's just being heard, you know, just just having their voice heard.
Ted Pease [00:44:22]:
Absolutely. You know, you listen to my complaint. Thank you very much. And, you know, diffuse. You you you diffuse it and, you know, sometimes that's how you make friends. Big time. You can make a
Brad Milligan [00:44:35]:
lot of friends in in tough times. I've I've noticed that. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Okay.
Brad Milligan [00:44:42]:
That I mean, that's that's pretty good segue into other relationships. So let's talk about owner relations here because I know, Ted really wanted to to touch on this, because he does have owners of his golf club. Whereas, you know, to those of us who are who are listening in who don't know the industry as well, you'll you'll have many different models of ownership of of golf clubs, private golf courses, public golf courses. There's there's all types of different flavors of ownership here. So a good question here is, golf club owners often have high expectations and unique priorities. How do you manage the balance between meeting ownership's vision while also running day to day operations effectively?
Ted Pease [00:45:18]:
Yeah. That's a great question. I think that if you talk to a group of a hundred owners, the first thing that they're gonna talk about as the number one priority is finance. This is a business for them. Whether they're passionate about it or not, it's a hobby. We'll we'll regardless, it's it's finance. So, operate the club profitably, operate the club, transparently. So, you know, I I've seen golf courses where the GM is also in charge of the finance.
Ted Pease [00:45:52]:
Like, he's doing the books, which to me is is totally not acceptable. There there has to be some arms length between the the financial management and the general management. Having said that, I can do accounting. Like, no. It's not an issue, but I shouldn't be doing it. So if we can align the financial success and performance of the club, I to me, we're already past 50%. We've already passed. So now getting into, you know, the vision, it's where do they wanna go? Are they happy with where the club is now, or do they see growth potential? As as you know, like, we could potentially be looking at a permanent clubhouse, which would allow us to do a lot more events, you know, and and host even bigger ones, you know, more prestigious ones.
Ted Pease [00:46:44]:
Some golf courses have enough land that they could do residential. So what what's the long term vision? And you almost wanna induct an interview with your owners. You wanna interview them. They had their chance to interview you when you got hired, but you wanna interview them once or twice a year and say, what are you seeing? Are you seeing things progressing down the way that we've talked? Or do you see an opportunity or a reason that you might wanna go in a slightly different direction? And and it's and it's getting them to open up. You know, it's it's, what do they want? And a lot of as you know, Brad, a lot of the the public courses, I hate to use the term mom and pop. They're they're small family operations. They've maybe been handed down from another generation, but, the amount of golf knowledge isn't there sometimes. My ownership group at Tarandoa, there's three senior partners.
Ted Pease [00:47:49]:
They're quite young, and they will readily admit that they don't know the golf industry. That's why I was hired. And, you know, they trust my judgment, and we we're lucky that we've got arm's length financial management. And they see that the golf course has progressed over the last couple of years, and we have regular discussions about where we're going. And and like I say, it's almost interviewing them and saying, are we going down the same path still, or are we going in a slightly different direction? And I think it shows that you respect your own position as a ground owner manager, but you respect them too because you want their input, especially when they value what they're doing for them and how you're performing. So, and I'm fortunate my my owners, when they do show up, which might be once a month or once every two months, you know, I'm not gonna speak for them, but, and they might hear this. So I don't wanna say anything. But when they come out, they wanna relax.
Ted Pease [00:48:52]:
They wanna enjoy themselves. They want, they wanna feel the atmosphere and, and the personality of the golf course. And they don't wanna look at, you know, do we have enough inventory? How's our food and beverage sales, you know, Come out and relax and get away and and, you know, your other businesses. Leave them alone and and have a drink and have something to eat and and enjoy what you've got here. And and and and watch the success of it. Watch how watch how people come in and engage with other golfers and our staff and how they're happy. And that's, that's what they wanna see. They wanna see, you know, just be in a happy place.
Ted Pease [00:49:31]:
And, you know, it's just being, like I say, it's having good communication with them, talking to them, you know, and and not waiting for them to come to you. Go to them. You know, I'll phone my owner up once every so often if I don't see him and say, how's it going? You know, what's new?
Brad Milligan [00:49:48]:
Yeah. Yeah. And I I I think it's it's discovering because because most most owners, they either bought a a property or or built one because they had a vision of participating in the product and enjoying the actual golf course. And and, like you said, getting a feel for the place, seeing how seeing how it's going out there, that type of thing. So I think along the lines, a lot of owners can can sort of lose vision of that and become more operational. So that sounds like you have a a really good group of owners there. Yep.
Ted Pease [00:50:22]:
Yes. So I I'm I'm really, really fortunate. You know? You are
Brad Milligan [00:50:26]:
for sure.
Ted Pease [00:50:26]:
I can't say enough good things about them, and and and they know it. And what I'll I'll tell you a funny story. One of our owners is he's a master at net networking. Like, he'll meet it's like he meets people on every industry, and I just go, how do you know that? I phoned him one day twice, and he didn't answer his phone. And and I he finally phoned me back and said, sorry. I was going through immigration. I go, oh, where are you going? He says, oh, going to Atlanta. I went, what? Okay.
Ted Pease [00:50:54]:
And then I looked at the calendar and I says, you're going to Augusta, aren't you? And he says, yeah. I'm going to Augusta. Well, he he, you know, he doesn't know golf. He sent me a picture two days later with him with the CEO of Golf Canada and Corey Conners and and, like, Rashad has never met these people before. He didn't know them from Adam and yet here he is, you know, cloud knobs with the who's who in golf. And, you know, it it's just you know, I love hearing those stories and and seeing them engaging. And that's what we want. Golf golf is engagement.
Ted Pease [00:51:26]:
It's one of the most social things Yeah. That you can do. And, you know, they they've just opened the door for me to to continue talking to them all the time. So and sometimes we have to take that initiative ourselves if the guys that aren't as fortunate as I am, you know, don't have that luxury. But, you know
Brad Milligan [00:51:46]:
Yeah. And I I think this is a good talking point. You're you're you're you know, if if other GMs hear this, other owners hear this, you can use your club as a a model that's working. Right? So if they don't have that that, you know, that synced up system that you currently have, they can look at, a club like yours, and that's this is extremely valuable information to share with others who may be struggling in that aspect and and things they can implement. Let's segue here because I think this is a good segue. And, so at some point, every GM faces disagreements with ownership, whether it's about budgets, investments, or strategic direction. Can you share a time when you had to push back or negotiate with an owner and how you handled it successfully? Maybe not your current owners. But
Ted Pease [00:52:31]:
No. No. The no. I don't think we've had a disagreement. Maybe accept what maybe accept what the mix was going into the drink. But, I I can remember after one of the other crisis that I managed, the owners wanted to really discount their their rates. And I just said, you know, you you have to value add. You have to value add.
Ted Pease [00:52:57]:
You know, keep the keep your your base price the same whether, you you know, call it a rack rate or a posted rate. Keep that the same. Don't discount it, value add because people remember what the the core product is and what the price is. And like I said just just a few minutes ago, finance financial success is what the owners wanna see first. And as soon as you start, discounting, you you've made a downward spiral that's very, very difficult to get out of sometimes. You know, it's it's if you if you start a downward spiral, you've gotta recognize it and and put a plug in it really quickly.
Brad Milligan [00:53:38]:
Yep. Yeah. Couldn't couldn't agree more.
Ted Pease [00:53:40]:
Yeah. Yeah. It was all any any times I've had disputes of it, it's about financial.
Brad Milligan [00:53:46]:
Yeah. Because that's that's really what I mean, a lot of it comes down to, obviously, or if you're in this to make money and you're not making money or you're losing money, there's there's issues there. Right? So you have to get to the bottom of that. And some somebody is is to blame at the end of the day. There is there is somebody accountable, and somebody needs to be accountable for that.
Ted Pease [00:54:03]:
Yeah. And I always say to them, I said, you know what? If I owned it, this is what I do. Yeah. And you repeat that mantra enough times, and maybe you've convinced them.
Brad Milligan [00:54:13]:
Yep. I would agree a %.
Clayton Elliott [00:54:17]:
And on that point with the finances, I think, you know, you really hit it at the beginning, which was how to handle their high expectations and also, it was tying back to the crises and the relationships is it's all ties together with the finances. And if you have your finances dialed in and there's arms, arms distance between the financial management and the day to day operations, And as long as the numbers are making sense, then when the owners do come in, they pop in to the clubhouse. They're not doing so in like a frantic panic, urgent kind of like I'm I'm bleeding money. Because if you're, if you're bleeding money or even making a lot of money, you walk in there, you look around and you're like losing money. They're losing money. They're not making money there. It, it, your mind. If I was, if I was an, I'm projecting myself into the, the mind of an owner, but if I was the owner and every time I look at the numbers in my P and L statements, I'm just like, Hey, more loss, more loss, more loss, more unrealized potential.
Clayton Elliott [00:55:16]:
Okay. If I was in the club, I would not be enjoying it as much. I would not be sitting back being like, I had no opinions for anybody here about how things are operating. It's like, no, I'm gonna go sit in the job manager's office. I'm gonna pop by the bar. I'm gonna go to all the places where our, our, our profit and loss locations are. And I'm gonna try to, I, I would be tempted to meddle. I'd be tempted to micromanage and get involved.
Clayton Elliott [00:55:41]:
But if the numbers are there and the manager's keeping the numbers right, then as the owner looks at the numbers, he goes, we're in a good place. We're not in a bad place. He can enjoy the club. And he can
Brad Milligan [00:55:50]:
come in and enjoy
Clayton Elliott [00:55:51]:
the club and actually have it be a getaway for him for a bit.
Ted Pease [00:55:54]:
Right. And you and you and you hired me to manage this in good times and bad times. Mhmm. You know, it's it's not always rosy. It you know, you want rosy as much as you can, but there's there's challenges. There's times that are challenging for many reasons, but, you know, it's it's it's the trust level that you build that that is critical, I think.
Clayton Elliott [00:56:16]:
Yeah. And and you both have that he has that, like, 35,000 foot vantage point because he's also earning the profits from this long term investment. While you're the current employee, maybe you're gonna retire
Ted Pease [00:56:29]:
with them. Maybe you'll go
Clayton Elliott [00:56:30]:
to different clubs. So you're invested in that club, but not like they're invested in that club. So they have a very, very long timeline they're looking at, but they're they they need you to buy into their timeline and to understand their timeline because you're the one hired to help them implement, execute season to season, month to month, you know, year to year strategies and tactics and logistical plans that you're executing to accomplish the one the seasonal step in a longer timeline of multiple c accruing seasons, if that makes sense.
Ted Pease [00:57:02]:
Yep. No. It totally does. It it it it totally does. You know? That that that's the the dynamics and and, you know, it for me, like, there's three owners, but they're not related. So they're friends. It's not like it's three people in the same family, but they're on the same page, which, you know, is the first step for them. And then as a collective between them and myself, we're on the same page.
Ted Pease [00:57:28]:
So, you know, again, I'm really, really fortunate. Very cool.
Clayton Elliott [00:57:34]:
That's a good that's a good position to be in. We're almost at the top of the hour. I just I wanted to just hit this last question because I know when we were talking earlier, you mentioned this is a topic that you had some something to say and something to share about this one. But, you know, the overcoming resistance and and adoption challenges, that come with, you know, you you the team and everyone kinda getting on board with new tech, some clubs, some staff, they're naturally and and, understandably hesitant to adopt AI or really any new intimidating tech due to cost or fear of change or fear of loss, or if you're not working well, and someone, you know, end up with egg on their face, looking bad to whoever the, the proposed beneficiaries of this spec were supposed to be. How would you introduce and implement, you know, AI driven tools or any, you know, potentially overwhelming tech. How would you introduce it without overwhelming your team and and your and your your staff?
Ted Pease [00:58:40]:
That's really good. It's it's funny. At at our club, we've got a a group of volunteers who are for the most part, retired. So, you know, anywhere from late fifties up into their late seventies. And even our starters are working with tablets, so they're connected. So they've got technology in their hand all day long. Not just the people inside, but the people outside. And we do our scheduling and our checking in, you know, for your shift online, and and it's there's a lot of tech that we use.
Ted Pease [00:59:14]:
And for me, I'd go to our young team, and then, you know, this is, again, it it's generational, and it's not being afraid to say, I need some of you 20 year olds who are really good and tech savvy to talk to us old guys and and get us on board. You know? I don't have time to manage your schedules. So show these guys how to do it, you know? And and whether it's whether it's with scheduling or checking golfers in or selling goods at the the food and beverage or the pro shop, it's it's getting them online with it. And most technology is pretty intuitive these days. I mean, it's it's, you know, like It should be. It should be. Yeah. It it should be.
Ted Pease [00:59:55]:
And I think, you know, if anybody's creating technology, the more intuitive and the simpler it is to use, the better. I know, Brad, that there's a fellow in London that started a a a scoring system for league scoring, and it's so simple to use as opposed to some of the others out in the market. But yet he's had huge success with it just because of the fact that it is simple. Yep. Yep. You know, now I let one of our junior guys run with it because, it it falls into the time periods when I'm not there that much. But there's other aspects of the software that we use and the technology that that we use that I have to be using and all of our our senior people, I'm senior, I'm talking about age, that need to be on board with and have to have some knowledge of. And, you know, it's it's you can't be afraid to go to my grandson and say, hey, help these guys out, you know? And they and and they get it.
Ted Pease [01:00:55]:
They get it.
Brad Milligan [01:00:57]:
They do. Yeah. And it's it's training, you know, it's training your your staff, your your younger staff to to teach those older older staff members and to teach your your golfers, how to use that actual that software. And it is so user friendly now that we're not we're not having to go into the back end and and program code or anything like that. Most of these apps and and, even these these AI tools, they they are very user friendly, and they're easy to implement. There it's not this isn't rocket science, you know, without, with lack of a better term there.
Ted Pease [01:01:29]:
But Exactly.
Brad Milligan [01:01:30]:
But, you know, the the and it is just it's it's I think that's a really, really good point is empowering your younger staff to help teach that information, and then you have valuable things to teach your younger staff about other aspects of the industry and how to work at a golf club and just interpersonal things. I always I always say this about a golf club too, especially to younger people. You never know who you're gonna meet at this golf club. You never know if that's gonna be your your future boss or somebody who sets you up with a job in the future. Right? So you you really you really have to be, in a position of accepting new information and and spreading new information, and one of those people, who who presents themselves as somebody who's teachable and can also help teach.
Ted Pease [01:02:15]:
Yes. You know, I I kind of relate it, and I this goes back to even when I was playing. I played a lot of competitive golf originally. But, so I love seeing juniors out, and I love junior golf tournaments. And I see the kids come out, and I go, wow. Look at these guys. They know more than I do or did. They're probably smarter than I was.
Ted Pease [01:02:36]:
They've got more information at their hands. And, like, an 18 year old now is not afraid to shoot 62. Mhmm. Where when I was 18, I could have shot 62, but I didn't know how. Well and the kids coming out now, they're polite. They're they've still got the same values about being at a golf course that we are raised with, but they've got so much more information. So if we take that from the golf course and apply it to working in the industry, it's the same thing. They've got all the advantages.
Ted Pease [01:03:08]:
So why don't we as seniors lean on that? You know?
Brad Milligan [01:03:14]:
%.
Ted Pease [01:03:15]:
Take take advantage of that, you know, and and they instead of saying, oh, well, kids are entitled. Their kids are doing this or my generation was better. Well, no. You know what? Every generation has their own their own, issues that they grew up with or or challenges. But why not embrace it and say, you know what? They've got so much at their disposal that I don't know a thing about and they can help me, you know, and, and sure. I'm still going to lead, but they're going to help me lead it to be even better. Because at some point, at some point somebody's got to step into my role and I'm hoping it's somebody that's younger, you know, that can sit in a position for thirty or forty years or whatever. I mean, you know, you can't tell people what they should do, but you I'd love seeing longevity, even though I was doing project management, you know, I was going from place to place.
Ted Pease [01:04:12]:
I love seeing, like, the the Rosedales, where you at, Brad, where John Porter was there. And I knew Doug I knew Doug Rankin quite well from when he was at Green Hill and how long he was at, Toronto golf. And, you know, I'd love I'd love hearing those stories of where the professionals in our industry are respected and they're retained and they teach, but they also learn. You know, it it it goes both ways.
Brad Milligan [01:04:39]:
Yeah. Yeah. Very, very good points there. And I I'm sure, like, when you were growing up, you didn't have a track man in your your garage. Right? There's there's these kids now, the amount of tools, like you said, they can they can implement all of these tools, and they're doing it from such a young age that they can gain so much information about their their, actual golf swing, where where they're losing strokes, where they're gaining strokes. Right? When when, you know, when I was I was growing up playing, it was it was just kind of a field game. And I would watch TV and try to mimic what they were doing on TV, but I didn't have the the Internet necessarily, with with all these videos I could watch and and all these, progressive swing aids and everything that I could I could look into to help my game. And now these kids come out, and they're they're so far ahead of it, that yeah.
Brad Milligan [01:05:26]:
They're not they're not afraid to shoot 62. They they've seen it on TV. They watch all these these guys bomb it down there three fifty, and they they know what it takes now. And and even getting their bodies in shape and their minds in shape to play the game, it's a whole different level. So very, very good points to touch on there.
Ted Pease [01:05:43]:
It's a completely it's a completely different level. I'm I just love seeing, you know, the depth of the field in in pro golf now. You know? Like, there's so many great players, and and they're so knowledgeable. And and, you know, it it's it's it's almost like who's next. You know? It's, you know, now the you know, where guys used to be on the tour for twenty five or thirty years, that's almost unheard of now because the kids coming along are just they've got so many advantages.
Brad Milligan [01:06:16]:
Yeah. Yeah. It's it's it's it's, and it's an evolution. That's what this industry is. It's it's constantly evolving. So it's it's keeping up, with the tech as as far as being a player and then how you run your golf clubs. And that's a
Ted Pease [01:06:29]:
Yes. And it's a good evolution.
Brad Milligan [01:06:31]:
It is. It is a good evolution. I agree. It's making it more fun and enjoyable for everybody.
Ted Pease [01:06:36]:
Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Brad Milligan [01:06:40]:
A %. Anything else you wanna add there add there, Clay? Or,
Clayton Elliott [01:06:44]:
No. I was gonna say, boom, we're this, we can keep going. We get all of a sudden we'll get an hour and a half and two hours. And so, Ted, like, I guess it's my last to sum it all up. You know, if you look ahead, I know, you know, you haven't spent a lot of time, as you mentioned, digging into and researching all the different aspects of AI and the different innovation software and hardware. And but what you from what you do know and what you just basic intelligent, basic aspect of intelligence is pattern recognition. Where do you believe? Where do you see? Where are you guessing? Where do you where do you hope, possibly that the biggest that AI and the innovations around AI will have the biggest impact on how clubs are managed in the next five to ten years. Like, if you could wave a magic wand and just say, AI, do this for me.
Clayton Elliott [01:07:36]:
What would you say is the one that you have your eyes on that you're very bullish on?
Ted Pease [01:07:41]:
Well, I would say, you know, you know, especially as a public facility, which most golf courses are, it's been it's the ability to respond much quicker to I'm gonna say weaknesses or holes in your tee sheet because that's our inventory. That's what we sell. And and it's and it's and it's being able to quickly identify where we go to to try and fill that. You know, having having quicker, solutions to challenges to me would be the biggest thing.
Clayton Elliott [01:08:15]:
After that, I would Specifically specifically in t sheet t sheet management t sheet management, that's the number one innovations around that.
Ted Pease [01:08:23]:
Yeah. Absolutely. And and I know because I go past two or three other golf courses that our slower times are the same at other golf courses. It's almost like when our parking lot is 80% full, every golf course is 80% full. When I go to another golf course and it's 40% full, I know when I get to ours, it's going to be 40% full. So it's it's if AI can give me an advantage to get ahead of that, and when the other golf course is at 40, now I'm at 65, then then that to me is a huge win, You know? And and it and and and it takes my you know? Yes. I have to be observant, and I have to know what's going on. But but it's raw it's raw data, and it's not it's there's no opinion based on it.
Ted Pease [01:09:17]:
It's it's just factual.
Clayton Elliott [01:09:20]:
Cool. And that was the first, area. What was the second one you were thinking of?
Ted Pease [01:09:28]:
I think probably more I look at year end. I I tend to look at long term planning, and I'm I I go, where's where can I use this data that I've had for the whole season and try and collaborate with other guys in our industry, other professionals in our industry, and say, this is what's happening to us? Are you experiencing the same thing? And what am I doing that might be not as good as it should be? And what what are we doing that might be different and better than what you're doing? And, you know, to me, my competition isn't another golf course. My competition is marinas and and soccer fields. And, you know, I want people playing golf. If you play it at another golf course down the street, that's great because I know I'm gonna get you one day. Mhmm. Okay. But if we get, you know and and golf owners being collaborative, if we can share that information on a on a, you know, a big platform, a a big scale, then I think it makes it better for all of us.
Clayton Elliott [01:10:42]:
Yeah. And and it's a very it's a it's a very fragmented it's a very fragmented industry where, like you said, you're not competing with all the golf courses across Canada. But if there was, like, a collective brain, you guys could all be feeding data into and then analyze it and pull some suggestions, tips, best practices for clubs, public clubs, this size in a catchment, this area of this many population, here's some marketing best practices. Here's some operational best practices here. And so it's, it's taking the volume of raw data and distilling the useful implementation, tactic or strategy or advice or takeaway that can take a team of five guys a month analyzing data just to give you the takeaway. And maybe the AI can do it in seconds, in a matter of seconds, and not just yours from the club, but all the clubs together and like amalgamate that, that, that knowledge, and then find some common threads through all of the different clubs in their, in their challenges and, and wins, and then provide some high level knowledge and information in a useful format for other club owners.
Ted Pease [01:11:50]:
Yeah. I I totally agree with that. You know, like, just going back to a very grassroots level, like, I know that my whole career was defined by people helping me, you know, whether it was as a junior starting to play competitive golf and later playing some professional golf before I got into management. But it was the support that I've I've received. So and and it's the spirit of most people that are in the golf industry. It's it's helping others succeed, and I think that's really critical. And if we can the more information that we can have that's factual, it's fact based, it's not speculative, it's not opinion based, but it's hard, raw data, then we can help each other. And, you know, we share each other's strengths and and, you know, getting into the marketing while we tried this or new new ideas and new innovations.
Ted Pease [01:12:42]:
But, again, using the information that we have that's that's, you know, data driven and and using that to, you know, try and be even better.
Clayton Elliott [01:12:55]:
That's great. That's a great answer. And thanks so much for all your insights, all your, all your ideas, your stories, and your inputs has been very helpful and very, awesome first interview podcast on our channel. So we really appreciate your time, sir. Thank you so much. Clayton, thank you.
Ted Pease [01:13:11]:
Brad, thank you very much. I'm glad to help. Feel free to reach out anytime.
Brad Milligan [01:13:16]:
Thank you so much. Really appreciate it.
Clayton Elliott [01:13:18]:
Brad, anything else you wanna add in closing?
Brad Milligan [01:13:21]:
No. No. That's, I know I've learned a lot. I think we're all learning. As we speak with more general managers, I don't think there's an outlet like this. So I think it's, as we we keep interviewing members of this industry who are experts in their fields, I think it's gonna be extremely valuable just as a think tank of information going forward. So I'm really looking forward to these. And once again, thank you, Ted, for your time.
Ted Pease [01:13:42]:
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Clayton Elliott [01:13:45]:
Ron, and thanks to everyone for listening at home to the ACE Call AI podcast, where we help golf club managers win with AI. I'm Clayton Elliott.
Brad Milligan [01:13:55]:
And I'm Brad Milligan. We will see you next time.
Clayton Elliott [01:13:59]:
Yeah. See you next time if you want to take care.
