Royal Porthcawl secretary Michael Newland has become the first in Wales to achieve the globally recognized benchmark of excellence in club management
He passed the Club Manager Association of Europe’s (CMAE) Certified Club Manager (CCM) examination – and encourages others to tackle the course.
With part of the course now being run in Wales, it has become easier to aim for the qualification which is open to people with at least six years experience at a club.
The CCM Award covers all sports, it originated in the United States and has become more common in Europe and around the world.
It includes exams in management development, food and beverage, strategy and leadership. The final part involved a seven hour exam at the club manager world conference in San Diego.
Royal Porthcawl is one of the jewels in the Welsh golfing crown, twice hosting the Senior British Open as well as Ladies European Tour events and countless top level amateur competitions.
Newland played the key role to get the club in top condition to host the Senior British Opens in 2014 and 2017, both won by Bernhard Langer.
“It has been a big commitment, but worth doing. I am very proud to be the first Welshman to achieve it,” said Newland, who joined Royal Porthcawl from Sunningdale six years ago.
“The quality of education was first class and very relevant to modern club management. Taking part in the various courses were people from Dubai, Russia, and all over Europe as well as some from America”.
“The courses have helped me run Royal Porthcawl more efficiently, moving the club forward, finding new and better ways of doing things”.
“I would highly recommend it, a number of the staff at Royal Porthcawl are going through the programme and I would encourage all involved in the club industry to take part”.
The Management Development Programme level 1 was run at The Vale Resort last year and there are plans to run the second part in Wales next year. Further details are available from Club Managers Association of Europe or Wales Golf.
The next major event being held at Royal Porthcawl is the Seniors Amateur Championship in August.