General Manager (GM)

Latrobe Country Club (LCC)

Latrobe, Pennsylvania

“Imagine strolling down the same groomed fairways where Arnold Palmer learned to play the game of golf, or muscling out of the deep rough where the Legend perfected his pitch shots. Now imagine standing over a 20-foot putt on a two-tiered green that Deacon Palmer, Arnold's father, helped design and create. Following the round, walk into clubhouse and dine in the Palmer Grille, the dining room where Winnie Palmer, Arnie's late wife, personally selected everything from the monogrammed china to the wallpaper. Playing 18 holes at Latrobe Country Club is much more than a game. It's something special that members call the Arnold Palmer Experience. There's nothing else quite like it in the world of golf.”

Founded in 1920, Arnold Palmer’s Latrobe Country Club is situated in the beautiful scenic
Laurel Highlands area of western Pennsylvania. The childhood and current summer home of golf legend, Arnold Palmer, Latrobe Country Club offers guests the opportunity to share in the rich tradition of gracious hospitality and friendly service for a truly unforgettable experience.

The spectacular 6,500 yard, par 72 championship golf course is renowned for its lush fairways and scenic landscape adorned with beautiful, red covered bridges. Golf enthusiasts delight in playing on the same fairways and greens on which Arnold Palmer learned to play and still plays the game of golf.

The complex also includes three professional tennis courts, a heated swimming pool and bathhouse, fully-staffed locker rooms. In the Clubhouse, Latrobe Country Club’s culinary team consistently delivers delicious fare to be savored in the casual elegance of the Club Room. At the end of the day, guests can relive every stroke and putt of their round with a refreshing beverage and quick bite in the relaxed atmosphere of the Palmer Grille. The Latrobe Country Club Pro Shop features a wide array of signature equipment and apparel. In addition, the Club offers three deluxe guest houses available exclusively for the Club’s guests.

Owned and operated by Arnold Palmer since 1971, Latrobe Country Club plays a prominent role in the Latrobe community.

Club Facts:

Gross Dollar volume: $3,060,361

Food & Beverage revenues: $1,038,500

Rounds of Golf Annually: 13,000

Taxable Status: For Profit

Membership: 285 in all categories

As a privately owned club, there are no committees at LCC, and members are not assessed for capital projects.

The Role

Latrobe Country Club – General Manager (GM)

The General Manager manages all aspects of the Club including the activities and the relationships between the Club and its owners, members, guests, employees, community, government and industry. H/She defines, coordinates and administers the Club’s policies, develops operating policies and procedures and directs the work of all department heads. Additionally, h/she implements and monitors the budget, monitors the quality of the Club’s products and services, and ensures maximum member and guest satisfaction.

Initial Critical Success Factors:

  • Strong member engagement is essential, including active and sincere involvement in Club events and programming
  • Membership growth – actively involved and leading the membership recruitment and retention programs
  • Staff development – initially determining that appropriate professional skills development programs are in place for all team members, then executing these programs to ensure a continuous evolution to the development and improvement of skills
  • Utilize the resources of the Arnold Palmer organization to quickly understand its history, and the overall expectations of the Owners
  • Begin to identify longer-term critical success factors for LCC, and initiate dialogue with the Owners relative to their merits, likely outcomes if implemented, etc. In essence, ensure that plans for the future are well conceived, show a clear ROI and are effectively communicated.

General Qualifications & Experience

The successful candidate will be a proven businessperson with exceptional financial and budgeting skills that have yielded verifiable results. In particular, the successful candidate must enjoy and embrace the challenge of strong fiscal management while at the same time, delivering the quality and range of service to enable the Club to continue to attract and retain members.

The ideal candidate will possess a minimum of 7 to 10 years of progressively more responsible club management positions. The prospective GM must be a charismatic, passionate professional and have outstanding membership relations and communication skills, both in written form and verbally. Additionally, he/she must have a proven record of strong operational management skills and will have an impeccable career path ensuring the highest standards of operation and attention to detail. The successful candidate will possess sound business acumen, outstanding food and beverage knowledge and be able to provide the energy and desire to interact with the membership on a ‘model professional’ level.

The club is looking for a “visionary, take-charge type” person who understands trends in the private club industry and can help position the Club to successfully take advantage of these trends. The GM will exhibit creativity in providing programs for the membership to enjoy and will take a sincere interest in member and guest satisfaction. Having exceptional listening skills is critical, as is the ability to balance the reality of a large number of long tenured employees with those newer to LCC, as well as new and innovative ideas and programming.

Excellent Food and Beverage skills and programming ability is necessary for the candidate to be successful in this role, and because it is a smaller market operation, being a positive, ‘hands on’ leader is not only most effective, but a critical and intuitive style trait needed for success.

The new GM will enjoy inspiring department managers and employees and will demonstrate leadership skills in team building, employee motivation and especially service training. The GM will lead a senior management team featuring both long tenured and newer managers, including the following direct reports:

  • Clubhouse Manager
  • Head Golf Professional
  • Executive Chef
  • F & B Manager
  • Membership Services Manager
  • Administrative Manager
  • Operations Manager
  • Golf Course Superintendent
  • Tennis Professional

Latrobe, Pennsylvania is a wonderful community in which to live, and this position is ideal for an exceptional ‘rising star’ in the industry, ready to take on his/her first GM position, as well as a more seasoned professional looking for a smaller town way of life working with industry legends and leaders.

Additional requirements:

  • Excellent financial skills, with the ability to quickly assimilate numbers and reports. Knowledgeable regarding typical club financial issues of funding, cash flow, project analysis, and so forth. Is aware of critical benchmarking and financial metrics that lead to proactive responses to trending curves.
  • Exhibit a high level of professionalism, ethics and integrity.
  • Ability to communicate with all levels---from the dish machine operator to the Owners. As well, recognize, appreciate and support the nuances of LCC. Working closely with corporate leaders, as well as the Owners, is a critical need.
  • Strong organization skills, attention to detail and memorializing of standards, expectations and operational processes, and executing to those SOPs is critical.
  • Ability to handle multiple projects and provide various reports on a timely basis.
  • The CCM designation is desired.

Salary:

The salary for this position will be in the $90,000 - $100,000 range, plus incentives, depending upon skills and experience. The Club offers a competitive benefits package along with the typical CMAA benefits.

Inquiries:

Interested candidates should submit resumes and a thoughtful, detailed cover letter outlining one’s alignment with the above noted qualifications and expectations for the position. Those documents should be saved and emailed in Word or PDF format (IMPORTANT! Save and send your information titled as “Last Name, First Name Resume” and “Last Name, First Name Cover Letter” respectively) to:

Nan Fisher:

Lead Partner on this search:Kurt D. Kuebler, Partner

Kopplin & Kuebler, LLC

(561) 747-5213

Kopplin & Kuebler, LLC