59club USA Service Excellence Awards Winners Announced

Friday January 31, 2025

59club USA’s second annual Service Excellence Awards Ceremony took place in Orlando, Florida, on January 23rd, 2025, as the global leader in Customer Service Excellence, supported by Turtleson brought the golf industry together to recognize the Country’s finest service providers.  

These prestigious accolades are determined by scores collected from 59club’s impartial mystery shopping program, which evaluates the entire experience afforded to visiting golfers, and the sales journey that unfolds as prospective clients inquire for club membership, group golf days and special events.  

Celebrations unfolded for Reynolds Lake Oconee after they retained the most prestigious accolade of all, the enviable title, ​that is the Gold Flag of Excellence. 59club’s Flag Designations are presented to properties that not only achieved the required standard of customer service during their audits across 2024 but also provided excellent facilities for customers to enjoy.  

To this day, Reynolds remains the only club in America to have achieved Gold status. Reynolds also saw Caroline Basarab and her team honored for delivering the Leading Individual Retail Experience, and the club went on to claim the my59 Service Excellence Award for their dedication when engaging with members and guests across 2024, having launched a multitude of diverse surveys, serving various revenue streams, utilizing 59club’s survey tools. The feedback they receive, has empowered the team to translate ​consumer insights into positive actions, to perfect their​ member & guest experience. 

“We are truly honored to receive Gold Flag recognition for the second year in a row. We are committed to the highest standards of service and quality at Reynolds, and we depend on 59club’s non-biased feedback to evaluate ourselves and ensure that all customers are receiving a wonderful experience. This award recognizes our team’s continued commitment to excellence.”  -Wesley J. Forester, PGA Director of Golf, Reynolds Lake Oconee

Lingering with America’s leading independent clubs, a double dose of silverware was presented to Westhaven Golf Club, who saw Karol Gajda receive the Food & Beverage Manager of The Year award, and Chris Cauthen crowned Retail Manager of the Year. With We-Ko-Pa Golf Club retaining their Silver Flag Designation. 

Casting the spotlight on the industry’s finest Management Companies, Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail emerged as the big winner on the day, claiming 4 individual awards – Chloe Borders, Jack Simms and their team claimed Golf Operations Team of the Year and Leading Individual Golf Visit Experience for Silver Lakes, with Josh Cook from Ross Bridge claiming the Golf Superintendent of the Year, along with the Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation award. The group also amassed 8 Flag Designations, with Grand National, Ross Bridge, & Silver Lakes awarded Silver Status and Capitol Hill, Highland Oaks, Magnolia Grove, Oxmoor Valley & The Shoals claiming Bronze.  

The TPC Network saw their sales teams receive the triple crown for managing the best ‘one off’ inquiry process, with Don Baldassare from TPC Boston awarded Leading Individual Group Golf Day Sales Performance, Kayleigh Murphy from TPC River Highlands claiming Leading Individual Golf Membership Sales Performance, and Lisa Krueger awarded Leading Individual Event Sales Performance for TPC Twin Cities.  

Kemper Sports enjoyed back-to-back celebrations with Natasha Yarchevskaya and her team from Waverly Woods Golf Club claiming the best one-off Food & Beverage Experience award, and Scott Bailey led the golf operations team from The Governors Club to receive the Most Improved Golf Visit Experience accolade. Kemper rounded off the day with Desert Willow Golf Resort retaining their Silver Flag Designation.  

 Andy Elliot of Cascata Golf Club secured the envious Golf/Club Manager of the Year title for CDN Golf Management, who also enjoyed an additional 2 Silver Flags that were presented to Cascata Golf Club and Rio Secco Golf Club.  

“We are very honored to be recipients of the 2025 Silver Flag awards at both Cascata and Rio Secco.  The teams at both facilities take great pride in giving amazing service experiences to our guests.  We are very proud of our teams for what they do each and every day.  My congratulations go out also to our General Manager at Cascata, Andy Elliott who received the Golf/Club Manager of the Year award.  We are grateful to be associated with the 59club team as we strive to be best in class in providing guest service.” -Jeff Krohn, PGA, Executive Vice President, CDN

Troon’s retail team at Indian Wells Golf Resort, managed by Pam Vincent, claimed the best one-off retail experience, after demonstrating impeccable product knowledge, stock management, ​customer interaction, and sales influence. ​Troon also celebrated 2 Silver Flags for Monarch Beach Golf Links and Eagle Mountain Golf Club

 Cody Piper of Manhattan Country Club was reveling after securing a win for Landscapes Golf Management, for achieving the Most Improved Sales Performance of 2024.  

Of the event, Mark Reed, 59club Director said, What an incredible celebration of excellence. We are 2 years into our awards journey with 59club USA, and it’s a privilege to witness such passion and commitment to excel the customer experience across our affiliate properties. Congratulations to all of our winners and contenders, you are a credit to the industry. I can’t wait to welcome the best performers to our Global stage in 2025, as all ten 59club divisions from around the world come together for the first time, as we crown our Ultimate Service Champions”.   

59club USA Service Excellence Award Winners 2024 

Gold Flag Designation 

Reynolds Lake Oconee (Independent) 

Silver Flag Designations 

Cascata Golf Club (CDN Golf Management) 

Rio Secco Golf Club (CDN Golf Management) 

Eagle Mountain Golf Club (Troon) 

Monarch Beach Golf Links (Troon) 

Desert Willow Golf Resort (Kemper Sports) 

We-Ko-Pa Golf Club (Independent) 

Grand National (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) 

Ross Bridge (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) 

Silver Lakes (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) 

Bronze Flag Designations 

Capitol Hill (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) 

Highland Oaks (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) 

Magnolia Grove (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) 

Oxmoor Valley (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) 

The Shoals (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) 

Golf/Club Manager of the Year 

Andy Elliot – Cascata Golf Club (CDN Golf Management) 

Golf Superintendent of the Year 

Josh Cook – Ross Bridge (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) 

Retail Manager of the Year 

Chris Cauthen – Westhaven Golf Club (Independent) 

Food & Beverage Manager of the Year 

Karol Gajda – Westhaven Golf Club (Independent) 

Golf Operations Team of the Year 

Chloe Borders & Jack Simms – Silver Lakes (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) 

Leading Individual Golf Visit Experience 

Chloe Borders – Silver Lakes (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) 

Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation 

Josh Cook – Ross Bridge (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) 

Leading Individual Retail Experience 

Pam Vincent – Indian Wells Golf Resort (Troon) 

Caroline Basarab – Reynolds Lake Oconee (Independent) 

Leading Individual Event Sales Performance 

Lisa Krueger – TPC Twin Cities (TPC Network) 

Leading Individual Group Golf Day Sales Performance 

Don Baldassare – TPC Boston (TPC Network) 

Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience 

Natasha Yarchevskaya – Waverly Woods Golf Club (Kemper Sports) 

Leading Individual Golf Membership Sales Performance 

Kayleigh Murphy – TPC River Highlands (TPC Network) 

Most Improved Golf Visit Experience 

Scott Bailey – The Governors Club (Kemper Sports) 

Most Improved Sales Performance 

Cody Piper – Manhattan Country Club (Landscapes Golf Management) 

My59 Service Excellence Award 

Reynolds Lake Oconee (Independent) 

Expert appointment sees 59club Asia gain new Leader in Chris Geraghty

Wednesday January 8, 2025

59club, the leading provider of customer experience benchmarking and improvement solutions for the golf, leisure, retail, and hospitality industries, is excited to announce the expert appointment of Chris Geraghty as its new Managing Partner for 59club Asia.

Geraghty’s experience with signature Troon managed properties, in North Africa, Bahrain, and Asia plus time spent with Stella Di Mare Hotels & Resorts in Egypt and De Vere Hotels in the UK speaks volumes for the impending impact Geraghty is set to make as he takes the reigns in driving 59club’s operations across the region.

Boasting a collection of accolades – including four 59club Gold Flag Awards shared between two properties (The Royal Golf Club & Vattanac Golf Resort) also having historically claimed a Silver Flag during Vattanac’s first year of partnering with 59club, and personally receiving the enviable 59club Asia Golf Manager of the year title in 2023 – there is no denying the impact that Geraghty will have on customer service standards in the region as he works closely with all 59club affiliate properties to manage change, increase reputation and improve club profitability.

Of the announcement Geraghty said; “Joining 59club to lead the Asia region is extremely exciting. The opportunity to support Hospitality Business Owners, Management Companies, General Managers, and their respective teams throughout Asia deliver higher levels of service through globally gathered quantitative data, ongoing training, and measurement of results is an incredible prospect.

“Guest expectations in Asia are among the highest I’ve seen throughout a global career, and to be able to share my track record of providing exceptional levels of service with hospitality leaders in over 10 countries to exceed guest expectations is going to be fundamental to the ongoing success of 59club in the region. Thanks to the hard work of the previous management team, 59club Asia is in a fantastic position and I’m very much looking forward to getting started in 2025”.

Of the appointment Simon Wordsworth, 59club Founder & CEO said; “We are delighted to welcome Chris to the team, what an incredible asset for 59club and the clubs in the region to benefit from his expertise, experience and passion. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Araya Singhsuwan for helping to establish our brand in Asia and to James Shippey of Absolute Golf Services for their unwavering support. We look forward to continuing to support our affiliate properties in the region and in welcoming new venues to the 59club network attracted by their desire to excel.

For all enquiries about 59club’s Mystery Shopping, Satisfaction Surveys, and Training & Education opportunities in Asia simply reach out to chrisg@59club.com