Crushing Club Marketing Podcast

Private clubs often pride themselves on tradition—but without strong governance, even the most respected institutions can find themselves unprepared for what’s ahead.

In this data-driven conversation, Ed Heil talks with Joseph Abely, Executive Consultant at Club Benchmarking and lead author of the Club Benchmarking 2025 Governance Report. Rather than offering surface-level advice, Joe draws on insights from over 400 clubs to reveal...

What defines value in today’s private club? It’s not the square footage of your dining room or how fast your greens roll—it’s how your members feel when they engage with your club.

In this episode, Ed Heil is joined by Dr. Bonnie Knutson, professor at Michigan State University’s School of Hospitality Business and longtime private club member. Together, they explore why exclusivity isn’t the draw it once was, how member experience n...

No club is immune to crisis, but most are unprepared when it strikes. In this episode, Ed Heil is joined by Andy Skoogman, a seasoned crisis communications expert with a background in law enforcement, media, and private clubs. Together, they discuss the common misconceptions club leaders have about crisis situations, what effective planning actually looks like, and why managing internal communication is just as important as handlin...

In this episode of Crushing Club Marketing, Ed Heil sits down with Jodie Cunningham, owner of Optimus Talent Partners and a certified Predictive Index partner, to explore how behavioral assessments can revolutionize hiring in the private club industry. Drawing on her years of experience, Jodie shares practical insights on building stronger teams, aligning talent with culture, and avoiding costly hiring mistakes. From understanding ...

Episode Description
In this episode, Ed sits down with Bret, an expert in change management and communication, to discuss why successful club transformations depend not just on strategy but on how change is communicated. They explore the unique challenges of implementing change in private clubs, the importance of transpa...

Episode Description
In this episode, we chat with Jackie Singleton and Kristen LaCount from The Country Club about their approach to club communications. From the evolution of their communications department to managing capital project messaging, they share practical insights on building member trust through transparent, consistent communication across multiple channels. Learn how they've developed a culture where communication is ...

In this episode, Ed talks with Jason Becker, CEO and founder of Golf Life Navigators, about emerging trends in private club membership and why clubs should prepare for higher-than-normal attrition rates. Jason shares insights from his company's extensive data collection and explains why the real estate market is a crucial indicator for private club membership trends.

Key Moments:

• Setting the Stage [00:00:00]: Ed introduces the...

In this episode, we chat with Dave Porter, CEO and GM of Greystone Golf and Country Club, about how he transformed his club's governance from a traditional committee-based structure to a CEO-led model. Dave shares his journey of building trust, empowering staff, and creating a more efficient decision-making process that's helping the club thrive.

Key Moments:

• Setting the Stage [00:00:00]: Ed introduces the challenges of tradit...

In this episode, we talk with Russell Bennett, a professional drone photographer specializing in golf course imagery, about the technical and artistic aspects of capturing courses from above. From licensing requirements to creative techniques, Russ shares insights on how clubs can best utilize drone photography to showcase their facilities.

Key Moments:

• Discussing Drone Sightings [00:03:00]: Before diving in, Russ discusses hi...

In the big picture of club improvements, updating bylaws and reviewing governance is about as uninteresting and unsexy as it gets. Most club leaders would rather spend these golden years of private clubs dreaming up capital improvements - which is great, but taking care of governa...

Assessments. They seem to go hand-in-hand with private club membership. Many clubs have voted to assess members for new amenities in recent years, and many more are considering doing the same in the months ahead. Like death and taxes, clubs see assessments as a necessary evil, but are they?

In this episode we talk to Jim Butler, CEO of Club Benchmarking who shares his perspective on assessments and how clu...

In the competitive landscape of private clubs, creating a strong, positive culture isn't just a nice-to-have—it's essential when attracting new members and the best talent. Jackie and Three Carpenter are longtime professionals in the club industry and are also authors of the book "People First." Using their years of experience in the private club industry, Three and Jackie are uniquely positioned to share the critical ...

Not long ago, a club’s membership director was the receptionist at the front desk. As it related to new member acquisition, that person’s primary job was to provide and receive, membership applications. In some cases, they may also be asked to provide a club tour. However, the idea of the membership director also acting as a salesperson was not only foreign, it was considered tacky and frowned upon. After all, any club worth its sa...

The words Selling and Private Club Membership typically do not go hand-in-hand. In fact, most Membership Directors,  wouldn’t be caught dead saying they “sell private club memberships”. People sell timeshare properties and vacation packages, but not private club memberships. Or do they?

Sales trainer and consultant and founder of Master Connection Associates, Cindy Novotny, is with me in this episode to ta...

Most successful businesses have a defined sales process. One that identifies the best prospects, converts them into leads and then nurtures those leads with emails into customers. Most private clubs are missing this process. If your club has enjoyed a waitlist, this isn’t a big deal, but what happens when the well runs dry? In this episode we’re talking about lead management with Kevin Page, Managing Director at StoryT...

Websites are constantly evolving. No longer is your website an online brochure. It should be a critical part of your membership and marketing team. Remember the early days of websites? Some businesses didn’t think they even needed one. They were really basic and let’s face it, were more of a digital brochure. Lots of copy, a few pictures and of course, no video. In the early years, the idea of having a website that cou...

John Schultz, CEO of Club Leadership Alliance, has been around the block - a bunch of times! Prior to his current role, he was the GM for over 20 years at Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. Taking over a club with financial challenges, he put his flywheel in motion and turned the club around with more than 60 million dollars in capital improvements in 2 decades.

Balancing the shifting demogr...