One woman's mission to turnaround a golf club

In a first for the golf industry, Syngenta Golf's fly-on-the-wall documentary, Changing the Business of Golf, follows former Ladies European Tour professional Fame Tate as she breaks with tradition and aims to transform the course and customer experience at Stanedge Golf Club, Derbyshire.

The fifth episode

In the fifth episode, Fame heads into town to meet Destination Chesterfield's Dominic and catches up with her accountant Laura to discuss plans for a women's networking event. Meanwhile back at the club a local cricket team enjoys the Stanedge experience and Fame explains why it's important for ger club to be at the heart of the community:

“When I reopened the golf club, I didn’t actively think ‘I’ve got to engage with the local community,’ it was a given – it just had to be done, says Fame who believes her club’s long-term sustainability relies on being open and welcoming to local people.”

Watch the episode here:

The fourth episode

In the fourth episode, Fame reveals why golf club businesses need to offer more than golf, Club Manager Claire explains why customer service is her top priority and they talk to new members and hear why they love the Stanedge experience.

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The third episode

In the third episode, head greenkeeper CJ returns from paternity leave, new greenkeeper James talks about swapping aeroplanes for fairways due to the pandemic and Fame explains why the golf course is her number one priority.

Watch the full episode here:

The second episode

In the second episode, Stanedge Golf Club is forced to close during the pandemic. Owner Fame Tate is under pressure from the bank to keep the business going.

Despite this she remains positive, she says:

"I've had to draw on the positives, I am not a negative person. I always try with everything to see a way through things. We will get through this."

There is not just the financial strain, lockdown is proving stressful for members of the greenkeeping team, too.

Watch the whole episode here:

The first episode

In the first episode, Fame recalls the life-changing decision to acquire the golf course and how she is turning the club into an open, friendly venue at the heart of her local community.

Fame, whose playing career was cut short by injury says:

“If you’d said to me one day you’ll own a golf club, I’d have probably sat there are laughed!

“My vision from day one was to break away from the traditional golf club model. It’s about making a place that’s welcoming, affordable, accessible, inclusive.”

You see the PGA Professional, working closely with her greenkeeping team and revealing how she rolled up her sleeves to get stuck in to groundwork as Fame is investing in a major course upgrade to improve playing conditions.

What to expect from Changing the Business of Golf

The series documents day-to-day happenings, including course management work led by head greenkeeper Christian ‘CJ’ Johnson. He says:

“It was a tough task for Fame and everybody involved to get the course back to where it was, but since then we have really tried to improve it as a team and get it moving forwards.”

Just one year after acquiring the club, Fame faced the potentially catastrophic challenge of the Covid pandemic and enforced lockdown, forcing her and the team to call on their inner reserves of strength and resilience to keep the business afloat.

The series will follow Fame and her team as she reopens Stanedge Golf Club and takes on the business of golf.

Watch the episodes and find out more about Syngenta Golf here. Also, you can find out more about Stanedge Golf Club here.