As Wycliffe G&CC evolves its offerings and refines its capabilities, retaining a unified, team-based culture will be critical.
Rob Martin, CCM, CAM, General Manager/COO of Wycliffe Golf & Country Club (Wellington, Fla.), has spent his entire career in the club industry and has worked at some of the best clubs in the country, including Grandfather Golf & Country Club (Linville, N.C.), PGA National Resort & Spa (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), and River Oaks Country Club (Houston, Texas).
Having worked in all parts of a club, Martin knows the importance of having a unified team led by strong, humble individuals. He was instrumental in hiring the club’s Executive Chef, Christopher Park. Together, they function with a millennial mindset trained to unite not just the front and back of the house, but the entire club.
C2C: What is the relationship like between you and Chef Park?
RM: Just before I became General Manager, the previous chef had left for the restaurant world. One of my first hires was for an Executive Chef. I was looking for someone who could help to take us in a new direction. I wanted someone with club experience, but who was hungry for their first Executive Chef role.
C2C: What made Chef Park stand out?
RM: His resume was impressive. He began his career at a Marriott Hotel and worked at high-volume, quality operations, including the Breakers Hotel, BallenIsles Country Club and Ibis Golf & Country Club. He was motivated to become an Executive Chef, but no one had given him his big break—until he came to Wycliffe in 2017.
I saw a lot of similarities between myself and him. I suspected we would get along very well and be able to do some impressive things together. He made it to the final two, and then he knocked the tasting “out of the park” and we offered him the job.
C2C: What did he prepare for the tasting?
RM: He did a play on meat and potatoes, with Tomahawk steaks on a wooden board with bone marrow and mashed potatoes. There was a fresh bread display, too. He took such a simple concept and made it a “wow” dish. We were all blown away.
C2C: How has he emerged as a leader over the past four years?
RM: He has performed far beyond our expectations, especially through the pandemic. He’s humble and steady but not afraid to take calculated risks. He’s beloved by the membership and the team. He’s taken the culture of the culinary department to a whole new level.
C2C: What have been some of the biggest changes you’ve made to the program together?
RM: We’ve developed a team atmosphere and Chef has worked hard to promote from within. For example, we had a grill room supervisor who has worked into an Executive Sous Chef role.
We’ve rebranded each restaurant with a new name and logo, and chef was instrumental in that process. And we created a really beautiful employee dining space.
C2C: You named that space “Hyve” and it mirrors your newly renovated Spa & Fitness Center that’s named “Thryve.” How big is the employee space, and what was there previously?
RM: It’s about 3,500 sq. ft., and it was basically a much smaller breakroom and storage area. The project allowed us to expand the footprint, use reclaimed materials from a larger renovation, and leverage the capabilities of our in-house team to create a space that is not only very functional, but also rejuvenating, warm and inviting.
C2C: Was Chef involved in the design phase?
RM: Absolutely. It was mostly Chef Park, myself and the club’s Director of Engineering, Mark Jacobson. Initially, Chef was concerned about losing storage space. But when he saw what we could do if we moved a wall and relocated some of the items that were in there previously, he ran with it. He was instrumental in sourcing the equipment for the buffet line and creating a design and layout that would allow our team to be creative in what we can offer one another.
C2C: What’s on the menu at Hyve?
RM: There’s a soup of the day, a salad station, smoothies, shakes, and comfort options. We try to offer a range of choices, much like we do for our members.
C2C: Beyond this space, what have been some other notable changes to the culinary side of the operation?
RM: Chef has improved almost all elements of the culinary program, whether that’s been in reducing waste, sourcing higher-quality products, using local seafood or offering more creative specials. We also introduced a food truck trailer, to help with grab-and-go and outdoor dining programs.
C2C: Did you build or buy the truck?
RM: We had it custom-built for about $50,000 and we designed it so we could change the menu pretty easily. It will continue to play an important role well beyond COVID, especially for events and happy hours.
C2C: You completed an $18 million renovation (see Rolling Renovation’ Keeps Wycliffe G&CC on the Move) not too long ago. What are the highlights of what you accomplished in F&B through that project?
RM: We added a formal dining room, Flavours, as well as the social hub of the club, The Cliffe. Also, our outdoor Pavilion and expanded Grille Terrace give us various options for outdoor dining. We can seat about 180 people out there with social distancing, so we invested in a lot of outdoor furniture. The membership is deeply grateful that we had the foresight to create so much outdoor space for them.
C2C: What’s ahead for Wycliffe in the next few years?
RM: We are going to focus on how best to use our new clubhouse and create events that are meaningful and well-executed. We’ll continue to explore technology to be efficient and cutting-edge. We’ll also evolve our to-go and takeout programs, and improve sustainability initiatives.
My goal is to continually improve what we offer our members and our team. That’s what separates us—service quality with an innovator’s touch–and that’s what will continue to propel us forward in the coming years.
