Description:

Clubhouse Operations Manager, Prestwick Golf Club

Prestwick Golf Club is seeking a Clubhouse Operations Manager to oversee all aspects of its clubhouse and dormy operations. Reporting to the Secretary, this role is dedicated to maintaining and elevating the club’s exceptional member and guest experience, ensuring that off-course hospitality reflects Prestwick’s world-class standards. With a focus on fine dining, service excellence, and strong leadership, the successful candidate will oversee the clubhouse, the 8-bedroom Dormy House, the reopening and continuous development of the upgraded Cardinal Restaurant, and all clubhouse facilities. The role includes leading a highly professional team, promoting attentiveness and care in all interactions, and ensuring that health, safety, and compliance standards are rigorously maintained. Central to the club’s evolution, this role ensures that improvements to operations, facilities, service, and team performance are smoothly integrated into the traditions and high standards that members value most.

ABOUT PRESTWICK GOLF CLUB

Prestwick Golf Club, founded in 1851, is one of the oldest and most celebrated golf clubs in the world, widely recognised as the Birthplace of The Open Championship. The original course was laid out by Old Tom Morris, whose pioneering design established the foundations of modern links golf. Prestwick is renowned for its challenging, undulating fairways, strategically placed bunkers, and enduring links character, offering a distinctive playing experience that combines skill, strategy, and history. The course retains a subtle, quirky charm, with its traditional features and idiosyncratic layout reflecting more than 170 years of golfing heritage.

In recent years, the club has made considered investments to enhance the off-course experience for members. The clubhouse has been thoughtfully upgraded, offering a refined and welcoming environment, while the acquisition and refurbishment of the eight-bedroom Dormy House provide additional accommodation for visiting members and guests. These improvements have been introduced with care and subtlety, complementing the club’s historic character and ensuring that Prestwick continues to offer a world-class, yet characterful, member experience.

As home of The Open from 1860, Prestwick’s contributions to golf include not only the legacy of creating the game’s oldest championship but also the establishment of foundational tenets for course architecture, a friendly club culture unrivaled in Scotland, and a commitment to preserving traditions and heritage that connect members and guests to golf’s origins. The membership also takes great pride in the high levels of respect shown to the high-performing team of people employed by the Club.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

- Oversee all Front of House operations, ensuring service is consistently attentive, professional, and aligned with the club’s high standards.
- Lead and manage kitchen operations, working closely with the Head Chef/Steward to maintain culinary excellence and menus that reflect both tradition and seasonal quality.
- Direct the management of the Dormy House, ensuring accommodation is welcoming, well-maintained, and offers an exceptional experience for visiting members and guests.
- Lead, develop, and support the clubhouse team, setting standards by example and encouraging attentiveness, professionalism, and pride in service.
- Ensure health, safety, and regulatory compliance across all operations, maintaining rigorous standards and a safe, welcoming environment.
- Oversee facilities management, including routine maintenance, preventative schedules, and coordination with contractors, ensuring the clubhouse and grounds are impeccably presented.
- Supervise events and functions, ensuring they run smoothly and meet members’ expectations while retaining a subtle attention to detail.
- Identify opportunities for incremental improvements and project work within the clubhouse, integrating enhancements sensitively into established operations and traditions.
- Encourage initiatives that enhance the Food & Beverage experience, providing opportunities to increase engagement and naturally support revenue growth.
- Respond to member feedback promptly, ensuring concerns are addressed and experiences are continually refined.
- Support the Secretary with operational insight, HR matters, and staff development to maintain a well-functioning, motivated, and professional team.

CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE AND ATTRIBUTES

- Extensive experience in a leadership role within a distinguished member club or high-quality hospitality environment.
- A strong background in service, with a proven record of delivering consistently excellent experiences for members or guests.
- Experienced in overseeing front-of-house and kitchen operations within a high-quality hospitality setting, maintaining exceptional standards of service, quality, and presentation.
- Demonstrates exceptional leadership, with the ability to guide and inspire teams while setting a positive example.
- Skilled in staff development and training, encouraging continuous learning and professionalism across the team.
- Proactively identifies ways to enrich member engagement and drive the development and success of the club’s facilities and services.
- Financially literate, with experience in managing budgets, monitoring performance, and providing considered insight.
- Well-versed in health, safety, and compliance matters, maintaining a proactive and practical approach.
- Practical experience in facilities management, including oversight of maintenance, contractors, and preventative schedules.
- Personable, approachable, and confident, with a natural ability to build and maintain strong relationships with members and colleagues.
- Positive, motivating, and supportive, instilling confidence and professionalism throughout the team.
- Resourceful and dependable, capable of supporting the Secretary in achieving the club’s strategic objectives.
- An effective and confident communicator, able to engage comfortably with Members, guests, and team members at all levels.
- Committed to upholding and promoting the team’s core principles of understanding, support, and communication.

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

- A minimum of 3-5 years of leadership/management experience, preferably in a hospitality management role in a member’s club or a leading hospitality operation outside of the club industry.

EDUCATIONAL AND CERTIFICATION QUALIFICATIONS

- A bachelor’s degree is preferred with a focus on Hospitality or Business Management.
- In lieu of the degree, substantial private club or hospitality experience will be considered.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

Salary is open and commensurate with qualifications and experience.

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO APPLY

Please upload your CV and cover letter in that order using the link below.  You should have your documents fully prepared to be attached when prompted for them during the online application process.  Please be sure your image is not present on your CV or cover letter; that should be used on your LinkedIn Profile.

Prepare a thoughtful cover letter addressed to Mr. Rob McGuire, Secretary, and clearly articulate your alignment with this role, why you want to be considered for this position at this stage of your career, and other factors that make Prestwick Golf Club attractive to you.

You must apply for this role as soon as possible but no later than Friday 7th November 2025. Candidate selections will occur in mid-November with the first Interviews expected in late-November and the second interviews a short time later. 

IMPORTANT:  Save your CV and letter in the following manner:

“Last Name, First Name – CV” &

“Last Name, First Name – Cover Letter – Prestwick GC”

(These documents should be in Word or PDF format)

Note: Once you complete the application process, you are not able to go back in and add additional documents.

Click here to upload your CV and cover letter.

If you have any questions, please email Patty Sprankle: patty@kkandw.com or Michael Herd: michael.herd@kkandw.com

Lead Search Executive:                                                            

Michael Herd

Head of International Search & Consulting, KOPPLIN KUEBLER & WALLACE

+44 (0) 7903 035312 – United Kingdom

michael.herd@kkandw.com