By Kent Gray
Abu Dhabi Golf Club were the big winners at the recent 59club Middle East & Africa (MEA) Service Excellence Awards, the self-described “Oscars” for golf club sales and customer service.

The European Tour venue scooped Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year and Golf Agronomy Team of the Year. Abu Dhabi G.C. were also recognised as one of eight recipients of a “Gold Flag”, the 59club MEA “Industry Benchmark of excellence”.

Scott Sellars, Golf Operations Manager of Abu Dhabi Golf Club and Clinton Southorn, Cluster Director of Agronomy.

59club MEA presented 16 awards at the awards ceremony at Jumeirah Golf Estates recognising service excellence across all areas of the businesses – sales, service, operations, retail, golf course, food and beverage and management.

Other winners included Abu Dhabi City Golf Club (Food and Beverage Team of the Year), Emirates Golf Club (Golf Operations Team of the Year), The Els Club (Golf Retail Team of the Year) and Trump International Golf Club, Dubai who received the My59 Ultimate Service Excellence Award.

The winners were determined by scores collected from impartial mystery shopping audits which evaluate the experience afforded to visiting golfers and prospective members, in accordance with objective benchmarking criteria. 59club also operates in the UK, Europe, Asia and USA.

“We are delighted to receive these two awards as it is a testament to the hard work and effort demonstrated by the team over 2020,” said Troon Abu Dhabi Cluster General Manager Francisco de Lancastre of Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s two awards.

“Working with 59club MEA throughout the year assists us to monitor customer service data and constantly strive to improve and evolve our renowned service and facility standards”.

The following clubs were awarded Gold and Silver Flag Designations recognising properties that provide excellent facilities for golfers to enjoy, as well as having achieved the required standard of customer service throughout the year.

Gold Flags: Abu Dhabi Golf Club; Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club; Emirates Golf Club; Jumeirah Golf Estates; Saadiyat Beach Golf Club; The Els Club, Dubai; Trump International Golf Club, Dubai; and Yas Links Abu Dhabi.

Silver Flags: Abu Dhabi City Golf Club; The Track, Meydan Golf.