The industry turns its attention to The Middle East & Africa as the shortlist is revealed ahead of 59club MEA’s 5th annual Service Excellence Awards, which boards the iconic Queen Elizabeth 2, Dubai Maritime City, on the 7th of March 2024.
59club’s prestigious Service Excellence Awards recognise those outstanding teams and managers within the industry who consistently deliver the finest customer experiences for their members and guests – spanning all aspects of the Golf and F&B operation.
Qualification is unbiased; and determined by scores achieved through a detailed and objective mystery shopping programme, that spans a twelve-month period throughout 2023. The properties nominated represent a defining standard within the golf & hospitality industry, signifying the ultimate benchmark of customer service excellence.
Defending their 2023 Ultimate Gold Flag Property award; Dubai Golf facility, Emirates Golf Club lead the way this year with five nominations, which sees their Golf Operations, F&B, Retail and Agronomy teams all nominated. Emirates are also in contention for the ‘my59 Ultimate Service Excellence’ award, an accolade that represents a venue’s commitment to measure and advance their customer experience using a wealth of 59club’s satisfaction survey templates. Other nominees in this category include, Al Zorah Golf Club, Jumeirah Golf Estates and Trump International Golf Club, Dubai.
In addition to their my59 nomination, Al Zorah Golf Club, are one to watch, boasting three more nominations, after seeing their Retail, Golf Operations, and Membership teams all shortlisted for an award this year. These nominations are testament to the effort and focus given by the team to ensure a smooth journey for golfers across all areas of the club.
Another Dubai Golf facility, Jumeirah Golf Estates, along with Troon International Managed property, Dubai Hills Golf Club, along with the Prosports International Team, enjoy nominations in three award categories. Jumeirah Golf Estates competing in the Golf Operations, Membership and my59 Ultimate service categories, whilst Dubai Hills are vying for success in the Retail, F&B and Agronomy categories.
Last year’s Agronomy Team of the Year; Yas Acres Golf & Country Club are back to defend their title, with their Viya Golf partner club, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, in the running for Golf Operations Team of the Year.
Clubs with double nominations include Trump International Golf Club who are hoping to claim the my59 Ultimate Service Excellence award, a title they hope to retain for the third consecutive year. The club also boast a first-time nomination placement, thanks to the club’s Agronomy Team. Dubai Golf’s collection of facilities also includes Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club who have two nominations, with the membership team recognized, along with the golf operations team.
Troon International will be especially hopeful on the night, as the group enters the winner’s arena in a strong position with Montgomerie Golf Club, Dubai boasting two nominations credited to their F&B and Retail team led by eGolf International. The Els Club, Dubai also enjoy two nominations thanks to their Membership and Agronomy Team, plus there’s more opportunity for the group’s potential success within the Retail, and F&B stakes, in recognition of the teams at Al Hamra Golf Club and Arabian Ranches Golf Club respectively.
This year 59club MEA have introduced a new category to the awards – the Sustainability Award. 59club has recently become Neutral Carbon Zone Silver Certified, meaning all of their organisational emissions have been measured, and fully offset to be carbon neutral for 2023. In the spirit of their aspirations for the great game of golf to become more sustainable, the Sustainability Award, presented in conjunction with Neutral Carbon Zone, will be a welcome and relevant addition to the awards ceremony.
59club’s most prized accolades of the awards ceremony, the Bronze, Silver & Golf Flag Designations will be presented on the night to the properties who consistently deliver an outstanding customer experience as well as providing the finest facilities for their guests enjoyment.
Looking ahead to the Service Excellence Awards, Mark Bull Director 59club MEA said; “It is fantastic to be staging our 5th Service Excellence Awards, presented by Luxury Carts Group. We are very excited to be hosting the industry on board the historic QE2 and celebrating teams and managers from across the industry. The array of nominees just highlights how lucky we are in this region to have some of the leading venues and lifestyle destinations in the world. We are also excited to be making our awards a carbon neutral event, an initiative that is front and centre of ours, and the wider industries, minds today. We look forward to welcoming everyone on board in March and good luck to all nominees on the night.”
In addition to 59club MEA’s Awards Event, the global Customer Service Management Specialists, will host six additional ceremonies during 2024 – which started in the UK, before heading off to Europe, MEA, Asia, USA and Canada, before finally finishing their annual celebrations in Australia – as 59club continue uniting the world of golf & hospitality around their commitment to deliver customer service excellence.
59CLUB MEA SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARD NOMINATIONS 2024
(in alphabetical order)
Golf Retail Team of the Year:
Al Hamra Golf Club, led by Ivy Ferrancullo
Al Zorah Golf Club, led by Stephen Payne
Dubai Hills Golf Club, led by Sam Taylor
Emirates Golf Club, led by Stuart Fee
Montgomerie Golf Club and the eGolf Team.
Food & Beverage Team of the Year:
Arabian Ranches Golf Club, led by Ryan Smith
Dubai Hills Golf Club, led by, Conor Rogers
Els Club, Dubai, led by Etienne Barry
Emirates Golf Club, led by Max Grenard
Montgomerie Golf Club, Dubai, led by Retief Tolken
Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year:
Al Zorah Golf Club, led by Stephen Payne
Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club led by Romana Fernandez
Els Club, Dubai, led by Agnes Wesolowska,
Jumeirah Golf Estates, led by Candy Legaspi
Agronomy Team of the Year:
Dubai Hills Golf Club, led by Jordan Fairweather & Josh McCallum
Els Club, Dubai, led by Alex McDowell
Emirates Golf Club, led by Matthew Perry
Trump International Golf Club, led by Simon Winzar
Yas Acres Golf & Country Club, led by Corey Finn & James Taggart
Golf Operations Team of the Year:
Al Zorah Golf Club, led by Stephen Payne
Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, led by Michael Major
Emirates Golf Club, led by Nico Visser & Ian Brennan
Jumeirah Golf Estates, led by Franco Botha
Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, led by Daniel Richards
My59 Ultimate Service Excellence Award:
Al Zorah Golf Club, led by Stephen Payne
Emirates Golf Club, led by Nico Visser & Ian Brennan
Jumeirah Golf Estates led by Franco Botha
Trump International Golf Club, Dubai, led by Martin McDonagh
Sustainability Award of the Year:
To be announced on the evening
