St Mellons Golf Club

Food and beverage has historically been one of the most challenging areas for us to manage effectively. We needed an honest assessment of whether to rebuild and operate in-house or consider a franchised model, supported by people who genuinely understood golf clubs, hospitality, staffing, member expectations and commercial performance.

Ian and Gary delivered exactly that. Their review was detailed, structured and refreshingly direct. They identified the key issues affecting our operation and explained both the operational causes and commercial impact. Importantly, they did not simply identify problems; they helped us understand what needed to change and why.

The pilot went well beyond a basic food and beverage review, covering the kitchen, clubhouse structure, staffing, standards, compliance, cost leakage, member experience, events, revenue opportunities and the wider role of hospitality within the club. Their findings demonstrated that successful F&B performance depends on strong leadership, accountability, training, standards and operational structure.

One of the most valuable outcomes was greater clarity around our future direction. Ingentro identified the need for a significant hospitality overhaul and helped us assess the future of the kitchen operation. They also highlighted areas of cost leakage and potential savings, including card payment costs, internet and Wi-Fi, suppliers and labour control. This provided valuable insight into how stronger management controls could improve our financial performance.

They also presented practical ideas to improve the club’s image and strengthen revenue drivers, including the clubhouse, patio and courtyard areas, entrance, lounge, sports bar potential, Halfway House, signage, lighting, social membership and local partnerships. These recommendations were clearly linked to increasing member satisfaction, clubhouse use, visitor spend, private functions and use of underutilised spaces.

The quality of the pilot gave us the confidence to ask Ingentro to support us with senior recruitment. They have successfully managed the recruitment of our new Clubhouse Manager, supporting us throughout the process and helping us appoint a candidate we are delighted with.

They are also currently supporting the recruitment of a new Head Chef / Kitchen Manager. Their golf club hospitality experience allows them to look beyond a CV and assess commercial awareness, operational discipline, leadership and the ability to deliver what a club kitchen requires.

What stood out most was that Ian and Gary brought practical experience rather than theory. They understand how golf clubs operate, including the relationships between members, committees, boards and staff, as well as the commercial pressures involved in making change. Their advice was honest, constructive and realistic.

As requested, our only constructive feedback would be that they could be clearer at the outset about the exact boundaries of a pilot review. Their thoroughness and commitment meant the work naturally expanded well beyond the original F&B scope. While this created additional work for them, it was extremely valuable to St Mellons and demonstrated just how invested they became in helping the club improve.

Ingentro has given St Mellons Golf Club greater commercial clarity, operational direction and recruitment support. Their work has helped us understand what needs to change, why it matters and how we can move forward with greater confidence.

We would be very happy to recommend Ingentro Consultancy to other golf clubs looking for honest, practical and experienced support with food and beverage, clubhouse operations, commercial improvement or senior recruitment.

We have been extremely pleased with the work Ian and Gary have delivered and look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.