A Function of Experience

by Joe Barks (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
August 2007
 

In his role as Vice President of Design & Construction Services for the PGA Tour, Michael Johnson (pictured below, center) is often asked to check out facilities at properties that are bidding for tournaments, and then give his opinion on how well they would function during an event.

That usually means Johnson studies drawings for the property and calls the architect, designer or club manager to talk things over and explore potential snags.

“Sometimes when I start to ask questions, they take it the wrong way and get defensive,” he reports. “When this happens too much, I usually just cut the call short and send an e-mail back to the Tour people, with my opinion that it may not be the best venue.”

Michael Johnson doesn’t tell this to be on a power trip. His point, which is also his overriding principle for every project he oversees, is that there’s great design, and there’s functionality, but you often can’t have both; and when that’s the case, functionality needs to prevail.

“The thing we do well in our group is to make sure the property operates,” Johnson says. “We check with the dishwashers about which way the line should go, and with the bartenders about where the rail should be. You need to remember how often staff changes happen in [club] operations, and make sure that things are built so pretty much anyone can jump in there and start doing the work. This only becomes more critical when you bring in a lot of extra help for a tournament.”

This same obsession with practical detail carries over to Johnson’s management of projects. For TPC Sawgrass’ massive makeover, he and Project Manager Cindy Reis monitored 10,000 line items. “We probably had 400 lines for the millwork alone, room by room,” he reports. But his software condensed it all into manageable five-page weekly updates for senior staff.