ALPHARETTA, GA – Bobby Jones Links (BJL), the golf industry’s leading client-centric, boutique management company, announced today that Allyson Kahl Darling has been named Vice President of Experiences. Darling has held multiple leadership roles with BJL for the past eight years, most recently serving as a Regional Manager and Director of Guest Experiences.
“Allyson Kahl Darling exhibits a genuine passion for service and leadership in every environment she enters and is the natural choice to steward the vital training and leadership development that helps drive a desirable, winning culture at each of the clubs we manage,” said Bobby Jones Links Founding Partner Steve Willy. “She was part of that group that wrote and defined our company’s service standards six years ago and embodies the BJL vision for igniting collaboration and positivity at each of the properties we manage.”
In her new role, Darling will oversee implementing and further developing Bobby Jones Links’ service and training initiatives to continue to offer best-in-class guest and member experiences for clubs in its portfolio.
“How I’m spending my week this week is a prime example of how BJL makes a difference. One of the properties we manage in North Carolina has new owners who are launching a new concept for the club. They’re relaunching their restaurant, golf operations, amenity services, and other areas, so they’ve just hired a completely new staff,” Darling explains. “In a scenario like this, my role is to come in, work with the leadership team, and basically walk through the customer journey. We talk through the desired vibe they want. We ask them to outline their vision for the club in their words. From there, we know if our approach is high-end, white-glove, casual-upscale, or somewhere in between. Once that’s defined, we build the services around the vision.
“Our customer journey involves every point where members or guests will come in contact with our property, our product, or our people. That helps us build a template for that club that informs how processes will run. The next part is getting the entire team on the same page with culture. We let each staff member know just how important their role is and how much room they have to grow in that role with the support of management and ownership.”
An area of focus for Darling will be on blending operational excellence with service greatness, and strategies will be developed for clubs to find ways to move the bottom line through a high level of customer service that will position each respective club for long-term success.
“We believe that if our associates are aligning with our core values, we are able to provide them with more of a fulfilling experience, which will engage them more,” she said.
Darling is excited to help grow and improve many of BJL’s training programs and operating procedures, like the company’s General Manager in Training program, and implementing them with the teams at BJL-managed clubs and courses.
“The Bobby Jones Links General Manager in Training program and our apprenticeship program are vital programs that I’m excited and proud to work on taking to a whole new level. To be able to help our general managers elevate that next line of leaders is very rewarding. The program is a winner for Bobby Jones Links because it helps us with our bench strength as we grow, and it also follows our core purpose, which is to make a difference at the clubs that we operate in the lives of the people that we come in contact with (both internally and externally), and also in the communities in which we operate. Our clubs belong to the community. Leadership is vital to holding all of that together.”
Learn more at www.bobbyjoneslinks.com.
