_Mar/exclusivelyinclusive.jpg "Exclusively Inclusive")
By Kyle Darbyson
Shedding staid traditions and private club norms, The International Club is reinventing what it means to be an exclusive facility
Can private clubs built around the idea of “exclusivity” survive in the modern world? Dan Weadock, Jr., doesn’t think so.
When he took over The International Club outside Boston in 2005, Weadock set out to strip away barriers and create a more inclusive environment at the century-old club. “The allure of private clubs for a lot of people is this whole ‘I’m in, you’re out’ idea,” he says. “But I don’t think those clubs are going to survive in the long run.”
Weadock’s father purchased The International in the late 1990s, following a successful career in the hospitality business. At the time, it was one of New England’s most prestigious private country clubs. When the senior Weadock passed away suddenly in 2005, Dan, Jr., left a career in the tech world to become president and CEO of the club. His brothers were successful investment bankers in New York, while Dan, Jr., had experience running businesses, marketing them and, perhaps most importantly, implementing radical change in them.
“When I took over, I was looking at a train wreck,” he remembers. Memberships were dwindling, revenue was down, and there seemed to be no relief in sight. Adding to the pressure was the sheer size of The International. The club encompassed two 18-hole courses as well as three significant buildings that required upkeep and maintenance. “If things started to go down, the end would come fast,” Weadock says.
A graduate of MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Weadock contends that his lack of golf experience actually helped him in his new role. “I have a lot of experience in change management, so I looked at this as one giant business change management situation. I was able to take a rather unemotional point of view and make decisions from a purely business sense.”
As Weadock saw it, no tradition was too sacred, no aspect of the business untouchable. “We have a very important private club aspect to this business, but we do a lot more on this property,” he says. Accordingly, Weadock identified what exactly it was the club did well and pinpointed ways to leverage those strengths.
Chief among the strengths were, obviously, the 36 holes of golf. The International boasts two distinct 18-hole tracks: The Pines, an 8,400-yard monster that is among the longest in the world, and The Oaks, a heavily-wooded, Fazio-designed gem.
“Golf revenue had been tenuous at best, and memberships and initiation fees were in real trouble,” Weadock says. While this hurt his balance sheet, the decline also meant there was plenty of capacity. So Weadock opened his gates and invited the public to play The Oaks, establishing it as what Weadock believes to be “the only Fazio course the public can play in New England.”
The added revenue from the limited play on The Oaks was nice, but Weadock knew growing the membership was integral to long-term sustainability. To attract them, he needed a new approach.
“The whole ‘one-size fits all’ idea doesn’t work anymore,” Weadock says. “There are a lot of local [potential members] who just aren’t at the point in their lives where they can afford a full membership with big initiation fees, but [they] still want a taste of the good life.”
In response, the club created new membership categories that catered to more niche targets by evolving to offer low-barrier weekend, morning and weekday memberships. “Basically, what we did was create somewhat limited access to lower the price point and still offer a private club product,” Weadock explains. “ I think it’s what people have been clambering after for years, but other clubs were loathe to do.”
Off the course, Weadock set out to strengthen the club’s food-and-beverage business. He recruited a renowned chef from Boston to oversee changes to the club’s restaurant, hoping to create “an experience that people could normally only get in downtown Boston.”
Updating the menu and décor were solid moves, but the key decision was to open the enhanced dining experience to the public. The success has been undeniable, with Weadock estimating half of the restaurant’s revenue now comes from non-members. “It’s been extremely popular,” he says. “People love being able to come out easily and comfortably for a great meal with a beautiful view.”
The club’s lodge, once almost an afterthought used to house members’ wedding guests, has seen its profile rise substantially, too. It’s now utilized to accommodate destination guests drawn by the chance to get a taste of the private club experience, including the Fazio course.
Weadock admits implementing these changes has been tough. The club lost approximately 50 “stalwarts”—members who took great pride in belonging to an exclusive, private club—out of 350 members, but Weadock has no regrets. “If you just keep your focus on the old guard, you’re going to go off a cliff,” he notes.
To appease the more fiery members who did stay, Weadock has publicly announced his intention to refocus on the private club side of the business. “Now that things are a little more stable, I can give it the attention it deserves,” he says.
Even so, Weadock is determined to show that his inclusive approach doesn’t mean members can’t enjoy an exclusive, unique experience that’s second to none. As for members hoping The International will return to a purely private model? “I don’t think we’re ever going back,” Weadock says. “It’s grown into something that’s too big, with too many facilities, to just be a private club.”
Looking to the future, Weadock envisions The International being more of a lifestyle club than it has been in the past. “There will be a five-star lodge and spa with a robust social scene fed by new and innovative memberships that inject youth,” he says. “What I see excites me.”
Kyle Darbyson is a Vancouver-based freelance writer.