AN HISTORIC golf club is celebrating after claiming a prestigious award.

Dunbar Golf Club was among the winners at the 13th annual 59club UK Service Excellence Awards.

Widely regarded as the industry ‘Oscars’ among the golf and hospitality community, the awards saw the golf club take home the 59club Gold Award.

The ceremony took place in Burton-on-Trent at the beginning of the month.

Jacky Montgomery, Dunbar Golf Club director of golf, was thrilled for Dunbar to be among some elite company, including Ryder Cup venues The Belfry, Celtic Manor and Gleneagles.

He said: “At Dunbar, we take pride in what we call ‘the Dunbar Experience’ that we provide to members and visitors alike, along with the quality of our golf course.

“Investment in staff training opportunities is a key component to our success and a ‘one team’ approach to everything we do is fundamental to our progress.

“This recognition and accolade reflects an excellent team effort and huge congratulations are in order for all of our staff team.”

'They all do a fantastic job'

The 59club awards recognise the highest standards of customer excellence determined by scores collected from the organisation’s impartial mystery shopping audits during the course of 2022, which evaluated the experience afforded to visiting golfers and prospective members, in accordance with objective benchmarking criteria.

Dunbar is not a new face to the scene, being the first Scottish golf club to achieve a 100 per cent score for its customer service in 2017.

Ian Jeavons, club captain, thanked the team at the golf club, which dates back to 1856.

He said: “Jacky leads a great team at Dunbar Golf Club, in the pro shop, the clubhouse, the office and the greens team. They all do a fantastic job looking after both members and visitors who come to play our wonderful golf course. It makes my time as captain of Dunbar Golf Club so much more fulfilling and enjoyable seeing and hearing the consistently positive feedback we get from members and from our many domestic and international visitors, but to have this confirmed by the 59club Gold Award really is the icing on the cake. I am so pleased that the hard work of our staff has been recognised with this award and I would like to congratulate each and every one of them.”

Will Hewitt, general manager of 59club UK, described being nominated and winning awards as “truly something to be proud of”.

He said: “The 59club awards are always a fantastic opportunity to celebrate incredible achievements recognising the significant effort which goes into delivering exceptional member and guest experiences each and every day.

“The list of nominations is a true testament to the talented teams and individuals within our partner venues.”