If you were looking for someone to oversee and drive your golf business, you’d struggle to find a person better qualified than Keith Pickard.

For more than three decades, the Scot has devoted himself to the industry, starting out as a golf professional before moving on and forging a hugely successful career in the management side of the game.

Having worked in a variety of senior roles for some of the biggest names in the golf leisure business including De Vere Hotels and Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, Pickard has vast experience of the UK golf resort industry.

So when The QHotels Group – the UK’s largest golf resort operator – was looking for a new person to lead their golf, leisure and spa sectors, who better to turn to than a man with such a proven track record and whose knowledge of the industry is second to none.

Pickard was initially brought in on a consultancy basis last October before being offered the position of golf, leisure and spa director seven months later and, with the popularity of golf soaring in the wake of the COVID pandemic, the chance to cement The QHotels Group’s status at the forefront of golf in the UK is one that he is clearly relishing.

“I first got involved with The QHotels Group last autumn when I was asked to look at investment around growth strategy opportunities within golf, leisure and spa,” said Pickard.

“A lot of my work within the first six months involved putting together a three-year investment plan centred around the golf product, the investment into course machinery and the investment into our golf courses.

“That’s what I’ve also done from a leisure and spa point of view so that we can assess what the growth sections and growth opportunities are for us and how we can maximise the overall growth in terms of revenue and profit for each of those functions.

“The chance then came to join the team on a full-time basis to look after those three functions. It’s a brilliant opportunity and I’m thrilled to be taking on this new role with The QHotels Group, who are responsible for some of the most popular venues in the country.”

Pickard has certainly been swift to act in his new position. Under his guidance, The QHotels Group announced a new multi-million-pound investment across its golf resorts over the next three years this spring with an initial outlay of £2m at its seven venues over the first 12 months.

The three-year improvement programme will cover all sectors of the group’s golf-course business, from investment in the latest greenkeeping equipment and improved bunkers, pathways and drainage systems to upgraded driving range facilities and modernised amenities away from the course.

Investment is also planned across the group’s leisure and spa venues, while Pickard is also well aware of the need to put the correct internal structures in place so that the business maximises the opportunities available.

He said: “Within golf, we have created this three-year plan but we’re also looking at some significant investment as well, particularly into leisure.

“This is a key growth market for us and we have to make sure that, as well as getting our product right, we look at our marketing and regeneration and also look at the people element to make sure that we’ve got dedicated people who can convert leads into members.”

He added: “Investment in our people and our teams will run parallel to this product investment strategy. The development of people is a passion of mine and core focus of the group and we are dedicated in finding and nurturing the next superstars in golf and course management, and the recruiter of choice in the golf industry.”

As the UK’s largest golf resort operator, residential golf breaks are key for The QHotels Group, and they make up 50 per cent of its overall golf business.

With many golfers preferring to opt for a holiday at home rather than heading overseas, the number of golfers booking holidays has continued to boom this summer, helped by a ground-breaking new online booking platform which helps customers to secure tee times, accommodation and table reservations for lunch and dinner in a single booking attempt.

But, while Pickard is fully aware of its importance, he also realises the need to develop other parts of the group’s golf business which are vital for its long-term success – with golf memberships, junior academies and corporate and society golf all targets.

He said: “Our core market for golf – our residential golf breaks – are exceptionally busy just now and we can see that continuing to grow over the next two to four years, especially with the whole staycation marketplace.

“Corporate golf is definitely a focus area and it’s the same for our golf membership proposition. We have around 3,000 members across the portfolio which is excellent, and it’s now about how we make sure that we have good proactive retention tools so that we can retain those members, and how we can actually grow that route to market.

“We will always have our traditional membership model but our route to market will undoubtedly be points-based, due to the price point and also the flexibility of the points-based system, and we want to make strong inroads there over the next six to 12 months.

“We have also got some brilliant academies at the grassroots level, and growing the game is very much a focus for us. We have had some brilliant achievements so far at some of our venues and we’re making sure that we engage with local schools and various government initiatives.

“We’re in a very fortunate position within The QHotels Group that we can, and should, be investing back into the sport, and that’s certainly something that we’re actively doing with the academies we have.”

With the number of new people taking up golf since the outbreak of COVID – the ‘2020 Great Britain Golf Participation Report’ revealed that the number of adults playing golf in the UK and Ireland last year rose by 2.3 million, with 2.1 million new people playing on a nine or 18-hole course – Pickard is excited by the unexpected opportunity that golf has been presented with and it is something that he is determined The QHotels Group takes full advantage of, with a number of exciting initiatives to be introduced over the coming months and years.

He added: “We are certainly not going to be complacent and rest on our laurels, and we have got some brilliant people within the business with a lot of experience.

“It’s about what we do to entice and attract those new golfers, and I think it’s about being creative with the facilities and our offerings as well. Having our academies is brilliant but then we can look at introducing three holes, six holes or nine holes-type golf so that we can get people engrained into golf.

“We are the UK’s largest golf operator and that is something we want to hold on to. We want to make sure that we enhance our overall visitor experience and that we become that must-go-to destination or resort, whether that’s for a casual round of golf, a golf lesson, for membership or for a resort experience. That’s my aim and I know those sentiments are shared by my peers.”

With Pickard at the helm, it’s hard not to see those aims becoming a reality in the coming years.