Episodes

Not the Swing, but Visibility, Member Service and Access is Paramount for any Department Head Visibility is crucial for a Director of Golf and Pat Gunning understands that. His daily ritual as Director of Golf at the famed Noyac Golf Club takes him to the club to greet the members teeing off at 6.30am. His day is basically set up to make himself as visible to the members as possible. Although at the club most of the day, he limits the number of hours he teaches, so he remains available to the m...

by Jennifer Gelhaus, USPTA and Director of Tennis In our sports-hungry culture, we watch the NHL, MLB, NFL, the ATP. Finally, we are receiving coverage of the WNBA more often and watching the LPGA and the WTA. In this age of inclusion and diversity, women’s sports are, perhaps, finally gaining some ground in terms of public viewing on a national television basis. But our perception of “coach” isn’t changing one bit, according to a professor of sport management. Fomer college student-athlete and...

Angela Wilson was fortunate enough to have really good coaches who were in the game of coaching. That made the difference for her growing up playing junior tennis and into her college career at the University of Indiana. Her foundation really helped her to become a great coach long before she became Club Manager. But, it was also a driver. Her love of coaching battled with the time she needed to devote to club management. Angela Wilson, General Manager, Western Athletic Club With her accounting...

Tennis has a beautiful history, and Jim McCready is at the forefront of keeping that history alive and in front of tennis and sport fans across the world. Former Director of The APTA and a legend both on the tennis and platform tennis courts, Jim states that “tennis has been his life.” His collection subtitled, Tennis At The Turn, started at The Belle Haven Club in Greenwich, Connecticut with a couple of 19th Century beautifully crafted wooden racquets. 40 years later, Jim is still accumulating...

Jennifer Gelhaus has always been before her time. She started college early at the tender age of 16, after being recruited from her native Venezuela to play Division II tennis here in the United States. She left home and took a chance. She took a step into college coaching before moving to Long Island and serving as Director of Juniors at one of the most prestigious clubs in the nation, Maidstone Club. Now, she’s taken a leap once again, and has moved on to become Director of Tennis at East Chop...

Denise Duda, one of the leading Directors of Fitness in the country, is this week’s guest on the BTB Podcast. Denise Duda recently retired as Director of Fitness and Wellness at Orchid Island Golf and Beach Club in Orchid, FL. Having accepted a new challenge up in New York for just a few months a year, Denise now being semi-retired opened up to us about her work, her programming and her secrets behind her incredible success at one of the leading Platinum Clubs of America. What Denise never negl...

A Podcast in our Series: Women in our Industry Cari Buck grew up at one of the elite clubs in Massachusetts, The Wianno Club.. Her father was the director of tennis at the summer club in Osterville, Massachusetts. She’s never forgotten those days, and from those childhood summers and watching her father managing and marketing a tennis department she knew what she wanted to do. Cari, did just that, and is one of those rare finds: a female director of tennis. Cari is well-versed in our industry, h...

Doug Cash Joins the BTB Podcast Doug Cash, founder of CashFlow Tennis, joins the BTB Podcast and discusses how Covid has changed the club industry and what to expect as we head through 2021. Nothing will remain untouched by the virus, says Doug. From the large fitness national chains which have lost up to 70 percent of their monthly dues revenues, through to country clubs which, on the other hand, have been seen as sanctuaries and have raised dues. Every facet of club membership is evolving as ...

CNN and Fox News Contributor Vero Gibbons joins the BTB Podcast! Vera Gibbons joins the podcast today for a discussion of all things tennis, Presidents and the steady migration of Americans to Southern States and what that might mean for tennis and court availability next winter, dinner reservations and traffic up and down the Florida peninsula. Vera, a heralded newscaster, started her career on the financial side of journalism at the Kiplinger Report. She moved on to CNBC and the show “High N...

Butch Buchholz had an idea. He had an idea as to what professional tennis should look like. He had a dream and he played and toured the world with a vision. And in August of 1967 he played in front of a packed Centre Court at Wimbledon and guaranteed the presence of paid professional players returning to Wimbledon in June of 1968 and the beginning of the Open Era. Wimbledon, in 1967, had invited 8 of the touring pros – back before pros were allowed to play at all the Grand Slams. The pros were ...

Kelsey Waite, Head Professional at Bethesda Country Club Joins the BTB Podcast She once heard the term unicorn used to describe a female teaching tennis pro, and that picqued her interest. Kelsey Waite had completed her college degree and was figuring out how to apply her newly found skills in science and French when someone asked her to help teach tennis. She’s now a Head Pro at one of the country’s most elite clubs. Kelsey Waite – from waitress to head professional. Coming to the industry un...

Harry Gilbert really does direct an orchestra, an orchestra of well-trained staff members, junior players and adult club members. He does it with aplomb and always with a smile on his face as he has waved his racquet and baton at clubs up and down the East Coast and on the islands for the past 40 years. Director of Tennis for the last 23 years at Waccabuc Country Club, located in the hills on the Westchester and Putnam county line in New York State, Harry has built an engaging and enormous prog...

Wick Simmons, former CEO of NASDAQ and Chairman of The Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport, Joins The Podcast Hardwick Simmons has been in the financial world for over 45 years. He’s played tennis since the age of 8 and the first job he held was rolling courts at his beloved club in Marion, MA. He still plays tennis there at the club and remains active in finance and the business world. Just how did this Wall Street financier combine his work life with his love of tennis and help to bring the ATP to f...