The Club Management Association of Europe (CMAE) is delighted to announce that Matt Mayfield, General Manager at Harewood Downs Golf Club, has officially achieved the highly respected Certified Club Manager (CCM) designation.
With over 15 years of experience as a General Manager, Matt has dedicated his career to delivering excellence in club operations, member engagement, and strategic leadership. At the helm of Harewood Downs Golf Club, Matt has overseen continued growth and development, ensuring the club meets the evolving expectations of today’s membership.
The CCM designation is the gold standard in club management qualifications, globally recognised as a mark of excellence. It reflects in-depth expertise across 11 core competencies essential to leading a modern club – from governance and finance to operations and leadership.
Torbjorn Johansson, CEO of CMAE, commented:
“Matt’s long-standing leadership and continued pursuit of professional development are exactly what the CCM designation represents. We are proud to welcome him to the family of Certified Club Managers and recognise his contribution to the advancement of our industry.”
Matt shares his thoughts in an exclusive Q&A:
Well done on achieving the CCM, Matt Mayfield. How happy are you right now?
I am absolutely thrilled to have achieved the CCM qualification, it’s a huge milestone and something that I’ve been working hard towards. I’m feeling proud and also grateful to the Directors of Harewood Downs Golf Club for their continuing support of professional development (I have four colleagues who are also enrolled on the MDP pathway), along with the ‘professors’ tutors, mentors and industry colleagues who gave up their valuable insights and time without asking for anything in return. I am now looking forward to attending my second world conference in the US February 2026.
You have been a GM in the industry since 2009, how would you describe your journey as a GM and as a Leader?
I have been fortunate to work at a number of different venues since leaving university. My career as General Manager started in Leicestershire at Forest Hill Golf and Conference Centre which at the time was owned by brothers Andrew and Laki Sparsis. From the onset, they treated me as though I was a family member which I will never forget, in return I worked tirelessly helping them to grow the business year-on-year. Their approach to management is one I continuously try to replicate (Servant Leadership), create an environment of growth, and allow individuals to thrive.
In January 2013 I accepted a position as general manager with Crown Golf who at the time were the largest owners / operators of golf courses in the UK. This was a completely different experience from my time at Forest Hill and one I again learned a great deal from. During my time with the company, I reported to three different regional managers and two CEO’s which in my mind re-emphasised the importance of how I should act, communicate, and conduct myself with fellow team members. I don’t pretend to get it right every day, but my philosophy remains steadfast.
Finally in January 2019, I accepted the general manager position at Harewood Downs Golf Club. One which I continue to enjoy on a daily basis. Over the 6 years, I have received the full support of the Board who have provided all the tools allowing me to create and develop a fantastic team in an environment which they enjoy working. We are a relatively small club with 600 full members, 100 juniors and a thriving academy. We host the Douglas Johns Trophy (England u15’s championship) every year and are proud to be hosting the BCLGA County Match Week this summer. In terms of projects, we were recently granted planning permission to create a new reservoir which will proceed prior to the installation of a new full course irrigation system. Both projects will require me to lean on the skills and knowledge of my team and the Board of Directors.
You sat the CCM Exam Review Course in April. How was that experience compared to “normal” training?
I was nervous about taking the CCM exam as quite rightly, it is not easy. Whilst chatting with CMAE CEO Toby, he mentioned that they planned to offer a 2 ½ day course which would review all the MDP’s which I had attended since starting the journey in 2022. I immediately requested to be included in the group as I hadn’t attended either of the Golf Management or Food and Beverage modules from which questions are obviously included within the exam.
In the weeks prior to the review course, I read, digested, and re-read my notes from each of the MDP courses along with the Contemporary Club Management textbook which at first glance is quite daunting but includes all the information required to pass.
On the first day of the course, I was relieved to find some of my industry colleagues who I have met on the pathway were also in attendance. This put me at ease knowing I was surrounded by individuals who placed as high a value on the qualification as I do. Over the 2 ½ days, the expert ‘professors’ covered all core competences which proved invaluable as without their input, I might have received a different outcome.
Amongst the numerous benefits of the course, staying at the wonderful Caledonian Club in Knightsbridge (London) meant that I could fully focus on the revision sessions without the stresses of commuting and was therefore fully refreshed heading into the exam on Thursday morning.
If you are considering taking the CCM exam, I would highly recommend attending the review course.
What about your CCM journey? What will you remember the most?
I guess attending the world conference in Las Vegas in February 2023 which attracted 4000 individuals from across the globe was right up there. The combined knowledge, passion, and motivation from everyone who attended was awe inspiring. Making connections with individuals who work in the US, Aisa, and the Middle East who I still speak with regularly opened my eyes to the differences in type, size, and scale of clubs that exist across the globe. As well as the world conference, there have numerous other memorable experiences both in terms of the education I have received, the relationship with industry colleagues who’ve become friends, and the overriding support of the CMAE team including the European Associations CEO Toby Johansson, and Jason Koenigsfeld of the CMAA. Everyone is always willing to share their time, effort, and knowledge, it really is like a family.
What would be your biggest challenge at your job right now?
I will avoid the obvious topic of the recent government hikes in national minimum wage, national insurance contributions and significant reduction in business rate discounts so, as mentioned previously, across all departments, I work with a great team of motivated professionals. Inevitably at some point, with my full support, they will want to fly the Harewood Downs nest to further their own careers. Whilst in some departments there is always likely to be a queue of hopeful candidates, finding individuals seeking a career as a greenkeeper seems to be getting harder. A number of years ago, I was able to introduce a structure that rewards qualifications as well as capability, but if the pool of candidates keeps shrinking, we may be in trouble. We recently introduced a fleet of robotic mowers to complement our dedicated team which allows them to focus on the technical aspects of maintaining a healthy plant, but I foresee in the not-too-distant future, our reliance on these robots will become the norm.
Anything else you want to share with people thinking about becoming CCM?
I think as with the whole MDP pathway, don’t be afraid to give it ago. We all lead busy lives, and I know time is valuable, but the quality of the education program, the network that can be built and the experiences encountered along the way are worth the effort. I can’t recommend it highly enough. If anyone would like to chat about my or their journeys so far, please reach out.
