How Culture Builds from the Inside Out: GM Bobby Lambert's Approach at Sugar Mill

When Bobby Lambert arrived at Sugar Mill Country Club as the club’s new General Manager, he started with listening.

He hosted meet and greet sessions and talked with dozens of members. He learned what the community needed most: energy, connection, and trust. 

Bobby's approach starts with the team who runs the club, knowing that energy flows to the members they serve.

Building Culture from the Inside Out

Before members can feel the difference, the club’s team has to believe in it.

"I think you have to establish a culture amongst the team first," Bobby explains. "Because you have to get their buy-in. If they don't believe in what your vision and mission is, then it's really difficult to change the culture within the membership."

He immediately worked to build on that belief.

In the kitchen, Bobby engaged the full culinary team. Staff members with sous chef backgrounds now contribute specials alongside the executive chef's offerings. People who once worked behind the scenes now actively shape the dining experience.

For the racquets team, Bobby brought in Stephen Vorhees, a tennis pro with infectious energy who ran four clinics and started private lessons within his first two weeks. An assistant golf pro stepped up during the head professional search, helping reimagine the club's signature "Gathering of the Clans" tournament based on years of member feedback.

This is what happens when a general manager prioritizes work-life balance AND professional growth.

Finding Your Place

Bobby’s energy is a taste of what you'd experience as a member at Sugar Mill.

Members take their time here.They enjoy the course, and aren't rushing between obligations.  Multigenerational couples gather in groups of seven or eight on Wednesday and Thursday nights, while weekend events draw an even wider range of age groups together.

"There is somebody here for everybody," Bobby notes. "Not just some thing, but there is somebody that you will connect with. That's my person, those are the kind of folks that we want to spend time with."

During the recent Men’s Member Member tournament, Bobby watched wives gathering in an adjacent room for dinner and cocktails while their husbands participated in the golf event. 

The community built itself—because the environment made it easy.

Bobby is expanding Sugar Mill’s social scene with activities that appeal to everyone: paint and wine parties, crafts, gardening workshops. He wants to make sure that spouses who don't play golf or tennis still feel they have a place at Sugar Mill.

"Ambiance isn't just lighting and aesthetics, it's energy," Bobby says. "And I think we've increased the energy in food and beverage, we've increased the energy in tennis, and as we bring on the right golf pro, we'll see that same increase in participation."

Members Who Want to Stay

Bobby's most immediate priority is member retention.

"I think you have to start with retention and have happy members for outside folks to come in because your biggest source of recruiting is in-house," he explains.

He understands that prospective members pay attention to how current members talk about their club experience. Real enthusiasm can't be manufactured—it has to be earned.

Looking ahead, Bobby will continue to make the small changes that create momentum, listen to what members need, and build a team that genuinely cares about the experience they're delivering.

“We want Sugar Mill to be everybody's favorite place to eat, drink, relax, and be with friends,” Bobby says. “And I think if you can obtain that goal, then everything rolls in the right direction.”