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Multi-course companies magnified
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(Left to right) Ted Horton, senior consulting superintendent, ValleyCrest; Bill Rehanek, senior vice president, Billy Casper Golf; Ron Jackson, CEO, Meadowbrook Golf/IGM; Jeff Spangler, senior vice president of science and agronomy, Troon Golf; and Keith Hanley, senior vice president of operations, Eagle Golf, made up the “Multi-Course Companies: What You Always Wanted to Know” panel at the 2008 GIS in Orlando. Photo by Bruce Mathews |
ORLANDO — Though only five people were sitting at the dais in the Orange County Convention Center, they represented almost 500 golf courses.
Whether that’s great news or awful news depends on what side of the multi-course company argument you’re on.
The panel, the first of its kind for the Golf Industry Show, was titled, “Multi-Course Companies: What You’ve Always Wanted to Know.” By the looks of the packed room, there were a lot of GIS attendees who had some things they wanted to know.
The panelists were all high-ranking executives with multi-course companies. ValleyCrest, Billy Casper Golf, Troon Golf, Meadowbrook Golf/IGM and Eagle Golf were represented.
And they covered some of the basics: “A management company is brought in for financial reasons,” Keith Hanley, senior vice president of operations for Eagle Golf, told the audience. “Due to the size of all our companies, we can provide savings in equipment, food and beverage.”
They also revealed some interesting tidbits: “Of the 10 highest-paid Troon employees… a majority are superintendents,” said Jeff Spangler, senior vice president of science and agronomy for Troon Golf.
And yes, there was even a mafia reference: “We’re kind of like ‘The Sopranos,’” Hanley said. “No one ever leaves our company for a better job. We tie the financial success of the property to the superintendent.”
But, indeed, this was a multi-course company panel hosted by multi-course companies. A panel titled, “Multi-Course Company Horror Stories” would have surely had a different ring to it.
But with all the discussion, there did seem to be a few recurrent philosophies. The first is that the superintendent’s contribution to the success of the facility is recognized. Secondly, the corporate ladder may be quicker to climb within a multi-course company.
“We think that the superintendent plays a key role in revenue,” Spangler said. “Superintendents weren’t always looked at in that way. That department used to be looked at as an expense, not as a revenue driver. But by spending a fair amount of money and giving superintendents the proper resources, we think we’re generating income.”
Spangler also noted that the hardest step to make in the agronomy business is from assistant to superintendent. By working for a multi-course company, that step becomes easier to make, the panelists said.
“(A multi-course company) provides a fast track for a bright, capable superintendent,” said Bill Rehanek, senior vice president of Billy Casper Golf. “Most of the people in the room — you probably haven’t reached your career end zone. We’ve had assistant superintendents come in and quickly move up to (superintendent at) 36-hole facilities in three, four years.”
The USGA has awarded George H.W. Bush, the 41st U.S. president, its 2008 Bob Jones Award. Presented annually since 1955, the USGA’s highest honor recognizes sportsmanship in golf via a person who emulates Jones’ spirit, personal qualities and attitude toward the game and its players. Bush received the award on Feb. 9 at the USGA’s annual meeting in Houston. Bush, 83, began playing golf at a young age and grew to become a mid-80s player in his 20s while in the oil business in West Texas. He’s linked to the USGA through his grandfather, 1920 USGA president George Herbert Walker, who inspired the Walker Cup Matches, a biennial amateur competition between golfers from Great Britain, Ireland and the U.S. Bush’s father, Prescott Bush, was president of the USGA in 1935 and helped establish its museum and archives. |
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