When Lederach Golf Club opened 17 years ago in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, its management team wasn’t ready for the challenges ahead.
James O’Malley serves on the recreation board of Lower Salford Township, which governs the course. He said enlisting a management company was the answer to their problems.
“I couldn’t imagine being a public golf course without the benefit of some kind of management professionals,” he said. “Thirty years ago, you sprung up a little course in your town, and you ran it, and that was easy. But nowadays, there’s a lot of challenges.”
In the beginning, municipal employees were charged with not only having the course and clubhouse built but also running it.
O’Malley said they felt overwhelmed and were “flying blind,” so they decided to connect with somebody who knew what they were doing.
Management companies come in many forms and provide a variety of resources to clubs and courses under their purview. Some provide a personal touch, while others offer comprehensive software packages to aid in day-to-day operations.
Regardless of the specific services it offers, a management company is ultimately only successful when it helps its clubs achieve their own success.
O’Malley and others share why they chose to work with a management company, what successes they’ve had and what advice they have for others.
Alignment of values
Thornberry Creek is a daily fee course in Green Bay, Wisconsin, owned by the Oneida Nation. Some travails with previous management had left the course in rough shape, so the leadership sought out KemperSports to help right the ship.
“They chose KemperSports primarily because of their pillars: creating relationships, integrity, loyalty, financial discipline, creativity and service,” said Justin Nishimoto, the economic strategy coordinator for the Oneida Business Committee. “That coincided with our Oneida way: having a strong heart, strong mind and good family.”
Thornberry Creek’s board of directors needed a company that could lend expertise in the golf industry, especially with regard to that “financial discipline” pillar.
“The relationship is very strong,” Nishimoto said. “They put us on the right path to get to that point [of achieving our goals]. Prior to that, there was no clear direction.”
He noted that one of the biggest benefits of working with KemperSports is how much the course can do with their reach.
“There’s a lot of resources,” Nishimoto said….
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Inc….