Club & Resort Business January 2019

JANUARY 2019

How Laurel Creek CC

Keeps Running Strong

Covering All Bases with Permanent Pavilions The Ins and Outs of Reclaimed Water

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PUBLISHER’S LETTER

Gastronomics refer to the premise of the conference content as “By Club It’s January, and a safe bet is that just about every New Chefs, For Club Chefs.” The speaker lineup in New Orleans Year’s Resolution (most of which have already been broken) includes four Certified Master Chefs (CMCs) and a host of involves food and drink—things to eat and drink less of, and renowned club chefs from across the country—“culinary roywhat to avoid altogether. alty” of the club market, if you will. And attendees earn ACF Of course, the reason why most of these resolutions have credits for their time at the conference. a short shelf life is not the food or the drink, but the • Networking. There will be 300+ club chefs self-discipline of the people consuming it. Much with us in New Orleans, and as much education like the old adage: It’s the Indian, not the arrow. takes place outside of the conference room Here’s a food-and-beverage New Year’s as within. Attendees come from all across the Resolution a club can keep: We will invest in country and represent private golf, city dining, continuing education for our executive chef and yacht clubs, along with chefs from golf and enhance the overall member/guest dindestination clubs and resorts. Meal occasions ing experience in 2019. To help achieve this and breaks enable attendees to form enduring resolution, register your exec chef now at www. friendships, and the idea-sharing and support cheftochefconference.com for the 11th Annual systems among the group are an ongoing proChef to Chef Conference, which will take place cess throughout the year.

March 10-12 in New Orleans A food-and• Commitment. Sending your chef sends It’s no secret that the dining experiences at beverage New a powerful message about the club’s committoday’s club are now as important to members Year’s Resolution ment not only to F&B excellence, but to the and guests as the golf and recreation experiences. that all clubs First-class F&B ops are also a great selling tool for can keep would be continuing development of your chef’s culinary skills and professional development as well. attracting new members. And successful clubs to invest in Clubs have a history of supporting continuing will tell you that exceptional F&B programs—both continuing a la carte and banquet—are huge contributors to education for their education for members of the top management team: CMAA for GMs; PGA for golf pros; and the financial well-being of the club. chefs and enhance the Golf Industry Show for superintendents.

So doing all you can to continue to enhance the overall Chef to Chef (CtoC) fulfills the mission for your and elevate your F&B program has become every member/guest exec chef. bit as important as other parts of your club’s dining experience On top of all of this, New Orleans is a operation. And here are four reasons why Chef at their properties. culinarian’s delight. Chefs will come home to Chef New Orleans is a must-attend event for energized, enthusiastic, and ready to translate executive chefs and F&B managers at clubs that the gastronomic benefits of the conference to an economic take their F&B operations seriously: • Ideas. Conference sessions will focus on career advance- benefit for the club. And don’t be surprised if a few Cajun items find their way to the menu in the months that follow. ment and professional development. The agenda includes Having your executive chef attend Chef to Chef in New practical insights and creative ideas for specific culinary areas, Orleans is one 2019 resolution you should keep. including modern twists on classic dishes, pastry enhancements, snack bar ideas, guest chef programs, wellness menus, and going chaferless. Chefs will leave New Orleans with pages of notes and great ideas that can be successfully implemented when they return to their clubs. See the full agenda on pages 32-33 of this issue.

• Peer-to-Peer Continuing Education. 100% of the conDan Ramella ference content is prepared and presented by club chefs—we dramella@clubandresortbusiness.com F&B QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.”—W. C. Fields JANUARY 2019 www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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IN THIS ISSUE DECEMBER 2019 Vol. 15 • No. 1

18 Cover Story

How Laurel Creek CC Keeps Running Strong

An experienced and energetic team is combining proven club-management concepts with cutting-edge innovations to fully capitalize on the latest facility improvements at this Mount Laurel, N.J. property.

18

DEPARTMENTS

(Cover photo by Peter Alessandria Photography and courtesy Laurel Hills CC)

24 Design & Renovation

Undercover Operations

Permanent pavilions can help to extend life outside the clubhouse walls, while still offering a breath of fresh air for management, members and guests.

34 Chef to Chef

Inspired Performance

Executive Chef David Daddezio is constantly on the lookout for ideas that can add new taste and serving appeal to the culinary offerings of the Vicmead Hunt Club and Bidermann Golf Course.

3 Publisher’s Letter Gastronomics 8 Editor’s Memo Reversing

the (Non-) Trend

10 C&RB News Roundup 57 Advertiser Index 57 Club & Resort Index 58 Idea Exchange

38 Course & Grounds

Worth Its Salt

Golf course superintendents are finding that despite its salinity, the benefits of using reclaimed water outweigh the challenges.

43 Super in the Spotlight

Expanding Authority

Even with nearly 400,000 annual rounds played on Montgomery County, Md.’s nine courses, Jon Lobenstine’s Director of Agronomy role has grown to now include supporting new revenue growth through everything from Footgolf to bourbon tastings and Saturday concerts.

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34

38

43

48

50

52

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48 Today’s Manager

Happy Trails

A new Interactive Trail Guide at Desert Mountain Club provides hikers and bikers with state-of-the-art data on everything from suggested routes to the best spots for viewing a sunset.

50 Products at Work

A Seat at the Table

Avalon Holdings gains assurance that furnishings for its resort properties will always be the right fit, through the partnership it has developed with a supplier that combines flexibility and responsiveness with its longstanding reputation for quality.

52 Golf Industry Show Preview

California Connection

Highlights of the planned agenda for San Diego from February 2-7, plus C&RB’s guide to some of the must-see exhibits.

Club & Resort Business is published monthly by WTWH Media, LLC, 1111 Superior Avenue, 26th Floor, Cleveland, OH 44114 Editorial Inquiries: editor@clubandresortbusiness.com or call 440-250-1583 Advertising Inquiries: bmartin@clubandresortbusiness.com or call 440-250-1583 Subscription Inquiries: call 844-862-9286 (U.S. only, toll-free)

4 C&RB www.clubandresortbusiness.com JANUARY 2019

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For a daily dose of industry news and headlines delivered to your inbox, sign up for a free subscription to C&RB’s e-newsletter at www.clubandresortbusiness.com/subscribe

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EDITOR’S MEMO

Reversing the (Non-) Trend In these cases, it’s usually not difficult now As we find local news reports that we to find a new owner from within the busiwant to repurpose and use in our daily ness that wants to continue to operate and e-newsletter and online reports, as well as improve the club (see the item about Hidden the news section of the monthly magazine, Creek Golf Club on pg. 10 of this issue). we always look to edit out material that the But also in more than a few cases, we’ve local reporter has included but that we don’t seen local municipalities or groups decide to think will be appropriate or needed for our find ways to put funds together, either club-management audience. And these from public or private sources, or days, there’s almost always one big some combination of the two, chunk of what’s in these local and then step up and acquire reports that keeps calling out the property. for the delete key.

One such example comes Whether it’s a story about from Altoona, Iowa, a a club or course that’s suburb of Des Moines that closing, or even one that’s has signed a letter of intent opening or expanding and to purchase Terrace Hills GC, improving its facilities, you can the town’s only public course, pretty much always count on the for $3.1 million from the family local reporter to eventually bring that owned and operated it for in statistics (usually several years The real trend that 54 years. old) that show how the industry we’ve been seeing It appears to be a well-planned is declining. lately is that there transaction and transition, with But we now always cut these are as many, if not closing on the property not takout, because 1) we know you’ve more, parties that ing place until the end of 2019 already seen these numbers many are interested in and the city planning to hire a times and 2) even if they were starting or acquiring management firm to take over in fresher, they really are no longer club or course the spring of 2020. relevant as leading indicators of properties now as Altoona’s City Administrator, trends in the business. there are those Jeff Mark, told the Des Moines While the overall numbers may looking to shut Register that the city wants to still be down, or less than what them down. keep Terrace Hills open to avoid they once were, the real trend losing a community asset. that we’ve been seeing lately is “When you say you’re a full-service comthat there are as many, if not more, parties munity, we include golfing as one of those that are interested in starting or acquiring items we provide,” Mark said. “It’s a lot club or course properties now as there are easier to keep the golf course you have than those looking to shut them down. it is to go out and build a new one.”

Even better, when you look more closely Guess he hasn’t been seeing those doominto what’s attracting some of these new and-gloom numbers, either. parties to the business, there are very encouraging signs of different approaches and expectations that may ensure we might never have to look at doom-and-gloom statistics for the industry again.

We’ve come across several recent examples of private owners who have operated a club Joe Barks, Editor for many years but are now looking to retire. jbarks@clubandresortbusiness.com But they have enough skin and heart tied to what they created and nurtured that they don’t just want to sell out to developers.

Send general inquiries to editor@clubandresortbusiness.com EDITORIAL Joe Barks, Editor jbarks@clubandresortbusiness.com 267-566-1215 office 610-416-3550 cell 175 Strafford Ave., Suite 1 Wayne, PA 19087 Rob Thomas, Associate Editor rthomas@clubandresortbusiness.com 216-316-5294 1111 Superior Ave., 26th Floor Cleveland, OH 44114 Editor, Chef to Chef Supplement Joanna DeChellis jdechellis@clubandresortbusiness.com 412-260-9233 Contributing Editors Course & Grounds: Betsy Gilliland, Jeff Bollig Design & Renovation: Pamela Brill Food & Beverage: Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Jerry Schreck Rebecca Treon, Barbara Rook Creative Director Erin Canetta ecanetta@clubandresortbusiness.com 708-227-9062 ADVERTISING Tom McIntyre, Group Publisher tmcintyre@clubandresortbusiness.com 216-533-9186 Dan Ramella, VP Business Development dramella@clubandresortbusiness.com 216-272-2446 Sean Carr, Associate Publisher scarr@clubandresortbusiness.com 216-952-2753 Barbra Martin, Customer Service Administrator bmartin@clubandresortbusiness.com 216-905-2583 SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES To enter, change or cancel a subscription: Web (fastest service): www.ezsub.com/crb Phone: 844-862-9286 (U.S. only, toll-free) Mail: Club & Resort Business P.O. Box 986, Levittown, PA 19058 Copyright 2019, WTWH Media, LLC Club & Resort Business ISSN 1556-13X is published monthly by WTWH Media, LLC, 1111 Superior Avenue, 26th Floor, Cleveland, OH 44114. Copyright ©2019.

Periodicals postage paid at Cleveland, Ohio, and additional mailing offices.

Subscriptions: Qualified U.S. subscribers receive Club & Resort Business at no charge. For all others the cost is $75 U.S. and possessions, $90 Canada, and $145 all other countries. Per copy price is $3. Postmaster: Send change of address notices to Club & Resort Business, P.O. Box 986, Levittown, PA 19058.

Club & Resort Business does not endorse any products, programs or services of advertisers or editorial contributors. Copyright© 2019 by WTWH Media, LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

8 C&RB www.clubandresortbusiness.com JANUARY 2019

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INDUSTRY ROUNDUP *Details about these items, and other news, can be found at www.clubandresortbusiness.com, where you can also sign up for a free subscription to C&RB’s Daily E-News briefing.

PGA to Relocate HQ to Texas The PGA of America has announced that it will be moving its headquarters from Palm Beach County, Florida to Frisco, Texas, outside of Dallas. The new headquarters will anchor a 600-acre, mixed-use development with an initial investment worth more than half-a-billion dollars that will include the building of two new championship golf courses.

Under the agreement, two PGA Championships (in 2027 and 2034), two KPMG Women’s PGA Championships (in 2025 and 2031) and potentially a Ryder Cup will be held in Frisco on the new courses, along with several other junior, senior and professional championship tournaments.

In addition to the two championship courses, the development plans also call for a short course and practice areas totaling 45 holes; a clubhouse; Class AA office space; a 500-room Omni resort and 127,000-sq. ft. conference center; a technologically advanced retail village; parks and open space, plus several miles of trails.

The 600 acres are primarily situated within 2,500 acres being master planned by Hunt Realty Investments. The development will be open to the public, as well as golfers.

The golf courses are expected to open in summer 2022, and the hotel, convention center, and other facilities within six months of that date. The development is scheduled to host the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in 2023 as its first tournament event.

The PGA is teaming on the project with Omni Stillwater Woods (OSW), a joint venture led

by Omni Hotels & Resorts with Stillwater Capital and Woods Capital; the City of Frisco, as well as its Economic and Community Development Corporations; and the Frisco Independent School District.

Atlanta-based Mosaic Clubs announced the management firm’s official transition to a new brand, Bobby Jones Links. The rebrand comes after Mosaic was hired in November 2017 to manage the $27-million redevelopment of the historic 86-year-old Bobby Jones Golf Course, the first public course in Atlanta, which reopened in November after a renovation by Bob Cupp.

ClubCorp Announces Joint Venture with BigShots Golf ClubCorp has purchased a controlling interest in BigShots Golf, a golf and entertainment company. ClubCorp will introduce BigShots’ proprietary technology to consumers through BigShots Golf entertainment venues and BigShots Golf Indoor Simulators—a digitally-simulated play and gaming experience. BigShots Golf faciliThe arrangement will bring ties will provide full-service food and beverage, sports bars, multi-media, private event space and BigShots Golf technology and climate-controlled golf gaming experiences, while indoor simulators to some sites owned by ClubCorp.

BigShots Golf Indoor Simulators will be available for both commercial and in-home play.

All BigShots Golf locations will feature the game’s Live Play option, which lets consumers compete against each other from any location in real time. ClubCorp will also bring BigShots Golf and BigShots Golf Indoor Simulators to some sites owned by ClubCorp.

“The outdoor golf and gaming entertainment category has experienced prolific growth over the past several years,” said David Pillsbury, ClubCorp CEO. “Not only does BigShots Golf provide state-of-the-art unique technology for golf gaming, [it] also provides a highquality sports, food-and-beverage and entertainment experience for individuals, families and groups. [This arrangement] will enable us to introduce more people to golf, as well as provide another lifestyle amenity for our members.”

Hidden Creek GC Sold to Dormie Network Roger Hansen, Chairman of Ole Hansen and Sons and owner of Hidden Creek Golf Club in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., announced the sale of the golf club to the Dormie Network. The sale was expected to be completed in mid-January.

Hidden Creek GC’s Coore/Crenshawdesigned golf course will be the sixth made available to the Dormie Network’s membership in six different states.

The club’s Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw-designed, heathland-style golf course opened in 2002 and was recently named among “America’s 100 Best Modern Courses” by Golfweek for the 18th consecutive year.

The Hidden Creek course was home to the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship in 2015.

The Dormie Network provides fullservice hospitality at facilities featuring golf courses designed by the likes of Arnold Palmer, Tom Fazio, Coore & Crenshaw and Lester George. The network, founded in 2016, currently includes five clubs, each ranked among the best in its respective state. Those clubs include the network’s namesake, the Dormie Club, another Coore-Crenshaw design in Pinehurst, N.C. Other properties in the Dormie Network portfolio include Victoria National in Indiana; Ballyhack Golf Club in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains; ArborLinks, an Arnold Palmer Signature design in Nebraska; and Briggs Ranch Golf Club in Texas.

Dormie Network membership extends full member privileges and complete access to every club in the network—an arrangement that will include Hidden Creek once the sale of the club is finalized.

“My wife Edwina and I felt that now is the best time to pass the ownership along to someone else, but only to a new owner who shares the same vision for the club,” said Hansen in explaining the decision to sell Hidden Creek to Dormie.

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Maryland Clubs Discuss Potential Merger Two of Pikesville, Md.’s storied country clubs, Woodholme and Suburban, have had early talks about a potential merger that would have to be approved by 60 percent of all voting members at each clubs, the Baltimore Business Journal reported.

In a letter to members posted on Woodholme’s website on November 29, the country club said “the leadership of both Woodholme and Suburban have had preliminary discussions to explore the possibility of a Woodholme/Suburban merger,” the Business Journal reported.

“As you are aware, it is becoming more challenging to increase the number of members of each club. Because of that difficulty, it has become obvious that we must explore all possible ways of ensuring Woodholme’s future success,” the letter continued. “We believe that a merger would be a positive step for members of both Woodholme and Suburban.

“A combined club creates a strong and vibrant organization with a bright future,” the letter added. “Until our membership tells us otherwise, we believe it is in Woodholme’s best interest to continue the ongoing discussions.”

In a separate letter to its members dated November 30 and obtained by the Business Journal, the leadership of The Suburban Club said that Suburban had formed a committee to contact and meet with a number of members about investing in the club by purchasing bonds, the Business Journal reported. The bonds would mature in five years and carry a 3 percent annual interest rate, the letter said.

“The bottom line is the two clubs are in very, very preliminary discussions,” David Nevins, a Woodholme member who spoke on behalf of the club, told the Business Journal. “Everyone is approaching this with a completely open mind.”

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush launched a ceremonial drive as part of December’s grand reopening of the historic Donald Ross Golf Course at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Fla. The full restoration of the course to Ross’ original 1926 plan was part of a $25 million redesign and upgrade of the resort property.

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INDUSTRY ROUNDUP *Details about these items, and other news, can be found at www.clubandresortbusiness.com, where you can also sign up for a free subscription to C&RB’s Daily E-News briefing.

Yamaha Debuts New Vehicles

Supplier News

Yamaha Golf-Car Company announced plans to debut three innovative additions to its lineup at the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show’s Demo Day on Thursday, January 22 at the Orange County National Golf Center in Winter Garden, Fla. At the Demo Day, for which Yamaha is a sponsor, the company planned to unveil a new light-utility vehicle to join its successful UMAX® lineup; a new 2019 Drive2 EFI fleet car that will save customers 12.8% more miles to the gallon; and an enhanced YamaTrack® YTX™ Fleet Management System with industry-exclusive features.

The new light-utility vehicle was scheduled to be featured at the display area and test track located behind the Tee #2 box at Orange County National. Test rides were scheduled to be available for the new vehicle as well as Yamaha’s Drive2 fleet golf car, featuring the QuieTech EFI technology that drives almost as quiet as an electric car.

Attendees at the PGA Merchandise Show Demo Day were also scheduled to experience Yamaha’s new YamaTrack® YTX™ Fleet Management System featuring the industry-exclusive, dash-mounted 10.1” LCD touch screen with Gorilla™ glass, 3-D graphics, and a complete suite of tools for course management.

For more information about Yamaha Golf-Car Company, visit yamahagolfcar.com.

Toro’s 2019 Performance Parts Catalog Now Available

The Toro Company’s new 2019 Performance Parts Catalog is now available, featuring the most up-to-date listing of Genuine Toro® Parts to keep equipment performing its best. The new edition includes the addition of over 180 new parts, all competitively priced to deliver the best overall value, quality and reliability.

Other highlights of the 2019 catalog include: • “Featured Items” section with new parts and accessories • Reels+ and EdgeSeries™ Reels+™ reference chart • L ubricants section featuring Toro PX Extended Life Hydraulic Fluid • New MVP kit for the Outcross™ 9060 For more information, visit toro.com/parts or contact a Toro distributor.

Gloster Furniture Restructures U.S. Operations

Gloster Furniture, Inc. announced the joint appointments of Pamela Clark and Joseph Batchelor to oversee all U.S. operations.

Clark has a 17-year tenure with the organization across departments and will now assume

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INDUSTRY ROUNDUP *Details about these items, and other news, can be found at www.clubandresortbusiness.com, where you can also sign up for a free subscription to C&RB’s Daily E-News briefing. a new role as Managing Director Gloster America, presiding over the Gloster headquarters in Virginia. Her new position integrates manufacturing, CRM, training, personnel development and general operations.

Batchelor, a 25-year industry specialist who has worked previously with prolific design Joseph Batchelor leaders, is now Director Gloster America Sales & Marketing Divisions. His focus is on strategic business development for all new retail, trade, contract and hospitality channels, including sales oversight, marketing and branding.

Both Directors will report directly to Group CEO Svend Loevbjerg.

“Our business today requires a multi-faceted approach, a need for seamless integration between the product manufacturing, showrooms and customers,” Batchelor said. “We didn’t want the typical management silos that limit our ability to really understand what our workforce, markets and customers are thinking and ultimately demand. As such, we built a model that allows Pamela and I to hone in on our strengths and share responsibility for our overall success.”

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Polaris® Commercial has introduced a line of utility task vehicles, the all-new PRO XD™, with a payload of 1,930 lbs. and towing capacity of 2,500 lbs. For more information and to view videos of the Polaris UTVs in action, visit https://commercial.polaris.com/en-us/ pro-xd/

Oregon Products Launches 120V Professional Series

Oregon Products has announced the release of its 120V Professional Series battery-powered landscaping tools. The line includes a leaf blower, a string trimmer, a hedge trimmer and an edger. The 120V battery-powered tools are up to 15 percent more powerful than gas-fueled equipment while operating much more quietly. The 120v Professional Series also produces zero emissions and is the only set of battery-powered tools with certification from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as Professional Grade Zero Emission Equipment.

“Operating a standard gas-fueled leaf blower for one hour can produce as many harmful emissions as driving a car 1,100 miles,” said Josh Huffman, business segment director for Oregon’s outdoor power equipment.

To find out more, request a demo or locate a dealer, visit oregon120V.com.

People News Club People Sean Toohey has been promoted to PGA General Manager at New Jersey National Golf Club in Basking Ridge, N.J. Toohey was New Jersey National’s PGA Head Golf Professional for the past 14 years. He recently achieved advanced certification in General Management through the PGA of America’s Certified Professional Program 2.0.

Sean Toohey Jeremy Wiernasz, PGA, has been promoted to General Manager/Director of Golf Operations at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Since 2013, Wiernasz served as the club’s Director of Golf Operations. Prior to joining PGA Golf Club, Wiernasz previously served as PGA Head Professional at TPC San Antonio (2009-2012) and PGA Head Professional/Director of Business Development at TPC Las Vegas (2012-2013).

PGA Golf Club’s previous General Manager, Jimmy Terry, PGA, has been promoted to Senior Director of PGA Golf Properties. He will oversee the newly announced PGA Frisco development in Texas (see pg. 10); Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.; and PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Prior to joining PGA Golf Club, Terry previously served as PGA Senior General Manager for PGA Tour Golf Course Properties at both TPC San Antonio and TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

C&RB featured PGA Golf Club as its April 2017 cover story (“PGA Golf Club Comes Out Swinging”).

Cody Sherrill has been named Director of Golf Operations at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, Calif. Sherrill, who has been with Troon since 2003, worked as an assistant golf professional at Troon North Golf Club in Arizona, Brookwater Golf & Country Club in Australia, and Rollingstone Ranch Golf Club over a seven-year period. He worked at Troon Corporate as Marketing Manager from 2010-2013 and served as Director Cody Sherrill of Troon Corporate Operations for the last five years.

Tim Huber has been promoted to Director of Agronomy at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas. Huber has been in Carlton Woods’ agronomy department for more than eight years, most recently for the last three and a half years as the Superintendent of the club’s Tom Fazio Championship Course.

In his new role, Huber is now responsible for both the Fazio course and the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course.

Tim Huber Colin Moody has been named Executive Chef at the Nicklaus Club at Pasadera in Monterey, Calif. Moody previously held the same position at Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

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Chef Alain Redelsperger will serve as the new Executive Chef at Toscana Country Club in Indian Wells, Calif. A graduate of the iconic Culinary School École Hôtelière de Strasbourg, Redelsperger has worked in some of the top kitchens in Paris, New York City and San Francisco. Prior to joining Toscana CC, he spent seven years as the Executive Chef at Mountain View Country Club and 10 years as the Executive Chef at The Vintage Club.

Alain Redelsperger Grande Dunes Club Management in Myrtle Beach, S.C. has introduced Isaac Spencer as its Executive Chef. Spencer joins Grande Dunes after serving as Sous Chef at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C. In his new position, Spencer will lead the management of all food and pastry production at the Grand Dunes Members Club, Ocean Club and Anchor Café, with duties including everything from menu development to kitchen staff Isaac Spencer supervision.

In Memoriam: Gene Schneiter of St. George, Utah died November 27, 2018 at the age of 86. Schneiter started his professional career in golf course maintenance, transitioning to Red Hills Golf Course in St. George as its first golf professional.

Supplier People Gloster Furniture announced the joint appointments of Pamela Clark and Joseph Batchelor to oversee all United States operations. Clark has a 17-year tenure with the organization across departments and will now assume a new role as Managing Director Gloster America, presiding over the Gloster headquarters in Virginia. Batchelor, a 25-year industry specialist who has worked previously with prolific design leaders, is now Director Gloster America Sales & Marketing Divisions (see pgs. 12 and 14 for more).

Alto-Shaam announced two appointments to the position of Director of National Accounts on its retail team. Tami Olson, who has been with the company since 2002, previously served as National Account Manager. Kyle Rinker has joined Alto-Shaam with previous experience at Rotisol, a manufacturer or rotisseries and catering equipment.

Server Products, which offers a complete line of dispensing and holding solutions, announced the hiring of Michael Aguirre as the Key Account Manager for the Western United States region.

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CLUB FEATURE

How Laurel Creek CC Keeps Running Strong An experienced and energetic team is combining proven club-management concepts with cutting-edge innovations to fully capitalize on the latest facility improvements at this Mount Laurel, N.J. property.

By Joe Barks, Editor

The greater Philadelphia area has a Pennsylvania side and a South Jersey side, separated by the Delaware River. But beyond their shared passion for Philly sports teams, Springsteen and Bon Jovi concerts, and weekends “down the shore,” it’s just as easy to identify things that are different about the residents, and their lifestyles, that can be found beyond the bridges spanning the river as what the two sides have in common.

That pretty much holds true for the area’s country club scene, too. The city and its surrounding Pennsylvania suburbs are home to some of the nation’s oldest and most traditional club operations, many with roots in the original Golden Age of golf that spread through the Northeast U.S. over 100 years ago. But the clubs on the Jersey side are more likely to be tied to the proliferation of bedroom communities and developments that was spawned by the spread of metropolitan areas beyond city limits after World War II and throughout the rest of the last century.

Club management, however, is a profession where managers are more willing to relocate as they move up their career ladders, even if it means moving to properties with much different profiles. As a result, clubs can be found throughout the Philadelphia area, in either state, that present an interesting and effective blend of the Pennsylvania side’s olderschool service orientation and Jersey’s more contemporary, family-oriented character.

That’s certainly the case at Laurel Creek Country Club in Mount Laurel, N.J., where many on the management team cut their teeth working for storied Pennsylvania-side properties like the Philadelphia Country Club. In the process, they became well-versed in best practices for membership development and satisfaction. And those lessons have helped to fuel sustained energy and momentum at Laurel Creek, both through continued attraction of new families to an alreadyyouthful membership base, and with innovative approaches to facility and activity improvement and expansion.

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PHOTO COURTESY LAUREL CREEK CC

Taking Shape Laurel Creek CC’s origins are very much like those of many “Jersey side” clubs in the Philadelphia area. The idea for the club was originally conceived in the late 1980s by an individual developer, and it then became a Toll Brothers property before transitioning to member-owned fairly early in its history, after only six years under Toll’s ownership.

Like many such projects in the lower half of New Jersey, where elevations are low and sand and clay are often the predominant soil components, building Laurel Creek’s Arnold Palmer Signature Design golf course presented a host of unique challenges.

In this case, the elevation had to be built up, even though the property was less than 100 feet above sea level, and the biggest challenge was filling the void created by the displacement of huge amounts of sand and clay. The course was built on land that had been a sand and gravel quarry that was excavated to build the Interstate 295 loop around Philadelphia, and replacing the hole that was left behind required 1.3 million cubic yards of fill, according to Laurel Creek’s Director of Golf Course Operations, John Slade, who came to the club as an assistant superintendent in 1989, a year after it opened.

Originally, Slade says, there were no plans for housing around the course and it was conceived as a links-style layout that was “supposed to be a trend-setter for the area.” But as plans for development emerged, another type of links came into play—what Slade describes as “sausage-links lay-

The Laurel Creek CC management team had many reasons to smile, and a nice new open-kitchen venue in which to do so, as 2018 came to a close. Left to right: Joel Inman, PGA, General Manager/COO; Carol MacLennan, Director of Tennis; Peter Rosenblatt, Executive Chef; Erin Schafer, Director of Events; John Geller, Clubhouse Manager; Patty Fagan, Director of Membership & Communications; John Slade, Director of Golf Course Operations; Elisha Carson, Controller; John DiMarco, PGA, Head Golf Professional.

outs” for the golf holes as they were wound through the lots laid out for houses along the course.

The Laurel Creek course still has plenty of unique character, with trees from former apple and peach orchards ringing the area that was turned into the course and community.

There are also 40 acres of wetlands that are protected in perpetuity, as part of the conditions for originally permitting the development, and that are subject to periodic inspections by a state conservation foundation.

While a 2016 renovation included redesign work to reduce the abundance of sand, in the form of over four acres of bunkers, that was put back into the course when it was designed, there are still plenty of opportunities to hit the beach when playing Laurel Creek—the seventh hole alone (see photo, pg.

21) contains a third-of-an-acre of sand features on its own.

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PHOTOS BY PETER ALESSANDRIA PHOTOGRAPHY AND COURTESY LAUREL CREEK CC

Laurel Creek’s recent clubhouse expansion and renovation created lively new casual dining areas, both inside and out, that immediately boosted food-and-beverage revenues 30 percent, even though construction wasn’t completed until late fall. One room’s open-kitchen feature (far left of photo above left) has added to the popularity of the new space.

All of the unique characteristics, features and history of the Laurel Creek course, combined with an especially wet season this year that insisted on making its presence felt primarily on weekends, have posed ongoing challenges to its golf operation. But the club has maintained a strong golf position through the work of Slade’s department in conjunction with Head Golf Professional John DiMarco, PGA, who has been at the club since 2006, and the overall direction of General Manager/COO Joel Inman, PGA, who took his position at Laurel Creek in 2011 after previously serving as GM of Greate Bay Country Club in Somers Point, N.J., on the Jersey shore.

In addition to the upkeep challenges presented by the course itself, DiMarco notes that the fact that Laurel Creek has always had a family-oriented profile (with over 2,100 people connected with its membership of 715, and an average member age of under 50) can become a bit of a doubleedged sword, with the pull of other youth sports making it more difficult to engage parents and their kids in golf and AT A GLANCE Laurel Creek Country Club Mount Laurel, N.J. Opened: 1988 Clubhouse Size: 30,000 sq. ft Annual Golf Rounds: 17,000 Members: 715 (330 equity, 260 golf) General Manager/COO: Joel Inman, PGA Head Golf Professional: John DiMarco, PGA Director of Golf Course Operations: John Slade Executive Chef: Peter Rosenblatt Clubhouse Manager: John Geller Director of Membership & Communications: Patty Fagan Director of Tennis: Carol MacLennan Director of Events: Erin Schafer Controller: Elisha Carson

other club programming.

But the Laurel Creek staff has kept interest and participation levels up not only through aggressive development and marketing of summer camps that combine a variety of sports and activities, but also because of its collective determination to continually explore and implement new concepts and twists for what can be offered at the property. As a result, for example, five GolfBoards were added as course-transportation options last season, and a recent clubhouse renovation included the creation of a new golf simulator room (see photo, opposite page).

“You just can’t expect people to get excited about coming in bad weather to get lessons or hit balls in a pop-up tent in your ballroom,” DiMarco says. “Now we have a dedicated space right next to our pro shop that we can really showcase as a year-round option and the next best thing, and maybe in some ways better, than being out on the course.”

Similarly, Director of Tennis Carol MacLennan, who has been with the club for 10 years while also maintaining an affiliation with the Cherry Hill (N.J.) Health & Racquet Club, hasn’t been satisfied with the steady participation she’s always seen on Laurel Creek’s four Har-Tru courts. MacLennan has also launched pickleball successfully at the club and is not planning to stop there. She sees potential for Laurel Creek to be a year-round destination by adding an indoor facility and becoming a “trendsetter” in bringing paddle and platform tennis, which is a fixture at many of the Philadelphia area’s Pennsylvania clubs, to the Jersey side. She also envisions opening each summer season with full-fledged “racquet wars” programming that could include badminton, ping-pong and other options.

Where Laurel Creek has really stood out in taking standard club offerings to new levels has been with its pool.

After Inman arrived as the new GM/COO, he recognized that while his club had a leg up, through its already youngleaning membership, for capitalizing on the industry’s fastemerging family-oriented movement, it really didn’t have a facility that screamed “family” and would make sure Laurel Creek could maintain a firm grip as a distinctive leader in that segment.

That quickly changed, however, after the club took steps to transform what had been a typical, fenced-in pool area— and with a location that wasn’t especially convenient to the clubhouse—into a destination splash park/resort setting (see

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photos, pg. 22) that now attracts 400 people a day throughout the summer. After adding a tiki bar, a signature ice cream shoppe (the Creek Creamery), and cabanas that can be rented out for parties, Laurel Creek’s pool area now generates $2 million in food-and-beverage revenues for the summer season on its own, without a walk-up service window (at peak times, reports Clubhouse Manager John Geller, the area will be staffed with six servers, a bartender, a food runner, and three people in its separate kitchen).

A new simulator room (above) that was created as part of the recent clubhouse renovation will now help Laurel Creek maintain golf activity whenever weather limits accessibility to its distinctive course (below).

PHOTOS COURTESY LAUREL CREEK CC

Bridging the Gap Another part of the impetus for the Laurel Creek staff to do all it can for its members on the non-golf side of its operation stems from the fact that its property is set up to literally separate the golf course from the clubhouse, with only one bridge (see cover photo) available for crossing the wetlands between the two areas. The separation also extends across municipal lines—once the bridge is crossed, most of the golf course property is in Moorestown, not Mount Laurel. And Moorestown is a dry town, which limits the possibilities for what types of events and service can be extended out on the course.

This added challenge for accessibility also helps to explain why the efforts to develop the property led to a pretty rapid transition of the club component to member-owned status. And why today, while the community around the golf course has been well built-out for some time now and remains vibrant, only about a third of Laurel Creek CC’s current membership is drawn from people who live on the side of the property that’s across the bridge from the clubhouse.

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PHOTOS COURTESY LAUREL CREEK CC

Laurel Creek’s once-typical pool area has been transformed into a destination splash park/resort setting that now attracts 400 people a day throughout the summer. After adding a tiki bar and a signature ice cream shoppe (the Creek Creamery) and cabanas that can be rented out for parties, the area now generates $2 million in food-and-beverage revenues for the summer season on its own, without a walk-up service window.

But here, too, the management team didn’t just throw up its hands when faced with these added challenges, in acceptance of the perceived limitations presented by the property.

Instead, under Inman’s direction, Laurel Creek also took steps to formulate a master plan that prescribed needed clubhouse improvements that could not only complement, but build further on, what had been accomplished with the pool complex. “We wanted to create new dining concepts that, combined with the splash park, could really create a ‘category of one’ and separate us even more from other local clubs,” Inman says.

The next step in pursuing the master plan culminated at the end of 2018 with the unveiling of the results of a $4.5 million clubhouse renovation and expansion project that added 3,000 sq. ft. on two levels to the building (including the new downstairs simulator room), while also greatly extending its connection to the property with added deck and patio areas.

The showcase component of the renovation is the new casual-dining venue with an open kitchen (see photos, pgs. 18 and 20) that will now serve to literally spotlight the work and creations of the club’s culinary team, which is led by Executive Chef Peter Rosenblatt.

Laurel Creek is the first club engagement for Rosenblatt, who arrived in 2015 after previously working for the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia. Reflecting the approach that has also been carried over the bridge by others on the Lau-

rel Creek staff (Inman, Geller, and Director of Membership & Communications Patty Fagan all have experience working for Philadelphia-area clubs in Pennsylvania known for their service orientation), Rosenblatt says that he’s found more similarities than differences since making the switch. “It’s still comes down to being guest-focused and doing whatever you can to not just meet, but exceed, expectations,” he says.

Since arriving at Laurel Creek, Rosenblatt has focused on revamping menus to highlight high-end, light-bite offerings, with an emphasis on scratch preparation that features the Jersey-fresh produce the southern part of the state is known for. Signature dishes that have gained acclaim on the club’s menu under Rosenblatt’s direction include a Jersey peach and tomato salad, and hand-rolled gnocchi with sauces that change according to the season. The emphasis on stratch and fresh has also extended to the pool area, where fresh smoothies of the day are served and the Creek Creamery now features multiple flavors of housemade ice cream, And while the clubhouse renovation now showcases new casual-dining venues, there’s still room for, and attention

Laurel Creek has invested in enhancing all facets of its dining program, while also staying true to its family-oriented roots and continuing to strive to stage events that please all segments of its membership.

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The club has added pickleball to build on its successful tennis program and doesn’t discount the possibility of branching out into other racquet-based activities or adding year-round facilities.

paid, to fine dining at Laurel Creek as well; the club still offers that option in its Terrace Room, and the staff reports that increased attention to developing wine-locker and wine-dinner programs has led to substantial growth for both.

Overall, growth is now the operative word for all aspects of Laurel Creek’s operation. Inman reports that food-andbeverage revenues have been up 30% in the initial months after the completion of the renovation, and in early December —a month in which she said she had never previously seen any activity—Fagan was working on approval of a halfdozen membership applications. And Director of Events Erin Schafer, who has been at Laurel Creek since 2013, says she

now routinely sees the entries on the club’s regular schedule increase in head count from year to year, sometimes even doubling in size.

For Geller, those are all indications that Laurel Creek is delivering on what should always be a club manager’s primary goal, as he learned in his career while working first at Philadelphia Country Club, and now on the other side of the Delaware.

“Clubs are unique in how people pay money to then spend money,” he says. “So when they’re writing that check at the end of the month, you have to always make sure you’ve done all you can to make it easy for them to do so.”

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PHOTO COURTESY THE ABBEY RESORT AND AVANI SPA

DESIGN & RENOVATION

Undercover Operations Permanent pavilions can help to extend life outside the clubhouse walls, while still offering a breath of fresh air for management, members and guests.

By Pamela Brill, Contributing Editor

SUMMING IT UP

• lnvesting in a permanent structure helps to convey the impression of a professional setting for prospective business, while also provide assurances of an all-weather operation.

• Climate changes can precipitate a need for updating structures’ HVAC capabilities.

• Layouts and positioning of pavilions that take full advantage of photogenic backdrops are key for marketing to bridal parties.

Stability isn’t something a club or resort can take for granted, especially when it comes to investing in a tent or pavilion. Management must determine what type of structure best fits its membership—is there a substantial wedding and/or corporate clientele?—and then consider such factors as cost, climate and location.

As more facilities look for opportunities to extend their business into the offseason, providing a permanent pavilion allows them to not only satisfy their current membership’s needs, but also appeal to the greater community by offering a resource they may not otherwise have considered.

Banking on Banquet Space At the Aldeen Golf Club in Rockford, Ill., a 40’ x 60’ tent that had housed golf-outing meals and private parties had outworn its usefulness and was in dire need of replacement. “While the tent held many events over the years, its limitations [when weather was less than ideal] caused it to be underutilized, and it wasn’t enough of a selling point in attracting new golf outings,” explains General Manager Duncan Geddes.

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Aldeen Golf Club Rockford, Ill. “The pavilion’s overall design was intended to be semi-formal and neutral enough that a variety of different uses, from weddings to banquets to golf events, would be given a blank slate and could be decorated to fit their individual needs.”

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But thanks to a generous private donation, a naming rights agreement with Rockford Bank & Trust and a financial arrangement with a local restaurant and banquet provider, the club was able to re-open a new facility, known as the Rockford Bank & Trust Pavilion, last August.

While northern Illinois’s erratic weather played a part in opting for a more permanent structure, the prospect of extending Aldeen GC’s operations into a full calendar year was also a key driver in the decision. The prospect of reduced maintenance also intrigued management, as the former tent required breakdown and storage each winter and regular cleaning in the summer months.

“The pavilion building requires cleaning after events, but there is minimal maintenance at this point, other than grounds maintenance to the planting beds and turf areas nearby,” notes Geddes.

To complement the existing club aesthetics, a local architectural firm (which had previously designed the

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clubhouse and other Aldeen Golf Club facilities) designed a post-frame, 9,450sq.n ft. building that includes granite stone featured on the entrance, columns and the hearth of a six-foot gas fireplace that serves as a focal point.

“The overall design was intended to be semi-formal and neutral enough in design elements that a variety of different uses, from weddings to banquets to golf events, would be given a blank slate that could be decorated to fit their individual needs,” Geddes says of the 250-seat space. Vinyl floor-

PHOTOS COURTESYALDEEN GC

A generous private donation was combined with a naming-rights agreement and a financial arrangement with a local restaurant and banquet provider to enable Aldeen GC to open the new Rockford Bank & Trust Pavilion (see photos, opposite page) in the summer of 2018.

ing is meant to resemble barn wood, while the ceiling features an exposed scissor-truss design with exposed spiral duct work for the forced-air heating and cooling system. Lighting is provided by an array of large chandeliers, cove lighting and wall sconces.

In addition to the main banquet

space, the all-inclusive pavilion contains a full kitchen with multiple walk-in freezers and coolers, gas cooktops, ovens, a large busing area and storage. Additional amenities include a bride’s room, coat room, liquor storage room, storage closets, restrooms and portable bars.

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PHOTOS COURTESY ALDEEN GC

The ceiling of Aldeen GC’s new pavilion features an exposed scissor-trust design with exposed spiral duct work for the forced-air heating and cooling system. Lighting is provided by an array of large chandeliers, cove lighting and wall sconces.

Easy access to the outdoors is provided by a covered, wrap-around porch on three sides and two white PVC pergolas that overlook the golf course. “They provide great photo backdrops for pictures,” says Geddes,

adding that an adjacent open grass area can also be utilized for other outdoor activities.

While the pavilion’s versatility is clearly an asset, management needed to ensure that the vision of a multi-

When Disaster Strikes…

Even with the best-laid plans, Mother Nature can wreak havoc on outdoor facilities and upend a club’s business.

Such was the case at Pacific Palms Resort in City of Industry, Calif., where, after more than a decade in use, the property’s permanent pavilion tent was recently damaged due to high winds.

“It ripped and flew up into the air,” describes Director of Sales and Marketing Mark Podolski. The resort is currently using a rental tent while awaiting the arrival of a replacement.

Also a victim of a weather-related incident, Western Golf and Country Club (WGCC) in Redford, Mich., lost its banquet facilities due to a clubhouse fire last June. With the golf season in full swing and just days away from an invitational premiere event, club management was forced to act quickly.

“WGCC’s goal since the fire has been to keep the membership active and provide the same amenities that we could pre-fire, without sacrificing service,” explains Membership Director Halley Roberts.

To proceed with club operations as efficiently as possible, two tents were secured in different locations to hold various events. Afterwards, a more permanent structure was set up in front of the former clubhouse and is being used for the duration of the rebuild.

When investigating a temporary structure to house outdoor banquet facilities, insiders recommend doing your homework first. “Think thoroughly through the design and location and the potential for wind impact,” says Podolski.

Also, consider all of the elements that come with building a pavilion, from restrooms and foodservice to electricity and permits. “Most involve outside vendors that you’re relying on, so building good relationships is key,” says Roberts.

After losing its banquet facilities to a clubhouse fire (above) in June 2018, Western G&CC secured two tents in different locations on the property to be able to still hold as many scheduled event as possible. Eventually a more permanent structure was set up in front of the former clubhouse, to be used for the duration of the rebuilding process.

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purpose facility did, in fact, come to fruition during the design process.

The challenge of working with a large group, including the park district’s capital design and construction team, contractors, donors and naming-rights partners, required good communication and solid teamwork.

Ultimately, this hard work paid off, as evidenced by the glowing reviews from club members and guests. “The location of the building on the property, the views from the building looking out onto the golf course, and the view of the building from the golfer’s perspective are all seen as a complement to the overall golf club,” Geddes reports.

Unveiling a Bridal Suite At Saddleback Golf Club in Firestone, Colo., the original pavilion has undergone a series of updates since its inception in 2001. In 2011, floor-toceiling glass doors were added, along with restrooms and heating.

Four years later, a catering kitchen became a necessity as a result of an uptick in weddings and to help create a seamless flow for food-and-beverage operations. This past November, a modest-sized bridal suite became part of the pavilion, creating a full-amenity facility designed to service wedding parties from start to finish.

The preference for a pavilion over a tent was always a given for Saddleback’s management. “Tents are temporary, whereas pavilions are permanent,” explains Owner Lanna O’Malley. “Although the cost of a pavilion upfront is higher, it is always there and looks more professional.”

The stained concrete flooring of Saddleback’s pavilion can be powerwashed, O’Malley notes, and its three sides of glass walls are professionally cleaned following an event. Market lighting is draped from the vaulted ceilings, and guests look out onto the mountainous Colorado landscape, which provides a photogenic backdrop for golf tournaments, wedding receptions, corporate events and other functions that seat up to 160 guests.

Because of the recent shift in weather patterns, adding air conditioning to the pavilion has become a necessity and is scheduled for this coming spring. In the past, the club relied on evaporative fans with coolers that proved to be a nuisance.

“For weddings, they don’t look

very attractive and they are noisy,” O’Malley explains. “Colorado evenings used to be cooler, but now the air feels warm all the time, so we decided to upgrade our HVAC system in mid-January.”

Timing these enhancements has become a matter of practice at Saddleback over the years, as management has learned to plan them around the club’s busy season. “Our main business is done from April through Octo-

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ber,” O’Malley explains, pointing out that the bridal suite was added immediately after the last wedding booking at the end of October. “We had about one month before Christmas parties began. After the New Year, we’ll begin the [air conditioning upgrade].”

After the new bridal suite was used for the first time, O’Malley was confident that the addition will be a strong asset for future business. “I can definitely say that 100 percent of

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Saddleback Golf Club Firestone, Colo.

“Pavilions are permanent and although the upfront cost of a pavilion is higher, it is always there and looks more professional.” the brides we’ve had in the past asked about whether we had a bridal suite,” she notes. And now she can answer in the affirmative.

From Tenuous to Permanent At The Abbey Resort and Avani Spa in Fontana, Wis., enhancing amenities for catered events and large parties required a more dedicated approach.

“During the plan-development phase, we considered renovating the existing area by simply upgrading the tent that had previously been in place,”

says General Manager Michael Lucero. “But we opted for a temperaturecontrolled pavilion, primarily due to Wisconsin’s unpredictable weather and air temperatures during spring and fall, which are prime wedding months.” As a result, the resort completed work on its brand-new Western Pavilion (see photo, pg. 24) last May. Compared to its former tent, the property’s new temperature-controlled pavilion requires very little maintenance and is credited for shielding guests from the rain and ex-

—Lanna O’Malley, Owner

treme temperatures associated with typical Midwestern winters. Polished concrete floors can be outfitted with an optional dance floor, and overhead, a white ceiling is lined with white drapery and six chandeliers that help to create ambiance.

“Many of our guests choose to supplement the pavilion’s existing linens and lighting with their own colorful lanterns, up lighting, string lighting and other décor to personalize the space,” says Lucero. “The pavilion is wellequipped to handle the electrical and foundational needs of those additions.”

To further accent the pavilion’s aes-

PHOTO COURTESY SADDLEBACK GC

The addition of a bridal suite to Saddleback GC’s pavilion in November 2018 followed previous upgrades that added restrooms, heating, floorto-ceiling glass windows (see photo above) and a catering kitchen, so the club can offer a full-amenity facility to service wedding parties from start to finish. An air-conditioning upgrade this winter will further add to the comfort level established by the structure’s picturesque positioning within the Colorado landscape.

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The Abbey Resort and Avani Spa Fontana, Wis. “Many of our guests choose to supplement the pavilion’s existing linens and lighting with their own colorful lanterns, up lighting, string lighting and other décor to personalize the space. The pavilion is well-equipped to handle the electrical and foundational needs of those additions.”

—Michael Lucero, General Manager

thetics, large windows look out on 90 acres of landscaped grounds, including a canopy-covered walkway that leads to rest areas, an outdoor cemented patio area, and a fire pit that is popular for cocktail hours.

“We find that many couples really love the idea of an outdoor venue, but in Wisconsin, they might hesitate on [pursuing] that idea due to fear of unpredictable weather,” Lucero notes.

But thanks to the pavilion’s sizable footprint, it can provide assurance for safe and sheltered accommodations up to 600 guests. In addition to weddings, it is also used for corporate events, fundraisers and other largegroup functions.

Since the pavilion’s installation last spring, The Abbey Resort is enjoying a strong banquet business, and guests have shared their favorable reviews of the facility. “It provides them with comfort, beauty, relaxation and access to wonderful on-site catering and service—everything they could want in an indoor/outdoor venue on the shores of the sparkling and historic Lake Geneva,” enthuses Lucero. C&RB

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C  C A CLUB & RESORT BUSINESS C O N F E R E N C E

SUNDAY, MARCH 10

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM Sponsor sessions (details at www.cheftochefconference.com) 6:00 PM Opening Reception at Hilton New Orleans Riverside Cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and the first of many Conference opportunities for networking between attendees and sponsors.

7:00 PM Plated dinner & keynote address Possibilities: The Life of a Chef Presented by John Folse, CEC, AAC, Chef John Folse & Company, Gonzales, La. 9:30 PM – 11:00 PM Chef to Chef Lounge at Hilton New Orleans Riverside The late-night gathering spot features an open bar and give attendees additional opportunities for relaxed, informal networking.

MONDAY, MARCH 11 7:30 – 8:30 AM Breakfast

8:30 – 8:45 AM Opening Remarks from Club & Resort Business

8:45 – 10:00 AM Looking Closer: Staying Focused on the Key Culinary Details Amid Fast-Changing Trends and Technology Presented by Russell Scott, CMC, Culinary Director, The Club at Carlton Woods, The Woodlands, Texas 10:00 – 10:45 AM Integrating Classic International Dishes Into Everyday Club Menus Presented by J. Kevin Walker, CMC, AAC, Executive Chef, Ansley Golf Club, Atlanta, Ga.

10:45 – 11:15 AM Break with Sponsor Table Visits

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM The Chef as Entrepreneur Presented by Charles Carroll, CEC, AAC, HGT, Executive Chef, River Oaks Country Club, Houston, Texas

12:00 – 12:45 PM Insights into Greatness—On-Stage Interviews from Within and Outside the Club Industry Moderated by Charles Carroll 12:45 – 1:30 PM Lunch

1:30 – 2:15 PM Making the Traditional Trendy: Putting a Contemporary Spin on Classic Desserts Presented by Jennifer Kopp, CEPC, Executive Pastry Chef, The Metropolitan Club of The City of Washington (D.C.)

2:15 – 3:00 PM Reinventing Your Snack Bar and Other Satellite Dining Venues Presented by Scott Craig, CEC, CCA, WCMC, Director of Culinary Operations/Executive Chef, Myers Park Country Club, Charlotte, N.C. 3:00 – 3:30 PM Break with Sponsor Table Visits 3:30 – 4:30 PM “Iron Chef” Mystery Basket Cookoff 5:30 – 9:30 PM Special reception at Pythium Market; evening free for dinner in New Orleans

SPONSORED BY:

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2019 Agenda

New Orleans, La. | March 10-12, 2019 Hilton New Orleans Riverside

TUESDAY MARCH 12

12:15 – 1:00 PM Lunch

7:30 – 8:30 AM Breakfast

8:30 – 9:30 AM Be Our Guest! How Guest Chef Events Can Invite Members, Guests and Staff to Memorable Occasions Presented by Nelson Millan, Executive Chef, San Antonio (Texas) Country Club and Richard Jallet, Executive Chef, Baltimore (Md.) Country Club

1:00 – 1:45 PM Changing Member Culture Through Health and Wellness Presented by Michael Ponzio, Executive Chef, Medinah (Ill.) Country Club

Nelson Millan (left) and Richard Jallet

9:30 – 10:30 AM Behind the Plate-Up: Motivating and Challenging Your Kitchen Team While Keeping It Focused on the Common Goal Presented by Joseph Leonardi, CMC, Executive Chef, The Country Club, Brookline, Mass.

2:00 – 2:30 PM Out of the Box Outdoor Events and Going Chaferless Presented by David Daddezio, Executive Chef, Vicmead Hunt Club/Bidermann Golf Course, Wilmington, Del. and Jerry Schreck, Executive Chef, Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa.

2:30 – 4:00 PM “Chef to Chef Live” Breakout sessions with Jerry Schreck, National Conference Coordinator and Executive Chef, Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa., and other moderators.

10:30 – 11:00 AM Break with Sponsor Table Visits

11:00 – 11:45 AM Food and Beverage for Today’s Luxury Customer Presented by Lawrence McFadden, CMC, General Manager/Chief Operating Officer, The Union Club, Cleveland, Ohio

David Daddezio

4:00 PM Closing remarks

To register, visit www.CheftoChefConference.com

11:45 AM – 12:30 PM The Power of Synergy: Combining Culinary Education and Professional Kitchen Training Presented by Daniel Pliska, CEC, AAC, Chef Instructor, Ozarks Technical Community College, Springfield, Mo.

NOR T HS T A R C L U B

S O F T W A R E

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CHEF TO CHEF

PHOTOS COURTESY VICMEAD HUNT CLUB

Inspired Performance

By Jerry Schreck, Executive Chef, Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa.

This Chef to Chef Q&A is a little different than normal.

This month’s conversation is with a chef I worked with for seven years: David Daddezio, who is now the Executive Chef at Vicmead Hunt Club and Bidermann Golf Course in Wilmington, Del. Chef Daddezio was with me at Merion Golf Club from 2006-2013. You truly don’t know the impact a fellow brigade member has until you see what he or she leaves behind.

Many of the concepts and recipes David created or implemented are still in place in our kitchen five years later.

For our members at Merion during the 2013 U.S. Open, when we had to serve 3,000 to 4,000 items per day, Chef Daddezio executed a marketplace-style, grab-and-go concept in a large tent attached to the clubhouse. Many area club managers from the Philadelphia Vicinity Club Managers Association who volunteered during the Open observed David’s talent for moving product efficiently and for managing and motivating a staff. It was there and then that the offers of Executive Chef positions in the area came pouring in.

In just under three years at Vicmead Hunt Club, David has created a real positive buzz among the membership, with events that are truly unique. In this conversation, and also in a presentation that he and I will deliver on “Out of the Box Outdoor Events” at the 2019 Chef to Chef Conference in New Orleans in March (see pgs. 32-33), he provides insights into how, and from where, he draws inspiration for his many successful concepts.

C&RB David, having worked with you for seven years, I am not surprised how you constantly reinvent club events

CHEF PROFILE David Daddezio, PC1 Current Position: Executive Chef, Vicmead Hunt Club and Bidermann Golf Course, Wilmington, Del. (2016-Present) Previous Experience: • Executive Chef, Waynesborough Country Club, Paoli, Pa. (2014-16) • Chef d’ Cuisine, Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa. (2006-14) • Chef/Kitchen Manager, Buckley’s Tavern/Brandywine Heritage Restaurants, Centreville, Del. (2001-06) Certifications and Achievements: • Lead Chef, 2013 U.S. Open and 2009 Walker Cup, Merion Golf Club • CIA ProChef 1 Certification, Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio Campus (2012) • Annual Participant, Philadelphia Vicinity Club Managers Association Trade Show Iron Chef Cookoff; Iron Chef Award, 2012 • Chef Presenter, 2019 Chef to Chef Conference, New Orleans, La. • Five-Time Attendee Chef to Chef Conference • Member, Philadelphia Area Chef to Chef Association

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C&RB CLUB RECIPE

Tuna Tartar

with Granny Smith Apple and Soy Pearls AMT INGREDIENT 4 hydroponic bib lettuce leaves 80 grams ¼-inch-dice yellow fin tuna tossed in 5 milliliters rice vinegar, 5 milliliters grapeseed oil, and a pinch of kosher salt 56 grams peeled ¼-inch-dice Granny Smith apple tossed in 5 milliliters cider vinegar ¼ sliced avocado, dipped in lemon juice 2.5 milliliters soy pearls (see procedure at right) 2 grams micro wasabi 1 egg roll skin cut into 14 triangles, lightly fried and seasoned with kosher salt, black sesame and chili powder

and at the same time create new and interesting ones.

Can you tell us a little about where your inspiration comes from?

Daddezio I find myself searching Craigslist and other digital platforms to find materials to enhance working ideas or help me develop new ones. I am a very visual person, and inspiration can be triggered by a photograph or image I come across. Creative ideas are an ever-evolving part of developing member programming and menus for us. It benefits the membership and staff alike, as everyone gets engaged in the programming.

For the soy pearls: • Freeze 1 ½ quarts canola oil in a 5-inch-wide, 2-quart cylinder for at least 3 hours • Bring 240 grams soy sauce just to a simmer • Add 4 grams agar agar and 5 grams sugar, and stir until it begins to slightly thicken • Using an eye dropper, drop small droplets of the soy into the frozen oil to set the agar agar, being careful not to overlap • Strain from cylinder and store in enough oil to cover under refrigeration For plating: • Using a 3 ½-inch ring, stack as follows: Bib lettuce, tuna, apples, avocado, soy pearls and micro wasabi • Garnish with chips SUBMITTED BY DAVID N. DADDEZIO, PC1, EXECUTIVE CHEF, VICMEAD HUNT CLUB/BIDERMANN GOLF COURSE, WILMINGTON, DEL.

C&RB Can you detail how you tie your beehives and tomato and herb gardens together with your Farm Table Dinners?

Daddezio The bee hives and gardens have really bolstered our culinary program, while promoting good stewardship of the environment. At our annual farm-to-table dinner, we paired the honey from our hives with locally produced

C&RB What types of items have you found on Craigslist that you’ve built events around?

Daddezio From antique wooden skis to wagon wheels, neat finds are always popping up. You never know what you’re going to see or where you’re going to see it. I’ve used an old wagon wheel to make a beautiful charcuterie table under glass (see photo below), and an old truck ramp for an Argentinean street-food display.

ENHANCE YOUR CLUBHOUSE PATIO An old wagon wheel found on Craigslist was turned into a charcuterie table with a glass top (above) to enhance a presentation for a Vicmead Hunt Club event. Other “finds” that Chef Daddezio and his staff have devised new uses for have included antique wooden skis and old truck ramps.

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For Vicmead Hunt Club’s annual Farm Table Dinner (see photo, pg. 34), honey from hives maintained on the property (above left) was paired with locally produced cheeses, used as a sweetener for cider dressing (left) and showcased in a grilled peach and honey empanada dessert (above).

cheeses, used it as a sweetener in our cider dressing, and had a grilled peach and honey empanada dessert that was terrific. The multiple varieties of tomatoes were just as they were from the vine, simply dressed with oil and salt. The herbs were stuffed in a 32-pound wild rockfish (see photo, pg. 34) that we grilled whole tableside.

C&RB Interaction with members is and always has been a priority for you. How have you dialed up that chefmember communication since you’ve arrived at Vicmead?

Daddezio When writing menus for events and member programming, I am always looking for ways to include my team in interactive stations. Being on the front lines as much as I can balance it is a real focus. We are currently running a happy-hour program that I work from 5 to 6:30 p.m. that features a small-bite menu, drink specials, and an action station that changes weekly.

C&RB Many clubs have a challenge putting together a successful “Happy Hour” program. What advice can you offer for getting members to the club for a small bite, a cocktail and hopefully a dinner?

Daddezio I’ve found that with the vast bombardment of e-mails that members receive, a catchy subject line and a good photo, delivered the day of the event, can help to break through the endless white noise of the Internet. I send an email on Sundays with some features of the week and a description of the happy-hour special. Then on the day of the happy hour, I send another note in the middle of the day, to try and capture the members who are looking for something to do.

C&RB Your Bidermann Golf Course is a part of Vicmead, but a couple of miles away. After two seasons, you have found it better to prep food there on site and have deliveries go directly there, instead of doing everything in

Vicmead Hunt Club was founded in 1920.

Its Bidermann Golf Course features a Dick Wilsondesigned golf course that was originally a private course at Winterthur, the former estate of Henry Francis du Pont.

The Vicmead and Bidermann properties each have Colonial farmhouses that serve as clubhouses.

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Know someone you’d like to have Jerry Schreck interview for a future “Chef to Chef” conversation?

Send your suggestions to editor@clubandresortbusiness.com.

your better-equipped main kitchen. Can you talk a little about why that has been more successful than shuttling finished product from the main clubhouse?

Daddezio It really all begins with feeling confident in your staff. I felt that diversifying our production and empowering employees with responsibilities would result in a better finished product and give internal advancement to deserving employees. The biggest challenge was storage of prepared foods—but through working with our purveyors on delivery options, we have solved most of those challenges. There are some days, though, when “walk-in Jenga” still happens!

C&RB

MORE ONLINE For Chef Daddezio’s recipe for Sous-Vide Charred Spanish Octopus with a Chervil Pea Puree, Parmesan Risotto and Pickled Beets (pictured above), see the online version of this article at www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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PHOTO COURTESY GOLF SUMMERLIN

COURSE & GROUNDS

Worth Its Salt

Golf course superintendents are finding that despite its salinity, the benefits of using reclaimed water outweigh the challenges.

By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor Golf course superintendents are constantly looking for ways to conserve water. In some places, however, the use of a particular source of water—reclaimed water—is on the rise, and that’s a good thing.

According to the results of a Golf Course Superintendents Association of America study of water use and conservation practices in U.S. golf courses that was released in 2015, usage of all water sources decreased from 2005 to 2013, except for recycled, or reclaimed, water.

Reclaimed water—wastewater that has been recycled and treated—was used by 15.3 percent of respondents to that survey, compared to 10.9 percent in 2005. And by all indications, that trend has continued since the study was conducted, as many municipalities have stepped up the pressure for conservation and the use of alternative sources in the wake of extended droughts and increased demand from growing populations.

This increase creates less dependence on other water sources such as open water, rivers, streams, creeks, well water, and municipal, or potable, water. While the use of reclaimed water has been mandatory in some parts of the country, even the superintendents who have no choice but to now rely on it to irrigate their properties have learned that reclaimed water offers benefits as well as drawbacks. Most importantly, they know it’s the right thing to do.

“It helps to conserve our resources,” says Brian Bagwell, Director of Golf Course Maintenance at Golf Summerlin in Las Vegas. “There are challenges with it, but you can work around them.”

Municipal Mandates The properties at Golf Summerlin, which includes three 18-hole public golf courses— Highland Falls, Palm Valley, and Eagle Crest—have used reclaimed water since 2003. The city of Las Vegas mandated the use of reclaimed water after the Southern Nevada Water Authority launched a drought-response plan to limit golf courses’ annual water budgets. As a result, golf course properties and superintendents had to learn to do more with less—as in less water, less grass, and less landscaping.

Most of the golf courses in the Las Vegas area use reclaimed water, says Bagwell, but properties that have their own wells are exceptions. “If they get their water from the [Las Vegas Valley Water District], it’s reclaimed,” he adds.

That water district now allows golf courses 6.3 acre-feet of water per irrigated acre annually.

Courses, however, are exempt from time-of-day and assigned watering-day provisions. “Homeowners can only water on certain days,” says Bagwell. “We’re restricted on how much water we can use, but we don’t come close to using the maximum acre-feet allowed.”

SUMMING IT UP

• Typically, it is more cost-

efficient for golf courses to irrigate with reclaimed water, where it is offered or mandated for use, rather than potable water.

• In addition to cost

efficiency, other advantages of using reclaimed water include availability and the presence of nutrients in the water.

• The high salt content

of reclaimed water is the main drawback to its use, but superintendents can offset salinity by flushing turf and by planting salt-tolerant grasses such as Bermudagrass or paspalum on their golf courses.

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While the use of recycled non-potable water for irrigation does not increase the valley’s available water supply, the practice reduces energy costs and adverse effects on the environment. In addition, treating and delivering recycled water saves the expense of pumping water from Lake Mead.

Better Than Wells At Morgan Run Club & Resort, which includes a 27-hole championship golf course in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., the golf course maintenance staff uses reclaimed water on its poa annua greens.

A September 1988 ordinance issued by the Board of Directors of the local Olivenhain Municipal Water District, which provides Morgan Run with its reclaimed water, mandated the use of reclaimed and non-potable water on golf courses and other properties where it was available for use. Morgan Run also has two on-site wells, which provide water to irrigate its paspalum fairways and tees and its Bermuda rough.

“We pull water from our underground aqueduct, and the water quality is very poor,” says Golf Course Superintendent Scott McIntosh. “The reclaimed water is better quality than our well water.”

The Morgan Run property is close to the Pacific Ocean, McIntosh explains, and when people did a lot of farming in the area in the 1960s, ocean water got sucked into the system when the aquifer level was lowered.

The local water district has adopted Best Management Practices to ensure that reclaimed water is used safely and responsibly. For example, irrigation with recycled water must take place in the evening or early morning, to avoid the heat and the windy parts of the day. In addition, an inspection and monitoring program ensures that reclaimed water customers comply with all federal, state, and local regulations governing water usage.

Proven Track Record Encinitas (Calif.) Ranch Golf Course has been using reclaimed water for almost 20 years.

“In the major-use permit when the course was built, one of the requirements was for the golf course to use 100 percent reclaimed water when it became available,” says Golf Course Superintendent Kent Graff. “The infrastructure was part of the master plan of the area. When the streets and roads were developed, the area got access to reclaimed water.”

This 18-hole public course receives its water from the San Dieguito Water District, which owns and operates the San Elijo Joint Powers Authority, the local wastewater-treatment and water-recycling facility. The plant provides 1,400 to 1,600 acre-

feet of recycled water annually to golf courses and other customers in the San Diego area, which relies heavily on imported water from the Colorado River and Northern California.

All They’ve Ever Known At The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast, Calif., the two 18-hole golf courses—Ocean North and Ocean South— have used only recycled and reclaimed water for irrigation since they were built in the early 1990s. The reclaimed water infrastructure was built into the golf courses in collaboration with the Irvine Ranch Water District, which provides the property with water.

“Pelican Hill Golf Club was built and is owned and operated by the Irvine Company, which was founded as an agricultural company more than 150 years ago,” says Director of Golf Course Maintenance Steve Thomas. “Since that time, our company has conserved and reused water by all means available. The company has a long history as a thoughtful steward of some of the most valuable land anywhere, and is an industry leader in water conservation.”

Pelican Hill uses 40 percent less water than its recycled water allocation from the district annually, Thomas adds.

Cost, Nutrients, and Availability Even when the use of recycled water—which is distributed through a network of purple pipes to separate it from drinking water systems—is mandated, the practice provides a number of advantages. For example, using reclaimed water is typically less expensive than irrigating with potable water.

Water usage at all three Golf Summerlin courses runs about $1.3 million annually, reports Bagwell—but the price per 1,000 gallons would be double that amount if the properties used potable water, he notes.

Morgan Run pays only for the reclaimed water it uses, and McIntosh says the costs have been consistent. “A lot of people use reclaimed water because of the price,” he says. “It’s expensive to use potable water.”

Potable water is billed in tiers by the local water district, he adds, and the more a property uses, the more it pays for the water.

For its reclaimed water expenses, Encinitas Ranch has a fixed rate of $290,000 annually. “It’s much cheaper than potable water. It’s close to half the cost,” Graff says.

While cost savings when compared to domestic water is a key advantage, Pelican Hill’s Thomas agrees, the opportunity to conserve resources and be good environmental stewards offers another advantage to using reclaimed or recycled water.

The golf course superintendents also have found that the

PHOTO COURTESY THE RESORT AT PELICAN HILL

The Resort at Pelican Hill has only used reclaimed and recycled water for irrigating its two 18-hole courses since they were built in the early 1990s. Each golf course has an irrigation lake that holds about 5 million gallons of the property’s reclaimed water.

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PHOTO COURTESY MORGAN RUN CLUB & RESORT

While Morgan Run Club & Resort has two on-site wells that are available to pull water from an underground aqueduct, the reclaimed water made available by the local water district is of better quality for irrigating, according to Golf Course Superintendent Scott McIntosh.

And the cost for using the reclaimed water, which Morgan Run stores in an onsite holding tank, has held consistent, McIntosh adds.

presence of nutrients in reclaimed water—including nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, boron, and magnesium—keeps them from having to fertilize their turf as frequently and provides another source of cost savings for their properties. “We’re essentially getting free fertilizer when we irrigate,” notes Thomas.

For properties that have the infrastructure to use reclaimed water, ample availability is another benefit. “We’re not on any type of restriction when there are restrictions on potable use, such as certain days or amounts,” Graff says.

If the local processing plant was shut down for any reason, he adds, Encinitas Ranch would have access to potable water, but with some possible restrictions.

At Encinitas Ranch, the reclaimed water goes into a holding pond on the property. “When the main lines have had to be serviced, we bumped up our reservoir to the maximum level,” notes Graff.

Morgan Run stores its reclaimed water in an onsite holding tank, and the well water runs into three ponds on the property. At Pelican Hill, each golf course has an irrigation lake that holds about 5 million gallons of the property’s reclaimed water.

Meeting the Challenges Even though properties that use reclaimed water usually receive economic benefits, it can also be cost-prohibitive in some instances.

“You tend to use more reclaimed water than potable or well water because of the quality, so the cost savings might not be as great as you might anticipate,” says Graff.

The lack of infrastructure makes it expensive for most

Beyond Reclaimed Water Many golf courses do not have access to reclaimed water, but they can employ other water-conserving inputs. Even properties that use reclaimed water can follow other watersaving measures as well.

To conserve water usage, Golf Summerlin, which earned a Las Vegas Water Hero Award in 2015 from the Water Conservation Coalition of the Southern Nevada Water Authority for its water-conservation initiatives, has reduced its overseeding practices on its three courses.

Golf Summerlin, which earned a Las Vegas Originally, the Las Vegas property overseeded the entirety Water Hero Award for its conservation of its courses, but in the early 2000s management made the de- initiatives, is phasing out overseeding and cision to overseed only the areas that are in play. After another has converted 3.1 million sq. ft. of manicured year or two, the property eliminated the overseeding of the turf to desert landscaping on its three golf fairways on par-3 holes where most golfers should be able to courses, saving 172 million gallons of water reach the greens, or get their balls close, with their tee shots. annually.

Next year, the grounds crew for Golf Summerlin’s Palm Valley course plans to overseed only the tees, with the ultimate goal of eliminating overseeding on the golf course entirely.

Golf Summerlin has also converted 3.1 million sq. ft. of manicured turf to desert landscaping on all three golf courses, saving 172 million gallons of water annually. The xeriscape landscaping includes oleander, Texas sage, cactus, and other succulent plants.

“We’re limited to the types of plants that grow well here,” notes Director of Golf Course Maintenance Brian Bagwell. “We have maxed out the areas where we can remove turf. We’ve taken most of it out of nonplayable areas.”

In addition, Bagwell says, the property, which has a flood channel that goes through all three golf courses in multiple places, has to keep grass in some areas because it is in a flood zone.

While the desert landscaping reduces the amount of mowing and water usage required, the plants can be more labor-intensive. However, Bagwell believes the water savings offset the heavier workload.

Morgan Run Club & Resort in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., has few native areas on its 27-hole championship golf course. However, Golf Course Superintendent Scott McIntosh says, “I have talked to my assistant about picking areas to stop mowing and maintaining and to put in native plants. The no-mow areas make the course easier to maintain, and we don’t have to water these out-of-play areas as much.”

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PHOTOS COURTESY GOLF SUMMERLIN

Club & Resort B Salsbury In

Other than bentgrass greens on its Palm Valley course (above right), the three Golf Summerlin courses have droughttolerant, warm-season Bermudagrass that is more salt-tolerant, according to Director of Golf Course Maintenance Brian Bagwell. The property also leaches its courses regularly to flush out salts and contaminants.

properties to convert to using reclaimed water, Thomas reports. However, he adds, “In highly populated areas such as Southern California, it just seems like the responsible thing to do. Domestic water should be reserved for human use and consumption, while reclaimed water should be used for turf, landscape, and agriculture.”

The salinity of reclaimed water poses another challenge for superintendents, and it influences maintenance practices as well. “The water quality is not as good because of the salt content,” says Bagwell.

The maintenance staffs at Golf Summerlin’s Las Vegas properties have to bring down the pH levels in the reclaimed water and manage the salt content by adding in chemicals that help the soil accept the water more readily.

When it comes to water usage, the turf also makes a difference. Other than the bentgrass greens on the Palm Valley course, the Golf Summerlin courses have drought-tolerant, warm-season Bermudagrass. “The Bermudagrass does a lot better. It’s more salt-tolerant,” notes Bagwell.

Like other properties that use reclaimed water, Golf Summerlin, which has more than 640 acres of turf on the three golf courses, leaches its golf courses regularly to flush out salts and contaminants that could jeopardize the health of the turf.

Every Monday, Morgan Run shuts down one of its three nine-hole layouts for maintenance. On these days, the grounds crew members flush and needle-tine the greens on the closed holes. They also put out gypsum every three weeks, to get the salt out of the greens.

“There are lower spots on all of the greens that get a lot of stress from the salts, so we have to pay extra attention to those areas,” says McIntosh. “By flushing every three weeks, the greens survive.”

The maintenance staff at Morgan Run also uses wetting agents to minimize its water inputs every three weeks, following the spray schedule.

To offset the high salt content of its reclaimed water, the Encinitas Ranch maintenance staff also leaches the greens to flush out the sodium from the root zone. This leaching is typically done to the greens every two weeks during the summer. For the rest of the year, the leaching schedule depends on the amount of rainfall in the area.

“When we have a good amount of rain, there’s no need for it,” says Graff. “In the winter with little rainfall, we might do

it once a month.”

Because sodium is so toxic to turf, Graff reports, “We use large amounts of calcium, because it helps deflect the sodium in the soil.”

Encinitas Ranch has Bermudagrass on its tees, fairways, and rough. The greens are poa annua. “Both grasses enjoy the nutrients, but the Bermudagrass is more salt-tolerant,” notes Graff.

The quality of the Bermudagrass on the Encinitas Ranch

Runs in: Jun, Oct, Feb

• Single Tier • Double Tier • Triple Tier • Box Style • Extra Wide • Vented • Open Access • Modular • Solid Oak • Plastic • Storage • Benches • Cell Phone Lockers

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Maximum Protection The two oceanfront 18-hole golf courses at The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast, Calif., have more than 90 acres of protected habitat called Coastal Sage Scrub (CSS). “Within the CSS palette, there are 15 to 20 different plants that are all native,” says Director of Golf Course Maintenance Steve Thomas.

The property’s ornamental plants were selected for their minimal water requirements, and Mediterranean plants and succulents in particular are used for outdoor landscaping and for indoor design.

From 2005 to 2007, Pelican Hill also underwent renovations to design and install a water-management system based on conservation and recycling to protect the area’s most vital asset—the Pacific Ocean.

The water-management system includes five underground rainwater runoff collection cisterns, allowing the property to use only the amount of water necessary by monitoring how much water the vegetation needs and how much moisture the soil can hold. The cisterns, which collectively hold 1.2 million gallons of water, are emptied within 10 days following each storm.

Pelican Hill also rebuilt two irrigation lakes to hold an additional 5.4 million gallons of rainwater and runoff, which can be pumped in from the cisterns and then used to irrigate the golf courses and landscape.

A full-time water-quality manager monitors and maintains the system, which accomplishes three objectives—conserving more than 50 million gallons of water annually, reducing debris and contaminants in the water, and capturing and recycling runoff.

Throughout Pelican Hill, catch basin inserts have been installed and maintained along cart paths to filter runoff water and capture organic debris before it enters the storm-drain system. The inserts contain a blend of polymers specifically aimed at removing oil derivatives and hydrocarbons from water.

Two bio-filtration/bio-retention basins, built into the Ocean South At Pelican Hill, a watercourse’s 10th and 15th holes, treat runoff from the adjacent golf mainmanagement system based tenance facility. Acting as filtration devices, the basins remove pollutants on recycling and conservation through various physical and biological treatment processes. was designed and installed to (For more details on the Pelican Hill water-management system, see the online protect the area’s most vital version of this article at www.clubandresortbusiness.com) asset: the Pacific Ocean. green surrounds and approaches occasionally suffers from the high sodium levels, so Graff has replaced these declining areas with salt-tolerant paspalum grass. “I started using it 15 years ago, to incorporate it into the turf [and] build up problem areas,” he says.

Mother Nature does her part to keep the turf healthy as well. “Rain provides us with better quality of water. It helps us control sodium in the soil,” Graff states. “It’s a neutral water source with no toxic components to the turf. It provides a good drink of good, clean water, and the plant responds.”

Pelican Hill, which has Tifway 2 hybrid Bermudagrass on its fairways, tees, and rough, and annual bluegrass on its greens, uses reclaimed water across all 400 acres of its two courses and 100-plus acres of resort landscape.

“We test it twice annually with the standard water analysis, which measures nutrients, sodium, pH, bicarbonates, chlorine, et cetera,” Thomas says.

To mitigate the sodium levels and chlorine in its reclaimed water, the grounds crew at Pelican Hill use certain products, along with cultivation programs such as greens aerification and sand topdressing.

“Compared to our greens, the Bermudagrass areas are much more tolerant against sodium and other harsh elements that come along with using reclaimed water,” reports Thomas. “The greens are shallow-rooted and very sensitive, so they require an intense program, particularly in the summer months.

“When we go through long stretches with no rainfall, the salt level in our soils builds up considerably, which has a negative effect on the root system and overall plant health,” Thomas adds.

Advice for Others While all water-conservation inputs benefit golf properties and the environment, any superintendents who might start using reclaimed water—whether it is mandated or not— should be aware of the pros and cons of its usage.

Bagwell recommends that any superintendents who are considering the use of reclaimed water plant grass that can handle the salinity.

“The turf sometimes doesn’t like the salts,” he says. “They should have a plan to manage the salts and to flush the turf. The Bermudagrass does really well. In an arid climate, it works.”

Graff also advises superintendents to think about the hidden aspects of using reclaimed water. “Typically speaking, you end up having to use more,” he explains. “There are variations to reclaimed water, depending on what part of the world you’re in. We have a lot of salt in our reclaimed water, so it’s good to know what’s in [it].”

A little foresight never hurts, either. Graff says it is better for new developments to install purple pipes for reclaimed water when they are under construction. “It’s so much more expensive to come back and install the pipes after the roads are in place,” he adds.

The environmental stewardship of using reclaimed water can also generate positive public relations for the golf industry in general, and for golf courses in particular.

“We’re all in an environment where, if we can get away from using any type of potable water or water for human consumption, it’s beneficial to the community and the environment,” says Graff. “It’s easier for me to have a conversation about what I’m doing to keep the golf course green when I’m not taking water for human consumption from the community.” C&RB

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PHOTOS COURTESY MONTGOMERY COUNTY REVENUE AUTHORITY

SUPER IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Expanding Authority Even with nearly 400,000 annual rounds played on Montgomery County, Md.’s nine courses, Jon Lobenstine’s Director of Agronomy role has grown to now include supporting new revenue growth through everything from Footgolf to bourbon tastings and Saturday concerts.

By Jeff Bollig, Contributing Editor

Jon Lobenstine answered a want ad in The Washington Post for a grounds staff position at Chevy Chase (Md.) Club with no intention of starting a career in golf.

By his own admission, Lobenstine had bounced around after graduating from college and was looking for steady work.

He had performed some odd jobs, including digitizing nautical charts for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, when his curiosity got the best of him.

“I had some friends who introduced me to golf and I found I enjoyed it,” Lobenstine said. “At the time I was doing landscaping work, so a position at the golf course interested me.

But to say I thought it would be the start of a new career would not be accurate. I did not want to be tied to a desk indoors, so I looked at it as a steady job that I would like.”

It is just one of many decisions that Lobenstine has made over the course of time that have paid big dividends. In just seven years, he went from answering a newspaper advertisement for a staff position to directing a Maryland county’s agronomy unit, with responsibility for nine golf courses.

“I’ve been fortunate to be around some great people who helped to show me the way,” Lobenstine said. “I’ve learned so much from them, and they have put their trust in me.”

At Chevy Chase Club, he worked under the tutelage of the

widely respected Dean Graves, CGCS. A mentor to countless turf industry professionals, Graves instilled in Lobenstine superior turf- and people-management skills, and the importance of professional development that would later pay dividends. He also completed his advanced turfgrass management certificate from Penn State University while at Chevy Chase. It was clear that Lobenstine had found his calling.

“It didn’t take long for me to know this is what I wanted to do,” Lobenstine said. “When you are doing something you like, it doesn’t seem as much like work. There have been some tough moments, but it’s been rewarding.”

After “graduating” from Chevy Chase in 2003, Lobenstine took an assistant superintendent position at Falls Road Golf Course, at the time one of five golf courses under the direction of the Montgomery (Md.) County Revenue Authority (MCRA), just north of Washington, D.C. He would then be promoted to Falls Road’s head superintendent position in October 2005.

In 2006, the MRCA took over the responsibility of managing four additional golf courses leased from the county’s Parks department. That growth necessitated a structural change and the addition of a Director of Agronomy position.

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SUPER IN THE SPOTLIGHT Jon Lobenstine Current Position: Director of Agronomy, Montgomery County (Md.) Revenue Authority (MCRA), Golf Division Location: Rockville, Md. Education & Training: B.A., Spanish, University of Kansas, 1996; Certificate of Advanced Turfgrass Management, Penn State University, 2003 Years at MCRA: 15 Years in Golf Course Maintenance Business: 19 Previous Employment History: • Grounds Staff, Chevy Chase (Md.) Country Club, 1999-2003; • Assistant Golf Course Superintendent, Falls Road Golf Course, Potomac, Md., 2003-2005; • Golf Course Superintendent, Falls Road Golf Course, 2005-2014 (Named Director of Agronomy for MCRA in 2006 and held dual position of superintendent at Falls Road Golf Course until 2014)

Certifications: GCSAA Class A Golf Course Superintendent Honors and Awards: University of Kansas National Spanish Honor Society; Mid-Atlantic Association of Golf Course Superintendents Board of Directors (Education Chairman four years, President in 2013); Montgomery County Revenue Authority “Rookie of the Year,” 2004.

Keith Miller, gave him the additional duties of overseeing the agronomic programs of the entire system. With expanding duties, Lobenstine relinquished his duties at Falls Road in 2014 to better focus on long-term goals for MCRA. “The MCRA was growing and we started to look at new opportunities that required more of my time,” he says. “I was putting in 14-plus-hour days most of the year, including winter, so it was time to hire a superintendent for Falls Road.”

And there was still plenty to do with “just” his MCRA duties, as Lobenstine describes in this interview with C&RB. C&RB: Can you explain the management structure for the MCRA’s nine golf courses?

Lobenstine: It is a bit of a unique arrangement. The Authority was created in 1957 by state charter, then transferred to the county in 1996. All of the golf courses are public facilities.

The MCRA is a quasi-governmental organization. We are a public corporation and an instrument of the county, but we are self-funded, reinvesting our revenue and paying all of our expenses.

Each MCRA course has a general manager and a superintendent, and the superintendents report to me. I report to the MCRA CEO and he reports to a Board of Directors appointed by the County Council.

C&RB: Do you have any other responsibilities with the MCRA? Lobenstine:There are three divisions: golf, the airport and a public financing arm. I have additional responsibilities with Gaithersburg (Md.) Airpark, overseeing grounds management.

C&RB: What do the nine golf courses offer to the public?

Lobenstine: We like to say we have something for everyone. We have a nine-hole golf course, two 27-hole facilities and six 18-hole courses. We pride ourselves on having enjoyable, well-conditioned golf courses for the public to play, and quite a range of golf experiences that suit beginners and competitive golfers alike.

We manage a total of 171 holes over 2,250 acres, and average 360,000 to 390,000 rounds a year. That is above the average for similar courses in our area, according to the National Golf Foundation. Our golf season is essentially mid-March to mid-November, but officially the only day we are closed is Christmas.

We see people who are members of private clubs come to play our courses because they enjoy the experience. We manage our tee sheets aggressively. We monitor play and will adjust fees throughout the day. We also offer different memberships and loyalty programs that allow you to play all of the courses.

We have a strong instructional component in the MCG Golf Academy, including an indoor studio and simulator.

We offer tournaments; leagues for juniors, women and men; outside charity events and corporate events, and we have even hosted USGA qualifiers.

C&RB: How has the management of the courses changed over your tenure?

Lobenstine: We strive to let each golf course have their independence. We want them to identify practices and operations that work best for them. The vast majority of our revenues are from golf, so we are looking to diversify.

For example, we offer Footgolf at two facilities, and interestingly enough, we get people who play soccer and who’ve never been on a golf course to come out and then they decide to play regular golf as well.

We are also starting to use our facilities year-round for meetings and events. We have had a Saturday concert series at our nine-hole course. We are doing things like bourbon tastings and other social events to bring new people, and particularly non-golfers, to our courses and to see them not just as “golf.”

I spend a considerable amount of my time with our senior executive team in strategic planning sessions, looking at how we can increase revenues and utilize our facilities in new and different ways. We take a great deal of pride in the fact we are a lean and efficient operating unit. We are in a very competitive region for golf.

C&RB:: Do you dictate uniform agronomic programs for each course?

Lobenstine: We meet as a group of superintendents throughout the year, and then I get to every facility as much as I can. I tend to spend more time where there might be projects happening or challenges facing a particular team.

Each course is unique, so we rely on each of them to implement what works best for them. Overall, the team’s goal is

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Lobenstine had a dual role for eight years that included serving as Head Superintendent of Falls Road GC (right) before a separate superintendent was hired for that course so he could focus full-time on his duties with the Montgomery County Revenue Authority. In addition to overseeing the Authority’s nine golf courses, those responsibilities also extend to include grounds management of the Gaithersburg (Md.) Airpark.

to question every process, use the fewest resources possible, and be as aggressive as possible with cultural practices to produce great conditions, while minimizing the loss of revenue that is typically associated with such events.

Some of the courses were once nice farmland, so the conditions to grow grass are better than at others that might have been constructed with topsoil seemingly as an afterthought.

Some drain better than others. Elevation ranges from 300 to 800 feet above sea level. So you really cannot take a one-sizefits-all approach.

It takes some creativity from our team, and some early starts to keep the tee sheet open. I am regularly amazed by what they accomplish!

C&RB: What are the biggest challenges for the facilities from a turf-management perspective?

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Lobenstine: We’re located in the transition zone, which means we’re in that area where the optimum conditions for growing warm-season and cool-season grasses meet. This also means that there are a few months a year where it’s not ideal for either, which presents a lot of strategic challenges, even in selecting which species of grass will perform in a certain area.

There’s a lot of disease pressure from dollar spot, anthrac-

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nose, gray leaf spot, pythium and brown patch. In 2018, the pressures from gray leaf spot and pythium were just brutal.

Then we face the annual bluegrass weevil as the most troublesome insect pest. So we have to stay on top of things with a very extensive scouting program by our teams, to ensure we have a precise, targeted approach in dealing with all of these threats, rather than the outdated “wall to wall” applications of the past.

Another element is the county’s decision to move the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour. They are implementing it roughly $1/hour a year at a time. For each $1 raise, it costs us $300,000 in labor costs across the system. We try to avoid raising our fees, so we need to reduce already very lean costs or create new revenue streams. We are also facing labor challenges. It is tough to fill our staffs.

C&RB: You were a Spanish major in college. Why did you choose that field?

GOLF COURSE PROFILE Montgomery County (Md.) Revenue Authority Website: www.mcggolf.com Golf Courses in MCRA (Holes; Designer, Year Opened; Superintendent): • Falls Road Golf Course, Potomac, Md. (18; Ed Ault, 1961; Tom Clark/ Dan Schlegel/ Jim Cervone, 2003; Mike Fuoco) • Hampshire Greens Golf Course, Silver Spring, Md. (18; Lisa Maki, 1999; Teddy Blauvelt) • Laytonsville Golf Course, Gaithersburg, Md. (18; Ed Ault, 1974; Dan Hofmeister)

Hampshire Greens GC’s 5th green (above); its 10th fairway is pictured on pg. 43.

• Little Bennett Golf Course, Frederick, Md. (18; Michael Hurdzan, 1992; Dan Wildeman) • Needwood Golf Course, Derwood, Md. (27, Main 18—Ed Ault, 1964; Inside 9—Russell Roberts, 1964; Matt Hopper) • Poolesville Golf Course, Poolesville, Md. (18; Ault & Jamison, 1959; Tom Clark/Jim Cervone, 1998) • Rattlewood Golf Course, Mt. Airy, Md. (18; Brian Ault, 1995; Mike Twigg) • Sligo Creek Golf Course, Silver Spring, Md. (9; Ault & Jamison, 1959; Marlon Rodriguez)

Lobenstine: I grew up in Silver Spring, Md., but my grandparents lived in Kansas City and I always wanted to attend the University of Kansas, because my mom graduated from there as well. I was going to be an architect, but switched to Spanish and completed my studies in an exchange program with the University of Costa Rica.

Little did I know at the time, but the degree has been very helpful. It has helped me in connecting and communicating with our predominantly Hispanic workforce, and I have also translated various documents, such as an employee handbook.

C&RB: Your activity in your local and national membership organizations has been considerable. How did that come about, and how has it helped you?

Lobenstine: I was fortunate to have an unbelievable mentor in Dean Graves at the Chevy Chase Club, and have had continued strong support now from MCRA’s Keith Miller, who is active with the National Golf Course Owners Association and who has had a pivotal role in my professional development. They are both active in supporting the profession and the golf industry, especially in advocacy activities.

I did not have a true appreciation of all that Dean did when I was at Chevy CHase 20 years ago, but later on I was approached to get involved in my chapter and I decided it was good for me and good to give back. I headed our chapter education committee and got to know some of the top researchers in the region and around the nation, and was able to pick their brains.

I served on the board of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Golf Course Superintendents for eight years, culminating as President in 2013. During this time, I also became active in advocacy activities. For the past eight years I have been involved in National Golf Day on Capitol Hill. We host congressmen, their staffs, regulators and others, to demonstrate the value of golf and teach them a little about what we do.

For the past two years, I have been involved in planning our Community Service Project of cleaning up the Mall in Washington, D.C. I was also on the steering committee along with local superintendents and researchers that created the Best Management Practices for Maryland Golf Courses manual. It has been rewarding.

C&RB: Looking at turf management in general, what do you see as the biggest changes in your profession?

Lobenstine: Without a doubt it is the advent of precision, data-driven turf management. Technology has allowed us to be so much more precise in helping all the players on golf maintenance teams produce better playing surfaces.

There will always be room for the intuition of the superintendent, but much of the guesswork of the past is now available to us in hard numbers. That means we use less water and other resources, we are more efficient in our labor usage, and we are far more targeted and judicious in our use of chemical products.

We’re using Minimum Level for Sustainable Nutrition guidelines now for fertilizer applications. This is all a result of education and research, some of which we have been doing in-house along with the University of Maryland. We’re always looking for new ways to minimize required inputs and to let nature do the work!

C&RB

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PHOTOS COURTESY DESERT MOUNTAIN CLUB

TODAY’S MANAGER

Happy Trails A new Interactive Trail Guide at Desert Mountain Club provides hikers and bikers with state-of-the-art data on everything from suggested routes to the best spots for viewing a sunset.

By Rob Thomas, Associate Editor The Desert Mountain Club, a private golf and recreational community situated just north of Scottsdale, Ariz., boasts six Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses. But it’s something off the fairways that’s attracting not only the attention of Desert Mountain members these days, but also other club managers looking for new ways to engage their own memberships and fully utilize their properties.

The property has installed a new Interactive Trail Guide that caters to both serious and novice hikers alike.

Positioned at the trailhead of the property’s 15-mile private trail system, which encompasses seven separate trail segments, the guide allows hikers to select a route by distance, degree of difficulty, or even based on where they’ll come across the best sunset views.

Once the hike is selected, a customized map is created and can be scanned onto the hiker’s mobile device.

Twenty of the most common routes, and accompanying GPS data, are pre-loaded into the system, to assist in selecting each person’s ideal hike.

Design by Demand Craig Mitchell, a member of Desert Mountain who designed the Interactive Trail Guide, says there was a strong desire within the community for such technology. Mitchell is also a member of the “Desperados” — a group of like-minded outdoor enthusiasts who are vigilant about advancing Desert Mountain’s outdoor recreation experience.

“Desert Mountain is a vibrant community, and the demands for all outdoor recreational opportunities [on the property] are growing rapidly,” Mitchell says. “About 66 percent of our golf members are hikers, and users [of the property] take 12,000 hikes per year. The Desperados wanted to provide consistent and accurate inJANUARY 2019 www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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The Interactive Trail Guide allows Desert Mountain members and guests to fully customize hikes—from distance covered to degree of difficulty.

formation to users in a fun, intuitive and engaging manner.”

While the technology behind the Interactive Trail Guide is not new, Mitchell says its application at Desert Mountain is a first-of-its-kind use. “The hardware and software solutions are readily available, but the trails application is an original design, unique to Desert Mountain,” he says. “This was our vision, and we were able to bring it to life.”

Mitchell says he felt like a “kid in a candy shop” when helping with the design of the Guide, which was compiled around user demands for information and the rugged Arizona environment.

“The Interactive Trail Guide was built based on questions from our members for data pertinent to our trails and their skills,” he says. “We wanted to take our trails experience to a new level, for beginner and advanced hikers and bikers alike.”

Full of Features In addition to providing mapped routes, the Interactive Trail Guide also has the capability to check current weather, view an informative species guide, scan interesting facts and recommend specific hikes. Photos submitted by members from recent trailhead events will also be on display, as well as information about the Desperados.

For those not technologically savvy or wanting to stick to tried-and-true methods, Mitchell says printed maps are readily available at the trailhead. That said, because the hiker can scan and download selected hikes to a smartphone, the Interactive Trail Guide provides mobile support with GPS coordination to assist along the way, which a traditional map can’t do.

Another plus is that members don’t need a dedicated app on their phone or device; instead, they can just “grab and go.”

“The software resides on a media player [hard drive] that is attached to the on-site monitor,” Mitchell says. “However, each map displayed on the Guide monitor has a QR [quick recognition] code that can be easily scanned and downloaded to a mobile device.”

To fund the Interactive Trail Guide, the Desperados—a 501(c) (3) organization operating under the umbrella of the Arizona Community Foundation—relied on member contributions.

“We do community-based work within and outside of Desert Mountain,” Mitchell says. “The original 15-mile trail system was built entirely on member donations.

“Our future plans,” he adds, “include local volunteer work, local philanthropy, new trails, a 60-foot mosaic representing the Sonoran Desert from sunrise to sunset, a ‘base camp’ map of outdoor activities available in a 100-mile radius of Desert Mountain, and of course, the Interactive Trail Guide.

“All of this has been and will be funded by member donations through Desperado Development Campaigns,” Mitchell continues. “We are also fortunate to receive support from Desert Mountain Club, the Desert Mountain Community [HOA], the Desert Mountain Community Foundation and Russ Lyon Realty.”

Plenty of Potential While golf courses and resorts are generating revenue through new technology—such as ordering food and beverages from a golf cart or selling ads on the in-cart screen— Mitchell says the Desperados have no current plans for

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“As a premier golf and outdoor recreation community, this type of technology and amenity is one the club industry is just now starting to explore, and we have fully embraced it.”

—Damon DiOrio, CCM, CCE Chief Executive Officer, Desert Mountain Club

monetizing the Interactive Trail Guide. However, their application is copyrighted, and the group is looking into trademarks and licensing.

As for expanding the use of the Interactive Trail Guide beyond the trails, Mitchell says “The Desperados are always thinking of how to advance outdoor recreation at Desert Mountain—that is our mission. The Guide is new, but we always listen to our fellow outdoor enthusiasts, [and] that will drive our future features.”

Recognizing how the community is at the forefront of this movement, Desert Mountain’s Chief Executive Officer, Damon DiOrio, CCM, CCE, is eager to share this technology with golf courses and resorts nationwide.

“As a premier golf and outdoor recreation community, this type of technology and amenity is one the club industry is just now starting to explore, and we have fully embraced it,” DiOrio says. “[In early January], Desert Mountain will serve as host to 50 club managers from around the country, to showcase this and other outdoor amenities that are geared toward providing a variety of health and wellness opportunities for the golf enthusiast and their families.”

That event, DiOrio says, has grown out of recognition by the Club Management Association of America [CMAA] that “there has been an explosion in non-golf facilities around the country as one of the hottest [and most] sustained trends in the industry.

“Recognizing this, [the CMAA] came to the leadership of [its Southwest Chapter] for help, knowing that clubs like ours are among a group here at the cutting edge of these outdoor recreational pursuits,” DiOrio adds.

That led to the development of the week-long program, offered to club managers as part of the CMAA’s Certified Club Manager certification process, that was scheduled for the Scottsdale area for the week of January 7-11. The agenda included visits to Arizona Country Club and The Desert Highlands Country & Golf Club, in addition to Desert Mountain.

Seminar sessions covered a full variety of topics in addition to hiking and biking, including: youth programming; kids camps; winter sports; lawn games; fitness and wellness technology and nutrition; tennis and racquet sports; adaptive sports; yachting and sailing; bocce; croquet; aquatics; “glamping”; and “doorstop sports.” Presentations were made by managers from many other clubs throughout the country, in addition to the host clubs.

Expanding the Technology While Desert Mountain doesn’t have any immediate plans

to also utilize its new Interactive Trail technology on the golf course, DiOrio says a possible expansion is planned within the hiking realm. “We are looking into installing a duplicate version of the Interactive Trail Guide at the Sonoran Clubhouse, which serves as our hub for fitness, wellness and outdoor experiences,” he says. “This way, members can plan their hikes before hitting the trail.”

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PHOTOS COURTESY GASSER CHAIR CO.

PRODUCTS AT WORK

A Seat at the Table Avalon Holdings gains assurance that the furnishings for its hotel and resort properties will always be the right fit, through the partnership it has developed with a supplier that combines flexibility and responsiveness with its longstanding reputation for providing a variety of distinctive and durable pieces.

By Barbara Rook, Contributing Editor

Function, fashion and fit. Those are the priorities that Avalon Holdings adheres to when selecting furnishings for its Ohio- and Pennsylvania-based hotel and resort properties.

While many suppliers could answer that call, one—Gasser Chair—earns Avalon’s business time and time again.

“We are a higher-end location and product; we buy top of the line,” says Cory Pagliarini, Avalon’s Director of Membership and Golf Sales. “Their products are tremendous. It fits our business.”

Flexible Response Proximity also plays a major role in this client-supplier partnership, because Youngstown, Ohio-based Gasser is centrally located to several Avalon properties and can react quickly when needs arise, adds Avalon’s Facilities Director, Sarah Allen.

That responsiveness and flexibility came in handy when Avalon was designing Gatsby’s, a fine-dining restaurant that was a new addition to its restored, 133-room Avalon Inn & Resort in Howland, Ohio.

“We like to furnish to enhance our planned vision for a space,” explains Allen. “We need lots of options in furnishings and fabrics.”

When designing the newly constructed restaurant, Avalon “picked what we thought we wanted,” says Allen, knowing that using off-the-shelf upholstery would help with meeting the project’s short deadlines.

“Four months later, the room had taken on a strong feeling,” Allen continues. “When the chairs arrived, they didn’t work in that space. They were beautifully constructed, but the room’s strong decor proved too overpowering.

“I rearranged chairs and moved chairs between facilities to try to make [what had been originally selected] fit,” she says. But in the end, Allen went back to her supplier for new solutions. At Gasser’s shop, she rooted through fabrics and upholstery, taking samples back to the Inn to confirm the right fit.

In the interest of time, Gasser retrofitted the original chairs with an upholstered back with nail-head detail and a rolled top. “We loved the second version’s layered fabric textures

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The “Rat Pack” theme at Buhl Park CC’s Bogart’s restaurant was brought to life with customized, half-moon, tuftedback black Naugahyde booths (see photo, above left) and other furnishings designed to provide a contemporary look while complementing the Las Vegas-style artwork and statues.

with black, gold and a dark-green color palette,” says Allen.

“We had short deadlines, but Gasser worked with us to complete exactly what we needed it to be.”

Based on sketches provided by Allen, Gasser also customdesigned an Italian leather bench, with an exaggerated rolledback and tufted top, to flank the restaurant’s windows.

“I asked Gasser for green leather, and they didn’t bat an eye,” she explains. “It may not be as practical as other fabrics, but it’s stunning.”

Gasser invited Allen to preview the finished piece in person. “They wanted to hit the nail on the head,” she says.

“It’s a custom piece and fits perfectly. I can’t picture anything else there.”

Elsewhere in the Inn, Gasser chairs hold up under heavy use.

“During the holiday season, we have 1,700 to 2,000 people on property every weekend during December,” explains Allen. “Guest use, moving and stacking can take their toll, and the chairs have to stand the test of time.”

Avalon uses Gasser’s Solandra Series stacking chairs, in two different fabrics and powder coatings, in the Inn’s conference space.

The Gasser chairs are a favorite of members, guests and employees, explains Pagliarini. During charity events held

For Gatsby’s, the new fine-dining restaurant at the restored Avalon Inn & Resort, Gasser provided retrofitted chairs with layered fabric techniques and special greenleather Italian benches.

by Avalon properties to support local veterans, guests bid on Gasser-donated custom-designed chairs—think Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns. “[The Gasser designs are among] our more popular items in the raffle and auctions,” says Pagliarini. “Gasser is clearly doing something right.”

Form Meets Function Form met function for Avalon at its Buhl Park Country Club in Sharon, Pa., where Gasser supplied solutions for Largo’s, the club’s indoor-outdoor poolside restaurant, which was remodeled in 2014.

“Above all else when entering, people first notice the chairs,” says Allen.

“The challenge is, it’s poolside,” she adds. “You have wet bathing suits and UV lighting. We needed something durable, yet fashionable.”

Four different models of Gasser chairs—in neutrals, browns, tans and gold—bring the restaurant’s Cuban motif to life, while providing the required durability (see photo, opposite page).

Gasser solved a similar poolside opportunity at Squaw Creek Country Club in Vienna, Ohio, which Avalon purchased in 2003. Overlooking the pool, Gasser installed custom oversized booths and fixed counter stools.

“Squaw Creek has emerged as a summertime social hub,” says Allen. “These [chairs] are perfect for live entertainment, card playing and casual dining. Left outside, they even withstand harsh Ohio winters.”

Back at Buhl Park, Avalon owner Ron Klingle introduced a nostalgic “Rat Pack” theme at Bogart’s, the club’s contemporary restaurant, complete with Las Vegas-style artwork and statues. To showcase the space, Gasser built custom, halfmoon, tufted-back black Naugahyde booths. The Naugahyde is classic, but easy to clean and maintain, says Allen.

The mix of product quality and personal customer service that the manufacturer provides suits the Avalon team. “Although Gasser produces products for renowned destinations worldwide, the company still has the mentality of a smalltown, ‘mom and pop’ shop,” says Allen.

“Service and responsiveness go a long way,” adds Pagliarini. “It’s been a very good relationship for both of us.” C&RB JANUARY 2019 www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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2019 golf industry show

California Connection

PHOTO COURTESY GCSAA

The Golf Industry Show (GIS), presented by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) and the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA), will return to the San Diego, Calif., Convention Center February 2-7. This year’s GIS will continue the theme of “Connect. Discover. Elevate.” that was established in 2018.

The GIS currently follows a three-year rotation of an East Coast, West Coast and non-coastal location. Orlando and San Diego remain consistently popular coastal anchors for the show’s three-year rotation. The upcoming rotation of shows will be Orlando in 2020 and Las Vegas in 2021. Because GCSAA members have expressed a desire to also attend shows in more varied, non-coastal locales, sites up for future consideration include New Orleans, Phoenix and San Antonio, according to Rhett Evans, GCSAA CEO. The 2019 GIS in San Diego will kick off February 3 with the GCSAA Golf Championships, which takes place over three days. The GCSAA Opening Reception (February 5) will be highlighted by the presentation of the 2019 Old Tom Morris Award—this year going to the Powell family of Canton, Ohio, who were pioneers in breaking down racial barriers in the golf industry.

The family includes the late Bill and Marcella Powell and their children, Lawrence and Renee. Bill Powell, a member of GCSAA for 37 years prior to his death in 2009, was an entrepreneur and pioneering golf course owner who opened Clearview Golf Club in Canton in 1948. The integrated course was the first, and remains the only, U.S. course to be

PHOTO COURTESY GCSAA/MONTANA PRITCHARD

By Rob Thomas, Associate Editor

designed, constructed and owned by an African-American.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Lawrence Powell, a 44-year member of GCSAA, currently serves as Clearview’s Golf Course Superintendent. Renee Powell was the second African-American woman to join the LPGA Tour, which she was part of from 1967 to 1980. Today, she is the teaching professional at Clearview.

The GIS Trade Show will be conducted February 6 and 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring hundreds of exhibitors across thousands of square feet of exhibit space. The show floor will also include special features such as “Inside the Shop”—a full, interactive replica of a maintenance facility that will showcase an efficient, cost-effective and safe work environment.

The following pages provide C&RB’s guide to some of the must-see exhibits, products and services that will be on this year’s GIS show floor.

The Powell family (left) will be honored at the Golf Industry Show with the Old Tom Morris Award for its role as pioneers in breaking down racial barriers in the golf industry. Pictured from left to right are Billy, Marcella, Lawrence, Bill and Renee.

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2019 golf industry show Ace Golf Netting

GIS Booth: 945 Whatever a facility’s needs might be for driving-range barrier netting, Ace Golf Netting can handle it. www.acegolfnetting.com

ARAG

GIS Booth: 3729 Arag is a key player in designing and manufacturing the most complete range of liquid-handling components, including GPS, rate control and monitoring systems, flow meters, nozzles, lids, valves, filters and much more. www.aragnet.com

Bayer GIS Booth: 3736 Bayer has the solutions needed to keep turf healthy and strong. Products like Indemnify® and Stressgard®, combined with the advice of Bayer experts, can help keep turf healthier and golfers happier. www.EnvironmentalScience.Bayer.US

Better Billy Bunker

GIS Booth: 2538 The Better Billy Bunker Method was devised to be the best bunker-construction method in the world. This method improves the original Billy Bunker spec by eliminating geotextile liners. A two-inch lay of local pea gravel is treated with polymer designed specifically for use in bunkers.

This layer of gravel provides maximum drainage and allows water to flow to the drain tile faster than any other construction method. www.betterbillybunker.com

Billy Goat Industries

GIS Booth: 4947 Billy Goat Industries is a manufacturer of specialty outdoor power equipment inclusive of sod cutters, aerators, overseeders, power rakes, lawn and litter vacuums, pedestrian and ride-on blowers and truck loaders. www.billygoat.com

Capillary Concrete

GIS Booth: 5325 Capillary Concrete helps reduce the time a course-maintenance staff spends caring for bunkers, while also preserving sand and providing ideal playing conditions, to let crews focus maintenance efforts on other parts of the golf course.

Capillary Concrete stabilizes sand and drains at hundreds of inches per hour, to remove excess water quickly. Sand stays clean and remains playable longer. The easy-to-install mix is the strongest product on the market. www.capillaryconcrete.com

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Club Car

GIS Booth: 3827 Every detail of design, fabrication and assembly at Club Car is executed with an uncompromised desire for superior performance. Club Car’s golf, utility and transportation vehicles are recognized as industry leaders in efficiency and long-lasting value. Today, more than 40 base models, with applications in golf course, grounds maintenance, industrial, commercial and recreational markets, are available. www.clubcar.com

Club Prophet Systems

GIS Booth: 1654 For more than 26 years, Club Prophet Systems has designed fully integrated golf-management software systems for the golf industry. CPS products encompass point-of-sale; food and beverage, for snack bar to fine dining; customer history and member management with billing and online statements; real-time tee sheet scheduling and online tee time reservations; e-mail marketing; mobile solutions; integrated credit-card processing; reporting; inventory; and much more. www.clubprophetsystems.com

Cub Cadet

GIS Booth: 1039 To improve productivity and elevate course quality, Cub Cadet’s products utilize advanced technologies to enable turf managers to achieve consistent and excellent turf conditions, reduce operational costs, and improve overall turf health and aesthetics.

Innovative products, from robotic greens mowers to all-electric pitch mowers, set Cub Cadet apart. www.cubcadetturf.com

Cushman

GIS Booth: 2139 The new Cushman SprayTek XP offers the widest range of turf-spray booms for increased productivity and superior precision. An advanced low-profile tank, designed with high-pressure agitation, ensures a properly mixed product. A wide array of optional controls allows the SprayTek XP to easily fit any application and features automatic rate control, which adjusts flow for consistent coverage in varying speeds.

Upgrades include a sophisticated GPS mapping system and individual nozzle control that reduces chemical consumption and increase accuracy.

The Hauler®, Refresher® and Shuttle™ vehicles now feature closed-loop electronic fuel injection (EFI) technology. EFI uses an oxygen sensor to read exhaust levels, which then allows sensors in the engine to adjust the fuel-to-air ratio, delivering better performance.

Cushman’s new Hauler 800 ELiTE™ is the industry’s first lithium-powered utility vehicle for clubs and courses. Activated

by Samsung SDI lithium technology, the Hauler 800 ELiTE offers a zero-maintenance battery with a five-year unlimited amp-hour battery warranty and increased energy efficiency.

The new Hauler 4x4 has four-wheel-drive capabilities, a 2,000-lb. towing capacity, 1,500-lb. payload, 1,000-lb cargo box and 3- or 6-passenger models, making it the go-to option to handle the most demanding tasks. www.cushman.txtsv.com JANUARY 2019 www.clubandresortbusiness.com C&RB 53

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2019 golf industry show Cylex Signs

GIS Booth: 1757 Cylex Signs, providing all the benefits of real stone without the limitations, are made with a mixture of various aggregates and resins manufactured to resist fading, breaking, cracking and chipping. Sign color is integral throughout, by using specialty colorants in the base material. Products are sealed with a U.V.inhibited/graffiti-resistant clear-coat, to extend exterior durability.

The product is available in virtually any shape and color. Cylex offers granite, sandstone, marble, or even wood grain. www.cylexsigns.com

DLF Pickseed

GIS Booth: 3416 DLF Pickseed was established in 2017 when two historic companies merged to form one brand with multiple research and development locations in North America. The newly combined portfolio is comprised of turfgrass varieties for all types of environmental conditions and applications. As a global leader in grass-seed genetics and technology, DLF specializes in elite cool- and warm-season turfgrass varieties for custom private-label formulations. www.dlfpickseed.com

Earth Networks

GIS Booth: 1810 Providing comprehensive severe-weather intelligence for member safety, Earth Networks equips operations managers and superintendents with a turnkey solution to constantly monitor lightning and dangerous weather conditions and issue customized alerts to approaching severe weather in real time. These alerts can be pushed to multiple locations via a variety of methods—mobile devices, computers, indoor visualization tools, or to an outdoor alerting system. www.earthnetworks.com

epar USA

GIS Booth: 1820 epar USA provides advice and support to implement environmental management and sustainable business solutions for golf course and clubhouse operations. The organization has expertise in the development and support of comprehensive environmental- and safety-management systems for organizations, while also providing education, online and on-site training, and other types of environmental-management support. Through the e-par CONNECT platform for Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S), golf course superintendents can take control of risk, manage legal liability, and follow best practices. www.eparusa.com (855)372-7872

E-Z-GO

GIS Booth: 2139 E-Z-GO will showcase its new closed-loop electronic fuel injection (EFI) technology on all E-Z-GO RXV® and TXT® vehicles. EFI uses an oxygen sensor to read exhaust levels, which then allows sensors in the engine to adjust the fuel-to-air ratio, delivering better performance in all weather conditions. EZ-GO will also have its proven ELiTE™ lithium vehicles on display during the Golf Industry Show. Activated by Samsung SDI lithium technology, courses are citing nearly 40-percent energy savings. www.ezgo.txtsv.com

EZLinks Golf

GIS Booth: 1713 EZLinks technology drives rounds and revenue at thousands of leading courses. With a client-first approach, the industry’s leading tee-sheet and point-of-sale system, a 24/7/365 phone reservation center and powerful marketing services, it’s easy to see why the world’s best choose EZLinks as their software partner. www.ezlinksgolf.com

Fiberbuilt Manufacturing

GIS Booth: 5114 Always the gold standard at top driving ranges and in the bays of leading teachers and fitters, Fiberbuilt now integrates its industry-leading bristle technologies into a line of consumer products, to support total game improvement at home. www.fiberbuilt.com/golf

GG Markers

GIS Booth: 4807 GG Markers has been manufacturing the highest-quality custom course accessories and signage for more than 15 years. GG.’s fully equipped 12,500-sq. ft. production complex allows the company to provide innovative solutions designed to meet customer-specific needs. The complex includes a graphic-design studio, custom metal-fabrication area and stone-working plant. www.ggmarkers.com

Golf Sign and Design

GIS Booth: 1905 In addition to signs, Golf Sign and Design also produces golf course furnishings, ultra-3D yardage books and Web graphics, and professional photography with 4K video flyovers available as main core products. Ancillary products include scorecards, brochures, real estate maps, sprinkler caps, directional signs and residential community signs. www.golfsignco.com

Greenscan 3D

GIS Booth: 1803 Greenscan 3D is a market leader in putting surface preservation, replication and slope analysis. Clients include nine of the top 10 courses in the United States and all of the world’s top five. The company also received the Golf Channel’s only Sports Emmy for the development of the Aimpoint Putting Line. The design of the golf course is often a club’s best asset, and a digital record is the best way to preseve it. www.greenscan3d.com

HD Relay

GIS Booth: 531 HD Relay is a pioneer in live, timelapse, Cloud recording and controllable IP video solutions for managing, hosting and maintaining reliable and unrivaled live HD web-camera experiences. Make the most of live video presentations and increase revenue by applying online advertising to the video feed itself. Real-time and recorded time-lapse allow visitors to truly experience a destination remotely. This service allows clients to have complete cost control while opening new revenue potential. www.hdrelay.com

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2019 golf industry show Hunter Industries

GIS Booth: 1638 With TTS / DIH Rotors, patented TTS technology allows for every serviceable element of the rotor to be accessed through the top.

The Pilot Central Control System was designed to enhance serviceability and reliability. From sophisticated troubleshooting tools built into every component, to a clean design with no exposed electronics, no detail was overlooked. To suit any course, the Pilot system is available in both standard and decoder configurations. The new equipment can be used stand-alone, or networked into a whole system with Pilot central-control software. www.hunterindustries.com

John Deere Golf

GIS Booth: 3037 John Deere will showcase its latest equipment innovations at the Golf Industry Show, including the GPS PrecisionSprayer.

Previously previewed at the show, the GPS PrecisionSprayer for the ProGator™ line provides professionals with invaluable insight into their applications. Designed with customers in mind, operators can now increase productivity and reduce overlap by utilizing AutoTrac. Other standout features include individual nozzle control, automated documentation of spray events, simplified operator inputs that reduce operator fatigue, the ability to designate “no-spray zones,” and a remote diagnostic capability, to ensure quick resolution to questions. www.deere.com

Kubota Tractor Corporation GIS Booth: 1739 Kubota Tractor Corporation is the U.S. marketer and distributor of Kubota-branded equipment, including a complete line of tractors up to 170 HP, consumer lawn and garden products, hay tools, commercial turf products, utility vehicles and compact construction equipment. www.kubotausa.com

Landmark Golf Course Products

GIS Booth: 5423 Born from enjoyment of the classic sport of leisure, Landmark’s mission is to help elevate high-end courses into world-class properties. With a focus on longevity, the finest of raw materials, construction techniques and hardware are used to manufacture luxury-brand outdoor furnishings befitting the golf course industry. www.rinowood.com

Landscapes Unlimited

GIS Booth: 1625 Whether building, developing or renovating golf courses and sports fields, installing the latest irrigation systems, or supporting club operators with bottom line-oriented resources, Landscapes Unlimited has the ability, expertise and commitment to execute at the highest level of quality, with an emphasis on superior customer satisfaction. www.landscapesunlimited.com

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Oregon/Blount International

GIS Booth: 1050 For more than 70 years, Oregon has been making outdoor equipment and parts that stay on the job as long as the crews that use them. Oregon is a leading manufacturer in outdoor power equipment and parts, including: Forestry, Lawn & Landscape, Farm & Agriculture, Outdoor Power Equipment, OEM & Aftermarket parts, Shop & Field Accessories, and more. www.OregonProducts.com and www.OregonCordless.com

PNC Equipment Finance

GIS Booth: 4655 PNC Equipment Finance is a leader in the golf course equipment leasing and financing industry. PNC has the expertise, leadership, capital resources and lease-financing capability to deliver the financing solutions that golf management personnel require. The company has built its reputation throughout the golf course, resort, municipal and country club industries by providing reliable, outstanding customer service that goes far beyond individual transactions. www.pnc.com/ef/golf

Prestwick Golf Group

GIS Booth: 2539 Prestwick helps golf industry fanatics make each round unforgettable. All Prestwick furnishings are built to order around a property’s specific needs, desired look and brand, with customization executed faster, better and easier than anywhere else. See what got Prestwick’s furnishings on 85 of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses as rated by Golf Digest, and on 46 PGA Tour Stops and in 61 countries. www.prestwickgolfgroup.com

Rain Bird Corporation—Golf Div.

GIS Booth: 2327 Rain Bird’s central-control systems are designed to help golf course professionals manage water more efficiently. The Integrated Control (IC) System connects central control directly to the rotor or valve with no need for field controllers, decoders, secondary wiring or unnecessary splices. Rain Bird’s golf rotors efficiently manage water with minimal maintenance requirements, worry-free performance and maximum water distribution uniformity. These durable, innovative rotors deliver optimal playing surfaces and lower water costs.

Rain Bird also applies its world-leading irrigation expertise to the design and manufacture of golf-course pump stations. By doing so, only Rain Bird is able to provide totally integrated course-irrigation solutions, reservoir to rotor, that reliably and dependably deliver a more playable course while lowering utility costs. www.rainbird.com/golf JANUARY 2019 www.clubandresortbusiness.com C&RB 55

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2019 golf industry show Rocky Mountain Sunscreen

GIS Booth: 4815 Rocky Mountain Sunscreen provides superior-quality sunscreen protection in cost-effective bulk containers that is non-greasy, fragrance-free and offers broad spectrum protection. www.rmsunscreen.com

BEST by Simplot

GIS Booth: 4116 BEST® manufactures and markets a wide variety of turf products, including general turf fertilizers, controlled-release fertilizers, fertilizers for tees and greens, and herbicide combinations. Professional turf managers count on the consistent performance of BEST® fertilizers, from the uniform distribution of homogeneous N-P-K pellets to controlled-release technologies like GAL-XeONE®. Simplot Partners® offers a complete line of specialty pest management, plant nutrients, and maintenance products from locations in the U.S. and Australia. www.simplot.com

St. Andrews Products

GIS Booth: 5000 St. Andrews offers a full line of grounds staff apparel, including shirts, pants, shorts, outerwear, name badges and a patented portable Range Club Cleaner. For the clubhouse and locker room, a wide range of staff uniforms is offered, as well as carry-out food and shoe bags. For the golf shop, a full line of accessories is available, including member and guest tags, tees and pencils. www.sapgolfshop.com

Standard Golf Company

GIS Booth: 4037 Standard Golf is the world’s leading manufacturer of golf course accessories. Specializing in both in-stock and customizable products including flags (screen print, dye-sublimation and embroidery), flagsticks, bunker rakes, ball washers, course signs, cups, litter receptacles and yardage markers, Standard Golf also manufactures the Magnum line of maintenance tools, considered the most durable tools of their kind, as well as the popular ST2000 Smart Fit Cup and Ferrule System and the Tour Pro bunker rake. www.standardgolf.com

Textron Golf

GIS Booth: 2139 Textron Fleet Management Shield Plus is designed for professional turf equipment and utility vehicles. The system utilizes real-time data and enables superintendents to monitor usage, mileage, hours and idle time, and leverage work-efficiency reports to maximize a crew’s productivity and workloads. A web-based solution that is accessible from any device, Shield Plus utilizes geofencing and restricted speed zones to protect a course and its crew. Shield Plus is the latest solution from Textron Fleet Management and empowers managers with the data necessary to focus on efficient operations, cost management, and customer experience—all based on the unique needs of their facilities. www.textrongolf.com

The Toro Company

GIS Booth: 4337 Toro entered the golf equipment business in 1919 when five reel-cutting units were mounted to a Toro tractor to maintain the fairways at The Minikahda Club in Minneapolis. Today, Toro holds the leadership position in nearly every product category in which it competes. High-quality products, exemplary service and support, and a legacy of trusted relationships industry-wide have combined to make Toro the global leader of innovative turfmaintenance equipment and irrigation technologies for the golf market. www.toro.com

VGM Club

GIS Booth: 5625 VGM Club is North America’s premier Member Service Organization for membership-based clubs, including golf, tennis, yacht, city and athletic clubs. Current membership exceeds 3,500 facilities in all 50 states and Canada.

Collectively, VGM Club members possess purchasing power in excess of $2 billion annually. Membership offers money-saving programs for Food & Beverage, Agronomy, and Pro Shop merchandise. VGM Club members save more than $5 million dollars annually in discounts and cash rebates with leading suppliers in the industry. www.vgmclub.com

Wittek Golf Supply Company GIS Booth: 5222 Wittek Golf has been the leader in golf course and driving range accessories for more than 70 years.

With the addition of Eagle One to its product line, Wittek Golf has the ability to provide almost everything needed for the golf course, range, practice area and clubhouse. www.wittekgolf.com

Yamaha Golf Car Company

GIS Booth: 4523 The Yamaha Golf-Car Company has manufactured the most highly engineered, highest-quality golf cars, utility and specialty vehicles in the industry in Newnan, Ga. since 1988. Yamaha will be revealing a new vehicle at the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show, along with other innovative additions like the new 2019 Drive2 EFI fleet car and the enhanced YamaTrack® YTX™ Fleet Management System. www.yamahagolfcar.com

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ADVERTISER INDEX Advertiser Page # 2Skills 12 815-742-6315 / www.2skills.net Bollinger Insurance 25 800-446-5311 / www.RPSBollinger.com C&RB’s 2019 Chef to Chef Conference 32-33 440-250-1583 / www.cheftochefconference.com Chambers 23 410-727-4535 / www.chambersusa.com Club Car 15 www.clubcar.com Country Casual Teak 29 800-289-8325 / www.CountryCasualTeak.com E-Z GO / Cushman Inside Front Cover www.ezgo.com / www.cushman.com Fiberbuilt Umbrellas & Cushions 26 866-667-8668 / www.fiberbuiltumbrellas.com ‘Fore’ Supply 37 800-543-5430 / www.foresupply.com Global Allies Inside Back Cover 415-453-6041 / www.globalallies.com GSI Executive Search 16 www.gsiexecutivesearch.com Infrared Dynamics 35 888-317-5255 / www.infradyne.com Innovative Club Management 17 724-780-5160 / www.innovativeclubs.com IZON Golf 5 www.IZONGolf.com John Deere 9 www.deere.com McMahon Group 49 314-744-5040 / www.mcmahongroup.com Preferred Club 11 800-523-2788 ext. 300 / www.preferredclub.com Salsbury Industries 41 800-562-5377 / www.lockers.com Studio JBD/Jefferson Group Architecture 27 401-721-0977 / www.jbdandjga.com Texacraft 31 800-327-1541 / www.texacraft.com Toro Back Cover 800-803-8676 / www.toro.com/GR1000Series Tri-C Club Supply – Duffy’s 21 800-274-8742 / www.duffystric.com Verdin 45 800-543-0488 / www.verdin.com WinCup (select regions only) 13 www.viofoam.com/club Yamaha 7 866-747-4027 / www.YamahaGolfCar.com

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Reaching for New Heights

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Rising from the Rubble Sand Valley:

More Proof of a Winning Formula

After recovering from a devastating fire in record time, Bogey Hills CC is already posting big new scores.

Retail Shops That Make Them Stop

Perfecting the Poolhouse

Removing the Stress from Holiday F&B

Shaping Your Yoga Program

Natural Approaches to Course Maintenance

Special Course Equipment for Special Needs

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CLUB & RESORT INDEX Properties featured in this issue

Club/Resort

Page #

The Abbey Resort and Avani Spa, Fontana, Wis. …...…30 Aldeen Golf Club, Rockford, Ill. .........................…………26 Avalon Holdings, Warren, Ohio ........................................50 Desert Mountain Club, Scottsdale, Ariz. ..................……47 Elkhorn Ridge Golf Club, Spearfish, S.D. .…………………58 Encinitas Ranch Golf Course, Encinitas, Calif. …...………39 Golf Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nev. …..………………………38 Laurel Creek Country Club, Mount Laurel, N.J. ...………18 Montgomery County (Md.) Revenue Authority …...…43 Morgan Run Club & Resort, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. ....…39 Pacific Palms Resort, City of Industry, Calif. .....…………28 The Resort at Pelican Hill, Newport Coast, Calif. ....……39 Saddleback Golf Club, Firestone, Calif. ....………………29 Vicmead Hunt Club/Bidermann Golf Course,

Wilmington, Del. ........................................................…34 Western Golf and Country Club, Redford, Mich. .…...… 28 JANUARY 2019 www.clubandresortbusiness.com

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11/20/18 9:43 AM

C&RB 57

12/27/18 9:05 AM

IDEA EXCHANGE

Other Ideas available online at www.clubandresortbusiness.com/category/idea-exchange

Sunny Outlook

By Betsy Gilliland, Contributing Editor

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ELKHORN RIDGE GC

projections, Brandriet beThe Black Hills of South lieves the electric bills have Dakota offer some of the been lower since the panels most scenic natural terrain were erected. in the country. In Spearfish, “[The solar unit] actually S.D., however, a contemporuns our irrigation pumps,” rary twist became part of the Brandriet says. “[The panels] landscape last summer, when don’t provide all the power, Elkhorn Ridge Golf Club, but they help offset the maan 18-hole golf course on a jority of what we use for the 4,500-acre ranch, installed back nine.”

234 solar panels along the Brandriet expects the part of its property that abuts offsets to be less during the Interstate 90. club’s peak water-usage “We want to lessen our months of July and August. environmental impact and Installing solar panels to help supply power to the During January and February, use the panels to promote 18-hole golf course that is part of a 4,500-acre ranch however, the system will proourselves,” explains Golf property has fit with Elkhorn Ridge GC’s goal of lessening duce an excess of electricity, Course Superintendent Greg its environmental impact and being a community asset. and that power will go back Brandriet. “We want to be a into the electrical grid. “Our leader in the community.”

The solar panels, which measure about 6 feet by 3 feet each goal is to find a balance,” he says.

Elkhorn Ridge’s ownership and management looked at and extend 3 to 8 feet off the ground for several hundred feet, alternate energy sources for several months prior to installing are visible from the roadway. And they have attracted plenty of attention from passersby. “It’s a big structure to get used to, the solar panels, which have been up and running since midAugust of 2018. The energy-renewal company that installed but the feedback has been positive,” notes Brandriet. “I like the panels provided “a the sight of modern solar energy in a natural setting.” lot of data to back up Serving as a form of green advertising, the solar panels what we wanted to communicate the values of Elkhorn Ridge, a privately owned do,” Brandreit says. In property that includes an RV resort, four historic sites, and the addition, with the inpublic golf course. “It’s good public relations,” Brandreit says. stallation of the panels, Located on the north side of Elkhorn Ridge’s irrigation pond Elkhorn Ridge qualified on the 18th hole (see photo below), the solar panels were for rebates, including installed to offset energy usage on the back half of the golf a federal income tax course. The club is served by two different power companies for its front and back nines, and the discrepancy in the month- credit for 30 percent of the cost of the ly bills ultimately was the catalyst for installing the panels. system, accelerated de- Elkhorn Ridge gets power from “We don’t use as much water on the back nine,” explains two different companies for the preciation that allows Brandriet, “but our electric bills were 30 to 50 percent more two halves of its golf course; its businesses to deduct every month.” new solar panels are now offset85 percent of the Elkhorn Ridge expects to achieve electrical cost savings of value of the solar asset ting the majority of power used 40 to 50 percent annually with the installation of the panels. from their taxes, and a for the back nine.

While it is too soon to know if the property will meet those small-business grant.

The total upfront investment in the project, excluding “It’s a big structure to get used to, further depreciation that will be spread out over four or five but the feedback has been positive,” years, was $154,000, but the rebates of about $40,000 have says Golf Course Superintendent Greg offset the costs, Brandreit reports.

Brandriet (left) of Elkhorn Ridge GC’s The panels, which can withstand hail, have a lifespan of 30 new array of solar panels (below). years, and Brandriet says the property should see a complete “I like the sight of modern solar return on its investment in six-and-a-half years. “One-fifth or energy in a natural setting.” one-sixth of the lifetime of the unit would be pure savings,” he notes. “That was a big factor in our decision.”

Depending on the results from the panels now on the golf course, which was built in 2009, Brandriet says Elkhorn Ridge might also consider installing additional panels at some point, to also power some of the RV sites on the property.

“Being a better asset to our community and our environment is our main goal,” he says.

58 C&RB www.clubandresortbusiness.com JANUARY 2019

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12/26/18 12:57 PM

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