Trilogy GC at Ocala Preserve is all-in on its bet that its unique approach to golf will drive interest to the new development in Florida’s horse country.
In recent years, Shea Homes, the California-based company that is America’s largest privately owned new-home builder, has teamed with BlueStar Resort & Golf, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based management company, to put a number of notable developments on the golf community map that carry Shea’s Trilogy brand and are targeted primarily at Baby Boomers as they retire or become empty-nesters (the properties are developed as all-age communities, with age-restricted neighborhoods for 55 and over).
Providing championship-caliber golf course experiences has been central to the development of the Trilogy portfolio of properties, as notable course designers such as Gary Panks, Ken Kavanaugh, Bill Brownlee and Wendell Pickett have been brought in to shape full-scale, challenging layouts that have earned acclaim for their appeal both as a community amenity and as an attraction to the public (in addition to being private-club components, many of the Trilogy courses are also made available to players on a daily-fee basis).
AT A GLANCETrilogy Golf Club at Ocala Preserve Location: Ocala, Fla. |
For one Trilogy property, Encanterra Country Club in San Tan Valley, Ariz. (“Breaking New Ground at Encanterra,” C&RB, March 2010), Shea and BlueStar called on golf great Tom Lehman—winner of the 1996 British Open, a former captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team and the only golfer in history to earn Player of the Year honors on all three PGA tours (regular, Web.com and Champions)—to fashion an 18-hole, par-72, 7,176-yard “core style” course that quickly drew acclaim, and attracted championship events, after it opened in 2008.
Given their development history, Shea and BlueStar prompted a lot of eyebrows to be raised when they announced plans in 2014 for a Trilogy venture in Ocala, Fla., that would revive a property that once was planned as a WCI Communities development called Ashley Farms. The original development plans included an 18-hole golf course, but WCI went bankrupt shortly after acquiring the site in 2007, and it lay vacant for the next seven years.
It was surprising enough that Shea and BlueStar, which had to that point primarily focused on projects in the western U.S. or in larger metropolitan areas (there are also Trilogy developments in Orlando, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C.), would now be looking at Ocala, a city of just over 50,000 people about 80 miles north of Orlando.
But what really got people talking, especially in golf circles, was the announcement that Trilogy Golf Club at Ocala Preserve would be “where golf changes forever,” and the three facts that were cited to support that claim: 1) only 50 acres would be used to build its new course (compared to about 200 for full-sized designs); 2) it would be an 18-hole, par-54, par-3 layout in its straight configuration; and 3) the design team for the new course would include not only Lehman, but also well-respected designer Tripp Davis, whose portfolio includes original designs of Old American Golf Club and The Tribute Golf Links in The Colony, Texas, as well as redesigns of Brook Hollow Golf Club in Dallas, Spring Lake (N.J.) Golf Club and Wichita (Kan.) Country Club.
The announcement of the new Trilogy project in Ocala came at a time when many other industry operators had only been giving lip service to the need to find new ways to address what were now commonly acknowledged as real impediments to golf’s growth that weren’t going to go away (the difficulty of the game, the lack of time in modern-day lives to play it, etc.).
Other clubs and courses had started to take steps to throw new and less-accomplished players some bones by expanding practice facilities, adding executive/short courses or allowing nine- or 12-hole rounds. But here was a major industry player deciding to go all-in on the idea of designing a golf course with holes varying in length from 63 to just over 200 yards at most, and that could be marketed as a design that “the next generation of golf enthusiasts” would be able to play “in less time than it takes to watch ‘60 Minutes.’”
Taking a Shot
Amid much skepticism and scoffing, Shea and BlueStar forged ahead to have Lehman and Davis work with Golf Course Superintendent Bayne Caillavet, a Florida native who had worked for several area courses, and Head Golf Professional Robert Woodruff, PGA, brought in from the Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia in Peoria, Ariz., to carve out the “revolutionary routing.”
By the beginning of this year, the course was ready to be opened for play, first for the initial group of members who signed on to acquire property at Ocala Preserve, along with other guests and prospective members, then for invited media, and finally for the general public (the course will be open for public play on Fridays, Saturdays and holidays).
The media event drew golf writers and reviewers who were lured not only by the increasingly rare opportunity to actually attend a new course opening, but also by the chance to hang at close range with Lehman and Davis and pick their brains about the state of the game and the future of course design.
As the Trilogy Ocala course was unveiled, much of the discussion centered around addressing the perception that it was a “gimmicky” short course that more accomplished players wouldn’t take seriously. Lehman and Davis patiently pointed out that they had designed the course to try to be all things to all players, with built-in flexibility that would still allow it be played as a full-fledged, 6,600-yard regulation experience by taking advantage of the “Players’ Course” option. Even with just one pass through the Players’ Loop, it was noted, holes of up to 520 yards can be played, and a driver can still be used along with irons and other clubs (Lehman always made it a point to include driver shots as he demonstrated the various options of the course).
But the real value of such a course setup, Lehman admitted, will prove to be how it will help golfers of any level “sharpen the sword” by getting plenty of opportunities to develop shotmaking skills from 100 yards in, which Lehman deemed the make-or-break aspect of any golfer’s game. He related the story of how he got hooked on the challenge that golf presents while learning the game as a younger player on a Minnesota course that required him to perfect a lofted shot over a tree. “Good golf is when you have to think about what you’re being asked to do to hit a successful shot,” Lehman said. “And that holds true whether it’s on a course like this, or at Augusta National, Winged Foot, or the Old Course at St Andrews.”
Trilogy Ocala‘s management also cites the economic and environmental value of operating a course with a smaller footprint in this fashion—while the layout still has over 40 bunkers and plays around the centrally located Laurel Lake, the annual course-and-grounds maintenance budget for the property is only $700,000, and water and fertilizer use will be curtailed from the start. “We truly believe this is a concept whose time has come—one that combines respect for the game with appreciation of our members’ and guests’ time and a commitment to sustainability,” Woodruff says.
The new course largely passed its initial test with golf writers, many of whom wrote reviews calling it “the course of the future” and hailing the flexibility in how it can be played as a particularly appealing attribute for players of all types. As more members and daily-fee players have experienced the course, Woodruff reports, feedback has continued to be “great” about the conditions presented, the surprisingly difficult challenges it can still present, even to low handicappers, and the overall experience.
“I think we have certainly gotten past [the notion] that it’s a chip-and-putt or executive course,” Woodruff says. The biggest hurdle, he adds, has proved to be the property’s insistence that the course remain walking-only (for obvious reasons, given the chaos that might ensue if players were in carts as they tried to criss-cross around the holes for the various playing options). As at other BlueStar-managed properties, Trilogy Ocala does make Golf Skate Caddies available—but so far, Woodruff reports, interest in the hybrid skateboard-Segway-golf cart as an alternative to walking the course has been limited.
Much More to Come
While much of the national focus to date has been on the Trilogy Ocala golf course, other members of the club staff, led by Club Manager Robert Parody, CCM, have been setting the wheels in motion for many other amenities and features that will be offered to members, and guests, upon full buildout. (Plans call for a total of 1,700 homes on the property, projecting to an eventual membership of over 3,000.)
Parody took his current position after serving as Director of Food & Beverage at Sea Pines Country Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C., where he directed a resurgence of the club’s culinary program (“Fantasy Island,” C&RB, May 2010). Even without a full clubhouse (Trilogy Ocala’s Oak House is scheduled to be ready in the first quarter of 2017), or other facilities that will eventually come on stream, including a resort-style pool, full-service holistic spa and a variety of sports courts and fields, Parody and his staff have already plunged in to demonstrate how Trilogy Ocala will seek to distinguish itself in non-golf aspects of club operations, both within the property and through connections with the community.
The club has already made the most of the Tack House, its first clubhouse that was designed to serve primarily as a sales office, by making sure it offered appealing amenities to the initial group of members from the start. These include a fully outfitted fitness center and The Market Place, which has served to showcase Sous Chef Jeremiah Goodrich’s culinary talents and provide venues, both indoors and out, that far surpass the usual temporary facilities that are provided as new developments take shape.
At the same time, the club’s staff has already made a concerted effort to connect with the Ocala community, participating in local events such as the Silver Springs International Film Festival and Taste of Ocala, where Goodrich’s passion fruit tart took the prize for best dessert.
“We saw from the start that it would be important to emphasize grassroots marketing,” Parody says. “Especially with the history of our property and how it went undeveloped for so long, we want to demonstrate, in every way that we can, that we’re not only here to stay, but that we’re going to be a big part of the community.”
The Trilogy Ocala staff is also well into not only its planning, but execution, of the many ways it plans to provide events and activities for members outside of golf. Lifestyle Director Olivia Lopez, who previously was an Events Manager for a Lexus dealership in Miami, is now focused on creating, and maintaining, a full slate of ways to keep club members “happy, active and entertained at all times.”
Lopez’s operating mantra is “Explore 52,” to offer ways to engage members every single week of the year. “We’ll do everything from shows to dinners to just parties for no reason,” Lopez says. “This is not a resort where people check in and out; we want to build our relationships with each member from the start, and also promote ways for them to get to know and connect with each other, rather than just passing in the street as they get their mail.”
Lopez’s lifestyle efforts are closely coordinated with the activities directed by Fitness Supervisor Aaron Watkins. Members are already participating in regular morning stretch classes and trail hikes, and Watkins has many more offerings planned as more facilities are completed and the property comes to full life.
“With a total of 652 acres, we certainly ought to be able to always provide something that every member would like to do,” Watkins says. “And just as our golf course is great because it can be played in so many ways, the possibilities for how to explore the full property are even more endless. Even on our regular trail hikes, I’ve been making it a point to take every route possible, so members see something different each time.”
Goodrich, who was first exposed to the club business while working in the kitchen at BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., before then going to culinary school and gaining experience that included working in the bake shop of the Orlando World Center Marriott and with an Ocala restaurant and catering operation, also plans to make full use of the property as it becomes fully developed, staging outdoor cooking events and chef’s tables/demonstrations whenever and wherever he can. The property’s overriding theme of flexibility will also extend to its menus, Goodrich says, as he envisions features like build-your-own-salads and dessert medleys, to showcase his baking and pastry-making talents.
“Even though we have a golf course that is designed to make it much easier for members who have never played the game—or don’t think they want to—to give it a try, we know that our unique approach to golf alone won’t be enough to be successful,” Parody says. “The reports that have gone out about our course have gotten us a lot of fanfare, and created interest in ‘stay and play’ visits from people who want to consider moving here.
“But we know we’ll still have to be a full-service club, first to attract all the people we want to come here, and then to keep them happy. And we’re excited about all the ways we’re going to be able to do that, and all of the positive response we’ve already received.”
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.