Troon has been selected to manage The Lodge of Four Seasons in Lake of the Ozarks, Mo., while Touchstone Golf, LLC will oversee the two 18-hole golf courses at Blue Rock Springs Golf Club in Vallejo, Calif., and the city of Sioux Falls, S.D., has accepted the proposal from Landscapes Management to operate its three municipal golf courses.
Recent updates in club management firms include:
—Troon® has been selected to manage The Lodge of Four Seasons in Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. In addition to overseeing the operations for the 358-room resort, Troon will also manage the property’s two 18-hole golf courses and marina operations.
The Lodge of Four Seasons was founded in 1964 by Harold Koplar, father of current owner Susan (Koplar) Brown. Set on 3,500 waterfront acres, The Lodge offers more than 60,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, five dining experiences, four swimming pools, a full service marina and the nationally recognized Spa Shiki. The Lodge’s incredible golf offerings include The Cove, an 18-hole, par-71 Robert Trent Jones, Sr. design, and The Ridge, an 18-hole, par-72 Ken Kavanaugh layout.
—Beginning January 1, a new group will begin operational management of the Blue Rock Springs Golf Club in Vallejo, Calif. The move comes weeks after the Vallejo City Council picked Touchstone Golf, LLC to oversee the day-to-day operations of the two 18-hole courses divided by Columbus Parkway, the Vallejo (Calif.) Times-Herald reported.
On December 12, the City Council voted 5-0 to approve a two year contract with Touchstone, removing management duties from the Vallejo Golf Club. C&RB reported in October on the property’s request for proposals for management approaches.
Current employees will be retained, memberships honored and the courses will stay open during the transition. Touchstone will receive a $96,000 base fee the first year of operations with the businesses receiving incentive pay depending on how well Blue Rock’s revenues fair, the Times-Herald reported.
— Seven days after the Sioux Falls City Council was preparing to reject a proposed contract with Nebraska-based Landscapes Unlimited to run the city’s three golf courses, councilors on December 26 voted 5-3 in favor of the five-year deal, the Sioux Falls, S.D., Argus Leader reported.
Landscapes Unlimited will take over operations at Elmwood Golf Course, Prairie Green Golf Course and Kuehn Park Golf Course next month, and will receive an annual management fee from the city of $75,000. It will also be entitled to 11% of any profits generated from course operations, the Leader reported.
Landscapes Unlimited President Tom Everett said despite a pair of tumultuous hearings leading up to Tuesday night’s vote, he’s confident the community will embrace its new golf course manager. “We’re happy to be in Sioux Falls,” he said.
Last week, the Council deferred action when members of the public, as well as officials with the city’s long-time course manager Dakota Golf Management (DGM), voiced opposition to the new deal. The current contract between the city and DGM expired December 31. DGM President Tom Jansa and supporters of his company say because the 2018 golf season will be the first in five years with the city’s courses fully functional, the Sioux Falls company should have gotten the first opportunity to operate them before City Hall looks for a new management firm, the Leader reported.
Before deferring the vote last week, Councilors were mulling the possibility of giving DGM a one-year extension but wanted a week to hash out details. But Mayor Mike Huether’s administration spent the days following trying to convince councilors the move isn’t in the city’s best interest, the Leader reported.
According to a separate report by KSFY ABC Sioux Falls, GreatLIFE Malaska Golf and Fitness Club, which has continued to purchase and partner with golf courses around the Sioux Falls area, also put in a bid to manage the city courses, but was rejected.
Sioux Falls will be paying for equipment for Landscapes Unlimited and paying $75,000 a year. In return the city will get 89% of total sales. City councilor Marshall Selberg said different food and beverage options, better training employees among other things will help the city courses compete, KSFY reported.
The approval of the Landscapes Unlimited contract marks the end of a 23-year relationship between the city and DGM. Jansa had been offered a position within Landscapes Unlimited, but opted against that when DGM failed to reach a deal with the city for the golf assets and equipment used to outfit the courses. The new contract takes the city from a lease structure under DGM to a management agreement with Landscapes Unlimited, the Leader reported.
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