Acumen Golf to Manage Hanover CC

The Ashland, Va., facility is looking to get membership levels back to pre-recession highs and have expenses under control with the help of the local management company.

Hanover Country Club in Ashland, Va., has hired Mike Hatch and his company Acumen Golf to manage the 55-year-old facility and get membership levels back near their pre-recession highs, the Richmond (Va.) BizSense reported.

Hatch owns and manages Brandermill Country Club and Birkdale Golf Club in Chesterfield County. Acumen Golf also manages Windy Hill Sports’ golf courses on Midlothian Turnpike as well as other clubs outside the state, BizSense reported.

The change in management was announced at a member meeting this week and was spurred by a group of club members who recently brought more capital into the club. Robert Yevich, president of HCC, said a group of about 10 members put up $200,000 out of pocket earlier this year while the club looked for ways to improve the bottom line, BizSense reported.

“We feel like we have our expenses under control, and we’d like to get our membership back up,” Yevich said. “We thought it was time to really embark on a focused marketing plan to attract more local members.”

The $200,000 raise followed a funding effort at the end of 2012 when about 100 members and some surrounding neighbors, working as The Friends of Hanover Country Club LLC, pulled together $1.5 million to purchase all of the club’s debt from the bank, BizSense reported.

The club had been managed by Billy Casper since 2011 on a three-year contract. The club first sought a third-party management company after its membership rolls took a hit from the recession, BizSense reported.

“Like a lot of clubs after the recession hit, we lost a lot of members and we needed some outside help,” Yevich said.

The club currently has about 285 members. Its pre-downturn high was around 425. The club will shoot to increase its member list by 75 over the next few years, BizSense reported.

“It’s going to be a two- or three-year process,” Yevich said.

Under Hatch’s leadership, the club will remain semi-private, BizSense reported.

“Allowing the public and potential members to come and enjoy what the club members experience daily will be key to the club’s future success,” Hatch said. “The course is in great condition, and we will be able to quickly improve the clubhouse amenities and member services.”

Yevich said he heard about Hatch’s success at his courses in Chesterfield and thought a local perspective would help Hanover CC, BizSense reported.

“He’s local and he understands the Richmond market,” Yevich said.

Yevich said one of the first orders of business under new management will be to determine how to set membership fees, whether to have initiation fees in addition to monthly dues, and if the club should require food and beverage minimums, as is typical at many country clubs, BizSense reported.

Yevich said there’s still a market for country clubs in the 55-and-older demographic. But there’s no doubt it’s becoming more difficult to attract young families, BizSense reported.

“If you look at the national numbers, I think golf is overbuilt and play is on the decline,” Yevich said.