Recent industry hires and promotions include new General Managers at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nev., Austin (Texas) Country Club, and Oakwood Country Club in Blue Springs, Mo.; an Executive Chef at Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid, N.Y.; and a Director of Golf Operations for the Cleveland (Ohio) Metroparks. The industry has also lost a prolific golf course architect, Arthur Hills.
Here are some of the recent new hires and promotions announced by club and resort properties and other companies in the club industry. Announcements and photos for this regular People on the Move report can be submitted at https://clubandresortbusiness.com/submit-industry-news/.
TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nev. named Brian Hawthorne as General Manager. A team member of TPC Summerlin beginning in 1994, Hawthorne was initially hired as the Assistant Golf Professional before being named Head Golf Professional from 1997-2000. Following his tenure at TPC Summerlin, he moved to Cascata Golf Club, where he was the opening Head Golf Professional and later promoted to General Manager. Most recently, Hawthorne held the role of Executive Director of Golf Operations at Wynn Las Vegas. Hawthorne appeared on the Club + Resort Talks podcast in November 2019.
Austin (Texas) Country Club named Michael Stott, CCE, ECM, CAM as General Manager/CEO. Stott, most recently a Principal with The Triumph Group, has also been General Manager/President of Grey Oaks Country Club and General Manager/COO of Baltimore Country Club, where he was an Excellence in Club Management Award winner in 2015 (https://clubandresortbusiness.com/perpetual-progress/)
Oakwood Country Club in Blue Springs, Mo. named Brett Plymell as General Manager. Prior to joining Oakwood, Plymell was General Manager of Shoal Creek Golf Course in Kansas City, Mo.
The Els Club Malaysia, managed by Troon International, named Steven Thielke as General Manager of The Els Club Desaru Coast and Sean Kinsley as Group Director of Agronomy across The Els Club Malaysia – Desaru Coast and Teluk Datai facilities. Most recently, Thielke has spent the past eight years as CEO of TPC Kuala Lumpur. Kinsley joins The Els Club Malaysia from Dubai where he was Cluster Director of Agronomy across Arabian Ranches Golf Club, Dubai Hills Golf Club, and Montgomerie Golf Club Dubai.
Woodstock (N.Y.) Inn & Resort promoted W. Courtney Lowe to President, effective July 1, 2021. Lowe, who joined the resort in 2010 as Director of Sales and Marketing, was named Vice President of Marketing and Business Development in 2018.
Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Ind. named Tim Davis as Head Golf Professional and Mitchell Eickhoff as Golf Course Superintendent. Davis, who has worked at Prestwick Country Club in Avon, Plum Creek Golf Club in Carmel, The Sagamore Club in Noblesville and Golf Club of Indiana in Zionsville, was most recently at Broadmoor Country Club in Indianapolis. Eickhoff started out at Victoria National in Newburg, then did an internship at Augusta National in 2013. He started there full-time in 2014.
Napa Valley (Calif.) Country Club named Jason Jakovac as Head Golf Professional and Tom Sims as Director of Golf.Jakovac was most recently at Hoakalei Country Club at Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii, while Sims was Head Golf Professional at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa.
Bolingbrook (Ill.) Golf Club and KemperSports named B.J. Paul as Director of Player Development at the Bolingbrook Golf Academy where he will oversee all programming and player development. Prior to joining Bolingbrook, Paul, an 18-year member of the PGA of America, worked for several prominent courses and learning centers in Illinois.
Montcalm Golf Club in Enfield N.H. named Darin Perry as Food & Beverage Manager/Executive Chef. Perry most recently spent 10 years at the Hanover (N.H.) Inn and has worked in both restaurant and catering operations throughout the Upper Valley as a Sous Chef, Banquet Chef, and Head Chef.
Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid, N.Y. named Sébastien Roelly as Executive Chef. Before his move to Whiteface Lodge, Roelly served as Executive Chef of the Quebec City Marriott Downtown in his hometown. He was previously with the Hilton Quebec in the same city.
Mizner Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla. named Daniyel Gavrilov as Director of Fitness. Gavrilov has spent the past 5 years as the Health Club Assistant Director at the Boca Raton (Fla.) Resort & Club. He’s also Founder/Director of the Core Republic Fitness Studio in Forest Hills, N.Y., and Tier 3 Personal Trainer at Equinox in Rockefeller Center, N.Y.
Cleveland Metroparks named Damian Cosby, PGA, as Director of Golf Operations. Cosby will oversee Cleveland Metroparks eight golf courses, including clubhouse operations, golf programs and course maintenance. Cosby worked most recently as Chief of Golf Operations & Park Maintenance for Anne Arundel County in Maryland and was involved in architect Andrew Green’s redesign of Eisenhower Golf Course.
The Northern California Section of the PGA of America (NCPGA) named Caitlyn Doyle, PGA, Assistant Executive Director. Doyle gained her Class A PGA Membership in 2015 and most recently served as an Assistant Golf Professional at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Ore.
Yamaha Golf-Car Company named Adam Pohll as District Sales Manager for Central California and temporarily for Northern California. Mark Strickland will serve as the District Sales Manager for Southern California. Pohl, a Class A PGA member since 2001, previously held the General Manager position for CourseCo, Inc. in the Central Valley at Riverside Golf Course in Fresno, Calif. and most recently held the position of Regional Manager, overseeing 14 golf facilities in a multi-state region. Strickland started his career with Yamaha Golf Car in Kennesaw, Ga. in 2018 as the Regional Manager overseeing the Dealer Sales Channel for the United States.
59club USA named Steve Munch as Director of Sales. Munch has been a PGA member for more than 30 years with 16 years of experience within the TPC Network serving as General Manager for two clubs in the network. Recently, Munch completed eight years as General Manager of Victoria National in Newburgh, Ind. C+RB featured Munch and Victoria National in a July 2017 Cover Story.
AquaFuse® by CMF Global, Inc. appointed Dean Chaltas as Director of Sales and Marketing. Chaltas was most recently Senior Product Marketing Manager at The Toro Company. Prior to that position he was a Corporate Accounts Manager, Golf Sales Manager, and Western Regional Sales Manager at Toro.
IN MEMORIAM
American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) Past President Arthur Hills, ASGCA Fellow, died May 18, 2021, in Florida. He was age 91. Hills formed his golf course architecture firm in the 1960s and has designed more than 200 new golf courses around the world and renovated more than 150 other courses. His new designs include: Bonita Bay, Naples, Fla.; The Golf Club of Georgia, Atlanta; Bighorn Golf Club, Palm Desert, Calif.; Keene Trace Golf Club, Lexington, Ky.; and Hyatt Hill Country Resort, San Antonio, Texas. An environmental pioneer, Hills designed the first Audubon Signature Sanctuary courses in the United States, Mexico and Europe.
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