Bobby Jones Links has been selected to manage the F&B and clubhouse amenities at Big Canoe in Jasper, Ga., and the full club operations at Stillwaters Golf Club in Dadeville, Ala. Honours Golf, a division of Troon, has been selected to manage The Jack Warner Inn in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Newcomer 7637 Enterprises Inc. will take charge of Erie (Pa.) Golf Club in 2020.
Courses in Pennsylvania, Alabama and Georgia will fall under new management. While nationally known Bobby Jones Links and Troon will take over clubs in the South, newcomer 7637 Enterprises Inc. assumes control in the Keystone State.
Atlanta-based club management company, Bobby Jones Links, has been selected to manage the food and beverage and clubhouse amenities at Big Canoe in Jasper, Ga., and the full club operations at Stillwaters Golf Club in Dadeville, Ala. The addition of these two clubs marks the fourth and fifth new properties to join the company’s growing portfolio this year.
“Our primary focus at both of these two new properties is making the already very busy food and beverage amenities even more successful and profitable for our clients,” said Steve Willy, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Bobby Jones Links. “These are wonderful lake properties, with great golf as well, that we look forward to improving for our clients.”
Located approximately 60 minutes north of Atlanta, Big Canoe is a gated community, consisting of more than 8,000 acres and approximately 3,000 residents. This community features a 27-hole champion mountain golf course, 10 tennis courts, a 110,000 gallon free-form pool overlooking Lake Disharoon, a state-of-the-art fitness center, spa, marina, and multiple dining amenities.
Stillwaters Golf Club is located on Lake Martin in central Alabama. The semi-private club is home to the Highlands Golf Course, a par-72 course currently undergoing improvements lead by owner Keith Hiett. The club is also home to Copper’s Grill, a fine-dining establishment and venue that hosts a multitude of parties, events and concerts. The club can be reached both by car and by boat.
Honours Golf, a division of Troon, has been selected to manage The Jack Warner Inn in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Jack Warner Inn, formerly the Yellowhammer Inn, includes 54 rooms ranging from single rooms to executive and honeymoon suites. The Inn is home to the Apothecary Lounge, a paneled room that served as an authentic Apothecary built in the 1850’s in Galena, Ill. The room was purchased at auction in Galena, the hometown of former President U.S. Grant, who was known to be a frequent customer. Beyond the Apothecary, the Inn’s 2,000 sq. ft. deck overlooks a private wooded area and is favored by guests year-round. The Inn is located on the grounds of NorthRiver Yacht Club in the NorthRiver community and is adjacent to the Yacht Club building, avenue for wedding, corporate retreats and other special events.
“The working partnership with BMV Partners, owners of The Inn, and Honours Golf will be an asset to both NorthRiver Yacht Club and our hotel guests,” said Richard Vogt, BMV partner. “Having The Jack Warner Inn, which is expected to have a name change by the end of the year, managed by Honours Golf, will allow the Inn and Club to operate with a consistent synergism that even with our close proximity and relationship, could not happen prior to this agreement.”
The Inn is expected to undergo an extensive renovation in early 2020 that will include upgrades to guest rooms, main lobby and exterior. The Hotel is located within about 10 miles of the University of Alabama campus.
“Honours Golf’s portfolio is immensely strengthened with the addition of The Jack Warner Inn,” said Matt Hurley, president, Honours Golf. “I believe the Inn will reap great rewards through Honours Golf’s best practices delivered by our industry professionals at NorthRiver Yacht Club as well as from our team and brand leaders from across the world.”
Millcreek Township in Northwestern, Pa. has hired 7637 Enterprises Inc., to manage the Erie (Pa.) Golf Club, the Erie Times-News reported. The new company is led by Dale Stuhlmiller, an Erie resident, who is the former owner of a contracting company and is chairman of the board of Radius Bank, which is based in Boston. The course’s current Director of Operations, Nancy Crane, of SMS Enterprises, is retiring December 31.
Stuhlmiller’s lease to manage the course is for five years, the Times-News reported. He must pay the township $33,000 each of the first two years and a minimum of $38,000 each of the next three years. He also must pay the township a percentage of any revenue greater than $325,000 a year.
“I love the game of golf and I have been sort of semi-retired for the last few years,” Stuhlmiller said. “I can’t play golf every day and I took this on as a challenge.”
The township’s search continued, however, for someone to oversee the Millcreek Golf and Learning Center, the Times-News reported. No one applied for the position.
The center includes a six-hole golf course, driving range and chipping and putting greens, the Times-News reported. The course has been closed since 2011 when a main road was routed across a portion of the property to accommodate the runway extension at Erie International Airport. The driving range has since reopened.
The township spent as much as $250,000 to reconfigure and reopen the course, the Times-News reported. It was expected to reopen this year but five of the course’s six greens were damaged with chemicals in the spring. The cost to repair the greens is expected to be as much as $100,000, supervisors said earlier this year.
“This course is just the gift that keeps on taking,” Supervisor John Groh said after a November 12 meeting. “I love the game of golf, but the township needs to decide whether it should be in the golf business.”
The township is required by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to keep the center open, Groh told the Times-News. The course was built over top of a landfill and the DEP supplied grant money for its construction.
“Our next step is to find someone to oversee it,” said Mark Shaw, Township Solicitor. “Now that we have hired someone for Erie Golf Club, now we can turn our attention to the Golf and Learning Center.”
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