PGA Golf Pro Brent Edmister took over General Manager duties at the Greenbrier, Tenn., property in February, and is looking forward to showing off property updates. The golf course has improved golf carts and paths and upgraded its pro shop, while adding a full-service weather program that uses airline radar to track weather systems.
PGA Golf Pro Brent Edmister is looking forward to showing off the Oak Hills Golf Course and the renovations he has overseen since he accepted the General Manager position at the Greenbrier, Tenn., property in February, the Nashville-based Tennessean reported.
“We’ve been working hard to get things into place and make this a golf course that people want to come to again,” said Edmister. “I’ve heard that things weren’t run the way they should’ve in the past, but we’ve made every effort to make some good quality changes.”
Edmister, who previously managed the Greenbrier Golf and Country Club, became a PGA Pro in 2005 and came to Oak Hills Golf Course because it was open year-round, the Tennessean reported.
“We were told that the winters were much milder here than they were in Lexington,” said Edmister. “In Lexington we closed in mid-December and didn’t open back up until the first part of March. Hopefully the warm weather is just around the corner because we’re very excited for people to see what we’ve done over the last few months.”
Since taking the job, Edmister has been on site six days a week to remake Oak Hills and he believes the improvements now set the golf course apart from others, the Tennessean reported.
“We have gotten new golf carts and also improved the cart paths,” Edmister said. “We’ve also improved our point of sale and made upgrades to our pro shop. While we are proud of all those improvements and the differences they have made we are particularly proud of a new system that will keep everyone safe while on the course and it’s something that no other course around here has.”
What Edmister’s referring to is a system from ProGolfWeather.com that went live online this past weekend. Oak Hills now has a full service weather program that uses airline radar centered on the golf course itself. The system tracks weather systems, but one of the most important things the system is able to track is lightning strikes, the Tennessean reported.
“I believe that one of the things that we have to be able to keep track of is impending bad weather,” said Edmister. “When people come to the golf course they are focused on their game, not the weather, so that’s our job.
“With this new system we’re able to track systems as they approach and be able to tell what kind of lightning strikes the storm contains in that system, so we can sound the alarm in enough time to get everyone off the course and keep them safe. Being up here on top of the ridge we’re going to get fast approaching systems that other parts of the state don’t get so I just felt like having this system in place was something we had to do.”
Having Edmister on site could also be a big draw for Oak Hills giving members the chance at private lessons from a PGA pro, the Tennessean reported.
“We have private lessons and we also have group lessons available for both adults and junior golfers,” said Edmister. “For adults we offer a 45-minute private lesson to goes for $50 an hour, and juniors will have a 30-minute class for $25.
“We also have some five-lesson packages available that gives the golfer one whole session for free. We also have memberships that are available for both couples and individuals.”
Married members can join for $125 a month and singles for $100, and they have also introduced a junior membership for anyone under the age of 35 so that married couples can join for $100 and singles for $80, the Tennessean reported.
Edmister has also introduced a new program called the PGA Junior golfers, where kids from six to 13 can sign up and play in three-man groups in a scramble format. At age 14 players compete on their own for nine holes and the course has also locked up two high school teams that will call Oak Hills their home, the Tennessean reported.
Edmister wants former members to come back out and give the course a try, the Tennessean reported.
“We know that a lot went down and soured a lot of people to this course, but we’re working hard to change all that,” said Edmister. “That’s why we don’t mind putting our membership prices out there for everyone to see.
“We realize that everything wasn’t created equal before and there were deals that everyone didn’t get to take advantage of and that’s not the case anymore. We think that if people will come back out and see what we have to offer then they will end up coming back.”
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