The Seneca, Ore., property is expanding its personnel to accommodate its first full season, with plans to hire 60 workers at a job fair on February 16. The resort is also debuting goat caddies at its McVeigh’s Gauntlet seven-hole golf course, which will open this summer.
The Retreat & Links at Silvies Valley Ranch in Seneca, Ore., is expanding its personnel to accommodate the first full season at the resort and golf course, the John Day, Ore., Blue Mountain Eagle reported.
Owner Dr. Scott Campbell, a Harney County native, invested in the resort at the cattle ranch as a way to boost the local economy. After a preview season last year, The Retreat and Links with luxury lodging, dining and golfing plans to hire 60 workers to fill a variety of positions by the official opening in April. A job fair is planned for February 16, the Mountain Eagle reported.
C&RB reported on the property’s plans to boost the local economy in December 2017.
With a unique reversible golf course, as well as a par-3 course, ranch-to-table dining and a variety of other amenities, including shooting, hiking, bike riding, fishing, tours and other ranch activities, Vice President Colby Marshall said many team members were cross-trained to help with multiple tasks, the Mountain Eagle reported.
“I didn’t know what to expect when I first applied to work at Silvies, but the team gave me so many opportunities to grow,” said employee Sunshine Smarr, who was born and raised in Grant County. “I learned to how to serve meals in a fine-dining restaurant, how to take detailed guest reservations and how hard it is to keep a golf course in shape.”
Several new attractions are also opening this year:
• The Rocking Heart Spa and Fitness Center is scheduled to open in July, providing spa treatments as well as an indoor lap pool, workout equipment and a rock-climbing wall.
• McVeigh’s Gauntlet, a seven-hole challenge course, will provide golfers a chance to test their accuracy.
• The Council House Conference Center can accommodate 35 people.
• The first phase of vacation cabins will begin, providing investors options for off-the-grid cabins.
“Our hope is that guests from across the globe will be drawn to the property through golf and outdoor activities, fostering a connection with the natural beauty of the landscape—a place that we have had the privilege to call home for so many years—and helping to recover the local economy,” Campbell said.
When the property debuts McVeigh’s Gauntlet, it will also offer goat caddies. Professionally trained American Range Goat caddies will be available for hire. Saddled up with a custom-designed goat caddie pack that carries drinks, golf balls, tees and a few clubs, the goats will join players on The Gauntlet, bringing a sense of whimsy, entertainment and fun to the golf experience.
“We’re taking the golf experience at Silvies Valley Ranch to a new level in 2018,” said Campbell. “We’ve been developing an unprecedented caddie training program with our head caddie, Bruce LeGoat, to ensure that he and his team are ready for the opening of The Gauntlet this summer. We’re truly redefining both goat and golf operations at the ranch. Can you think of another course where its caddies were literally born, raised and fully educated on-property? We will get you a caddie who really knows the course and won’t give you any bad advice—and they work for peanuts!”
Designed by Dan Hixson, McVeigh’s Gauntlet joins Hixson’s 18-hole reversible layouts, the Hankins and Craddock Courses, and the nine-hole par-3 Chief Egan Course at The Links at Silvies Valley Ranch. A seven-hole ridge course carved into a razor back, the course is challenging in design, yet fun and care-free to play in a short amount of time. McVeigh’s Gauntlet was designed to help players settle bets and test their accuracy on a series of par-3s and par-4s, while marveling at the views and the Western appeal of the ranch.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.