Bob Parsons has a flair for promotion and is willing to air borderline offensive Super Bowl ads, but can he revive a struggling golf club?
We’ll soon find out, because the founder of GoDaddy, the website hosting company, has purchased a club he belongs to, Golf Club Scottsdale in suburban Phoenix, Arizona. Parsons has given the 10-year-old property a new name, Scottsdale National Golf Club, but he hasn’t yet announced how he’ll meet his major challenge, which will be to sign roughly 200 new members. Discounting, one of his pet strategies, may no longer be an option, as the club has already slashed its initiation fee from $110,000 to $25,000, and ancillary development on the 292-acre property might ruin the vibe.
But Scottsdale National’s existing members need not fret. The club still has a highly regarded golf course that was co-designed by Jay Morrish and Dick Bailey, and it now also has the force of Parsons’ personality, not to mention his $1.9 billion fortune.