Kitson & Partners ended the year on a positive note with the appointment to manage maintenance for The Villages at Country Creek, an 18-hole executive course in Estero, Fla., just north of Bonita Springs.
The management contract was the sixth of the year, and the company has no plans of slowing down.
“We’re looking forward to growing more next year,” said Rich Hohman, president of Kitson & Partners Clubs. “We’ve averaged managing 20-30 clubs at one time at Kitson. Right now we are on the lower end of that average — around 20 — but our goal is to get to 30 courses by the end of 2013.”
The addition of the Venetian Bay Golf & Country Club in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., was arguably the company’s biggest management contract of the year.
Hohman said Kitson & Partners Clubs has managed or been involved with more than 110 golf courses since the company started. They are primarily a development company in Florida but have a strong golf club management division.
Although the majority of Kitson’s properties are in Florida, they also manage golf courses in Hawaii, Indiana and Arizona. Hohman said he is confident that with the expertise of the company’s staff, they will be able to achieve their goal.
“Our approach to management is a little bit different than others in that we’re very hands on,” Hohman said. “We’re small enough where our top executives can be involved with everyone of our clients and everyone of our golf courses.”
Hohman said they are proactive when developing business strategies and business plans for their courses and understanding where they are in the market.
“In the business part of the golf clubs, we’re very strong on the people [we hire] and the service,” Hohman said. “Hiring friendly people is so critical and I think we do a very good job of that.”