America’s 20 largest golf management companies

We wind up our annual countdown, this week with Nos. 1-5

The five biggest management companies operate some of the most high-profile courses in the world. They range from fast-growing Troon Golf, which has expanded its international reach into developing golf markets like Dubai, Vietnam, Russia and Morocco, to KemperSports, which has enjoyed remarkable success with popular new properties like Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and Chambers Bay Golf Cub.

Golf Inc. over a four-week period is profiling the 20 largest North American golf management companies. This week, we wind up our series with Nos. 1-5, along with the previously profiled Nos. 6-20.

#1 – Troon Golf, Scottsdale, Ariz.

 Troon continues to broaden its worldwide scope, steadily heightening its amazing rise from a single property at Troon North in 1990 to approximately 200 managed properties 19 years later. The company, founded by CEO Dana Garmany, operates golf properties in 31 American states and 26 countries. While a number of Troon’s recent additions have been in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the company recently staged a coup by landing the management contract at the newly recreated Indian Wells Golf Resort in the Palm Springs market. In recent years, the company also bulked up its financial underpinnings with an investment from Dubai-based LeisureCorp.

#2 – ClubCorp, Dallas, Texas

Long known as the worldwide leader in private clubs, the company has maintained that reputation following its purchase by KSL Capital Partners from the family of founder Robert Dedman Sr. several years ago. While KSL Capital principal Mike Shannon and ClubCorp CEO Eric Affeldt have pared expenses and let go several long-time executives, ClubCorp has maintained its network of city clubs and is now once again aggressively cultivating new business opportunities in club ownership and operation. With approximately 130 courses under their wing, the company is a solid number two in portfolio size.

#3 – American Golf Corp., Santa Monica, Calif.

American Golf, once the world’s largest course operator, is still a strong presence with approximately 116 courses in the AGC fold. Tom Ferguson, who replaced Roland Smith as CEO several years ago, has quietly disappeared from the scene, leaving long-time executive Paul Major at the helm of the Goldman Sachs-owned ship as president and CEO. The company has indicated for some time that it plans to trim some courses and leases in non-core markets and lopped off a chunk of those in the 2007 sales to CNL Income and EAGLE, but the company remains a prominent player, particularly in the municipal and moderately priced daily fee categories.

#4 – Billy Casper Golf, Vienna, Va.

Billy Casper Golf reached a significant milestone during the past year, surging past the 100-course mark in a rush toward their current total of 111.5 18-hole equivalents. The push was fueled by the Chicago Park District’s decision to bring in Casper to run the district’s seven golf facilities and a subsequent long-term contract to operate five park district-run courses in the Philadelphia area. Those coups solidified Casper’s reputation as a municipal course operator, adding to several other cities for whom the company operates multiple facilities. The Vienna, Va.-based company, which also operates the Buffalo Communications public relations and marketing firm, made the industry’s biggest jump in portfolio size in the past year.

#5 – KemperSports, Northbrook, Ill.

While Billy Casper Golf has cut into some of KemperSports’ moderately priced municipal course market, the Northbrook, Ill.-based KemperSports has continued to make a name for itself in management of developing and existing high-end public properties. With new properties including Chambers Bay, Butterfield Trail and The Crossings of Carlsbad earning accolades in their relative infancy, KemperSports also recently added Angels Crossing in Michigan to the company’s management portfolio of approximately 99 courses. The past year also marked long-time president Steve Skinner’s ascension to CEO, with founder Steve Lesnik keeping an eye on things from a distance as the company’s chairman of the board.

Here are Nos. 6-20, as previously profiled:  

#6 – EAGLE Golf, Dallas, Texas

Dallas-based EAGLE (Evergreen Alliance Golf Ltd.) added an “E” to the company name shortly after the company took a quantum leap in size in late 2007 by purchasing 14 former American Golf Corporation courses and leasing nearly 30 other former AGC properties from CNL Income Properties. After struggling to absorb those properties in the midst of the economic recession, EAGLE and CEO Joe Munsch have retooled their top management team, adopted what the company calls a “Radical Hospitality” program, and may be eyeing growth opportunities again. Industry veterans Tom Moran (GE Real Estate, KSL Fairways, IRI Golf Group), Eric Logan (Adams Golf) and Frank Gore (ClubCorp) have joined the executive team this year, with an eye toward growing the company’s current portfolio of 76 owned and managed properties.

#7 – Century Golf Partners/Arnold Palmer Golf Management, Addison, Texas

Century and its Arnold Palmer Golf Management brand have taken advantage of some struggles by other operators to step in and increase the Century portfolio by nearly 25 percent in the past year. Recent contract acquisitions of Balconies Country Club in Austin, Weston Hills Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, Tartan Fields in Ohio, Hoakalei Country Club on Oahu, and five courses in the Myrtle Beach area formerly run by Larry Young’s Legends Group have hiked Century’s portfolio to 60 courses. CEO Jim Hinckley and his team reportedly have even more deals in the wings.

#8 – Marriott Golf, Orlando, Fla.

Marriott Golf currently operates 57 golf courses worldwide, although all but 16 of those are in the U.S. Marriott and sister brand Ritz-Carlton have been hit hard by the current economic struggles and a resulting downturn in business and vacation travel. Two of the company’s top golf executives, Vice President Kevin Hammock and Director of Marketing Tom Enders, have moved on, as Marriott clamps down on budgets in hopes of a more favorable economic climate to come. The majority of the Marriott-run properties are located at Marriott hotels or resorts.

#9 – Canongate Golf, Newnan, Ga.

Canongate, headed by Joe and Ken Guerra, is another company that has recently embarked on major portfolio expansion. After many years of slowly building a network of moderately priced private clubs offering reciprocal play in Georgia, Canongate has moved into Texas with the purchase of The Oaks and Panther Trail in The Woodlands and two other Houston-area clubs, in addition to management of the three courses at The Woodlands Country Club. Further expanding their third party lease or management operations, Canongate also runs three courses in the Cincinnati area, four in the Nashville, Tenn., area and another in Knoxville, and three in Bluffton, S.C., to run the company total to 43 courses.

#10 – ClubLink Corp., King City, Canada

ClubLink is by far the largest management company in Canada, with 42 courses in its portfolio of more than 30 properties and over 16,000 golf members. Landmark properties in the ClubLink family include Glen Abbey, host site for a number of professional Tour and top amateur events, Club de Golf Le Fontainebleau and the Lake Joseph Club resort. ClubLink’s majority owner is the Tri-White Corporation, and the company is headed by president and CEO Rai Sahi. ClubLink offers its members reciprocal playing privileges at other ClubLink properties, and also has a reciprocal play program with ClubCorp.

Here are Nos. 11-20, as previously profiled:

#11 – OB Sports, Scottsdale, Ariz.

OB Sports markets itself as a boutique golf management company, but the company is growing into a pretty large boutique, with 31 properties throughout the U.S. Founded in 1972 by Orrin Vincent, the company has been involved in ownership, development, course design and construction oversight, but primarily focuses on third-party management. OB has branched out in recent years from its historic Southwest base to include small course clusters in Oregon and Minnesota, among others, with a portfolio including private, daily fee and resort properties.

#12 – Lindsay Management Co., Fayetteville, Ark.

Lindsay Management, the largest multi-family housing property manager and developer in Arkansas, branched out into golf course development and management in 1994. The company now operates 30 courses in an eight-state region of the South and Midwest, with a mantra of affordable golf. The parent company develops both single family and apartment communities, many of which offer either 18-hole or 9-hole full or executive-length golf course privileges, including a Gold Card program which provides for members at the company’s 18-hole courses to all 30 Lindsey courses.

#13 – PGA Tour Golf Course Properties, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

The real estate arm of the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Golf Course Properties counts 28 courses in its portfolio, although the entity operates only 19 of them. The others are licensed as Tournament Players Club (TPC) properties, but owned and operated by other companies. One of those is Heritage Golf Group, which purchased four of the TPC properties in March 2007 and bought the TPC Tampa Bay in February 2008. While the majority of the TPC properties are private courses, their 10 public or resort courses include PGA Tour stops such as the TPCs at Sawgrass, Scottsdale and Las Colinas.

#14 – SunBelt Golf Corp., Birmingham, Ala.

While many of North America’s management companies utilize a “cluster” concept of courses in the same general region to some degree, for economies of scale, cross marketing and other reasons, the entire SunBelt portfolio is a cluster. It is, however, a famous one – the 26 courses of the Robert Trent Jones Trail in the state of Alabama. Owned by the Retirement Systems of Alabama and conceptualized by that organization’s CEO, Dr. David Bronner, the Trail features universally acclaimed courses, all of them operated by the SunBelt Golf Corp. formed by former Tanglewood golf director Bobby Vaughan. Other states have since adopted a “trail” concept, but there is no doubt which trail reigns supreme.

#15 – IRI Golf Group, San Diego, Calif.

IRI Golf Group, headed by founder and CEO Jeff Silverstein, has been cautiously but steadily adding properties to its owned and managed portfolio of courses. IRI currently manages 23 courses, and Silverstein has his eye on more to come. Ironically, for a California-based company, IRI’s portfolio is spread across seven states, none of which are California. Silverstein has paid attention to demographic studies that show North Carolina to be one of the country’s fastest growing retirement – and golfing – markets; IRI runs seven properties in the Tar Heel state.

Here are Nos. 16-20, as previously revealed:

#16 – Heritage Golf Group, San Diego, Calif.

Heritage Golf Group, headed by CEO and founder Bob Husband, has been busy during the past year. The company, which currently operates 18.5 18-hole equivalents, primarily high-end private and resort properties, has continued to expand its relationship with the TPC properties of PGA Tour Golf Course Properties, and announced it will pursue third party management opportunities earlier this year. On the down side, Heritage returned two properties it had previously sold to CNL Lifestyle Properties and leased back from CNL, Valencia Country Club and Weston Hills Country Club, citing insufficient cash flow at the properties to meet the lease obligations.

#17 – Kitson & Partners, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Kitson & Partners is a diverse residential and commercial real estate development firm with several diverse divisions, including its golf management division formed in 1999. In addition to operating courses at the parent company’s communities, several of which are currently under development, Kitson & Partners has developed a niche in course turnarounds, including caretaker operations of properties held by lenders for future sale. The company currently manages 18 courses, with additional courses under planning or construction in Florida and Korea.

#18 – CourseCo, Petaluma, Calif.

CourseCo has built a strong reputation for operating efficiency, player development and environmental sensitivity in the process of becoming the largest management company presence in the northern California market. The company’s 16 courses at 14 locations are all in California except the new Palouse Ridge course in Pullman, Wash., and the majority are fairly close to the company’s Petaluma home base in the Bay Area.

#19 – Touchstone Golf, Berkeley, Calif.

Touchstone Golf, headed by CEO Steve Harker, CFO Edward Harker and former KemperSports executive Mark Luthman as COO, is a geographically diverse management and consulting firm with 15 properties located in California, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee. The company’s management team, which also includes former UCLA basketball star and golf course owner/operator Lynn Shackelford, has extensive industry experience, with Steve Harker a long-time American Golf Corp. senior executive and Edward Harker a former executive with Redstone Golf, among others.

#20 – Meadowbrook Golf, ChampionsGate, Fla.

Meadowbrook Golf, headed by CEO Ron Jackson, has pared its ownership and management portfolio to 14 courses in recent years from a high of approximately 60 following its acquisition of the Fairways Golf portfolio of 24 courses from KSL Fairways and KSL Recreation in late 1999. The company, which also owns the International Golf Maintenance course maintenance firm and the Golf Ventures Inc. course supply business, primarily operates courses in Florida and along the Eastern seaboard, although they also operate properties in Nevada, Indiana and the Bahamas.

(Next week: Nos. 6-10)