Landscapes Golf Group recently took over full management of The Country Club of Blue Springs in Blue Springs, Mo., its seventh new addition in the past 15 months, according to Scott Tricker, director of business development or the Lincoln, Neb.-based company.
Landscapes had been handling accounting services for the private club since August. It also added Manhattan Country Club in Manhattan, Kansas in January. Other recent additions have included Meadowbrook Golf and Country Club in Prairie Village, Kan., and the new Firekeeper Golf Course in Mayetta, Kan.
“It was a big year for us,” Tricker said. “Our strategy is to go after markets where we already have a presence to create clusters.”
Landscapes, a division of Landscapes Unlimited, now manages 26.5 18-hole equivalent courses. Five of the seven recently added courses are private clubs, bringing the total number of private facilities under management to 10.
“Landscapes Golf Group has established itself as an industry leader with a proven track record in helping private clubs such as ours achieve long-term member satisfaction and business success,” said John Shostak, President of Manhattan Country Club Board of Directors.
Landscapes also manages 16 public facilities, with courses as far away as Florida and California. But most recent additions have been near its home base in Omaha. Tricker said he can visit ten of their courses in a 3-and-a-half hour drive.
“We are Midwest guys and understand the Midwest really well,” Tricker said. “The courses we have added were not really thinking of a management company when we contacted them.”
Tricker said that has meant a long sales cycle — some as long as two years — but little competition for the contracts.
“I deal more with fear than competition,” Tricker said.
He said he has to educate potential clients about what a management company does and can offer.
Landscapes was first hired to handle accounting for Country Club of Blue Springs. It was seen as a way for the club to test out the management company.
“We have been involved with the Club for the past 10 months and have a familiarity with the workings of the Club,” said Mike Jenkins, President of Landscapes Golf Group. “We are very excited about the opportunity to provide our full capabilities of management services and look forward to improving the overall success of the facility.”
The private club was built in 1969, and renovated in 2003. Pat Yokley, a board member at Blue Springs Country Club, said the club realized it could no longer management the course alone.
“We need the expertise and buying power in all areas that Landscapes provides,” he said.
Founded in 1916, Manhattan Country Club started as a 9-hole course and Country Club. In 1923, the Club added 9 additional holes, making it one of the only 18-hole courses in the state of Kansas. Under the management agreement, LGG will be responsible for the club’s golf and hospitality needs, including food and beverage, marketing, course maintenance and management of the facility’s day-to-day operations.
Tricker said he hopes to have some other news soon.
“We are bumping along and are on the aggressive approach,” he said. “[But] we are a lot smaller team than some management companies and have to be picky about projects.”