Landscapes Golf Management has been signed to a five-year contract to run the Three Crowns Golf Club in Casper, Wyoming.

Owned by a public-private joint operating body, the Robert Trent Jones Jr. course opened in 2005 on the site of an oil refinery. The golf course was designed to assist in the long term cleanup of the site, with some 120 recovery wells that move the water through a series of filtering wetlands.

Last year, the Amoco Reuse Agreement Joint Powers Board – a cooperative venture between Amoco, which last operated the refinery before it closed in 1991, and the city of Casper and Natrona County – put out a request for proposals for a new operator for the golf course. Local news reports indicate that the course has been operating at a loss of more than $300,000 per year.

Mark Mattingly, vice president of business development for Landscapes Unlimited (corporate parent of Landscapes Golf Management), said the contract contains incentives if Landscapes is able to reduce the size of the subsidy over time. However, the existing business plan is for Three Crowns to remain a high-end destination course, and Landscapes plans to continue “providing excellent turf conditions and customer service at Three Crows GC.”

He also said Landscapes will face no new challenges in the environmental remediation, as those efforts are already in place and will continue.

Matt Reams has been named as new general manager, beginning next month.

Landscapes currently manages more than 50 properties in North American and Asia.

The Ellesmere Port Golf Club – owned by the Cheshire West and Chester Council – will reopen April 1 as Hooton Golf Club. The Ian Woosnam Golf Academy will be operating the site under contract with the borough, located in county Cheshire on the west coast of England, a few miles southeast of Liverpool.

The course closed in October when the previous lessee, Mack Golf, ceased operations, according to Cheshire Live.

In an interview with Deeside.com, Tony Minshall, managing director of The Ian Woosnam Golf Academy parent corporation, RM Estates LTD., said the firm has upgraded the maintenance fleet at the course to improve the grass, and is installing new sand in the bunkers.

Membership at the new Hooton Golf Club will include playing privileges at two other nearby courses managed by The Ian Woosnam Golf Academy – full membership at Queen Park Golf Course (Crewe) and five free weekday rounds at Malkins Bank Golf Club (Sandbach). In addition, junior golfers under the age of 18 are eligible for free membership.

GreatLIFE Golf & Fitness continues to grow through acquisitions and management contracts. The management company will add Heritage Hills Golf Course in Moberly, Mo., on April 1.

The five-year contract is set at $41,000 a year, according to an article in the Moberly Monitor-Index newspaper, and was approved by the Moberly City Council on March 14.

The city purchased the course on Jan. 7 for $1 million, according to GreatLIFE Chief Operating Officer Bryan Minnis.

GreatLIFE manages 71 golf properties, in addition to fitness gyms, bowling centers and family entertainment centers. The company primarily focuses on contracting with local municipalities to operate their courses, and on working with franchisees to expand its membership-based golf and fitness programs. While members enjoy expanded reservation access, the course will remain open to the general public.

Heritage Hills is a par 70 18-hole course built in 1965; it measures 6,200 yards.

GreatLIFE was founded in Topeka, Kan., by Rick Farrant in 1992. It now has franchises in Kansas City, Sioux Falls, S.D., and is expanding to Utah. Minnis said the company is a “lifestyle subscription recreation company.”

Warrior Custom Golf, which runs a custom-golf fitting business and owns 15 golf courses, filed for bankruptcy protection in early March. The once fast-growing company has struggled with a money-losing golf course operation and a lien against one of its courses.

The company said Chapter 11 protection will allow it to continue operating its golf courses and golf club business while it works with creditors to pay off debts, it announced in a press release. Bloomberg reported that the company was facing a $1.3 million payment from a Florida lawsuit. The court held that Warrior had mislead an elderly Florida man who invested more than $1 million into the golf course part of the business. Warrior had sought investors for its golf course division when it called potential club customers.  

In this case, Warrior solicited additional investment money 23 times, even after the man suffered a stroke that impaired his cognitive abilities, Bloomberg reported.

Warrior later converted his investment into promissory notes worth less than $425,000 in 2017.

The court placed a judgment lien against Warrior’s course in Florida —  Royal St. Augustine Golf Club in St. Augustine. To avoid the closure of that course, Warrior Golf chose to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Warrior Custom Golf, an umbrella organization of other entities, listed assets between $1 million and $10 million and liabilities between $10 million and $50 million. Bloomberg reported that the golf course operations, run under the Warrior Acquisitions subsidiary, posted a loss of $680,000 on a gross income of roughly $13 million last year.

In addition to Warrior Acquisitions, nine other subsidiaries are also listed, including Westwind Manor Resort Association – which is located in Texas, where the bankruptcy was filed.

Warrior Golf was founded in 1998 as a custom golf club manufacturer, and began to acquire golf courses in 2009 with the acquisitions of The Club at Runaway Bay in Lake Bridgeport, Texas and Marion Oaks Country Club and Huntington Golf Club, both located in Ocala, Fla. 

Founder Brendan Flaherty assembled a handful of investors to acquire his first six properties in just two years. Flaherty said the company’s target consumers are value-driven, and thus Warrior Golf’s first courses fit that profile.

But while the company started with smaller, fixer-upper courses, its subsequent success and hiring of seasoned staff positioned it to expand into luxury markets.

“Since we started, we’ve learned a lot about running golf courses in an efficient manner, which is something we maybe didn’t know as much about before,” said Walter Bolen, director of investments at Warrior Golf, in 2014. “Our own skills have improved, our personnel has improved, and we intend to target bigger and higher-end properties now.”

The company operates 15 courses in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Colorado and California, including Cimarron Golf Resort in Cathedral City near Palm Springs.

A country club in eastern Ohio may lose its home of more than 100 years as part of a legal struggle over how to properly maintain and protect a historic site on its grounds.

On April 8, Licking County Common Pleas Judge David Branstool will consider whether Ohio History Connection should be allowed to cancel the Moundbuilders Country Club lease — which runs through 2078. The nonprofit historical preservation organization is being supported in its efforts by the state of Ohio and the U.S. Department of the Interior, according to the Columbus Dispatch. (https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190320/judge-extends-octagon-earthworks-...)

At issue is a pre-Columbian site, the Octagon Earthworks. Built by the Hopewell culture between 100 and 500 A.D., the site is the largest earthen enclosure in the world. The state and federal governments are attempting to have the site added to the World Heritage List, and both have said the United Nations will not consider the request if it is still being used as a golf course.

The property was most recently used by the state of Ohio as a militia training center in the late 1800s, and in 1910 the Licking Country Club signed its first lease for the property with the state. (The club changed its name the next year to the current Moundbuilders Country Club.)

The Ohio History Connection, a nonprofit organization that operates historical sites throughout the state, acquired the property from the state in 1933 — assuming a newer lease the Country Club had signed with the state. That lease was most recently extended in 1997 

In November, the Ohio History Connection sued seeking to have the Moundbuilders Country Club lease cancelled in the public interest.

For its part, Moundbuilders Country Club told the judge that the club has practiced solid stewardship of the historic site, maintaining it for more than a century and providing researchers and interested members of the public access upon request.

Troon, the world’s largest golf management company, added to its heft by acquiring OB Sports, the ninth largest management company, it announced April 1. 

OB Sports, which manages more than 70 golf courses and private clubs, will continue to operate under the OB Sports brand with the same business relationship with its existing clients. Phil Green, chief operating officer of OB Sports, and CA Roberts, president, will remain in their roles. Both were previously principals of the company along with Orrin Vincent, who founded OB Sports in 1972. 

"We are truly excited about the new collaboration and for the opportunity to advance and grow with Troon,” Green said. “Troon’s resources, combined with the company’s worldwide marketing reach, will help our existing clients, while also providing a wonderful opportunity for our OB Sports associates to grow and prosper."

Troon and OB Sports are both located in Scottsdale, Ariz., just a 5 minute walk apart. The two companies have similar values, including a strong focus on providing the highest level of service. The OB Sports’ corporate office in Scottsdale will continue to serve as its headquarters.

OB Sports has grown from 35 courses in 2010 to more than 70. Most of its courses are in the West or Midwest. It manages two outside the U.S. — Royal Blue Golf Club in Nassau, Bahamas and Dumbarnie Golf Links in Scotland.

“Our alliance with OB Sports will support their continued growth, bring additional support and resources to bear and will combine expertise and capabilities for current and prospective clients,” said Tim Schantz, who officially took over as chief executive officer of Troon on the same day the acquisition was announced.

This latest acquisition, continues a pattern for Troon of growing through acquisitions. It follows Troon’s acquisition of Boston-based RealFood Consulting in February, and the July 2018 purchase of Cliff Drysdale Management, the nation’s largest tennis management company. Troon previously acquired Honours Golf and Caddiemaster. Other companies under the Troon brand include Troon Privé, Troon Golf, Troon International and True Club Solutions. 

“We are delighted to have OB Sports as part of Troon, continuing our growth and reach in the industry,” said Dana Garmany, executive chairman, Troon. “With the addition of OB Sports, Troon now reaches or provides managed services to over 460 18-hole equivalents at 440-plus locations around the world.”

Billy Casper Golf was selected to operate the city-owned Stonetree Golf Club in Killeen, Texas, on March 26. It is only the second Texas course for the Virginia-based company.

The five-year deal will see the city pay Billy Casper Golf $90,000 per year to run daily operations at the 7,200 yard par 72 course, with additional bonuses offered for meeting certain performance thresholds.

The contract takes effect on May 1, and the contract can be extended an additional three years by mutual agreement of both sides.

 The Killeen Daily Herald reported that the course has averaged an annual operating loss of $318,000 during the last five years. Killeen is located between Austin and Waco.

 Billy Casper Golf is the world’s third-largest golf management company, with close to 160 courses in its portfolio. The company, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last month, has been focused on adding municipal courses to its stable, so Stonetree fits into its recent strategy.

 Stonetree opened in 1970 with a Jay Riviere design. It was renovated by Lee Singletary in 2005. The practice facility includes a double-ended driving range, short-game area, and putting green.

This is BCG’s second course in Texas, joining Stonebridge at Newport, northeast of Houston.

The owner of Royal Manchester Golf Links has contracted with Brown Golf to run the course, Brown announced in early April. Royal Manchester is the fourth course Brown has added to its portfolio in the last 15 months, bringing to 28 the number of courses the firm now operates.

John Brown, CEO of Brown Golf, said the firm will immediately upgrade the course’s booking technology to allow for text-based and webchat booking, as well as interactive voice booking.

Brown is one of the largest golf management firms — having grown rapidly since its founding in 2011. Brown Golf holds to what its founder called a “value-oriented philosophy” — seeking to own or operate courses serving middle-income, daily fee golfers. Royal Manchester’s green fees are listed at $30 to $45, depending on day and time.

“I am extremely excited about our continued growth in the daily fee arena,” Brown said.

The course is owned by Talen Energy and is a par 72 course in Mount Wolf, Penn. It  was designed by Timothy Freeland and opened in 2010. It is open year-round, and is 6,962 yards from its longest tees. It is located 20 miles from Brown Golf’s corporate headquarters in Camp Hill, Penn.

John Brown Jr., who founded the company, retired last year and his son, also John Brown, is the CEO. John Brown Jr. recently opened a new company, KPI Management, which competes with Brown Golf.

Roc Inc., a real estate investment firm, has selected KemperSports to guide the Joliet Country Club through its transition to a public track for the 2019 season — including its rebranding as the Joliet Golf Club.

Formerly a membership equity club, Roc Inc. took ownership of the course in 2016 by acquiring the note. 

This is KemperSports’ 13th golf facility in the state of Illinois, where the company is based. It is the fifth-largest golf management firm in the world, with 135 courses, and was founded in 1978. Its headquarters are in Northbook, Ill., outside of Chicago.

The Joliet Country Club was founded in 1905, with Tom Bendelow leading the original design. It was updated in 1969 by Dick Nugent and Ken Killian, and again in 2001 by David Esler.

Joliet Golf Club will continue to offer reservation priority to those who purchase a membership, as well as access to its swimming pool, which remains private.

Troon will manage daily operations at Hunting Creek Country Club just east of Louisville, Ky., the world’s largest golf management company recently announced.

Troon Privé, the private-club operations wing of Troon, will manage the club and help oversee a recently approved multi-million dollar upgrade to the 25,000 square foot clubhouse and surrounding grounds.

Troon manages more than 430 courses around the world with its acquisition of OB Sports earlier this month.

Hunting Creek opened in 1964, with the initial track designed by club member Ben Wihry. The course was updated by Arthur Hills in 1989, with a full renovation by Spencer Holt in 2010.

The club became member-owned in 1972 when the members purchased it from the founding partners, V.V. Cooke and Paul Semonin. The club includes a tennis center with six clay courts and one hard court, a swimming pool, and a 24/7 fitness center.

Troon announced April 30 that it has purchased Green Golf Partners, adding 18 more courses to its management portfolio.

The Indianapolis-based Green Golf Partners manages daily operations at 16 facilities in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Florida, with all but two of those clustered in the Midwest. Green Golf Partners was founded in 2001, with Matt McIntee serving as CEO.

Tim Schantz, president and CEO of Troon, said the Green acquisition will allow Troon to pursue new opportunities in the Midwest:

“We are thrilled to bring Green Golf Partners into the Troon family. Matt McIntee and his team have created a solid portfolio of courses in the Midwest and Florida. The addition of Green Golf Partners, combined with Troon’s existing portfolio in the Midwest, will serve as the catalyst to opening a new Troon office in Chicago, designed to service current and future clients throughout the region.”

The Green Golf Partners acquisition follows the April 1 purchase of OB Sports, which has a strong presence in the Pacific Northwest. While OB will continue operations as a Troon subsidiary, Kris Strauss, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Troon, said the long-term details of the Green Golf Partners deal are still being worked out, but for now clients will see no immediate changes.

“GGP contracts, and its relationships with clients and associates at the golf course level will remain the same. The same management teams at GGP will continue to support GGP courses and clients,” he said. “However, where appropriate and beneficial, we will explore the added benefits, expertise and capabilities that Troon may be able to bring to the relationship.”

Troon is the world’s largest golf management company, and with the addition of Green Golf Group now manages more than 475 golf courses around the world.

Cypress Golf Management has signed a five-year deal to supervise the renovation and reopening of the Sugar Creek Golf Course in the greater Atlanta area. The contract with Dekalb County will pay Cypress Golf Management no more than $712, 235 over its term.

The course was shuttered 18 months ago when the previous operator, Cornerstone Golf, cancelled its agreement with the county.

A report commissioned by the county last year from the National Golf Foundation laid out repairs needed to return the course to operational status.

 “We look forward to making Sugar Creek a gem for Dekalb County and their citizen to play,” said Bill Stine, president of Cypress, who founded the company in 2009. Sugar Creek Golf Course is the 11th course in Cypress Golf Management’s portfolio.

The Rick Kepshire designed course first opened in 1976. The Par 72 track measures 6,300 yards.

The former Mountain Springs Golf Course in Sonora, Calif., has been reopened as the Teleli Golf Club — the new name reflecting the change in ownership to the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians. Operating the newly rebranded club is Sierra Golf Management Inc., headquartered in nearby Chowchilla.

As reported in the Sonora Union Democrat, “Teleli” means “Black Oak” in the Me-Wuk language. The Native American community also owns the Black Oak Casino Resort, and plans to cross-market the two facilities.

The course was shuttered Dec. 31 by the previous owner, and crews from the Me-Wuk community corporation and Sierra quickly restored the course to playability ahead of its May 17 reopening once the $900,000 purchase was finalized in April.

Sierra Golf Management was founded in 1990 by PGA Professional Jeffrey A. Christensen. Teleli is the 10th course that Sierra currently manages. The firm also provides maintenance services to four other courses. All of the courses are located in Central California.

The Robert Muir Graves-designed par 72 track opened in 1990. It measures 6,559 yards.

Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington, N.C., has selected Raleigh-based McConnell Golf to manage its operations. McConnell assumed daily management the week of May 12.

The club sued its insurance carrier on March 20, alleging that Allied World Assurance Company Inc. failed to make some $6 million in required payments to repair damages incurred during Hurricane Florence. The article from WECT Channel 6 in Wilmington reported that the club’s legal filing described it as being “in dire financial straits.”

McConnell Golf was founded in 2003, and currently owns 13 private clubs in the Southeast. It also manages the Grande Dunes Members Course and Ocean Club in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The contract with Porters Neck Country Club will add the club to the existing McConnell Golf network, with bilateral reciprocal privileges.

The course at Porters Neck Country Club opened in 1991. Its par 72 Fazio design  measures 7, 112 yards.

Troon is already making good on its promise to expand in the Midwest, and specifically in Chicagoland. The world’s largest management company recently announced the addition of Naperville Country Club, a private club located 30 miles outside the Windy City.

When Troon acquired Green Golf Partners on April 30, it announced it was opening a Chicago office. Prior to the acquisition, the world’s largest management company had no courses in Illinois and only one in Indiana. The Green Golf acquisition gave it six courses in Illinois, three in southeastern Wisconsin, and four additional facilities in Indiana. Green Golf Partners’ corporate office is in Danville, Ind., just outside Indianapolis.

Troon has not been shy about wanting to expand in a region that was long dominated by KemperSports. KemperSports, which is based just outside Chicago in Northbrook, Ill., is the sixth largest management company with 107 courses. A Troon spokesperson said this week that additional management contracts in the Midwest are likely in the coming months.

Naperville Country Club is a member-owned club that was founded in 1921. Tom Bendelow designed the 18-hole par 72 course. Steve Forrest oversaw the renovation in 2006, adding length to take the course to 6,790 yards. The club offers both golf and social memberships.

By Jack Crittenden

Six months after Billy Casper Golf spun off its public relations division into a separate company, the new company, Buffalo Groupe, has acquired another communications firm —  Rawle Murdy in Charleston, S.C.

It’s the latest chapter in a long-term growth plan for the 18-year-old public relations company that can trace its roots back even longer.  

Rich Katz, who is credited with founding the company, started in marketing and public relations with Billy Casper Golf in 1992. At the time, the golf management company was less than five years old.

Katz spun BCG’s in-house public relations and marketing department into its own division in 2001, renaming it Buffalo Communications, and it began representing external clients. By 2015, Buffalo Communications had 30 employees and represented dozens of major-brand golf product manufacturers. That year, it renamed itself Buffalo Brand Invigoration Group, in an effort to appeal to clients outside of the golf industry. That led to further growth, with the company reaching 55 employees by the end of 2018, and representing clients such as Topgolf/Toptracer, Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, the U.S. Golf Association, and World Golf Foundation.

Then in January, BCG set Buffalo up as its own company and renamed it Buffalo Groupe. It hired John Watson as executive chairman. Watson was previously president and CEO of Edwin Watts Golf Company from 2008 to 2014. The company announced at that time that it was recapitalized with outside investment that would be used to accelerate expansion plans.

Watson was hired to guide all aspects of Buffalo Groupe, including strategy, fundraising, organizational development, governance and shareholder value. Watson hired Kyle Ragsdale as CEO. Rasgdale was previously Vox Media’s top revenue and marketing officer. Katz remains a principal of the company and a board member, and BCG retains a majority stake in Buffalo Groupe. 

Rawle Murdy, which has a staff of 27, will operate as a separate division of Buffalo Groupe, representing real estate, travel and hospitality and home services brands.

The company’s other division, which used to be Buffalo Communications, is now known as Buffalo.Agency, and represents golf, sport and lifestyle brands.

In April, Buffalo Groupe announced the hiring of three senior vice presidents: Teresa Olsen, Lauren Nodzak and Emily Clark. Olsen is head of strategy for Buffalo Groupe and comes from Hallmark Cards. Nodzak is head of client strategy and service and previously worked at Pernod Ricard USA, a premium spirits and wine company. Clark, who was previously vice president of sales and marketing for BCG, is head of people and culture.

The company also launched Buffalo Studios, led by Chief Creative Officer Derek Koenig.

Links Asset Trust has partnered with Bobby Jones Links in a deal that ties the two companies closely together. 

Links Asset Trust is run by Doug White, and Frank Denniston, both former Billy Casper Golf Management executives. The private equity company has acquired three private clubs, each on a 30-year lease, with promises to invest and upgrade the facilities.

Bobby Jones Links, formerly known as Mosaic Clubs and Resorts, will manage those three clubs and any future acquisitions. As part of the deal, White and Denniston are now partners in Bobby Jones Links. 

 Bobby Jones Links had managed two of the clubs — Country Club of Indianapolis, and Hidden Valley Country Club in Salt Lake County, Utah for the past two years. The third facility, Pine Island Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, was recently added. 

“Many private clubs are seeking capital for debt resolution or high-impact renovations,” White said. “Yet they have few options. We have the equity to invest and make these improvements and solve these clubs’ challenges.”

Links Asset Trust’s goal is to cater to clubs who wish to preserve their history without a sale. White said they had the money and Bobby Jones Links had the means to manage such a workload. He said Links Asset Trust and Bobby Jones Links’ ideas of the future align 100 percent, avoiding a division between operator and owner.

 “We are pleased to have these clubs join the Bobby Links family,” said Whitney Crouse, a founder of Bobby Jones Links. “The addition of Frank Denniston and Douglas White as partners is also an important step forward in growing the Bobby Jones Links management portfolio.”

Located in Indianapolis and once host to the U.S. Women’s Open and several LPGA Tour events, the Country Club of Indianapolis opened its doors in 1891 and serves as one of the oldest operating country clubs in the nation. The private club has an 18-hole Pete Dye redesigned champion course. A $1 million dollar renovation is underway to enhance the club.

Hidden Valley Country Club is in the Wasatch Mountains and features an 18-hole golf course, practice facilities, six tennis courts, pool, and a 44,000 square-foot clubhouse.  Links Asset Trust is completing a modern clubhouse grill area, wine lockers, outdoor and patio fire pits.

Pine Island Country Club offers a French-country style clubhouse that hosts weddings and events, a 1,000-square-foot golf pro shop, a saltwater pool with a slide and an extensive member events calendar. 

Landscapes Golf Management has added Indian River Club in Vero Beach, Florida to its portfolio, and extended its contract with Tippecanoe Lake Country Club in Leesburg, Indiana. 

LGM has helped Tippecanoe the past two years with revenue growth, operational efficiency, membership development, and sourcing key department heads. Tippecanoe referred Indian River Club to LGM.

LGM starting offering a la carte or fractional services more than ten years ago. Since launching Landscapes Select, the company has helped more than 20 clients with these services.  Clients can select from a menu of support services, including accounting, agronomy, food & beverage, golf operations, marketing, purchasing, sales and technology.

“We are excited for the opportunity to work with these two fine clubs,” said Tom Everett, President of Landscapes Golf Management.  “Our partnership with Tippecanoe Lake has been a tremendous success, and we are proud to continue this relationship.  Indian River Club is a great property in Vero Beach, Florida and we look forward to working in concert with the board of directors and staff to achieve the objectives of the Club,” Everett added.

Toll Brothers is preparing to open its latest golf community in Surprise, Arizona., just northwest of Phoenix. The luxury homebuilder was once one of the most active developers in the nation until the recession in 2008. But it is again planning and developing golf course communities, but with a greater focus on families. 

“Our new home designs will appeal to a wide variety of home buyers, from families with children, to empty nesters and active retirees,” said Toll Brothers Division Senior Vice President Kevin Rosinski. 

Sterling Grove, a semi-private golf course will open this winter in a 780-acre lifestyle community. Toll Brothers has hired Troon to manage the golf course.

The property will be staff-gated and include 2,200 homes as well as both age-restricted and family neighborhoods, and a 35,000 square foot, modern ranch-inspired clubhouse with restaurants, spa, fitness, tennis, pools, and pickleball. The community will include trails, parks, fishing lakes, community gardens, and pet friendly parks.

Heritage Links, the contractor, broke ground on the golf course in early January, and crews are in the early stages of shaping the course and building bunkers and green complexes.

Nicklaus Design, the architect, said the concept for the golf course is to showcase features of the golden age of golf architecture. 

Sterling Grove will eventually be a private club reserved for members and their guests. However, when it opens, the course will be open to unaccompanied nonmembers to play as the Sterling Grove community builds out.

“Sterling Grove is a wonderful new development in the fast growing Northwest Valley,” said Mike Ryan, chief operating officer of Troon, the world’s largest management company. “Together with Toll Brothers and Nicklaus Design, Troon is fully-engaged with all facets of the new club from design and development, agronomy, food and beverages, to sales and marketing and merchandising. This is an exciting project for Troon to be a part of.”

Troon recently announced major changes in the leadership of its Honours Golf Division, the company's Southeast development and management arm. Matt Hurley advanced to president of the Honours Golf Division and Bob Barrett, the founder and current CEO of Honours Golf took the seat of vice chairman on Troon’s board of directors.

Hurley has been with Troon for 22 years and has climbed the ranks from general manager to senior vice president of operations. 

“Matt has been an innovator and a respected leader,” said Bruce Glasco, Troon’s COO. 

Barret founded Honours Golf in 1998. Troon acquired the company in 2014, and it currently operates 23 daily fee, resort and private club facilities.

 “We’re proud to have him lead Honours Golf and are excited about the future of this division," Galsco said. "Bob Barrett’s vision and passion for delivering both operational and service excellence will be continued for years to come.”