Resources

The economy may be strengthening, but challenging times still exist for the golf industry. To find out how one top club is not just surviving, but thriving in this competitive environment, we talked to Frank Benzakour, General Manager at the Village Club in Sands Point, N.Y.

Palm Beach County operates multiple golf courses, each of which has unique conditions, and all of which compete with other nearby golf facilities. By auditing play at each course, BrightView was able to recognize a pattern.

Roseville hired BrightView and Sports Restaurants, Inc., to help run its golf course maintenance and club operations (dining/pro shop), respectively. Thanks to a master communications plan proposed by BrightView at the outset, the partnership between all three entities has been a success.

Within a few months, the Longshore Golf Club was showing tremendous improvement. Trust was regained among town officials, a rational maintenance budget was put in place, and operations were streamlined and optimized.

The grounds and revenues at the Lake Worth, Fla., 18-hole municipal golf course had been declining for 10 years when the city decided to bring BrightView on board to turn around course conditions and, at the same time, rein in costs. 

Weeds are unpredictable. Some years your course looks great, and others you wonder why you're spending as much as $5,000 to $20,000 annually on products that don't always seem to work the way they should. But here's the crux: The problem isn't the products; it's the timing around when the products are being used.

Bare spots marred the fairways, algae floated atop lake waters, and inconsistent mowing ruined course aesthetics. Worse, the club had just invested heavily in a new irrigation system, but nothing seemed to be helping get the turf — and the course — back in shape.

Through comprehensive planning and sophisticated execution, the St Ives course — and course play — reached the level of quality that kept and drew members. At the same time, expenses for golf course maintenance decreased nearly 25 percent from 2008 levels.

Within months of BrightView on the job, the crew was re-energized and clear on priorities, strong golf maintenance leadership was established, and the maintenance equipment was upgraded. In addition, BrightView worked with the board to develop and communicate a Master Plan and Tree Management Plan that would take Canyon Lake into the future.