Community - GolfBusiness

southern California by many, Spinel Slide plays 214 yards from
the back tees into the lowest part of the old quarry. A stunning
white wall of limestone rock towers nearly 400 feet above the hole,
shimmering in the afternoon sun. If Oak Quarry is golf’s national
park, Spinel Slide is its No. 1 attraction and most daring thrill ride.
Perhaps more impressive is the commitment to excellence displayed
by Oak Quarry’s owners. The course was purchased in 2003
by the Koh family, which has been involved in a number of different
businesses, from property management to wholesale art supplies
to financial services. In less than a decade, Oak Quarry president
Samuel Koh, management and staff have given the course
a resort-like ambiance without losing the family operated charm.
Koh calls the facility’s natural landscape, highly trained hospitality
team, carefully selected vendor partners and loyal customers the
“recipe for something truly unique.”
It does seem to be a successful concoction. In 2012, the daily
fee course hosted 48,000 rounds (up 6 percent over the prior year)
and ended the year with an 8 percent increase in revenues (green
fees, food and beverage and golf shop). Perkins credits the performance
to a simple philosophy of “great golf and great experience.”
Oak Quarry has assembled a diverse staff (80 percent are minorities)
to execute on its philosophy and deliver its distinctive
experience. Koreans, Hispanics, African-Americans and native
Hawaiian islanders are among those who cater to an equally diverse
clientele. “Our customers have a wide range of backgrounds,
and when they see a diverse staff and hear their own language, I
think that makes the course a little more inviting,” Perkins notes.
In addition to providing jobs, Oak Quarry supports its community
as a site for fundraisers that benefit organizations such as
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Loma Linda University
Children’s Hospital. Koh also serves as president of the Koh Charitable
Foundation and is active in fundraising programs that support
pediatric epilepsy research in southern California.
Meanwhile, Oak Quarry’s commitment to golf’s growth is
evidenced in Koh’s support of the California Golf Course Owners
Association, for whom he and the Oak Quarry staff help produce
marketing materials aimed at attracting new players to the sport.
Perkins also volunteers as an assistant coach for the University of
California-Riverside men’s and women’s golf teams.
Collectively, these efforts have helped Oak Quarry, which is
located between the golfing meccas of Palm Springs and Los Angeles/Orange
County, establish itself as a fixture on the California
landscape. “We’re a little bit of a drive for many of our guests,
but they seem to think of us as a destination that’s worth the
drive,” Perkins says.
Short Takes
From San Diego
THE DOORS HAVE LONG SINCE CLOSED on the
2013 NGCOA Annual Conference, yet the
event’s impact is still being felt far and wide.
Following the on-course educational
offerings of the Day
at the Golf Facility
(page 49) and the
thought-provoking
keynote address of
Mike Veeck (page
11), NGCOA Annual
Conference attendees
immersed
Donna Orender joined others to
discuss how to “connect with her.”
themselves in business-critical topics
ranging from employee engagement to
negotiation tactics to sales strategies for
success. Conference-goers seemed genuinely
pleased and intrigued by the entire
educational line-up, which alternated between
low-tech, high-takeaway presentations
like this year’s Golf Business Ideas of
the Year session and technology-laced interactive
sessions like the one devoted to
maximizing direct tee time bookings.
Equally compelling was the session
moderated by consultant Jim Baugh
that included a panel of industry experts
who were collective in their cry that if
the game is going to thrive, the industry
must step beyond its comfort zone to attract
what Baugh dubs “the low-hanging
fruit, which is women.” As Donna Orender
(above) explained, “Women speak a different
language and respond to different
cultural stimuli,” so the industry must
adapt accordingly.
From start to finish, the world’s largest
gathering of course owners and operators
lived up to its billing as an agent for positive
change—for individuals, their businesses
and the industry.