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 Favorite course: The most beautiful place in the world is Pebble Beach, when the weather is good. Second is Bel-Air — it is a course you want to play again and again. Lowest rounds ever: 65 (three times) at Bel-Air; 63 at Encino Golf Course in the San Fernando Valley. Favorite golf book: “The Grand Slam” by Mark Frost. Favorite club: My driver seems to like me better than my other clubs. Better players have a feel for the game, and many return to a particular course because the staff made them feel like a winner, no matter how high the numbers on the scorecard. Putting this truism to work has been the formula for success at Heritage Golf Group, the owner and operator of 22 private and resort courses around the country. No worries if you haven’t heard of them, but if you’ve played Valencia Country Club or Talega Golf Club, you already know the company by the feel of being treated to first-class service. “We work very hard every day to do something to make each [golf] experience a little more unique,” said Bob Husband, president and CEO of San Diego-based Heritage, which runs both courses and soon will have more of a national presence after striking a deal last year with the PGA Tour to own and operate several TPC courses. Husband called the partnership a “win-win” situation. “The PGA Tour has confidence we’ll run their courses at a certain level,” he said. The PGA Tour’s endorsement validates a business model that Husband has honed in his 30 years buying and managing golf facilities. He believes in maintaining superior customer service, hiring the best people and empowering them to do their jobs, and offering “macro support” to course general managers in the form of software technology, vendor alliances and best practices. “We don’t micromanage; we push as much authority down the line as we can,” Husband said. “The home office is the support group. We have experts in agronomy, member sales, [food and beverage] and other functions.” Husband calls his employees “ambassadors,” borrowing the Disney method of instilling pride in providing quality customer service. His focus on serving the customer can be traced to the 1970s when he worked at Bel-Air Country Club in nearly every position available — from the bag room to the golf shop and the role of first assistant pro. Eddie Merrins, who in January was inducted into the World Golf Teacher Hall of Fame, took Husband under his wing, and Husband served as assistant coach to the UCLA men’s golf team, which Merrins coached. Husband was a rapt pupil as he observed how Merrins, who played with Sam Snead and gave lessons to Dean Martin and other Hollywood stars, conducted himself with club members, golf students, peers and powerbrokers. Everyone was treated the same — with courtesy, respect and kindness. “Eddie Merrins is the epitome of what a golf pro at a club should be,” Husband said. “He’s the perfect gentleman. He taught me a lot. He was a great mentor to me.” Husband also has a feel for the guest experience as a player, having competed on the PGA Tour in 1978 and 1979. Two years of struggle was all it took to convince him to take another path in golf. “I figured there had to be an easier way to make money,” he said with a smile. Husband and Jeff Silverstein started a golf company and managed more than a dozen city- and county-owned courses in California, including Balboa Park, El Cariso and Alameda. The partners eventually sold the company to Club Corp of America. Husband stayed with Club Corp for seven years, helping it become the second-largest operator of public golf facilities in the country in 1991. The next year, Husband co-founded Cobblestone Golf Group, which grew to the third-largest owner-operator of courses nationwide before it was purchased by Meditrust, a publicly traded real estate investment firm. “At the end of ’99, they (Meditrust) didn’t need anyone else and I was free to do what I wanted,” said Husband, who started Heritage Golf Group with $100 million in funding from the private equity firm. Several members of the Heritage executive team have worked with Husband for more than a decade and through a few company evolutions. Andrew Crosson (acquisitions), Gary Dee (sales and membership), John Hungerford (operations) and Angela Kasten (finance) share the same passion for excellence as Husband, who describes them as “good people keeping an eye on the ball.” As a result, Heritage had a 7 percent increase in profits during the financially turbulent 2006-07 fiscal year. Husband hopes the momentum continues as Heritage works to improve efficiencies, remodel properties, venture into timeshare or condo construction and purchase a course in Northern California. On South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island, where it operates four clubs featuring 135 holes, Heritage also handles reservations for Marriott’s timeshare communities. For Husband, Hilton Head’s demographics come together as the perfect storm for management: “Eighty percent of customers represent the drive-in market. It’s a market that’s recession-resistant. Timeshares are at 80 to 90 percent occupancy historically. And the Hilton Head PGA Tour Academy will be completed in about a year, making for another draw.” Heritage typically considers 75 to 100 courses each year, but might only offer bids on 20 or less. It owns most of the courses in its collection, except for a few operated under 50-year leases. “With every property, we look at what is the best thing for people in the community, the best thing for the customer, what makes the best financial sense, and what leads to a good business decision,” Husband said. But some decisions are made more with the heart than the business head. For Husband and company, it’s to hold more charity golf tournaments to raise funds for Birdies for the Brave, a national campaign benefiting U.S. military personnel and their families. Husband visited the Middle East in April 2007 as a guest on a Department of Defense tour of an area about 12 miles from Iraq. “I met so many great people,” he said. “I was so impressed by how so many of our servicemen and women are very clear on what they want to do in life. They’re the type of smart and dedicated people I would want to hire.” Last year, Heritage held four tournaments and raised about $100,000 for Birdies for the Brave. This year, Husband would like to have eight tournaments and raise $1 million. Valencia Country Club, where the PGA Tour’s Nissan Open and the AT&T Champions Classic have been held, will open its fairways for the event in August. Valencia often plays host to a fund-raising tournament for the local Boys & Girls Club, with the course offered at no charge and employees donating their salaries for the day. “We feel like we owe something to the people who support us,” Husband said. “Though we can’t give to everyone, we do what we can.” SG For more on Heritage Golf Group, call (858) 720-0694 or visit heritagegolfgroup.com. |
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