NGCOA Names Industry Hills Course of the Year; Firestone CC Wins Jemsek
Award for Excellence
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Nov. 25, 2009) - Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific
Palms, a course located on the site of a former Los Angeles landfill
that once used goats to assist in a $60 million renovation, has been
named the NGCOA's 2010 Golf Course of the Year.
The association of golf course owners and operators also named
Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, the winner of the Jemsek Award
for Golf Course Excellence. Both facilities will be among those
recognized at the NGCOA's member appreciation and awards event on Feb.
11, 2010, during the association's Annual Conference in San Diego.
Industry Hills recently completed a comprehensive renovation of its two
courses (Ike and Babe) and the adjoining hotel and spa. The $60 million
investment makes the public facility east of Los Angeles one of
Southern California's finest resort destinations, according to co-owner
John Semcken.
"We've renovated every room in the hotel, every restaurant and every
dining area. Every inch of fairway has been replaced, and every foot of
irrigation has been replaced," said Semcken, a real estate developer
who along with partner and co-owner Ed Roski purchased Industry Hills
in 2000. As part of the landscaping overhaul, a goat herder was brought
in to help clean up underbrush that remained from the site's days as a
landfill. Subsequently, ValleyCrest Golf Course Maintenance was hired
to ensure consistently superior course conditions.
Course conditions and exceptional service, Semcken said, explain not
only Industry Hills' 1,400 members and 90,000-plus annual rounds, but
also a multitude of celebrity sightings that rival tony Riviera and Bel-Air
country clubs.
"We wanted Industry Hills to be of the same quality and provide the
same type of experience that some of the finest private clubs in
Southern California provide," Semcken said. "We think the investment
was worth it."
The Jemsek Award is given in honor of the late Joe Jemsek, who owned
and operated three courses, including Cog Hill, near Chicago. Firestone
celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2009 and continued an unrivaled run
of 55 consecutive years of tournament golf. The streak started with the
Rubber City Open in 1954 and continues with the current World Golf
Championships Bridgestone Invitational. In between, Firestone has
hosted three PGA Championships.
"We love tournament golf, and we continue to change the golf course to
keep it up to the standards demanded by today's professionals along
with the high expectations of our loyal members," said General Manager
Mark Gore.
The history of Firestone dates to August 10, 1929, when Harvey
Firestone drove the first ball down the fairway of the South Course,
opening a facility designed for the enjoyment of employees of Firestone
Tire and Rubber Company. In later years, the North and West courses
were added, making Firestone the finest 54-hole private facility in the
U.S. in the estimation of many.
"We teach all of our staff to have a servant's heart. If you can focus
on warm welcomes, magic moments and fond farewells, you don't have to
make it any more complicated than that," Gore said, borrowing the
mantra of ClubCorp, Firestone's owner since 1981.
The First Tee will receive the NGCOA's Award of Merit, which recognizes
significant contributions to golf.
Meriam Leeke, owner of Old Channel Trail in Montague, Mich., and
association treasurer from 2000-2009, was named the Don Rossi award
winner, which goes to an NGCOA member who has served the association
with distinction.
The NGCOA's Champion Award, which recognizes work that improves
opportunities for fellow course owners, went to outgoing NGCOA
president Charlie Birney, managing director of a family-owned business
that owns and operates three Mid-Atlantic area courses; Del Ratcliffe,
president of the North Carolina Golf Course Owners Association and of
Charlotte-based Ratcliffe Golf Services, who successfully rallied
stakeholders to defeat a golf sales tax in his state; and Ted Horton
and the California Alliance for Golf, who led a similar fight against
taxation in California.
Juday Creek in Granger, Ind., was named the winner of the Player
Development award for successfully growing the game. The family-owned
course has designed a four-part approach to bringing new and occasional
players into golf and turning them onto the game through instruction,
leagues and creative special events.
The late Beryl Artz, a longtime executive with ClubCorp, president of
the Somerset Golf Group and an NGCOA board member from 2006 to 2007,
was named the winner of the Paul Porter award, which is given in honor
of the late CEO of Poppy Holding, Inc. and the Northern California Golf
Association.
About the NGCOA
The National Golf Course Owners Association is the leading authority on
the business of golf course ownership and management. The Association
represents the key decision makers with ultimate responsibility for
golf courses throughout the world. Through advocacy, information
resources, purchasing programs and networking opportunities, the NGCOA
helps golf course owners and operators run more successful businesses.
For more information, visit
www.ngcoa.org or
call 1-800-933-4262.
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