Castle Pines, CO (December 10, 2012) – On November 29, 2012, the Clemson University Professional Golf Management students presented to the Board of Directors of The Trails at Chickasaw Point a new strategic vision for their residential community. The community has struggled since its inception 42 years ago, and the board members were impressed with the students’ vision and clarity about the path Chickasaw Point should take to ensure a sustainable community and golf course.
The Trails at Chickasaw Point is a beautiful 18-hole, par-72 course in on Lake Hartwell in Westminster, South Carolina. Designed by Parker Gibson, its unique and interesting layout provides a different golfing experience each time you play. The challenging and rewarding design has several elevation changes and is landscaped so each hole feels like its own separate world.
This 2012 fall-semester student research project, was coordinated by Rick Lucas, PGA Program Director of Clemson University’s Professional Golf Management program and James J. Keegan, Managing Principal of Golf Convergence and author of the textbook The Business of Golf – What Are You Thinking? To craft the vision for the golf course, the students applied the principals, formulas and theories outlined in Keegan’s textbook.
“It was a thrill to be able to contribute our firm’s professional resources to benefit Clemson’s fabulous PGA Golf Management students as they worked through this semester-long case study,” Keegan enthused. “Hiring a Clemson PGA Golf Management graduate is a smart decision by any golf course owner, as Rick Lucas remains on the forefront as one of the leading educators of PGA Professional Golf Management students. The Board of Directors of the Chickasaw Point HOA is to be congratulated for its foresight in leveraging this great academic resource to benefit The Trails.”
The Clemson PGA Golf Management program is one of only 20 PGA-accredited programs in the country. Its curriculum is built around a strong recreation management component, allowing students to earn a minor or major in business management.
According to Rick Lucas, “I am confident of one thing. For those who diligently read the book and studiously completed this real-world experience, the vast knowledge gained will place our students significantly ahead of their peers in being able to manage the profitability of a golf course.” Lucas went on to say, “I believe students learn best by doing, and working with Chickasaw Point provided the opportunity to grasp the important Golf Convergence™ formula concepts and their positive effects on financial performance.”
“This exercise is an excellent complementary tool to the PGA educational curriculum for the PGA Golf Management Level 1 business planning classes and the PGA Golf Management Level II golf operations sessions,” Keegan continued. “Further, we believe this book would be very beneficial to those pursuing the Certified Professional Program and the Master Professional Program in golf operations, general management, ownership/leadership, and executive management – four of the six core PGA career paths.”
For additional information on the book, click here. For more information on Golf Convergence, visit www.golfconvergence.com, Twitter/golfconvergence, or call (303) 283-8880.
Contact:
Debra Bryan, Vice President, Marketing
Golf Convergence
4215 Morningstar Drive
Castle Rock, CO 80108
303 283 8880
dbryan@golfconvergence.com
