(VIENNA, VA) – Billy Casper Golf (BCG) and Kitson & Partners Clubs (K&P Clubs) have merged under the BCG name, adding 13 golf courses, country clubs and resorts to the portfolio of the largest domestic owner-operator.
BCG will assume K&P Clubs management and consulting contracts, including courses designed by Greg Norman, Pete Dye and Robert Trent Jones in Arizona, Florida, Indiana and Hawaii.
K&P Clubs employees based at golf courses have retained their current positions. Company President Rich Hohman has joined the BCG senior team and Regional Vice President of Operations Ron Wonderling will continue to provide multi-club oversight, primarily in Florida.
“Although our companies are alike in client-, customer- and employee-centric approaches, Billy Casper Golf is fully focused on golf and has the industry’s most advanced operating platform,” says Tom Hoban, President of Kitson & Partners, the real-estate and investment development company. “The merger allows us to focus even more on our core business of real estate investment and development in a market that is on the rebound.”
“Over the years, we have come to know and respect Kitson & Partners Clubs for its comparable culture and values,” says Peter Hill, Chairman and CEO of BCG. “We will ensure each client’s unique business objectives receive considerable attention and custom solutions.”
Advantages of the BCG management resources include:
• GuesTrac – Proprietary data segmentation and marketing technology that increases customer-member acquisition and retention, contributing to BCG-managed courses outperforming the industry in rounds and revenue.
• BCGreen – Reducing the carbon footprint at all BCG properties builds on their participation in Audubon International’s Cooperative Sanctuary Program and promotes gasoline and diesel consumption, electricity and water reduction, heating and cooling efficiencies, and recycling.
• Buffalo Communications – A division of BCG, the golf-lifestyle PR, branding, marketing-communications and creative services firm bolsters name recognition and demand among target markets for BCG properties.
• “ACE” & “BCG-U” – The golf industry’s most innovative, comprehensive and successful employee-learning platform, every team member shares a common goal: To work as a team providing outstanding service to every guest, every round, every day.
• Economies of Scale – BCG’s size optimizes leverage with a wide array of vendors; therefore, BCG courses realize significant savings on products and services which flow directly to courses and clients.
• Programming – A recognized leader in grow-the-game initiatives, BCG promotion of Get Golf Ready and Kids Play Free are popular among golfers of all ages and abilities; the World’s Largest Golf Outing at 100-plus BCG courses raised more than $1.1 million for Wounded Warrior Project.
The merger with K&P Clubs follows BCG’s recent acquisition of Women on Course, the premier golf-networking organization, further solidifying the company’s unwavering commitment to grow participation in the golf lifestyle.
About Billy Casper Golf
Established more than 20 years ago in cooperation with golf legend Billy Casper, BCG is headquartered in Vienna, Virginia with regional offices near the 150-plus golf properties under company management. For golf courses, country clubs and resorts, BCG directs all aspects of course and property maintenance, staffing and training, clubhouse operations, food-and-beverage, merchandising, golf instruction, marketing and public relations, special events and financial management.
As a division of BCG, Buffalo Communications is the leading global golf-lifestyle public relations, branding, marketing-communications and creative services firm representing top brands in and related to golf. Buffalo Turf & Landscape Company provides golf course maintenance-only programs with a new fee-for-service structure that allows property owners unfettered visibility into actual activities and costs.
For more information: www.billycaspergolf.com, www.buffalocommunications.com, 703.761.1444.
About Kitson & Partners
Kitson & Partners is a private residential and commercial real estate investment and development company with a 20-year track record of successful development projects in New Jersey and Florida. The company is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and is primarily focused on mixed-use development projects throughout Florida.
The K&P portfolio includes land holdings with entitlements for more than 21,500 residential units and 6.8 million square feet of commercial space. In addition to its land holdings, K&P also owns 1.5 million square feet of retail shopping centers. With long-term and patient institutional capital, Kitson & Partners is looking to grow its development portfolio through the acquisition of land throughout Florida.
For more information: www.kitsonpartners.com.
Contact:
Nick Lashinsky
Billy Casper Golf / Buffalo Communications
703.891.3324
nlashinsky@billycaspergolf.com
www.buffalocommunications.com
www.billycaspergolf.com
