Lee Kindwall takes over membership sales at east Knoxville’s venerable country club, which is owned by McConnell Golf and currently undergoing a $1 million-plus capital improvement project.
KNOXVILLE, TENN. (March 2017) – Raleigh, N.C.-based McConnell Golf has hired a new Membership Director for storied Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn.
Lee Kindwall takes over as Membership Director at Holston Hills. After graduating from the University of Alabama, where she studied Communications & Marketing, Kindwall has most recently worked as a marketing strategist and vendor maintenance coordinator. Early in her career, Kindwall was the Director of Membership Development for the Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce in Columbus, Miss.
“I am so excited to welcome Lee to the Holston Hills team,” said McConnell Golf Vice President, Membership Lauri Stephens. “Not only does Lee have the resume as a professional in her field of studies that will serve her well in this new role, Lee brings to the Membership Director position a genuine passion for East Knoxville and an understanding of what Holston Hills Country Club provides to its surrounding communities families. ”
Former colleagues recognized Kindwall for her natural tendency to build consensus and communicate goals effectively to a variety of audiences and teams. “As the membership director at Holston Hills, I believe one of my primary focuses will be on effectively communicating the special qualities of our course, staff and amenities into a message that resonates throughout our community,” said Kindwall.
Located just east of Knoxville near the foothills of the Smoky Mountains on 180 open acres of rolling old farmland tucked into a bend in the Holston River, venerable Holston Hills features a 1927 Donald Ross-designed golf course that has remained nearly untouched through the years. Holston Hills immediately became recognized as the finest course in the state when it opened and started hosting every important regional tournament including a PGA Tour event.
Founded by members of Knoxville’s prestigious Cherokee Country Club, Holston Hills further bolsters McConnell Golf’s reputation for having the names of the game’s greatest architects attached to its courses. Holston Hills is also McConnell Golf’s first club located outside the Carolinas, helping comprise a dozen private golf club properties in the McConnell Golf stable, which now includes a total of 225 holes around the Carolinas and Tennessee.
“McConnell Golf has a vision for the future of golf, which resonates strongly with me,” said Kindwall. “Holston Hills Country Club has welcomed five generations of families and businesses. It has seen their great triumphs, events and trials. By injecting new energy in clubs, which have been so vital to their community’s past, McConnell is both honoring these memories and strengthening the ability for our communities to move forward.”
Since its inception in 2003, McConnell Golf has bolstered its bourgeoning reputation in the golf industry by investing significantly in improvements and upgrades at its clubs. McConnell Golf purchased Holston Hills in December 2015 and immediately invested $1.4 million in capital improvements including a new fitness center, locker room upgrades, and a banquet and dining room renovation.
Currently under construction at Holston Hills are a new dining room that will offer a festive atmosphere, an outdoor dining deck overlooking the golf course, a new main entrance to the clubhouse that will include a portico, a new golf shop and a new fleet of 60 golf carts. These projects are expected to be completed this spring, followed by a grand opening function.
“Holston Hills is the best golf course in this area by far,” said Kindwall. “The renovations already look amazing. I can’t wait to reintroduce the club to a new generation.”
Holston Hills illustrious history of championship golf includes playing host to numerous national, regional and state tournaments including the 2004 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, the NCAA Championship in 1955 and 1965, three Tennessee State Opens and eight Tennessee State Amateur Championships. Holston Hills has played host to numerous U.S. Open qualifiers, including last year.
Holston Hills is so well respected that it has been ranked among the country’s greatest classical (pre-1960) golf designs in the United States. The co-founder of the Donald Ross Society and noted golf architecture critic Michael J. Fay has said that he would rather play Holston Hills over any other golf course in the South on a consistent basis.
Said Kindwall: “We all want to be part of something special. In today’s throwaway culture, the prospect of being a part of something with such deep and lasting roots in my community is exciting. I’m proud to have been asked to reach out to families and businesses and give them the opportunity to spend quality time together as families, colleagues and friends.”
ABOUT MCCONNELL GOLF
With the additions of Providence Country Club in Charlotte, NC and Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, TN, McConnell Golf (McConnellGolf.com) now owns a dozen 18-hole, private golf courses plus one nine-hole course throughout the Carolinas and Tennessee. McConnell Golf’s stable of clubs in North and South Carolina also includes Raleigh Country Club in Raleigh, NC, Sedgefield Country Club Ross Course and Dye Course in Greensboro, NC, TPC Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, NC, Old North State Club in New London, NC, Treyburn Country Club in Durham, NC, Brook Valley Country Club in Greenville, NC, The Country Club of Asheville (NC), The Reserve Golf Club in Pawleys Island, SC, and Musgrove Mill Golf Club in Clinton, SC. McConnell Golf also operates the 27-hole public Raleigh Golf Association and manages the prestigious Grande Dunes Members Club and Ocean Club in Myrtle Beach for LStar Development.
Contact:
Martin Armes (919) 608-7260, martinarmes@nc.rr.com
Brad King (336) 306-9219, king@bradkingcommunications.com
