Tucson, Ariz. – The Club at Starr Pass in Tucson, Arizona recently welcomed new leadership to the 27-hole resort facility, including six new team members. Twenty-plus-year golf industry veteran David Loomis is the club’s new general manager, Lucy Matthews is the new director of golf, David Lee was promoted to head professional, Chad Parron takes over as golf course superintendent, Executive Chef Ryan Jones will lead the culinary team and Jennifer Huebner moves into a new role overseeing golf sales and marketing.
Loomis comes to Starr Pass from the Capital Canyon Club in Prescott, Ariz. where he had served as director of golf since 2018. A proven leader with a keen eye for detail, Loomis has also led the golf operations at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Grand Cayman and Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami, Fla. He is a graduate of Ferris State University in Michigan and holds a degree in marketing with an emphasis in professional golf management. Loomis is a Class-A member of the PGA of America.
New Director of Golf Lucy Matthews most recently served as the head golf professional at Reunion Golf & Country Club in Madison, Mississippi. A graduate of William Woods University, where she played on the women’s golf team, Matthews has more than a decade of golf and hospitality industry experience, working in a variety of roles at facilities in Massachusetts and the United Kingdom.
New head golf professional David Lee has been with Starr Pass since 2004. He began as an assistant golf professional in the golf shop, and has since worked his way to golf shop supervisor, golf shop manager, and now head professional. He began his career in golf while in high school, working at Torres Blancas Golf Course in Green Valley, Ariz.
A graduate of Colorado State University with a degree in turf management, Parron has served as a superintendent at courses throughout Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona. Prior to Starr Pass, he most recently was a salesperson with Simplot Turf and Horticulture.
Executive Chef Ryan Jones is an award-winning chef and a leader in Tucson’s burgeoning culinary scene. Prior to moving to Starr Pass to lead the Club’s food and beverage operations, Jones was the executive chef and beverage director for a pair of Hilton Hotels in Tucson. He has also served as dual executive chef at Fini’s Landing and The Landing restaurants in Tucson, and executive chef for Fox Restaurant Group, including at their Blanco Tacos + Tequila, Zinburger and Culinary Dropout brands.
Born and raised in Tucson, Jennifer Huebner is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a degree in communications. She has been with Starr Pass for 13 years, working in various departments before eventually finding a home in memberships. During the pandemic, Huebner was instrumental in the startup and launch of the JW Marriott Starr Pass resort membership program. As director of sales, she will oversee memberships, tournaments, and dining events for The Club at Starr Pass.
In April 2023, Southwest Value Partners, a privately held real estate investment company with offices in San Diego, Tucson and Scottsdale, acquired the 575-room JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa. Troon Golf, the resort and daily-fee division of Troon was hired in August to manage the golf operations, agronomy, food and beverage, retail, and sales and marketing. Marriott will continue to lead resort operations.
For more information on The Club at Starr Pass, visit www.troon.com/locations/starr-pass-golf-club.
About The Club at Starr Pass
The Club at Starr Pass is the golf offering of the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa, features three 9-hole routings – Roadrunner, Rattler and Coyote – and is home to Catalina BBQ Co., a celebrated Southwestern inspired barbeque restaurant. Robert Cupp and PGA TOUR professional Craig Stadler designed the original 18 holes in 1987. Then in 2003, Arnold Palmer was brought in to add another nine holes and refresh the previously existing 18-hole experience. Set against the Tucson Mountains, each of the three layouts have dramatic elevation changes, are surrounded by iconic saguaro cacti, while crisscrossing multiple desert arroyos and ravines. Contrary to its rugged Sonoran Desert setting, Starr Pass is located just minutes from downtown Tucson and the Tucson International Airport. Starr Pass has been a host to the PGA TOUR’s Tucson Open and has played host to many golf legends including Palmer, Phil Mickelson, Payne Stewart, and Nancy Lopez. Starr Pass is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, demonstrating a high degree environmental stewardship.
About Troon
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., Troon is the world’s largest golf and golf-related hospitality management company providing services at 825-plus locations, including 825-plus 18-hole equivalent golf courses around the globe. In addition to golf, Troon specializes in homeowner association management, private residence clubs, estate management and associated hospitality venues. Troon’s award-winning food and beverage division operates and manages 600-plus food and beverage operations located at golf resorts, private clubs, daily fee golf courses and recreational facilities. With properties located in 45-plus states and 30-plus countries, Troon’s family of brands includes Troon Golf, Troon Privé, Troon International, Indigo Sports, CADDIEMASTER, ClubUp, Cliff Drysdale Tennis, Peter Burwash International, True Club Solutions, RealFood Hospitality, Strategy and Design, Casa Verde Golf and ICON Management. For additional news and information, visit www.Troon.com.
Media Contact:
Rob Myers
Troon
480.477.0506
rmyers@troon.com
