Gilroy
– Changes are on the way at Eagle Ridge Golf Club, and new
general manager Rick Smith predicts they will bring an increased
amount of play.
Gilroy – Changes are on the way at Eagle Ridge Golf Club, and new general manager Rick Smith predicts they will bring an increased amount of play.
“Eagle Ridge is not a round of golf; it’s an experience,” said Smith, a Fresno native who brings 30 years of golf experience to the Gilroy club. “You don’t just bat the ball around here. (More) people need to come here and experience it.”
The newly founded Monterey Golf Management Group, a business partnership between Smith and Gary Cursio, will run the day-to-day operations at Eagle Ridge. The official start date is Nov. 1, according to Smith who is already on premises learning the operation. That will be the first date that golfers can purchase the Mini-Rewards package.
The partnership will incorporate Eagle Ridge into the Mini-Rewards program that is already in place at Laguna Seca Golf Course in Monterey and Rancho Canada in Carmel. It will also include discounted rates at Fig Garden in Fresno and Old Brockway in Lake Tahoe when that course is open.
Those who join the program will have access to discounted rates and other perks at all the courses.
“This will give Eagle Ridge access to more than 6,000 Mini-Reward members,” Smith said. “When you purchase a Mini-Rewards Club membership, you get a handicap with the Northern California Golf Association plus you earn loyalty points (1 point for every $1 spent on green fees) and monthly mini-rewards tournaments.
“This is a very unique opportunity for Monterey Peninsula people to come here and play, but also give people in Morgan Hill and San Jose opportunities to play (other) really fine facilities for less.”
Golf rates at Eagle Ridge will be as follows for Mini-Rewards program members: $48 weekdays, $33 twilight; $65 weekends, $40 twilight. Be advised though that carts are required before twilight on weekends, which will incur an extra fee. A Mini-Rewards membership costs $129.
“We fully expect a lot of play,” said Smith, who got his start in the golf shop at Fig Garden in 1969. “The changes (at Eagle Ridge) will be seamless. We don’t want golfers to even feel the change.”
Designed by former PGA professional and now commentator Johnny Miller, Eagle Ridge Golf Club opened in 1998. With six sets of tees measuring from 5,102 yards to 7,005 yards, the challenging course has been used for championship tournaments in the past and offers a full restaurant.
Smith had returned to Fig Garden as general manager when he and Cursio, the president and general manager at Laguna Seca who was also a on the Board of Directors at Fig Garden, decided to form their partnership.
Cursio said he doesn’t envision changes to the challenging Eagle Ridge layout, which he says sometimes “gets a bad rap it doesn’t deserve.”
“I’m strictly an average player,” Cursio said. “While we were in negotiations I played the course several times and had several other players of all levels play it. If you play the course from the correct set of tees, it’s a lot of fun and yet challenging. If you check your ego at the right set of tees, you’ll have a good time with it.
“Golf is all about fun … from a condition standpoint, the quality of the product at Eagle Ridge is as good or better than any facility on the Monterey Bay. We look forward to getting involved in the community and bringing Eagle Ridge to the next level.”
Cursio and Smith envision many more events at Eagle Ridge. Smith says he would like to have more food functions, weddings and anniversaries as well as more golf events.
“We want to create gaiety and laughter here,” Smith said. “This is really a wonderful facility.”
