Ridgemark faces challenge by laying bold plans
Ridgemark Golf and Country Club rose from a turkey ranch just
south of Hollister in 1972. After 35 years, the sweeping
development off Airline Highway contains two 18-hole championship
golf courses, more than 1,000 homes, a modern tennis club, guest
facilities and an enormous hilltop clubhouse.
Ridgemark faces challenge by laying bold plans
Ridgemark Golf and Country Club rose from a turkey ranch just south of Hollister in 1972. After 35 years, the sweeping development off Airline Highway contains two 18-hole championship golf courses, more than 1,000 homes, a modern tennis club, guest facilities and an enormous hilltop clubhouse.
But in the face of changing demands, “The Old Turkey Ranch” – it’s quaint nickname – has not aged particularly well.
Today, Ridgemark is about to re-invent itself.
The reason for doing so is not the course, or the large custom homes around it. Instead, it’s wrapped up in a complicated amalgam of changing market demands, a golf-saturated Bay Area and the expensive realities of running a golf operation in 2007.
Today the course is beginning to show some of its age. With an uncertain supply of new golfers and an aging membership that is declining annually, Ridgemark, like many other courses, is looking at alternatives to make the club profitable again.
“Businesses like this are driven by cash flow, but that only gets you so far before it starts eating up the capital. At that point the volume business is there, but the capital isn’t,” said Eric Dietz, general manager and chief operating officer for Ridgemark. “All we want to do is earn one dollar of net profit. The club has never done that. If we can do that, we can expand and drive destination business within this county.”
And that’s the key. Golf courses are a powerful inducement for people looking into buying a home with a fairway view. But once the houses are built, many golf courses become costly white elephants. The solution often lies in creating a Special Place, a destination resort that draws out-of-area visitors for a few very luxurious, very expensive days.
Dietz is a man of business, always the professional in a crisp shirt and suit, but his tan complexion and sun-bleached hair give the air of a man who appreciates a day on the links. Dietz, a former PGA pro, understands that his business is as much on the golf course as it is in the office. He also understands his customer base.
People won’t just come to play golf anymore, according to Dietz. They want more. And currently Ridgemark doesn’t have the amenities that younger people are looking for. It doesn’t have fitness centers, or swimming pools for children. In a nutshell, the resort atmosphere is wanting.
Ridgemark has a membership base which is “eroding.” The members are getting older and new members are not swarming to the club, according to Dietz. New families are not moving into the area, because of the housing moratorium and fewer and fewer members are making the drive from San Jose. Some of those players have relocated to other clubs closer to their homes; others just don’t want to pay the increased gas prices to play in Hollister.
Clearly, Ridgemark needs new blood, but Dietz knows Ridgemark also needs to keep the members that have evolved with the club.
Dietz and his shareholders are working on a series of business plans that will put the club on the path to self-sustainability, but to make that work they need money to implement their plans. The shareholders are looking at economic analysis and how Ridgemark factors into the county.
“We are taking our business plan and refining it,” Dietz said. “The board and I are focused on immediate, short and long-term goals, all based around the land assets we currently have.”
The intention eventually is to re-design the Ridgemark course and club and expand in some of the areas it currently lacks. The dollars to do the redesign will be driven through new development, Dietz said. Possibilities include full resort facilities, and expansion and renovation of facilities for overnight guests.
Dietz and Scott Fuller, general manager at nearby San Juan Oaks, have talked for years about the idea of destination golf courses in San Benito County.
The idea of destination golf courses is just that – creating a destination. Visitors play golf, visit local wineries for tastings, eat at local restaurants and spend money throughout the region. They’re on vacation. They stay a few days instead of just playing a mean 18, eating a cheeseburger and having a few beers before driving home and calling it a day.
Ridgemark sprouted from a dry hill that was once topped by a turkey ranch. Its owner the late, Loren “Sonny” Paullus, had a vision, and convinced a few longtime friends that it might just work.
The first course was laid out, and lots were mapped. A copious supply of turkey manure was put to good use, and soon a golf course sprouted where once stunted grass only grew.
As the club expanded so did its facilities. The first tennis club sits near the main entrance to Ridgemark, its cracked courts disused and empty. A sparkling new tennis complex went up. A second 18-hole course went in, surrounded by more homes and condominiums.
As businesses, golf operations are like any other depending on discretionary spending: extremely sensitive to economic peaks and valleys. What worked last year doesn’t necessarily ensure success this year and certainly not next year, Dietz said.
Golfers are a picky crowd and if a course is dependent upon a lot of out of area members, it puts itself in competition with the world-famous resorts on the Monterey Peninsula and in the California wine country.
“We haven’t figured out the best way to market San Benito County yet, but we know it’s out there,” Dietz said. “I’m very excited about the county Board of Supervisors wanting to look at the 1 percent housing cap and the inclusionary housing ordinance. The board recognizes that for the county to prosper we need more tourism.”
Patrick O’Donnell can be reached via e-mail at po*******@pi**********.com.
