Content provided in partnership with

Sierra Nevada owner discovers life after AGC

Golf Course News, Feb 2003 by Saunders, Doug

GENOA, Nev. - Sierra Nevada Golf Ranch, a John Harbottle-- Johnny Miller collaboration that opened for play in 1997, fits the pattern of numerous golf course projects of the mid-1 990s. This par72 course, which flows over the high desert landscape along the Carson River Valley, was built on a retired cattle ranch at a time when the surrounding RenoCarson region was starved for golf venues. But the surge of golf course construction during this period nationwide didn't miss the High Sierra and this course soon became one of 24 faced with finding ways to be competitive in an overbuilt market.

Most Popular Articles in Sports: The first family: Archie, Peyton and Eli are incredibly famous, immensely ...; The growing gap: driving distances are skyrocketing on the PGA Tour. So why ...; Which pistol caliber for self defense? Four different people come to four ...; Drag racing - National Hot Rod Association; The world's most popular .22: the Marlin Model 60 just keeps on ticking; More »

Sierra Nevada Golf Ranch was created under the guidance of its owner, Ronald Simek, who moved to Nevada in the mid-1980s. Simek, a Wisconsin native who grew up on a dairy farm and worked in the timber industry, learned the importance of resiliency in the '60s when lumber prices dropped to the point that he had to find a new source of income. With his brother, he suddenly found himself in the restaurant and tavern business.

Simek sold his self-started business, Tombstone Pizza to Kraft foods and began to search the West for a new challenge.

"I bought this 3,000-acre ranch at first to keep it as a working ranch but when another golf course was built next to my land

I was approached about expanding the golf concept here. In 1992 1 began to look toward changing the ranch to a golf and real estate development. The construction of the golf course fell into place easily, but as I got ready to open the golf course I started to look for a management firm to handle the daily operations," Simek said.

Simek's situation has been repeated around the country. A wellfinanced owner steps into the golf development business with money, land, and a dream but little knowledge of the golf business and searches for a management team, Simek's decision was to find what he thought would be best. His choice was to sign a five-year lease agreement with American Golf Corp. in 1997.

"At the time I went into an agreement with American Golf, I considered the fact that they were the largest such management group as proof that they would be the best. They promised to take our course and make it one of the top 10 properties in their portfolio, I felt that I was making a wise choice when I signed the agreement," Simek said.

When the course opened for operations in the spring of 1998, Simek was able to be around the property for a third of the time. Although he is not a golfer and was certainly not familiar to the golf business, he did understand how he had managed to make his own business successful.

"The food industry and the golf business are similar in many ways. You are providing a product to a customer that must be presented properly in order to create repeat business. I was always very detail and result oriented in my food business. I felt these traits should be carried over into the golf operation. I admit that I kept an eye for small details at Sierra Nevada Golf Ranch," Simek explained.

During the first year of operation, what caught Simek's attention was a lack of maintenance at both the clubhouse and on the golf course. Seeing a lack of care set off the first warning signs and Simek began to question his management choice.

"The more I watched how things were going, the more disappointed I became. As I saw the golf course condition slip, we had various discussions about water supply, pumping costs and other issues. I felt that all the presentations that promised to make our course one of the top American Golf courses were just sales pitches to tell me what I wanted to hear. In April 2002 1 sued to get out of my lease on the grounds that many verbal agreements were not being met to our satisfaction," Simek said.

In retrospect, the lack of upkeep was probably a symptom of the financial pressures being felt by AGC at that time but it was performance issues that allowed Simek to escape from his lease agreement. It also put him into the difficult search to figure how to manage his course for the future. Once again, there are many golf course owners around the nation that are reassessing their approach as they go into the new year. The experiences of Simek might hold some lessons for them to follow.

"My first lesson learned is that you must thoroughly research whoever you are going to bring into your organization. I have looked at doing our operations inhouse and have interviewed some potential general managers. Doing complete background checks of potential help is critical. Secondly, if you want to manage the operations in-house, it is important to have a set criteria of how to run things that will put all facets of the operation on the same page," Simek explained.

After a year of thought and consideration, Simek has decided on an agreement with Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Troon Golf to take over management of Sierra Nevada Golf Ranch. Simek's decision was based on the realization that he still needed professional advice to operate in an industry he doesn't completely understand.

Sierra Nevada owner discovers life after AGC

Golf Course News, Feb 2003 by Saunders, Doug

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Technology

Most Popular Articles in Sports

Most Popular Publications in Sports