Fairways and fair days drive area golf courses
Tournaments keep courses in the green
by Dan Aznoff


“Meeting or surpassing the expectations of golfers is a key goal for the staff and management team at the resort,” said Brett Eaton, director of golf operations at Semiahmoo.

It’s only fair to believe that golfers in the Northwest classify themselves as sports fans who read the sports pages to keep up with the fortunes of Tiger Woods and players on the PGA Tour.
But duffers in northwestern Washington counties must also be devoted readers of the weather page in their local newspaper before they decide to head out the door for the golf course for a round or two on the links.
Weather, more than any other factor, determines an amateur golfer’s choice to forgo work or time with the family when presented with the number of recreation options available to residents.
“Golf is fairly expensive and time consuming,” said Mike O’Laughlin, 52, who has been the head pro at Eaglemont Golf and Country Club for the past 13 years. “Business is good for everybody when the weather is anything like it was from July through October. But when the weather turns bad golfers put their clubs away to spend their time – and money – elsewhere.
“Every course in this area is excellent, so that means we’re all competing for the same people (and dollars) who might decide they’d rather be sailing on the Sound, or heading to off to the mountains for a day of skiing or hiking.”
O’Laughlin said the greens and fairways are empty when there is fresh powder on Snoqualmie Pass or Mount Baker, but emphasized that the base number of golfers in the region has remained strong over the past decade. He interprets that consistency as a tribute to the dedication of players and the quality of local courses.
Eaglemont sold 72 annual memberships and was the site of more than 26,000 rounds of golf last year. O’Laughlin would like to see that number eventually top out at about 29,000.
“The course could probably accommodate 32,000 (rounds per year), but at 29,000 we can guarantee that each golfer has enough time to enjoy the blend of golf and nature that make Eaglemont unique, from its wide fairways to its lush greens,” said O’Laughlin. “It’s not all unusual for golfers to come back (to the clubhouse) with sightings of deer strolling across the fairway or an eagle swooping above the wetland preserve.”

Guaranteed revenue
Expectations for golfers in the Northwest are unlike anywhere else in the United States. As opposed to golf options in Seattle or other destinations in Washington, the public and private golf courses here provide both spectacular scenery and challenging courses. That fierce competition translates into green fees that are a virtual bargain compared to golf facilities in the Southwest (Arizona, California) or the Southeast (Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.)
Like every other course in the area, Eaglemont thrives on private and corporate tournaments to enhance guaranteed revenue. In addition to green fees, tournaments generate bonus income for the restaurant and bar. O’Laughlin is convinced golfers who enjoy their tournament experience will return for open play.
Corporate and fundraising tournaments are also an important part of the mix at Shuksan Golf Club, which hosts 40-50 events every year, according to Rick Dvorak, 60. Dvorak designed the course in the shadow of Mount Baker in 1992 and opened it to the public two years later.
The owner-operator explained that the isolation and the natural setting are foremost in the marketing strategies for Shuksan. He noted that members retain certain privileges not provided for the occasional patrons, but that annual memberships account for less than 100 rounds every year.
“We are a destination product,” said Dvorak. “The weather and the traffic have directly impact our daily business. Pre-paid tournament golfers will tee off regardless of the weather, but it’s a good bet they will return if the experience is exceptional.”
Organized events are especially vital to Dvorak’s operation. His marketing department was designed to make scheduling an event easier than sinking a three-foot putt. Options vary from early morning tournaments with a continental breakfast or afternoon tee times that conclude with a buffet lunch and an open bar in the clubhouse.
“We budget zero dollars for golf during the winter,” he said. “We consider it pure gravy if anybody shows up on one of the cold clear mornings in January.”
Ten days of blue skies and crisp temperatures late January unexpectedly packed the parking lots and filled tee times at the Avalon Golf Links in Burlington, where the privately-owned public course thrives on staging tournaments for as many as 216 players. Owner-operator Ron Haas offers three separate nine-hole courses in a serene setting, he describes as, “void of hammers flying and barking dogs.”
The trio of courses at Avalon served as host site for the US Open Qualifier in both 1994 and 2001.
Haas, 52, grew up playing at the Sahalee Country Club on the Sammamish Plateau, where he learned the value of mixing and matching nine holes with the ability to play 27 holes in a single day. Although membership has grown 45 percent (to more than 500) over the past two years, annual dues at Avalon represent only 20 percent of the revenues.
“Golf courses are the antithesis of a ski slope,” said Haas. “Nobody is playing golf when there’s fresh powder in the mountains.” The grounds crew at Avalon utilizes the quiet months of winter to cut away underbrush brush and install new turf in an effort to create more playable areas.

Key to opportunity
“Work the equation,” Haas explained. “Our niche is being able to accommodate larger tournaments that can take up one, two or all three courses. We have the ability and capacity to pursue tournaments from small companies to major fundraisers.”
The staff at Avalon is focused on establishing lasting relationships with sponsors to guarantee annual tournaments, which leads directly to additional open rounds and “cross-over revenue.”
“Tournaments are revenue opportunities,” said Haas. “Every round of golf is a chance to sell a lunch in the restaurant or a few drinks in the bar. Some of those people will come back during the winter to host holiday parties in the clubhouse. Those who have an especially good time may actually want to join. Tournaments are the key to everything.”
Golf is just one element of the overall experience at the Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine. Semiahmoo Bay and Drayton Harbor provide a backdrop to two superb 18-hole championship courses, a European spa and the luxurious 198-room resort. Opened in 1993, the Semiahmoo Resort has earned the prestigious four-star rating by the AAA for 10 consecutive years. The property is operated by the Skagit Valley Casino Resort as “Washington’s Premiere Seaside Destination.”
“The advantage we have at Semiahmoo is visitors can wait until they wake up before deciding on an activity for the day,” said Brett Eaton, who serves as general manager and director of golf operations. “Besides golf, guests can sit by the fire, take a walk along the salt water beach, dine at one of our restaurants or spend the entire day being pampered at the full-service European-style spa. They can even spend the day under the blankets.
“None of those are bad alternatives.”
Loomis Trail has been ranked as the best course in Washington and rated among the Top 100 public courses in America by Golf Digest. The course features a par-72 challenge with some of the longest fairways in the area. The Palmer-designed Semiahmoo course was been rated as the No. 3 golf course in the state known for its immaculately manicured fairways bordered by stands of fir and cedar trees, contoured greens and white sand bunkers.
The resort is open to the public for open play every day of the year, with a unique guarantee for club members. The Semiahmoo course is reserved for private members on even numbered days of the month, while Loomis Trail is set aside for members on the odd numbered days. Eaton said the club currently has 580 annual memberships, but he expects that number to top out at 650 before the end of the upcoming spring promotion.
“The number of rounds on both courses and the total revenues reflect the best summer (in terms of weather) in the past 20 years,” said Eaton. Play is limited during the winter months by frost that often does allow tee times until noon, leaving less than five hours of daylight.
The resort and meeting facility provide Semiahmoo with an advantage over the competition when pre-booking tournaments, according to Eaton. The facility can accommodate group meetings and dining for as many as 600. Out of that number, Eaton estimated he could plan for between 200-250 golfers to take part in a private tournament.
“Meeting or surpassing the expectations of golfers is a key goal for the staff and management team at the resort,” said Eaton. “That includes taking steps to create optimum playing conditions on a year-round basis.”
An aggressive sanding program at both Loomis Trail and Semiahmoo this winter was designed to enhance year-round playability of both courses. Semiahmoo had 12,000 feet of new drainage installed plus a new fleet of golf carts.
To offset the harsh realities of winter, the resort is currently offering rooms at the four-star resort at discounted rates (through March 31.)

Distinct appeal
The golf course at Holmes Harbor caters to residents of Whidbey Island and derives more than 90 percent of its revenue from golfers who live on the island.
Facility Manager John Uppinghouse, 60, stressed that Holmes Harbor is open to the public every day of the year for spontaneous rounds of golf. Year-round play also serves as a tempting getaway for golfers from as far away as Seattle or British Columbia who want to make a day-long experience by commuting by ferry or driving across the bridge at Deception Pass.
“Competition has kept green fees lower than we would all like,” said Uppinghouse. “That keeps us anxious to keep the golfers who live here to stay and play right here on the island. Having an outstanding course on the island gives us distinct advantage when entertaining groups from Seattle.”
Annual fees from residents of the community and outside memberships account for the majority of the operating fund at Holmes Harbor, but Uppinghouse stressed that the club depends on a certain amount of turnover and the influx of initiation fees every year. In addition to residents of the community, Holmes Harbor sells an average of 30 annual memberships.
The course managers and golf pros at the courses were unanimous in their feeling that there were enough rounds of guaranteed tournament revenue for all to share. Uppinghouse and O’Laughlin agreed that nobody is attempting to steal business.
“Of course, of somebody has a bad experience and is looking for a new home, we’d be happy to help them find them an option,” said Robert Shelton, 44, who has been the general manger of the private Bellingham Golf and Country Club since 2001.
The 18-hole championship course in the heart of downtown is maintained for year-round play. Dues accounted for more than $2 million of the $4.5 in gross revenue the club took in during 2006. Club by-rules limit the amount of activities from outside groups to no more than 15 percent of the annual revenue.
“But there is no way we’ve even come close to that number in the five years I’ve been here,” Shelton laughed. The majority of tournaments and holiday corporate dinners at the club are sponsored by one or more of the 500 golf or 300 social members. The Bellingham club spent $100,000 on capital improvements to the course this winter in addition to the $800,000 annual budget for grounds maintenance.
According to Shelton, the private golf club reflects the changes in the demographics of Bellingham. In the past, club membership was dominated by officers from many of the largest corporations and the biggest employers in the area.
Shelton believes Bellingham is now a community that caters to retirement living. The majority of country club members now come from the network that supports the retirement community, including medical specialists at St. Joseph Hospital and executives from construction companies.
“The day of the three-martini lunch is a thing of the past,” said Shelton. “The club is still at the center of the social life for members. Deals are still hammered out in the dining room. Clients and co-workers (are) brought here to be impressed by the history and tradition that is part of this club.”
Over the past several years the Bellingham Golf and Country Club has evolved to reflect the needs of younger families who have “11 choices in the area where to spend their disposable income,” said Shelton. The club serves as the meeting place for numerous civic organizations, including the Kiwanis and Rotary. Shelton went on to say that the club donates 1,900 rounds of golf every year to its junior golf program as a way of “investing in our own future.”
Members were also instrumental in the club’s sponsorship of five charity tournaments every year, ranging from fundraising events that featured golf during the day and a sit-down dinner at night to benefit St. Joseph Hospital, a holiday event to promote the Boys and Girls Club, the Builders Association and Lydia Place, a charity that directly benefits abused spouses and their children.

Running a profitable golf course in the Northwest is not a matter of black and white.
For the most part, it is green fairways, large amounts of grey skies, mixed with partly sunny and occasional showers.

Corporate and fundraising tournaments are an important part of the mix at Shuksan Golf Club, which hosts 40-50 events every year.




Loomis Trail has been ranked as the best course in Washington and rated among the Top 100 public courses in America by Golf Digest.