The Springfield, Tenn., selected Cornerstone from five companies to take over management on December 1, following a 15-year partnership with Billy Casper Golf.
After a 15-year relationship with Billy Casper Golf, the Springfield, Tenn., Board of Mayor and Aldermen is bringing in a new company to manage the city-owned Legacy Golf Course, the Nashville-based Tennessean reported.
Cornerstone Golf Partners, Inc., based in Hilton Head, S.C., was one of five companies, including Billy Casper Golf, to submit proposals for managing the course to officials last month, the Tennessean reported.
The Springfield Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted unanimously for the change at their October 21 meeting. Cornerstone is scheduled to begin its work at the Legacy December 1, the Tennessean reported.
Springfield City Manager Paul Nutting said after several years of extending the contract with Billy Casper, the city decided to reach out to see what other companies had to offer, the Tennessean reported.
“There is nothing specifically Casper did or didn’t do,” Nutting said. “They’ve been a big asset.”
Cornerstone CEO Alan Cale attended the meeting and told the board that the company currently manages three golf courses in the Atlanta area that are owned by municipalities, the Tennessean reported.
“We also have a golf course in Savannah, Ga., and in Darien, Ga., that we manage,” Cale said.
The new contract with Cornerstone follows a year that saw the replacement of Billy Casper Golf’s General Manager and his assistant at the Legacy Golf Course, a harsh winter that took its toll on fairways and a reworking of rates by the board to keep a cap on the number of rounds played at the municipal course, the Tennessean reported.
The Legacy of Springfield opened in 1996. The 6,755 yard course was designed by PGA Hall of Fame player Raymond Floyd. Billy Casper Golf has managed the course since 2000, the Tennessean reported.
Cale said in an interview that he hopes to make people more aware of what the Legacy Golf Course has to offer. “We not only want to bring more local recognition of the golf course, but also bring some state and national recognition,” Cale said. “We have hosted NGA tournament events which would bring in players from all over the Southeastern United States to this facility.”
Brian Loveday, regional manager for Billy Casper Golf, was also at last week’s meeting and said Springfield has always been a good partner with the company, the Tennessean reported.
“Losing the contract will hurt the company financially, but the relationship we have will always continue to be there,” Loveday said.
Cale said Cornerstone is currently in negotiations with General Manager Joshua Geppi to try to get him to continue on staff throughout the transition, the Tennessean reported.
“We’re doing everything we can to retain the current staff,” Cale said. “We will probably be bringing in our own management team with a director of golf and director of golf course operations. If we do not retain the current managers there, we will do a regional to national search for those positions.”
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