Golf Inc. - October 2008 - (Page 37)

Builders stay on course LEADER PROFILES Golf course contractors remain busy by focusing on international, renovation markets But the job of a contractor today is much more difficult than in years past. Builders not only face a scarcity of work, they must deal with skyrocketing fuel and petroleum product costs, which translate into higher material costs, and rising labor expense. Experienced contractors, however, can maneuver through these obstacles. They are downsizing, diversifying, eyeing global markets or focusing on renovations. Here’s a look at five high-profile contractors and how they’re succeeding in today’s environment. or those outside of the golf industry, course contractors appear to have it made. They get to work on some of the most beautiful stretches of property on the planet, surrounded by snowcapped mountains or sandy beaches while others are stuck inside cubicle walls. F Allan MacCurrach III MacCurrach Golf Construction “There’s a lot more passion in the renovation business,” said MacCurrach, who started out doing renovations when he founded MGC in 1987. Owners renovate their courses to improve them and make them better to play, compared with residential developers that just wanted to include golf in their community to sell houses, he said. They weren’t in the golf business and didn’t care about golf, MacCurrach said. MacCurrach, 43, is doing seven renovations this year and built one nine-hole course. His annual revenues are between $15 million and $20 million. MacCurrach is capitalizing on repeat business and his regional reputation. In fact, he believes the slowdown has helped him become a stronger player in the Southeast. MacCurrach grew up with golf. His dad, the late Allan MacCurrach Jr., worked as a senior agronomist for the PGA Tour for 22 years. The younger MacCurrach started working in the industry at 14. It was quite an accomplishment when he went back to TPC Sawgrass in 2006 to renovate the course with his own company. MacCurrach has gone back to his roots. His firm is staying busy doing renovations, such as the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, where he worked picking up sticks for architect Pete Dye as a teenager more than 25 years ago. And that’s just fine with him. Nick Scigliano Frontier Golf U.S.-based contractors seeking to tap into the suddenly booming Caribbean golf market are, like Robinson Crusoe, discovering that someone has beaten them to the islands. Nick Scigliano and his Jones Mill, Pa.-based Frontier Golf have been doing work in the region since 1995, when friend and architect Ferdinand Garbin asked Scigliano to help him build the Coamo Springs Golf Club in Puerto Rico. Since the 1995 Caribbean debut, Scigliano and Frontier have completed either new construction or remodel projects for courses in Costa Rico, Jamaica, four other projects in Puerto Rico and on St. Kitts. The firm’s current assignment is at Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic, building the development’s Las Iguanas Nicklaus Signature course. Frontier has worked on over 80 projects, primarily in the Northeast U.S., since Scigliano formed the company 17 years ago at the age of 21, basically by accident. “I went to college for about three months, left because I had no money and took a job as a hydraulics operator,” Scigliano said. “A friend of mine who worked at a local golf course in the Pittsburgh area called me and asked if I could install irrigation pipe. I said ‘Yes, but I’ve never done it on a golf course.’ I got the job anyway, and that’s where this whole thing started.” www.GolfIncMagazine.com 37 October 2008 http://www.GolfIncMagazine.com

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Golf Inc. - October 2008 Contents From the Editors: Smaller is Less Costly Survey Reveal Golf's Economic Impact in EMA Private Club Managers Earn Bigger Salaries Dyes Mourn Loss of Family Member Changing Demographics Impact European Golf Scene RDC Golf Group Finds Affordable Golf Niche Links at Summerly Offers Unique Twist Cost Crunch Most Powerful People in Golf Contractors Focus on Renovations, International�Projects Troon, IMG Reach Into Booming Middle East Market Americas Recap: New Player Design in Mexico Europe-Africa Recap: Moroccan Lakeside Development Asia-Australia Recap: 3 Billion Dollar Resort in Vietnam The Last Word: There's No Substitute for Good Friends on a Golf Course

Golf Inc. - October 2008

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