Golf Inc. - October 2008 - (Page 38)

Jon O’Donnell Heritage Links Heritage Links does less work these days than it has in years past. But Division President Jon P. O’Donnell doesn’t mind because he focuses on quality, not quantity. Heritage is a division of Lexicon, Inc., an industrial contractor in the steel industry, which is doing well. O’Donnell caught the golf bug early. He started playing at age 12. A few years later, he took an after-school job at a course that set the stage for the rest of his life. After high school, he enrolled at Penn State, where he graduated in 1987. He did an internship at Augusta National in 1986 and met Jack Nicklaus during a practice round of the Masters. Little did he know that he would be working with Nicklaus years later, building courses designed by the golf legend. ODonnell’s company is currently work- ing on three projects, generating roughly $25 million in revenue, compared to the eight courses that it built in 2006. Heritage Links adjusted its expenses to match its reduced workload and is having a good year. The company won several awards, including Golf Inc. Development of the Year, as the general contractor for the 18-hole Chambers Bay club in Pierce County, Wash. Chambers Bay, which was finished last year, is a public course that will host the 2015 U.S. Open. It was designed by Robert Trent Jones II. Heritage Links looks to stay busy going forward with renovations and by building new courses in Asia and the Middle East. The company has built courses in the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean and Asia. Ron Freund Genesis Golf Builders Freund said his firm has been affected by the downturn like everyone else. But he’s not overly concerned because he’s lived through other cycles during his 30-year career. In fact, he said that if enough courses close down in the U.S., eventually there will be a need for new courses to be built again. Though business is slower than it’s been in the past. Freund said his company remains busy, working on two new projects and one renovation, generating annual revenues of about $20 million. The company, formed in 2001, had operated as National Golf Builders until last year when Freund changed the name to reflect a change of ownership. Freund is now the sole owner of Genesis Golf. Freund also fell into golf by accident. He started his career in the golf construction industry on a golf re-construction project at the Skokie Country Club in Chicago straight out of high school. The renovation project job lit a fire inside of him. “It created a passion within me,” he said. From there, he worked in the golf course construction industry for 22 years before starting his own firm with a partner. Genesis Golf is now nationwide. Past projects include Palm Desert Country Club in Palm Desert, Calif., Ohio State University Scarlet Golf Course in Columbus, Ohio, The Cliffs at Keowee Springs in Six Mile, S.C., and The Idaho Club in Sandpoint, Idaho. 38 Golf Inc. October 2008

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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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