Though the name Arnold Palmer is synonymous with golfing excellence, his golf course management company has evidently not thrived in the six years it has operated Snohomish County-owned Kayak Point Golf Course south of Stanwood.
The Palmer company, which took over operation at Kayak Point in 1999 following the departure of longtime head pro and later director of golf Elwin Fanning, is close to selling the remaining 14 years of its 20-year lease. Pending approval by the Snohomish County Council, the new operator would be Access Golf Management, which has a similar management agreement at two of the Puget Sound area’s top public courses, Willows Run Golf Course in Redmond and Druids Glen Golf Course outside of Kent.
According to Jason Matzat, controller of Access Golf Management, the company has been in negotiations to take over the operation at Kayak Point for nearly a year and hopes to have a deal that can go to the county council either by the end of this month or perhaps in early May.
“I have always been in love with Kayak Point,” said Matzat, who was raised in Tacoma but often played the course while visiting family in Everett as a youngster. “We’re very, very excited about the opportunity to go in there.”
Though many golf courses across the country and here in Snohomish County have been victims of the economic downturn in recent years, Matzat says Willows Run and Druids Glen have fared well during the industry-wide pinch.
“I’m very confident that we are going to do a very good job in terms of the rounds (by customers) up there,” he said. “We’ve somehow found a way to weather that storm.
“A lot of it is the way you manage the golf course and the way you market it. We’re going to do a phenomenal job. People will be surprised with the way we’re going to market the golf course. We will create business by making it almost silly to golf anywhere else.”
Matzat said his company will “focus real hard on the little things” to make a patron’s golfing experience more enjoyable. For example, he has ideas to enhance Kayak Point aesthetically, as well as ways to improve the restaurant.
Taking over with the golf season already under way will present some challenges, he admitted.
“I would love to go in and make all difference in the world (right away),” he said, “but it’s hard when we’re in the middle of the season. But in the first 12-18 months, there should be a perceivable difference in the quality of golf that people will see.
“What people should see immediately is an increase in the maintenance level of the golf course. There will be more money spent on the day-to-day management of the golf course than there is now.”
Ron Martin, director of parks for Snohomish County, said Access Golf Management has a proven record of successful operation at the company other courses. “Based on their experiences at Willows Run and Druid’s Glen,” he said, “they do an excellent job.”
The Palmer company, meanwhile, has had high staff turnover (including four general managers) along with apparent financial concerns during its six-year stay, Martin said.
“My opinion, and I guess maybe I’ve gotten that opinion from talking to Palmer representatives since they took over the operation in 1999, is that they had big expectations, not only of turning Kayak Point into an even better golf course but they thought they could make some money at it. I think they were just feeling they were far below their (financial) expectations.”
Matzat believes Kayak Point can prosper, although “we’re not looking for a huge return,” he said. “We’re looking for a modest return, but … we love golf. And we have a very strong local management group.”
For now, Matzat declines to talk about possible personnel changes at Kayak Point, including who the head pro and/or director of golf might be. The plan, he said, is to meet with current staff and “see if they fit. If not, we’ll bring in our own people.”
As for the golf course itself, “it is really a beautiful tract,” he said. “And as long as we make the course what it can be, people will be knocking down the door to get in there, I really believe.”
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