_September/laborsoflove.jpg "Labors of Love")
By Steve Eubanks
After entering course ownership in the unlikeliest of ways, the Ottinger family has assembled a portfolio of courses that are among the best in New Jersey
Sometimes, an “Oh, by the way” business venture blossoms into something extraordinary. John Schnatter installed a pizza oven in the broom closet of the bar he inherited just to generate some extra income. The result was Papa John’s Pizza. And Ruth Handler took scraps from her husband’s picture frame business and began making dollhouses in her garage. That side business became Mattel.
Along those lines, the Ottinger family of southern New Jersey never expected to be golf course operators even though they loved the game. Owners of South State Construction, one of the largest heavy highway construction companies in the region, the Ottingers were forced by New Jersey law to convert a sand quarry they owned into something ecologically friendly. In turn, they built Scotland Run Golf Club, one of the top-ranked public courses in the state.
“Building that golf course was such an enjoyable experience,” recounts Chip Ottinger, Jr. “It’s so different from what we were accustomed to doing in heavy highway construction. And our family loves golf, so we viewed it as a perfect way to combine passion with business.”
The Ottingers would have been content with the one course had the opportunity not come along to buy Ballamor Golf Club, an exclusive private enclave just a few miles from Scotland Run. Ottinger, who played a lot of rounds at Ballamor, converted the club to semi-private and used economies of scale and administrative infrastructure from his other businesses to reduce operating costs.
“The members appreciated that we kept the courses in great condition and everything went well,” Ottinger notes. “Of course, golf was in a much better place at the time [pre-Great Recession].”
Then, the recession hit and the game wasn’t such a great business. That’s when Ottinger was approached with a deal he couldn’t turn down.
“I was at one of my kid’s soccer games and one of my old buddies from high school approached me and said, ‘Would you like to buy a golf course?’” Ottinger says. “I asked him if he was crazy, but he said, ‘Hear me out. It’s Atlantic City Country Club.’ Then I said, ‘OK, now you have my attention.’”
Built as one of the first resort courses in the nation in 1897, Atlantic City Country Club hosted the fifth United States Amateur in 1901. The head professional there in the early 1900s was Johnny McDermott, the first American to win the U.S. Open, the first back-to-back winner, and to this day, America’s youngest national champion at age 19. It was in the golf shop at ACCC that McDermott suffered what was at the time termed a “nervous breakdown,” later diagnosed as schizophrenia. Atlantic City was also a club where Walter Hagan played regularly and where Arnold Palmer spent many off-duty afternoons while he was in the Coast Guard.
“Caesar’s was looking to shed assets not directly associated with their casino business,” Ottinger explains. “Their main concern was finding a legitimate golf course operator who would take care of their high rollers. So a Caesar’s executive flew into New Jersey and I took him on a tour of Ballamor and Scotland Run. He was impressed and knew that he would not be embarrassed sending his customers to Atlantic City Country Club if we were running it.”
Golf course management isn’t highway construction, but the principles of the business remain largely unchanged. Ottinger hires the best people he can find, communicates the standards he expects, provides the resources so that those expectations can be met, and then gets out of the way.
“There are three things you need in golf: conditions, pace of play and service levels,” Ottinger says. “And I’m very picky about the conditions of the golf course. People expect excellence now. The customer is very demanding, especially in golf where there are so many different options.”
Being well-capitalized has helped. By all accounts, Atlantic City Country Club is in better financial condition this year than at any time in the last decade. And membership packages for the three Ottinger golf properties are selling at a robust clip.
“It really helps that a lot of our members and customers have homes at the [Jersey] Shore and these courses are right on the way between Philadelphia and their weekend homes,” Ottinger admits. “It’s the perfect place for them to join to play when they’re going back and forth.”
It’s also an attractive membership with seemingly limitless potential. Atlantic City Country Club is the top-ranked resort course in the state, and Ballamor and Scotland Run are also nationally ranked. But all of them had limitations on their own. Ballamor was originally positioned as a high-end, exclusive retreat, ACCC was a century-old club with staid traditions and resort guests to consider, and Scotland Run had a reputation as a great public course. Together, however, they represent an attractive multi-course offering in the greater Philadelphia area.
“There’s room for all kinds of memberships with the three courses,” Ottinger says. “We’re early in the game here, but when I see members at Atlantic City playing Saturday at Ballamor and Sunday at Scotland Run, I can see that they’re really enjoying the variety.”
Steve Eubanks is an Atlanta-based freelance writer.