_Nov/thepowerofpartnerships.jpg "The Power of Partnerships")
By Steve Eubanks
For Alan Cale and Cornerstone Golf Partners, there’s only one way to enter a management contract: as a trusted advisor
It was important to have the word “partner” in the name. For Alan Cale, CEO of Cornerstone Golf Partners, the Hilton Head Island-based management company that operates six golf properties in Georgia and the Carolinas, the moniker was more than a way to differentiate Cornerstone from the multitude of operators flooding the Southeastern market; it was a word that defined the philosophy Cale and his associates brought to the business.
“We aren’t interested in cookie-cutter platforms and programs,” Cale says. “We have the word ‘partners’ in our name because that’s what we are with every single one of our owners: a partner who is there to be honest, open, forthright and vested in every aspect of the operation.”
That’s why Cale is very selective in the projects his team takes on. “We can’t change the laws of physics,” he says. “We don’t part waters or perform miracles. If you have a golf course that’s losing substantial amounts of money, there are probably ways we can help you. But there are some operations that are never going to spin off substantial cash no matter who’s running them.”
The latter fact doesn’t always sit well with people. “A lot of owners have pie-in-the-sky expectations and they don’t want to hear it when you tell them that their dreams are never going to come true,” Cale adds. Some might view it as a bit of tough love, but it’s the only way Cale sees to run a business. “A partner walks you through the numbers, sits with you to formulate a plan, and then keeps you informed throughout the execution of that plan.”
Like most management companies, Cornerstone centralizes human resources, accounting and other administrative functions in its Hilton Head office. The company also has agronomy and food-and-beverage experts to support the individual superintendents and F&B directors. But Cale doesn’t believe in tall organizational pyramids, and he’s no fan of cut-and-paste operational models.
“Marketing plans for a club in Savannah, Georgia, are vastly different from the program you would put into a municipal facility 250 miles away in Lithonia [Georgia],” Cale says. “Unless you’re on the ground with those operations, unless you understand those markets inside and out, you don’t know that.”
Cale feels the same way about point-of-sale and reporting systems. Each owner has different needs, not just in terms of management practices but also in the information he or she receives.
“Working with municipalities, for example, is much different than working with a developer or an individual course owner,” Cale notes. “A lot of times their goals and priorities aren’t in the same ballpark. That’s why we take an individualized approach to each project. We structure our management deals around what we and the owners agree are the right objectives.”
Interestingly, one objective that Cale says he doesn’t harbor is a quest for acquisitions. He believes that a management company cannot have divided loyalties. If Cornerstone owned courses, those properties would always get more of the company’s attention and resources. “That’s just not a tenable arrangement for a company that wants to be a true partner to its clients,” he says.
Admittedly, the “partnership” philosophy has its drawbacks. Cale insists on spending substantial time at each facility. His goal is to never go more than three weeks without darkening the door of one of his clubhouses. That limits the number of courses the company can have under contract at any given time, and it sets geographic boundaries around how far they can expand.
“Our top-end number is 10 courses,” Cale proclaims. “Anything beyond that and I’m not going to be able to be as personally involved. That’s when we lose our personal touch. That’s when it would be hard to continue to be a good partner.”
Steve Eubanks is an Atlanta-based freelance writer and New York Times bestselling author.