By Garrett Dvorkin | Baltimore Business Journal
Three private country clubs in Maryland have chosen an Arizona-based company to manage their operations to capitalize on the post-pandemic golf boom.
Woodholme Country Club and Sparrows Point Country Club, both in Baltimore County, and the Links at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels signed on with Troon in the last year. The Scottsdale-based company manages more than 900 golf courses and clubs worldwide and already manages three municipal courses in Maryland. The new clients double the company’s presence in Maryland and are the first private clubs Troon has managed in the state.
The Links at Perry Cabin announced its deal last April, Woodholme followed in August and Sparrows Point signed on in September. Grant Johnson, director of business development for Troon, said he expects that pace to pick up, as the vast majority of clubs in Maryland are run by smaller companies.
Troon manages everything from membership sales and the grass on the course to food and beverage sales. Larger operators can help clubs save money in those categories and make the most of capital projects they’ve undertaken in recent years, Johnson said.
“We can help them make this growth sustainable so they are prepared for when the dip comes. That is a conversation that’s happened a lot more over the past six to eight months,” he said.
The golf industry has seen a renaissance throughout the five years since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing people to spend more time outside. Golfers in the U.S. played more than 529 million rounds of golf in 2021, which was a record, according to the National Golf Foundation. That record was broken in 2023 and again in 2024.
More golfers hitting the links has also meant more money for the courses, allowing them to undertake expensive projects. Clubs like Sparrows Point and Caves Valley Golf Club have spent millions of dollars on renovations in recent years to improve greens and change the layouts of holes.
“A lot of these clubs have had really good years over the past three to four years and were able to address needs and make renovations,” Johnson said. “As a lot of clubs go through that, they’ve looked to professional operators to capitalize on capital improvements.”
Conor Gilligan, owner of Sparrows Point Country Club, said his club has been able to learn from Troon’s experience since signing with the company in September. Gilligan mentioned that his club has used Troon’s team as “a sounding board,” and the company helped Sparrows Point with its $10 million revamp by recommending technology that the club might not have known even existed.
Johnson said another factor in Troon’s expansion throughout the state has been inflation. Troon has the advantage of economies of scale and has deals with vendors for country club staples like fertilizer, food and pro shop merchandise. Switching from a smaller or independent operator to Troon can cut costs for a club by roughly 15 percent a year, Johnson estimated.
Across the country, just 18 percent of golf courses are managed by multi-course operators (companies that operate two or more courses), and the same holds true in Maryland. That leaves room for Troon to continue expanding.
“Looking at the clubs not managed by professional companies, there are hundreds of courses throughout the state and there is plenty of room for us to grow beyond these six courses,” Johnson said.
Troon first expanded into Maryland in 2021 when it acquired Indigo Golf Partners. Indigo, which was formerly known as Billy Casper Golf, employed about 7,000 people and owned and operated more than 160 golf courses, country clubs and resorts in the U.S. The company managed three municipal courses in Maryland at the time: Bowie Golf Club and two Anne Arundel County clubs, Compass Pointe Golf Courses and The Preserve at Eisenhower Golf Course.
Photo Credit: Garrett Dvorkin/BBJ
Issue 291: February / March 2025
Originally published Feb. 19, 2025