7/13/98 - The Business Press, Ontario, Calif., The Golf & Recreation Column
Jul. 13 (The Business Press/KRTBN)--DEL MAR FIRM TO RUN DRIVING RANGE: A Del Mar-based golf marketing firm has acquired the operating rights to a driving range in Murrieta, which it plans to make the flagship for similar facilities throughout Southern California.
Customer Sports Inc. has taken over operations of Double Eagle Driving Range, and was expected to officially change its name to First Tee Golf Center last week, said Edmund Irvine, president of Customer Sports Inc.
First Tee Golf Center is the name of the Customer Sports division operating the Temecula facility. The division intends to apply its name to all future stand-alone driving range facilities it operates, Irvine said last week.
Irvine wouldn"t say how much his company spent to obtain the operating rights from Rancho California Golf Center LP, the consortium of 15 people that owns the facility. But he did say his company has already spent $70,000 to refurbish the decaying facility, and he expects to spend between $100,000 and $200,000 more before the renovation is complete.
Those improvements include planting new grass, raising the number of hitting areas from 12 to 25, and bringing in about 7,000 tons of dirt to level the facility and improve its targets, said Chip Nelson, the site"s PGA apprentice professional.
Nelson minced no words in describing the state of the former Double Eagle Driving Range, which he said has generally performed below expectations since it opened in 1993.
"It was terrible," Nelson said. "Our reputation in the community was pretty tarnished because it was in such horrible condition. We had a bad reputation around here, and deservedly so."
But Irvine believes the facility -- once the refurbishing is complete -- is a potential gold mine and an ideal site for a flagship range. There are plenty of golfers in the area, and its location at 41240 Date St. next to Interstate 15 is within a 10-minute drive of one private and six public golf courses.
"This is going to be our laboratory," said Irvine, who declined to discuss the specifics of his marketing plans. "We"re going to make this the kind of place where every golfer wants to practice."
Irvine said he is close to reaching operating agreements at four similar driving range facilities in Southern California, which he would not name. He said his future efforts will focus on Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange and Los Angeles counties.
NEW PGA COURSES: The Professional Golfers" Association of America is coming to the Inland Empire.
PGA officials say they hope to begin grading sometime this fall on a golf club with two 18-hole championship golf courses and a clubhouse.
Southern California PGA Golf Club at Oak Valley, and will be be built on a 540-acre site in an unincorporated part of Riverside County between Calimesa and Beaumont.
When finished, the PGA"s Southern California section will move its headquarters from Brea in Orange County to the $18 million complex, said Tom Gustafson, executive director and chief executive officer of the PGA"s Southern California section.
Oak Valley Partners LP, a consortium that owns about 6,500 acres in the area, which is known as the The Pass, dedicated the golf course property to the PGA, Gustafson said.
The Southern California PGA will build, own and operate the golf course, said Andy Vossler, a project manager for Oak Valley Partners LP of Arlington, Texas.
Oak Valley Partners plans to build houses in the region, and believes a golf course so close by will only add to the value of the property. County plans call for about 13,000 houses to be built in the area during the next 20 to 25 years.
Both courses could be ready for play by late 1999 or early 2000 if construction stays on schedule, Gustafson said.
We want to hold some good tournaments here, a PGA event and maybe even a major someday," Gustafson said. "But the average player should be able to play either course from the shorter tees."
VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT: The Nike Inland Empire Open needs some volunteers -- about 800 of them.
Tournament Director Debbie Hoffman said the Oct. 8-11 tournament at Moreno Valley Ranch Golf Club needs marshals, walking scorers, standard bearers and office staff. It also needs caddies, who might get paid if the player whose bag they"re carrying plays well enough.
The Nike Inland Empire Open will be held at Moreno Valley Ranch Golf Club.
Anyone interested in volunteering should call (909) 784-GOLF.
Joseph Ascenzi, who desperately needs a short game, can be reached at (909) 980-7330, Ext. 30, or via e-mail at ascenzi@pe.net
By Joseph Ascenzi
-0- (c) 1998, The Business Press, Ontario, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. NKE, END!A29?BP-GOLF-COL
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