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A Breath of Fresh Air by MICHAEL J . STOTT
The revitalization of Newport News Golf Club is led by Woods Woolwine
With the daffodils in bloom , turf still thin and player hopes high , Virginia golfers are bagging up . Once again hackers and low handicappers alike will be greeted by New Norm 2.0 . The good news — after double-digit months of COVID-19 induced shutdown , world commerce and golf continue their resurgence , Omicron variant notwithstanding .
Fact : National golf rounds played through November 2021 as reported by Datatech were up 5.6 percent over 2020 . At Newport News Golf Club ’ s ( NNGC ) two venues , the championship Deer Run layout and the Cardinal course , play for the calendar year was up from 53,467 to 58,146 rounds , 8.75 percent .
Yes — all play was up last year . But not every club emerged from a catacomb like that at Newport News . Says William Roche , Newport News assistant director of Parks , Recreation and Tourism , “ the course had an extremely bad fiscal year in 2019 ( July 1 – June 30 ). The causes were multifold and included the golf industry ’ s downward trend , an extremely unfortunate weather cycle and a lack of targeted business practices . The first two causes were largely beyond our control ,” he notes .
“ However , an initiative that included staff revision and energized marketing , partnership building and best consumer engagement practices resulted in substantially improved course financials in FY 2020 . That trend continues into FY 2021 ,” says Roche .
Much of that new energy came from the hiring of general manager Woods Woolwine . A Peninsula golf presence
( Kingsmill , Cypress Creek and Ford ’ s Colony ) since 1997 , “ he has been exactly what we needed ,” says Sharron Kitchen Miller , chairman of the NNGC at Deer Run Citizens Advisory Committee . “ He ’ s shown us the financial losses we incurred by holding on to former mindsets . Every organization needs new ideas .”
“ Having a general manager instead of just a teaching pro has made a big difference already . Woods leads by example . You are just as likely to see him in the starter ’ s house , picking balls on the range , riding the course and talking to golfers as you are to see him in his pro shop office . It sends the right message to the staff . From the beginning he ’ s been in the trenches ,” says Miller .
“ We are also grateful for the cooperation and financial assistance we ’ ve
10 V IRGINIA G OLFER | M ARCH / A PRIL 2022
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