Relies on Consistent Approach
Amid Changing Landscape
Toll Brothers executive David Richey carefully develops
business models to help clubs thrive | by STEVE EUBANKS
H
e could live anywhere. When
David Richey was first
approached by Bob Toll of
Toll Brothers, one of the
nation’s largest builders of
high-end custom homes, about creating
a golf management company, Richey
had his pick of nice spots to reside. The
Toll Brothers national headquarters is in
Horsham, Pa., north of Philadelphia, and
the company has developments in 19 states
from Jupiter, Fla., to Seattle, Wash.
But Richey chose to stay in the
rolling Virginia countryside outside of
Washington, D.C.
“With technology being what it is, we can
decentralize and operate from anywhere in
the country now,” Richey says. “I have this
large computer monitor where we have video
conferences regularly. It frees everyone up
to live in different regions or near different
properties.”
Those golf properties—13 at present, from
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to the Coachella Valley
of California—represent a strategy of slow,
thoughtful growth. Even though T Brothers
oll
has more than 290 communities with homes
that start in the $800,000 range, golf makes up a
tiny piece of the total pie. But it is an important
piece. When well done, golf still adds value.
A good example is the company’s signature
Virginia property, Belmont Country Club in
Ashburn. The physical amenities at Belmont
are on par with high-end private clubs in the
mid-Atlantic, but Richey wanted the club to
act as a bonding agent within the community,
something to bring people together and build
cohesion among members and residents.
“Thursday nights are family nights at the
club,” Richey says. “The music is turned up and
people bring their kids for dinner. There are
drinks and people hanging around the driving
range and the putting green.”
As a step toward improving the overall
experience, Richey brought in acclaimed
instructor and British PGA member Mitchell
Spearman to operate his golf academy out of
the club. On Thursday evenings, Spearman
D.C.-based businessman David Richey
has focused on steady growth in the
management of golf courses and facilities.
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SMART STRATEGIES
Everything about a Toll Brothers Golf
operation is about the experience, something
Richey learned during an almost three-decade
career at ClubCorp.
“We make a very good margin at our clubs
by keeping our quality above the competition,
while we make sure our pricing is competitive
with our competition,” he says.
That also means avoiding the “monuments:”
cash-sucking clubhouses and ego-driven
amenities that will lose money until the end
of days.
“I watched (homebuilders) and they wanted
to build ‘Big Boy Clubs,’ ” he says. “They all
wanted to see who could build the biggest Big
Boy Club that was going to cost $50,000 to
join and jump to $300,000 and all you needed
to do was sell it to 300 guys to make it work
… And they all convinced themselves that this
was going to work. Now look at how many of
those clubs are in serious trouble today.”
None of the Toll Brothers clubs fall into
that category because Richey had a serious
heart-to-heart with Bob Toll when the two
first entered talks.
“I got people to listen to me, especially
when it came to big clubhouses,” he says. “All
the clubhouses that are a part of our group
are tastefully appointed but they also make
business sense.”
Sometimes those clubs are built from
scratch, but other times they are purchased
and reimagined, as happened in Upper
Marlbor