Jeffrey Lee Marks spent his last day as head professional of Perry Country Club outside Macon, Ga., on Wednesday, and today begins his move to Baton Rouge to take over as golf director for BREC. In his new position, which he will officially begin on April 8, Marks will oversee seven courses, some of which have been underutilized in recent years.
BREC golf courses collectively lost more than $1 million last year, and another $1.4 million in 2010, while steadily losing their backbone of players. Marks is aware of this and, with his background in golf management, says he’d like to develop as many new players as possible while focusing on a creative marketing plan for the courses.
“I’d like to introduce low-cost golf programs to brand new golfers,” Marks says. “We also have to bring back those players who might have left. We have to gain back their trust.”
For more than a decade, Marks was the golf director at En-Joy Golf Club in New York as well as a municipally owned resort in Illinois. Marks was also a professional golfer in 1990 and a graduate of Ferris State University, a small central Michigan college that pioneered the golf management program, he says.
“This will certainly be the most courses I’ve overseen at one time,” Marks says. “I come from a multicourse background. I don’t think it will be that difficult, except for the time aspect. I’ll have to be great at time management.”
Marks says he hasn’t had time to fully develop a plan for BREC’s courses, but is also not coming into the new job blind.
“[BREC Superintendent Carolyn] McKnight was very honest with me and told me they’ve been steadily losing golfers,” Marks says. “You’ve got to do whatever you can to bring them back. It may be a small fix like improving the quality of the greens. Some of the courses might not be up to par. Even though the budgets might be limited, we can get the greens in great shape quite easily. Spending a little more time on the little things that matter can make a big difference.”
The situation here, he says, is comparable to a previous course where he worked. When he first started at Perry Country Club, the greens weren’t great, he says, but within seven months, Marks and his team were able to bring them up to par.
Last summer, BREC brought PGA of America consultant Rich Richeson to Baton Rouge to look at ways to increase use at its golf courses. He estimated that play could be increased by as much as 5,000 rounds per course, per year, provided the recreation department steps up its player education, outreach and marketing efforts.
“In time, some of the courses could do more than that,” says Marks, who is replacing Ken Caldwell, who departed in October. “It won’t be an overnight fix. It’ll take a couple of years to get our plans developed.”
