To describe Scott Malloy as busier than a one-armed paper hanger would be an unfair comparison that puts too much pressure on all the one-armed paper hangers in the world. In reality, they couldn't keep up with the 59-year-old Malloy who has owned Shady Grove Golf Course in Findlay, Ohio for nearly three decades.
Malloy does it all at the humble-but-busy public, nine-hole facility where he is the owner, operator, general manager, superintendent, head teaching pro, accountant, payroll clerk, driving range manager, advertising executive, marketing manager and proprietor of an on-site restaurant. The property also boasts a busy mini-golf layout.
"I've never looked back," said Malloy, who has owned Shady Grove since 1990. "I've enjoyed every minute of it."
It's as if Malloy was destined for a life in the golf business. A native of Toledo, Malloy was born in the shadows of the historic Inverness Club, the 100-year-old Donald Ross classic on the city's west side that has been the site of four U.S. Open Championships, a pair of PGA Championships, the U.S. Senior Open (twice), a U.S. Amateur and this year's U.S. Junior Am and in 2021 will host the Solheim Cup.
A standout junior golfer in the 1970s, Malloy played for a Findlay High School team that compiled a 51-0 record in dual matches during his days as a prep player - a background that would later figure heavily into his future plans. He went on to earn a finance degree from Ohio State with designs on entering the world of big business. He never knew at the time that business would be in golf.
I've never looked back. I've enjoyed every minute of it.
With a passion for the game that he couldn't shake, Malloy refocused his career choice and set his sights on becoming a teaching pro. He worked as an assistant pro at clubs in West Virginia, Indiana, New Jersey and Florida before eventually returning to Findlay, where his parents moved when he was 10 years old, to buy Shady Grove.
"I'd been gone from Findlay for eight or nine years," he said. "I had no idea what the golf market and the teaching market would be like here."
He caught the market as it was riding its high, and has withstood the lows while other courses in the area have struggled and some have closed.
With no background in turf, Malloy first hired turf professionals to manage the golf course for him, but realized he had to become more vested in the ways of agronomy if he was ever going to have a firm grasp on his business. Through the years, he learned enough to take over the role of superintendent, thanks to the turf pathology department at Ohio State and trusted suppliers and sales people, and through attending seminars and state and regional turf conferences.
"I needed to know more about (managing turf)," he said. "The conditions on the golf course were a reflection on me.
"I eventually learned enough to take on being superintendent as part of my daily job."
That finance degree from OSU has come in handy since the boom and bust that has seen about 2,000 golf courses nationwide close their doors since 2006, including several in northwestern Ohio. Shady Grove might be a nine-hole course in city of 40,000 that is surrounded by farmland in every direction, but Malloy is always seeking that next trend or tweak in the industry that will give his course an edge on the competition.
Throughout his tenure as owner of Shady Grove, Malloy has made a career of trying to bring the game to the area's underserved - namely kids and women. His goal has been to set his business apart from his competitors by taking advantage of his first love - teaching. When he's not mowing; applying fertilizers, fungicides and pesticides; picking balls off the range; ordering food for the restaurant; or manning the register in the golf shop, Malloy likely can be found on the range giving lessons.
I needed to know more about (managing turf). The conditions on the golf course were a reflection on me.
An app on his phone is connected to a motion detector near the golf shop and alerts him when the next potential customer has arrived, regardless of where he is on the property. And those customers are doing much more than just playing golf. Business at the restaurant, where wife Lisa is the manager, is always brisk and the mini-golf course helps generate extra revenue, too.
"I couldn't have done this without her, especially when we were raising our kids," said Malloy, a father of three adult children, all of whom are Ohio State graduates.
While seeking ways to grow the family business, Malloy toyed for years with the idea of joining the FootGolf craze, but always put it off saying he was too busy to take on one more initiative. After conducting his due diligence like any good finance major would, he finally took the plunge this year, and in the spring went across U.S. 224 to Walmart to buy several soccer balls.
The sport that combines golf and soccer has taken off at Shady Grove, and in its first year comprises nearly half of the operation's revenue.
Corporate outings have caught on with the likes of Marathon Petroleum and Cooper Tire, both of which are headquartered in Findlay, local church and hospital groups and kids parties.
"I'm always looking for something. I'm always listening to people and talking to people," he said.
"This isn't just about golf. We just keep looking for different revenue streams, just like every other business."