Timing, so the saying goes, is everything. Look no farther than Dubsdread Golf Course in Central Florida for proof.
In 2008, when the economy was in the tank and owners began sucking money out of golf courses, funding already had been earmarked for a restoration of historic Dubsdread. Factor in changes in management that brought a fresh approach to customer service, and this humble city-owned, Thomas Bendelow classic in Orlando's College Park neighborhood has been able to hold its own in a market saturated with more than 150 golf courses."If you look at the golf recession in Florida, 2008 was a tough year. That is when things really tightened up," said Michael Stevens, southeast regional director of agronomy for Billy Casper Golf, which manages Dubsdread. "Dubsdread was well positioned by luck of timing and location in an affluent part of the city that is able to support the golf course."
Dubsdread has a long, rich history.
Built in 1923 and purchased by the city in 1978, Dubsdread is the oldest public golf course in Orlando and was the home of the former Orlando Open. Only the private Country Club of Orlando, which opened in 1911, is older. Today, a rejuvenated Dubsdread, under the watchful eye of superintendent Alan Lichter, looks more like it did in the 1920s than at any time in the past half-century. That value of playing a restored muni classic and a management company focused on customer service keep golfers coming back - about 50,000 of them - every year.
Customer service isn't just a catchphrase for Casper and Dubsdread, it's a grassroots philosophy that every employee must share, or they're not going to last. The company uses secret shoppers, not to gather dirt on its employees, but to provide honest feedback on how well the company is doing on meeting its customer service goals.
So far this year, Dubsdread has an average customer satisfaction score of 97, according to information provided by Stevens.
"It's that above-and-beyond experience that not only has helped us hold onto our customers, but also attract new ones from around the market," he said.
"As competitive as the golf market is, it's really the experience that sets you apart from everybody else. And we work really hard as a company to provide that above-and-beyond experience.
"A lot of companies say it; we all have our customer-service strategies. It really is part of our culture. It comes down from the day we hire personnel. Before we ever talk about skill sets, it's more about personality and the individual and making sure they believe in our philosophy. Once we get that the rest is easy."
Getting Dubsdread to this stage has taken some doing. Much had changed there since Bendelow put it in the ground 93 years ago. Greens and tees had moved and roads popped up, seemingly out of nowhere.
"We had two roads that went through the golf course and through holes," said Dubsdread general manager Rodney Reifsneider. "Golfers had to wait for cars and hit over the street."
In 2005, the city and Kitson Partners, the former manager of Dubsdread, began working on securing funding for a much-needed renovation. That funding came through in the form of a grant from the St. John's Water Management District as well as additional dollars from the City of Orlando Department of Public Works and the Florida Department of Transportation.
Granted, those seem like some unlikely sources for golf course renovation funding, but as luck would have it, the project coincided with plans to upgrade Little Lake Fairview that lies just north of the golf course.
Again, timing is everything.
He looks at the course not only from an agronomic standpoint to do what is best for the overall health and sustainability of the golf course, but he's also looking at it as to how (golfers) are going to appreciate their round of golf."
The two projects were combined, and in exchange for funds for the renovation, the golf course was reworked to help take stormwater runoff from nearby Interstate 4. The water feeds through a pond system and eventually replenishes wetlands to the north, Dubsdread's aqua practice range that is used to irrigate the golf course as well as the massive Floridan aquifer, all of which occur unbeknownst to the golfer.
"The Army Corps of Engineers had nowhere for water to go north of downtown," Reifsneider said. "The golf course takes water from two locations. The water feeds in slowly. We are like a giant filter.
"It feeds through so many ponds, the golfer doesn't even realize what is happening here. It doesn't affect them.
"We take the stormwater, put water back into the aquifer and the residents get a new golf course with trees that are 100 years old. It was a perfect storm."
Lichter seems to be just the sort of superintendent a course like Dubsdread needs.
The course not only is a favorite of the locals, but thanks to third-party tee time providers, it gets a fair amount of play from tourists coming to Orlando for its famed theme parks, including many players from overseas. People who play here are serious, not only about their golf game, but also about the value they receive for the golfing dollar.
A native of Hinsdale, Illinois, Lichter, 46, has been the superintendent at Dubsdread since 2005, and oversaw the renovation as a Kitson employee. He graduated from Danville (Illinois) Area Community College in 1995 and made his way to Florida shortly thereafter to try his luck on the mini-tour circuit.
It wasn't long before he realized he needed to put his degree to work, not his putter. Still, his experience as a scratch golfer gives him a different perspective - that of a golfer."He has done an incredible job taking care of that golf course, and representing not only himself and his team, but us and our company," Stevens said. "He absolutely embraced our culture.
"He gets the golfing aspect of golf course maintenance. He is a very good golfer, so he has that opportunity to appreciate how to set up a golf course from all levels of play.
"He looks at the course not only from an agronomic standpoint to do what is best for the overall health and sustainability of the golf course, but he's also looking at it as to how (golfers) are going to appreciate their round of golf."
Lichter came to Dubsdread from Bay Hill where he worked for Dwight Kummer and John Anderson.
The experience he gained there, particularly preparing for an annual PGA Tour event, was instrumental in helping mold him into the superintendent he is today.
"It's where I learned about cultural practices, hard work and dedication," Lichter said. "We worked long, long hours."
It also is where he first learned about customer service, so when Casper acquired the Kitson Partners portfolio in 2013, focus on the customer already was old news for Lichter.
"Most of them know who I am, but I don't always have a chance to interact with them, because I'm usually out in front of them," Lichter said. "I have my regulars who I shoot the birds and the bees with. They want to know about mole crickets and how we kill them, or how we kill weeds.
"It's all about customer service. We strive to give our customers the best product available. If we treat them right, they will be loyal and want to come back."