Brown named Director of Golf at Ken-Wo

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

In a major shift of its management structure, the board of directors of the Ken-Wo Country Club has named CPGA professional Jamie Brown as its first-ever Director of Golf.

Brown, who has been Ken-Wo’s head golf professional since 2006, will assume responsibility for all aspects of the club’s operation, including the golf course.

“It’s a new concept for us,” says club president Bruce Fagan. “We’ve essentially bought out Jamie’s pro shop and brought the entire operation – clubhouse, pro shop, back shop and range – under one umbrella, under Jamie’s direction.”

Fagan noted that as a player and a CPGA pro, Brown “has developed a special relationship with and knowledge of Ken-Wo” over the past 25 years, beginning when he traveled from his native Bridgewater to take lessons from former pro Boyd Lockhart.

Brown won his first provincial championship at Ken-Wo in 1986. Following studies in Golf Course Management in Florida, he returned to Nova Scotia, where he has held increasingly senior positions at several golf courses, including two stints at Ken-Wo.

During the 1990s, Brown served as an assistant under Gerry Elliott, and on Elliott’s retirement in 2006 he applied for and was hired as the club’s new head professional.

Between his times at Ken-Wo, he served as head professional, greens superintendent and general manager at Osprey Ridge near Bridgewater, an experience which, Fagan said, “places him in a good position to take Ken-Wo to new levels.”

For his part, Brown is “excited by the opportunity this new position presents, given my past history with Ken-Wo as both a player and a CPGA professional.” As Director of Golf, he will be able to “bring together the knowledge and expertise in all aspects of the golfing industry that I’ve gained over the past 25 years.”

Brown expects “the changeover and transition will be relatively seamless in terms of the programs and services we’ve been able to offer in past years.”

More of an ‘executive professional’

Ken-Wo’s highly successful CPGA teaching program will continue as in the past. While Brown retains his CPGA status, the Director of Golf position makes him “more of an ‘executive professional’.”

Assistant pro Derek MacKinnon assumes the position and duties of head pro and Dan Fraser continues as associate pro. Brown noted that while MacKinnon “moves up in his role to take over some of my responsibilities, I’ll still be active in that area, too.”

MacKinnon and Fraser will operate the pro shop and “handle the bulk of the teaching,” though Brown “will be keeping a small clientele” as well as continuing to coordinate the club’s junior program.

Fagan said the change wasn’t meant to be a negative reflection on former general manager Matt Boates, who “did a good job, and worked hard for Ken-Wo” over the past two years. “It was Matt’s decision to not renew his contract, and he departed on good terms.” Boates, in fact, stayed on until earlier this month to help with the transition.

Brown said his biggest challenge would be “getting our membership numbers back up to where they were in previous years.” After all, he says, “without the membership, there’s no club. We need to make Ken-Wo a place people can’t wait to get to.” He also said, “we need to start listening more to the members and their concerns and feedback.”

He also wants to be more visible as club manager. “I’m spending a lot of time in the office now, but once the doors open I plan to be ‘out and about’ a lot more.”

Fagan noted there are no major renovations or competitions planned for this year. “We’re taking a little break in order to get the status quo back to where it should be. Our membership actually declined a bit last year, but with the changes we’ve made I feel we’re in good shape and positioned well for the future. Jamie was well-liked as head pro, and very popular with the members. We’re quite confident in his abilities.”

As of last week, Ken-Wo was not yet open for 2008, but Brown “hopes to get going fairly soon,” with a tentative opening date (weather permitting) of April 10.