By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
The city of Florence will be changing the management of the World of Golf.
City Administrator Josh Hunt gave a report at the regular council meeting telling council that the city put out an RFP, or request for proposals, and received two responses, one from the current management company, Ralph Landrum Management, and one from Troon, a management company with roots in Arizona.
“The reason we issued the RFP is simply because the current contract is expiring at the end of December,” Hunt explained. “Being that the contract was expiring and there were a few changes requested by the current management company, we were required to go through a competitive RFP process. It is standard practice and good public policy to go back out to bid at the end of a contract term to ensure the city is getting the best service, pricing and structure moving forward.”
Nick Bednar, PGA,Vice President of Operations at Troon, and David Peru, Regional General Manager for Troon, were at the Tuesday night meeting, and introduced themselves to the mayor and council, explaining their plans for what they want to do with the World of Golf.
“I just want to start by saying you have a wonderful facility here, you should be very proud of it and all the investments you have made are clear,” Bednar said. “It is the type of property we need in the golf industry. It’s a great place to learn, from someone who has never swung a golf club before to the avid golfer. We want to make this transition as seamless as possible. Change is hard, it always is, especially when you have a manager who has been in the seat a long time. We’re going to bring a great deal of enthusiasm and experience to this community. I think it is important to know that we are, once we are partners, we are the city of Florence. We take this responsibility very seriously. We want to represent you in the best possible light.”
David Peru, the manager, lives 6.8 miles away from Florence, and at one time worked at World of Golf.
“It’s great to see some old friends,” he began. “It’s a big company, but we’re local. We just want to build on what Mr. Landrum did. I knew if I got a chance to speak I wanted to thank Mr. Landrum, and the city of Florence too, because I wouldn’t be standing here today if you all didn’t give me the opportunity. We value this property so much it’s like an opportunity to capture these new golfers, and build on the programming. The question was asked about affordability, there’s no reason to change that, we just want to get better. We just want to be efficient, be strong, be part of the community. I’ll be here, ready to help. I live and breathe Northern Kentucky.”
Council members asked some questions. Council member Lesley Chambers had asked about the affordability for ordinary citizens to be able to take part in golf lessons for their kids.
Hunt specified that Ralph Landrum has done a great job with the World of Golf.
Ralph Landrum added a letter on social media saying the city is not renewing his contract and he thanked people for all their patronage and support as he said goodbye.
“All things must come to an end, sometimes sooner than you hoped for,” Landrum said in his letter. “Since the city is not renewing our contract for 2026, after 50 years of working at World of Golf, it is time to move on to bigger and better things. Hopefully the new operator will improve on many of the things that we have built, and help World of Golf continue to grow and stay as an asset to the local community. Keep an eye out for me, I am sure I will land somewhere and give a few golf lessons.”
The RFP specifies that companies can send a proposal of how they intend to manage the facility, and it did contain a monetary bid.
“When the city compared the two RFP responses, Troon’s proposal provided stronger overall financial performance and greater long term stability,” said Hunt. “Their projected gross revenues were higher, and more importantly, their operating model showed tighter expense controls, stronger pricing strategies, and more consistent positive net operating income across the full term of the contract. Troon also incorporated broader corporate support, centralized accounting, marketing infrastructure, and risk management systems that reduce the city’s exposure and improves long term performance. While both proposals were viable, Troon’s financial projections showed a clearer path to sustainability with less reliance on city subsidy and greater upside potential for reinvestment into the facility.”
He declined to release the numbers because he said it is related to net profit and revenue growth projections. He did say that Troon’s number was less than Landrum Golf.
Hunt explained that the management company oversees the day to day process as a third party manager. He said the facility is a success today largely because of the Landrum company and the council who invested a considerable amount and made it into more than just a golf course and more of an entertainment facility. He said people he knows who travel a lot said that the World of Golf is a unique facility.
“We have things in Florence, Kentucky, that they don’t have in places you would think they would, like Arizona,” he said. “Looking at the significant investment of capital that has been made recently, such as a new net, new golf carts, and new lighting that is going to be taking place providing for a new night golf feature, which is really neat, the future is looking bright.”
The Troon company also manages the Kenton County Golf Course and Hunt said they talked to Kenton County Judge Executive Kris Knochelmann, who said only good things about the company.
Council member Diane Whalen asked “What do we gain and what do we lose?” She asked what the city is giving up or changing in terms of control, revenue, or decision making.
Hunt said the main thing they will be losing is institutional knowledge. He said there are people there now who have decades of experience, and know where every blade of grass is. He said they did not take that lightly.
“I would say one risk about all this, other than Mr. Landrum and some other employees departing, obviously Troon will offer employees the chance to stay on and come to their company, but we have to be prepared that a lot of knowledge will walk out the door on December 31,” said Florence Finance Director Jason Lewis. “In terms of revenue, Troon’s projections are aggressive, and I appreciate that, growing at about 5 percent on average each year from a revenue projection, getting to almost $4 million by 2030, and I think that is an excellent benchmark to try to get to.”
He said from a business perspective, it is a win/win for Florence, although there are risks, but Troon is up to the challenge, and he believes the city is also.
Whalen asked about the institutional knowledge, wanting to know if they talked to the Landrum company to find out how they have always run the facility, and Hunt said yes, they did talk to them to see how they have run the business. He acknowledged that there is a possible problem on the horizon with drainage problems, and there may be a problem with the caddy shack in the future, not immediately, but within the next three years which is the term of the contract.
Whalen asked about possible savings since the company would take over the accounts payable, and Lewis said it isn’t cost savings, per se, but it will make operations in the finance department improve with better oversight.
Hunt said there is a whole transition conversation, and they had a meeting to see who would be responsible for what, but when the transition actually occurs, he feels that everything will come together.
“We are not going to come out on the losing end, I can tell you that,” Hunt commented. “I am not interested in piling more work on Eric (Hall, Public Works Director).”
Council member Chambers asked what the golf course costs the taxpayer, and Lewis said last year the course made $100,000, but the year before it lost $100,000. She also mentioned that they were a private equity group, and that didn’t sound good to her. Bednar said he is based in Ohio, and the company will be listening to the city as they make decisions. He reminded her that they know this is the city’s money.
In response to a question about changes, and programs being more inclusive to people, council member Pat Wingo said she thought the proposed programming promises to be very inclusive and will bring in new groups of people.
Council member Whalen said a specific thanks to Ralph Landrum and his company for sticking with the city through thick and thin and doing a good job with the golf course.
“Based on our analysis, our staff made a recommendation to city council to authorize the Mayor to execute a contract with Troon, for a 3-year contract,” said Hunt.
Council will study the proposals and the recommendation given by Hunt and Lewis and make their decision next Tuesday at the meeting.