Hillcrest Golf Club’s head pro resigns
BY RYAN SIMONOVICH
HERALD STAFF WRITER
Changes are coming to the management of Hillcrest Golf Club later this summer with the resignation of PGA head golf professional John Vickers.
Vickers and his wife, Debbie, will be moving to Idaho to purchase a golf course, he said. He submitted his resignation to the Hillcrest board of directors last month.
“We’re going to be purchasing our own golf course up in Idaho, which is something I, as a golf professional, always wanted to do,” he said. “An opportunity came up, and we pounced.”
Vickers’ resignation comes with one year and five months left on his contract, board member Michael Brennan said.
The resignation gives the golf club a new timeline to implement management changes the club was anticipating to occur in the fall of 2019.
Hillcrest will change its business model, said Brennan, who is on the selection committee for a new head golf professional. There are two models used by the golf industry, and Hillcrest plans to switch from one to the other.
Currently, the head golf professional, in this case Vickers, is hired by the golf club as an independent contractor.
That person manages many of the operations of the golf club, essentially running his own business, Brennan said. For example, that person buys equipment, such as golf carts, and buys the inventory for the pro shop.
Vickers does business with Hillcrest as an independent contractor and pays Hillcrest “rent” for operating out of the golf club. He keeps the profits he makes, aside from the amount he pays in rent, Brennan said.
Moving forward, Hillcrest will hire a new head professional as an employee of the golf club.
This makes more sense for the golf club financially and is the model most of the industry uses, Brennan said. He anticipates this will attract a larger applicant pool, rather than the independent contract model. The golf club will offer a competitive salary package.
Brennan declined to give Hillcrest’s exact financial numbers as it would expose Vickers’ business numbers as well.
Hillcrest Golf Club is a nonprofit organization, which operates a municipal golf course.
rsimonovich@durangoherald. com
Vickers
