Not afraid to try

Available onsite at Independence Golf in Midlothian, Virginia, is everything from an amazing start-your-day-right coffee shop to purveyors of customized clubs. Management is driving innovative experimentation at a rapid pace. High standards, a focus on quality experience, caring leaders and a dynamic atmosphere all make this a great place to work.

Giff Breed bought the property with his brother, Alan, in October 2013. Giff started his career working in sales at Procter & Gamble, attended The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, founded a soft drink company and entered the golf player-management business. “Then this course became available, and I don’t know why we did it, but we did it,” Breed laughs.

“We thought we could turn it into more than just golf, and that has been fun,” he adds. “We decided to make changes really fast, and if we crashed, there were going to be no survivors. We have a Silicon Valley mindset. We will try almost anything, and if we fail, we’re going to fail quickly.”

At the time the property was purchased it was the home of the Virginia State Golf Association, and approximately 90 percent of the total revenue was from golf. Golf revenue has increased more than fivefold, and accounts for just under 40 percent of total revenue.

Experiences on property include use for weddings and corporate events, lodging, concerts on Thursday nights, dining choices, a farmer’s market, a ropes course and ziplines. There is a podcast room available, fishing, farm-to-table cuisine (extra food is donated to those in need), Tesla charging stations, two psychologists, a physical therapist and “a stretching guy.”

Retail outlets such as House of Colors and Richmond Low Speed Vehicles have a presence on property, as does Shalom Farms, exploring food-as-medicine concepts. All of this is accomplished through partnerships with best-in-class service providers. The experiential choices are vast, in addition to the incredible golf.

Independence is the home of the men’s and women’s golf teams for the University of Richmond, giving employees someone to root for as the Spiders contribute to the energetic and enthusiastic atmosphere. Guests can play FootGolf, disc golf or traditional golf on The Bear, a 9-hole short course. The championship course, originally designed by Tom Fazio, underwent renovation in 2015 by Lester George, with the directive to focus on pace of play, playability and sustainability.

“We are a public golf course, and we have 300 members, with 380 on the waiting list,” Breed says. “We host 25,000 rounds annually, that’s all. We feel that is the maximum we can have for rounds under four hours and for the team to offer championship conditions daily. Reggie Jackson once said with the Yankees that he was the straw that stirs the drink. We know golf is the straw that stirs the drink.”

Director of maintenance Dan Taylor leads the agronomy team and has worked at Independence since 2000. He’s been in the business for nearly 50 years. “There is no place on earth like it with all these things going on,” Taylor says. “Giff is the leader in ideas, good and bad, because he never stops.”

Taylor and Breed have an admirable relationship. The maintenance facility is by the clubhouse and Breed’s office, and they communicate easily, honestly and often. It’s a comfort stemming from talented individuals having developed something special, pausing to reflect on that achievement only to ascertain the next move. How do they continue to grow and improve? How do they continue providing for the staff and the community?

“Working for a single owner, you get things done,” Taylor says. “Giff gives me decisions that I don’t like all the time, but I have a decision. I don’t have to wait for the board, the president or the greens committee to approve it. I get instant decisions and move on.” (He gets more decisions he likes!)

At Independence there is no distinct hierarchy and no yelling. People are respected and they learn from their mistakes, together. They promote from within when possible. “We don’t break the curve in what we pay, but we break the curve in quality of life for the employees,” Taylor says. “We give them a better place to work, good equipment, and Giff and I don’t sit on their shoulder.”

They focus on results, not hours. They believe in teamwork, in sharing ideas with anyone or any department, and in creating careers, not just jobs. All experiences, and their sensory impact, are valued. “When we talk about a great experience for golf,” Breed says, “we look to Augusta National — they are always doing something, and it seems to be always right. We want to emulate their model.”

For a while, they put a goalpost on the range for people to hit through. They have used drones to light the range in the early morning and music on the range is standard. There is no dress code, they host a Champions dinner during the Masters and a par-3 contest to the exact yardages the pros play that week. The maintenance team also considers experiences.

“If you are playing golf and on half the holes you have maintenance going on, it’s not great,” Taylor says. “We get as much done as we can early in the morning. The afternoon tasks are on the perimeter so we are not in your back pocket.”

To facilitate this, the first tee time is at 8 a.m. The crew consists of 10 full-time staff, including Taylor, a mechanic and an assistant, Connor McNeer. There are 10 retirees who mow during peak season and four high school or college kids who will work through summer. Everyone prioritizes innovative practices, research and technology.

Innovative practices, research and technology

“When we renovated the golf course, we determined what grass requires less chemicals, less water and less maintenance,” Breed says. “The expense of maintenance is rising faster than the revenue of what greens fees will cover. Dan came up with the idea of switching from bentgrass greens to Champion Bermudagrass.”

Firmly in the Transition Zone, covering the greens in winter is more efficient than hand-watering in the summer. Covers do not interfere with the golfer’s experience because few people want to play when it is so cold. During the championship course renovation, the team eliminated more than 40 bunkers and upgraded the rest using Better Billy Bunker. Both practices improve their environmental footprint, help manage costs and enhance labor scheduling.

During the pandemic, the team started placing a single tee marker in the rough, saving five hours a week while mowing. The practice continues because the single tee marker empowers golfers to play their shots in a way that suits their game, and it reduces wear patterns. It’s a better experience.

The Bear offers greens with several types of turf and it’s the largest test agronomy site in the country, sporting a prolific partnership with Virginia Tech. There have been more than 200 research trials. Independence has hosted a string of Virginia Tech’s talented PhD students to oversee the research: Jordan Booth, Travis Roberson and Elisabeth Kitchin.

“The relationship we have with Virginia Tech’s School of Turfgrass Ecology and Management is outstanding because it allows us insight to some of the newest tech,” McNeer says. Independence benefits from site-specific research and ideas originate from the staff as well as the school’s team.

Booth, a senior director for the USGA Green Section, had a full-circle moment when he was the championship agronomist for the 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur hosted by Kinloch Golf Club and co-hosted by Independence. Having been stationed at Independence for three years, he knows the operation well.

“Dan is a special superintendent,” Booth says. “He is a great communicator and leader, and he made the professional setting a wonderful place for collaboration and research. Giff is a true innovator and early adopter of many technologies. These gentlemen and their teams make it a great place to work.”

“I am a technology believer,” Breed adds. “We are working on four different artificial intelligence projects, we have added robots to our restaurants and Spiio sensors to our greens. We have a Perry Weather station and we manage our own website because we want to have control over it. You should have seen Dan’s face when I told him to figure out how to get on Twitter.”

“He’s dragging me along,” Taylor jokes. “Tech is not my forte, but I see the value. I had this conversation with another superintendent. We have so many things we can collect data on every day. What’s the speed of the greens, the firmness? He’s hiring someone to manage the data. It’s great, but we have to figure out how the data works for us. What do we learn that makes things cost less or more efficient?”

Breed emphasizes that Taylor is doing a great job. He also comments about having a responsibility to help research where they can. They leverage their strengths by investing alongside intelligent and interested people. Employees will thrive in organizations with charitable, community-minded directives that don’t interfere with business operations.

McNeer, beginning as seasonal staff, is someone who is thriving. “I cannot say enough great things about Giff or Dan,” he says. “I work more closely with Dan, but Giff is extremely approachable and I run ideas by him. Dan is the most humble man and I am beyond appreciative to learn from him and understand why we do things.”

“It is a roller coaster,” Breed adds. “It’s not the same thing every day and we do go very fast. We have this incredible team that supports everyone. There is an interest in our teammates that extends beyond just punching in and punching out. We have been fortunate to have a group of people that stick with us, and we have gotten this to where we want it. When they say it’s a great place to work it’s because of the people, and we have great patrons who support what we are doing, too.”

McNeer echoes those feelings. “Independence is my second home, and I truly love it here. I would rather be at work than anywhere else. Off days are just odd — I’d much rather be on the course.”

Evidently, so would the eager patrons who immerse themselves in the Independence Golf experience.