Asking Paradise Valley resident Ed Francese to give up golf would be like asking San Franciso Giants star Barry Bonds to put down his baseball bat and glove.
It's just not going to happen -- at least not right now.
"Golf is all I've done," said Francese, president of EF Golf Management, a private company that provides services for Arizona courses.
Involved in the game since his junior high school years, when his late father, Joe, left Arizona to build a couple of golf courses in Colorado, Francese, 55, has overseen everything from course management and operations to course construction and maintenance.
He even had a short stint on the PGA Tour, highlighted by an appearance at the 1977 Players Championship at Pebble Beach.
These days, most of Francese's efforts center on helping existing courses improve their facilities and add new ones. His workload isn't as demanding as it was when he built courses from scratch, but he considers his successes just as satisfying.
"To build a real quality project, it just doesn't happen overnight," Francese said. "It takes a complete vision, then it takes the appropriate funding, then you need the ability to assemble a quality team to actually be able to build it."
Francese's top priority this summer is completing a 12,000-square-foot fitness center at the Gallery Golf Club in Marana. The fitness center is expected to include a weight room, a swimming pool, massage and steam rooms, and basketball, volleyball and tennis courts.
With help from Francese, We-Ko-Pa Golf Club in Fountain Hills is considering the addition of a second course to help support a 247-room hotel that's already under construction. If granted approval), We-Ko-Pa officials would open the new course in late 2006 or early 2007, Francese said.
"There are still a few approval steps that have to be gained," Francese said. "It's not yet a final project, but I do think it's going to happen."
It wasn't that long ago that Francese, who was born in Safford and grew up in Duncan, was worrying more about how he played on golf courses than about how they were operated.
Francese played golf for two years at Northern Arizona University, then transferred to Western State College of Colorado, where he finished his collegiate career and earned his degree.
He joined the PGA Tour in 1977 but lasted just six months. Only the top 60 money winners were exempt back then, Francese said, and he had to qualify on the Monday before each event, giving him little time to prepare.
"In order to be successful on the PGA Tour, you have to have a tremendous amount of discipline and determination," said Francese, who has played in Arizona's prestigious Goldwater Cup six times. "That just translates over into everything else I do. In the daily operations, you have to have that same discipline and determination.
"You have to set goals, and you have to have the discipline and determination to achieve them."
After leaving the PGA Tour, Francese returned to the Valley and helped build the final nine holes at Continental Country Club in Flagstaff. He then worked for five years as general manager at Continental Golf Course, an executive tract in Scottsdale.
Tucson's El Conquistador Country Club opened in 1982 under Francese's guidance, and he served as director of golf at Pinetop Country Club for three years before joining OB Sports, a Scottsdale-based golf management company.
Francese, who is married and has six children, claims he's ready to stay put after all those stops, especially now that he has a job that allows him to dictate his workload.
"What I would like to do is keep the number of projects that I am personally responsible for to no more than four," Francese said. "And my wish would be that they're all close so that my travel is very limited and so I can pursue my career without having to be away from the family."
Francese does realize, though, that he can't afford to let his guard down.
"The golf market in Arizona is very competitive because you have some of the best and most highly recognized golf operations (employees) in the world," he said. "This is a terrific area to be because there is so much activity, but you have to be very accomplished to make it work."
Source: The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
