When Jeff Fischer, the owner of South Carolina's Lady's Island Country Club, purchased nearby Sanctuary at Cat Island, he knew he needed both properties to have consistent maintenance and playing quality. "He was very aware of our performance at Brays Island Plantation, so he knew our expertise and local presence," said IGM vice president of operations Steve Gano. "He knew we offer multi-course experience and even more economies of scale.” IGM's contract for the two courses began August 1.
Lady's Island Country Club is Beaufort's oldest golf club, and according to IGM regional manager Tyler Minamyer, initial work has focused on improving the putting greens. "We'll put a sound agronomic program in place and modernize the maintenance practices to bring the courses up to his standards,” he said.
Mike Sinisko, general manager for both courses, said the newly-purchased Sanctuary course is "very pretty, with some nice holes on the water. We want to maintain those views. IGM is trimming shrubbery now, because some were overgrown and so high, we lost a lot of aesthetics." Minamyer noted that the course had deferred maintenance issues. "We're going to do the basics and do it right," he said.
IGM also retained much of the existing maintenance staff at the two courses. Most were receptive to joining the IGM business model, which eases the transition period.
Though the contract is relatively new, Sinisko said, some of the staff from another local course recently played at Cat Island and were impressed with the noticeable difference IGM had made in only two weeks. "That really means something coming from people who know golf courses and what to look for," he said.