Up the ante

A challenge for some architects and builders lately has been to find enough renovations and international work to fill the void created by the decline of new courses in the United States.

Business for Gainsville, Ga.-based Course Crafters, which does renovation work only, started to decline in 2002 and continued through 2003 and the beginning of 2004, according to president Bob Pinson. However, business picked up at the end of 2004 and into the beginning of 2005.

“When the economy slowed, golf course construction slowed, and the larger companies that primarily did new construction work started taking on renovations,” Pinson says. “They were able to outbid the medium-size and small companies and took renovation work away from them. From 2002 to 2004, competition stiffened, and bidding became more relevant. Now it seems to be going back to the old way, and a company is being chosen based on the quality of work just as much as the price.”

Despite improvement in the market, it’s still difficult to get a job, but it’s not as hard as it was two years ago, Pinson says.

A renovation is a whole different animal than a new construction project, according to Pinson. The training of people and the tools are different. Other aspects of a renovation that are different than new construction include: cutting sod, tying sod back in, staying off cart paths with heavy machinery, using smaller equipment, taking care of the land a bit more because of things like the irrigation system, and keeping a portion of the course operating while other sections are being renovated.

Pinson says the jobs he takes vary in size, anywhere from $50,000 to $3.5 million. He says the company handles from five to 15 projects a year, depending on the size.

It’s been a tough go for Course Crafters during the past few years, according to Pinson. The company’s revenue declined about 50 percent from $13 million in 2001 to $6 million in 2002. Then another decline in 2003 dropped revenues to $4.5 million. But last year, revenue increased 25 percent, and this year, Pinson expects revenue to increase 10 percent to 15 percent.

During the 14 years Course Crafters has been in business, Pinson says the decline of the early 2000s was the first in the company’s history. Now he feels business will be steady during the next few years.

“I want to be able to put the breaks on and be able to stop if business starts to decline,” he says. “I might not grow the company as much and keep revenues steady and focus on good quality and increasing the profit margin.”

Before 2001, Pinson says there was so much work, many jobs had only one or two bidders. But since 2001, architects have gotten more competitive. Private clubs are interviewing 10 architects instead of two or three. Architects then put together a bid list of five to 10 contractors, and many times the clubs end up taking the lowest bidder, and not all of the bidders are on the same quality level, Pinson says.

“We are now bidding 10 to 15 jobs to get one,” he says. “We used to bid four or five jobs to get one. I’m spending more time traveling and researching. I see the same competition at every job. On the other hand, some private clubs just call us for work and don’t put out a bid.

“One thing that’s been common at older clubs, with younger members coming up into leadership, is that they want to see more length, reposition fairway bunkers, move greens back further, yet still keep the look of the old course,” he adds.

Pinson says the company has about 10 architects of which it does a fair amount of work.

“Architects like a variety because there are a lot of good contractors out there,” he says. GCN