Award-Winning Daily-Fee Facility Renovation Improves Player Experience
PHOENIX, ARIZONA (JAN. 19, 2024) — Raven Golf Club—the highly regarded daily-fee golf course etched into a rugged mountain slope with sweeping panoramic vistas of the surrounding valley and the Phoenix skyline—has been totally transformed by a major course renovation. The project opened playing corridors to showcase panoramic views, re-vitalized tee complexes and adjacent desert areas, and restored the course’s 60 sand bunkers, delivering an enhanced playing experience.
Owned by Arcis Golf, the second largest owner and operator of private, resort and daily fee facilities in the United States, Raven Golf Club is one of the company’s 13 properties in the greater Phoenix area, including 3 private and 10 daily fee clubs. Grayhawk Golf Club, located in Scottsdale, was acquired by Arcis in June 2023. The Stone Canyon Club in Tucson and The Golf Club at Chaparral Pines and The Rim Golf Club in Payson, Arizona are also part of the Arcis portfolio.
Sand bunkers were re-configured to be relevant for today’s game, equipment, and varied skill levels of golfers. Arcis Golf’s Construction Division led the project using the Better Billy Bunker liner system and a specialty blend of sand from Gillibrand Materials in Simi Valley, Calif. This brighter, white sand offers a stunning contrast to the lush green grass and Jesse Red decomposed granite framing all the tee complexes.
Raven Golf Club also features expansive, multi-tiered greens, which along with its unique assortment of now-renovated bunkers and water features, creates both strategic diversity and a stunning backdrop for golf. The par-72 course, originally designed by Gary Panks and David Graham, plays to 7,078 yards from the back tees, while offering a fair test from the 6,264-yard forward tees. A unique set of family tees enable golfers of all ages and abilities to enjoy this desert golf oasis.
“Showcasing vistas of the Phoenix skyline and distant mountains adds to the overall playing experience,” explained Ed Easley, Senior Vice President, Construction, for Arcis Golf. “Today, the original intent and strategy for each hole has been recaptured. The views for golfers have been enhanced immensely, leading to a more dynamic golf experience.”
Among the more dramatic changes, a large bunker on the 11th hole was divided into three separate hazards where there were formerly two. On the signature, par-3 7th hole a lake along the left side and a bunker that runs the entire length of the hole to the green are once again fully visible, adding to the intrigue and challenge.
During the project, non-native species and trees that blocked golfers’ sight lines were removed from all tee complexes. Several tee surfaces were leveled and re-grassed, while drainage was improved throughout the course.
The Raven’s halfway house—The Nest—has been completely reimagined and a new patio added. Expanded bar seating, coupled with eclectic grab-and-go fare in a café-style environment, make this a popular gathering spot before, after, and during rounds.
“These significant enhancements reflect our commitment to delivering top-quality daily-fee golf for golfers and visitors in the Phoenix market,” said Blake S. Walker, Founder and CEO of Arcis Golf. “Our focus and investment are on enhancing the overall golfer experience and providing a variety of golf options at every level.” Arcis Golf offers several frequent-play subscription options for golfers through its Arcis Players’ Programs.
Raven Golf Club’s spectacular golf course, array of world-class amenities, and unparalleled guest service have earned it recognition among the nation’s top daily fee golf courses – including 4.5 stars by Golf Digest and “#5 Golf Course in the State” by Arizona Magazine.
Before or after a round, golfers can hone their skills on the club’s expansive golf practice facility, complete with a putting green, chipping green with a practice bunker, large grass hitting area, and double-sided driving range with five strategically placed target greens or take a lesson from one of the club’s award-winning PGA teaching professionals. A variety of golf instructional programs are offered year-round, ranging from private lessons and on-course instruction to group clinics and summer junior golf camps. An on-site True Spec golf club fitting center services players of all abilities.
Just five miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Raven Golf Club has an array of upscale banquet and catering amenities that make it one of the region’s most memorable destinations for golf tournaments, corporate outings, and special events of all sizes and types.
An industry leader in providing inventive programming and unrivaled lifestyle amenities that complement exceptional golf offerings, Arcis Golf has invested approximately $100 million in the past four years on property upgrades, new amenities, personnel, training, and systems to create extraordinary experiences and forge emotional connections with members and guests. The company has received numerous honors, including a National Golf Foundation “2023 Top 100 Businesses in Golf.”
To learn more about Arcis Golf, visit www.arcisgolf.com. For further information about Raven Golf Club, visit www.ravenphx.com.
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About Arcis Golf
Arcis Golf is a premier owner and operator of golf facilities and has a portfolio of nearly 70 public and private golf clubs in the United States. An industry leader, Arcis Golf continues to transform its portfolio of golf clubs into inclusive, lifestyle hubs with dynamic programming and unrivaled amenities that complement diverse playing experiences. Arcis Golf properties enhance the golf and country club lifestyle to a level of excellence designed to exceed the needs and expectations of family, friends, co-workers, and guests of all ages. The company is noted for innovative management, with a best-in-class leadership team that is reinventing the modern club experience. Headquarters: 8343 Douglas Avenue, Ste. 200, Dallas, TX 75225. Phone: (214) 722-6000. Website: www.arcisgolf.com/
Media Contact
Karen Moraghan
Hunter Public Relations
kmoraghan@hunter-pr.com
908/963-6013
Benefits include access to Grayhawk Golf Club and 14-day advance bookings at daily fee facilities in the Phoenix area
PHOENIX (JAN. 15, 2024) — Arcis Golf announces the addition of even more amenities to its trio of frequent player programs in the golf-rich Phoenix market. Golfers will enjoy expanded benefits at nine of the top daily-fee courses in this year-round golf playground.
For the 2024 season, Arcis Players’ Prime offers a 14-day advance booking window, the best rates available at daily-fee facilities in the Valley of the Sun, along with daily range privileges and cart-fee-only pricing for twilight golf.
And for the first time ever, Arcis Prime members will enjoy exclusive twilight access and select play days at Grayhawk Golf Club—the closest to a private-club experience available at a daily-fee club in Phoenix. In addition, Prime members may bring guests along to enjoy these benefits.
Other 2024 benefits for Arcis Prime members at all nine participating clubs include:
- Complimentary weekly game-improvement clinics
- Preferred guest rates
- Complimentary breakfast or lunch with each round (Oct. 1-May 31)
- Discounts on private lessons
- Free use of rental clubs
- Special member pricing in lifestyle shops and for club events
- Access to a lineup of special events, including weekly member skins games, member mixers, and seasonal member/guest tournaments
- Chill Stations – soft seating, water, GOLFFOREVER® training tools
- Personalized member bag tag
- Daily use of laser range finders and Bluetooth speakers at no charge
- Special discounts on Ship Sticks™ services
“Phoenix is one of the best, but also one of the most competitive, golf markets in the country,” explains Arcis Golf CEO Blake Walker, “so we wanted to make playing there easier, more fun, and value-laden for locals and visitors. At Arcis, we want golf to be the foundation, but we’ve included community-building amenities like dining, family activities, clinics, and special events that make both the game and our clubs more accessible to as many people as possible throughout the day and into the evenings, all week long.”
In the Phoenix area, Arcis Golf offers a diversified portfolio of 10 outstanding daily-fee courses with elevated experiences:
- Continental Golf Club, Scottsdale
- Grayhawk Golf Club, Scottsdale
- Kokopelli Golf Club, Gilbert
- Legend at Arrowhead, Glendale
- McDowell Mountain, Scottsdale
- Ocotillo Golf Club, Chandler
- Palm Valley Golf Club, Goodyear
- Raven Golf Club, Phoenix
- Stonecreek Golf Club, Phoenix
- Superstition Springs Golf Club, Mesa
Two other frequent-player programs—each with its own menu of benefits—are available: Arcis Players’ Club and Arcis Players’ Card.
Arcis Players’ Club includes home club benefits such as daily range privileges, twilight golf for cart-fee only, weekly game improvement clinics, 7-day advance tee times, preferred rates for member events, and savings in the club’s lifestyle shops.
Arcis Players’ Card includes one free round at the club of purchase, 20 percent off at all Phoenix-area daily fee courses (except Grayhawk), 7-day advance tee times, monthly specials, card member play days, three single player guest passes, and member pricing for lifestyle events.
“No matter what kind of golfer you are—serious or casual, beginner or advanced—one of our player programs is sure to suit you,” says Walker. “You’ll get to play the best daily-fee courses in Phoenix and so much more: great service, money-saving offers, and the chance to be part of a golf community.”
Enrollment and additional information on the different product levels, tiered pricing, and benefits can be found at: https://arizona.arcisgolf.com/arcis-players-membership/.
Committed to growing the game of golf and welcoming more types of players, Arcis Golf has invested more than $100 million in upgrades, amenities, personnel, training, and systems to maximize the growth and future success of its collection of private, resort, and daily-fee clubs throughout the United States. Significant capital investments in the Phoenix market have been made at Ocotillo, The Raven, and McDowell Mountain Golf Club. The company has received numerous honors, including a National Golf Foundation “2023 Top 100 Businesses in Golf.”
To learn more about Arcis Golf, visit www.arcisgolf.com.
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About Arcis Golf
Arcis Golf is the premier operator of approximately 70 public and private golf clubs in the United States and an industry leader, providing dynamic direction and unrivaled amenities that complement diverse playing experiences. Arcis Golf properties enhance the golf and country club lifestyle to a level of excellence designed to exceed the needs and expectations of family, friends, co-workers, and guests of all ages.
Arcis Golf is also known for innovative management, with a best-in-class leadership team that is reinventing the modern club experience, making it more relevant to the lifestyles of today’s consumers. The company is committed to enhancing service levels, amenities, and programming to broaden the appeal for members and guests at all its properties. Headquarters: 8343 Douglas Avenue, Ste. 200, Dallas, TX 75225. Phone: (214) 722-6000. Website: www.arcisgolf.com/
Media Contact
Karen Moraghan
Hunter Public Relations
kmoraghan@hunter-pr.com
908/963-6013
By Andy Medici, Senior Reporter, The Playbook, The Business Journals
Dallas, Texas (Jan. 9, 2024) – Country clubs and golf courses are at a pivot point, and Blake Walker is banking that subscription models are the future of the industry.
The veteran hospitality executive and CEO of the privately held Arcis Golf LLC is bucking the idea that country clubs and daily-fee golf courses are inherently different.
That’s why he formed Arcis in 2014. Over the past decade, the company – with the backing of Fortress Investment Group LLC and Atairos – purchased nearly 70 clubs and has grown to about 6,000 employees.
The company now holds a roughly equal mix of daily-fee courses and private country clubs that includes several high-profile courses, including Champions Retreat Golf Club near Augusta, Georgia, a 27-hole private course designed by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.
But it also includes public courses that many golfers frequent, including Angel Park Golf Club in Las Vegas and Arrowhead Golf Club in Littleton, Colorado.
Traditionally, the two concepts haven’t mixed, but Walker is betting on a future in which people can move from one to the other as their lives change – and enjoy broader access than just their own local club or course.
“My belief at Arcis’ inception (was) that there are far more commonalities than differences between daily-fee courses and private courses;’ Walker said.
His goal is to create an ecosystem that includes everything from entry-level to upscale clubs in every major metro in the U.S. The company has acquired and invested $100 million in dense pockets of courses around major metros. In 2021, he told the Dallas Business Journal, his plans to double the company over the next five years, through acquisitions and organic growth.
Walker’s company is seeking to disrupt traditional models at an inflection point for golf courses and country clubs alike. Many golf courses have seen a surge of business since the pandemic, while a variety of factors have led several country clubs to close their doors and contributed to rising dues at others.
Chris Davies, director at industry tracking firm Club Benchmarking, previously told The Business Journals it’s an overall healthy time for the industry – even amid some recent country club closures.
“Member counts, initiation fees have all seen positive trends recently and are having a substantial positive impact of the health of private clubs,” Davies said. “They were quite honestly a bit on the ropes before.”
For existing and prospective club members who are waiting for membership fees – or long waitlists – to settle down, they likely will have to wait a while. Country clubs have been seeing an influx of aging millennials, and the largest number of millennials were born in 1990. Since the average age of a median first-time country club joiner tends to be around 42, that means country clubs will see increasing interest through 2032, Davies said.
Arcis is seeking to carve out a niche amid those changes and opportunities.
In the Phoenix area, where the company owns 16 facilities, more than 10,000 golfers subscribe to one of three tiers of the Arcis Players monthly subscription service. Basic subscriptions give golfers access to reduced golfing fees at nine public courses throughout the region. More expensive subscriptions give players access to additional discounts on private lessons, advance tee times, free clinics and other freebies.
For the players who eventually decide to join a private country club, those experiences are more likely to keep them within the Arcis ecosystem, Walker said.
“There is some sort of content or programming every night of the week. That’s perfect for a subscription offering;’ Walker said. “Rather than people leaving based upon price, they will stay within our ecosystem.”
It also means creating possibilities for people to join a private country club in one city and another Arcis club elsewhere – a factor that has become more important in the hybrid era, where members want to use facilities in different places around the country.
In 2016, Arcis began offering Arcis Access, a travel reciprocity program that allows its private club “golf members” to golf at any of the other private clubs in its portfolio.
In 2017 Arcis extended the program to include a partnership with Links2Golfwhich widened the overall network to 850 clubs worldwide. Only private club golf members can enroll in the program, and for an additional fee.
“Historically, it’s been ‘I joined this specific club because I enjoy playing golf: What we are seeing now is that people want a club that encompasses more;’ Walker said.
Over time, Walker said Arcis will continue to buy clubs where it makes sense, aiming for density in major urban areas.
Arcis, the second-largest country-club organization after the acquisitive Invited Corp., is building its portfolio at a time when the wider country club industry faces a crossroads.
Some clubs have thrived from the increased attention to golf and Americans flocking to outdoor spaces during the Covid-19 pandemic, while others slowly crumbled under the weight of expensive capital repairs.
For golf courses that lay abandoned, their future is often fraught with development hurdles. For country clubs that survive and thrive, many are raising their dues and initiation fees to better handle the future.
“Golf is merely the ante in the game. The golf has got to be the foundation and be really good. But we also have to think about with a family-centric perspective:’ Walker said. “I would approach it very similarly to a media company. We have to have something throughout the day that appeals to each of our consumers within that.”
To achieve that goal, the company creates family programming including exercise facilities, kid-friendly pizza-making classes and dining experiences.
Walker also sees a future for Arcis beyond country clubs and golf courses, including wellness and related areas – with golf as the flywheel that holds it together.
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity for us to expand beyond just our golf footprint:’ Walker said. “There’s significant white space there for us.”
Other players in the industry are also betting on other programming to complement golf offerings.
Invited, which has approximately 180 properties and recorded about $1.7 billion in 2022 revenue, has been seeking to expand its reach with new amenities like pickleball or even e-gaming activities.
“Gaming has become the dominant form of entertainment for many, especially for younger members:’ Invited CEO David Pillsbury said.
Pillsbury said those new offerings help the bottom line because parents whose children attend programs at country clubs are far more likely to renew their membership than those who don’t. It also helps take on what he views as clubs’ biggest competitor.
“We view the competition as the home. Our job is to try and get you out of the home more often and into the club,” Pillsbury said. “And that means the entire family.”
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About Arcis Golf
Arcis Golf is a premier operator of golf facilities and has a portfolio of nearly 70 public and private golf clubs in the United States. An industry leader, Arcis Golf continues to transform its portfolio of golf clubs into inclusive, lifestyle hubs with dynamic programming and unrivaled amenities that complement diverse playing experiences. Arcis Golf properties enhance the golf and country club lifestyle to a level of excellence designed to exceed the needs and expectations of family, friends, co-workers, and guests of all ages.
Arcis Golf is also known for innovative management, with a best-in-class leadership team that is reinventing the modern club experience, making it more relevant to the lifestyles of today’s consumers and that appeal to the entire family with more choices in all areas of their lives. The company is committed to enhancing service levels, amenities, and content to broaden the appeal for members and guests at all its properties. Headquarters: 8343 Douglas Avenue, Ste. 200, Dallas, TX 75225. Phone: (214) 722-6000. Website: arcisgolf.com.
Media Contact
Karen Moraghan
Hunter Public Relations
kmoraghan@hunter-pr.com
908/963-6013
Dallas-Fort Worth Area College Students Attend Career Exploration Event
DALLAS (Nov. 17, 2023) — Arcis Golf hosted another in its series of career exploration events on Friday, November 10, showcasing potential career paths in the golf industry to college students. The event was held at Lantana Golf Club, a premier private club and one of nine Arcis properties in the Dallas-Fort Worth-area. With more than 6,000 employees and a collection of nearly 70 private, resort and daily fee clubs, Dallas-based Arcis Golf is the second largest and fastest-growing owner and operator in the United States.
“This was a wonderful opportunity for us to inform the students about the wide variety of jobs available in the golf and hospitality industry,” said Blake Walker, CEO and Founder of Arcis Golf. “Playing golf is not a prerequisite to have a rewarding and successful career in this $100-billion-a-year industry. This career exploration event was designed to provide students with knowledge and insights so that our industry, and Arcis, can continue to flourish for many years with this very talented generation.”
The group was welcomed by Linnet Carty, Corporate Director of Inclusion and Equity of Arcis Golf, and included a speed “netweaving” session with Arcis leaders from different disciplines within the company. The keynote speaker was Arcis Golf’s President Dirk Burghartz. Representatives from some of golf’s major organizations including the USGA and AJGA, and retailer Golf Galaxy, were also in attendance and addressed the audience.
Carty said the golf industry is making strides in achieving inclusion in the workplace and welcoming individuals of different genders, cultures, and abilities, but that there are more opportunities to grow.
“We want these students to know that Arcis Golf is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace and to taking our business to greater heights,” she emphasized. “The door is open, and we are intentional about helping the leaders of tomorrow to enter and flourish.”
Inclusion of a wide variety of audiences is at the core of Arcis Golf’s operating tenets. Els for Autism, U.S. Adaptive Golf Alliance, and the Women in Golf Foundation are among the organizations supported by Arcis’s programming and initiatives. Additionally, Arcis provides access to its courses for all HBCU Golf teams to practice and play. Scheduled for February 24-26, 2024, the inaugural Arcis HBCU Collegiate Golf Championship will be held at The Club at Weston Hills in Weston, Florida.
An industry leader in providing unrivaled lifestyle amenities that complement exceptional golf offerings, Arcis Golf has invested approximately $100 million in the past four years on property upgrades, new amenities, personnel, training, and systems to create extraordinary experiences and forge emotional connections with members and guests. The company has received numerous honors, including a National Golf Foundation “2023 Top 100 Businesses in Golf.”
For further information about Arcis Golf, access the website at www.arcisgolf.com.
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About Arcis Golf
Dallas-based Arcis Golf is the premier operator of approximately 70 public and private golf clubs in the United States and an industry leader, providing dynamic direction through unrivaled golf and lifestyle amenities. The company’s innovative, best-in-class leadership team is reinventing the modern club experience, and is committed to enhancing service levels, amenities, and programming to broaden the appeal for customers at all its properties. Phone: (214) 722-6000. Website: www.arcisgolf.com
Media Contact
Karen Moraghan
Hunter Public Relations
kmoraghan@hunter-pr.com
908/963-6013