A Member Experience - Pacific Links

A Member Experience

Pacific Links offers access to more than 100 clubs

Story by Howard Riell

Pacific Links International is looking to Nevada to provide the kinds of unique experiences that its members from around the world both deserve and expect.

Pacific Links is a Canadian-owned golf corporation focused on acquiring signature properties and establishing affiliate relationships with quality courses in select destination markets for golfers seeking a member experience that offers privileges at home and around the world. Founded in 2009, the company offers a unique membership structure whose main feature is reciprocal access to more than 100 world-class clubs worldwide that are well-designed, possess strong character and deliver a memorable golf experience in a desirable location.

With its substantial financial resources, Pacific Links continues to grow through acquisitions and the development of quality golf properties—especially in Las Vegas, where its holdings include DragonRidge Country Club, Southern Highlands as well as SouthShore and its sister property, The Lake Club. In Hawaii, Pacific Links owns and operates Kapolei Golf Club, Royal Hawaiian Golf Club, Olomana Golf Links, Makaha Valley Country Club (East), and Makaha Golf Club (West), currently under renovation by Greg Norman. The company also owns Pete Dye Golf Club in West Virginia and Dove Canyon in California, and is building The 27 Club in Tianjin, China, which is scheduled to open in 2015.

Unique Market

The Las Vegas market is a unique one to say the least, according to Vice President of Marketing Richelle Nemeth. “These are desert courses, so that certainly makes them unique. In terms of destination market, with our strategy to bring the Chinese golfer to North America, Las Vegas is a primary strategic focus for us. It is a high-demand location for our Chinese members, and for all of our North American members.”

The company clearly prizes its Nevada presence. It acquired DragonRidge Country Club, its 11th owned property, in February of this year. “Las Vegas is one of the premier golf destinations in the world, and Pacific Links is pleased to add DragonRidge to its Nevada roster,” said CEO Bruce Simmonds in making the announcement. Named after a rocky ridge that is known to residents as the Sleeping Dragon and located at the base of the Black Mountain Range in the city of Henderson, the 6,975-yard, par-72 championship golf course was designed by Jay Morrish and David Druzisky to be a true "members’ course" that is challenging for all skill levels.

Pacific Links plans to continue to grow its portfolio and introduce an additional 50 affiliate golf clubs in 2014 and 150 clubs over the next three years. It will expand its presence in Nevada “in order to fully actualize the demand we believe we can inspire,” Nemeth says.

“The question for us really is whether those will come as part of an acquisition or if they will come as part of a strategic relationship,” she notes. “We do have skin in the game, if you will, when it comes to ownership of golf properties. A large part of our growth comes from building strategic relationships through affiliate and reciprocal partnerships with other like-minded private golf courses.”

That, she continues, is a “very significant part of our strategic development—which as you can imagine helps to control the capital costs while still delivering the growth and the access to the membership group. And it certainly helps with other well-respected private clubs who meet the criteria for participating in the program, and as such then extends to that membership the ability to play those courses, as well.”

Pacific Links International

www.pacificlinks.com