Detroit Country Club Board Issues Clarification on Impending Management Change

DETROIT LAKES (KDLM) – After receiving a number of comments about a potential management change at the Detroit Country Club, the Board of Directors have issued some clarifications.

The Detroit Country Club has been in talks with Troon, a golf course management company to offer management and consulting services for the course as soon as the spring of 2022.

In an email the Detroit Country Club board explained that the board is not turning the golf course over to Troon, or stepping aside, or sending jobs out of state, but looking at bringing in Troon as a management and consulting company. “This means giving our existing employees access to consulting and support they need to make DCC a better place for everyone,” the email said.

The board had unanimously approved the hiring of Troon indicating that the operation at DCC had gotten too big in the last couple of years to continue under the current operational structure. “At the end of the day, the DCC board came to the determination that Troon Golf will be the best option for our course, and the best option to ensure that the Detroit Country Club is a shining jewel for many years to come.”

The board says Troon will not come in a gut the course, double the prices and ruin the culture. A full copy of the statement by the Detroit Country Club Board of Directors is available below.

I’m writing to provide a very brief update on the process that the DCC Board is going through with regard to Troon Golf.
As many of you are aware, there was recently an article in the Detroit Lakes newspaper about the Detroit Country Club potentially bringing Troon Golf to act as management and consulting support for the Detroit Country Club. Although the ink is not dry on the agreement, this is something that the board unanimously approved and feel that this is the best possible option to ensure that DCC thrives well into the future.

Simply put, the operation at DCC had gotten too big in the last couple of years to continue under the current operational structure. The amount of work and time that the DCC board was putting in to keep the course running was (and is) unsustainable. The DCC board began looking at a lot of options to restructure the course in order to give each and every one of you the best possible golf experience. The Board members collectively spent hundreds of hours talking to golfers, friends, colleagues, general managers, other golf courses, other golf management companies, etc. To say we did our due diligence is an understatement. We’ve looked at this from a financial perspective, a cultural perspective, a golf experience perspective, etc. No stone has been left unturned.

At the end of the day, the DCC board came to the determination that Troon Golf will be the best option for our course, and the best option to ensure that the Detroit Country Club is a shining jewel for many years to come.
Now, I know a lot of you have heard a lot of rumors going around about Troon Golf. That they will come in and gut the course. That they will double the prices. That they will ruin the culture and make it a corporate course. And many more. Trust me, the Board has heard all of these before and had many of the same concerns ourselves. This was part of our hundreds of hours of due diligence, and part of our extensive negotiations with Troon. I can assure you that none of this is true. Whatever rumor you may have heard about what Troon did to some course in some other part of the country is simply unfounded.
At the end of the day, I know that change is not easy, and I know that this change will not be without its roadbumps. But I know that we have worked hard to come up with the best possible solution for the future of Detroit Country Club. I would ask that all of you give your board members the benefit of the doubt, and not rush to judgment. I know each and every one of these board members, and none of them would risk the culture and condition of this course that we all love. They only want what is best for the culture of Detroit Country Club and most importantly, its passholders.

Thanks,
DCC Board of Directors