NGCOA names Cordillera Ranch Course of the Year, awards others

Photo: NGCOA, Cordilla Ranch No. 16

The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch, which sits on 8,700 acres in the heart of Texas Hill Country, was named the NGCOA’s 2014 Course of the Year. The award honors a member course demonstrating excellence in course quality, ownership and management, contributions to its community and to the game.

About 40 minutes north of San Antonio, The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch is a Jack Nicklaus design that winds its way over 780 acres of rugged landscape. Cordillera opened in May 2007 and has taken a consistent position among the state’s top-ranked courses. The par 3 sixteenth, which requires a skillful shot to a green framed by cascading waterfalls, has been ranked the most beautiful hole in Texas for five straight years.

Finalists for the Course of the Year Award included Miacomet Golf Course in Nantucket, Mass.; Jack Kramer’s Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills, Calif.; and Tam O’Shanter Golf Course in Canton, Ohio.

The NGCOA also honored Troon North, the Scottsdale, Ariz., facility that spawned the development of the world’s largest golf course management company, with the 2014 Jemsek Award for Golf Course Excellence. The Monument and Pinnacle courses at Troon North host approximately 80,000 rounds a year.

At its Celebration Dinner and Awards Gala, the NGCOA also recognized Jack Nicklaus with its Award of Merit for long-term contributions to the game.

Marcel Welling, the owner of Burg Golf and a former president of the European Golf Course Owners Association, was given the Champion Award for service to course owners at the local level.

Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., won the Player Development Award for success in attracting new players to the game.

The Paul Porter Award for commitment, service and leadership to a chapter or international affiliate was given to Tom Kern, owner of the Valle Vista golf club and conference center in Greenwood, Ind.

Mike Hughes, the current CEO of the association, received the Don Rossi Award for significant contributions to the NGCOA.