Orchard Hills Takes New Course of Action

Todd O’Neal, general manager for Orchard Hills Golf & Country Club in Washougal, said the club will remain a comfortable place for members from various walks of life to enjoy time with family, friends and the game of golf. (ZACHARY KAUFMAN/The Columbian)

WASHOUGAL — Todd O’Neal is used to having success at the golf course.

He plays the game well enough to have some success in regional tournaments.

As a coach, he guided Sheldon High School in Eugene to consecutive Oregon large-school boys golf state titles.

But it was O’Neal’s work to improve the fortunes of an ailing Oregon course that caught the attention of the board of directors at Orchard Hills Golf and Country Club.

After being run by volunteer committees for most of its 77 years, the private club recently hired O’Neal as its general manager. His assignment is to streamline operations and grow membership.

“It’s such a big operation now. The club decided we need professional management,” Orchard Hills president Bob Foster said.

O’Neal, 42, is only the second general manager in recent memory at Orchard Hills, which opened in 1932. Rick Edwards, the club professional at Orchard Hills since 1977, also wore the GM hat for several years before returning control to the volunteer board of directors.

“I found that I couldn’t be in both spots at the same time,” Edwards said.

Edwards has spent a lifetime at Orchard Hills. His parents were members and he grew up playing the course. He has owned and operated the pro shop for more than 30 years. That is expected to change on Jan. 1. Plans are in the works for the club to take ownership of the pro shop, making Edwards and his staff employees.

Edwards said the new agreement will improve efficiency and allow him more time to work with members as a coach and equipment resource.

“The more efficient we can be, the better it will be for the members and for the club in the long term,” Edwards said.

“He can be a little more focused on serving the membership,” O’Neal said.

The shift in operations is indicative of the changes in the golf industry — for example the pro shop now competes with online retailers for business. It also reflects the changing demographics at the Washougal club.

Orchard Hills long had a waiting list to become one of its 450 member-owners. But the club is currently about 30 members below its ceiling, Foster said.

Foster and Edwards each said that age and health problems are most often the reasons longtime members leave the club. That decline was part of the motivation for hiring a general manager to oversee operations and plan for the future.

“We believe we’ve got the most challenging par-70 golf course in Southwest Washington,” Foster said. “We’ve never marketed the club. In the past we always had a waiting list.”

O’Neal’s ties to Clark County go back decades. His parents moved to Vancouver after he graduated from Sheldon High School in Eugene. In the mid-1990s, O’Neal was a teaching professional at Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver.

After getting away from the golf business for several years, he returned as a teaching professional in Hawai’i before moving to Emerald Valley Golf Course in Creswell, Ore., six years ago.

“The thing that we liked was his track record,” Foster said, pointing to O’Neal’s work in growing the membership at Emerald Valley, a public-private course.

“He grew their membership and made their operation more efficient financially. We’re facing some of the same challenges,” Foster said.

O’Neal calls the turnaround at Emerald Valley his most rewarding accomplishment, along with guiding Sheldon to those state titles and helping six students find college golf opportunities.

O’Neal said his assignment doesn’t require making major changes. Orchard Hills will remain a comfortable place for members from various walks of life to enjoy time with family, friends and the game of golf.

He said his job is to make sure his bosses — the club members — receive first-rate customer service.

“Everyone who’s here is an owner,” O’Neal said. “When they’re here, they’re getting away from the trials and tribulations of their lives.

“People should be proud to call this home.”

O’Neal describes Orchard Hills as a well-kept secret, even within Clark County.

“We have one of the most ego-defying courses around,” O’Neal said. “It poses as a simple test of golf, but it’s exciting for someone no matter their skill level.

“I’ll tell you what, this is a very difficult golf course if you let your ego get in the way.”

The course hosts a number of fund-raising tournaments and is the home course for the Washougal High School golf teams.

Next September, it is scheduled to host the Oregon Golf Association Super Senior Championship tournament.

Foster said the board of directors is thrilled to have O’Neal on board to oversee operations and to bring such tournaments to Orchard Hills.

As president, he added, O’Neal’s presence means more time to enjoy the golf course and the friendships that were the reasons he joined Orchard Hills in 1981. He said the board of directors is wondering why they didn’t go this direction sooner.

“It’s been a real fun year,” Foster said.