Many things shape us as we develop personally and professionally in life, including the experiences we have throughout our journey and the relationships we develop.
In a recent conversation, we talked about leadership and other topics with the Black Gold Golf Club’s PGA of America General Manager Richard Cessna. His journey has helped shape him to become the leader and mentor he is today.
Who is Richard Cessna, PGA?
Richard Cessna, like many PGA of America Golf Professionals, was active in the business of golf at the first opportunity as a teenager. “I started at San Vicente Country Club in Ramona, California as a 14-year-old,” he shares.
It was in college that Cessna started to learn some of the hard lessons of life that shape our subsequent development. “I ran out of money while in college, so I joined the United States Air Force. I had a job at Pueblo El Mirage Golf Course just outside of Luke A.F.B. in Arizona. I also worked swing shifts (nighttime) on F15s as a jet mechanic, went home and slept for a few hours, then went to the golf course during the day. I did that for nearly four years.”
After the U.S.A.F., Cessna took a job with the PGA TOUR at TPC Scottsdale in 1990, where he worked for 11 years and earned PGA membership in 1993.
“In 2001, I joined KemperSports, where I continue to be happily employed. While employed with KemperSports, I’ve worked at Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert, California and Paradise Valley Golf Course and Rancho Solano Golf Courses in Fairfield, California. I am currently the GM at Black Gold Golf Club in Yorba Linda, California.”
In 2023, Cessna earned General Manager of the Year honors from KemperSports, a reflection not only of his time at KemperSports but of the many experiences he had prior.
Black Gold Golf Club is a high-end golf facility owned by the City of Yorba Linda. Most guests are shocked to learn that this is a municipal facility, as it has the feel of a private club. Opened in 2001, Black Gold was built on a former oil field.
“The club has been very successful, with both golf and F&B playing major roles in our financial success,” Cessna explains.
The range at Black Gold is called the “Oil Field” and has been voted a Golf Range Association of America (GRAA) Top 50 Public Facility for many years. Black Gold was named the Best Golf Course in Orange County in 2023 by the readers of Orange County Magazine.
Cessna has been the General Manager at Black Gold Golf Club for more than five years, and like many GMs, his typical day is long but always rewarding.
“I arrive at the club between 4:30 am and 5:00 am five to six days a week. I leave the property as late as 8:00 pm on some days and work between sixty and seventy hours a week.”
He touts his team and the relationships he’s forged as driving his success. “You cannot be successful in any business without creating strong relationships with your department heads,” he says. “General Managers are similar to head coaches of sports franchises, and the department heads are the assistant coaches and the rising stars slotted for the next open head coaching position. I provide my department managers with the tools, training and support they need to run their departments efficiently and effectively and to treat their responsibilities like it’s their own business. I’ll work in any position any time I’m needed to assist or support a department head.”
He commented on the family and team atmosphere at Black Gold. “I don’t try to build good teams of people that just work well together; I try to build work families with talented and dedicated people who want to succeed as both individuals and as team members. I want to know who they are as people and employees. After all, you can’t call yourself a family and not know anything about each other. I encourage team members to bring their families to the club to enjoy the amenities.”
Of course, families may have their internal disagreements, but they stick together and support one another when needed. “We can talk about the challenges behind closed doors and away from the guests, but we never allow our guests to know when we have a challenge or are dealing with some sort of difficult situation,” he says. “I’ve been happily married to my high school sweetheart for thirty-eight years, and I think our success has been for the same reasons - knowing the importance of building relationships and creating a great family atmosphere. Respect each other’s opinions and be kind to each other, even when disagreeing.”
When discussing emerging trends in club management and operations, Cessna had this to say: “Our industry is finally understanding the importance of utilizing technology to its fullest. Although electronic tee sheets and POS systems have been around for decades, our industry turned over our tee sheets to third parties without realizing they did not have our best interests at heart. We trained our guests to wait for the best price by lowering our rates as the guests’ desired tee time and day came closer, which is the exact opposite of what we should have been doing.”
He continued, “Now, especially with some of the new technology and high demand, we can control our prices with on-demand pricing models. You don’t have to turn your tee sheet over to a third party. You can utilize a third party but still maintain full control of all of your fees and advanced reservation policies. Technology like Lightspeed POS and Noteefy Waitlist software are current examples of great technology with full property control.”
After this great analysis on technology, Cessna left us with this advice for the next generation of PGA of America General Managers.
“Lead by example! The first word in the title of General Manager is General. Having served my country, and being a history buff, I’ve studied some of the most important generals in our world’s history. I found myself drawn to the generals that led from the front, not from the rear. Even some of the generals that were very tough on their troops were also some of the most beloved.”
He concluded by saying, “General Managers must lead by example, not from the seat of their pants in their office chairs. No one has to drive up Black Gold Drive to spend their money with us because we are not a hospital, grocery store or gas station. We are golf’s “Disneyland”, and our guests choose to spend their discretionary income at our club. For that reason, they deserve the best experience we can provide, and we do it by working together!”
Richard Cessna, a Quarter Century PGA Member, is the PGA of America General Manager at Black Gold Golf Club in Yorba Linda, California.