Aerial view of the Arizona Golf House to the left of the 18th green of Papago Golf Club. The golf club’s event hall, Evie’s Pavilion, and the main clubhouse, which includes Lou’s Bar & Grill, are pictured to the right of the Arizona Golf House.
Kyle Zirkus PhotographyMore than a house, it’s a home.
Beyond a purely physical space, home is a place of belonging. When Arizona Golf House opened its doors earlier this month, it truly became the embodiment of home for 11 statewide nonprofit organizations dedicated to the concept that “Golf is Good for Everyone.”
The stunning 14,100-square foot office building, designed by award-winning Douglas Fredrikson Architects, is appropriately located on the grounds of Papago Golf Club, a premier City of Phoenix municipal facility that also hosts the Arizona State University golf programs.
The single-story design is distinctly Southwestern and features earth tones and an open layout that allows the natural desert light in while, at the same time, keeping interior workspaces cool and comfortable. Nestled below the scenic backdrop of Papago Buttes, it blends seamlessly into the Papago complex that also includes the Fredrikson-designed clubhouse.
Golf House was built In collaboration with the Arizona Alliance for Golf, Arizona State University, Arizona Golf Community Foundation and City of Phoenix.
Grand Opening attendees – tenants, visitors and partners – all expressed their amazement at the final product.
Workspaces for the tenant golf nonprofit organizations that call Arizona Golf House home.
Kyle Zirkus Photography
Catherine Carmignani, executive director of AZ Golf, shared the emotions being felt by all the new tenants.
“Everyone has been talking about it for years,” she said of the project. “And those that have been part of the early process, watching them walk through the building, eyes wide open and saying they never dreamed that this could actually happen. I don’t know, I never thought we’d be in this position to be so fortunate to be given this opportunity.”
A solid foundation
Arizona Golf House is built on a foundation of four Cs – Collaboration, Camaraderie, Community and Commitment. Full-time, non-profit tenants now sharing the space together are:
Arizona Alliance for GolfAZ Caddy and Leadership AcademyAZ GolfCactus and Pine Golf Course Superintendents AssociationEvans Scholars FoundationFirst Tee – PhoenixGreater Southwest Club Management Association of AmericaJunior Golf Association of ArizonaLPGA*Girls Golf – PhoenixSouthwest PGAYouth on Course
Additional regional non-profits in the golf arena will also enjoy affiliation with Golf House.
View of the Arizona Golf House public event space, available for rent to the public upon request for various gatherings, meetings, parties and receptions.
Kyle Zirkus Photography
While the organizations serve diverse populations and have individual mission statements, they all share a common goal– to engage the Arizona community through the game of golf.
Explained Carmignani, “We’re not restricted to just the golf community. We want everyone to find a passion for the game, whether it’s working in it, a loved one finds a connection with it, or if they themselves want to try the game.”
Collaboration & Camaraderie
Golf House offers a unique opportunity for synergy and collaboration among the 11 tenants, who were all previously located in offices spread across the region.
Access to resources, more efficient time management, improved program planning and execution are just a few of the benefits of “shared housing.” Being under the same roof allows staff members to simply get up from a desk, walk down or across the hall and talk directly to a colleague, rather than spend time to schedule a meeting, drive to a meeting or Zoom a meeting.
The Junior Golf Association of Arizona, for example, now has access to a wealth on-site resources.
Said Executive Director Scott McNevin, “Obviously the big thing is collaboration. My staff’s pretty small and now we have 11 organizations here and 40-plus people all under the same roof. So we’re pretty excited about it.”
Arizona Golf House tenants cut the ceremonial ribbon. (L-R) Erin McDonough First Tee – Phoenix, Catherine Carmignani AZ Golf, Scott McNevin Junior Golf Association of Arizona, Gaby Speh Greater Southwest Club Managers Association of America, Gregg Tryhus Arizona Alliance for Golf, Katie Prendergast Arizona Alliance for Golf, Carmella Ruggiero Cactus & Pine Golf Course Superintendent Association, Bernie Eaton Southwest PGA, Cori Matheson LPGA*USGA Girls Golf – Phoenix.
Kyle Zirkus Photography
Cori Matheson, executive director of LPGA*USGA Girls Golf – Phoenix, is also a fan of the new model.
“I’ve always been a firm believer that if you want to go fast, you go alone and if you want to go far, you go together. So being together only elevates the entire golf scene in the community and allows us to all connect and work together, be together, help each other and just grow even more.”
Added noted LPGA teaching professional Sandy LaBauve, who founded LPGA*USGA Girls Golf – Phoenix in 1989, “Putting everything under the same umbrella just really makes us feel like we belong. And I think that that’s one of the neatest things about Girls Golf coming together with the other organizations.”
There are no silos at Golf House. The organizations are already building stronger relationships and enjoying a new sense of camaraderie. Instead of focusing solely on their own organization’s mission, the Golf House residents are increasing their collaboration on a common shared vision of growing the game together.
Commitment
Arizona Golf House began as an idea 10 years ago in the mind of Gregg Tryhus, a self-described North Dakota “hayseed” whose achievements prove otherwise.
A savvy 30-year golf industry veteran, he founded the Arizona Alliance for Golf as a coalition of organizations and individuals to “unify, protect and educate everyday Arizonans about the game and the bright, fruitful future it holds for generations to come.”
At the Golf House Grand Opening, Greg Tryhus was presented with a leather book in which representatives from each Golf House tenant expressed their gratitude and appreciation to him for his leadership in making the project a reality.
Candace Oehler
Tapped to help relocate the ASU golf teams to Papago, he examined the entire picture and focused on making the facility the hub of Arizona golf.
“It’s a public facility. It’s owned by everybody,” he said. “It should be where everybody congregates for golf, right? Because it’ll stand the test of time that way.”
Not only was he successful in transforming Papago into a “go-to” destination, he was also instrumental in maintaining it as an affordable, public course. He noted that $36 million has been invested in Papago over the last eight years, primarily from income generated at the course.
“We designed a clubhouse that is centered around the community, the neighborhoods of Arcadia and Tempe and the people who work in this area. 75 to 80% of our food and beverage sales go to non-golfers, which means we make income in food and beverage. Most golf courses lose money on F&B because they’re trying to sell to the 200 people to play golf that day. We don’t sell to that guy. I mean, he’s part of it, but we sell to the community.”
So, unlike the majority of golf facilities that lose money on their F&B, the opposite is true at Papago.
Through the Arizona Alliance for Golf, Tryhus and his colleagues continue to battle golf industry myths and misperceptions by focusing on educating the public about golf’s contributions. It’s a $6 billion Arizona industry that supports over 60,000 jobs and generates $518 million in tax revenue. Golf course operations get blamed for excess water usage when, in fact, they account for a paltry 2% of daily water usage.
Golf contributions quantified.
Candace Oehler
Equally important are the intangibles that golf embodies.
He explained, “So we need to win on economics. We need to win with strength in numbers, and the number of people who play golf need to use their voices to tell people how many great things happen with golf. And the other part of the strategy is that we have to win on the social values compact that golf provides the community.”
Arizona Golf House is one of his dreams realized. He made sure the words his father taught him, the basic principles of the game, are displayed in the signs that greet everyone who enters the building – PLAY IT AS YOU FIND IT. FINISH WHAT YOU START.
Greg Tryhus’ guiding principles inscribed at Arizona Golf House.
Candace Oehler
Now that Golf House is occupied and up to speed, don’t expect Tryhus to amble off into the sunset. The organizations he has supported on this journey won’t let him.
Community
Arizona Golf House represents the birth of a new community of like-minded professionals dedicated to serving their diverse constituencies.
Junior golfers representing the organizations that occupy Arizona Golf House.
Candace Oehler
Said Carmignani, “We work in golf. This is so much fun. You hear laughter and storytelling that’s happening around the office. This is an amazing place to work and call home.”
As they walk through the doors, you can imagine the tenants humming “Our house is a very, very, very fine house ….. “
