Troon, the leader in golf club management, development and marketing, recently recognized Michael Rodriguez at Audubon Country Club in Naples as the company’s “General Manager of the Year” for 2018. The award recognizes the top-performing leader among Troon’s 460 plus managed facilities around the world in the areas of service, quality and hospitality. During 2018. Michael guided the Country Club through a complete course renovation project of the 1989 Joe Lee designed golf course, and under his direction the club saw substantial gains in member satisfaction and membership sales in 2018.

“Congratulations to Michael on this exceptional achievement,” said Mike Ryan, Troon Chief Operating Officer. “He is an outstanding leader and serves the Audubon Country Club with passion and a commitment to excellence.”

Michael is currently overseeing a $7 million renovation and expansion project of the club’s Courtside Cafe’ building. The former single story building is being replaced with a new two-story, 19,000 square-foot Lifestyle Center with tennis, fitness operations and a new casual indoor/outdoor dining area, scheduled for completion December 2019. The new facility will both modernize and expand the club’s fitness offerings while providing members with a breathtaking new dining experience.

“The Board of Directors and Membership at Audubon are immensely proud of Michael receiving this very prestigious award,” said Pam Davis, President ACC Board of Directors. “His outstanding leadership is evident in everything he touches at Audubon-from the fabulous team he has built, his oversight of capital projects and budget management, his open-minded interaction with members and his unwavering commitment to excellent service. There is no one who works harder or is more dedicated to ensuring our members’ experience is second to none. He epitomizes the “Best” in everything he does. Way to go Michael!”

The golf course renovation was under the direction of ASGCA architect J. Drew Rogers and golf course superintendent Kenyon Kyle, GCSAA. They completely rebuilt and recontoured all 18 greens with Tif-Eagle Bermuda grass and installed new green surrounds and irrigation. Other improvements included an enlarged and enhanced short-game practice area, new brick paver golf cart staging area and additional native landscaping elevating the beauty of the natural surroundings. The green renovation which took about six months was a culmination of improvements to the golf course completed over the past three years. Both the fairways and tee boxes underwent a conversion to Celebration Bermuda earlier.

The course has numerous lakes and holes fronting coastal estuaries and mangrove islands, with natural preserve areas separating other holes from residential lots. Bunkers were reworked during this process as well. The Country Club is a well established, private, low-density golf community located in Naples only minutes away from the white sandy beaches and azure blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The community has 410 luxury homes spread over 755 acres of which 59% is dedicated to natural preserves and is a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.

Audubon Country Club is managed by Troon Prive’, a division of Troon, and offers an array of amenities and extensive social calendar for an active, healthy and social lifestyle. For more information visit AudubonCCofNaples.com or call 239-592-4000.