The "Architect on Staff" program has always been a part of the package of services offered by The Northeast Golf Company, a full service Golf Course Design firm headed by Robert McNeil, ASGCA Associate Member. In many ways this service is what Robert McNeil is all about, bringing personalized, accountable experience to public, private, municipal and resort courses. More recently this service has been formalized in an effort to offer clubs an avenue to affordably tackle some of the hard economic challenges they face.

Kernwood Country Club in Salem, Massachusetts has signed up for the "Architect on Staff" package for 2010. The 1914 Donald Ross design was looking to pin point improvement opportunities to its historic layout, but did not want to get into the formality and broader scope of a full scale master plan. The focus at Kernwood was the recontouring of fairway lines, recapturing green and green surround surfaces, tree management and fine tuning some of the classic features on the property. "The Club was just not in a position to commit the dollars to a larger plan and this service was perfect for our needs" said Tim Lynch, long time General Manger at Kernwood.

The goal of the program is to provide piece of mind to Club staff and management officials through a trusted and accountable go-to design resource and ultimately to become a valuable extension of a Club's golf course management team.

McNeil is keenly aware of the financial challenges in today's golf market including tightening operating budgets and membership and rounds decline. He strongly believes in the concept that well thought out improvements and planning support can successfully combat these challenges and reposition your Club. Here's how the "Architect on Staff" package works:

Through the establishment of an annual design agreement, The Northeast Golf Company becomes your dedicated Golf Course Architect. Your course will receive the following services:

1. As needed visits to your course (over the course of the year) to address design issues or provide improvement directives specific to your property.

This may include the development of a design solution for an ongoing problem, consultation relative to long and short term planning, meeting with Club Officials to discuss design inquiries, or assistance with historical data collection/interpretation.

2. On-Call Design Inquiry Services to answer questions related to technical construction specifications and construction materials or any other golf related issues at your facility.

3. Review of existing facility conditions to establish baseline data for future decision making, annual capital improvement planning or address problematic areas on your course.

The "Architect on Staff" relationship begins very simply with a nominal retainer which will apply to the provision of the services outlined above. If and when the retainer has been invested in design services, the Club will be billed on an hourly basis plus expenses for ongoing consultation services over the remainder of the annual term. All services, time, travel and related expenses are monitored and reported with each invoice.

Gardiner's Bay Golf Club in Shelter Island, New York has been using Robert McNeil as their Architect on Staff for many years. This relationship has evolved to address many issues on the course including the recent reestablishment of the valley meadow and the opening of broad views out to Gardiner's Bay and Fisher's Island.

An even greater value of the service is its support through The McNeil Design Collaborative which consists of a national network of design professionals that have dedicated their professional careers to the many facets of Golf Course Planning, Design, Development, Construction and Maintenance. As each project requires different solutions, this collaborative structure allows for a highly experienced design /construction management team to be built, fitting the challenges of each site with the proper expertise.

The McNeil Design Collaborative specializes in:
Project Feasibility
Economic/Operations Analysis
Landscape Architecture
Land/Site Planning
Irrigation Design
Agronomic Consultation
Maintenance Facility Design
Graphic Design
Construction Management
Specialty Shaping (working with your staff)

About the Northeast Golf Company:
The mission of The Northeast Golf Company is to provide clients with the best golf course design service tailored to meet their individual needs. To be the best requires focus on the business objectives of each client by providing a creative and strategic plan that responds to the inherent nature of the land, the players served and the project budget.

Robert McNeil operates as the team leader providing creative direction while bringing together the necessary expertise and overseeing every aspect of a golf course project to ensure that the vision becomes reality.

The McNeil Design Collaborative and The Northeast Golf Company team approach combines years of experience in successful design, construction and project management.

"We take pride in developing relationships that are productive, long lasting and most of all fun, much like the courses we design." Robert McNeil

Contact: Robert McNeil, ASGCA Associate Member, Principal Golf Course Architect,
The Northeast Golf Company (401)-667-4994 in Saunderstown, RI -
and (732)-747-1888 in Red Bank, NJ
Email: design@northeastgolfcompany.com or Visit: www.northeastgolfcompany.com