Greenhorn Creek Resort “Gets” the Golf Getaway

June 10, 2013

Buck Reed kept getting calls from customers asking, “Do you have accommodations for eight golfers or more?” Though the Greenhorn Creek Resort had luxury cottages, these larger groups were having to split up.

As more and more of these larger group requests came in, Reed, the resort’s marketing manager, spoke with the resort’s general manager, Mike Kristoff, wondering if there was a way to accommodate bigger parties.

Greenhorn Creek Resort, located about 120 miles east of San Francisco in Angels Camp, is in that perfect getaway spot for the Bay Area – far enough for a change of scenery but close enough to get there with just a short drive.

Looking for the right solution to meet their clients’ needs, Reed and Kristoff turned their attention to an unused administrative building tucked near the ninth tee.

“We put together a business plan and starting to draw up some ideas,” said Kristoff. The owners of Greenhorn approved the idea, and after a year of working through planning, they got approval to renovate the empty building into what is now known as “The Caddy Shack.”

The Caddy Shack opened on Sept. 1, 2011, and has become the ultimate one-stop-shop golf group getaway locale.

With five bedrooms, The Caddy Shack can sleep up to 12 people, and two large baths have multiple private showers. There’s a large kitchen for cooking, and a fenced-in backyard complete with a large barbecue grill and a horseshoe pit. A large, flat screen TV dominates the main living quarters.

It’s close enough to walk to the pro shop but far enough away in case the backyard horseshoe games get a little rambunctious. In short time, the word got out to golf groups and the feedback from visitors to The Caddy Shack has been all positive.

“We’ve heard time and again, ‘This is great. We loved it. Book us next year, same time, same place’,” said Kristoff.

The Caddy Shack’s main appeal can be found in the fact that it allows groups that include up to three foursomes one place to gather pre- and post-golf. It’s a place to socialize, relax, eat and unwind. It’s everything you’d want in a great golf vacation and then some.

“Mention The Caddy Shack, and your mind conjures up an image of a clapboard ramshackle hut,” said golfer Tom Cusack of Oakley. “It’s so far from the truth. For me and my banana-slicing golf friends, the horseshoe pit, BBQ site, outdoor area, full-size fridge, full kitchen, flat-screen TV and multiple bathrooms, you have found the ultimate guy getaway place in the Sierra foothills.”

The décor is sharp and modern, so it’s also inviting to golfing couples, too.

“We’ve found that it’s so popular that large corporate groups will come in and stay in the cottages, but they’ll rent The Caddy Shack for their social events,” Kristoff pointed out.

Making it that much more appealing, Greenhorn is but 20 minutes away from another fine course, Saddle Creek Golf Club, which makes rounds of 36 an easy task. The high-end, wine-centric Gold Country town of Murphys is also just 20 minutes away.

Greenhorn Creek Resort has its own appeals, but adding The Caddy Shack opened up another niche to attract golfers, according to Kristoff.

“It’s been a very, very good deal for us,” Kristoff said. And, golfers say the same thing. To learn more or book a stay, visit The Caddy Shack web page.