Tom Plankers Named President Of Golf At Sea Trail
Posted: 07-11-2005 :

Ocean Ridge Golf & Marketing Director Led Successful Efforts To Capture Top 100 Awards For Golf Courses And Clubhouses

Sunset Beach, N.C. — Tom Plankers, who has served as Director of Golf & Marketing at Ocean Ridge Plantation since 1994, has accepted the position of President of Golf at Sea Trail in Sunset Beach, N. C. He assumes his responsibilities at Sea Trail on July 15, 2005. Plankers’ successor at Ocean Ridge has not been named.

“We are just delighted that Tom is becoming a member of the Sea Trail team,” said Dana Connelly, president of Sea Trail Golf Resort and Conference Center. “Tom is very well-respected by those in the Grand Strand golf industry for both his golf management and his marketing skills. He's a major force in area golf and we know he’ll be a great addition to Sea Trail.”

Located in Sunset Beach, Ocean Ridge Plantation grew into one of the Grand Strand’s premier golf facilities under Plankers’ leadership. Plankers initially joined Ocean Ridge to manage and market its first course, Lion’s Paw Golf Links. Over the next decade, he worked closely with the Ocean Ridge Board of Directors on the building, management and marketing of two golf clubhouses and two additional golf courses, Panther’s Run Golf Links and Tiger’s Eye Golf Links. He was also instrumental in the initial development of Leopard’s Chase Golf Links, which is currently under construction.

Plankers marketed Ocean Ridge’s trio of courses as the “Big Cats,” and soon gained national recognition with his “Play The Big Cats” ads and posters. He also put a strategic public relations program in place to capture the attention of national media. These efforts led the golf operations at Ocean Ridge Plantation to receive some of the highest honors in golf.

Both Panther’s Run and Tiger’s Eye were on Golf Digest’s list of nominations for “Best New Course” in America when they opened, and all three Ocean Ridge courses are rated highly in Golf Digest’s prestigious golf guide, “Places To Play.” Tiger’s Eye is currently ranked number 41 on Golf Digest’s list of “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, and Golfweek ranks the course as number six in North Carolina in its “America’s Best State-by-State.” Golf For Women included all three of Ocean Ridge’s courses on its “Top 100 Fairways.”

Ocean Ridge Plantation’s two golf shops have also earned a place among America’s best. Both have been named to “America’s 100 Best Golf Shops” and “America’s All Time Best Golf Shops” by Golf World Business magazine.

In addition to his marketing and management achievements at Ocean Ridge, Plankers’ dedication to delivering great customer service helped capture the attention of travel guides that rely upon consumer input. 2003: America’s Top Golf Course, the prestigious ZagatSurvey®/ESPN travel guide, gave Ocean Ridge Plantation’s golf operations a roar of applause for “unmatched service.”

A Class “A” member of the PGA of America, Plankers was named “Merchandiser of the Year—Resort Category” for the Carolinas PGA Section in 2002, and nominated for “National Merchandiser of the Year—Resort Category” in 2003. He has won six Pro-Am tournaments held by the Carolinas PGA Section and five PGA Senior Carolina events, and he holds course records at Bald Head Island Golf Club (Bald Head Island, N.C.) and Oak Island Golf Club (Caswell Beach, N.C ). He serves on several community-wide committees involved in marketing the region, and he is an active supporter of junior golf programs, including “Hook-A-Kid on Golf.”

Plankers began his 30-year career in golf as a caddy for Richland Golf and Country Club in Richland, Washington, and was soon named shop manager. In 1970 he was named assistant golf professional at Pine Valley Country Club in Wilmington, N.C.; he held the same position at Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington, N.C. from 1973-74.

Plankers moved up to a head golf professional’s job in 1974 when he joined the staff of Oak Island Golf and Beach Club. In 1977, while still working as the head professional at Oak Island, Plankers also assumed the duties of golf director at Bald Head Island Country Club. He managed both country clubs until 1980, then was golf director at Bald Head Island Country Club until 1987. That same year, he returned to Caswell Beach to become the head professional and general manager of the Oak Island Golf & Country Club, organizing the purchase of the country club and overseeing all golf operations for Leisure Investments of N.C., Inc.

Just prior to arriving at Ocean Ridge, Plankers was the director of golf and director of marketing for the Brassie Golf Company in Southport, N.C. from 1991-94. He was responsible for the golf course development company’s advertising and marketing program in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

Plankers joined the United States Navy in 1966 and served until 1969. During that time, he received the Navy Recommendation Ribbon, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal and Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze stars.