Pillsbury and Harbin Join NGCOA Board; Barton Hired as Director of Programs

The National Golf Course Owners Association is pleased to announce industry leaders David Pillsbury and Cathy Harbin as new members of the NGCOA Board of Directors, and David Barton as the association’s new Director of Programs.

“The experience and passion for industry success that David and Cathy bring to NGCOA’s Board of Directors is second to none,” said Jay Karen, NGCOA CEO. “The association, and in turn, our owner and operator members, will benefit from their vision and leadership. We’re also very fortunate to have hired Dave Barton, who brings years of golf course management, partner relations and military experience to our team.”

David Pillsbury is CEO of ClubCorp, the largest owner operator of private golf and country clubs in the country, and manager of more than 200 golf and country clubs, business, sports and alumni clubs across the globe. He has held numerous leadership roles in the golf industry over the past 30 years, including Co-CEO at American Golf Corporation, General Manager of Nike Golf, President of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties Tournament Players Clubs, President of PGA TOUR Championship Management, and Executive Vice President of PGA TOUR Tournament Business Affairs.

Cathy Harbin is the owner of Pine Ridge Golf Course and President of OnCourse Operations. She has held a Class A PGA of America membership since 1992 and a PGA Master Professional status since 2000, and is also a member of the LPGA and CMAA. In addition to 20 years of experience in golf course operations, she served as Executive Director of Golf 20/20, and lead the successful launch of Get Golf Ready, and served as Vice President of Public Golf, Golf Academy and Programming for ClubCorp. This excellence in golf leadership led her to be named by Golf Inc. magazine as one of the Most Admired Golf Course Operators, Golf News magazine as Woman of the Year, and United Athletes Foundation as Athlete of the Year.

Dave Barton, PGA, will fill the newly-created position of Director of Programs. In this role, Dave will direct and execute NGCOA’s strategically-important initiatives, including legacy programs, such as Smart Buy and NGCOA’s research projects, and new initiatives to be launched later this year. A retired U.S. Naval officer, flight instructor, helo pilot, enlisted aircrew, and rescue swimmer, Dave’s most recent role was with Raspberry Golf Management (RGM) where he served as Pennsylvania Regional Manager. While in Northern Virginia, he was also a multi-year instructor with the Salute Military Golf Association, a national non-profit providing golf instruction to post 9/11 wounded war veterans.

About the NGCOA

The National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) is the leading authority on the business of golf course ownership and management. The association represents and promotes the interests of golf courses as the principal businesses and economic assets of the game of golf. The not-for-profit organization is the only trade association dedicated exclusively to golf course owners and operators. Through advocacy, education and information resources, purchasing programs and networking opportunities, the NGCOA helps golf course owners and operators run more successful businesses. For more information, visit www.ngcoa.org or call 800-933-4262.

Media Contact: Renee Flowers, Director of Marketing & Communications, NGCOA, rflowers@ngcoa.org