Pelican Hill Appoints Robert M. Ford, PGA As Golf Club General Manager

NEWPORT BEACH, CA – October 30, 2017 – The Resort at Pelican Hill® today announced the appointment of Robert Ford, PGA as general manager of Pelican Hill Golf Club®. More than 25 years after serving on the Golf Club’s opening leadership team, he returns to lead all aspects of golf and retail for the Resort’s two public 18-hole oceanview courses.

“As we welcome Robert Ford back to Pelican Hill, his 30 years of expertise will be instrumental in shaping the world-class golf experience that locals and resort guests enjoy here along the coast of sunny Southern California,” said Pelican Hill Managing Director Tom Donovan. “Guided by Robert’s proven leadership and long-time connection to these remarkable Fazio-designed courses, Pelican Hill will continue to serve the world’s and our local community’s most discerning golfers with memorable stay and play trips, regional charity and corporate golf events and top instruction programs.”

Pelican Hill invites golf and travel enthusiasts to experience all the Resort has to offer with stay and play packages that include unlimited golf rounds on Ocean North and Ocean South courses with a two-night minimum Bungalow or Villa stay, plus complimentary forecaddie, golf cart and golf club rentals. For golfers looking to improve their game, Pelican Hill Golf Academy boasts award-winning programs including state-of-the-art 3D swing analysis, full- and half-day schools and family golf instruction lead by Golf Magazine “Top 100 Teacher” Glenn Deck.

Ford will also oversee Pelican Hill’s Gold and Platinum Membership programs, which entitle members to unlimited complimentary golf and use of practice facilities, plus access to exclusive events. Members of Pelican Hill’s Preferred Program enjoy benefits such as advance access to tee times and reduced fees for members and guests.

In 1997, Ford was promoted to director of golf for Pelican Hill and its sister course, Oak Creek Golf Club® in Irvine, Calif. He also headed golf operations and instruction programs as Pelican Hill’s head golf professional when the Golf Club originally opened in 1991.

Before returning to Pelican Hill, Ford spent 12 years as a corporate officer with Western Golf Properties, an Orange County, Calif.-based management and development company consulting for golf property clients worldwide. He most recently served as president for Western Golf Properties and was vice president of golf operations before that. Previously, he led Stonewall Golf Club in Gainesville, Va. as general manager. Ford holds a Bachelor of Science in Business with a major in marketing and professional golf management from Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich.

About Pelican Hill®
Set on 504 acres by the Pacific Ocean in Newport Beach, The Resort at Pelican Hill® features: 128 two-, three- and four-bedroom villas with magnificent coastal views and an unparalleled array of appointments, immersing guests in the absolute finest of everything; 204 luxuriously appointed bungalow guest rooms and suites with private terraces; a rejuvenating Five-Star spa with a menu of the world’s most celebrated therapies; world-class restaurants, including Andrea serving authentic Northern Italian cuisine; an iconic “Coliseum Pool,” one of the largest circular pools anywhere with tiered decks and luxurious cabanas; and Pelican Hill Golf Club with 36 dramatic holes by Tom Fazio, nearly all with ocean panoramas. A Five-Star, Five-Diamond destination, Pelican Hill has earned acclaim as the 2012 Grand Resort selected by Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report; as Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards Top Southern California Resort (2013 & 2012), Top U.S. Resort (2011), Top-Rated Golf Resort Worldwide (2012) and Top-Rated California Resort Spa (2012); in Travel + Leisure’s “Top 100” World’s Best Hotels (2015 Readers’ Poll); in Golf Magazine’s Premier Resorts 2016-2017; and with two courses ranked among Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses (2015).

The Irvine Company Resort Properties® owns and manages the finest resort and leisure destinations in Newport Coast and the City of Irvine. In addition to Pelican Hill, the portfolio known as the Coastal Collection includes the Island Hotel Newport Beach, the city’s landmark property; Hotel Irvine, a lifestyle hotel; Oak Creek Golf Club in Irvine, featuring a challenging, Tom Fazio-designed public golf course; and California Recreation Company®, which operates the finest marinas in Newport Harbor and Northern California.

About Irvine Company
Irvine Company is a diversified, privately held real-estate investment company and master-planner—highly respected for its stewardship and master planning of The Irvine Ranch in Orange County, Calif. With operations throughout coastal California, Irvine Company plans and brings to life balanced, sustainable communities with a full range of housing, job and retail centers, schools, recreation, and permanently preserved open space. Irvine Company is committed to long-term ownership and management of a high-quality portfolio—the breadth and quality of which is unmatched in the industry—with each individual property positioned at the top of its class.

 As a steward of some of America’s most beautiful and scientifically important open space and parklands, the company has donated nearly 60 percent of the historic 93,000-acre Irvine Ranch—57,000 acres—to permanently preserve these lands. The company traces its roots to the 1860s with the formation of The Irvine Ranch from Mexican and Spanish land grants.

Press Contact
Devon Hillard O’Connell
949.467.5215
[email protected]