Meet the New GM of Island Country Club

If you speak to some of the top club professionals throughout Florida, they will reflect on the many challenges they’ve experienced post-COVID and the ordeals that came about due to active storm-related seasons during the last half-dozen years.

Marco’s Island Country Club was no different, as their newly elected Board of Directors embarked on a search for a new General Manager/Chief Operating Officer. That search was held simultaneously as the Board sought to close out the over $15 million renovation and expansion of its clubhouse and fitness center.

The long and arduous search brought forth a number of excellent candidates with varied resumes; the result was Nicholas von Hofen chosen as the new Chief Operating Officer of the Marco Island Country Club.

Hofen most recently served as the General Manager/Chief Operating Officer for the Collier Reserve Country Club from May 2009 to November 2023. Hofen was initially hired as the Golf Course Superintendent in 2009 and promoted to Director of Grounds and Building Maintenance in 2012, when he began overseeing all aspects of the golf course operations and building systems. He was promoted to General Manager in 2017, providing him with a true global view of the operational expectations of such a facility.

Talking with von Hofen, you’ll find a professional who is well-versed in all aspects of the turn-key operations of a premier equity-owned country club and the expectations of those members. His experience in golf course construction, having overseen the course construction project at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Sarasota, Florida is a major advantage to one in his position.

Von Hofen gained valuable experience early on in his career at these other prestigious locations including PGA West & The Club at PGA West /La Quinta, California.

“My desire is to work with all of our team to surpass our members and their guests’ expectations. From the time they speak to one of our staff on the phone or step out of their vehicle on this property, their experience has to be extraordinary. If they are not a member of the Island Club on the day they visit, we want them to question why they aren’t,” said von Hofen with a broad smile.