The Rose Golf Club: Part I
Alex Elias
Courtesy of Ashley Humston
Founded by Dimitri Cassini and Nick Cassini, a Member of the 2001 Walker Cup Team, The Rose was driven by a sense of “nostalgia to get back to Athens.” Having both graduated from the University of Georgia, the Cassini brothers had spent nearly two decades developing high-end residential communities and world-class lifestyle destinations. Over that time, however, they realized neither was returning to Athens as often as they wished.
“I told my brother that with our experience in development and his distinguished history in the state as a golfer, we could pull off building an elite golf club in a place that we both love. He woke up the next day, called me and said, ‘Let’s do it.’ From that day until now, The Rose has been 100% of our focus,” said Dimitri. “We felt like if we could find the right piece of land and get the right founding members on board with us, that with our vision we had a chance to create something special. We were lucky enough to nail both of those perfectly.”
With a belief that extraordinary clubs are built on clarity of vision, disciplined planning, and meaningful experiences, the Cassini brothers drew on their experiences both in and out of the game of golf.
“From Day 1, it was incredibly important to us that The Rose not just be another club,” said Dimitri. “We want The Rose to have its own culture. We certainly adopted certain aspects from clubs we’ve experienced and respect, but also certain things from what we’ve seen not just in golf—some of the best-in-class hospitality experiences in the world. Bring all of that together with your own way of doing things and an incredible team, and you have a great foundation.”
Although the Cassinis had a vision for the culture, they admitted they did their best to allow Tripp Davis to oversee the entirety of the golf course architecture.
“We let Tripp run with the golf course,” said Dimitri. “We certainly have some great founding members outside of us who Tripp bounced ideas off of and tweaked things with—Bubba [Watson], Brendon [Todd] and Chris [Kirk]—but at the end of the day, this golf course was designed by Tripp Davis. Our philosophy across the board is: hire the best people and let them run.”
As for Davis, although he was ultimately given free rein by the Cassini brothers, he was not named the golf course architect right away. Initially, he was asked simply to visit the property and share his thoughts on the land, having just overseen the renovation of the Riverside Course at Atlanta Athletic Club, where the Cassinis are members.
“As we went through the interview process, it became apparent that Tripp was the best candidate,” said Dimitri. “We really liked how involved he was going to be—boots on the ground—and how he is a high-level golfer. He played at the University of Oklahoma and still competes in high-level amateur events. In fact, my brother and he were the final pairing in the 2001 Porter Cup when Nick won.”
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the golf course. He poured his heart into it. We truly believe he’s designed a gem that will be highly regarded in the game of golf forever,” said Dimitri.
Now open, the culture that the Cassinis strove for is already apparent. Hiring a first-class team of Adam Kushner, General Manager, who began his career at Oakmont Country Club and most recently served as the GM of Berkeley Hall Club; Michael E. Rhinehart, Head Golf Professional, previously at Augusta National Golf Club; Jimmy Humston, Golf Course Superintendent, previously at The Lido; Dave Joesbury, Caddiemaster, previously at Ohoopee Match Club; and Elijah Paulsen, Director of Food & Beverage, previously at Berkeley Hall Club, Dimitri admitted the culture all starts with the people.
“We hired what we believe is the best team in the country. They are incredibly bought in and genuinely excited about building something special. Through an invitation-only membership process, each of our 275 members embraces the culture we hope for,” said Dimitri. “We have more than twenty plus-handicaps, but it doesn’t matter what you shoot. Whether you're a scratch golfer or not, whether you’re a UGA alum or not, it’s a club where everyone wants to be around one another—where members can forget about everything else going on in life and just enjoy themselves. We couldn’t be more proud of our membership.”
For Part 2, with Dimitri Cassini and Tripp Davis, CLICK HERE
