June 07, 2025
Business

No layoffs at Royal Fox, Hawk, only change in management companies

By BRENDA SCHORY
Image 1 of 2

Though the management company at Royal Hawk Country Club in St. Charles Township announced a permanent layoff of 53 employees, golf course owner John Weiss said no one is being laid off – he's just changing management companies. (Photo provided)

ST. CHARLES – Despite reports that Royal Fox and Royal Hawk country clubs in the St. Charles area have announced permanent layoffs of 134 employees, effective Jan. 1, the golf courses’ owner said he is just changing management companies.

"We are just changing management companies," said John Weiss of St. Charles, owner of the Royal Golf Group, which includes four golf courses. "We will release information in the next couple of days about our new management. Nobody is losing their job."

Weiss said he outsources management of the four golf courses in the Royal Golf Group, which includes Grove Country Club in Long Grove and Klein Creek Golf Club in Winfield. The company had an agreement with Sequoia Golf Management, which was acquired by ClubCorp in October. ClubCorp is based in Dallas, Weiss said.

ClubCorp owns or manages 160 golf courses in 25 states, which was a sticking point.

Weiss said he did not want a management company that also owns golf courses to run the Royal Golf Group’s courses.

“We’re moving to a company that totally manages, not owns and manages,” Weiss said.

The management company reported the layoffs to the Illinois Department of Labor as per the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The law requires employers with at least 75 full-time employees to provide 60 days’ notice of pending plant closings or mass layoffs.

#stcharles