January 27, 2025 • 12 mins
Experience unparalleled service, amenities, and course conditions at Yocha Dehe Golf Club at Cache Creek Casino Resort. Consistently ranked as a top golf course in the United States and California, they take pride in making their guests part of this experience. Enjoy over 7,300 yards of championship golf.
Carolyn talks to Will Foust, Director of Golf/Hospitality at Cache Creek Casino Resort.
Carolyn talks to Will Foust, Director of Golf/Hospitality at Cache Creek Casino Resort.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Morning Breeze, The Morning Breeze on demand. It's Carolyn
from the Morning Breeze. One of the most gorgeous golf
courses in all of California. Dare I say the nations?
They were nationally recognized. I am so excited to be
talking to Will Faust, the director of Hospitality at Cash
Creek Casino Resort at the Yojadhi Golf Club. Will thank
(00:23):
you for speaking with me today. So tell me how
long you've been with Cash Creek and what brought you
to Cash Creek.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
So I've been here eight years or so. I think
I got here in twenty seventeen, late two and seventeen,
so maybe not quite quite eight years. But I was
working for Truon Golf out in Denver, Colorado, and this
property has always been affiliated with Troon, and actually Truon
(00:49):
was the property that opened this place, you know, in
partnership obviously that the tribe hired Troon to consult and
had an agreement to help developed this golf course when
it opened in two thousand and eight, helped the construction everything.
And actually I was working for the opening gm or
the opening director of golf that that that actually was
(01:12):
here when the property opened out in Denver, and so
you know, he I noticed that this job opened up,
and I knew that d had you know, some of
the higher marks in the company and was well respected
and you know, nationally known, and so you know, asked
him about it and he said, you know, it's a great,
great place, and you know, he was involved at the beginning.
(01:35):
So so I put my name in the hat and
got invited out for an interview and the rest is history.
So so yeah, that's what brought me here. Just the
affiliation through Troon. I've been with Truon or I've been
been working alongside Troon for I think we over ten
years now, alve almost fifteen years. I guess time flies.
(01:59):
But but you know this, this property has always kind
of been one of the one of the higher well
known properties within run.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
So yeah, how do you think this property in this
course stands out compared to other courses that you've either
worked at or that you've played.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Conditions and uh and service. So so I'll touch on
the conditions first. You know, particularly in this in this area.
You know, golf course conditions obviously in the in in
northern California kind of vary. I mean, you end up
with with a lot of like high end clubs like
Olympic Club that have big budgets and moderate Peninsula Country
(02:39):
Club big budgets to maintain their their their golf course conditions.
When it comes to public golf in Northern California, it's
it's it can be a bit of a struggle. So
we're one of the only public golf courses that that
has the resources and and the ownership support to be
able to deliver a high quality product to our guess
(03:00):
you know the maintenance day in and day out that
it takes to maintain a top fifty golf course. You know,
it's not it's not free, and it's it's not It
obviously takes as somebody that knows what they're doing. Our
golf course superintendents. He was recognized as you know, Truing
Superintendent of the Year in twenty fifteen, I think it was.
(03:21):
So he's one of the better well known superintendents in
the industry. So we're certainly spoiled to have him on
on on board. And then you know, so that's the
first part of it. You know, we just take a
lot of pride in our golf course conditions. In our
in our maintenance practices. You know, we want our guests
to have a consistent product day in and day out.
(03:46):
That's top tier. So five star conditions is what we
strive for. And then you know, the the the guest
experience is the second half of that. You know, every
every touch point that you would expect at a private club,
(04:06):
we we have that here from bag drop to range
attendant to starter to somebody wiping your clubs and giving
you Mango centatel after the round to so we're we're
with you for the entire round of golf. Like we
we want to provide a service from this second step
on property. And that's that's pretty rare in the public
space anymore. Uh, most public golf courses are are for
(04:30):
profit and and and obviously we we you know, we
we're more of a kind of an amenity to the
to the resort. So so our our goal every day
is to provide that that that top tier service, so
for our casino guest resort guests and also our our
our public guests. So so we just put a lot
of time and training and effort into into our guest experience,
(04:51):
which which has kind of been our main goal and
operations side, day in and day out for since since
we opened the place.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
You guys do take walk ons, then public can come play.
You don't have to be a resident at the resort
to you don't have to be staying at the resort
to play.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
No, you don't have to stay at the resort. We're full,
fully public golf course. You know, we do have opportunities
stay and play packages which which change seasonally and are
available on the Cash Creek website for for guests to see.
But you know, so there are opportunities for for maybe
discount of packages for stay and play and and and
(05:28):
opportunities like that. But but you do not need to
stay here. We're fully public access and and actually you
know the majority of rounds do come from just public
you know what we call in the business transient golfers
that you know, they're not staying here, they're not members,
et cetera. So so we're our doors are wide open.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Do you take walk ons or you usually booked in
advance walk ons?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
We we can take walk ons. It can be difficult,
so I'd recommend that people call us first before making
an hour an hour and half drive out here. You know,
we're aways out of town, so for somebody to take
the chance and we end up being booked up. Weekends
are gonna be tough for walk on. So Friday through
Sunday we're gonna be booked up most most of the day.
(06:18):
You know, a week or two in advance. Weekdays might
be a little easier. And so you know, if you're
staying at the hotel or are just curious about golf,
you know, head on down and we might might have
a spot for you. But I do recommend calling ahead
or booking online.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
So well, you guys, I mean getting back to you know,
the course itself and the fact that it is always
ranked frankly nationally. I mean, you've been ranked as one
of the top courses to play year after year, ranked
by Golf Advisor as one of the top courses in
all of California. They're best of list for the United States,
Golf Week ranking you one of the top casino courses,
(06:55):
best resort Course, next, Top one hundred golf course, Best
New Courses, and top one one hundred courses you can
play People's Choice. In twenty nineteen, your greens keepers have
been recognized. The golf shop is consistently ranked like you
guys are doing something extremely right and you don't just
you know, wind up on those lists.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yes, And I do want to touch on one thing
that has been very important to our success. You know,
our ownership support and the support of the executive team
and the entire team at Cash Crek Casino and the
ownership yohdu went to nation without their leadership and guidance
and also resources along the way, there's no way to
(07:36):
make that possible. So it all starts with them. And
then and then you know, kind of touching on what
we talked about before as it relates to golf course
conditions and those resources were provided. You know, the expectation,
quite honestly from ownership is to provide the best experience possible.
And so given the resources, we're able to condition the
(07:59):
golf course day in and day out like uh you know,
uh you'd see at any high end private club anywhere
in the country. And and similarly with with with staffing,
you know, we're able to staff positions here. Uh you
know again in a public golf course that we're able
to staff maybe even beyond what you'd see at most
(08:21):
private clubs in our area. So uh, which which we're
very fortunate to be able to do. But you know, again,
when our when our guests come here and they see
that level of service, you know, somebody at bag Drop,
somebody greeting them at every location, and and the level
of service, and then they step onto the golf course
and they see a golf courses conditioned Uh, you know,
(08:42):
just as well as any like I said, any any
golf course out there that's four or five star property.
You know, we're uh, it's a little bit easier to
to to be able to step into those rankings. I guess,
I guess is what I'm trying to say. So we're
just provided with a high level of support from ownership
(09:03):
and and the team at Cash Creek, and so it
just makes our job a lot easier to provide that service.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
And that's nice. I will say. It's definitely a team
effort for sure, and obviously recognized.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
You know, absolutely absolutely it is. It's it's team effort
all the way around, and the entire team here. You know,
it's it's a fun work environment.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
So what is your like if you had to choose,
what's your personal favorite part about the course itself or
just the overall experience of playing?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
I would have to touch on the first T shot.
It's very unique. It's about and I keep getting the
exact measurement wrong, but I think it's two three hundred
feet above the the first fairway. It's up on a
hill and it really kind of kicks off the day
at Yoshid. You know, it's it's a unique te shot.
There's not many elevated T shots and golf like that,
(09:55):
and it gives you a view of the entire kPa valley.
So it's a it's a it's a very way to
start the day. And so I'd say that's my favorite
part about the golf course. And you know, the overall
experiencing in every every hole, every every shot is very
brat Bell he's a local. Uh he's from Sacramento, played
(10:16):
on the PGA Tour for a while, but he's he's
the golf course designer and he did a very good
job of designing this golf course for everybody. So if
you're a good player and you want to play from
the back tees, you're going to be challenged. But if
you're a beginner, we've got big fairways, we've got you know,
very generous forward t's that you know, people can come
out and have fun at the same time. So the
(10:37):
golf course is really built for everybody, which is which
is unique.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Yeah, you don't have to be a pro. Amateurs can play.
There's something for everyone, which is very cool. And if
people want to know more about the experience. I know
you guys have great photos, great videos on your website.
Maybe they want to book a T time. Do we
send them to the website?
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Yeah a www golf club dot com. I don't know
if you want to speah I O.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
C H A D E h E golf club dot com.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Yeah, yeah, that's yeah, that's exactly right. So it's a
it's a it's a mouthful, but yeah, we we we
do have uh, you know, opportunity to book t times
online and also step to date with anything we have
going on and as well as our social media handles
Instagram and Facebook obvious, so we we uh we maintained
so so anything that we have going on and any
(11:28):
anything fun, you know, worth a follow on our social
channels as well as panting short website.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
So you guys do a great job. We'll keep up
the good work. Well, it was really nice chatting with
you today.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Yeah, absolutely appreciate it, so thanks thanks again.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
It's Will Foust, the director of Hospitality at Cash Creek
Casino Resort. And again find out more information if you
want to book a golf package, find out about tea times,
or just take a look at the course beautiful photos
and videos. As I mentioned, go to yocha dhe golf
club dot com. Again y O C e h A
d e h e Golf Club dot com
The Morning Breeze, The Morning Breeze on demand. It's Carolyn
from the Morning Breeze. One of the most gorgeous golf
courses in all of California. Dare I say the nations?
They were nationally recognized. I am so excited to be
talking to Will Faust, the director of Hospitality at Cash
Creek Casino Resort at the Yojadhi Golf Club. Will thank
(00:23):
you for speaking with me today. So tell me how
long you've been with Cash Creek and what brought you
to Cash Creek.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
So I've been here eight years or so. I think
I got here in twenty seventeen, late two and seventeen,
so maybe not quite quite eight years. But I was
working for Truon Golf out in Denver, Colorado, and this
property has always been affiliated with Troon, and actually Truon
(00:49):
was the property that opened this place, you know, in
partnership obviously that the tribe hired Troon to consult and
had an agreement to help developed this golf course when
it opened in two thousand and eight, helped the construction everything.
And actually I was working for the opening gm or
the opening director of golf that that that actually was
(01:12):
here when the property opened out in Denver, and so
you know, he I noticed that this job opened up,
and I knew that d had you know, some of
the higher marks in the company and was well respected
and you know, nationally known, and so you know, asked
him about it and he said, you know, it's a great,
great place, and you know, he was involved at the beginning.
(01:35):
So so I put my name in the hat and
got invited out for an interview and the rest is history.
So so yeah, that's what brought me here. Just the
affiliation through Troon. I've been with Truon or I've been
been working alongside Troon for I think we over ten
years now, alve almost fifteen years. I guess time flies.
(01:59):
But but you know this, this property has always kind
of been one of the one of the higher well
known properties within run.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
So yeah, how do you think this property in this
course stands out compared to other courses that you've either
worked at or that you've played.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Conditions and uh and service. So so I'll touch on
the conditions first. You know, particularly in this in this area.
You know, golf course conditions obviously in the in in
northern California kind of vary. I mean, you end up
with with a lot of like high end clubs like
Olympic Club that have big budgets and moderate Peninsula Country
(02:39):
Club big budgets to maintain their their their golf course conditions.
When it comes to public golf in Northern California, it's
it's it can be a bit of a struggle. So
we're one of the only public golf courses that that
has the resources and and the ownership support to be
able to deliver a high quality product to our guess
(03:00):
you know the maintenance day in and day out that
it takes to maintain a top fifty golf course. You know,
it's not it's not free, and it's it's not It
obviously takes as somebody that knows what they're doing. Our
golf course superintendents. He was recognized as you know, Truing
Superintendent of the Year in twenty fifteen, I think it was.
(03:21):
So he's one of the better well known superintendents in
the industry. So we're certainly spoiled to have him on
on on board. And then you know, so that's the
first part of it. You know, we just take a
lot of pride in our golf course conditions. In our
in our maintenance practices. You know, we want our guests
to have a consistent product day in and day out.
(03:46):
That's top tier. So five star conditions is what we
strive for. And then you know, the the the guest
experience is the second half of that. You know, every
every touch point that you would expect at a private club,
(04:06):
we we have that here from bag drop to range
attendant to starter to somebody wiping your clubs and giving
you Mango centatel after the round to so we're we're
with you for the entire round of golf. Like we
we want to provide a service from this second step
on property. And that's that's pretty rare in the public
space anymore. Uh, most public golf courses are are for
(04:30):
profit and and and obviously we we you know, we
we're more of a kind of an amenity to the
to the resort. So so our our goal every day
is to provide that that that top tier service, so
for our casino guest resort guests and also our our
our public guests. So so we just put a lot
of time and training and effort into into our guest experience,
(04:51):
which which has kind of been our main goal and
operations side, day in and day out for since since
we opened the place.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
You guys do take walk ons, then public can come play.
You don't have to be a resident at the resort
to you don't have to be staying at the resort
to play.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
No, you don't have to stay at the resort. We're full,
fully public golf course. You know, we do have opportunities
stay and play packages which which change seasonally and are
available on the Cash Creek website for for guests to see.
But you know, so there are opportunities for for maybe
discount of packages for stay and play and and and
(05:28):
opportunities like that. But but you do not need to
stay here. We're fully public access and and actually you
know the majority of rounds do come from just public
you know what we call in the business transient golfers
that you know, they're not staying here, they're not members,
et cetera. So so we're our doors are wide open.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Do you take walk ons or you usually booked in
advance walk ons?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
We we can take walk ons. It can be difficult,
so I'd recommend that people call us first before making
an hour an hour and half drive out here. You know,
we're aways out of town, so for somebody to take
the chance and we end up being booked up. Weekends
are gonna be tough for walk on. So Friday through
Sunday we're gonna be booked up most most of the day.
(06:18):
You know, a week or two in advance. Weekdays might
be a little easier. And so you know, if you're
staying at the hotel or are just curious about golf,
you know, head on down and we might might have
a spot for you. But I do recommend calling ahead
or booking online.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
So well, you guys, I mean getting back to you know,
the course itself and the fact that it is always
ranked frankly nationally. I mean, you've been ranked as one
of the top courses to play year after year, ranked
by Golf Advisor as one of the top courses in
all of California. They're best of list for the United States,
Golf Week ranking you one of the top casino courses,
(06:55):
best resort Course, next, Top one hundred golf course, Best
New Courses, and top one one hundred courses you can
play People's Choice. In twenty nineteen, your greens keepers have
been recognized. The golf shop is consistently ranked like you
guys are doing something extremely right and you don't just
you know, wind up on those lists.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yes, And I do want to touch on one thing
that has been very important to our success. You know,
our ownership support and the support of the executive team
and the entire team at Cash Crek Casino and the
ownership yohdu went to nation without their leadership and guidance
and also resources along the way, there's no way to
(07:36):
make that possible. So it all starts with them. And
then and then you know, kind of touching on what
we talked about before as it relates to golf course
conditions and those resources were provided. You know, the expectation,
quite honestly from ownership is to provide the best experience possible.
And so given the resources, we're able to condition the
(07:59):
golf course day in and day out like uh you know,
uh you'd see at any high end private club anywhere
in the country. And and similarly with with with staffing,
you know, we're able to staff positions here. Uh you
know again in a public golf course that we're able
to staff maybe even beyond what you'd see at most
(08:21):
private clubs in our area. So uh, which which we're
very fortunate to be able to do. But you know, again,
when our when our guests come here and they see
that level of service, you know, somebody at bag Drop,
somebody greeting them at every location, and and the level
of service, and then they step onto the golf course
and they see a golf courses conditioned Uh, you know,
(08:42):
just as well as any like I said, any any
golf course out there that's four or five star property.
You know, we're uh, it's a little bit easier to
to to be able to step into those rankings. I guess,
I guess is what I'm trying to say. So we're
just provided with a high level of support from ownership
(09:03):
and and the team at Cash Creek, and so it
just makes our job a lot easier to provide that service.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
And that's nice. I will say. It's definitely a team
effort for sure, and obviously recognized.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
You know, absolutely absolutely it is. It's it's team effort
all the way around, and the entire team here. You know,
it's it's a fun work environment.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
So what is your like if you had to choose,
what's your personal favorite part about the course itself or
just the overall experience of playing?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
I would have to touch on the first T shot.
It's very unique. It's about and I keep getting the
exact measurement wrong, but I think it's two three hundred
feet above the the first fairway. It's up on a
hill and it really kind of kicks off the day
at Yoshid. You know, it's it's a unique te shot.
There's not many elevated T shots and golf like that,
(09:55):
and it gives you a view of the entire kPa valley.
So it's a it's a it's a very way to
start the day. And so I'd say that's my favorite
part about the golf course. And you know, the overall
experiencing in every every hole, every every shot is very
brat Bell he's a local. Uh he's from Sacramento, played
(10:16):
on the PGA Tour for a while, but he's he's
the golf course designer and he did a very good
job of designing this golf course for everybody. So if
you're a good player and you want to play from
the back tees, you're going to be challenged. But if
you're a beginner, we've got big fairways, we've got you know,
very generous forward t's that you know, people can come
out and have fun at the same time. So the
(10:37):
golf course is really built for everybody, which is which
is unique.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Yeah, you don't have to be a pro. Amateurs can play.
There's something for everyone, which is very cool. And if
people want to know more about the experience. I know
you guys have great photos, great videos on your website.
Maybe they want to book a T time. Do we
send them to the website?
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Yeah a www golf club dot com. I don't know
if you want to speah I O.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
C H A D E h E golf club dot com.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Yeah, yeah, that's yeah, that's exactly right. So it's a
it's a it's a mouthful, but yeah, we we we
do have uh, you know, opportunity to book t times
online and also step to date with anything we have
going on and as well as our social media handles
Instagram and Facebook obvious, so we we uh we maintained
so so anything that we have going on and any
(11:28):
anything fun, you know, worth a follow on our social
channels as well as panting short website.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
So you guys do a great job. We'll keep up
the good work. Well, it was really nice chatting with
you today.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Yeah, absolutely appreciate it, so thanks thanks again.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
It's Will Foust, the director of Hospitality at Cash Creek
Casino Resort. And again find out more information if you
want to book a golf package, find out about tea times,
or just take a look at the course beautiful photos
and videos. As I mentioned, go to yocha dhe golf
club dot com. Again y O C e h A
d e h e Golf Club dot com
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