Golf / Rich Tosches : Failing Tour, Pair Excel at Management

Fifteen years ago, Jeff Silverstein of Encino and Bob Husband of Lancaster got their PGA memberships and set out on the road, seeking fame and fortune on the PGA Tour.

They found neither and their plan worked out about as well as spitting into a St. Andrews’ wind.

“We just couldn’t make it,” Silverstein said. “It is a very unique individual who makes it out there. A great talent and a great temperament. Bob and I are both comfortable with the fact that we just weren’t good enough to do it.

“And we’re also very happy to know that we both realized that early enough. There are a lot of players like us who cling to the dream far too long, who don’t know when to quit. We knew and we weren’t ashamed of it.”

The years since must be a sad story, you reason. Ex-golf bums without dreams.

It is not so.

Silverstein and Husband are partners in a highly successful public golf course-management corporation that controls 30 courses in California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Arizona and Florida.

Their original firm, Sylban--derived from their last names and started in 1979--was bought out by the nation’s largest golf course-management firm, Dallas-based Club Corporation of America and renamed the CCA Sylban Sports Corp.

The firm, based in Encino, has grown from managing 11 courses to its current total of 30. Silverstein said the firm will manage 37 courses by the end of this year.

Included on its client list is Knollwood Country Club in Granada Hills, the Encino, Balboa and Woodley courses in Encino and Diamond Bar Golf Course.

In January, the PGA Tour and PGA of America granted Silverstein and Husband a licensing agreement to build and operate PGA Tour Family Golf Centers, which will have driving ranges, miniature golf courses, video games and baseball and softball batting cages.

The first one is under construction in Florida. Others will follow in Texas, Philadelphia and California, Silverstein said.

“It was a big disappointment when I found out I couldn’t play on the Tour,” he said. “But I loved the game so much I knew I wanted to stay in it. And now we’re in the middle of a fantastic opportunity, and Bob and I still get to be involved in the game that we love.

“Maybe missing out on the PGA Tour wasn’t such a bad thing at all.”

Right club: The North Hollywood Optimist Club will hold a celebrity golf tournament Monday at Braemar Country Club in Reseda.

Scheduled to play are Adrian Zmed, James B. Sikking, Pat Klous, Bill Macy, Bob Seagren, Michael Beck, Kim Morgan Greene, David Leisure, David Naughton and John Schubeck. Openings are still available.

Information: 818-763-9191.

Putting on a clinic: The field for the Toyota Chi Chi Rodriguez Southern California PGA Junior Golf Tournament, to be played Aug. 25, has been filled. But a golf clinic and shot-making demonstration by Rodriguez will be held after the tournament at Sepulveda Golf Course. Rodriguez has won 12 PGA Senior tournaments. A PGA member for 28 years, he also won eight PGA events during his career.

Matador Classic: Openings are still available for the ninth Matador Golf Classic, to be played Monday at Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley. Proceeds from the tournament go to the Cal State Northridge athletic scholarship program.

Tee time is set for noon and dinner is at 7 p.m. The entry fee is $150.

Information: 818-885-3215.

Add Wood Ranch: The club has openings for its junior invitational tournament, to be played Aug. 29-30. The tournament is limited to 250 entrants. Openings remain in four age groups for both boys and girls.

Information: 805-522-7262.

Last add Wood Ranch: Foursomes from Yorba Linda Country Club and Antelope Valley Country Club have qualified for the National Scramble Tournament in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 21-24. The regional qualifying tournament was played at Wood Ranch on Monday.