Remember the name Joshua Doxtator. He’s about to become a major part of the golf community in Michigan’s Great Southwest as the newly appointed General Manager of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Design Golf Course at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor.
An avid golfer himself, Doxtator grew up in the game. He tells me that his dad and grandfather taught him how to play the game, which he started when he was two years old. He says they taught him the game, “based on everything they learned from Jack Nicklaus and Golf Digest.” Then, as a PGA Professional in 2015 he actually lived the dream and played with Jack. He says, “It was one of those moments where I’m with an icon, a legend, somebody you just dream about shaking their hand, and now I’m playing golf on a major stage with that person.” The event was the PNC Father & Son Championship in Orlando, and he says, “It was one of the most incredible days I’ve ever had,” and now, here he is, managing a course designed and built by his boyhood hero.
The Harbor Shores Operating Committee is announcing today that Joshua is taking the reins following a nationwide search to fill the high-profile position.
Doxtator, who will officially begin his new role on February 18th, was in town Tuesday for meetings and to get the lay of the land and I got the chance to catch up with him to talk about his new role and his passion for golf. He is well known for his passion for guest services and has built a reputation over his 20-year career as an innovator in the golf course management industry. He told me, “I’m learning a lot, today has been quite the informative day, and I’m very excited to be here full time on property. We have a lot of work ahead of us here at the Golf Club, but I’m very optimistic that we’ll get to a place where ultimately we’ll be renowned as a top notch destination resort.”
Doxtator has a proven track record in managing top-rated courses and food and beverage operations. He comes to Harbor Shores Resort after previously serving as the PGA Chief Operating Officer at Thornberry Creek at Oneida, the Official Golf Course of the Green Bay Packers. During his tenure at Thornberry Creek, Doxtator was responsible for notable club renovations and oversight of the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic, an annual event on the LPGA Tour schedule which debuted in 2017.
He says, “I am excited to join a team that has used golf as a redevelopment catalyst for its community and, as host to the most prestigious Championship in senior golf, continues to be a centerpiece for growing the game.” With an intense focus on quality customer service, Doxtator says, “Success starts with providing the very best guest experience for anyone who steps foot on the facility. I look forward to helping showcase this amazing property throughout the region and working with the PGA of America to host the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship every other year.”
As we chatted in the Grille at Harbor Shores, Doxtator said, “Our first focus is service. We want to make sure that everything’s first rate. There are two things that can make you great, consistency of your product and consistency of your service. Our goal is to make sure that both of those are exceptional, and if we can pair those two together the rest will take care of itself.” He notes that as the resort evolves,, “We’re creating kind of a new reputation within the community of delivering exceptional food and great service. We’re all about smiles, and people who know what you like to drink and know what you like to eat. If you don’t even have to ask for it, we know we’ve done our job.”
Regarding what to tackle first, Doxtator shared his philosophy, saying, “To be honest with you, I’ve found over time that the most simple changes are the most effective, and the most impactful. Just by demanding certain things out of our team on a daily basis, we’ll have a huge impact on the experience for our guests. We’ll be doing things that will create a memory for that guest, in a good manner. Everybody has a memory of their experience, and frankly some are not always good, but we’ll do everything that we can to make sure that every interaction is a positive one, and we have some things up our sleeve that will help bring that to life. We want to make sure that every guest that steps foot on Harbor Shores experiences the differences of what this property is, and what it means to the community.”
Regarding Doxtator’s appointment, Operating Committee member Jeff Fettig says, “We know we have found the very best person to continue to take the Harbor Shores golf experience to an elevated level. He sees our vision for Harbor Shores Resort and the integral role it plays in our community, while also providing one of the best golf experiences in the region.”
Golf has always been a part of Doxtator’s life. He started playing competitively when he was 8 years old, played in college and says he knew pretty quickly that he wasn’t going to make it on the tour, saying, “So it was time to move into the golf business, because golf has been a passion of mine. I opened up a facility out in Arizona, and was there for almost 11 years, and learned everything from total golf ops to facility management of the food and beverage portion of the business including special events.”
Shortly thereafter he went to Thornberry Creek in Wisconsin, the official golf course of the Green Bay Packers, and a sanctioned LPGA Tour event. He was there for almost 5 years and now he’s here and says, “I think ultimately people ask me ‘Why Harbor Shores?’ and the commitment that I’ve seen from the operations committee is unlike any I’ve ever seen from an ownership group, and they will do whatever it takes to make this place great.” He adds, “I’m coming in as an active General Manager and someone that they rely on and trust to make the changes happen and have their support and encouragement to do so, and I can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Making his first physical tour of the grounds, Joshua says, “I was shocked at how expansive the property is. I can’t wait to see it when there’s green grass showing because it looks fantastic.”
Just eight years after opening the Jack Nicklaus Signature Design Course, Harbor Shores Resort has been a four-time host to the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, the most historic and prestigious major Championship in senior golf. That Championship is held biannually at Harbor Shores Resort through 2024.
The PGA of America assisted in conducting the search for the new general manager position among its 29,000 members side by side with the Harbor Shore Operating Committee, which was formed to accelerate the march to making Harbor Shores Resort the premier golf experience in the Midwest.
PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh said in a statement, “Harbor Shores Resort is a remarkable property that stands among the best facilities in the Midwest. We were fortunate to be involved in the team’s search to find the very best general manager candidate from our membership to lead the golf operations at Harbor Shores Resort. Josh’s commitment to customer service and innovative management practices has positioned him very well for this role and make him one of the top examples of our profession.”
Harbor Shores Resort is the newest beachfront destination in Southwest Michigan – with a Jack Nicklaus Signature Design Course, harborside real estate, kayaking in the Paw Paw River and beautiful beaches along Lake Michigan. Born from a community vision to transform from a manufacturing-based economy to a tourism, arts and business destination, the mission of the non-profit Harbor Shores Resort is revitalization of the Benton Harbor region.
Harbor Shores Resort is Lake Michigan’s first beach, golf and waterfront community, just 90 minutes east of Chicago in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph. The resort community’s central amenity is an 18-hole, public Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, which experienced the single best grand opening ever with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller playing for a $1 million skins game purse that was given to charity.
The challenging course winds through a variety of terrain including wetlands, riverside and hardwood forest and offers stunning views of Lake Michigan from lakeside holes. The 530-acre residential, golf, recreational and waterfront community features a full calendar of events and world-class amenities, including a marina village and riverwalk, town center with restaurants and shops, health and fitness center, deepwater marina, with a four-star hotel and spa, miles of recreational trails and rivers, and acres of parks and green space.
The sheer size of the golf course sparks memories of Joshua’s early days in the game. He says, “I remember when I was 4 or 5 years old I would get so tired that I would fall asleep on my dad’s pull cart.” Yes…his pull cart. Doxtator says, “He was an avid golfer, but he was a purist, and demanded you walk when you play golf. I’ll never forget late in the day and I’d get tired around 6 or 7 or whatever and I’d latch onto his pull cart and fall asleep and he’d drag me back to the car. I vividly remember those days.”
He’s hoping to make great memories for his own sons, going forward. He has two boys, aged six and three, and says, “I’ve heard nothing but great things about the community, and raising a family here, and if I’m blessed enough to be here for a long period of time, I appreciate that so that my boys have that stable environment to grow up in, so I’m looking forward to that.” He couldn’t resist noting however, “I always thought it would be somewhere warmer, but this is warmer than Green Bay, Wisconsin, so there’s that!”
Doxtator will be acclimating to his new environment during the in between year of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, so he’s hopeful of being well versed in the subtleties of the property as planning ramps up for the 2020 event at Harbor Shores.
Harbor Shores is rapidly becoming home to what will ultimately be nearly 500 residences, including charming cottages, signature homes, townhomes and condominiums. Current real estate opportunities include golf and riverfront home sites, riverfront cottages, golf view homes and condominiums. For more information about the Harbor Shores community and golf course, visit www.harborshoresresort.com.
