July 20, 2021 | BY AAGD STAFF
Stanley Campbell’s name is added to the growing list of African American golf course owners–now that he’s the new proprietor of Martin Downs Golf Club. Sitting on 14 acres of beautiful Floridian land, in Palm City, Fla., with lush with greens that roll fast, the course has five sets of tees. It was designed in the 70s’s by legendary Treasure Coast Golf Architect Charles Ankrom. Campbell, the former whiz kid who attended Florida A&M didn’t make the purchase because he’s Black. He saw an opportunity.
While in college at Florida A&M, the then-19-year-old whiz kid wrote the data reduction and aero-analysis for the Voyager 2 spacecraft. He then went on to spend the next 8½ years as a Navy pilot after working briefly at NASA.
During his 66-years, Campbell has filed eight patent submissions in the business, intelligence, security and health care areas. The area of concentration being Big Data Management and Predictive Analytics through his company, Eagle Force Associates. Remember the BTK Killer case? Well, it was Campbell’s intelligence technology which was vital in helping Law Enforcement Case Management solve the case with the arrest of Dennis Radar. Campbell is also CEO of EagleForce Health,
Campbell, who rarely plays golf, was planning to retire and relocate to the Treasure Coast when the Martin Downs Golf Club came up for action on April 15. He was actually as his home in Herndon, Va. when he received the news.
“I always wanted to play golf, but I never had the time like most of my flying buddies,” Campbell said to the TCPalm.com. “I wanted to get to this passion I never had a chance to scratch.”
“I had all of about 12 hours to make a decision,” Campbell said to TCPalm.com. “I had to decide if I was going to buy it and how much I would bid for it – all sight unseen. I got a call late that night and my wife is like, ‘What are you doing?’”
THE DECISION TO BUY
The purchase of the 50-year-old club would use the money which they had set aside to build a dream retirement place on Jensen Beach. The decision (an opportunity) had to be made quickly, keeping in mind they were living in a time when more courses are closing than being built.
But the Campbell’s knew that Martin Downs wasn’t more than just a golf course.
“The history of Martin Downs kept resonating in my mind,” Campbell said during the TCPalm interview. “Martin Downs was the stoic bedrock that Florida represents. If real estate developers get this, it’s done. The history will be gone.”
According to TCPalm.com, Campbell was one of five boys born to a young couple in Liberty City, one of the bleakest parts of Miami. He recalls their idea of having fun as youngsters as “no shoes, no shirts and a water hose.”
Fast forward a few decades. The five brothers grew to be extremely successful men. The oldest brother is a PhD who speaks four languages. His younger brother is Luther, the mega-famous rapper and leader of 2 Live Crew.
At the April 15 auction, Campbell was awarded the course with a bid of $1.35 million. His wife Cheryl’s reaction, as told to TCPalm.com:
“She was shaking her head. She married a navy pilot, so she has been on adventures, some right side up, some right side down,” Campbell said, laughing. “This was not the adventure she had chosen.”
Cheryl Campbell is successful in her own right, as well. She serves in President Biden’s administration as Assistant Secretary for Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services. She is also the Founder and CEO of the EagleForce Warrior Foundation, which supports wounded, ill and injured military service members and their families as they recover in the Department of Defense’s critical care facilities. The foundation holds fundraisers such as golf tournaments, Warrior Galas, and in 2020 a Warrior Virtual Run/Walk. It is a spinoff of Stanley’s company, Eagle Force.
According to the TCPalm, Stanley Campbell’s research showed that in 2015 Martin Downs was at its height of success, so one of his first moves was to rehire a former greenskeeper. The superintendent quickly drew up a maintenance plan that enabled Martin Downs to double its water supply.
With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting all businesses—and devastating many lives—Campbell asked all his employees to get vaccinated, because, having only one person ride in a golf cart does not drive revenue up. These decisions by Campbell got him off to a good start with the course.
“This is a great thing because diversity has been such a weakness in the golf world,” said Chuck Knebels to TCPalm.com. Knebels is a longtime PGA Professional and director of the Treasure Coast Golf Association who has been advising Campbell. “Stanley kind of did this on a whim, but his involvement gives initiatives in our area a home base.”
In America, there are less than a dozen Black-owned golf courses. But, in Martin County Campbell there is Michal Jordan’s The Grove XXIII in Hobe Sound, about 10 miles away from Martin Downs. The pro golfer, Tiger Woods, also lives in Martin County.
Matin Downs Golf Club is located at 3801 SW Greenwood Way Palm City,
FL 34990. Contact info@martindownsgolfclub.com or call (772) 286-6818.
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