Microsoft marketing guru Scott Oki could have used his millions for just about anything — he’s choosing to use it on you
Brian Beaky Cascade Golfer Editor
On the day that would forever alter the public golf landscape in the Pacific Northwest, all Scott Oki wanted to do was take a nap.
The man whose marketing vision had helped expand Microsoft into an international multimedia giant — a task which had earned him millions in stock options — had already spent a long morning planning strategies with his sales managers at an off-site retreat, and was enjoying a mid-afternoon break before returning to work long into the night.
Some of his staff opted to use the break time to catch up on some well-deserved sleep. Others threw their clubs in the trunk with plans to fit in 18 holes before returning to work. Oki chose the former option, grabbing a towel and planning to nap by the pool, when one his managers, clubs in hand, stopped to invite him to the course.
“I had never played golf before, and was really looking forward to catching up some sleep, so I remember saying, ‘Why would I want to do that?’” Oki recalls.
His staff insisted, though, appealing to Oki’s competitive side, and eventually the executive gave in. With no equipment of his own, Oki put on tennis shoes, rented clubs, and bought his first box of balls.
“Nine holes later, I was back buying a dozen more. That’s when I knew I was hooked,” he says.
More than a decade later, the seed that was planted with those rented clubs and tennis shoes has grown into a 10-course empire, Oki Golf Enterprises, that has changed the face of golf in the Northwest, comprising some of the leading public golf courses in the nation. While’s Oki’s courses run the gamut in style, location and price range, one aspect remains the same at each of the eight locations (two boast multiple courses) — quality.
“From Day One, we set out to improve the quality and accessibility of golf for the public golfer, and I’m proud of the fact that we have done that,” Oki says.
Citing the high cost of private clubs (initiation fees can run as high as $100,000, plus monthly dues), which essentially cut themselves off from all but a small percentage of the golfing population, Oki has focused his company’s efforts on providing country club quality at a public course price.
“I just became totally addicted to the game. I couldn’t figure out why it was so darn hard to hit a stationary object. I mean, I’m reasonably athletic, but I just couldn’t do it. Eventually, my love for the game of golf pulled me into the business of golf.”
“We are always asking the same question — what kind of value are we giving to our golfers?” he says. “We think we’ve done a pretty darn good job.”
Most Northwest golfers would agree. Oki’s crown jewel, The Golf Club at Newcastle, is one of the premier public courses in the entire nation. The 36-hole layout, designed by Robert E. Cupp and Fred Couples, the course — China Creek and Coal Creek — boast a nearly 360-degree view of the Seattle area, a clubhouse and practice facility to rival any private course in the region, and was named one of the “Best Things In Golf” by Golf Magazine and NBC-TV shortly after its opening in 1999.
And it’s playable by anyone for as little as $40.
That’s the kind of value Oki is talking about when he states his mission to deliver world-class golf at an affordable price. But then, the retired millionaire-turned-entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist has always looked for ways to take his product — be it golf, or software — to the masses.