Known to his friends as “Rain Man” because of his amazing recall of any course he has played, any person he has met, or any place he has traveled, James J. Keegan has a zest for golf and for life itself.
With a great heart and a quick mind, he has established a wide-ranging network within the golf industry, an industry in which there may be only one degree of separation from the management leaders who make a positive difference. He leverages his educational background with his extensive experience in the golf industry to frame a vision that can be understood by all. He quickly “cuts to the chase.”
With nine principals averaging 20 years of experience in the golf business, JJKeegan+ provides common sense solutions founded on sound principals. With clients from Europe to Asia, and across America, JJKeegan+ has developed a unique process that is enhancing the golfer’s experience and the investment return of today’s golf courses.
As Managing Principal, Keegan has travelled in excess of 2,980,000 miles on United Airlines visiting over 250 courses annually and meeting with owners and key management personnel at more than 4,000 courses in 58 countries. Having successfully combined his passion for golf with his business acumen, this experience makes him uniquely qualified to offer expert opinions on trends and issues facing golf courses today because of his direct knowledge and interaction with the golfing community.
An accomplished writer, his most recent book, published in June 2020, is “The Winning Playbook for Golf Courses – Shortcuts to Long-Term Financial Success.” Previously he published – in June 2010, January 2012, January 2014 and August 2016, the award-winning book, “The Business of Golf – What Are You Thinking? How to Maximize the Financial Return of a Golf Course” (basic primer). In December 2013, Keegan published “The Business of Golf – Why? How? What?”, a field book for seasoned professionals. Over 7,000 copies of these books have been purchased in 16 countries and are being utilized at 15 universities.
From 2002 through 2019, he served as a panelist for Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Golf Courses. He is a former member of the Club Manager’s Association of America, the National Golf Course Owners Association and the International Network of Golf and and is currently a member of the National Golf Foundation. Keegan is a former volunteer of the Colorado Golf Association and the USGA Sectional Affairs Committee. Jim has served as a course rater and rules official for numerous tournaments including the local and sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open and the World Club Championship.
A certified public accountant with a B.B.A. Degree from Texas Christian University, Keegan earned an M.B.A. in corporate finance from the University of Michigan. He has also served as a captain in the United States Air Force and worked at KPMG as a computer audit specialist.