For most of us, the beginning of summer means a time to relax, take time to enjoy the warm weather, and enjoy a bit of the good life. For Patrick O’Donoghue, this time of year marks the beginning of his busy season, particularly this year, his first as General Manager at the posh Hawthorn Woods Country Club, where he leads a team of 120 staff members delivering exceptional service to 600 member families.
How did Patrick, who has yet to turn 40, ascend to these professional heights? For one, he relies on the lessons in hospitality he learned from his grandfather Danny O’Donoghue, a native of Killarney who emigrated to the USA in 1949 at the age of 21.
“My grandfather pursued the American dream,” Patrick says. “He came to Milwaukee with $20 to his name and started working for his uncle who owned a bar in town.”
Patrick and his extended family at Milwaukee Irish Fest
The elder O’Donoghue would end up marrying Irish-American Helen McDonald, work at Miller Brewery for 20 years, and then buy his own pub – O’Donoghue’s Irish Pub – in 1969. Eventually he would open two more pubs, one on the campus of Marquette University, and the other near the old County Stadium, former home of the Milwaukee Brewers. Many readers might recognize his name, as he was one of the original founders of the Milwaukee Irish Fest and helped to start Milwaukee’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. Patrick’s father followed in Danny’s footsteps in the bar industry, managing the County Clare pub in Milwaukee and owning O’Donoghue’s Irish Pub in Elm Grove, Wisconsin.
Into this bastion of Irish hospitality came Patrick, who was born in Milwaukee before moving to the Chicago area at the age of five; he would grow up in suburban Glenview, where he now lives with his wife Jessica and two daughters Lucy and Molly. He proudly boasts of the impact that growing up in an Irish Catholic household made on him, calling out the lessons he learned at St. Catherine’s Catholic Grade School and Notre Dame College Prep in Niles, where he led his baseball team to win the 2004 state championship.
Patrick took his first trip to Ireland in 8th grade, and it made an indelible mark on him.
Patrick and his grandfather Pat Dalton
“I had the chance to go to Ireland with my uncle Monsignor Jack Dalton, and we got to meet my extended family which was very special,” Patrick recalls. It was so special, that Patrick has returned to the Emerald Isle four times, including his honeymoon, and it is still the only European country that he has – or wishes to – visit.
Upon graduating from Notre Dame College Prep, Patrick went to college at St. Ambrose in Davenport, Iowa, where he played baseball and earned a degree in sports management. He then returned to his place of birth – Milwaukee – to complete an internship with the Milwaukee Brewers, and worked at his dad’s bar, staying in the home of his grandfather Danny O’Donoghue’s home. As Patrick puts it, “that’s when I learned hospitality through my dad’s and grandfather’s eyes.”
After his post-collegiate stint in Milwaukee, Patrick moved back to Chicago, where he took a job at Wildfire restaurant; there, he would learn the operations of how restaurants work, building his understanding of behind-the-scenes systems that are essential to keeping them humming. He decided to pursue the management career track, becoming Assistant General Manager of Wildfire before taking the General Manager role at the swanky steakhouse Prime and Provisions.
“I learned that the restaurant industry is fast-paced and cutthroat, but I liked it,” Patrick says of this time of his career. “I like to say I earned a master’s degree in restaurant management going through those experiences.”
By 2021, Patrick looked beyond the rough-and-tumble Chicago steakhouse scene to move back into the world of sports management, this time into the golf world; he took on the role of General Manager at Deerpath Golf Course in Lake Forest.
“When I started working at Deerpath, the systems and management operations were familiar to me, but the golf side was completely new. I quickly learned that I was going to have to do a little bit of everything to make the course run. There was no one else to do it!” Patrick mentions, calling out the importance of Head Golf Professional Greg Baetan for helping him transition into the role at Deerpath.
After two seasons at Deerpath, Patrick left and went to Hawthorn Woods Country Club, where he accepted the role of Assistant General Manager before being promoted to General Manager this year.
“I loved my time at Deerpath, but moving to Hawthorn Woods Country Club was a great opportunity for me. It’s a year-round operation with a larger umbrella of departments, which is actually familiar to me having worked in the restaurant industry.”
The common thread between Deerpath and Hawthorn Woods, besides Patrick, is that both are part of the KemperSports network of golf facilities. The Northbrook-based company boasts 140 clubs in its network, and Patrick relies on support from the home office as well as his fellow leaders from other clubs to help him develop his own career and drive a high level of service at Hawthorn Woods.
“KemperSports is a great company to work for, and one you want to stay with for a long time,” Patrick proudly testifies.
Patrick O’Donoghue Carries on Tradition of Irish Hospitality at KemperSports
