Our Team

Steve Harker has over 25 years of professional experience in the golf course industry. Mr. Harker has completed numerous problem-solving and complex revenue management assignments during the tenure of his career in the golf business. Mr. Harker's direct roles have included progressively increased golf course management duties culminating in regional golf course management positions with as many as 28 courses under his administration. In addition, Mr. Harker served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing and National Sales Director for American Golf Corporation, the largest golf course operator in the world at that time. Mr. Harker is a Class A Member of the Professional Golfers' Association of America, an Emeritus Director of the First Tee of Oakland, a past member of the Employment Task Force of the PGA, and a Past Member of the Board of Governors of the National Golf Foundation. Mr. Harker has also been elected to the Albany High School Athletic Hall of Fame twice, once for his role on the 1973 Championship Golf Team and recently for restarting the golf program. Mr. Harker’s community-focused approach and experience is substantial including his initiation of the Women in Golf Day, that grew into a month long event adopted by Play Golf America.

During his 25 year career in the golf industry, Mark Luthman has held a variety of management and leadership roles including Superintendent, General Manager, and regional administration of multiple golf facilities. Mr. Luthman has led operations with Touchstone Golf since 2009. Prior to joining Touchstone Golf he was a Regional Director with oversight of ten premier golf courses and responsible for the planning, pre-opening, and operations efforts at three properties including Chambers Bay - the facility selected by the USGA to the host of the 2010 U.S. Amateur & 2015 U.S. Open Championships. Mr. Luthman's wide-ranging background has provided him extensive experience in the areas of revenue management, sales & marketing, guest retention, staff recruiting & training, and golf course maintenance.

Doug Harker is a veteran financial professional having served for over 20 years in the financial service industry in a variety of roles including CEO of a community bank. Mr. Harker has significant direct golf industry experience having served as Vice President of Sales for Redstone Golf Management and as General Manager of Wildcat Golf Club in Houston, Texas. Mr. Harker has also served in various board and committee assignments for the Houston Golf Association, Southern Texas Golf Association and United States Golf Association.

Brian Melody began his career in the golf industry at the young age of 14 and never left. He enjoyed competing as a player at various levels growing up and entered into operations when he moved to Denver, CO in 1999. Mr. Melody, a 12-year veteran of Touchstone Golf, has served many roles, from General Manager at Applewood Golf Course and Regional Manager overseeing the Colorado and Arizona regions. As VP of Operations, he oversees 12 properties across multiple states. Brian also heads up the National Account program for our company and brings great experience and new ideas to the company on a regular basis. Another contribution of his is the ability to mold/mentor new managers that are looking to grow their careers in the golf industry.

James Birchall is Vice President of Operations for Touchstone Golf. James was born and raised in the Bay Area where he attended San Jose State University. His interest in golf began in high school when his father hosted a golf tournament at Rancho Solano Golf Course. The first job James held was at Rancho Solano working as a server in the restaurant. While attending San Jose State, James worked for American Golf as a banquet captain at Summitpointe Golf Course in Milpitas. Upon completing his degree in Computer Science, James was promoted to Assistant General Manager at Monarch Bay Golf Club in San Leandro and within a year became the General Manager at Franklin Canyon Golf Course in Hercules. In 2007 James joined Touchstone Golf as the General Manager of Lake Chabot Golf Course and Special Projects for Touchstone. James initiated numerous projects to support the growth of Touchstone Golf and improve the performance of the golf course staff, including the launch of a company-wide Customer Relationship Management Tool for salespeople. His effective leadership and training skills resulted in his promotion to Regional Manager for the Bay Area in 2013, overseeing 5 golf course operations. In 2020, James joined the leading manager of private clubs, ClubCorp, as the General Manager of Crow Canyon Country Club. In his role he oversaw all aspects of the operation that included over 100 employees and revenue of more than $12M. During his management of Crow Canyon, the gain in memberships exceeded the sales target by 150, finishing in the Top 5 for the company. James was recruited back to Touchstone Golf in 2022 to lead the Northern California Region as the Vice President of Operations. His intimate knowledge of Touchstone and experience as a golf course operator and leader made it a natural fit. James oversees 10 golf course operations in Northern California working directly with the respective general managers. James lives in San Ramon, CA with his wife and two children. He is an active volunteer that strives to not only empower the lives of the youth, but become a better leader, mentor and citizen through his direction, coaching and training.

Chris Gilfillen started his career as a cart attendant at Eastlake Country Club in 1993. Upon graduation from San Diego State University in 2001, he became the General Manager for Balboa Park Golf Course. He later served as the General Manager of Mission Trails Golf Course, Eastlake Country Club, Chula Vista Golf Course, and is now based at Riverwalk Golf Course as Touchstone’s Regional Manager for the San Diego Area. In addition to operational oversight, Mr. Gilfillen is responsible for the development of the managers for Riverwalk, Chula Vista and Rancho Carlsbad. A proven executive leader, Mr. Gilfillen has expertise in golf operations marketing, food and beverage, catering sales, membership, merchandising and course maintenance.

Ashley van Dissel is Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Ashley oversees all strategic marketing plans as well as Private Event and Tournament Sales for Touchstone Golf. Prior to Ashley’s current position, she served as a Regional Director of Sales. Before joining the Touchstone team, she rapidly grew her career, starting as a banquet server, rising to Director of Sales for various Southern California distinguished courses operated by one of the largest firms in the golf course management industry. Ms. van Dissel has keen insight of the sales and revenue generation challenges of golf course operators. Her approach is based on a revenue generation model that drives financial growth through lead generation concepts and game plan execution while simultaneously maintaining operational focus and cultural cohesion. She has substantial experience with all media delivery platforms and a core focus on digital media. Ms. van Dissel holds a Master’s degree in Business Marketing from the University of Denver.

Samantha Seastrand has dedicated over a decade of her career to Touchstone Golf, starting in golf operations at Riverwalk Golf Club while pursuing her undergraduate degree at University of San Diego. From there, she moved to be a part of the accounting team in Austin, TX. She quickly honed her skills, developing policies, overseeing projects, and mastering all facets of the accounting office. From course accountant to now Controller, she has cultivated a keen eye for process improvement and efficiency, driving operational excellence and ensuring financial integrity across our organization.

Kate Kearney has over 18 years of experience in a senior leadership role in Human Resources, including 8 years as a Senior Human Resources Director for the United States Army. Kate’s extensive background includes recruiting, employee relations, labor law and compliance, teambuilding and leadership development. In the Touchstone organization, Kate is responsible for maximizing the human potential of Touchstone’s employee base, while maintaining an open and strong line of human resources communication throughout the organization. Kate received her bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and her Masters from the University of Georgia.

Michael Rus has been a PGA member since 1994 with over 35 years of experience in golf club management. Mr. Rus began in the golf industry at the age of 13 when he started working at his local municipal course while growing up in New Mexico. He landed his first Head Golf Professional position immediately upon completing his education at Arizona State University. In 2009 he joined Touchstone Golf and has managed semi-private, public and resort facilities. Mike has a proven track record for creating operational efficiencies with improved financial performance at golf properties in Northern California, Colorado and Arizona. He is experienced in all aspects of golf operations management including golf business start-ups, food & beverage operations, course maintenance, membership services, indoor golf simulators, and golf course design. Mr. Rus is currently based in Chandler, Arizona and is a regional manager for properties in Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas.

Ralph is a skilled hospitality professional and private club manager with a change agent mentality. He has worked as a General Manager the past 15 years at both public and member-owned Golf, Country and City Clubs in Northern California and has had the fortune of previously working in the Hotel industry with both the Fairmont and Embassy Suites Hotel groups. All told, Ralph has spent the last 35+ years in hospitality and truly enjoys being part of such a dynamic industry. Ralph is one of those rare hospitality leaders with the full spectrum of operational and club leadership skills – a keen eye for ensuring a great member service/experience, uncompromising attention to detail, and highly astute business acumen. Ralph is also a visionary who understands that progress sometimes requires risk. He’s established a proven track record of effectively identifying opportunities, shaping strategy, building support and leading the effort towards positive transformation. Ralph was awarded Touchstones Golf’s General Manager of the year in 2022 while GM of Coyote Creek Golf Club and has since moved into a Regional Role where he will continue to be driven by constructively and collaboratively working as part of a team to help develop and promote successful operations and management systems and creative ideas that will encourage and support his staff/clubs to make a difference in the Member/guest experience. Ralph is a native Northern Californian and grew up in Calistoga in the Napa Valley. He has been married to his wonderful wife Susan for 31 years and has two awesome sons, Miles and Cade.

Chris Meade began his career in golf in 1994.A PGA Member since 1999, he has over 25 years of experience in all phases of golf operations. Throughout his career, he has been a general manager of Private, Semi-private and Municipal properties, which allowed him to develop the ability to connect to golfers of all types and skill levels. Mr. Meade, a six-year veteran of Touchstone Golf, was a prior recipient of the General Manager of the Year award. Current responsibilities include the role of General Manager at Lady Bird Golf Course in Fredericksburg, Texas, as well as Central Texas Regional Manager. Working closely with private owners and city governments alike, has allowed him the opportunity to develop and execute budgets for properties of various size and structure. Chris is an avid supporter of junior golf and growth of the game initiatives, and, as a result, was named Top 50 Kids Coach, Class of 2019, by US Kids Golf. Staff development and placement are core strengths, as displayed by the numerous PGA Members and current General Managers who began as assistants in his various golf operations throughout the country.