Custy Nairn didn't waste a minute contacting Jo Ann Heller after hearing she left Golden Oaks Golf Club last year.

Heller was available for hire, and the news spread like wildfire.

"We had to do it right away," Nairn said.

Nairn's quick thinking helped Blackwood Golf Course land one of the most respected members of the local golf community.

Heller officially joined the Douglassville public course last month as director of golf and head golf professional. She gives lessons, runs outings and does whatever else owners Custy and Mark Nairn ask to improve customer service.

The brothers couldn't be happier to have Heller. "She's going to be a huge asset," Nairn said. "You don't find someone of her caliber everyday. She knows more people in golf than anyone else around here.

"She has the attitude and the personality for it. We're just thrilled to have her."

Heller is an integral thread in the fabric of Berks County golf - on and off the course. As a player, she grew up alongside Betsy King at Reading Country Club and won the first PIAA girls championship as an Exeter high schooler in 1974. Heller went on to capture countless individual and partners titles in the Women's Berks County Golf Association and beyond, including seven WBCGA Betty Fehl-Fegely championships and three Central Penn crowns. As a golf administrator, Heller served as tournament director for King's LPGA event at Berkleigh Country Club. After the last tournament was held in 2004, Heller joined Golden Oaks as director of golf. That's some local knowledge. When a new management company took the reigns at Golden Oaks last year, Heller decided it was time for a lifestyle change. Heller, who recently turned 59, was working more than 70 hours a week.

"I don't need to work, and I wanted to travel," she said.

Heller left Golden Oaks, and it was almost as if a higher plan was in place. Her brother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and died within two months. Her mother battled Alzheimer's disease in Florida before passing away in December. Heller's new schedule allowed her to spend those final months by her mom's side. But Heller wasn't ready to leave the golf business completely. She wanted to "scale back" to 40 hours a week with winters off.

Nairn was happy to accommodate.While the brothers have the on-course operations covered - Custy is the superintendent and Mark the mechanic - they needed someone with Heller's savvy to handle pro shop and general managerial duties. "She's a supreme manager," Nairn said. "She knows everybody. Our phone was ringing before she started here."

The Nairn family has owned the Blackwood property since Custy and Mark's grandfather, a Scottish immigrant, bought the 200 acres for $12,000 in the 1930s and farmed for three decades. The family transformed the land into a golf course, and Blackwood opened in 1970. Nairn understands better than anyone that the golf business has been a tough one for the past 20 years. Family-run courses are struggling to survive. He believes that someone such as Heller can help push the brothers through to retirement in several years. Heller has the same plan."I fell in love with the Blackwood people," Heller said. "They're the most down-to-earth guys I ever met. I'm on the five-year plan and then hope to cut back a little more. They agreed to everything I wanted. I've only been here a month, but it's been great."