Transactions, july 24, 2015

     Sylva, North Carolina. A 14-year-old, financially beleaguered private community in the mountains of western North Carolina has found its fourth ownership group. Balsam Mountain Preserve, a 4,400-acre spread that features an 18-hole, Arnold Palmer-designed golf course, has been purchased by Chris Manning, a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina-based real estate investor, for an undisclosed price. “With our minimal debt structure and the support we have from the homeowners,” said Manning, who has “several community homeowners” as partners, “I’m confident we have the tools in place to bring long-term and lasting stability to this great club and community.” Balsam Mountain Preserve was established by Jim Chaffin and Jim Light, who defaulted on a $19 million during the darkest days of the Great Recession. For a while, the community’s development was overseen by a private-equity group that hoped to get its money back but couldn’t. The group, TriLyn LLC, ended up selling the community to David Carlile and Harry Avant, reportedly for $6 million. So far, 250 lots in Balsam Mountain Preserve have reportedly been sold. If my math is correct, that means Manning’s group has roughly 150 more lots to sell.

     Saukville, Wisconsin. Speaking of Arnold Palmer, his 20-year-old golf course in suburban Milwaukee has fetched $1.99 million. A partnership led by Jon Hammes, the managing partner of a local health-care consulting firm, has purchased the Bog, one of two Palmer-designed courses in the state. (The other: One of the three “signature” layouts at Geneva National Golf Club in Lake Geneva.) “We believe that the Bog is one of the finest courses in southeast Wisconsin,” Hammes’ son, Mike, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Hammes bought the Bog from John Taylor Golf, Inc., an entity owned by Terry Wakefield, the venue’s developer. According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, Wakefield was hoping to get $3.5 million for the 227-acre property.

     Lenox, Massachusetts. An entity controlled by CampGroup LLC has paid $18 million for Cranwell Spa & Golf Resort, a 380-acre spread in the Berkshires that features a golf course co-designed by Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek. Cranwell, which has been in operation since the 1880s, features a resort-style hotel, a spa, and two restaurants. Its 18-hole course opened in 1926. “We plan to elevate the already outstanding guest experience and enhance the resort’s position as a destination,” Andrew Benerofe, the chairman of CampGroup, said in a press release. CampGroup and its partner, L. D. Builders, bought Cranwell from a partnership controlled by Daniel and Carol Burack, who purchased the property in 1993.

     Bristol, Tennessee. A trio of local businessmen has come to the rescue of the struggling Country Club of Bristol. Mitch Walters, Roscoe Bowman, and Tim Carter, operating as Bristol Preservation LLC, have acquired the club, and they’ve hired Integrity Golf Company to revive it. “I understand that there has been a bit of a black cloud over the club,” Gene Garrotte of Integrity Golf told the Bristol Herald Courier, “but we’re here to move those clouds and bring life into this.” The club, which calls itself “the birthplace of organized golf in the state of Tennessee,” was founded in 1894, in another location. Its golf course, an A. G. McKay design, opened in the late 1950s, and it was redesigned by Mark McCumber in the late 1990s. The new owners bought the club from Trupoint Bank, which assumed control of the property after a previous rescue attempt failed. “The whole idea behind this effort is to preserve this golf course and keep Tennessee’s oldest club alive,” Walters told the Kingsport Times-News. “We didn’t want it closed and turned into a major development, because you can never build it back once that happens.” To signal a break with the past, Walters and his partners are thinking about changing the club’s name.

     Missoula, Montana. Utah’s largest golf management company has acquired its first course in Montana. Vanguard Golf Management paid an undisclosed price for one of the state’s top golf properties, the Ranch Club, a 343-acre venue that features an 18-hole, Les Furber-designed golf course. “We were struck by the beauty of the course and the remarkable golf and were excited by the unique opportunity to expand our brand of outstanding golf and personal service,” the company’s president told a local television station. Vanguard owns and operates three golf courses in Utah and one in Nevada, and it manages two others. It bought the Ranch from an affiliate of First Interstate Bank, which took possession of the property in 2012. The golf course opened in 2003, as Phantom Hills Golf Club.

     Leland, North Carolina. A golf developer has agreed to buy Magnolia Greens Golf Course, the centerpiece of a large, retiree-friendly community outside Wilmington. Bobby Harrelson, the principal of CP Brunswick LLC and Brunswick Golf Holdings LLC, paid an undisclosed amount for Magnolia Greens, which opened in the late 1990s and features a 27-hole complex that was designed by Tom Jackson. The seller was a group called Magnolia Greens Ventures LLC. Harrelson is currently developing Compass Pointe, a community in Leland that will feature a Rick Robbins-designed golf course.

     Kalamazoo, Michigan. Acting on an idea that’s been floating around for several years, the city of Kalamazoo has agreed to sell Eastern Hills Golf Course, a 230-acre complex that will almost certainly be razed and replaced with houses and stores. The 27-hole Eastern Hills complex loses money, and the city is facing a $3 million budget deficit. So when JTM Management offered to buy the venue for $2.19 million, the city reluctantly agreed. “We’re in a situation now where we’re kind of like the homeowner who needs to sell some of his furniture in order to pay the rent,” a city commissioner told the Kalamazoo Gazette. Eastern Hills, which has been in business since 1959, is expected to operate at least through the 2016 season. Some of the proceeds from the sale will be used to pay for improvements to the city’s two other golf courses.

     Westerly, Rhode Island. After 46 years of ownership, and after watching membership plummet in the 21st century, George Buck has sold Winnapaug Country Club. The new owners, Joe and Maria Luzzi, paid an undisclosed price for the club and its Donald Ross-designed course, a track that opened in 1922. “I was a member for 13 years and saw this opportunity and love the property and love the golf course,” Joe Luzzi told the Westerly Sun. “I thought it would be great to own it.” Winnapaug currently has “about a hundred” members, according to the newspaper, down from 282 in 1998. The Luzzis believe they can effect a turnaround with “hard work, perseverance, and dedication.” And if they can’t, their experience as real estate investors might come in handy.

     Henderson, Nevada. Century Communities has identified a buyer for Tuscany Golf Course. In a transaction that closed last month, Thomas Burke, the CEO of TCompanies, Inc., paid an undisclosed amount for the 18-hole, Ted Robinson-designed layout that serves as the centerpiece of Tuscany Village. The 12-year-old venue is now called Chimera Golf Club at Tuscany.

     Mankato, Minnesota. Mark and Vivian Smith, the principals of Opafore LLC, have purchased Minneopa Golf Club, which had been owned by members of the Bohks family since 1930. “They are good people,” said Kyle Bohks, one of the sellers. “We had the same thought process, the same family values. And I’m the type of guy who goes with my gut.” No details on the transaction have been announced. Minneopa’s executive-length course was co-designed by M. J. Donndelinger, its original owner, and John McRae, a local golf pro. The 42-acre track was open for only a year before Donndelinger sold it to Henry Bohks, whose grandchildren have apparently had enough of the golf business.