York, Pennsylvania. After operating under a financial cloud for years, Regents’ Glen Country Club has gone dark. “The closing comes as no surprise,” writes the York Dispatch, because the 17-year-old club had stopped paying at least some of its employees and had narrowly avoided a forced sale of the property that was home to its clubhouse. Now people are wondering what will happen to the club’s Arthur Hills-designed golf course. The layout is, according to the Dispatch, “too good a track to simply sit dormant or, heaven forbid, become another housing development or shopping center.”
Lima, Ohio. Hawthorne Hills Golf Course has reached the end of the line. Paul Scheiwiller, who purchased the 27-hole complex in 2012, told the Lima News that “we just can’t get the course as a business to function.” Scheiwiller is an experienced operator, for he owns or co-owns two other golf properties in Lima, Tamarac Golf Course and Springbrook Golf Club. He blames Hawthorne Hills’ financial problems on the Lima area having “too many golf courses” and “a dwindling number of golfers.” He eventually expects to sell the 52-year-old venue.
Brownsville, Texas. It took almost a decade, but the 18-foot iron fence that runs along the Mexican border has finally squeezed the life out of Fort Brown Memorial Golf Course. The city opened the 18-hole course in the mid 1950s, in large part to give Mexican-American golfers a place to play, and the Brownsville Herald reports that the track used to ring up close to 40,000 rounds a year. Of course, that was before the Department of Homeland Security effectively cut off the course from the rest of the United States. “It’s been very difficult overcoming some of the negative perceptions that people have about life on the border,” Bob Lucio, the course’s longtime operator, told ESPN in 2011. Lucio and others who were stuck to the no-man’s land south of Brownsville tried to get the fence torn down, but their pleas fell upon deaf ears.
Ann Arbor, Michigan. Lew Wahley has agreed to sell his struggling Ann Arbor Country Club to a local residential developer. Care to guess what that means? Ann Arbor, which features an 18-hole course, has operated since the late 1920s. Wahley and his West Virginia-based investment group bought it five years ago, in what the Ann Arbor News describes as “a lender-forced sale.” The prospective owner has reportedly enlisted Toll Brothers to build 80 houses on the 200-acre property.
Fort Mill, South Carolina. Details are sketchy, but it appears that somebody wants to build 250 apartments and 60 townhouses on the 250 acres currently occupied by Regent Park Golf Club. Regent Park features an 18-hole, Ron Garl-designed golf course that opened in 1994. The club is owned by a group called Freshwater Industries, Inc., which appears to have clear sailing because the Fort Mill Times reports that the proposed housing is permitted by current zoning ordinances.
Seward, Nebraska. The clock is ticking on Seward Country Club, which will cease to exist on New Year’s Eve. The 52-year-old club, which features a nine-hole golf course, “has been in financial trouble for a number of years,” according to the Seward County Independent. Its members have voted to give their 60-acre property to the city if the city is willing to assume their debts, which currently amount to roughly $350,000.
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The owners of Rehoboth Golf Park have seen the future, and it looks like a seniors-only community. To get the construction ball rolling, Truitt Homestead LLC has agreed to lease its 24-acre property, currently home to a nine-hole, par-3 course, to a development group and has also asked local officials for a rezoning. “The golf course is not profitable for the current tenant,” Roger Truitt told the Cape Gazette. “It’s time for us to prepare for the next 100 years.” The current tenant, Steven W. Smith, expects the course to remain in operation through the 2016 season and perhaps beyond and notes that this year the golf park had its best year since 2012.
Augusta, Michigan. Any day now, the final rounds of golf will be played at Yarrow Golf & Conference Resort. Yarrow is scheduled to be sold in late November, to a group that intends to turn the 300-acre property into a mental health and substance abuse rehabilitation center. “I think they were struggling,” a spokesperson for Foundations Recovery Network, the prospective owner, told the Kalamazoo Gazette. “They just weren’t getting the traffic they used to in terms of golfing.” Yarrow’s 18-hole, Ray Hearn-designed golf course opened in 2001.
Ahwahnee, California. Just weeks after they bought Sierra Meadows Country Club, Charlie Sheldon and Reid Spice have done what most everyone expected them to do: Close the 18-hole, 25-year-old venue. The partners aim to transform the 142-acre property into a conference center, perhaps with a vineyard.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Sunday, October 18, 2015
The Week That Was, october 18, 2015
ClubCorp’s cash registers are ringing happily this year -- overall revenues have increased by 24 percent over those recorded in 2014 -- but the company’s golf and country club division is underperforming. In fact, it’s generating income exactly the same way Carly Fiorina did it at Hewlett-Packard: By acquisition. In its most recent quarterly financial statement, ClubCorp reports that the division has so far this year increased its membership rolls (excluding members from managed clubs) by nearly 33 percent. However, ClubCorp also notes that the number of members at properties that were previously part of its portfolio (“same-store” properties), again excluding members from managed clubs, has suffered a slight decrease. This indicates that the division is posting growth solely because it’s adding to its inventory (eight properties so far in 2015). It’s also worth noting that ClubCorp will do renovations at some of its recently acquired Sequoia Golf properties in 2015 instead of in 2016, as originally planned. The company believes that the new construction schedule “will minimize member disruption” -- membership losses, presumably -- in 2016.
The Nicklaus empire may take its name off a golf course in suburban Melbourne, Australia. Since July, Jack Nicklaus’ Florida-based design crew has complained twice about “unacceptable” turf conditions on its “signature” course at Heritage Golf & Country Club, a venue that the Age calls “one of Victoria’s most prestigious golf clubs.” Nicklaus’ group believes that Heritage’s 15-year-old St. John track is “negatively impacting the reputation of the Nicklaus name” and has reportedly put the club’s owner on notice. Of course, Nicklaus’ complaints aren’t the only ones that Heritage’s owner, Xiaoyan “Kylie” Bao, has heard since she took over the club last year. According to the Age, club members, former employees, and contractors have begun to wage “a bitter battle” against her, and “a grass-roots revolt is brewing.”
Greg Norman’s name may also soon come off a high-profile golf course, namely the track he designed for what is now Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg. In an interview with Today’s Golfer, “the Living Brand” acknowledges being “incredibly disappointed” that Trump didn’t hire him to redesign the 18-hole layout in Ireland (Martin Hawtree got the job), because “no one else knows more about the place” than he does. “I think our name is going to come off it now,” Norman said, adding, “You won’t hear me talking much about it from now on.” Norman, one of the wealthiest people in golf, passed on an opportunity to buy Doonbeg before Trump did (reportedly for about $10 million), and last year he told the Clare Champion that he “would expect a phone call” if changes were to be made.
Speaking of Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg, it lost more money last year than either of Donald Trump’s Scottish golf properties. Just a week after revealing that Trump Turnberry and Trump International Golf Links Scotland each lost roughly £1.1 million (about $1.7 million) in 2014, a financial report from the Trump Organization indicates that its resort in Ireland lost €2.5 million (almost $2.84 million). The Organization, which has set out to make Doonbeg a “truly iconic” venue, ascribes the losses to expected start-up and renovation costs and forecasts “further losses” this year.
One of Asia’s oldest, most prestigious golf properties may be razed. Authorities in Malaysia have unveiled a plan to turn Royal Selangor Golf Club, a 45-hole complex in Kuala Lumpur, into a recreational area modeled on Central Park in New York City. A government minister concedes that the idea “requires further discussions with the relevant parties,” but it nonetheless compromises the future of a truly historic venue -- arguably the birthplace of golf in Malaysia. Royal Selangor was established in 1893, and its golf courses were built, nine holes at a time, beginning in the early 1920s. The tracks are no longer viewed as being among the nation’s elite, but they’ve withstood the test of time and are still beloved by members of Malaysia’s high society. My guess is that someone steps up and argues for their preservation.
Halliburton Company, deservedly one of America’s least trusted corporations, wants to buy a golf course, specifically Twin Oaks Golf Course in Duncan, Oklahoma. The company has its eye on Twin Oaks not because it likes the golf business but because negligence by one of its subsidiaries has contaminated the course’s water supply. The trouble is, Halliburton hasn’t yet offered enough to avoid a court date with the course’s owner, Don Elsworth. “They made a couple of small offers, but they are just kind of insults,” Elsworth told the Oklahoman, adding: “It’s hard to sell a golf course as it is, and now ours comes tagged as contaminated.” In all, Halliburton is trying to reach settlements with 130 property owners who’ve discovered spent rocket fuel in their private wells. The water is so toxic that Halliburton has advised the property owners to not even put it on their lawns. Twin Oaks is the only golf course that’s been affected.
The Nicklaus empire may take its name off a golf course in suburban Melbourne, Australia. Since July, Jack Nicklaus’ Florida-based design crew has complained twice about “unacceptable” turf conditions on its “signature” course at Heritage Golf & Country Club, a venue that the Age calls “one of Victoria’s most prestigious golf clubs.” Nicklaus’ group believes that Heritage’s 15-year-old St. John track is “negatively impacting the reputation of the Nicklaus name” and has reportedly put the club’s owner on notice. Of course, Nicklaus’ complaints aren’t the only ones that Heritage’s owner, Xiaoyan “Kylie” Bao, has heard since she took over the club last year. According to the Age, club members, former employees, and contractors have begun to wage “a bitter battle” against her, and “a grass-roots revolt is brewing.”
Greg Norman’s name may also soon come off a high-profile golf course, namely the track he designed for what is now Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg. In an interview with Today’s Golfer, “the Living Brand” acknowledges being “incredibly disappointed” that Trump didn’t hire him to redesign the 18-hole layout in Ireland (Martin Hawtree got the job), because “no one else knows more about the place” than he does. “I think our name is going to come off it now,” Norman said, adding, “You won’t hear me talking much about it from now on.” Norman, one of the wealthiest people in golf, passed on an opportunity to buy Doonbeg before Trump did (reportedly for about $10 million), and last year he told the Clare Champion that he “would expect a phone call” if changes were to be made.
Speaking of Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg, it lost more money last year than either of Donald Trump’s Scottish golf properties. Just a week after revealing that Trump Turnberry and Trump International Golf Links Scotland each lost roughly £1.1 million (about $1.7 million) in 2014, a financial report from the Trump Organization indicates that its resort in Ireland lost €2.5 million (almost $2.84 million). The Organization, which has set out to make Doonbeg a “truly iconic” venue, ascribes the losses to expected start-up and renovation costs and forecasts “further losses” this year.
One of Asia’s oldest, most prestigious golf properties may be razed. Authorities in Malaysia have unveiled a plan to turn Royal Selangor Golf Club, a 45-hole complex in Kuala Lumpur, into a recreational area modeled on Central Park in New York City. A government minister concedes that the idea “requires further discussions with the relevant parties,” but it nonetheless compromises the future of a truly historic venue -- arguably the birthplace of golf in Malaysia. Royal Selangor was established in 1893, and its golf courses were built, nine holes at a time, beginning in the early 1920s. The tracks are no longer viewed as being among the nation’s elite, but they’ve withstood the test of time and are still beloved by members of Malaysia’s high society. My guess is that someone steps up and argues for their preservation.
Halliburton Company, deservedly one of America’s least trusted corporations, wants to buy a golf course, specifically Twin Oaks Golf Course in Duncan, Oklahoma. The company has its eye on Twin Oaks not because it likes the golf business but because negligence by one of its subsidiaries has contaminated the course’s water supply. The trouble is, Halliburton hasn’t yet offered enough to avoid a court date with the course’s owner, Don Elsworth. “They made a couple of small offers, but they are just kind of insults,” Elsworth told the Oklahoman, adding: “It’s hard to sell a golf course as it is, and now ours comes tagged as contaminated.” In all, Halliburton is trying to reach settlements with 130 property owners who’ve discovered spent rocket fuel in their private wells. The water is so toxic that Halliburton has advised the property owners to not even put it on their lawns. Twin Oaks is the only golf course that’s been affected.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Transactions, october 16, 2015
Not long ago I was asked if I file a report on every golf course sale. If you’re wondering the same thing, the answer is no. Not by a long shot, in fact. I probably cover about half of the transactions I come across.
St. Francisville, Louisiana. Two lawyers have purchased one of Louisiana’s top golf courses, and they hope to take it into the “top 30 or so courses in the country.” Kenneth M. Carter and Richard “Jerry” Dodson bought the Bluffs Golf Resort, the centerpiece of a community called the Bluffs at Thompson Creek, from Claude Penn, who put it on the market in 2009. “I do believe that the Bluffs on Thompson Creek can become one of the finest golf destinations in the country, if not the world,” Carter said in a press release. The Bluffs features an 18-hole, Arnold Palmer-designed track that Ron Whitten of Golf Digest believes is “perhaps the best of any Palmer design.” The price hasn’t been announced, but the Advocate reports that Penn was hoping to get $6.5 million for the course and $3 million for the clubhouse.
Las Vegas, Nevada. Let the broken hearts stand as the price you’ve gotta pay: Badlands Golf Club has been sold, and its new owners are reportedly laying plans to turn its 220 acres into “an urban community” with 2,000 or more houses. Badlands, which opened in the mid 1990s, features a 27-hole complex that was co-designed by Johnny Miller and Chi Chi Rodriguez. EHB Companies, a tight-lipped local development group, declined to discuss its plans for the club with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and the newspaper apparently had to twist arms to learn that the sale took place “sometime over the past six months.” EHB was, however, willing to submit a financial report to the city indicating that Badlands “is losing about $2 million a year” and “has been for a few years.”
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Fast-growing Brown Golf Management has acquired the first golf course built at Hilton Head Plantation. The Bluffton-based company paid an undisclosed amount for Dolphin Head Golf Club, which features an 18-hole, Gary Player-designed track that opened in 1974. “The golf course is very good,” John Brown told the Island Packet. “I think it’s one of Gary Player’s best.” The Packet says that Brown has added six golf properties to its inventory in 2015 and aims to add two more before the year ends. All told, the company owns, manages, or leases 23 golf properties in six states, with the largest number of holdings in South Carolina (seven) and Pennsylvania (eight). Brown, which has been working on the purchase of Dolphin Head for nearly a year, considers the venue to be “the premier club” in its portfolio.
Ceres, California. Putting an end to what’s been called a “protracted and complicated transaction,” Ken Thornberry and some partners have purchased the financially struggling River Oaks Golf Course from members of the Phipps family. The price hasn’t been disclosed. River Oaks’ 18-hole layout was designed by its original owner, Jim Phipps, and opened in 1979. Thornberry plans to spiff up the course -- “It’s been grossly neglected,” he told the Ceres Courier -- and add an amphitheater and events center in an effort to generate fresh revenues.
Yuma, Arizona. Less than a year after more than three dozen of its customers were victimized by credit-card fraud, Mesa del Sol Golf Course has new owners. Eagle Golf has sold the 18-hole, Arnold Palmer-designed course to Steve Olafson and his wife, Shannon Mason, who’ve initiated what appear to be overdue upgrades. “The first thing we’re doing is getting the sprinklers working again and getting the grass trimmed the way it’s supposed to be trimmed,” Olafson told the Yuma Sun. “Our first goal is to make the course playable again.” Mesa del Sol was Palmer’s first course in Arizona. Since it opened, in the late 1970s, he’s added four others.
North Plains, Oregon. Escalante Golf has acquired its first golf property in Oregon. The Fort Worth, Texas-based firm paid an undisclosed price for a controlling interest in Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, a 23-year-old complex in suburban Portland that features a pair of 18-hole courses (one public, one private) that were co-designed by Bob Cupp and John Fought. The property has hosted several coveted amateur and professional events, including the Women’s U.S. Open championships of 1997 and 2003. “Pumpkin Ridge’s strong tournament heritage, impressive architectural pedigree, beautiful setting, and outstanding national reputation make it an ideal addition to our family,” the company’s president said in a press release. Escalante owns 16 other golf properties, half of them in Florida and Texas.
Bunnell, Florida. The bankrupt Grand Reserve Golf Club, the centerpiece of a community outside Palm Coast that consists of just six houses, has been purchased by its long-time operator. Capstone Golf, which has managed Grand Reserve since it opened, in 2008, reportedly paid $1.3 million for the 18-hole track. Capstone owns two other golf properties in Florida, St. Augustine Shores Golf Club in St. Augustine and Wedgefield Golf Club in Orlando. It says that Grand Reserve, which was co-designed by Mike Beebe and Bill Amick, is “perfect for beginners yet challenging enough for more advanced players.”
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. Due to what’s been described as “a change in business plans,” the Japanese owners of Hawaii Kai Golf Course have agreed to sell their operation to a local investment group. Atsugi Kokusai Kanko Hawaii, Inc., which has reportedly owned Hawaii Kai for more than three decades, is selling it to a group led by Guy Yamamoto, the general manager of the nearby Mililani Golf Club. Pacific Business News, which broke the news of the sale, didn’t report a price. Hawaii Kai, a 27-hole complex, has been around since the early 1960s. According to its website, it features an 18-hole, William F. Bell-designed course and a nine-hole, par-3 layout created by Robert Trent Jones. Yamamoto and his partners will also assume a lease on the underlying property, which is owned by Kamehameha Schools. According to PBN, the parties expect to close on the transaction by the end of the month.
Easton, Pennsylvania. Club at Morgan Hill has new owners and a new identity. Sal and Maria Lapio, who acquired the property in March 2015, now call the place Morgan Hill Golf Course. Morgan Hill, which features a Kelly Blake Moran-designed course that opened in 2004, is the Lapios’ third golf property. They also own Mainland Golf Course in Harleysville and Bella Vista Golf Course in Gilbertsville.
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. The receivers in control of Rolling Hills Country Club have accepted $1.3 million for the 119-year-old property. A local investment group led by Frank Romano made the offer for Rolling Hills, which opened as Lac La Bell Country Club and appears set to soon assume an identity close to its original name. “We’re very excited about the possibilities of La Belle Golf Club,” Romano told Lake Country Now. “We know about the history of the golf course and how popular it once was. Our goal is to bring that glory back to the place.” Romano is a longtime player in the Milwaukee area’s golf business. Through various entities, he owns Blackstone Creek Golf Club in Germantown, Fire Ridge Golf Club in Grafton, and Scenic View Country Club in Slinger.
Sterling Heights, Michigan. A home builder has purchased Maple Lane Golf Club, and you can guess what that inevitably means. But until Moceri Companies figures out the mix of residences that it wants to build at Maple Lane -- a process that will apparently take “several years” -- the property’s 54-hole golf complex will continue to operate. Maple Lane was established by Carl Roehl in the mid 1920s, and Crain’s Detroit Business says that Moceri, which describes itself as “Michigan’s legendary dream builder,” has been building houses, condos, and apartments on the course’s perimeter since the early 1960s.
St. Francisville, Louisiana. Two lawyers have purchased one of Louisiana’s top golf courses, and they hope to take it into the “top 30 or so courses in the country.” Kenneth M. Carter and Richard “Jerry” Dodson bought the Bluffs Golf Resort, the centerpiece of a community called the Bluffs at Thompson Creek, from Claude Penn, who put it on the market in 2009. “I do believe that the Bluffs on Thompson Creek can become one of the finest golf destinations in the country, if not the world,” Carter said in a press release. The Bluffs features an 18-hole, Arnold Palmer-designed track that Ron Whitten of Golf Digest believes is “perhaps the best of any Palmer design.” The price hasn’t been announced, but the Advocate reports that Penn was hoping to get $6.5 million for the course and $3 million for the clubhouse.
Las Vegas, Nevada. Let the broken hearts stand as the price you’ve gotta pay: Badlands Golf Club has been sold, and its new owners are reportedly laying plans to turn its 220 acres into “an urban community” with 2,000 or more houses. Badlands, which opened in the mid 1990s, features a 27-hole complex that was co-designed by Johnny Miller and Chi Chi Rodriguez. EHB Companies, a tight-lipped local development group, declined to discuss its plans for the club with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and the newspaper apparently had to twist arms to learn that the sale took place “sometime over the past six months.” EHB was, however, willing to submit a financial report to the city indicating that Badlands “is losing about $2 million a year” and “has been for a few years.”
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Fast-growing Brown Golf Management has acquired the first golf course built at Hilton Head Plantation. The Bluffton-based company paid an undisclosed amount for Dolphin Head Golf Club, which features an 18-hole, Gary Player-designed track that opened in 1974. “The golf course is very good,” John Brown told the Island Packet. “I think it’s one of Gary Player’s best.” The Packet says that Brown has added six golf properties to its inventory in 2015 and aims to add two more before the year ends. All told, the company owns, manages, or leases 23 golf properties in six states, with the largest number of holdings in South Carolina (seven) and Pennsylvania (eight). Brown, which has been working on the purchase of Dolphin Head for nearly a year, considers the venue to be “the premier club” in its portfolio.
Ceres, California. Putting an end to what’s been called a “protracted and complicated transaction,” Ken Thornberry and some partners have purchased the financially struggling River Oaks Golf Course from members of the Phipps family. The price hasn’t been disclosed. River Oaks’ 18-hole layout was designed by its original owner, Jim Phipps, and opened in 1979. Thornberry plans to spiff up the course -- “It’s been grossly neglected,” he told the Ceres Courier -- and add an amphitheater and events center in an effort to generate fresh revenues.
Yuma, Arizona. Less than a year after more than three dozen of its customers were victimized by credit-card fraud, Mesa del Sol Golf Course has new owners. Eagle Golf has sold the 18-hole, Arnold Palmer-designed course to Steve Olafson and his wife, Shannon Mason, who’ve initiated what appear to be overdue upgrades. “The first thing we’re doing is getting the sprinklers working again and getting the grass trimmed the way it’s supposed to be trimmed,” Olafson told the Yuma Sun. “Our first goal is to make the course playable again.” Mesa del Sol was Palmer’s first course in Arizona. Since it opened, in the late 1970s, he’s added four others.
North Plains, Oregon. Escalante Golf has acquired its first golf property in Oregon. The Fort Worth, Texas-based firm paid an undisclosed price for a controlling interest in Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, a 23-year-old complex in suburban Portland that features a pair of 18-hole courses (one public, one private) that were co-designed by Bob Cupp and John Fought. The property has hosted several coveted amateur and professional events, including the Women’s U.S. Open championships of 1997 and 2003. “Pumpkin Ridge’s strong tournament heritage, impressive architectural pedigree, beautiful setting, and outstanding national reputation make it an ideal addition to our family,” the company’s president said in a press release. Escalante owns 16 other golf properties, half of them in Florida and Texas.
Bunnell, Florida. The bankrupt Grand Reserve Golf Club, the centerpiece of a community outside Palm Coast that consists of just six houses, has been purchased by its long-time operator. Capstone Golf, which has managed Grand Reserve since it opened, in 2008, reportedly paid $1.3 million for the 18-hole track. Capstone owns two other golf properties in Florida, St. Augustine Shores Golf Club in St. Augustine and Wedgefield Golf Club in Orlando. It says that Grand Reserve, which was co-designed by Mike Beebe and Bill Amick, is “perfect for beginners yet challenging enough for more advanced players.”
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. Due to what’s been described as “a change in business plans,” the Japanese owners of Hawaii Kai Golf Course have agreed to sell their operation to a local investment group. Atsugi Kokusai Kanko Hawaii, Inc., which has reportedly owned Hawaii Kai for more than three decades, is selling it to a group led by Guy Yamamoto, the general manager of the nearby Mililani Golf Club. Pacific Business News, which broke the news of the sale, didn’t report a price. Hawaii Kai, a 27-hole complex, has been around since the early 1960s. According to its website, it features an 18-hole, William F. Bell-designed course and a nine-hole, par-3 layout created by Robert Trent Jones. Yamamoto and his partners will also assume a lease on the underlying property, which is owned by Kamehameha Schools. According to PBN, the parties expect to close on the transaction by the end of the month.
Easton, Pennsylvania. Club at Morgan Hill has new owners and a new identity. Sal and Maria Lapio, who acquired the property in March 2015, now call the place Morgan Hill Golf Course. Morgan Hill, which features a Kelly Blake Moran-designed course that opened in 2004, is the Lapios’ third golf property. They also own Mainland Golf Course in Harleysville and Bella Vista Golf Course in Gilbertsville.
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. The receivers in control of Rolling Hills Country Club have accepted $1.3 million for the 119-year-old property. A local investment group led by Frank Romano made the offer for Rolling Hills, which opened as Lac La Bell Country Club and appears set to soon assume an identity close to its original name. “We’re very excited about the possibilities of La Belle Golf Club,” Romano told Lake Country Now. “We know about the history of the golf course and how popular it once was. Our goal is to bring that glory back to the place.” Romano is a longtime player in the Milwaukee area’s golf business. Through various entities, he owns Blackstone Creek Golf Club in Germantown, Fire Ridge Golf Club in Grafton, and Scenic View Country Club in Slinger.
Sterling Heights, Michigan. A home builder has purchased Maple Lane Golf Club, and you can guess what that inevitably means. But until Moceri Companies figures out the mix of residences that it wants to build at Maple Lane -- a process that will apparently take “several years” -- the property’s 54-hole golf complex will continue to operate. Maple Lane was established by Carl Roehl in the mid 1920s, and Crain’s Detroit Business says that Moceri, which describes itself as “Michigan’s legendary dream builder,” has been building houses, condos, and apartments on the course’s perimeter since the early 1960s.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
The Week That Was, october 11, 2015
Believe it or not, everything that Donald “the Candidate” Trump touches doesn’t immediately turn to gold. Two of the financial drains in Trump’s golf portfolio are his properties in Scotland, Trump Turnberry and Trump International Golf Links Scotland, which combined to lose more than £2.2 million (almost $3.4 million) last year. Each one lost roughly £1.1 million, with Turnberry generating revenues of £13.1 million ($20 million) and the resort in Aberdeenshire generating revenues of £2.8 million (almost $4.3 million).
The speculation has ended: According to a company accounting, the Trump Organization paid £39.5 million ($60.5 million) for what is now its flagship property, the Turnberry resort in Ayrshire, Scotland. The organization bought the property, which now operates as Trump Turnberry, last year, from Dubai-based Leisurecorp.
The United Kingdom is by far the world’s most active golf market, according to new research commissioned by the European Tour. Sports Marketing Surveys’ “Golf Actives Study,” ostensibly “a complete picture of golf activity and engagement in the U.K.,” has determined that almost 20 percent of the U.K.’s population -- 11 million people overall, 9.3 million of them adults -- are “actively engaged in the game of golf,” though not always by playing traditional 18-hole rounds. Without specifically saying so, the tour’s findings are a response to KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice, which earlier this year announced that the golf population in Great Britain and Ireland fell by 4.4 percent in 2014, a loss of nearly 52,000 golfers. One important difference between the groups: KPMG focuses on “registered” golfers and on the number of rounds played at traditional nine- and 18-hole venues, while the European Tour has decided that “playing 18 holes shouldn’t be the sole yardstick we use to measure participation.” The tour’s less restrictive yardstick takes a measure of every live body that visits any kind of golf facility, including driving ranges, putting greens, and miniature golf courses. To keep things in perspective, KPMG says that Great Britain and Ireland have, in addition to “registered” golfers, an estimated 2.84 million “casual” golfers and an overall participation rate somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5 percent.
Gifts of Gab: Greg “the Living Brand” Norman has good news for the development side of the U.S. golf industry: The hard times are over. “People are building golf courses again,” Norman reports in an interview with Today’s Golfer. “The negative trend we’ve had in the U.S., of courses shutting down, is flat-lining. Next year, more courses will open than close.” For the record, the National Golf Foundation, as part of its continuing effort to complicate and confuse, says that 11 new courses opened in the United States last year, with “a reduction in total inventory” of 128 18-hole “equivalent” courses.
A team of investment bankers in Lexington, Kentucky is helping to make Norman’s prediction come true. John Loudon and Byron Holley, the principals of Legacy Point Capital, have hired Jack Nicklaus to produce a “signature” layout for their Legacy Point community in suburban Lexington, a spread they promise will be “an exceptional master-planned development.” In a press release, Nicklaus says that the site he’s been given offers “enormous potential to create something unique and special” and that he aims to deliver “an exceptional golf experience.” Nicklaus is familiar with the Legacy Point property, because roughly a decade ago another development group hired him to design a golf course for it. Back then, the developers were calling their community Forest Creek.
For the world’s golf tour operators, happy days are here once again. In the first six months of this year, golf properties with memberships in the International Association of Golf Tour Operators saw a 7.2 percent increase in visits from traveling golfers. “We can now confidently assert that 2015 will be the fourth year of consecutive growth for global golf tour operators,” said the IAGTO’s chief executive, “which is extremely positive for the industry.” According to the IAGTO, its network of golf tour operators registered sales increases of 9.3 percent in 2012, 11.1 percent in 2013, and 8.9 percent in 2014.
The speculation has ended: According to a company accounting, the Trump Organization paid £39.5 million ($60.5 million) for what is now its flagship property, the Turnberry resort in Ayrshire, Scotland. The organization bought the property, which now operates as Trump Turnberry, last year, from Dubai-based Leisurecorp.
The United Kingdom is by far the world’s most active golf market, according to new research commissioned by the European Tour. Sports Marketing Surveys’ “Golf Actives Study,” ostensibly “a complete picture of golf activity and engagement in the U.K.,” has determined that almost 20 percent of the U.K.’s population -- 11 million people overall, 9.3 million of them adults -- are “actively engaged in the game of golf,” though not always by playing traditional 18-hole rounds. Without specifically saying so, the tour’s findings are a response to KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice, which earlier this year announced that the golf population in Great Britain and Ireland fell by 4.4 percent in 2014, a loss of nearly 52,000 golfers. One important difference between the groups: KPMG focuses on “registered” golfers and on the number of rounds played at traditional nine- and 18-hole venues, while the European Tour has decided that “playing 18 holes shouldn’t be the sole yardstick we use to measure participation.” The tour’s less restrictive yardstick takes a measure of every live body that visits any kind of golf facility, including driving ranges, putting greens, and miniature golf courses. To keep things in perspective, KPMG says that Great Britain and Ireland have, in addition to “registered” golfers, an estimated 2.84 million “casual” golfers and an overall participation rate somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5 percent.
Gifts of Gab: Greg “the Living Brand” Norman has good news for the development side of the U.S. golf industry: The hard times are over. “People are building golf courses again,” Norman reports in an interview with Today’s Golfer. “The negative trend we’ve had in the U.S., of courses shutting down, is flat-lining. Next year, more courses will open than close.” For the record, the National Golf Foundation, as part of its continuing effort to complicate and confuse, says that 11 new courses opened in the United States last year, with “a reduction in total inventory” of 128 18-hole “equivalent” courses.
A team of investment bankers in Lexington, Kentucky is helping to make Norman’s prediction come true. John Loudon and Byron Holley, the principals of Legacy Point Capital, have hired Jack Nicklaus to produce a “signature” layout for their Legacy Point community in suburban Lexington, a spread they promise will be “an exceptional master-planned development.” In a press release, Nicklaus says that the site he’s been given offers “enormous potential to create something unique and special” and that he aims to deliver “an exceptional golf experience.” Nicklaus is familiar with the Legacy Point property, because roughly a decade ago another development group hired him to design a golf course for it. Back then, the developers were calling their community Forest Creek.
For the world’s golf tour operators, happy days are here once again. In the first six months of this year, golf properties with memberships in the International Association of Golf Tour Operators saw a 7.2 percent increase in visits from traveling golfers. “We can now confidently assert that 2015 will be the fourth year of consecutive growth for global golf tour operators,” said the IAGTO’s chief executive, “which is extremely positive for the industry.” According to the IAGTO, its network of golf tour operators registered sales increases of 9.3 percent in 2012, 11.1 percent in 2013, and 8.9 percent in 2014.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
The Week That Was, october 4, 2015
The great dream of Bandon Muni is dead. After years of fruitlessly trying to placate distrustful conservationists and negotiate a complicated land swap with bewildered government officials, Mike Keiser has canceled his plans to build a 27-hole, municipally owned golf complex on property south of his Bandon Dunes resort on Oregon’s Pacific coast. Keiser had initiated the venture in 2008 and spent who knows how much trying to make it a reality, and he’s going to continue running a tab until an accountant somewhere tallies every nickel that every public agency believes it’s owed. Keiser’s decision, which he says was made “with great regret,” came just days after he discovered that federal officials had imposed new rules that would’ve have cost him an additional $450,000 for land acquisition and made it impossible to operate the venue the way he wanted to, with dirt-cheap greens fees for local residents and college scholarships for brainy caddies. The moral of the story: On occasion, people will indeed look a gift horse in the mouth.
For the time being, at least, Keiser’s decision to pull the plug on Bandon Muni ends Gil Hanse’s opportunity to join the elite group of architects who’ve put their talents on display at Bandon Dunes. However, it probably makes him one of the favorites to win a commission for course #3 or #4 at Keiser’s forthcoming Sand Valley complex in Wisconsin.
Gifts of Gab: Donald Trump’s insults and mischaracterizations continue to echo across the U.S. electoral landscape, but they haven’t negatively impacted Turnberry’s chances of hosting golf’s greatest professional tournament. “To think that we are going to determine where an Open Championship is held because of something somebody said on the political trail in America is absurd,” said Peter Dawson, the R&A’s retiring chief executive. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Dawson’s comment offers insight into how golf’s power brokers operate: All that really matters is what’s said behind closed doors.
For the past three-plus years, Phil Mickelson has been working on a redesign of the North course at Torrey Pines and acting as a friendly persuader to get it done. Now, thanks to a technicality in the bidding process, he and his design team won’t be allowed to compete for the final contract. “I’m deeply disappointed with this entire process,” said Mickelson, who lives not far from Torrey Pines, in Rancho Santa Fe. The city of San Diego, which expects to spend $12.6 million on the overhaul, aims to select the primary vendors for the project by the end of the year, so the construction can begin in early 2016.
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail has spawned many imitators, but the 11-property, 26-course chain is, financially speaking, an under-performer. Over the past three years, the trail has delivered a return of only 1.59 percent on investments made by the Retirement Systems of Alabama, far below the hoped-for target of 8 percent. But the trail wasn’t created to be a major money-maker, says the RSA’s CEO, and its true value can’t be measured by focusing exclusively on the bottom line. “I always expected the trail to be a loss leader,” David Bronner told the Alabama Media Group. “In order to pull you into the hotels that make money or the spas that make money or the bars that make money, I had to have a vehicle. I could have the best hotels in the world, but if I didn’t have great golf, there’s no reason to come here.”
Come January 1, there will be no more Joy in England Golf. I refer to David Joy, who’s moving on to his next career challenge after serving as England Golf’s executive director for just 30 months. Curiously, a press release announcing Joy’s resignation includes no comments from Joy. In what may be viewed as a signal of which sport has the greener pastures, beginning next year Joy will become the CEO of British Canoeing.
For the time being, at least, Keiser’s decision to pull the plug on Bandon Muni ends Gil Hanse’s opportunity to join the elite group of architects who’ve put their talents on display at Bandon Dunes. However, it probably makes him one of the favorites to win a commission for course #3 or #4 at Keiser’s forthcoming Sand Valley complex in Wisconsin.
Gifts of Gab: Donald Trump’s insults and mischaracterizations continue to echo across the U.S. electoral landscape, but they haven’t negatively impacted Turnberry’s chances of hosting golf’s greatest professional tournament. “To think that we are going to determine where an Open Championship is held because of something somebody said on the political trail in America is absurd,” said Peter Dawson, the R&A’s retiring chief executive. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Dawson’s comment offers insight into how golf’s power brokers operate: All that really matters is what’s said behind closed doors.
For the past three-plus years, Phil Mickelson has been working on a redesign of the North course at Torrey Pines and acting as a friendly persuader to get it done. Now, thanks to a technicality in the bidding process, he and his design team won’t be allowed to compete for the final contract. “I’m deeply disappointed with this entire process,” said Mickelson, who lives not far from Torrey Pines, in Rancho Santa Fe. The city of San Diego, which expects to spend $12.6 million on the overhaul, aims to select the primary vendors for the project by the end of the year, so the construction can begin in early 2016.
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail has spawned many imitators, but the 11-property, 26-course chain is, financially speaking, an under-performer. Over the past three years, the trail has delivered a return of only 1.59 percent on investments made by the Retirement Systems of Alabama, far below the hoped-for target of 8 percent. But the trail wasn’t created to be a major money-maker, says the RSA’s CEO, and its true value can’t be measured by focusing exclusively on the bottom line. “I always expected the trail to be a loss leader,” David Bronner told the Alabama Media Group. “In order to pull you into the hotels that make money or the spas that make money or the bars that make money, I had to have a vehicle. I could have the best hotels in the world, but if I didn’t have great golf, there’s no reason to come here.”
Come January 1, there will be no more Joy in England Golf. I refer to David Joy, who’s moving on to his next career challenge after serving as England Golf’s executive director for just 30 months. Curiously, a press release announcing Joy’s resignation includes no comments from Joy. In what may be viewed as a signal of which sport has the greener pastures, beginning next year Joy will become the CEO of British Canoeing.
Friday, October 2, 2015
Vital Signs, october 2, 2015
Economic contraction is putting the squeeze on China’s golf operations. The Globe & Mail, a Canadian newspaper, reports that the number of rounds played in the People’s Republic fell “for the first time” last year, by 2.1 percent. “The economic situation is not good,” a former official of the China Golf Association told the newspaper. “And when the economy is bad, the first thing people do is to cut luxury or unnecessary expenses.” The newspaper didn’t say it, but government antipathy may also be contributing to the downturn.
It’s getting harder to characterize U.S. golf operations as a mom-and-pop industry. In the August issue of the Pellucid Perspective, Steven Ekovich of Marcus & Millichap reckons that at least 20 percent of our nation’s golf properties are now either owned or managed by “professionals,” a group that presumably consists of people who attended business school. Pellucid believes that the estimate “may be a trifle high when all golf facilities are included,” but it acknowledges that consolidation in the golf industry is likely at “an all-time high” and “almost certain to continue.”
One of the nation’s best-known seniors-only communities may soon begin to phase out of the golf business. These days only one-quarter of the roughly 30,000 retirees who live in Sun City West play golf, and budget-minded officials have reportedly begun to worry that the majority of residents “could rise up and become resentful if they continue to subsidize something they aren’t using.” The community, in suburban Phoenix, Arizona, has seven 18-hole courses -- it “was built around the sport,” the Sun City West Independent notes -- but long-range planners are now contemplating a future with forms of recreation that would be more attractive to prospective home buyers.
Although course operators continue to struggle in many of parts of our nation, golf’s prospects have brightened in Minnesota, where the industry is said to be headed toward “perhaps the fastest year-over-year rebound in the nation.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune has found evidence indicating that “a seeming decade-long death spiral is being reversed” and that both public and private venues are beginning “to punch their way out of the rough.” The newspaper credits this year’s increased play primarily to “sensational” weather, cheaper greens fees, and course closings that have eliminated competition. “It’s just a different world,” said Kevin Norby, a golf architect whose firm is apparently having “its best two years in a quarter-century.” Citing data provided by PGA PerformanceTrak, the newspaper reports that the number of rounds played per 18-hole course in Minnesota has increased by 16 percent since 2011, when they presumably bottomed out.
It appears that course operators in British Columbia, Canada may also ring up significantly more sales in 2015. Full-season figures aren’t yet in, but this summer the Vancouver Sun reported that business at the province’s courses was “brisk,” with many properties posting double-digit increases in the number of rounds played. “There is something of a buzz in the air around golf,” said an official with the province’s largest golf operator. “I think people are gravitating toward playing a little bit more golf and getting out there and enjoying themselves.” The newspaper credits the uptick to “marvelous weather,” discounts on greens fees, and the popularity of Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, and other young stars on the professional circuit.
What’s the economic value of a country-club member in southwestern Ohio? About $38,000, according to the Miami Valley Golf Association. The association has determined that private golf clubs in its operating area -- Dayton and surrounding counties -- have since 2006 lost more than 3,600 members and $136 million. The math works out to $37,777 per departed member.
It’s getting harder to characterize U.S. golf operations as a mom-and-pop industry. In the August issue of the Pellucid Perspective, Steven Ekovich of Marcus & Millichap reckons that at least 20 percent of our nation’s golf properties are now either owned or managed by “professionals,” a group that presumably consists of people who attended business school. Pellucid believes that the estimate “may be a trifle high when all golf facilities are included,” but it acknowledges that consolidation in the golf industry is likely at “an all-time high” and “almost certain to continue.”
One of the nation’s best-known seniors-only communities may soon begin to phase out of the golf business. These days only one-quarter of the roughly 30,000 retirees who live in Sun City West play golf, and budget-minded officials have reportedly begun to worry that the majority of residents “could rise up and become resentful if they continue to subsidize something they aren’t using.” The community, in suburban Phoenix, Arizona, has seven 18-hole courses -- it “was built around the sport,” the Sun City West Independent notes -- but long-range planners are now contemplating a future with forms of recreation that would be more attractive to prospective home buyers.
Although course operators continue to struggle in many of parts of our nation, golf’s prospects have brightened in Minnesota, where the industry is said to be headed toward “perhaps the fastest year-over-year rebound in the nation.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune has found evidence indicating that “a seeming decade-long death spiral is being reversed” and that both public and private venues are beginning “to punch their way out of the rough.” The newspaper credits this year’s increased play primarily to “sensational” weather, cheaper greens fees, and course closings that have eliminated competition. “It’s just a different world,” said Kevin Norby, a golf architect whose firm is apparently having “its best two years in a quarter-century.” Citing data provided by PGA PerformanceTrak, the newspaper reports that the number of rounds played per 18-hole course in Minnesota has increased by 16 percent since 2011, when they presumably bottomed out.
It appears that course operators in British Columbia, Canada may also ring up significantly more sales in 2015. Full-season figures aren’t yet in, but this summer the Vancouver Sun reported that business at the province’s courses was “brisk,” with many properties posting double-digit increases in the number of rounds played. “There is something of a buzz in the air around golf,” said an official with the province’s largest golf operator. “I think people are gravitating toward playing a little bit more golf and getting out there and enjoying themselves.” The newspaper credits the uptick to “marvelous weather,” discounts on greens fees, and the popularity of Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, and other young stars on the professional circuit.
What’s the economic value of a country-club member in southwestern Ohio? About $38,000, according to the Miami Valley Golf Association. The association has determined that private golf clubs in its operating area -- Dayton and surrounding counties -- have since 2006 lost more than 3,600 members and $136 million. The math works out to $37,777 per departed member.
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