Transactions, december 4, 2015

     Bradenton, Florida. An investment group consisting mainly of executives from Coral Hospitality has acquired Rosedale Golf & Country Club, a 22-year-old venue that features an 18-hole, Ted McAnlis-designed golf course. The new ownership group, CH6, didn’t announce a price, nor did the seller, Newton Developments. The Sarasota Observer reports that CH6 aims to turn Rosedale, the featured attraction of a gated community, into “the premier club in the area.” The group also intends to take the club private, a process that’s expected to take two to five years. One last thing: The Observer also reports that CH6 aims to acquire “about 25 to 40 clubs” in the area between Tampa and Naples over the next few years.

     Fort Myers, Florida. As long as we’re discussing Coral Hospitality, it’s worth noting that another entity related to the Naples-based management company -- CH5-Eagle Ridge LLC -- acquired Eagle Ridge Golf Club earlier this year. The club’s Gordy Lewis-designed golf course opened in 1984. “Eagle Ridge’s natural beauty, player-friendly golf course, and exceptional location fits well within the strategic club acquisition plan we are aggressively pursuing,” the managing member of the ownership group told the Business Observer. CH5 paid $1.87 million for the 129-acre Eagle Ridge property. The seller was Redus Properties, Inc., an entity controlled by Wells Fargo Bank.

     Loris, South Carolina. Chris Manning has exercised his option to buy Diamond Back Golf Course at Woodland Valley Country Club. Manning, a Myrtle Beach-based real estate investor, is selling houses in the Woodland Valley community, and he began leasing the 18-hole, Russell Breeden-designed golf course from Lee Rawcliffe earlier this year. Diamond Back is Manning’s second golf property. Earlier this year, he and some investor/partners bought Balsam Mountain Preserve, a 4,400-acre community in Sylva, North Carolina that features an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course.

     Indio, California. A Canadian who admits to being “a little nutty” has purchased Indian Springs Golf Club. Ken Hanna was joking about being nutty, because he’s a successful businessman in Vancouver who’s been snow-birding to his second home in Indian Springs, a seniors-only community, for several years. “I worked on trying to buy it for, like, two years,” Hanna told the Desert Sun. “I was back and forth -- do I, do I not, do I, do I not. But I just saw the potential, and that is why we did it.” Indian Springs has an 18-hole golf course. A sales price hasn’t been disclosed, but the seller was asking for $6 million.  

     Hastings, Minnesota. A St. Paul-based investment group has reportedly paid $3.8 million for Hastings Country Club, a 140-acre spread that opened in 1947. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Hastings “has been saddled with debt and declining membership in recent years.” The clock began to tick on Hastings’ future as a private club last summer, when its 230 members refused to extend a lifeline in the form of a $2,000 assessment. (The vote was 97 percent against.) All Pro Holdings LLC, the property’s new owner, is now calling the venue as Dakota Pines Golf Club.  

     Bradenton, Florida. ClubCorp didn’t hang on to Legacy Golf Club for very long. Just eight months after purchasing the 18-year-old, Arnold Palmer-designed track, the Dallas, Texas-based private club operator has sold it to a group led by one of its former employees, Jon Whittemore. The price: $3.4 million, which represents a $300,000 profit. Legacy, a daily-fee layout that was built to help sell houses at Lakewood Ranch, is Whittemore’s third course in the area. Over the past year or so, he and his partner, Larry Galloway, have purchased two golf venues in Sarasota, Serenoa Golf Club and Rolling Green Golf Club. They also own golf properties in Arizona, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.

     Milford, Connecticut. Sacred Heart University has agreed to pay $6 million for a 150-acre tract that includes Great River Golf Club. “We have been looking for good deals on land,” a spokesperson for the school told the Connecticut Post. “This is definitely a good deal.” Sacred Heart’s golf teams already practice at Great River, which features an 18-hole, Tommy Fazio-designed course, and before too long the university intends to make the club to anchor degree programs in golf and hospitality management. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year. Sacred Heart is buying the parcel from Fairfield-based United Properties, a company controlled by the family of Alfred Lenoci.

     Lenoir City, Tennessee. Avalon Golf & Country Club, which reportedly has an appraised value of $3.7 million, has been sold at auction for $750,000 ($814,000 including fees). Tony Hollins, the CEO of Knoxville-based EdFinancial Services, placed the winning bid for the 150-acre property, which features an 18-hole, Joe Lee-designed golf course. The club is the centerpiece of a 20-year-old, 430-acre community that was developed Paul Gillenwater and David Burleson, both of whom are deceased. Their heirs have no interest in golf.

     Devils Lake, North Dakota. This being the holiday season, the city of Devils Lake has accepted a gift: Creel Bay Golf Course. Creel Bay’s 250 members made the donation, though they plan to continue operating the facility’s bar and grill. “We will maintain our organization,” the president of Devils Lake Town & Country Club told the Grand Forks Herald. Creel Bay opened in the early 1920s, as a nine-hole layout, and it got a second nine in the early 1990s. The newspaper reports that the property is scheduled to change hands on January 1, 2016.

     Naco, Arizona. Turquoise Valley Golf Course has been sold, but not to the fellow who was willing to pay $600,000 for it. Harold Vaubel made the high bid for Arizona’s oldest golf course at an auction in June, but he didn’t complete the transaction due to a medical issue. Pete Lawson has now agreed to sell Turquoise Valley to Bob Barnes and Dave Cartun, who offered $100,000 less than Vaubel. “Our strategy for making Turquoise Valley successful,” Barnes told the Sierra Vista Herald, “is to extend a friendly, quality, fun, and affordable experience not only to our Bisbee golfers but to the communities of Sierra Vista, Douglas, and the entire golfing and non-golfing community of Cochise County. We know we have to expand the focus to attract non-golfers.” In addition to the golf course, Barnes and Cartun are buying an RV park and a restaurant.

     West Palm Beach, Florida. A development group led by Domenic J. Gatto has coughed up $26 million for President Country Club, a venue that once had 36 holes but now has just 18. The seller, an entity controlled by George T. Elmore, reportedly paid $11 million for the club in 2011, but last year he secured permission to add more than 100 single-family houses and vacation villas, a 250-room hotel, and a spa to the property. In other words, he added value to his property.