The Week That Was, july 8, 2018

     The Sand Hills of Nebraska may soon sprout another destination-worthy golf course, to complement Sand Hills Golf Club, Dismal River Club, and Prairie Club. Cleve Trimble, who’s long been eager to build a world-class course on property he owns in Valentine, is searching for investors who’ll help to foot the bill for “a great private retreat” called Old School Golf Club. The club’s centerpiece will be an 18-hole, Gil Hanse-designed track that promotional materials say will be laid out “deliciously” upon “dramatic landforms” that promise “splendid vistas and haunting serenity.” And as a bonus, Trimble also plans to offer “canyon rim residential acreage.”

     Pipeline Overflow – In a recent discussion thread at Golf Club Atlas, Tom Doak said that he’s “signing up for a project in northwest Ireland.” The Traverse City, Michigan-based architect provided no details, but some will surely follow. . . . Ken Moodie, an architect based in Manchester, England, has been hired to co-design a course that will take shape on a site outside Houghton, in the East Midlands. The 18-hole track is expected to become the new home of Scraptoft Golf Club, and Moodie will be collaborating with former touring pro Ken Brown to create it. . . . Bruce Novak wants to add nine holes to his Indian Oaks Golf Club, a nine-hole layout outside DeKalb, Illinois, provided that he can secure a long-term lease on 100 acres in Shabbona Lake State Park. He’s offered what’s been called “an outside-the-box proposal,” and state officials are mulling it over.

     Renaissance Golf Group, a freshly created ownership and management vehicle, has acquired a pair of golf properties in Leland, North Carolina. Jay Biggs’ LLC paid an undisclosed amount for Compass Pointe Golf Club and Magnolia Greens Golf Course, both of which had been owned by Bobby Harrelson, a local developer. Compass Pointe has an 18-hole, Rick Robbins-designed layout, while Magnolia Greens features a 27-hole, Tom Jackson-designed complex. Biggs, who served most recently as a senior vice president of golf and club operations at Pinehurst, says that Renaissance expects to implement “new ideas and strategies” at the properties and to put an emphasis on “quality, service, and fun.”

     Surplus Transactions – An affiliate of Allegiant Air has agreed to buy Kingsway Country Club, a 42-year-old venue in Lake Suzy, Florida. Kingsway, which features an 18-hole golf course designed by Ron Garl, will serve as an amenity for a resort that Allegiant aims to build in Charlotte Harbor. . . . Taking what they’ve called “a leap of faith,” James and Teresa Skinner have moved from Klamath Falls, Oregon to Curwensville, Pennsylvania. The reason: They’ve purchased Eagles Ridge Golf Course, an 18-hole, James Harrison-designed venue that they hope will become a “fun place to visit.” . . . Saying that they’re “hoping for the best,” Tom and Sandi Spencer have acquired the former Briar Hills Golf Course, an 18-hole track south of Traverse City, Michigan. The 30-year-old course, which now operates as Antioch Hills Golf Club, has been controlled by a local bank for the past three years.

     Some of the usual suspects – the declining interest in golf, escalating maintenance costs, the ever-increasing price of water – have claimed a Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course in suburban Tucson, Arizona. Golf Club of Vistoso, described by the operator of a competing venue as “a stand-alone, high-end, pricey golf course,” went dark last month, because its business model is “just not sustainable.” Vistoso had operated sine 1995. Romspen, a Canadian lender, bought it at a foreclosure auction in 2014 and has been trying, without success, to sell it pretty much ever since.

     Desolation Row Extended – Carmel Mountain Ranch Country Club, a 30-year-old venue in suburban San Diego, California, has bitten the dust, claiming to be a victim of skyrocketing water prices. Kevin Hwang, one of the club’s owners, ended the club’s run just four years after spending $4.4 million in taxpayer money on turf reduction, a move that was supposed to lead to financial sustainability. . . . Charles Willimon, Jr. has pulled the plug on Bonnie Brae Golf Club. The club, in Greenville, South Carolina, had operated since 1961. . . . The current golf season will be the last one for Royster Memorial Golf Course, a nine-hole municipal track in Shelby, North Carolina. The course had its debut in 1948.

     Duly Noted – Before he became the 45th U.S. president, Donald “the Deceiver” Trump made multiple attempts to buy Hamilton Hall, a Victorian building that overlooks the Old Course at St. Andrews. Bank of Scotland rejected at least one request for a loan, however, deeming it “too risky.” Hamilton Hall was eventually purchased by Herb Kohler, who’s converted it into some of the nation’s priciest housing. . . . Like the World Cup, Bashar Assad, and “the Deceiver” himself, the European Tour has cemented a relationship with Russia. The tour’s real-estate arm has named Moscow Country Club, the home of a layout designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., as one of its official Destinations. The club features “top-quality golf” and “five-star hospitality,” not to mention around-the-clock surveillance by multiple intelligence agencies. . . . Two decades ago, the United States was home to more than 5,000 member-owned, golf and country clubs. Today, according to Frank Vain, the president of St. Louis, Missouri-based McMahon Group, “the generally recognized number” has fallen by 22 percent, to about 3,900.