The Week That Was, august 26, 2018

     Just weeks ago, it seemed as if Mike Keiser’s golf venture in the Scottish Highlands had been signed, sealed, and delivered. Keiser and his development partner, Todd Warnock, were celebrating, for Coul Links had, after three years of trying, finally received a thumbs-up from local elected officials. Warnock had joyfully announced that it was “now time to build a golf course.” But an anti-Coul Links campaign that often resembled an anti-Donald Trump campaign ultimately bore fruit, and last week Scotland’s top planning minister “called in” the proposal for the Coore & Crenshaw-designed, stand-alone golf course. As a result, the proposal will be examined by supposedly independent people at the national level, for who knows how long. Warnock has stated that he and Keiser “welcome the opportunity” to plead their case once again, but this is unquestionably a setback for Coul Links. Trump’s course in Aberdeenshire went through the same process and was ultimately approved, but public opinion in Scotland has turned squarely against golf construction on rare, environmentally sensitive dunes. Keiser is no Trump, but Coul Links’ fate now rests in the hands of decision-makers who may not wish to make the same mistake twice.

     SouthWood Golf Club, the featured attraction of a planned community in Tallahassee, Florida that professes to offer “an extraordinary way of life,” has changed hands. The Tallahassee Democrat reports that Chip Chaney and nearly two dozen other investors have coughed up “around $1 million” for SouthWood, which was established by St. Joe Company in 2002. The club features an 18-hole course that was co-designed by Fred Couples and Gene Bates, and a course official told the newspaper that the goal now is to make it “the premier golf course it once was not all that long ago.” In a comment that doesn’t reflect well on St. Joe, one of the new owners said that “the course hasn’t been shown any love” in recent years.

     Surplus Transactions – The days appear to be numbered for what’s said to be “the oldest 18-hole public golf course” in Traverse City, Michigan. Wes Nelson and Carolyn Olsen have accepted an offer for Elmbrook Golf Course, a venue that was designed by their father and has been in business since 1964. The offer came from a development group that will, sooner or later, build houses on Elmbrook’s 223 acres. . . . The residents of Ledgeview, Wisconsin have voted to spend $3.4 million to preserve the 18-hole layout at Ledgeview Golf Course, a facility that opened in 1965. The seller, Greg Runnoe, plans to build condos on Ledgeview’s nine-hole, executive-length track. . . . For an undisclosed price, Concert Golf Partners has reportedly closed on Club at 12 Oaks, the centerpiece of a 1,700-house community in suburban Raleigh, North Carolina. The seller was Landeavor LLC, the developer of the 12 Oaks community and its 18-hole, Nicklaus Design layout.

     Surplus Surplus Transactions – Jerry Morris has sold Cottonwood Creek Golf Course, a nine-hole track that’s operated in Chickasha, Oklahoma since 1915. Cottonwood Creek’s new owner, Max Stewart, hasn’t offered any detailed plans for the property, but he told a local newspaper that he aims to “bring some of the Oklahoma City vibes down to Chickasha.” . . . Joe Rivellino has acquired Club on Silver Lake, a venue that’s said to be “one of Western New York’s premier golf course, restaurant, and wedding venues.” The club, which features an 18-hole course that’s operated for nearly a century, had been owned by Rick Fish. In a press release, Rivellino said that he intends to provide “great hospitality and a relaxing, fun experience.” . . . Lakeshore Management, an Ohio-based company that claims to have “extensive experience” in “repositioning real estate assets,” has acquired Pine Mountain Ski & Golf Resort, on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The resort has a hotel, meeting space, and other attractions, including an 18-hole, Jerry Matthews-designed layout that operates as TimberStone Golf Course.

     King Carter Golf Club, an 18-year-old venue named after a Virginia politician and businessman who was among the most influential men in the American colonies in the early 1700s, has gone belly up. The club, located on what’s known as the state’s Northern Neck, was purchased on the first day of this month by another fellow named Carter, James N. “Jimmie” Carter, Jr., who immediately closed it. I can’t determine if the Carters are somehow related, but I wouldn’t bet against it. The namesake Carter, Robert Carter, was nicknamed “King,” due in part to his tremendous wealth, his vast landholdings, his 1,000 slaves, and what’s been described as his “autocratic business methods.” The club that bears his name is the centerpiece of a not quite built-out 330-acre community, and it features an 18-hole, Joel Weiman-designed golf course. Jimmie Carter bought the club and the surrounding property from a local bank that had foreclosed on a previous owner in 2010.

     Desolation Row Extended – A year after he purchased it, Brad West has decided to pull the plug on Sun Dance Golf Course, an 18-hole track that’s been called one of the “hidden gems” of suburban Spokane, Washington. West, a developer, told the Spokane Spokesman-Review that he’d hoped to continue golf operations on the property but couldn’t because the course “isn’t viable economically, and hasn’t been viable for a while.” . . . It appears that Golf Club of South Carolina at Crickentree, a 31-year-old venue in suburban Columbia, may soon be razed and replaced with houses. The firm that controls the mortgage on the property has declared that the owner is bankrupt, and a foreclosure is imminent. A resident of the accompanying community told the State that the club’s 18-hole course, co-designed by Ken Killian and Dick Nugent, had been “neglected.” . . . Schlitterbahn Riverpark & Resort, a family-oriented venue in Corpus Christi, Texas, has pulled the plug on its golf course. The nine-hole track was designed by Bruce Littell and opened in 1970.