The Week That Was, january 6, 2019

   Scott Campbell hasn’t ruled out adding to his golf offerings at the Retreat, Links & Spa at Silvies Valley Ranch, his golf resort in wild, remote, economically struggling eastern Oregon.
     “We’ll do whatever our customers want us to do,” Campbell told me. “It depends on how things go. If people want more golf, we’ll build it.”
     Silvies Valley, which will enjoy its second full season in 2019, currently features a regulation-length reversible course (“It gives you two different courses for literally the price of one!” the eco-conscious developer cheerfully noted) as well as a nine-hole, par-3 track and a screwball seven-hole layout where goats serve as caddies. The courses were designed by Dan Hixson, who’s ready and willing to build a putting course and to add nine holes to the par-3 track. What’s more, Hixson has roamed parts of Campbell’s 140,000-acre cattle ranch in search of a site that might be suitable for another 18-hole layout, possibly another reversible course, and – no surprise here – he’s found one.
     Nothing is guaranteed, of course, and the market will determine Silvies Valley’s future. That being said, Campbell is optimistic about his resort’s prospects.
     “Bookings are coming along really well for 2019,” he says. “If we continue on the route we’re on, we’ll make some money in 2020.”
     I spoke with Campbell as part of my reporting for a profile that will soon appear in Golf Inc. Watch for it.

     Pipeline Overflow – We’re just days away from the unveiling of a golf course that players will hopefully connect to on a “spiritual, emotional, and environmental level.” The nine-tee, four-green layout has been designed by Agustín Pizá, and it’ll be one of the attractions at Chablé Resort, a wellness-focused, meditation-happy getaway in Yucatán, Mexico. Spikes aren’t mandatory, and neither are shoes. . . . This spring, McCombs Properties expects to debut the re-imagined golf offerings at Palmilla Beach Resort, its vacation-home community in Port Aransas, Texas. The property’s 18-hole, Arnold Palmer-designed golf course will become a nine-hole layout that encompasses what a press release calls “the best of the original Palmilla course,” and it’ll be complemented by a three-hole “short” course “designed for relaxed, easy play” and an 18-hole putting course. . . . Also this spring, Nicklaus Design expects to open its first course in Latvia, Jūrmala Golf Club in suburban Riga. In a press release, the firm’s Dirk Bouts said the club’s 18-hole layout is “certain to be one of the top golf destinations in Northern Europe.” Drawn to a network of properties that it believes “represents exceptional quality and great golf experiences,”

     ClubCorp has acquired TPC Craig Ranch, a private club in suburban Dallas, Texas. The self-described “world leader in private clubs” says it’s “excited to build on the traditions” of TPC Craig Ranch, which opened in 2004 and features a tournament-worthy, Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course. TPC Craig Ranch is the third property that ClubCorp has added to its collection over the past year. It bought Brookstone Golf & Country Club, in greater Atlanta, Georgia, last summer, and last month it bought Ridge Club, in Sandwich, Massachusetts.

     Surplus Transactions – OceanFirst Bank has relieved itself of the financially troubled Renault Winery Resort, an historic site in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey. The 155-year-old winery is home to an 18-hole, Ed Shearon-designed course that opened in 2007, and the bank, which took control from a creditor, believes the unidentified new owners “are committed to enhancing and carrying on Renault’s rich tradition.” . . . For an undisclosed price, Paradigm8 has acquired Tahoe Mountain Club, a venue in Truckee, California that’s home to a pair of 18-hole courses, Old Greenwood and Gray’s Crossing. The seller, a group called CREW Tahoe, had planned to close the courses next month, and the club’s general manager told a local newspaper that the property “has never been economically viable.” . . . Citing a desire to make “an investment in the community,” Katie Unverferth has paid an undisclosed price for Country Acres Golf Course, an 18-hole track outside Lima, Ohio. The 40-year-old facility now operates as Moose Landing Country Club.

     Happy New Year, Everyone!