The Week That Was, april 14, 2019

     Dan Hixson, a Portland, Oregon-based architect who’s earned praise for his naturalistic golf courses in the Pacific Northwest, has been commissioned to create Callahan Ridge, an 18-hole layout that will take shape on a sand-and-gravel mine outside Roseburg, Oregon. Kelly Guido, the mine’s owner, expects to break ground on the course’s first nine this year and the second nine next year. Hixson has said that the 6,300-yard track will be “scorecard short, reality long,” with “lots of exciting stuff.”

     Pipeline Overflow – Robert Trent Jones, Jr. has unveiled his eighth course in South Korea. River Bend Golf Course, an 18-hole track, will serve personnel from U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, in Pyeongtaek, which is expected to become our nation’s largest overseas military base. . . . This summer, Dream Valley Group plans to open an 18-hole, Phil Ryan-designed golf course at Vooty Golf County, a high-end community in Hyderabad, India. Vooty, which is being marketed as “a path-breaking venture that will complement your high-spirited lifestyle,” appears to be the first in what Dream Valley believes will be “a chain of golf resorts.” . . . This fall, Greg “the Living Brand” Norman expects to unveil the 18-hole golf course he’s designed for Rancho San Lucas, an 834-acre resort community outside Cabo San Lucas that’s being developed by Solmar Hotels & Resorts. According to a press release, Rancho San Lucas will offer “an array of luxury amenities” and “an unparalleled collection of residential options,” including Norman-branded “estates.”

     The Bluffs on Thompson Creek Golf & Conference Resort, a 31-year-old venue in suburban Baton Rouge that describes itself as “Louisiana’s hidden treasure,” now belongs to an entity consisting of residents who live in the accompanying community. The Bluffs features an 18-hole, Arnold Palmer-designed course whose operation has in recent years been “a financial challenge,” according to the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. The newspaper says that the sellers, Jerry Dodson and Kenneth Carter, bought the Bluffs in 2015 for $100 “and other valuable consideration.” The new owners reportedly paid $3.15 million.

     Surplus Transactions – A pair of would-be Parrotheads, one from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the other from Atlanta, Georgia, have acquired La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa, a 186-acre weekend getaway on Lake Conroe in greater Houston, Texas. The new owners plan to rebrand La Torretta, which features an 18-hole, Dave Marr-designed golf course that dates from 1981, into a Margaritaville property. . . . Don and Lewis Biad have agreed to sell Picacho Hills Country Club to Southwest Golf Management, pending the buyer’s successful acquisition of a liquor license. Picacho Hills, a 40-year-old venue in Las Cruces, New Mexico, features an 18-hole, Joe Finger-designed golf course. Southwest appears to be confident about completing the transaction, as it took over management of the 170-acre club earlier this year. . . . A nine-hole, Lee Johnson-designed golf course in Chetek, Wisconsin has changed hands. The Chetek Alert reports that Johnson and Rita Hong have sold Sioux Creek Golf Course, a 26-year-old venue, because “it was the right time for them to sell.” 

     The pace of course closings has slowed a bit this year, so it’s been two months since I last posted a run-down of activities on Desolation Row. Here are some of the latest closings:
     – Philmont Country Club, a 112-year-old venue in north suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has drawn the curtains on its South Course, an 18-hole track that was originally designed by John Reid and later redesigned by Hugh Wilson and Willie Park, Jr., among others. The news comes as no surprise, because Concert Golf Partners said it would sell at least part of the track when it acquired Philmont in 2017.
     – Sanctuary Golf Club, a 34-year-old venue outside Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The club, which is for sale, features an 18-hole, George Cobb-designed course that was refreshed in 2008 by Jeff Brauer.
     – ASU Karsten Golf Course, a 30-year-old, Pete Dye-designed layout in suburban Phoenix, Arizona, will go dark in May. The 18-hole track’s closing has been expected for several years, as Arizona State University wants the space for development.
     – Mahoning Valley Country Club, a venue that’s operated outside Lehighton, Pennsylvania since the mid 1920s. Lehigh Gas Corporation bought the club and its 18-hole golf course, a co-design by William and David Gordon, in 2010. It hopes to find a buyer.
     – Village Greens Golf Course, a municipal track in Port Orchard, Washington that rang up just 9,600 rounds last year, won’t operate in 2019, and Kitsap County officials are listening to suggestions about what to do with the property. Village Greens features an 18-hole, executive-length course that opened in 1963.
     – Colonial Acres Golf Course, a nine-hole track owned by the town of Bethlehem, in suburban Albany, New York. The course, which opened in the mid 1960s, is said to be “in extremely poor condition” and still suffering the after-effects of the Great Recession.

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