The Week That Was, september 30, 2018

     England Golf reports that the most “enterprising” and “innovative” clubs under its jurisdiction are “increasingly ready to evolve to meet their customers’ needs,” and as a result they’re enjoying “a great demand for golf.” According to data gathered in a recent questionnaire, today the average club in England has 484 members, up from 460 in 2016. The secret, says England Golf, lies in some combination of a welcoming atmosphere, flexible membership options, regular communications with members, new income streams, improved off-course experiences, and “fun golf formats.” Even better, golfers appear to be willing to shell out more for golf memberships nowadays. The average adult golfer in England pays £40 ($52) more than he or she did in 2016, while the average senior pays £50 ($65) more.

     For the second time this year, an investment vehicle linked to Blackstone Group has acquired a prominent golf property in a desirable golf market. In early 2018, the huge, New York City-based investment company reportedly paid roughly $330 million for Turtle Bay Resort, a 1,300-acre spread with a 36-hole complex on the northern coast of O’ahu, Hawaii. And just weeks ago, an entity controlled by Blackstone’s top executives paid an undisclosed price for JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, a Texas property that’s home to TPC San Antonio. The TPC features a pair of 18-hole tracks, one designed by Greg “the Living Brand” Norman and the other by Pete Dye. The former hosts the Valero Texas Open, an annual event on the PGA Tour. But Blackstone doesn’t figure to be a permanent presence in San Antonio. Like other private-equity firms, it typically buys undervalued properties, puts them in a stronger financial position, and then sells them.

     Surplus Transactions – David Cuthbertson, a home builder, has turned over Larkin Golf Club to Wingate University. Larkin, which has operated in Statesville, North Carolina since 1996 (it was originally known as Fox Den Golf Club), features an 18-hole, Clyde Johnston-designed golf course. It’s Wingate’s second golf property, as the university accepted Stonebridge Golf Club in Monroe as a gift in early 2018. . . . Signal Point Club, a 55-year-old venue in Niles, Michigan (it’s just north of South Bend, Indiana), has become the second golf property for an investment group led by Tim Firestone, Eric Haag, and Joe Herbert. Signal Point features a nine-hole layout that was designed by Robert Bruce Harris. Its new owners also own Blackthorn Golf Club, an 18-hole track in South Bend. . . . The city of Attleboro, Massachusetts has reportedly paid $3.3 million for Highland Country Club, a bankrupt nine-hole venue that’s been in business since 1901. The city hopes to find a private-sector management company that’s willing to operate the 93-acre venue, whose troubles have been blamed on a “declining membership and reduced interest in golf.”

     Just three years after it opened, Adena Golf & Country Club has gone belly up. Frank Stronach, the Canadian billionaire who reportedly spent $50 million to create the club, his self-designed 18-hole golf course, and whatever else he managed to finish at his 420-acre property in Ocala, Florida, has decided that he can’t stomach any further financial losses. In a farewell address, Adena told its members that it had hoped to become “the finest private club in all of Florida,” and it apologized because it could “no longer bring you the first-class membership experience that you have come to enjoy.” Stronach made his money (Forbes says he’s worth $1.5 billion) in auto parts, and it seems that his true sports passion is thoroughbred horse racing.

     Desolation Row Extended – Crane Creek Golf Course, an 18-hole track in Kilbourne, Illinois, didn’t open this year and has presumably breathed its final breath. Crane Creek’s owner, Joel Hirsch, attributed the 20-year-old course’s persistent financial losses in part to its location, as Kilbourne is “a long way” from Peoria and Springfield, the closest nearby population centers. . . . You can also say goodbye to Jones Creek Golf Club, a 32-year-old, Rees Jones-designed golf course outside Augusta, Georgia. The club’s owners blame the property’s demise on what’s been described as “issues of water runoff from a nearby lake.” . . . Pines Golf Course & Driving Range, an 18-hole, par-3 track in Groton, Connecticut, will soon be razed so its 34 acres can become farmland. The course, which had operated for more than a half-century, has at one time or another also been known as Birch Plain Golf Course and Trumbull Golf Course.

     Are you wondering how much of a week’s golf news I cover in this blog? The answer, unfortunately, is just a fraction of what passes my way. The golf business, particularly the development side of the golf business, has unquestionably perked up over the past year or two, and there’s no way for me to address all of it. So if you require a more comprehensive news digest, contact me via e-mail at golfcoursereport@aol.com. I’ll send you a sample issue of either U.S. or International Construction Clips, depending on your needs.