The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 16

THE LAST WORD

It is, after all, all about the money

T

he revelation last month that Concert Golf Partners is in negotiations
to sell 16 of its 18 private clubs to
ClubCorp was further proof that golf
course owners have at least one thing in
common with professional sports free
agents. Namely, when they say it's not
about the money, and they're more interested in the fans, lifestyle or being part of
something special over the long run, rest
assured that it's about the money.
As he and his partners carefully accumulated their portfolio of private clubs,
Concert principal Peter Nanula was frequently quoted as assuring club members
that he and his fellow investors were in it
for the long term. As recently as late last
year, Nanula said his group had no intention of selling any of its properties, and
their business model was to "buy incomeproducing properties that we intend to
own forever." Apparently "forever" is more
accurately defined by the number of zeros
on the offer sheet than the calendar in the
golf business, just as it is in most professional sports.
The magnitude of ClubCorp's private
club empire provides a convenient parting
gift to members of the clubs being sold
by Concert and those which were previously held by Sequoia Golf before they too
were acquired by ClubCorp several years
ago. Both Nanula and former Sequoia
Golf CEO Joe Guerra have been quoted
as pronouncing ClubCorp the best fit for
their club members in terms of financial
resources, reciprocal access within ClubCorp's network of more than 200 clubs
and other benefits accruing to a company
of ClubCorp's size.
At first glance, it would appear that
ClubCorp now has a clear field to pick
off clubs that fit its target profile without
competition, which may depress sale prices. On the other hand, with the Concert
Partners apparent financial success as a
guidepost, one prominent industry broker
said that there are reportedly a couple of
small groups or partnerships who appear
to be interested in acquiring the type of
debt-plagued but otherwise viable clubs
that have historically been targeted by
both ClubCorp and Concert Golf Part-

16 The Pellucid PersPecTive

ners. Those new buyers could then repeat
the journey from "We're here for the long
haul" to "You'll be much happier with
ClubCorp" with their new acquisitions.

Course bogeys inclusivity,
diversity and humanity
Last month, Grandview Golf Course
in York County, PA created a teachable
moment in reverse for the golf industry in
its attempts to expand the game's appeal
to population subsets outside the ranks of
middle aged and older white males. The
story has received fairly wide dissemination since it occurred, but for those who
aren't aware of it, the gist of the incident is
as follows. A group of African American
women were playing the course on a Saturday morning, having received permission to go out as a fivesome after a lengthy
frost delay. Apparently they were no more
than two holes into their round when a
man named Steve Chronister approached
them and falsely identified himself as an
owner of the course. He told them they
were playing too slowly and they needed
to keep up with pace of play. Two of the
women were told by a course pro moments later that their pace was acceptable.
After skipping a hole and later completing
9 holes, three of the women, still upset by
the incident and Chronister's demeanor,
left the course. The two remaining members paused for refreshments in the clubhouse and were subsequently approached
by Chronister and his son Jordan, who actually is an owner of the course along with
his wife, J.J. The younger Chronister was
reportedly very aggressive, and told the
two women that they had overstayed their
break between nines, and that he would
refund their "membership" and they should
leave, adding that he had already called the
police. The police did indeed arrive shortly
thereafter, but left after determining that
no action was necessary on their part.
J.J. Chronister has since issued an apology to the women, who are part of a group
called Sisters in the Fairway, but the fact
that the group of women were the only
African Americans on the course and
that by several accounts were not, indeed,

playing too slowly makes it hard to chalk
up the male Chronisters' behavior to anything much short of overt racism and discrimination.
The Chronister males' behavior is
wrong on numerous levels, including the
inherent advantages of attracting underrepresented minority golfers to one's facility. After all, when viewed in the light of
participation statistics by race and gender
for the golf industry as a whole, a fivesome
of female African American avid golfers
is almost akin to a unicorn sighting. Those
women should be nurtured and catered to
if for no other reason than the opportunity
they represent to introduce friends to the
facility.

Bullish on bunker rakes
For those readers despairing of parlaying their knowledge of the golf industry
into a killing in the market on golf-related
stocks, despair no more. The eagle-eyed
Harvey Silverman, who obviously has very
broad golf related settings on his Google
Alerts app, sent along a report from an
Irish outfit called Fact.MR which forecasted a bumper year for ... bunker rakes.
The report's author cites a rise in worldwide golf projects and improved technology in several bunker rake product lines as
evidence pointing to strong sales of bunker rakes. Stay tuned for next month's indepth analysis of the ball washer market.

Oh you tease
The just completed Players Championship left the Tiger legions conflicted once
again. Should we be ecstatic that after surviving the cut on the number, Woods went
out and shot a personal best 65 at the TPC
Sawgrass layout on Saturday and had Tigermanic hearts aflutter early Sunday before once again flaming out, or in this case
drowning, in the home stretch. We are left
to wonder if this is the best we can hope
for between now and the Champions Tour
- a few glimpses of the old Tiger, followed
by the reality that what we're watching IS
an old Tiger. Time will tell, and probably
tell on us and Tiger.
-Jim Dunlap
May 2018



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018

TOC
NGF 2017 industry report released: facts served “sunnyside up”
Baylands Golf Links a win-win-win proposition times two?
Club manufacturer service frustrates green grass customer
April golf weather impact: A sea of red but March utilization hits 60%
Detroit fortunes looking up; golf market to follow?
It is, after all, all about the money
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - TOC
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - NGF 2017 industry report released: facts served “sunnyside up”
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 3
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 4
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 5
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - Baylands Golf Links a win-win-win proposition times two?
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 7
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - Club manufacturer service frustrates green grass customer
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 9
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - April golf weather impact: A sea of red but March utilization hits 60%
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 11
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 12
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - Detroit fortunes looking up; golf market to follow?
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 14
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - 15
The Pellucid Perspective - May 2018 - It is, after all, all about the money
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