The Pellucid Perspective - October 2019 - 18

COMINGS
& GOINGS

It's Fall. More Courses Fall

s the golf season winds down in most of the country, golf
course closures and transactions have picked up speed.
It's not all bad news - the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas
reopens its Tom Fazio-redesigned golf course this month to the
tune of $550 greens fees. Wynner, Wynner, Chicken Dinner!
Other big-name news includes the Marriott Desert Ridge
Resort in Phoenix changing hands for a tidy $602 million. And
the venerable Inverrary Country Club in Lauderhill, FL, where
Jackie Gleason entertained us during the Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic, is closing. Jackie's legendary gold-plated golf clubs?
Check them out HERE.
There are lots of reasons for course closings. Owner retire-

ment, forced bankruptcy, better use for the land...and how
about lack of marketing? Witness the closing of Valley Green
Golf and Country Club, where a local golfer wrote a comment
in the local rag, "I've lived in Hempfield Township for forty-six
years and I never even knew that there was a Valley Green golf
course." Classic.
CORRECTION: In last month's Comings & Goings we
had listed Dumas Memorial GC in the Redevelopment section
of our monthly table. We were contacted by a BREC manager
who informed us that this is a pending decision (fact) and not
imminent (opinion). We also mis-identified the DMA as New
Orleans vs. the property actually being in Baton Rouge.
n

Golf's landscape changes
Event

Open/Re-open

Closed

Course

DMA

Wynn Las
Las Vegas, NV
Vegas
Old Orchard GC Lafayette, LA

Type/Holes

Summary

Public/18

Oct. 11 reopening. $550 a round.

Public/18

Formerly Vermillion GC, reopening with new
ownership
Closed by County in Mar. 2019, reopening with
new operator and 10-year lease.

Village Greens
GC

Seattle/Tacoma, Public/18
WA

Deer Ridge

San Francisco/
Oakland, CA

Public/18

On GolfNow

Northwood
Country Club

Atlanta, GA

Private/18

Owned by Club Corp. No announcement on what
will happen to the 200+ acres, but what was
once a rural location is now suburban placing the
club right in the middle of a dense population
area. Can we speculate on "redevelopment"?

Silver Lake
CC

Grand RapidsKalamazoo, MI

Public/18

Land for sale. Went semi-public in 2013, listed
on GolfNow

Inverrary CC

MiamiFt. Lauderdale

Public/36

The home of the Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic and other PGA and LPGA events closes June
1, 2020. It's on GolfNow. And away we go....

Millstone GC

Knoxville, TN

Public/18

Last day Oct. 13. Never recovered from Great
Recession. On GolfNow.

Diablo
Grande-Ranch

Sacramento/
Public/18
Modesto/Stockton, CA

Owner/developed World International (that kind
of encompasses everything, right?) cites financial hardship. It closed the Legends course in
2014 - the only course designed by Nicklaus and
Sarazen. 29K+ acre development up for sale.

Signature at
West Neck GC

Norfolk, VA

Public/18

But you can still have a wedding there.

Bluebonnet
Hill GC

Austin, TX

Public/18

Closing Dec. 31, 2019. On GolfNow

Valley Green
G&CC

Pittsburgh, PA

Public/18

At end of year. On GolfNow. We may have found
the reason from a reader comment, "I've lived
in Hempfield Township for forty six years and I
never even knew that there was a Valley Green
Golf Club."

Indian Wells
GC

Myrtle Beach,
SC

Public/18

At end of year. Was already zoned for housing
when purchased by Founders Group Int'l.

Hollydale GC

Minneapolis, MN Public/18

18 The Pellucid PersPecTive

Owners retiring.

October 2019

The Pellucid Perspective - October 2019

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