The Pellucid Perspective - August 2021 - 10

COMINGS
& GOINGS
Ocotillo Golf Club in Phoenix is one of six Mickelson/Loy courses the Mickelson
Golf Properties flag has operated for past 11 years, now sold to Arcis Golf.
Transactions Still the Majority in 18-activity month
W
ith most owner/operators in the heart of their season
and more pre-occupied with " selling golf " than
open/close/transact decisions, we tracked 18 activities
in the public domain for the month with Transactions/For
Sales comprising 11 followed by 3 courses with status changes
(holes, names etc.) and 2 each for Closings and Openings
(so a " net nothing " in supply change for the month). Here
we'll highlight 2 " situations of interest " and you can peruse
the complete list and brief commentaries in the accompanying
table.
Arcis Golf made a " celebrity connection " relieving Phil
Mickelson and his longtime partner Steve Loy of their 6
properties which had operated for the past 11 years under the
Mickelson Golf Properties flag. Terms were not disclosed so
we don't really know whether there remained no thrill for Phil
or whether they cashed out opportunely given golf's recent
surge and having an interested buyer. According to Club &
Resort Business, that pushes the Arcis portfolio from 66 clubs
Golf's landscape changes
Event
Course
Cutalong at
Lake Ann
Open/Re-open
Crystal Highlands
Golf
Course
DMA
Washington DC
(Hagerstown
MD)
St. Louis MO
in 14 states with 15 in the " orbit " of Phoenix to now 72 and 5
of the new six residing in the Phoenix Designated Marketing
Area (or DMA, the way that Pellucid defines standardized
markets).
The second event worth watching is an evolving pattern of
Spirit Realty Capital purchasing their 3rd course from Sculptor
Real Estate in a relatively short period of time. The 3rd
transaction, captured this month in the table, was Brookfield
Country Club in Roswell, GA (Atlanta DMA). In two of the
instances, the properties were purchased at significant premiums
basis the Sculptor purchase (i.e. 50% plus) and all were
" turned over " in less than a year. That may just be opportune/
smart buy/sell but history has suggested that when you see
those patterns in the golf industry there's likely some interesting
financial engineering going on behind the scenes with
parties not particularly investing in golf as much as moving
money. Let's see how and if this pattern continues or develops
in the future...
Type/Holes Summary
Priv/18 New master-planned community, 18 hole Tom
Clark design, halfway between Fredericksburg and
Richmond VA
Pub/18
Local businessman Gary Surdyke buys former
Union Pacific Railroad " corporate entertainment
course " , puts in $4M and will open as semiprivate
in Aug '21. Hurdzan design, closed to the
public when bought by UPRR in '03; this could be
a hidden gem for local/tourist golfers!
Shorewood Golf
Course
Closed
Green BayAppleton
WI
Witch Golf Club Myrtle BeachFlorence
SC
Pub/9
Univ. of Wis.-Green Bay closes course, a little
misdirect on the communication as university
solicited for leagues this summer and had
promised a summer opening (oops)
Pub/18 The Witch will " fly " for one more Halloween,
closing 11/21 if sale to R.S. Parker Homes is
consummated. D.G. Golf Mngmnt cited perennial
flooding issues, property was already alternately
zoned so that's a big hurdle cleared; " I'm
meeelting " she shrieked...
10 The Pellucid PersPecTive
August 2021
WWW.PHOENIXGOLFMECCA.COM/OCOTILLO-GOLF-CLUB
http://www.phoenixgolfmecca.com/Ocotillo-Golf-Club/
The Pellucid Perspective - August 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - August 2021
