The Pellucid Perspective - November 2022 - 8

COMINGS
& GOINGS
Activity Continues Trickle in '22 Season's Closing Months
A
ctivities continue to be more of a trickle vs. a torrent
which would suggest the current owners are relatively
content to play out their existing hand vs. attempting
to cash out on an upswing. Transactions continue to dominate
(good news for the brokers and folks who've struggled
through the past 10-15 years of stagnation) and we continue
to see (small) net growth in the month-to-months when you
compare just the Opens vs. the Closeds:
* Opens/Re-opens - 2
* Closeds - 0 (now 3rd month in a row, could be a
trend?)
* Transactions (continuing golf operations including
For Sales) - 13
* Redevelopments (transactions not continuing as golf
operations) - 0
* Conversions/Other (Priv-Pub switch, downsize holes,
Priv->Muni ownership etc.) - 1
* On the bubble - 0
The table provides details and commentary for each activity.
For those not into detail (or the entertaining commentary),
below are our general observations on the patterns and trends.
The biggest news of the month was a 4-course transaction
in the Columbus OH market as venture capital took a position
there in golf acquiring a small portfolio from New Era Golf
(which I guess now becomes " No Era Golf " as they exit the
industry?). We've done several studies of the Columbus DMA
and it's an interesting and challenging market (that might have
been of interest to the buyer, seller or both but nobody gave us
a ring; not unusual in this industry however when transacting
multi-million dollar deals on " we think, we feel, we believe " ).
Two of the courses had mid-term transactions and two last
transacted before we started keeping track so they've historically
been pretty stable vs. " flipped " properties.
We're also continuing to see a trend in Private Club transactions
and activities at a disproportionate level to historical
transaction levels. For example, of this month's 13 Transacteds,
4 are Private Clubs which is ~31% which is slightly higher
than their share of supply (~25%) but significantly higher than
https://sandpiperbaygolf.com/
Golf's landscape changes
Course
Event
Sandpiper Bay
Golf & Country
Club
Open/Re-open
Stillwater Golf
& CC
Pub/18
DMA
Type/Holes Summary
Wilmington NC Pub/27
New ownership by Altitude Hospitality, dropped
Club Med moniker, now under the Trademark
Collection by Wyndham and operated by OTH
Hotels Resorts. Phase I renovation promised
to be $25M and, by end, nothing will be left
untouched
First new 18 hole layout in No. FL in two decades,
Bobby Weed design, centerpiece of Lennar Corp.
gated active-adult community; unique design of 3,
6-hole loops
(Continued on page 10)
8 The Pellucid PersPecTive
November 2022
the going rate for turnover which is normally about 10% of
transactions over the past several years. Heritage Golf Group
and Concert Golf Partners (both represented in this month's
activities as well) have been primary acquirers based on what
we can see in the public domain.
Finally, in the " you can't make this stuff up " category, there
was an article reported by Club & Resort Business this month
on a two-course, two lawsuits, four unique parties drama playing
out in Watertown NY (of all places, must be Democraton-Democrat
warfare again) where an independent owner is
suing the local government for uncompetitive practice in operating
the local muni so he's holding his course hostage to
get them to stop doing that. Kind of reminds me of a scene
in Blazing Saddles that I can't recount here for political correctness
but I'm guessing the Mel Brooks fans out there will
be able to figure it out (first one who does and emails me at
jim@pellucidcorp.com, I'll give you a free 1-yr subscription to
Outside the Ropes). I can't do this story justice but you can
click here to get the better depiction by the folks at C&RB.
We may see increasing activity next month as it's now the
time to figure out who's going to use the offseason to close
or try to find a buyer but, at today's interest rates, that's also
likely putting a " chill " on transactions for all but what the auto
makers would describe as " attractive financing, available only
to well-qualified buyers " .
Sandpiper Bay Golf & Country Club in Wilmington,
NC is under new ownership by Altitude Hospitality.
https://sandpiperbaygolf.com/ https://www.sandpiperbaygolf.com/
The Pellucid Perspective - November 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - November 2022
