Some residents at The Cliffs Communities scratched their heads when the board in charge of identifying a buyer for the development selected a wealthy local couple, Steve and Penny Carlile, over experienced developers, including the [John] Reed Group out of Bluffton, SC (Colleton River, Belfair, Berkeley Hall, Hampton Hall) and the Stokes Land Group,

a Jacksonville, FL based developer with golf communities in its portfolio and a secret weapon that might soon be under its financial control (see below). Although they are successful business people (oil, gas, trucking, home and garden accessories), it appears that the sum and substance of the Carliles’ golf development experience is that they purchased a property in The Cliffs at Walnut Cove and later sold it and bought a lot at Cliffs at High Mountain, site of the as yet un-built Tiger Woods golf course. The Carliles own one of just 50 properties sold so far at the struggling High Carolina.

        As the board’s decision to choose the Carliles sinks in, some residents are speculating that Cliffs founder Jim Anthony may be behind the surprising selection. The Carliles have made no secret that they plan to engage Anthony as a consultant, and the fact that the couple bought a lot in the flailing High Mountain development could signal a special kind of loyalty to the founder. The Carliles also contributed a reported $300,000 to the $64 million they and 500 other members provided to Anthony to upgrade and finish the amenities in the Cliffs communities. After one payment, Anthony defaulted on that loan and precipitated the current selling process. A bankruptcy court will ultimately decide if the Carliles have the best plan for The Cliffs.  If some other group walks off with the prize, the Carliles will receive a $1 million payment, plus expenses, for their troubles, according to our sources.

        As we wrote earlier, the Carliles’ agreement with the Cliffs board leaves the door open to other bids. Readers of this column may recall that a few months before he defaulted on the loan from his members, Anthony sued the Urbana Companies and a local South Carolina bank for having

duped him out of large parcels of land, asserting that Urbana did not have the financial backing it had claimed when it purchased the large tracts of properties (and that the group was in cahoots with the local bank). We understand that Stokes, one of the bidders for The Cliffs, may now be close to financial control of Urbana, and that Anthony’s animosity toward Urbana, and his more practical desire to salvage something out of his lawsuit against them, might have driven the board’s decision to choose the Carliles rather than Stokes. (There is also a rumor that, in desperation for a cash influx, Anthony also sold The Cliffs trademark to Urbana. If that is true, and Stokes does not wind up with The Cliffs, a name change for the well-branded communities might be necessary –- or it could cost a fortune to, literally, get back their good name.)

        Cliffs members meet tonight in Greenville to discuss with the board and the Carliles the sale of their community. I won’t be a fly on the wall, but if I were, and given the Carliles’ apparent fierce loyalty to Jim Anthony in the face of his failed management and default on their loan, I would ask the Carliles one question: “Will you adopt me?”

     I don’t know anyone who lives in The Villages, the 20,000-acre retirement community in central Florida that comes in for both celebration and lampooning, the latter most famously in the 2008 expose “Leisureville” which painted an odd picture of some retirees misbehaving and others behaving as if they were refugees from Stepford.

        But I do know people who know people who know people who live in The Villages, and they apparently love the place. And while the vast community might be fairly described as a kind of Disneyland for the 55+ set, the golfing options are also the stuff of fantasy –- 39 golf courses in all, 10 18-hole “championship” layouts designed by Arnold Palmer and Nancy Lopez, among others, and the rest 9-hole executive golf courses.

        Now you would think that with so many golfing options, booking a tee time would be a relatively simple affair, or even better, no tee time would be necessary; just walk up and play except, perhaps, at peak times during the winter.  But consider there are 75,000 households of folks over the age of 55 inside the gates of The Villages, and you have the makings of chaos, as well as a complicated tee-time system.

        “Complicated” does not begin to describe it. For those of you considering a mega-golf community with multiple courses designed by the likes of Arnold Palmer and Nancy Lopez, here’s what you have to look forward to if you choose The Villages. (The tee-time requesting process is taken directly from The Villages web site). 

 

How to Request a Tee Time (at The Villages)

(This option will allow you to request a tee time from 4 to 7 days in advance.)  To be assigned a tee time reservation by the system, you must first make a request as follows:

1. Dial 753-GOLF (4653).
2. Enter your golfer ID number.
3. Enter your PIN number.
4. Enter “1” for golf options. Enter “2” for tennis options.
5. Enter “1” to make a tee time request.
6. Enter “1” for “yes” if you are one of the golfers; enter “2” for “no” if you will not be golfing.
7. Enter the number of the day you wish to play:
   1. Sunday
   2. Monday
   3. Tuesday
   4. Wednesday
   5. Thursday
   6. Friday
   7. Saturday
8. Enter the total number of golfers in your group. NOTE: this number must be 2 digits (example: enter 03 for 3 golfers.) When requesting consecutive tee times you will need to enter the total number of golfers in your groups. (example: enter 13 for 13 golfers.) If this number is not divisible by four the system will take you to step 8A.
   8A. Enter the number of golfers in group one. This number must be 2 digits. (Example: enter 03 for 3 golfers in each group.)

9. Enter the 6-digit golfer ID number for each golfer in your group or enter “**” to indicate a guest.
   9A. If you entered a guest, the system will ask you to enter the 6-digit golfer ID of the host.

10. Enter the time of day you wish to play. NOTE: this entry requires 4 digits. Enter 2 digits for the hour followed by 2 digits for the minutes. For example if the time you wish to play is 8:00 then you will enter 0800.
11. Enter the earliest time of day you wish to play. Enter 2 digits for the hour followed by 2 digits for the minutes.
12. Enter the latest time of day you wish to play. Enter 2 digits for the hour followed by 2 digits for the minutes. (To increase your chances of receiving a reservation we suggest a minimum of a 5-hour window between your earliest and latest times.)
13. Enter “1” to select a championship course. Enter “2” to select an executive course.
14. Enter “1” to select all courses
Enter “2” to select any course north of County Road 466. 
Enter “3” to select any course south of County Road 466. 
Enter “4” to select an individual course (unlimited valid course selection) If option “4” was selected go to step 14A
    14A. Enter the course number you wish to play; enter “1” to select another course or enter “2” to continue.

15. Enter “1” for a time over course preference; enter “2” for a course over time preference. (If time is more important to you choose option “1.” If the course is more important to you choose option “2.”)
16. Enter “1” to verify request or enter “2” to continue. When selecting option 1 the system will verify your request. If option “2” was selected the system will not verify your request and will take you to the next step.

          Enter “1” to accept your request or enter “2” to discard.

          If “1” was selected please write down your request number.