Raleigh (NC) based McConnell Golf Group is considering an acquisition of the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, NC. It would add a second Donald Ross layout to the group’s current six-course portfolio. Raleigh Country Club, the other Ross golf course, was CEO and Founder John McConnell’s first acquisition.
According to local media reports, McConnell is waiting for the members at Sedgefield to give a nod to going forward with serious negotiations.
“The membership has to agree that this is something they want to pursue," McConnell told the News & Observer’s David Ranii. "Until there is a consensus, we are sitting on the sidelines."
McConnell already owns The Cardinal, a Pete Dye designed course at the other end of Greensboro from Sedgefield. The second course would be a strong lure to potential members in the area who would be looking for distinctly different layouts under one membership. The golf courses are about 20 minutes apart.
Other McConnell courses, which are accessible to members at any of the company’s six golf clubs, are Musgrove Mill in Clinton, SC; The Reserve at Pawleys Island (SC); and Treyburn Country Club in Durham, NC. Because The Reserve is currently closed until September for a total renovation of its greens and bunkers, the club is offering a special $5,000 initiation fee, 50% off the rate after the club reopens. Initiation fees at other McConnell clubs that are closer to one another are higher.
Homes for sale inside the 700-acre gated Reserve community begin in the low $400s and lots at $110,000. If you would like more information about The Reserve, whose course was designed by Greg Norman, or the Myrtle Beach area, or would like me to put you in touch with a qualified real estate agent who knows the golf communities in the area, please contact me.
By the end of summer, it is possible that members of Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, NC, could have access to Treyburn Country Club in Durham, plus five other McConnell Golf Group private clubs. Photo by Tim Gavrich.