TPC course to join McConnell Golf portfolio

        According to sources, the acquisitive multiple-golf-course owner John McConnell is at it again:  As soon as a week from now, his organization

will announce that it has purchased The TPC Wakefield golf course in Raleigh, NC.  That will bring to eight the number of courses the McConnell Golf Group owns in North and South Carolina, most of them concentrated in the Triangle formed by Raleigh, Durham and Greensboro.  When I met with McConnell officials last year, they indicated they planned to stop the buying binge at nine courses, but I am going to go out on a limb and say they will exceed their plans; golf course valuations in the current economy are just too attractive to pass up, and the McConnell folks seem to have golf course operation down to a science.  The software millionaire’s deep pockets don’t hurt either; the clubhouses and golf courses he has purchased all have received touchups shortly after closing.

        TPC Wakefield is located about a half hour from Treyburn (in Durham) and Raleigh Country Clubs, two other McConnell facilities.  The Hale Irwin designed course, like most TPC layouts, plays host to an annual professional golf event, in Wakefield’s case the Nationwide Tour’s REX Hospital Open.  McConnell’s most recent purchase before Wakefield, Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, hosts the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship.  John McConnell himself speculated recently that the PGA Tour put TPC Wakefield up for sale because its focus had shifted to ownership of courses in resort areas and away from “community” clubs.  The McConnell organization’s own strategy targets upscale golfers willing to pay up to $25,000 in initiation fees and mid-range monthly dues for the privilege of access to multiple well-conditioned golf courses designed by some of golf’s foremost architects.

McConnell Golf's Treyburn Country Club is at the heart of a neat-as-a-pin golf community in Durham, NC.  It is one of two Tom Fazio courses in the McConnell portfolio.

 

       However, local homeowners are quite happy with McConnell on the scene.  He has a reputation for taking marginal golf courses and improving them substantially, and taking good courses and making them even better, as he did at The Reserve in Litchfield, SC, where he closed the Greg Norman course the day after he bought it and redid all the greens and many of the bunkers.  Homeowners inside The Reserve were especially grateful that their golf club, on the verge of bankruptcy when McConnell became interested, was restored to health.  Some estimated it meant a bump up of 10% in home values.

        McConnell’s portfolio of courses has been well designed, spanning the range of classic to ultra-modern layouts, reflecting the subtleties of Donald Ross (Sedgefield) and the drama of Tom Fazio, whose Old North State Club layout in remote New London, NC, consistently ranks among the top three courses in the state.  Other McConnell clubs include the brutally challenging Musgrove Mill (Arnold Palmer) in Clinton, SC, and the quirky but exciting Cardinal (Pete Dye) in Greensboro.  Given that they are a decent car ride from the Raleigh area, Old North State and Musgrove Mill feature golf cottages that visiting members can use for overnight stays before and after a round of golf.  The Reserve, the course that is farthest from McConnell’s core base in Raleigh and a couple of tee shots from the ocean, is within a mile or two of many town homes and condos that can be rented by the day.  McConnell also offers pricey golf packages for non-members; a seven-day package can run as high as $2,600.  When it reopened after its renovation last year, The Reserve at Litchfield offered full-golf memberships for just $5,000, which included access to all other McConnell courses.  Today, membership is $10,000, still a bargain for the roster of courses available to McConnell members.

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Editor’s Note: Although most of the courses the McConnell Golf Group have purchased are at the heart of golf communities, McConnell has chosen not to purchase any available lots.  However, after visits to Treyburn, The Cardinal, Uwharrie Point (the community surrounding the Old North State Club) and The Reserve, I can recommend all as worthy of consideration for those considering a home in a golf-oriented venue.  If you would like more information about any of these communities or more information about McConnell Golf’s membership plans, please contact me.

Of its eight golf clubs, McConnell can boast two designed by the legendary Donald Ross -- Raleigh Country Club and, above, Sedgefield, host of the annual PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship.