I worked for Otis Elevator Company through a couple of recessions and noted that when sales of new elevators dried up because of a glut of commercial space, the number of elevator modernization jobs increased significantly. It seemed odd, but the explanation was logical: The building owner had to modernize in order to compete for tenants with newer buildings down the street, or with older buildings with more updated accoutrements. Refurbish or perish could have been their mantra.
So it is with golf clubs during this current recession. In just the last few days, I have learned that two clubs I know well have closed for renovations. Both, I might add, were in fine condition, one good enough to hold a pro tournament. The implication is that each will be even better, and better able to fend off their competition. Existing members will benefit, for sure, but so too will a select few new members who take advantage of renovation discounts.
The Reserve Club in Litchfield Beach (SC) changed ownership earlier this year when The McConnell Golf Group added the Greg Norman course and financially strapped club to its portfolio of private Carolinas golf courses. The Reserve gives McConnell its first layout near the ocean (one mile away), a refuge it can offer its members who live and play in the more urban and inland environments of Raleigh, Durham and Greensboro. But The Reserve featured bent grass greens, the classic surfaces that are lovely to putt but hard to maintain in areas where the thermometer can routinely reach into the 90s for long daily stretches.
So it was at The Reserve, where the course is now closed until September to replace the bent grass with a heat resistant hybrid and to spruce up the layout’s many bunkers. At the moment, to encourage new memberships during the down period, McConnell is offering joining fees of just $5,000, which represents a 50% discount of the fee after August and is 1/6 of the original initiation of $32,000 when the course opened in 1999.
The first hole at Thornblade gives little hint of the bunkering on the rest of the course.
At The Thornblade Club in Greer, SC, near Greenville, the club closed shortly after the last stroke was played in the annual BMW Charity event on the Nationwide Tour. With a total attendance of nearly 60,000 this year, the tournament is a roaring success. (The tournament’s first three days are played at Thornblade, Carolina County Club and Bright’s Creek, with the final round at Thornblade.) Yet like a TV star who goes to makeup before the big show, Thornblade members have apparently decided to make the course look as good as it can for the Golf Channel cameras.
While Thornblade is closed, the club is offering new members an $8,000 buy-in, a discount of $10,000 compared with the customary $18,000 fees. For this classic Tom Fazio course, it is a bargain.