Margaritaville (I've Bought A Golf-Course!)

[SteveO]

We just took over on Friday. It is only Sunday now but it is a holiday weekend. I am embarrassed by the overgrown grass on the course. The greens keeper just let two people go on Friday which seems to be bad timing. I trust that he knows what he is doing. We have new people playing the course this weekend that I am sure will not come back with what they are witnessing.

We are meeting first thing Tuesday morning to discuss. We have a stack of resume's for people willing to take the entry level lawn mowing position. I told the GM to hire the three most aggressive people from the stack immediately. We will move to the next person if they don't work out.

 

[ZCP]

Hole sponsorships. Chamber of Commerce golf tney. HUGE cheeseburgers. Friendly AND professional marshalls...... tap into the local retirees....

Free updating for their handicap. Free round of golf if they work down to bogey golf or below....

Twice a year, flip the nines.....

Get a local car dealer to offer free car for a hole in one on a particular hole..... get the insurance!!

 

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[Get Right]

SteveO - I'm constantly impressed by your efforts. You are living my future dream.

 

[SteveO]

My brain feels better (when comparing before/after)!

OCD complete. 5S Organization of the equipment looks good, Steve

Yep. I did not do this. This was each maintenance employee putting their own equipment in its spot. Most of it is working now where before, less than half was even operational. Much less lubed, tuned, and sharpened.

Thanks.

 

[SteveO]

Any new developments? Getting into a operational rhythm?

Just continuing on the path of getting things in order. Spent a few K de-mucking the main irrigation pond. Still need to get all the cattails out.

Equipment is doing great. The course is greening up nicely.

Business is down though. The Canadian economy is in a downturn and the spending is way down across all businesses here. We are attracting more people to play that have not been here for a while.

Our goal is to continue to make the course better... "if you build it, they will come"

 

[SteveO]

Wow, I missed this.

Time for a new challenge? Retiring? Bored? Travel?

Travel around the southwest in my 39' motorhome towing a jeep. I have a jeep that is built pretty well but still modifying it. Pulled the rear seat and put a dog bed in its place. Going to Moab, UT next week. Just got back from a week in San Diego. New Mexico, Colorado, and northern Arizona in July.

I have gotten back into running. Just finished a 10 mile workout. Maybe I can compete again. Always loved the "Hood to Coast" race up by Portland. May try to get on a team this year.

Managed to get into a house up on the mountain next to the 40 acres. So, building a house as well. Now I'm close to the site. Splitting lots, having them rezoned and putting them up for sale.

Lots to do!

 

[SteveO]

Sadly I read about your medical issues for the first time. I hope you ll recover. Its shocking for me, every house has its problems.

Btw . I love your Gold project. Still black numbers dur to C0VlD?

Thanks for the kind words.

I don't really know what the problem is yet. I just know the symptoms. Been going on for years. I get something that resembles nausea but it has a feeling like just being uncomfortable all over. Lots of dizziness and sometimes lose clarity with the brain.

I suspect it is in my neck. I go to a chiropractor and physical therapist once a week and massage every other week. I frequently leave the physical therapy feeling ill and have thrown up in the parking lot a couple times. All he does is work on loosening the vertebrae from the skull.

I have used 8 different doctors at this point. None of them seemed to take a lot of interest. One recommended psychiatric treatment and another told me it was all in my head. A few others just wanted to medicate me.

My primary care has recently gotten on board with it being a neck problem and has setup more testing.

I'm still living a quality life though. Other than working less, I'm still doing a lot of things and having a blast. So, don't feel bad for me. This will get resolved at some point.

The financials for the golf course have taken a big hit. Most of our income is from winter visitors. Hardly any came down last winter. We were in the hole a couple hundred thousand this last year. Counting on things opening back up for the Canadians soon. We have money in savings so I'm not worried at this point.

We still have the best golf course in town. The other golf courses are really scaling back their expenses. We only did a light scaling back and are maintaining our focus on keeping it great.

 

[ZCP]

There was an old PC game called SimGolf. Suggest picking it up. LOT of cool ideas on holes, sequencing, keeping patrons happy, creating a story..... deep stuff.

Maybe we could have a secret password for fastlaners coming out to play......

 

[ZCP]

Thinking you keep some of your cashflowing properties. Golf is not on an upswing. Feel strongly that you will make this thing profitable, no matter what. Just think I would be akin to keeping some 'other' revenue sources.

 

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[SimonP99]

Our plan is to do something a little different. We want to turn this place into a hang-out with food, games, and drinks. It is already located in a community so we want to draw people in for the environment.

As far as the revitalization goes, I think it will be easy compared to what I have done with apartments. The first company that I ever started was a landscape construction business. I love gardening and have studied it as a hobby for many years. There are many employees here. A general manager will deal with the issues from them. But, I have many years of experience managing employees to fall back on.

There is a large mechanical component to this job with all the equipment. I worked as a mechanic in an auto repair shop for a period. I also supervised a group of technicians that kept a multi million dollar automated assembly line maintained and functioning.

This project is right up my alley!

Seems to me that SteveO may be the guy to write that "How to buy a Golf Course and Live Your Dream" book when the deal is done, the rehab is finished and his business is thriving. How any golfers would LOVE to do what you are doing? Good Luck to you mate...

 

[SteveO]

Shannon and I have the ongoing joke... "We bought a Zoo"

 

[DeletedUser394]

I feel like real estate is right.

Owner sells a property either he/she is no longer passionate about or wants to profit from, investor buys said property and improves it, then owner profits of property from cash flow (or appreciation) or new client comes in to buy it.

Everyone walks away happy!

All businesses are 'right' and all transactions end up this way. That's the neat thing about it.

Take something as innocuous as a chocolate bar. I buy the chocolate bar because I'm hungry or want a sweet. My life is marginally improved by the purchase of the chocolate bar. The Hershey company gets my money, which they can then use to either pay their employees (who in turn support their own families) or use that money to improve something about the business to make even better or more efficiently produced chocolate bars in the future. It is a constant progression forward.

I value the chocolate bar more than the money (just like SteveO buying the course), and Hershey wants the money more than they want the chocolate bar (like the dude/dudette that sold the golf course to him).

Capitalism is beautiful, haters gonna hate.

 

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[SteveO]

One lake is filled with a very soft and brittle rooted aquatic plant. I have not identified it yet. The other has no visible algae on top. Have not lowered the water enough to get a visual yet but will do so in the future.

My well guy told me not to put any filters before the pumps. His recommendation is to insure the area around the intake is clean. That water curtain may work. I do want to try the vacuum that they are making.

We have algae eating fish in the lakes now. They die pretty easily though.

I am looking at ways to keep the fertilizers out of the water. I also need to add aerators. Algae removal is a long slow process to do it right @marklov , @biophase , @jon.a

 

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[SteveO]

I would like to let everyone know that my intention is not to be working like this. This is part of a business turnaround though. It is a high risk/reward proposition that takes a real effort to set up. There are fundamental issues that need to be addressed. The first step to understanding for me is to get in the middle. I really hoped that I would be able to coach the superintendent and point him in my direction. Once it became apparent that this would not happen, I had to step in to learn.

 

[SteveO]

What a fantastic thread!

SteveO, how did you get the capital to get started with apartments? And what made you venture outside your comfort zone to a, seemingly more risky, golf course?

Mostly borrowed against my house to get started with a fourplex.

The golf course did not feel risky to me. I bought plenty of apartments that were losing money and needed capital injections. This felt on par.

 

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[SteveO]

@SteveO Just curious how old were you when that happened? Feel free to ignore, if you feel this is too personal

Thanks

over 50...

 

[phenom4hire]

The cliche is you are referring to a group of people with a stereotype. I know just as many unsuccessful marines as successful.

That may be anecdotal on my part, but it is what ive personally experienced. I have great respect for the armed forces members that deserve it, but I dont consider myself naive enough to think such a large group of people are basically all the same.

I agree most marines are tough in mind and at heart and come away with a unique skillset for tackling everyday life. However there are others who accomplish this as well without the military background.

I was just giving kudos to a guy who was able to turn a negative situation into a positive. Whether or not he was a marine wasn't in my scope of thought but I understand you being proud of that and referencing that in your post. I just try to judge each person on their words and actions regardless of background so it honestly would not have mattered to me either way.

Anyway this will be my last post in reference to this as it has strayed from what the thread is about.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[SteveO]

Reading through 8 pages of glory shows me I not only know nothing about life but I'm soooooo young in my entrepreneurial journey , this is motivation at its finest , congrats

Thanks but there is no glory here. It is 8 pages outlining the business challenges which are never easy.

btw... This transaction for the gc was considerably less than the last commercial deal that I did. The last one was a retail strip center. It makes more cashflow and is a lot less work. Our original intention was not to work so much but rather play golf and hang out. Turns out that I can't really do that.

 

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[jon.a]

I understand that . But its still glory to me b/c each trial over come is a seed of success being planted. And i know it may not feel that way but im confident you will make it , and finally get your chance to play golf and hang out . It makes me realize sometimes we dont appreciate obstacles as much as we should . But one day you will look at this thread like "I did it" by focusing on 1 hurdle at a time i reached the finish line

That's exactly how he views it now.

 

[Eskil]

Good for you, Steve.
And yes sometimes the right people come into our life just at the right time!

 

[ZCP]

@SteveO could ride one trail in his back yard for 2 years......
of course then he would get distracted, buy the adjoining 1000 acres, sell 99 smaller lots for 50x more than he paid for the whole thing, and then start a wind farm you could see from space ......... all while being retired......

 

[SteveO]

In Denmark, golf courses are required to shut down by our government. Don't know if that could be the scenario for you in the US. Hopefully you'll find some way through this.

The way I see it is that being outside in the sunshine is a great way to get out and socialize. We have a number of ways to enable distancing. Golf courses are not shut down yet.

 

[SteveO]

Let's play a round. Just played today and shot a 96. So I shouldn't be too awful to play with lol.

Fastlane day at the course!

 

[Bigguns50]

@SteveO ... I am SO happy you are doing better with your health. In my experience, your doc is spot on especially with strengthening the muscles to support the skeletal system. Super important. You're going to feel like a new man!

The plan was to keep the players that are willing to spend for quality.

Love this! I also raised my prices to focus on the market I want to serve. I've done this over the years with different products. I keep adding value and it gets to a point where I feel the prices are just too low for the high-value product they get.

Looking forward to your health and professional progress!!

 

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[SteveO]

Trap set...


Ready for the crockpot.



One more down...

 

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[SteveO]

What's your handicap?

Ha! It varies depending on the frequency of play. Mine will vary between 12 and 18 although I do not track it regularly. I have been taking lessons for the past few months and expect to improve. My wife has an index of 7.5. She outplays me from the men's tees. She is the reason I took up golf in the first place.

 

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[ZCP]

Get tied into the PGM and turf grass programs at the closest couple of universities. Intern labor and first dibs on pros and turf crew.

 

[SteveO]

That's great. I wasn't sure if it was Ancala in Scottsdale, the Havasu Course or the one in Yuma you were after.

Did not want to ask, until it went thru. Small world! That cost segregation spread sheet I sent you was
the one we did for CNL for Ancala, before they sold it to the new owners ( CF/Fortress) the guys who own the hockey team down there).

I was actually interested in the one in Havasu (36 holes). My wife tends to throttle me back a bit. I have played Ancala before. It is a very tough course! Too expensive for me right now. Most of those courses in Phoenix don't cashflow very well. I need the cashflow to make a transaction like this work.

 

[SteveO]

Can someone point me to SteveOs original progress thread(s)? I keep seeing hints dropped that he has made some massive progress but I can't figure out how to search for peoples old posts. I am sure its an excellent story.

I am a real estate guy. I had already had some success when I started posting here but also had a full meltdown during the downturn. There are posts from me dating back to the beginning of this forum. In fact, I may have had the first non-MJ post on the forum.

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/first-post.4/

 

[ryanbleau]

Get a local brewery to keep you stocked with microbrews. Even get a signature one for the course. I'm not affiliated with them but Mudsharks makes a pretty good brews and they are close. Make the bathrooms as high end as you can. Offer a valet and carwash service to monthly members. Get a tesla charging station and designated EV parking. Get shaded parking and install solar panels on it. The more " Special" a person feels the more money they spend