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

[Iwokeup]

Thanks for the update @SteveO . It's fascinating to read about all of the little things that have to be done to get the course on the right track. I love how you're incorporating accountability and a sense of ownership into so many nooks and crannies.

I'm listening to The Object Is The Way right now, and you're clearly the FL poster boy for the Stoic Way.

 

[SteveO]

Wow. Now this is what work looks like.... and success as well. Drive-by's pay attention to this kind of nitty-gritty process... are you willing to get to your knees, dredge lakes, and rooter pipes? Or do you see yourself lounging pool side with an umbrella drink? One yields massive success that no one wants to hear about... the other is the event of the former.

Since there was a concern about breaking something in the lake, I hooked the dredging apparatus over my shoulders and drug the debris out by hand. It took all of my strength to pull the loads up next to shore where it could be loaded on our trucks. My hands were swollen and legs turned to spaghetti by the end of the day.

I have carts and tractors but this process required a "feel".

 

[SteveO]

Thanks guys. You better believe that I am looking into this. I already have copper sulfate. I need to see the inlets on one of the lakes before I take any action. The other is under control.

The water in both of these lakes are in constant motion. The wells are pumping constantly. We also have reclaimed water that is pumped in. Water is pumped from these lakes to a number of others and distributed to the irrigation.

There is a lot of plant debris that needs to be cleaned up as well.

I want to fully understand all of the dynamics before I start throwing chemicals at it.

 

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[SteveO]

 

[MJ DeMarco]

My new avatar!! Priceless!

 

[phenom4hire]

Man making a comeback at that age (no offense) is impressive given how quickly you seemed to have turned it around. Ive always felt I would rather go into debt or bankrupt at an earlier age so that I would have ample time to recover in case of something disastrous happening. I can assume what caused you to lose so much so fast given the timeframe, but kudos to you for not only jumping back in with both feet but going full speed and still taking risks.

Your lack of fear really helps put the "fastlane" mindset into perspective.

 

[Supa]

I never played golf, but seeing your golf-course really wants me to do so.

 

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[Dougema]

@SteveO the difference is extremely clear. The grass looks 100x greener and healthier than your first pictures. Congratulations on everything you're doing with this course! I hope I get to visit it any time soon.

 

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[SteveO]

Sounds awesome steveO!

Got a picture of that famous goose grass?

I will take one later. Even though I put down 3K worth of chemical to block the seed germination, it is still growing in many places on the course. I initially began a scorched earth policy of spraying roundup in the areas where it is growing. But, it is sprouting in too many places. I fill a 5 gallon bucket every day as I drive around the course by just taking out the seedlings.

Next year I will map it all out and apply the pre-emergent chemicals in a more targeted fashion.

A picture will simply look like green grass though. The problems it causes will not be apparent from a glance.

 

[Iwokeup]

It has been one year now.

A coupe has occurred. We have hired the director of golf and the course superintendent from our closest competitor. They came to us because of the direction that things are taking at our venue.

We did not turn a profit the first year and did not expect to. The plans were to have the course in good shape in two years. We accelerated this and the course is almost fully up to speed. The addition of the super is major. I was able to plow though most of the issues and get the grass moving in the right direction. The equipment is also fine tuning. But, the small details on the flatness of the greens, speed of ball roll, and other nuances need to be dealt with by a professional. I looked all year but was not able to find a suitable person, then one just waltzed in!

I don't think that he just "waltzed in," @SteveO. Rather, you and your team focused on increasing the inherent VALUE of the course via the physical upgrades AS WELL as the personnel upgrades and by instilling a CULTURE that accepts nothing less than the best from everyone, including yourself.

I don't have to tell a former Marine (yeah yeah, I know..) that the Old Boy Network beats any Advertising Scheme in the world, and likely your new Super has been listening. And that you led by example. That kind of action gets noticed.

Well done!!

 

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[LeftBench]

Sorry to bump an old thread but I was just wondering how things are going with the course? I love reading the updates!

 

[SteveO]

Hope you have a guest room for me and my wife to come stay in the new place!

We will! Bring your helmet and rock traction shoes though. Bighorns are regular visitors.

 

[SteveO]

guy sounds like a real prick.
shoulda made a lawyer joke lol!

My wife is a lawyer.

 

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[SteveO]

I suspect that we are going to see some fallout from the current virus threat. Most of our business comes from winter visitors. Assuming travel is reduced and there is less social interaction, we will have less business at the course.

So, to do my part in slowing down the national economy, I am severely curtailing our capital expenditures for the coming year. Need to do what I can to keep my business afloat.

 

[Bigguns50]

One recommended psychiatric treatment and another told me it was all in my head.

HA! I knew it! I told my wife you are a bit craycray! I mean, all you have to do is watch one of your off-road vids. LOL. I believe you will get through this for certain. Pain, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, is a great teacher. Can't wait to see how you grow from this when you come out the other end.




I had a meeting here yesterday at 7 Canyons Resort and thought of you. They're still selling and building houses. They've sold out.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

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

That's pretty poor.

I shot a 81.

And I'm sure if I kept going and played the Back 9 I'd beat that 81.

 

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[SteveO]

@SteveO ... I love this. I'm all about efficiency and maximizing time and profit and making things the best for customers. Are any of your competitors doing this or are you the 1st to use this type of grass and specific watering system?

The city golf course is spending 100k to analyze the possibility.

I am definitely the first and likely the only one.

 

[SteveO]

How long did you think it would take to turn around when deciding to make the purchase six years ago?

However you interpret that. It could be running on autopilot, hobby business, cashflow positive, profitable sale, whatever. Just curious if there was much of a gap between the original thinking and the reality over the next several years. I've worked hard on reducing my expectations and lengthening timelines over the years for long-term projects and would rate my timeline estimates as 2x off nowadays which is a huge improvements over twenty years ago.

I have typically been an apartment building flipper. This one was basically a retirement play.

I did get sick for a few years and tried to sell it.

We took it from the worst to best course in town in about 3 years. The changes we are making now are basically intended to shore up that spot. It should also be cheaper to operate if the plan works out.

Still holding it as a retirement play though.

 

[SteveO]

I thought you never hurt any animal, even a bug. But those gophers destroying the course, I can see why!

Gophers, bedbugs, cockroaches, and scorpions in the house are exceptions.

 

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[The Sandman]

Trap set...
View attachment 44221

Ready for the crockpot.

View attachment 44223

One more down...

Have you considered the Rodenator?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgztUzqaL3E

 

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[AllenCrawley]

Not really wasting away though. Too bad that I don't drink alcohol!

My wife and I have just gone under contract to purchase a golf course in Arizona. It is a major decision for us.

We are sitting in the prime situation of having enough income to live off of from our properties. So, it makes sense for us to dive into a business that we love!

It is a full golf course with eighteen holes, a practice range, and clubhouse.

The course is in bad condition with a large investment fund owner that does not seem to understand that you need to put money in to get money out.

There is still a full range of due diligence to be completed but we have done a lot of it already.

Seems that just sitting or goofing around is not in the cards....

Wow, very exciting. Can't wait to break it in.

 

[ZCP]

With my boys newfound wealth, they have now begun to take up golf and get me back out on the golf course. Look forward to coming out and playing your course one day!

 

[IrishSpring600]

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!

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

The transaction is now closed. We own the course!

Congrats man!

 

[jon.a]

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.

Offer anyone who shows up tomorrow 2 for one for their next visit free.

 

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[Iwokeup]

This is AWESOME, @SteveO. Probably the most fun thread EVER on this forum. Way to make your hard work pay off!

 

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[ryanbleau]

I was a waiter for 14 years while i also worked construction. I learned how to make a lot of money by making people feel the experience was unique to them. People could eat the same food at home or take it to go. They pay for the experience , just like everything else in life. High end car rentals, Vacation rentals , Hookers..... they pay to feel special. I used to try to teach it to young waitstaff but I think it might not be something that can be taught but gained thru experience. Just a thought to imprint into all the staffs mind. Could be the difference between struggling to make bills and enjoying life.

 

[SteveO]

Have always been curious what the rough margins were on these. Have a good feel on greens fees / traffic. Have a good feel on staff / pro / building / taxes / etc. Assume water is all recycled. Have NO idea on maintenance, seed, groundskeeping, etc. INSIDERS thread?

They are all over the map. Most of the courses that I looked at were not making money. If you paid cash for the property, the operating costs matched the income. They are high risk investments.

Ours has had a decent NOI for the past three years even though the course was in such crappy condition. They ran the course with a very small staff and did not fix anything. My projections called for more money put to expenses and more income. We will not take any money out for the first year at least.

 

[jon.a]

So is this lake filled with algae? Is it due to fertilizer running off into the lakes from rain and water? Can you fabricate a floating filter so that the pumps pull water from the center and not off the bottom or sides. I'm thinking an anchor with a chain attached to a float and the filter at the middle.

What eats algae?

 

[Bouncing Soul]

I used to be big in to salt water reef tanks, and controlling macroalgae was always a concern.

You need to get the phosphates and other pollutants out of the water or controlled. There are multiple ways to do this, as a reef owner I had to use iron based materials as the copper based ones kill corals, but you can use them, and in fact they're good for helping keep your fish parasite free at the right concentration-

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/algae/lakes/ControlOptions.html

http://www.coppersulfatecrystals.com/algae2.html

Also, testing water for phosphates is pretty cheap and easy, get a kit if you choose to treat, no sense wasting material.