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

[MTF]

We are not making money yet but getting close.

Already in the black? I'd love to read an update.

 

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[SteveO]

We broke even last year. Income this year is well ahead of last. Expenses are up a little but this year is looking promising.

I have been spending a lot of time on the commercial property this year. Put it on the market and just went under contract.

 

[SteveO]

My intent right now is to finish selling everything off. We are building a house on thirty acres up on the side of a desert mountain. We are also enjoying our travel trailer a considerable amount.

We may jump back into the real estate game when most of the seasonal buyers have gone away.

My wife and I are feeling the stress from all the work during the past few years. It is time for some leisure enjoyment.

 

[GPM]

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

 

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[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]

Everything is still going well. Income is still climbing every year. The course looks better than ever. I only spend a few hours a week working. Now that the business in Phoenix is sold, I can redirect the focus. Diddle on the golf course and plan the home build.

I stated that the home was going to be on 30 acres. I am buying up more of the land, splitting lots, and shaving 3, 3 acre parcels off of the 40. They are on the other side of a ridge so I won't be able to see the houses from my lot.

Fun!

 

[Iwokeup]

Everything is still going well. Income is still climbing every year. The course looks better than ever. I only spend a few hours a week working. Now that the business in Phoenix is sold, I can redirect the focus. Diddle on the golf course and plan the home build.

I stated that the home was going to be on 30 acres. I am buying up more of the land, splitting lots, and shaving 3, 3 acre parcels off of the 40. They are on the other side of a ridge so I won't be able to see the houses from my lot.

Fun!

RE to the bone. Haha

 

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[SteveO]

The golf course is officially listed for sale. It could take months or years to complete a complex transaction like this.

The initial gross income for the business was $975K per year. Last year, we were up to $1.6M. This year is tracking slightly ahead of that. Weather has slowed us down a bit this year. Colder and wetter than normal.

Looking for retirement at this point. Probably spend time on note investing and land deals. Low stress and limited time types of things.

 

[G-Man]

Looking for retirement at this point.

You don't mind me asking Steve, how old are you? Do you feel like you'll be able to make the adjustment to low activity without going crazy?

 

[SteveO]

You don't mind me asking Steve, how old are you? Do you feel like you'll be able to make the adjustment to low activity without going crazy?

I am 60. When I was 40, I stepped out of the work role for a number of years. Traveled a bit, rode my bike to the gym everyday, ran a lot of miles, hiked a lot in the mountains, played golf, went 4-wheeling, etc... Did that for about 8 years before the market collapsed and I had to jump back into the game.

So, yeah... I can do that!

 

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[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......

 

[andviv]

@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......

Exactly what I was thinking.... his "retirement" definitely does not meet the expectation for most people...

 

[SteveO]

MJ asked for the story that I touched on in another thread.

We have an annual winter grass over-seed to prepare the golf course for winter play. Our summer grass goes dormant in the cooler weather. About $60-70 thousand dollars worth of seed and a couple of weeks of prep by the entire maintenance crew goes into this process.

We still allow play but carts cannot drive onto the fairways or anywhere around the greens during this time. Each person is told this as they check in, the carts have signs, and there are other signs stating this.

Last fall as we were in this process, I spotted one cart that had driven up close to the greens. So, I went to inform the driver that he cannot park off of the cart path while the new grass was growing in. He drove away from me as I was talking to him. I let it go as I was sure that he had heard enough.

A couple of holes later, I spotted him in the middle of the fairway. I approached him again and started talking. He cut me off, stuck his finger in my face and said "Now you listen to me....". I cut him off and said "No, you listen to me. Get off my golf course".

He actually refused to go and told me that he would only go if our GM told him to leave. I told him that the GM would not override my decision and that he needed to leave.

His group left. They went to the clubhouse and complained a bit to the GM. Have not seen them back.

This guy owns a large law firm in town. Talk went around the golf community. A number of people asked me if I really removed him from the course.

 

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[SteveO]

Update. We had a good winter season.

The majority of our cashflow comes from January through March. Very short season. But the books are filled all day every day though this period. The only exception is cold, rainy, windy days. Sometimes the course gets shut down completely. So we don't like bad weather days during the winter.

Unfortunately, we had more than our share this year. But on the bright side, we were still ahead of last year by a few percent. Even though last year was near perfect for weather.

Still marching ahead.

 

[luniac]

MJ asked for the story that I touched on in another thread.

We have an annual winter grass over-seed to prepare the golf course for winter play. Our summer grass goes dormant in the cooler weather. About $60-70 thousand dollars worth of seed and a couple of weeks of prep by the entire maintenance crew goes into this process.

We still allow play but carts cannot drive onto the fairways or anywhere around the greens during this time. Each person is told this as they check in, the carts have signs, and there are other signs stating this.

Last fall as we were in this process, I spotted one cart that had driven up close to the greens. So, I went to inform the driver that he cannot park off of the cart path while the new grass was growing in. He drove away from me as I was talking to him. I let it go as I was sure that he had heard enough.

A couple of holes later, I spotted him in the middle of the fairway. I approached him again and started talking. He cut me off, stuck his finger in my face and said "Now you listen to me....". I cut him off and said "No, you listen to me. Get off my golf course".

He actually refused to go and told me that he would only go if our GM told him to leave. I told him that the GM would not override my decision and that he needed to leave.

His group left. They went to the clubhouse and complained a bit to the GM. Have not seen them back.

This guy owns a large law firm in town. Talk went around the golf community. A number of people asked me if I really removed him from the course.

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

 

[SteveO]

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

My wife is a lawyer.

 

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[luniac]

My wife is a lawyer.

oops... lol

 

[Veloce Grey]

He drove away from me as I was talking to him....so I got in my supercharged gold-plated course owner golf cart and chased him down driving one handed while madly swinging a five iron with the other....

I was sure that was where it was going...

 

[Veloce Grey]

The only exception is cold, rainy, windy days. Sometimes the course gets shut down completely. So we don't like bad weather days during the winter.

What's the actual criteria for closing the course down in terms of water? Where I play it's a bit rural and possibly has amongst the highest rainfall of any course in the country, so I've had many days where balls on the fairway vanish under mud. If I play early morning in winter even on fine days the greens are covered in dew which tends to make putting quite tricky. But I'm not sure they really "close" the course as such unless the river alongside starts flooding it again.

I've been playing far more this year and got my first birdie ever last week. I've gone to the city a couple of times to play on fancier courses with bunkers/water hazards-the fact I scored 141 and then 133 leaves bountiful room for improvement

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

The golf course is officially listed for sale.

Wow, I missed this.

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

 

[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]

What's the actual criteria for closing the course down in terms of water? Where I play it's a bit rural and possibly has amongst the highest rainfall of any course in the country, so I've had many days where balls on the fairway vanish under mud. If I play early morning in winter even on fine days the greens are covered in dew which tends to make putting quite tricky. But I'm not sure they really "close" the course as such unless the river alongside starts flooding it again.

I've been playing far more this year and got my first birdie ever last week. I've gone to the city a couple of times to play on fancier courses with bunkers/water hazards-the fact I scored 141 and then 133 leaves bountiful room for improvement

When the course gets so wet that golf cart traffic damages it, we will close. Pretty rare. People don't tend to play in the rain here. Lightning is a biggie though.

 

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[MetalGear]

Would not mess with the owner haha

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[James Fake]

Argh... I got back into golf after a 8 year hiatus. Really hardcore into it now. Your presentation at the Summit was great and this thread is gold.

If I don't catch you ever on your course, hit me anytime you're in Vegas and want to hit a round!

 

[SteveO]

Hey All,

Just an update on the golf course.

I had it listed for sale during the past year. Had some interest but nothing that caught traction. We took it off the market because of the disruption it was causing. Many of the employees were concerned. Even the high level management made concerning comments about whether they would still be there next year. We did not want to lose anyone at this stage.

There are still people interested but that may not happen.

My overall goal was to fade off into retirement. I have basically done that but not really by choice.

The course is doing well and making money. We are still putting it all back into the business but that is a choice on our part. Gross income has improved by 60% since we took over 4 years ago. It continues to do well.

Expenses have gone up as well though. We keep a healthy staff of 30 employees. Many of them are minimum wage or just above. Minimum wage went from about $8 to $12 during our ownership. Tough increase to absorb. Thankfully we have been able to do so.

My wife still works full time on the course. I stepped out for health reasons. I get dizzy and nauseous daily. Can't really do the kind of physical labor that I was doing under these conditions. I have been to a number of doctors/specialists without a diagnosis. I know that it is not vertigo as that has been ruled out.

It does not stop me from doing fun things though. I have all my time filled with things that are enjoyment based. Lots of hiking, 4-wheeling, traveling in my motorhome, etc. I love the beach and Moab, Utah. Spend lots of time in those places.

All in all, things are looking really good.

The course looks better than ever. Looking forward to another great year.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

My wife still works full time on the course. I stepped out for health reasons. I get dizzy and nauseous daily. Can't really do the kind of physical labor that I was doing under these conditions. I have been to a number of doctors/specialists without a diagnosis. I know that it is not vertigo as that has been ruled out.

My well wishes for ya man, undiagnosed health issues are the worst.

 

[SteveO]

My well wishes for ya man, undiagnosed health issues are the worst.

Thanks. The bright side is that it woke me up. I was overworking myself to an extreme level. Now I'm enjoying myself to extremes.

 

[21elnegocio]

Hey All,

Just an update on the golf course.

I had it listed for sale during the past year. Had some interest but nothing that caught traction. We took it off the market because of the disruption it was causing. Many of the employees were concerned. Even the high level management made concerning comments about whether they would still be there next year. We did not want to lose anyone at this stage.

There are still people interested but that may not happen.

My overall goal was to fade off into retirement. I have basically done that but not really by choice.

The course is doing well and making money. We are still putting it all back into the business but that is a choice on our part. Gross income has improved by 60% since we took over 4 years ago. It continues to do well.

Expenses have gone up as well though. We keep a healthy staff of 30 employees. Many of them are minimum wage or just above. Minimum wage went from about $8 to $12 during our ownership. Tough increase to absorb. Thankfully we have been able to do so.

My wife still works full time on the course. I stepped out for health reasons. I get dizzy and nauseous daily. Can't really do the kind of physical labor that I was doing under these conditions. I have been to a number of doctors/specialists without a diagnosis. I know that it is not vertigo as that has been ruled out.

It does not stop me from doing fun things though. I have all my time filled with things that are enjoyment based. Lots of hiking, 4-wheeling, traveling in my motorhome, etc. I love the beach and Moab, Utah. Spend lots of time in those places.

All in all, things are looking really good.

The course looks better than ever. Looking forward to another great year.

Hey @SteveO
Glad to hear your doing well and your golf course business is healthy too. Let me know whenever your in Phoenix so we can talk again !

 

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[SteveO]

Hey @SteveO
Glad to hear your doing well and your golf course business is healthy too. Let me know whenever your in Phoenix so we can talk again !

Did you signup for the meetup? I will be there.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Did you signup for the meetup? I will be there.

As of today, he and his partners are going! Just paid! And they just helped out a few folks who suddenly cannot go to the Summit, saving them hundreds.