Jim Taylor is the first to admit his timing was less than ideal. Coowner and developer of Clear Creek Tahoe, a new highend golf club near the CaliforniaNevada border, he bought the property in mid2007 as demand for such developments was peaking. Undaunted, he and codeveloper Chip Hanly (on the right in this picture) went ahead and built a Bill Coore/Ben Crenshawdesigned course on the site and opened it this summer, right in the middle of a worldwide economic slump.
"To say it's contrarian would be an understatement," Taylor conceded in a recent interview with Deeds & Weeds.
Taylor and Hanly originally planned to sell 384 lots near the course along with a like number of memberships. But the brutal economy iced that idea. So now they've had to readjust their marketing plans indeed, their entire business model to reflect the new reality. The two decided to "mothball" their real estate sales operation and focus instead on selling the golf club.
The goal is a membership of just under 500 golfers. They hope many of these members will eventually get around to buying a lot and building a home€¦but members are under no obligation to do either. In the meantime, Taylor and Hanly who made their money in southern California and Arizona property development are essentially financing the club out of their own pockets.
"The reality is, the circumstances changed and we reacted to them," Taylor says. "It took away some things. It also gave us an opportunity to really reach out to a membership that wasn't driven by real estate but by people who want to actually be part of the amenities and who we can invite to join. We have an opportunity to put together a really fun club."
Handed lemons, in other words, they're giving the lemonade business a try.
Will it work? Impossible to know, of course. But Clear Creek Tahoe does offer an interesting window into the world of highend golf course development these days. Here is my Q&A with Jim Taylor, in which he discusses his five to 10year time horizon for making money on Clear Creek Tahoe, why Arizona's Whisper Rock serves as a sort of model for his club, and more.Tom Watson once said, €There is no surer or more painful way to learn a rule than to bepenalized once for breaking it.€ Jim Furyk experienced that pain at the Barclays.
After missing the green with his tee shot on the par3 second hole at Liberty National GC inthe third round, Furyk reached for his 60degree wedge and was startled to see he had two ofthem to choose from.
That left Furyk, who had practiced with a 60degree with more bounce to possibly use in thewet conditions, with too many clubs in the bag€"an infraction that results in a twoshotpenalty for each hole extra clubs are in the bag, with a maximum penalty of four strokes. Thatturned pars on the first and second holes into double bogeys for Furyk. Under the rules Furykhad to declare a club out of play for the remainder of the round, although the offending clubdid not need to be removed from the bag.
Furyk later declined to place the blame solely on caddie Mike (Fluff) Cowan, saying theresponsibility lay as much with the player as caddie.
Ian Woosnam didn't have the same reaction during the final round of the 2001 British Open atRoyal Lytham. Trailing by one as he prepared to tee off, Woosnam stuck his first shot on thepar3 first hole to inches, the birdie tying him for the lead€"at least until he got tothesecond tee.
There, his caddie, Myles Byrne, said words no player wants to hear. €You're going to goballistic,€ Byrne told Woosnam after discovering two drivers in the bag, resulting in 15 clubsand a twoshot penalty. Byrne's words were prophetic, too. Woosnam grabbed the extra driverand fired it at a tree, muttering, €You've got one job to do and that's to count the clubs.€
The one time Johnny Miller was caught with an extra club, he couldn't blame his caddie. Oreven himself. The offending club was his son's cutdown putter. Short club or no, Miller washit with an extra four shots.
The rule limiting the number of clubs was instituted in 1938 after numerous golfers used 20 ormore clubs during tournament play. Lawson Little, in fact, was renowned for carrying 25 clubsor more regularly.
As for Furyk, the four strokes resulted in a difference of $131,250 and 188 FedEx points. Apainful way to learn a rule indeed.
"To say it's contrarian would be an understatement," Taylor conceded in a recent interview with Deeds & Weeds.
Taylor and Hanly originally planned to sell 384 lots near the course along with a like number of memberships. But the brutal economy iced that idea. So now they've had to readjust their marketing plans indeed, their entire business model to reflect the new reality. The two decided to "mothball" their real estate sales operation and focus instead on selling the golf club.
The goal is a membership of just under 500 golfers. They hope many of these members will eventually get around to buying a lot and building a home€¦but members are under no obligation to do either. In the meantime, Taylor and Hanly who made their money in southern California and Arizona property development are essentially financing the club out of their own pockets.
"The reality is, the circumstances changed and we reacted to them," Taylor says. "It took away some things. It also gave us an opportunity to really reach out to a membership that wasn't driven by real estate but by people who want to actually be part of the amenities and who we can invite to join. We have an opportunity to put together a really fun club."
Handed lemons, in other words, they're giving the lemonade business a try.
Will it work? Impossible to know, of course. But Clear Creek Tahoe does offer an interesting window into the world of highend golf course development these days. Here is my Q&A with Jim Taylor, in which he discusses his five to 10year time horizon for making money on Clear Creek Tahoe, why Arizona's Whisper Rock serves as a sort of model for his club, and more.Tom Watson once said, €There is no surer or more painful way to learn a rule than to bepenalized once for breaking it.€ Jim Furyk experienced that pain at the Barclays.
After missing the green with his tee shot on the par3 second hole at Liberty National GC inthe third round, Furyk reached for his 60degree wedge and was startled to see he had two ofthem to choose from.
That left Furyk, who had practiced with a 60degree with more bounce to possibly use in thewet conditions, with too many clubs in the bag€"an infraction that results in a twoshotpenalty for each hole extra clubs are in the bag, with a maximum penalty of four strokes. Thatturned pars on the first and second holes into double bogeys for Furyk. Under the rules Furykhad to declare a club out of play for the remainder of the round, although the offending clubdid not need to be removed from the bag.
Furyk later declined to place the blame solely on caddie Mike (Fluff) Cowan, saying theresponsibility lay as much with the player as caddie.
Ian Woosnam didn't have the same reaction during the final round of the 2001 British Open atRoyal Lytham. Trailing by one as he prepared to tee off, Woosnam stuck his first shot on thepar3 first hole to inches, the birdie tying him for the lead€"at least until he got tothesecond tee.
There, his caddie, Myles Byrne, said words no player wants to hear. €You're going to goballistic,€ Byrne told Woosnam after discovering two drivers in the bag, resulting in 15 clubsand a twoshot penalty. Byrne's words were prophetic, too. Woosnam grabbed the extra driverand fired it at a tree, muttering, €You've got one job to do and that's to count the clubs.€
The one time Johnny Miller was caught with an extra club, he couldn't blame his caddie. Oreven himself. The offending club was his son's cutdown putter. Short club or no, Miller washit with an extra four shots.
The rule limiting the number of clubs was instituted in 1938 after numerous golfers used 20 ormore clubs during tournament play. Lawson Little, in fact, was renowned for carrying 25 clubsor more regularly.
As for Furyk, the four strokes resulted in a difference of $131,250 and 188 FedEx points. Apainful way to learn a rule indeed.
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