National Firm Takes Over Sterling Golf Club
Sterling National Country Club, a private, 18-hole golf course, was recently sold through what management termed a “foreclosure” and is now being operated by a national company, according to a letter that went out to club members.
The club was sold, according to the letter, to Potomac Realty LLC and is now being operated by Billy Casper Golf, a national company based in Vienna, Va. The company, founded by PGA Tour pro Billy Casper, manages more than 100 courses nationwide, including 16 in the Northeast.
Sterling National had been acquired by Delaware-based Forewinds Hospitality in 2006. However, Jeffrey Robinson, director of sales and marketing at Forewinds, said the company has not owned or operated Sterling National for “well over a year.”
Sterling National is still listed on the Forewinds web site as a property, but Robinson said that’s because Forewinds had been providing some consulting services to Sterling National.
Forewinds obtained $11.25 million in financing through Potomac Realty Capital LLC of Needham to purchase Sterling National, or Sterling Country Club as it was known then, and Wentworth Hills Golf and Country Club of Plainville, according to a press release on the Potomac Realty Capital LLC web site. Wentworth is also being operated by Billy Casper Golf.
Calls and e-mails to Daniel Palmier, president of Potomac Realty Capital, were not returned, so it is not clear if the Potomac Realty LLC mentioned in the letter to members is the same Potomac Realty that provided Forewinds financing in 2006.
TD Banknorth also holds a $4,954,027 mortgage on the Sterling National property. A check on the Massachusetts Registry of Deeds site shows no liens or foreclosure deeds on the Sterling National property. The golf course is also current on its taxes to the town of Sterling, according to the town’s tax collector.
Industry Trend
While Sterling National’s ownership did not respond to messages from the WBJ seeking an explanation of the foreclosure in detail, it is clear that the golf course industry both locally and nationally is struggling.
In fact, another local country club — Glen Ellen in Millis — barely dodged a foreclosure auction earlier this year.
Joe Corcoran, an owner of Glen Ellen, said his finance company, a division of GE Capital, refused to extend its loan to the club when it came due this spring. As a result, the club neared an auction, but that fate was avoided when new investors were brought in to pay off the loan.
Corcoran described working with his previous lender as “horrible,” but noted that it wasn’t unusual right now in the golf or real estate sectors.
“We tried to work with them. We were long term customers, but they wouldn’t give us any breathing room,” he said.
Corcoran had planned on converting half of the 18-hole Glen Ellen golf course into housing, but that is currently on hold given the market.
Another real estate/golf course project remains on life support in the region. Shining Rock Golf Community in Northbridge and a portion of Upton was pitched in the late 90s. The project, which included an 18-hole course and a housing component, never got off the ground and is now owned by Norwood Bank.
A web site listing golf courses for sale compiled by Sirius Golf Advisors includes one that matches the Shining Rock description and includes a price tag of $2.5 million, reduced from $3.5 million.
John Wait, president of Sirius Golf Advisors, said that the number of golf courses up for sale has “virtually exploded” over the last two years, and almost all of those for sale are “in financial trouble.”
Wait credits banks for the problem on “both sides.” In the 90s and earlier part of the decade, banks were “throwing money at the industry,” he said. Today, in contrast, financing for golf course acquisitions has dried up.
“Unless you have cash, it’s very difficult to close a deal,” he said.
David Frem, general manager of Cyprian Keyes Golf Club in Boylston, said he wasn’t aware of any foreclosure at Sterling National, but did say that the new operating company, Billy Casper, has a good reputation.
“Billy Casper is a very well respected company in the industry,” Frem said. “I actually know a general manager of a golf course in Connecticut who brought in Billy Casper and I know they are very happy with them. It shouldn’t affect Sterling’s members.”
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