The Bad News about Beechtree

[Tom_Doak]

It's official -- last Friday a plan was approved to build 750 housing units on the site of Beechtree Golf Course, only ten years after the course opened.

I happened to be traveling down the east coast today and stopped in and played the course (after a 2-inch rain last night).  It was better work than I remembered, a lot of fun to play.  I will be sorry to see it go, but I understand how the numbers work.  The course was not entirely unsuccessful -- they had been playing around 18,000 rounds a year recently -- but it wasn't enough to make keeping it open more attractive than plowing it under.

A lot of the result just has to do with location, location, location -- there are a lot of places in America where golf courses are struggling right now, but there aren't a lot which can absorb a 750-unit development.

I would encourage everyone to play the course this summer or fall before it's gone, but it is a goner, and that's not going to change.

[JSPayne]

Signs of the times.....wow.

I know you seem very understanding of the whole situation Tom, but I can't even really imagine how it must feel to see such labor and design ingenuity go to waste. There may always be chances for new endeavors, but each experience is unique and losing the end product would seem to me like losing a part of yourself.

Congrats on a job well done and here's to hoping it won't be completely forgotten.

[John_Conley]

Tom, I was just there six weeks ago.  The first time I've played one of your courses.  I loved it.  The pin was back right on 10, which is a great place to see it on my one and only visit.

This brings up an interesting thought.  How many courses on any list (Top 100 this or that, Best in State) actually went out of business in the last 25  years?  I can't recall any others.

A modern NLE.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Sorry for your loss, Tom.  Wait, our loss!  As you would have noticed, that neighborhood is in the midst of a dramatic transformation -- maybe at the end of the day it could have done quite a bit more rounds and still gotten taken out.

Mark

PS Here's the story:
http://www.wbaltv.com/newsarchive/16943983/detail.html

[Tom_Doak]

As I was telling my intern today after we played, I don't feel the loss nearly as much as everyone assumes.  For us, it was a very important job ... it ended a dry spell of work, and we have been busy pretty much ever since.  And it was an important place for us to practice our craft and get better at it, and it was Brian Slawnik's first job with us.  But, we've built a lot of others since, and losing one of them is not the end of the world to me ... I've been around long enough to understand that there are a lot of MacKenzie and Ross NLE's so I am in good company.

I DO feel badly for all the staff at the course who have worked hard to make it a success, and who will now all be looking for work at the end of this year.  Most of them probably don't want to build houses.

[Evan_Fleisher]

I had the good fortune of playing the course several years ago while on a business trip in the area...truly enjoyed the experience (it was my first Doak course).

Tom...sorry to see your labor of love going the way of the dodo, I can't imagine the feeling.  But...at least you brought joy to the many folks who had the opportunity to take a crack at her.  Thanks!

[Joel_Stewart]

The golf industry is in very bad shape currently.  Hard to believe anyone is thinking of a housing development in the economy especially with the recent housing numbers.  There is an 11 month supply of homes on the market.

I think a second edition of "Lost Links" with courses lost in the last 5 years playing a major role.

[Chip Gaskins]

There is a much bigger reason here...a bunch of military folks (BRAC Realignment) have been assigned/reassigned to the local Aberdeen, MD area near the course. 

As a course owner, you can make much more money bringing in the bulldozer than you can discounting green fees.


Capitalism wins again, just like in the Ian Andrew thread about "should" you build a course....

[John K. Moore]

Chhip--not sure they would have needed to discount fees, but its certainly worth more as land.

Tom--Not to take away from Beechtree, but have you heard any recent word on Charlotte Golf Links. I heard mentioned the other day it may be nearing the end. Thanks.

[Kalen Braley]

This really is a bummer.

The course review looks very very good.  What a shame!!

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/beechtree2.html

[James Bennett]

I have played two Tom Doak courses - St Andrew's Beach and Beechtree.  Kiss of death perhaps?  It seems my photo's will last much longer than these two fine courses.

James B

[Jean-Paul Parodi]

I drove by Beechtree last week on the way from DC to Boston, and wish I had stopped by to have a look.  My guess is that this is just one of the first of the good courses on their way to NLE in the current socio-economic cycle.  In business terms, golf is very much an aging "industry."

[Tom_Doak]

J. Kenneth:

We've known from the beginning that Charlotte Golf Links would probably have a limited life -- the developers of the course only leased the land from the landowner, and the term of the lease was (I believe) 25 years.  It was negotiated 17 years ago, because my son was a baby the first time I was down there, so they should have 7-8 years left.  After that, the way Charlotte is developing, I'm sure the land would be worth too much to renew as a golf course.  But, by the same token, I don't know if the landowner would want to buy out the lease to develop the property any earlier than that.

[Matthew Mollica]

This brings up an interesting thought.  How many courses on any list (Top 100 this or that, Best in State) actually went out of business in the last 25  years?  I can't recall any others.

A modern NLE.

Another is described below unfortunately John, and it is another Doak gem.

I have played two Tom Doak courses - St Andrew's Beach and Beechtree.  Kiss of death perhaps?  It seems my photo's will last much longer than these two fine courses.

James, given your track record, I'm keeping you away from Ballyneal, Barnbougle, and Kidnappers among others

MM

[Ryan_Simper]

Has a date of closure been announced? Just the end of this season (Dec 7?)

[Dan Herrmann]

This really hurts.  Beechtree is my favorite publicly accessable course.  I love the Sahara hole, love #18 (much more than Bulle Rock's #18), and love the "feel" of the place.

This is actually the second NLE in 5 miles of Aberdeen.  If you recall, the 2nd course at Bulle Rock never saw the light of day, even though some holes were apparently built. 

How many McMansions does this country need?

[Jerry Kluger]

Dan: I don't think they have mansions in mind.  Us government workers don't make enough to get in that league.

[BCrosby]

I actually find the closure odd.

In this housing market, it makes more economic sense to add to the housing stock than keep a golf course open? My uninformed guess is that this might be more about stopping the bleeding at the course and less about rushing in the D-8's for home construction. But that's just a guess.

Bob

[Paul Perrella]

Put me on the list of people sorry to see Beechtree as a future NLE. I took a group of friends from upstate NY on a 5 day trip for my 50th birthday and we all thought Beechtree was extremely fun to play. I think that if I had put as much effort as Tom D. obviously puts into his courses I would feel like I had lost a friend.

[Mike Nuzzo]

Sorry to hear Tom.
Thank you for the update.

As a result I will be playing there in 2 weeks.

[Michael_Hendren]

I'm with Bob - golf course and residential development would seem to compete for lowest and worst use in the current economy.  That said, if the course stays open through year end and construction of infrastructure takes a year or so the project could conceivably be well timed - though I can't fathom a bank be willing to provide development financing in the current environment absent abundant borrower equity.  In my opinion,  the bottom of the residential real estate market will remain elusive throughout 2008. 

Mike

[Mark Bourgeois]

Fellas

This is not a macroeconomic deal it's a microeconomic one.

People with jobs are moving there and there's not enough housing.

Add in the brutal difficulty of zoning and permitting there and they will have a huge jump on the competition, assuming there's much of any. (THAT is the macro angle.)

By the time these things hit the market the credit crunch will have eased enough for the purchasers to mortgage.

[David Stamm]

This is a shame, but I understand the economics. It's my understanding that Tallgrass isn't far behind.

[Mike Nuzzo]

Tom,

If or since you can't upset the current owner --- would you share what you like and didn't like about how the course turned out?

What did you want to do but couldn't - if anything?

In looking at the website and routing - some of the illustrations look like the illustrations of Texas Tech - is there any similarity?

Cheers

[Tom_Doak]

Mike:

The only similarity between Beechtree and The Rawls Course is that Don Placek drew both of the maps you're looking at.  You can't get the artist's style out of the drawing ... Don being the artist in that case.  The golf courses are VERY different.

There were a lot of environmental restrictions on this property because of streams running through it and the proximity to Washington DC and the EPA headquarters.  I learned what "super silt fence" is.  We couldn't get as close to the creeks as I might have liked, but I never expected that we would.

In hindsight, playing the course yesterday, I looked at the wide fairways and the 6500-sf greens and wondered to myself if the story would be any different if we'd saved some maintenance dollars by making both smaller.  I doubt it would have made the difference, though.  I do think that the decision to build a big clubhouse was a bigger mistake financially, but it was Mr. Knott's money and he could afford to do it if he wanted.

Bob Crosby, I don't think there was much bleeding going on at the course.  As far as I could figure they were taking in $1.3 million in green fees every year and they didn't have any debt on the property ... it wasn't paying off the funds invested in construction, but it shouldn't have been operating at a loss with those numbers, should it?

[Jay Flemma]

It's a dark day for the game and for golf architecture in general.  Tom, is there any word on the fate of Bulle Rock?

[Scott Weersing]

This is one of the rare cases where they have customers for the houses already. There have been other courses that threatened to close and build houses but none that I know of in 2008.

I think it is a case of opportunity. They got permission to build houses on the course. There are other courses, such as Glen Annie, which can't get permission to close and build houses. See, http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/3050/

Another reason Beechtree is closing is that you cannot have two high-end courses in the same area. With Bulle Rock nearby, then it becomes two courses, which to the mass golfer, seems to be the same product.

Is Bulle Rock a better course?

Can you have two high end courses in a non-tourist area? Perhaps in Wisconsin or Minnesota.

[Kalen Braley]

Tom,

Where would you put this course on your personal favs list of courses that you've done?

I really like the looks of the meandering/rolloing topology and looks a blast to play. Any other insights other than it was a life-saver in getting back to work after a dry spell?

Kalen

[Philippe Binette]

Too bad they don't plow over 0's instead...

[Mike Nuzzo]

Thank you Tom.
I'm looking forward to playing there soon.
Cheers

[Kalen Braley]

On a side note as to why this is happening due to the BRAC program.

What happens when/if Obama gets elected and puts the kei-bosh on this thing.  They plow under the course, build some homes and they sit empty after that!!   

[David Lott]

Yeah, but many of the great architects have lost gems--it's part of the cachet.

Nonetheless, it must feel bad to have something you put so much creative energy into be obliterated so quickly.

[Carl Rogers]

Tom,
I will get there this fall.

[Dan Herrmann]

We really should have a treehouse gathering.

I know Sept/October is tough with football, but it'd be a great send-off

[Adam_Messix]

I must say this is a sad, but understandable story.  Being a native of the area, it amazes me the amount of housing need that's being anticipated.  I will make every attempt to play one more round at Beechtree this fall.