The Capstone Club by Gil Hanse is for sale

[Eric Smith]

I just received an email from Hilda Allen, the golf course broker.  If you're in the market for a Gil Hanse original design, here's your chance @ The Capstone Club in Brookwood, Alabama.
 
Hilda W. Allen Real Estate, Inc.
Is Pleased to Present
The Capstone Club
Brookwood (Tuscaloosa County), Alabama
 
For-Sale
At
Hybrid Sealed Bid Offering
 
The Capstone Club consists of:
18-Hole Championship Golf Course
12,000+/- square foot Clubhouse
25+/- acre Practice Range
Maintenance facility
On course Restrooms
Cart Barn
225.77+/- Acres
6.6+/- Acre parcel at Entrance
Semi-Private
Gil Hanse, Golf Course Architect
7,032 Yards
Par 71
Opened in 2002
Bid Opening:
Wednesday, October 29 @ 11:00 AM Central Time
 
Property Preview
October 8, 2008 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
 
hilda-allen.com

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Looks good. How's the economic climate in the area?

www.capstoneclub.com

[Jerry Kluger]

It looks like a bargain to play but will be very difficult to support as an investment .

[Bill_McBride]

It looks like a bargain to play but will be very difficult to support as an investment .

Perhaps not at the right price!

[RJ_Daley]

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCC&cp=33.234389~-87.33205&style=h&lvl=17&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1

Wow, the aerial looks like it is a darn serious good looking track!

[Adam_Messix]

Capstone is an excellent course.  It's in an out of the way location, about 12 miles from the Interstate and I'm guessing 25 miles from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  The course is on some nice, rolling terrain with sandy soil.  The greens are what you would expect from Gil.  Nice mix of holes and long enough to hold the better player's interest.  Overall, an excellent track with a nice clubhouse and cart bart that's a bit out of the way.

[Jeff Shelman]

Capstone Club is very good. I enjoyed it quite a bit. A number of good holes with enough quirk to be interesting, but not silly and enough tough holes to be challenging without being a total killer.

If you're in that part of the world, it's worth playing.

[Tom_Doak]

Wasn't that course tied in with the University of Alabama somehow?  Who actually owned it?

[Buck Wolter]

A little googling:

The Capstone Club, in Brookwood, is a joint venture between Arnold Palmer Golf Management and the University Clubs of America. With clubs at the universities of Kentucky, Louisville, Alabama and South Carolina, the University Clubs is a growing portfolio.

Arnold Palmer Golf Management was founded by Arnold Palmer in 1984 and acquires, leases, and manages quality golf facilities worldwide, working with private individuals, corporations, municipalities and developers. Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., Palmer Golf is backed by Olympus Real Estate Partners. Founded in 1994, Olympus Real Estate Partners has invested more than $5 billion in real estate assets, including real estate equities, mortgages and securities in major markets throughout the U.S. Olympus, with offices in Dallas and New York, has more than 3,500 employees.

[Dan Herrmann]

from http://www.hansegolfdesign.com/capstone.htm

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Bad location has been a problem from day one

[Keith Williams]

Played there a little over a month ago on a golf weekend in Birmingham and I can agree that the location definitely hurts the place.  The design is very good (especially for us GCA folk), but the conditioning was a mixed bag.

We played on a friday and other than our two groups there was only one other foursome out on the course.  The residential component of the property that you drive through to get to the course is all but empty... a couple of houses and a few oil pumps.

Fairways and greens were maintained pretty well, but many of the bunkers showed serious signs of neglect, some were downright unplayable, while others had been abandoned and grassed over.  I thought there were some really great and unique holes - 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 14, 16 and 17 come to mind.  The rest of my group was less enthusiastic - they couldn't get over the number of blind shots and the conditioning- in fact they all favored the (lame) RTJ Trail courses over Capstone.  I hope (wish) that my group's viewpoint is the minority and that the design isn't a contributing factor to the golf course's struggles.

Keith.

[BCrosby]

I hope that Dan Wexler won't need to write a chapter someday on the NLE Capstone. It got rave reviews when it opened. Entirely justified I thought.

I had hoped it would lead to more work for Gil in the SE. Here's hoping for the right kind of buyer.

Bob

[Mike Hendren]

My $.02 from Feb. 2006:

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,21894.0.html

Bogey

[paul cowley]

....didn't know this was part of the University Club deal .

I'm guessing this is the third to go down....I guess even alumni money responds to lack of location and price for the dollar after the hype dies down.

....and I was close to being part of the deal....whoa.

[Scott_Burroughs]

I had hoped it would lead to more work for Gil in the SE.

Bob

Gil is co-designing (w/DLIII's group) a course right in your state.  Supposedly broke ground early this year on Victory Lane in Cobbtown, GA (west of Savannah) on a sandy, rolling site that will be also home to a private, Indy/Formula 1-type-car road race course.

Paul Cowley, any update/info you can provide on it?

[BCrosby]

Scott -

That's great news. I had not heard. I'd love to hear Paul's update.

Bob

[Scott_Burroughs]

http://www.hansegolfdesign.com/news-links.htm

http://www.victorylanegeorgia.com/

and also look under Amenities....18-Hole Golf Course