[Chip Gaskins]

I have played here many times.  One course is pretty solid, the other not so much.  At least they will be getting new carts and Chevy Chase Bank can get this boat anchor off their books.  Will be interesting to watch for sure.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2009/02/donald_trump.html?hpid=news-col-blog

It's official: Donald Trump has purchased the Lowes Island Club, making the Washington region part of his luxury golf empire.

"This place, when it's finished, will be the finest club anywhere in the country," he told The Washington Post last night. "There will be nothing like it. I already own the best ones, so I know."

He's bringing in golf architect Tom Fazio to remake the two 18-hole championship courses, with plans to maximize the site's natural beauty. The clubhouse, pool and facilities will be renovated, he said. Trump said he expects it will take two years "to make it great," and he wasted no time getting started: He's already ordered 150 top-of-the-line golf carts.

He said he expects the club to be a destination for hosted parties and other high-profile events, much like his jewel in Palm Beach, Fla.: Mar-a-Lago.

As soon as word leaked that Trump was interested in Lowes, golf nuts in the Washington area started buzzing that he'll make a serious run at bringing all the big-name tournaments to his greens -- especially Tiger Woods, who holds a tournament at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda. "Congressional doesn't have a chance," Trump said yesterday.

[cary lichtenstein]

Where does this guy get the financing?

[RJ_Daley]

looks like an odd routing to me...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=20391+Lowes+Island+Blvd,+Potomac+Falls,+VA+20165&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=22.431602,36.5625&ie=UTF8&ll=39.056584,-77.345037&spn=0.010697,0.034161&t=h&z=15

[Paul Carey]

The first 18 by Fazio and the second by Art Hills.  The Fazio course is a lot more interesting and playable.  The land sits is the river basin with a few of the Fazio holes up the hill toward and around the clubhouse.  The Hills course is very awkward and squeezed in.  Rumor has it that Fazio took a bit more land than planned leaving Hills sort of stuck. 

Welcome Donald....DC ain't NY or LA.  We will see how your "schtick" plays here. 

[Chip Gaskins]

i am not sure how they pulled off the environment permitting even back when they built it.  any major changes requiring much more than a shovel will be a major process given the course sits directly on the banks of the Potomac.

honestly the Fazio course is pretty good and even with all the ponds, is a pretty neat course.  the third hole is a really cool hole with two greens.

the Art Hills course is built on a dead flat piece of open land.

i bet Chevy Chase Bank (or what ever it is called now after all the mergers from TARP) did some creative seller financing to get this property moved off the books.

the clubhouse is massive.  close to as big as RTJ.

according to a real estate friend i had lunch with on friday, the residential area immediately around the club has been hit especially hard

[Stephen Britton]

Does anyone know what the final price was?

I heard a few months back that the bids where around 15-17 million??

[PCCraig]

Well we know Donald won't be building anything else in Chicago for awhile. So I guess D.C. is the last place a bank would give him capital.

[Ronald Montesano]

Rumor has it that Fazio took a bit more land than planned leaving Hills sort of stuck. 

And now Fazio has all the land and can undo what Hills wrought.  I'm still in shock that Kidd, Whitman, Coore and others were not asked to contribute.  Their brand of fescue seems to match The Trump's hair.

[Joel_Stewart]

Trump must have some serious credit lines someplace or bought this place for pennies on ther dollar.

[Ronald Montesano]

The swinger in the top photo looks like he's headed dead left into the lumberyard.

[Steve Lapper]

Joel & Cary:

  Believe it or not, all cash! Yes, his cash!

  He did pay dimes on the dollar, bought it in distress and I'm sure he'll eventually finance it through credit lines (he does still have them having done most all of his last deals on OPM), but the guy has this crazy dream of wholly owning a nationwide golf empire

Paul,

His "Shtick" probably "trumps" most of the DC "politico" regulars


Those of us who live in the Garden State and regularly follow his golf industry pac-man moves have well learned to no longer be surprised at his thirst for new (and crazy!) acquisitions.

[Paul Carey]

Steve you are right but thankfully this area is a lot bigger than the lunatics on Capitol Hill and 1600 Pa. Ave, etc. 

Frank Saul, the owner of the bank apparently owned the club since it was not in the bank's sale to Cap One.  He surely was not a financially stuck seller.

[Steve Lapper]

Paul,


Don't be so sure it was all his....I'm hearing the place sold for a very reasonable #!

[Paul Jones]

Did they redo the clubhouse? I was there a couple of years ago and they were talking about redoing the clubhouse.

[Paul Carey]

The clubhouse has not been redone.  Even though it is a beautiful building it is an awful design for a clubhouse.  I bet it will go from attractive and un-functional to ugly and functional under the Donald.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I have played LI many times.  I dislike the Hills course and enjoy the Fazio Course.  I had heard the club was in financial trouble but never guessed that it would be sold.  It is in a high end neighborhood. 

After reading the article it seems that the club will be more resort and less private than it has been.  That will be a tough pill for the members to swallow after the big initiation fee they paid.

[Rob_Waldron]

The club was not in financial trouble. Membership has been relative flat to slightly down over the past few years.  Chevy Chase / BF Saul was looking to get it off their balance sheet.

If Trump invests the maney in omprovements to the Hills Course and the clubhouse it could be a great situation for the members. Improvement without having to come out of pocket.

Trump has very discriminating tastes. It will be interesting to see what he does at Lowes.

[Joel_Stewart]

Steve:
I'm not sure what Trumps intention is long term.  Could he take these properties and package them to sell or take public as a corporation?

I was down in Monterey on Friday and some people are speculating he will try and buy Pasadera now that it's in bankruptcy?  

[Steve Lapper]

Steve:
I'm not sure what Trumps intention is long term.  Could he take these properties and package them to sell or take public as a corporation?

I was down in Monterey on Friday and some people are speculating he will try and buy Pasadera now that it's in bankruptcy?  

Joel,

   I heard he was looking closely at it, but had recently decided not to go forward on it. My guess is that he loves the area and wants his name somewhere close. He loves buying clubs where there is a seller compelled to sell. I have to believe he's eventually going to find some "package-like" exit strategy, but highly doubt it will be in the form of any future IPO. I think he wants to build some sort of  golf private resort community with reciprocal play and status....not really a viable strategy in this market but who knows?

   Many don't like his tastes, but few can match his passion for the sport.

Rob,

   I was told the club was offered to its members. They passed.

[Paul Carey]

Apparently Trump has committed to not have dues increase over 5% per year....

[Mike Sweeney]

Somewhat related:

Trump Entertainment files for Chapter 11

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE51G05X20090217?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

With all the doom and gloom on here recently, you have to give Trump credit. He is the bottom fisher in an industry looking for a bottom. This Chapter 11 filing would seem to confirm Steve's statement that he is buying with cash.

I hope he is better with golf courses than casinos. I think we all need to start being a little nicer to Donnie on here. 

[rchesnut]

I joined LI back in the mid-90s when initiation fees were reasonable and there was only one course (Fazio), I've left the area but maintain an out of town membership there.  Folks here are right, the Fazio course is underrated, it's quite good.  The issue with the Fazio course is conditioning...the super there overwaters the course and the fairways are soggy and boglike even in the summer...drives hit and stick in the fairways....it's probably the softest golf course I've ever played, which is really too bad.  Hope that when Trump's folks rework it, they change the maintenance practices.    The Hills course is just boring, routed through a flat landscape...I'm not sure what can be done there. 

The clubhouse is large and nice though lacking in character, and it's a great family club, with indoor tennis and pools.  The Bank put a lot of money into it, I'm sure they took a beating.   The worst part about the club is that it's located west of town along one of the worst traffic corridors in the DC area...forget about trying to get there on a Friday afternoon.  If Trump wants to make it a resort, there's another resort just down the road with an RTJ course and a Norman course called Landsdowne, it's a nice resort and I'm not sure that area can support another one. 

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I think any fool who gives a man money or credibility who has taken a chapter 3 times in a relatively short period of time deserves to be part of the many cons exisitng up and the Atlantic seaboard these days.

[Jimmy Chandler]

The issue with the Fazio course is conditioning...the super there overwaters the course and the fairways are soggy and boglike even in the summer...drives hit and stick in the fairways....it's probably the softest golf course I've ever played.

Rob -- you've just described how almost every course in the DC area is maintained, overwatered and soft.  Is LI really any worse than the public courses around here?

The worst part about the club is that it's located west of town along one of the worst traffic corridors in the DC area...forget about trying to get there on a Friday afternoon.

I agree traffic is bad out to Sterling, but I don't think it's any worse than any other parts of the DC suburbs.  It's not any worse than the I-95, I-66, I-270 corridors or the beltway, maybe better than some of those, in fact.

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