"He Brought The U.S. Open To A Cow Pasutre, All It Cost Him Was His Fortune"

[BCowan]

Kalen,

   45 mins from a metro area of 2 million people isn't absurd.  Also this notion that 8,000 yards monster is the elephant in the room is that of someone who doesn't understand maintained turf grass.   Does Wyoming even have 2 million population, that analogy is very flawed.

Northern Utah has 2+ million that all live within an hour of each other....and we ain't never getting a PGA tour stop here, much less a major.

Sucks for Utah

We aren't alone...lots of other midsize metro areas to commiserate with us! 

Kalen,


 There is prob 22 million people within 6hr radius of this site.  I'd say that's far from a midsized market. 

[BCowan]

David,

I can't get enough of the Bob Lang story.  Though he made some poor decisions, he is the type that make the US a wonderful country to live in.  ###Risk takers

Risks are fine. It's how he spent the money which is the issue. It seems his ego was out of control.

I disagree about ego but neither of us know him.  He created something and doesn't play Golf.  He obviously didn't take the most profitable route.  He seemed to be obsessed and determined so much to cloud his judgement.  Those ecentric folks are wonderful, he got the ball rolling.  Obviously he spent money on stupid things.   He was out getting his hands dirty and was hell bent on accomplishing his goal.  It's his week for validation.

All for celebrating the dreamers and risk takers willing to lose their fortune. It's ones that lose other people's money without a second thought that are scary.

Daryl,


I'm not going to get into bankruptcy laws, monetary policy, and controlled interest rates. 


I believe he sold his prior business for $16 million.  So he has signed a few checks on the front. 

[JWinick]

Risk paid off?   It was a total disaster.   The guy is living off of social security and the generosity of the current owner.  Sad. 

Ben,


The risk clearly paid off for him, and I give him all the credit in the world for it.


As for Pinehurst, it has a very long and rich golfing background going back 100+ years with countless national championships...I hardly think you can compare its remoteness to a cow pasture in BFE...

[Scott Weersing]

I hadn't heard the story of Bob Lang in almost 2 days, thank God for the WSJ and it's fine reporting! 

I just had to laugh about the comment on a story that is being retold again and again.


I am glad that we have risk takers who build walking only courses in areas that are not perfect for visitors.


So what could have Bob Lang done differently to save money, or spend money in the right places?


Stick with the $100 a round model. Remember that less is more. Keep the quirky holes instead of spending money to redo the course. Do not overpay to buy up the houses near the course. Spend money on the condition of the golf course instead of creating more bunkers that need to be maintained.  Create and stay on budget. Don't try to be an amateur architect.

[archie_struthers]

 


As much as I am  proud of the work we did at Twisted Dune , in retrospect it was a terrible financial decision for me. The whole deal was predicated on selling the excess material we created building the golf course to fill the swamp that the Borgata sits on and the connector tunnel. 


When we didn't get paid a fair price for the millions of tons of fill we generated and the state needed because of some dirty(lol) politics the financial model changed dramatically. So as the great Yogi said ," its never over till its over " .  So I surely can empathize with many who have tried but seem to have failed.

[Mike Schott]

David,

I can't get enough of the Bob Lang story.  Though he made some poor decisions, he is the type that make the US a wonderful country to live in.  ###Risk takers

Risks are fine. It's how he spent the money which is the issue. It seems his ego was out of control.

I disagree about ego but neither of us know him.  He created something and doesn't play Golf.  He obviously didn't take the most profitable route.  He seemed to be obsessed and determined so much to cloud his judgement.  Those ecentric folks are wonderful, he got the ball rolling.  Obviously he spent money on stupid things.   He was out getting his hands dirty and was hell bent on accomplishing his goal.  It's his week for validation.

I don't know a lot about him other than a somewhat fawning but honest Golf Channel piece but it's clear that validation is accurate but that validation is tainted. His dream crashed and was resurrected by others. Then again the USGA was in bed with the whole thing and is up to their eyeballs in making this happen. My biggest issue with Erin Hills is the hugely inflated cost to play the course. There are very few courses in the world worth $400.00 or more. If I had that kind of disposable income, I'd play Pebble Beach which is a true grail to most golfers.

[BCowan]

Risk paid off?   It was a total disaster.   The guy is living off of social security and the generosity of the current owner.  Sad. 

Ben,


The risk clearly paid off for him, and I give him all the credit in the world for it.


As for Pinehurst, it has a very long and rich golfing background going back 100+ years with countless national championships...I hardly think you can compare its remoteness to a cow pasture in BFE...

Paying off isn't about monetary success for this guy it seems, this weeks fruition and no matter how it came to be.   The current owner is hosting a US Open its not as if he bought a $50 public track. He will make out just fine especially if this week goes well. Bob might be happier then you living off social security.  Maybe Erin should have been a 9 hole track with valet

[Bill Raffo]

I guess some things are worth losing a fortune over but a one week golf tournament, in my book anyway, isn't one of them.  I sure hope this gentleman is enjoying it.

[Mike Wagner]

Risk paid off?   It was a total disaster.   The guy is living off of social security and the generosity of the current owner.  Sad. 

What's the point of this post?  It's ridiculous AND wrong. 


Great point, Ben - without the risk takers, we don't have anything .. but some people will never understand that. 


As for ego being the issue, I can assure you that's the wrong word.

[Kalen Braley]

Risk paid off?   It was a total disaster.   The guy is living off of social security and the generosity of the current owner.  Sad. 

Ben,


The risk clearly paid off for him, and I give him all the credit in the world for it.


As for Pinehurst, it has a very long and rich golfing background going back 100+ years with countless national championships...I hardly think you can compare its remoteness to a cow pasture in BFE...

Paying off isn't about monetary success for this guy it seems, this weeks fruition and no matter how it came to be.   The current owner is hosting a US Open its not as if he bought a $50 public track. He will make out just fine especially if this week goes well. Bob might be happier then you living off social security.  Maybe Erin should have been a 9 hole track with valet

Ben,


We are certainly agreed on this one.  When you die you can't take your toys or money, your best hope for immortality is leaving a legacy.  The guy risked it all and lost it all, but he's got this going for him.