Trump National Brands......I don't think it could get anymore corporate then that! Of course you also have the failed TPC experiment. I do however think if I had to say to the world I played the majority of my golf at Masseningale Douche Hills Golf Club, I would rather not be playing the game at all. But that's me.

I'm sure Shivas wouldn't have a problem with it though. Especially since we now know what a choirboy he is with the shaving products!

Donnie,

The ACE Insurance group recently renamed their new course that was once Eagle Lodge, the ACE club outside of Philadelphia.  The club is corporate oriented, but word has it is strugging mightily.

Jason

IBM used to own a number of courses -- I know of at least one in Canada (the old IBM Country Club, now nine holes). I assume the same was true for the U.S.
Anyone?

Someone here posted that these days Riviera is accepting only (mostly?) corporate memberships.

Tom - you brought up the 'failed TPC experiment"...do you mean the courses fail architecturally, financially or, in some cases,  both?

Would the MGM's Shadow Creek qualify as a corporate Golf Course?

Mike,

Meadowbrook's bid to buy the TPC courses fell through.  Is anyone else currently chasing them?

Outside of Shadow Creek there aren't any truly successful corporate golf clubs (perhaps we could consider ANGC one, but that's another argument for another time)

The reason are simple: If the corporation is publicly traded it is near impossible to justify any golf course that is not self-sustaining and at least as profitable as the average ROE (return on equity) of that company. Otherwise, it is too damn difficult to defend to the covering analysts and their shareholder base.

 Some firms have tried it. Hamilton Farm began as a vision of the then CEO of Lucent, Richard McGinn to have 20 corporate memberships at $2m per. That dream went up in smoke with the dot-bust of 2000. AIG has built Morefar on its own land and operates it as a private club with several international corporate memberships that belong to its affiliates and business customers. It still operates on a deficit.

 Trump's courses are all loss leaders so far but his ego foresees the day when everyone wants to belong to some piece of our modern-day PT Barnum....we'll see!

  In short, not much will likely ever evolve for any pure corporate golf. When courses are built as profit centers for resort and tourist-realted businesses they stand a chance. After that, the business model appears to veer straight for failure.

It used to be that many of the mills etc in the South would build courses for employees etc.  And many of the courses you see in South America were British railroad courses.

Along w/ the IBM courses I know GE had a few (one in Pittsfield MA).

What about Magna north of Toronto?

There's several courses in northern Michigan owned by labor unions...

I think Donnie's intent of this thread was corporate sponsored courses, lending their name for marketing reasons, not corporated-owned courses for their employees, like Dupont has, of which I was a member (and employee) in the early 90's for 2 years.

IBM had another employee club in Johnson City, NY, called IBM Homestead, which is now called Homestead Course at Heritage Country Club.  It was designed by Cirba fave, John Van Kleek in 1937.