You are wrong, Anthony, Fazio would never tolerate one of his people to be so negative or unkind to a competitor, at least, not in public.
Mr. Drake stated his opinions, unpopular as they are, and gave some reasons why he holds them. I find Mr. Frey's comments and allegations much more troubling. He is accusing Kent of some very serious stuff without any specifics or substantiation. Mr. Frey, in my opinion, is way off base and should either put up or shut up.
While spending a week in the Lake Oconee area I got a sense that the golf business there may be getting very competitive. Reynolds Plantation is doing very well with lot sales, but they still have a bunch of undeveloped land and the planning on a new Jim Engh private course is well underway. Cuscowilla seems to be doing okay, but it has been for sale for some time. Apparently, the Morrish course and real estate development just north, Harbor Club (?), is doing less well (the course is one of Mike Young's favorites in the area) and lot prices are lower than expected.
The bottom line is that during less than optimal times, competitors sometimes do and say things that they may not be too proud of. For example, in talking to a real estate broker who I met by chance at the grocery store there, I learned that there were some bad feelings from the developers of one existing property toward the Harmony Club. I had a hard time finding out what the specific issues were, but the crux of the matter appeared to be that they didn't think that the market could support so much golf, and since that they were there before, their position should be respected (a rather odd notion for real estate developers, many who tend to build when money is available regardless of the demand for the product or the impact on the market).
In any regard, I left ATL with the thought that the Harmony Club as is currently envisioned is a long shot. However, when Dallas National was announced locally, right in the midst of the Clinton recession (
can't help myself!), people just shook their heads (some in contempt) and thought that it would never get off the ground. Needless to say, because of the vision, energy, and commitment of the developer (which greatly exceeded his financial ability), it has been an astounding success. Here is hoping that Kent pulls it off as well.