[Tommy Williamsen]

I stayed and played the refurbished Bedford Springs resort and golf course.  It is a great place and the money put into the resort is staggering.  It has more than golf but I wonder if it will be able to survive with only one course.  I don't know many of the top resorts that only have one course. 

[Tom_Doak]

Tommy:  A good question.

There are lots and lots of resorts which succeed with only one GOOD course, and to be honest I've never understood the necessity of the "B" courses at these places.  Yet, there are very few examples I can think of where a resort thrives with only one 18-hole layout.

Barnbougle Dunes has been doing reasonably well with the one course, but they've decided they would do better with two.

[Pete_Pittock]

LaCosta

French Lick, for the next year.

[Matt_Cohn]

La Costa has 2.

[Sean Leary]

Couer d' Alene.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Couer d' Alene.

Good call  but I think the resort would be successful even without a golf course.  It has an awful lot going for it without golf.

[Garland Bayley]

Interestingly Remington Ranch in Redmond, OR will be trying to succeed with only one course, because the resort guests will have no access to Wicked Pony and Crooked Trail.

[Rick Sides]

Bandon Dunes did pretty well before Pacific Dunes and Bandon Trails were built; especially considering that it is in the middle of nowhere. So yes, if the course is good enough, in the words of Kevin Costner, "if you build it, they will come."

[Patrick_Mucci]

Tommy,

Pebble Beach comes to mind.

However, I think the dynamic resides within the length of the trip and the length of the stay.

For those staying 3, 4 or 7 days, diversity becomes an asset even when the quality of the additional courses diminishes.

Spanish Bay comes to mind, as do some of the courses at Doral.

Pinehurst may have been the prototype with several good courses.
While # 2 was long recognized as a good/great course, # 5 was a good course and some of the others catered to golfers with higher handicaps.

Today, we live in a disposable society, we get quickly bored, hence mulitple courses seems like a good business model for two reasons.

You can only accomodate a limited number of golfers who want to tee off between 8 and 9 with one golf course, but, add two more and you've tripled your capacity and made the destination resort more desirable.

And, after playing 18 or 36 a day for two or three days, wouldn't you want to play a new golf course ?  I would.

I think Mike Keiser understood this.

He will soon have four (4) courses, each in it's own right attracts golfers, having four exponentially increases the desirability of Bandon being a "destination" golf resort, much the same as Pinehurst was in the early-mid 20th century.

So, while a course can succeed with only one course, it couldn't be a big resort, capacity/volume wise.  Or, rather, from a business model, it couldn't maximize the lure and ability to accomodate more guests.[/b]

[Chris_Clouser]

French Lick also has two, but almost no one ever thinks about the Bendelow course.

Also, I think we need to really think about whether it is a golf resort or not.  French Lick markets itself up here in Indy as a Casino and Resort with a golf course.  Not as a golf resort.  There's a big difference.  That might change with the new Dye course coming on line next year. 

Also, I've heard some very serious rumors about it not being that successful at all.

[Mike_Cirba]

Tommy

I had the exact same thought when I played there.

I hope we're both concerned over nothing.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Tommy

I had the exact same thought when I played there.

I hope we're both concerned over nothing.

Mike I concur.  It is great to see the Bedford Springs up and running. I hope it makes it.  I just don't know how they can recoup all the money put in to the refurbish.   

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

Tommy

I had the exact same thought when I played there.

I hope we're both concerned over nothing.

Mike I concur.  It is great to see the Bedford Springs up and running. I hope it makes it.  I just don't know how they can recoup all the money put in to the refurbish.   

Is the course open to non-guest play?

[Tommy Williamsen]

Tommy

I had the exact same thought when I played there.

I hope we're both concerned over nothing.

Mike I concur.  It is great to see the Bedford Springs up and running. I hope it makes it.  I just don't know how they can recoup all the money put in to the refurbish.   

Is the course open to non-guest play?

Yes.  The greens fees range between $90 and $135 I think. 

[Sean Leary]

Tommy,

Pebble Beach comes to mind.

However, I think the dynamic resides within the length of the trip and the length of the stay.

For those staying 3, 4 or 7 days, diversity becomes an asset even when the quality of the additional courses diminishes.

Spanish Bay comes to mind, as do some of the courses at Doral.

Pinehurst may have been the prototype with several good courses.
While # 2 was long recognized as a good/great course, # 5 was a good course and some of the others catered to golfers with higher handicaps.

Today, we live in a disposable society, we get quickly bored, hence mulitple courses seems like a good business model for two reasons.

You can only accomodate a limited number of golfers who want to tee off between 8 and 9 with one golf course, but, add two more and you've tripled your capacity and made the destination resort more desirable.

And, after playing 18 or 36 a day for two or three days, wouldn't you want to play a new golf course ?  I would.

I think Mike Keiser understood this.

He will soon have four (4) courses, each in it's own right attracts golfers, having four exponentially increases the desirability of Bandon being a "destination" golf resort, much the same as Pinehurst was in the early-mid 20th century.

So, while a course can succeed with only one course, it couldn't be a big resort, capacity/volume wise.  Or, rather, from a business model, it couldn't maximize the lure and ability to accomodate more guests.[/b]

Pat,

What percentage of golfers staying at Pebble or Spanish Bay only play the course onsite. I am guessing very small. I would consider all three courses there part of each resort.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Sean Leary,

That's only because you're looking at Pebble Beach in the context of its existance today.

Spanish Bay is a recent addition, as was Spyglass at one time.

The demand for golf on the Monterey Penisula can't be met by one course.

[Mike_Cirba]

Pebble has the advantage of being Pebble, with the added lustre of being one of the most beautiful spots in the world.

TV doesn't hurt either.

[Kalen Braley]

I think this thread needs to be better defined.

Are we talking resorts with one golf course?  Or a destination resort where its just the golf?

I would think that destination resorts with only one course are pretty few.  Even Pebble doesn't qualify because the official resort includes SB, Old DM, and Spyglass.  I suspect a GCA.com stlye golf resort with one course = private club like Ballyneal, Sand Hills, PV, etc.

Lets start a list of golf only destination resorts with one course?

1)  I can't think of one, even Couer' D Alene doesn't qualify, plenty of other stuff in the area to draw folks there.

[Doug Wright]

The Glacier Club At Tamarron (Durango) and Telluride Golf Club are single-course resort courses. Of course there's a lot more to do in those resort towns than golf but they're really the only golf to be found around there.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I think this thread needs to be better defined.

Are we talking resorts with one golf course?  Or a destination resort where its just the golf?

 

Kalen, I'm not certain what I really meant.  Bedford Springs is a destination resort.  I would think that it needs more than golf to survive.  It would have to be able to thrive even without golf.  The golf is not enough of a draw by itself. 

[Kalen Braley]

Tommy,

I wasn't trying to be snarky, just hoping we could tighten up what "one course resort" means. 

Certainly part of the draw for resorts will be a nice resturant, spa, hot tubs at the facility, perhaps even some nice nature hikes to go on.  But that would be pretty much about it, where the course would indeed be the overwhelming principle draw.  Does such a place like this exist that is open to the public?

[A.G._Crockett]

Cuscowilla.

Though less notable, Barnsley Gardens, also in GA.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Tommy,

I wasn't trying to be snarky, just hoping we could tighten up what "one course resort" means. 

Certainly part of the draw for resorts will be a nice resturant, spa, hot tubs at the facility, perhaps even some nice nature hikes to go on.  But that would be pretty much about it, where the course would indeed be the overwhelming principle draw.  Does such a place like this exist that is open to the public?

Snarky is ok.  And I did not feel any "snarkyness."  It is interesting that on my way to the first tee I saw two folks getting fly fishing lessons on the front lawn.  It seems they also have a spa that is very good.  The feel of the place makes you feel that golf is not the major draw, but just one of the options available. 

[J_ Crisham]

Cuscowilla.

Though less notable, Barnsley Gardens, also in GA.

The advantage of Cuscowilla is that Reynolds Plantation is right down the road. Lots of good golf in the area, Jack

[A.G._Crockett]

Cuscowilla.

Though less notable, Barnsley Gardens, also in GA.

The advantage of Cuscowilla is that Reynolds Plantation is right down the road. Lots of good golf in the area, Jack

I'm not sure how much of an advantage for Cuscowilla that is.  You can only play the Reynolds courses as a resort guest at Reynolds, or as a member.  That might actually hurt Cuscowilla, since visitors to the Oconee area have to choose one or the other.

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