RIP Larry Young

[Tom_Doak]

I got a note from Myrtle Beach that Larry Young, the owner of several courses in Myrtle Beach and my client at The Legends, had passed away this week.


https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/sports/golf/article249550928.html




After Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday had pooled the advertising resources of all the courses down there to organize golf trips, Larry was the first to buck the system, trying to build better courses than the rest and get a premium price for them.


Larry had a hand in the careers of three designers:
 
Dan Maples, who he partnered with to build Marsh Harbour and Oyster Bay;


me, at The Legends, which was my second golf course; and then


Mike Strantz, who finished the Parkland course at The Legends that Gil Hanse and I had started, and got his first design commission at Caledonia at Larry's suggestion.


My friend Brian Morgan was down taking pictures of the courses in M.B. in 1988 and Larry asked if he knew any young Scottish designer who could build a links-style course for him.  Brian recommended instead his young American friend!  I was surprised to get the job even though Larry didn't come up to see my first course at High Pointe.


Larry was a very hands-on developer [not afraid to come out and wave his hands around for the equipment operators], but he hadn't planned a big development like The Legends before where a lot of dirt would have to be moved, so he wanted my help with the master plan as well as the golf course.  We got along quite well building what they call the Heathland course, because he wanted something that felt authentically Scottish and I was pleased to try and show how all the "Scottish style" courses that had been built in the 1980's had missed the mark, with their water hazards and repetitive mounding.  [I had a young associate working on the drainage for the course -- that was Mike DeVries' first job in golf course construction.]


The Legends was a great project for me -- the second commission is always harder than the first -- and the course has done quite well:  in 30 years they have played close to two million rounds of golf there     However it never got a lot of press in Myrtle Beach because Larry wanted golfers to be happy playing any of his courses that weren't full, so he never tried to promote one over another.


After P.B. Dye built the Moorland course, Mr. Young hired me back to do the Parkland course, but that was not as good of an experience because we never agreed on a clear vision for what the course was going to be.  I was trying to build something really subtle as a contrast to the Moorland [because you couldn't build something more severe!], and Larry just wanted more bells and whistles. 




It didn't help matters that he had moved his office from The Heritage Club up to The Legends and was out on site every day, instead of just a couple of days a week like he had been for the Heathland course.  About halfway through shaping, after he'd made it clear he wasn't happy, I suggested he work directly with the shapers on the first hole while Gil and I were away for a few days to show us what he wanted, and once I saw what he wanted I suggested that we bow out. 


Several good friends thought I was crazy for walking away from the job even though Larry offered to pay me to advise on its completion, but I just didn't see how building a second course inferior to my first one there was going to advance my career, and by bowing out I had an indirect role in getting Mike Strantz his first job!  Indeed two of the shapers Gil and I had been working with on the Parkland course, Jeff Jones and Mark White, went on to be two of Mike's main guys.  And it was Larry Young who developed Stonehouse and Royal New Kent and really put Mike's name in lights.


He doesn't get as much credit as he deserves because Myrtle Beach is seen as kind of a lowbrow market, but Mr. Young was a pioneer in golf development and I learned a lot from him and from seeing how he operated.

[Greg Tallman]

Interesting read on how it unfolded Tom. Larry was not afraid to express his opinion that’s for certain. No doubt he took MB golf in a bit of a different direction if only for a while.


Condolences to Danny and the rest of the family.

[jeffwarne]

Always interesting to hear more of the back story on a course I knew well(and as I recently told Tom, one I played before I knew who Tom Doak was)
I first played Heathland in 1991 after my first trip to Southwest Ireland and I felt it was a very good attempt at replicating the links experience.


RIP Larry Young

[Mike_Young]

Sorry to hear about Larry. 
Did not know you had worked with Jeff Jones and Mark White....have worked them and still talk to Jeff here and there...After Forest Fezler died Jeff started another small compnay down toward Savannah..Jeff worked with us on Longshadow....

[Mike_Trenham]

We should not forget his involvement in Golf Trust America in the mid-90’s.  I get the idea that this probably cost him a bunch of money.  It was Wall Street’s attempt to monetize golf courses and they quickly learned operating golf courses for profit is not as easy as it seems sitting under fluorescent bulbs punching numbers into spreadsheets.


I think Young had really believed GTA would be a launching pad to get him the capital to always have a course or two in development.  Full disclosure I thought it could be my gateway into the business too.


Its surprising he’s just getting inducted into the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame, probably was a bit too much of a rebel for an entity run by committee.


Sorry but I can’t recall our fellow poster’s Lyndell Young’s exact relationship to Larry but condolences to him and the rest of the Young family.

[Mike_Young]

We should not forget his involvement in Golf Trust America in the mid-90’s.  I get the idea that this probably cost him a bunch of money.  It was Wall Street’s attempt to monetize golf courses and they quickly learned operating golf courses for profit is not as easy as it seems sitting under fluorescent bulbs punching numbers into spreadsheets.


I think Young had really believed GTA would be a launching pad to get him the capital to always have a course or two in development.  Full disclosure I thought it could be my gateway into the business too.


Its surprising he’s just getting inducted into the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame, probably was a bit too much of a rebel for an entity run by committee.


Sorry but I can’t recall our fellow poster’s Lyndell Young’s exact relationship to Larry but condolences to him and the rest of the Young family.

I am pretty sure Larry is Lyn's father...

[Ronald Montesano]

I've seen 1/3 of the Legends courses, and now have more reason to see the other two. In this case, it's not what's on the ground, but what that work begat. That's a lot of recently-aged history on the ground there. Thank you for sharing, and godspeed to Larry Young in the next life.

[Tom_Doak]

We should not forget his involvement in Golf Trust America in the mid-90’s.  I get the idea that this probably cost him a bunch of money.  It was Wall Street’s attempt to monetize golf courses and they quickly learned operating golf courses for profit is not as easy as it seems

Some broker called me to try to get me to invest in Golf Trust before it launched.  After I explained diversification to them  , I also mentioned that if Larry had sold his properties into Golf Trust, it was because they had paid too much for them.


Indeed I believe he poured too much $ into finishing Stonehouse and RNK because Golf Trust was picking up the tab and spending more to win Best New awards was a much better short term strategy than a long term one.  A $9m course in that market never made much sense otherwise.

[Eric Smith]

In my college days, the Legends was Bandon before Bandon, at least it felt that way, staring at a fresh issue of the Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday catalog. I used to spend hours gazing at those intoxicating aerials of the Heathland and Moorland courses, IN PRINT, as websites were still only spidery.


Mr. Young definitely inspired me to dream about golf.


My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. May he rest in peace.

[Lou_Duran]

I played golf with Lyn two or three times, the last probably at the Hilton Head Thaw-Out with Bill McBride (Ward P "officiating").   Lyn is Larry's much younger brother, and a longtime golf industry participant himself.  He owned (owns?) and operated a 36-hole club in the Carolinas and had his hand in real estate development, as I recall.  He spoke very highly of his brother, though he noted the loss of considerable sums in the aforementioned REIT.  Lynn had many good insights about golf and shared the operating philosophy of real-world, dollars-and-cents industry players like Mike Young.


No doubt that Larry's depth and breadth of experience was extraordinary and his loss will be deeply felt by many.  My condolences to family and friends.

[Jeff_Mingay]

Mr. Young's story is an interesting one. Thanks for sharing, Tom.


R.I.P.

[Edward Glidewell]

My family has a house at Ocean Isle Beach, which is in NC about 45 minutes from Myrtle Beach proper. I've played many of the courses up and down the Grand Strand and I think it's a place that manages to be both overrated by one audience and and underrated by another. There are people who think it's the best place for golf in the country (if not the world) which is silly. It's not even as good as Pinehurst only a few hours away, much less other destinations. However, there are also people who think there is absolutely nothing of value there, which is just not the case. There's a lot of variety and plenty of quality courses -- certainly nothing close to the level of the courses at a place like Bandon, but numerous places worth playing.


I have never played any of the Legends courses, though. I've been meaning to play Heathland for years, but I think I will make an extra effort this year to get down there to at least see that course. Maybe I'll be able to play all three.

[Stewart Abramson]

Condolences to Mr. Young's family. I've stayed and played at the Legends complex many times. Usually to play Heathland, but have played the others as well. It is one of the best "bang for the buck" destinations, but depending on time of year can be a factory with slow rounds.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/sets/72157632020639241/  Link to Heathland photos from several rounds over a ten year period


https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/sets/72157632024762050/  Link to Moorland photos


https://www.flickr.com/photos/golfcoursepix/sets/72157632020575145/ Parkland

[Jonathan Cummings]

[I had a young associate working on the drainage for the course -- that was Mike DeVries' first job in golf course construction.][/size]

Geez Tom, what were you, in your twenties when you built Heathlands?[/color]

[Germain Pepin]

RIP Larry Young! Condolences to all the members of his family!

[Paul Jones]

Tom,


Great story and history to honor and remember Larry Young. 


Thank You,
Paul

[Colin Macqueen]

Gentlemen,
In Tom Doak's  book "Getting to Eighteen" the second course development and history described is The Legends/Heathlands and is wonderfully written and insightful.
Cheers Colin

[Mike_DeVries]

I got a note from Myrtle Beach that Larry Young, the owner of several courses in Myrtle Beach and my client at The Legends, had passed away this week.


https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/sports/golf/article249550928.html




After Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday had pooled the advertising resources of all the courses down there to organize golf trips, Larry was the first to buck the system, trying to build better courses than the rest and get a premium price for them.


Larry had a hand in the careers of three designers:
 
Dan Maples, who he partnered with to build Marsh Harbour and Oyster Bay;


me, at The Legends, which was my second golf course; and then


Mike Strantz, who finished the Parkland course at The Legends that Gil Hanse and I had started, and got his first design commission at Caledonia at Larry's suggestion.


My friend Brian Morgan was down taking pictures of the courses in M.B. in 1988 and Larry asked if he knew any young Scottish designer who could build a links-style course for him.  Brian recommended instead his young American friend!  I was surprised to get the job even though Larry didn't come up to see my first course at High Pointe.


Larry was a very hands-on developer [not afraid to come out and wave his hands around for the equipment operators], but he hadn't planned a big development like The Legends before where a lot of dirt would have to be moved, so he wanted my help with the master plan as well as the golf course.  We got along quite well building what they call the Heathland course, because he wanted something that felt authentically Scottish and I was pleased to try and show how all the "Scottish style" courses that had been built in the 1980's had missed the mark, with their water hazards and repetitive mounding.  [I had a young associate working on the drainage for the course -- that was Mike DeVries' first job in golf course construction.]


The Legends was a great project for me -- the second commission is always harder than the first -- and the course has done quite well:  in 30 years they have played close to two million rounds of golf there     However it never got a lot of press in Myrtle Beach because Larry wanted golfers to be happy playing any of his courses that weren't full, so he never tried to promote one over another.


After P.B. Dye built the Moorland course, Mr. Young hired me back to do the Parkland course, but that was not as good of an experience because we never agreed on a clear vision for what the course was going to be.  I was trying to build something really subtle as a contrast to the Moorland [because you couldn't build something more severe!], and Larry just wanted more bells and whistles. 




It didn't help matters that he had moved his office from The Heritage Club up to The Legends and was out on site every day, instead of just a couple of days a week like he had been for the Heathland course.  About halfway through shaping, after he'd made it clear he wasn't happy, I suggested he work directly with the shapers on the first hole while Gil and I were away for a few days to show us what he wanted, and once I saw what he wanted I suggested that we bow out. 


Several good friends thought I was crazy for walking away from the job even though Larry offered to pay me to advise on its completion, but I just didn't see how building a second course inferior to my first one there was going to advance my career, and by bowing out I had an indirect role in getting Mike Strantz his first job!  Indeed two of the shapers Gil and I had been working with on the Parkland course, Jeff Jones and Mark White, went on to be two of Mike's main guys.  And it was Larry Young who developed Stonehouse and Royal New Kent and really put Mike's name in lights.


He doesn't get as much credit as he deserves because Myrtle Beach is seen as kind of a lowbrow market, but Mr. Young was a pioneer in golf development and I learned a lot from him and from seeing how he operated.

Wow, I haven't been on GCA in a while and didn't know about this.  Thanks for the story, Tom.


Larry and his son Danny were very good to us, as we were newly married and moved to Myrtle Beach to be on the project.  Before it started, I did some regular maintenance at some of Larry's other courses and then we got into it and I learned a ton, from Tom mostly, but also everyone else on the job.


My sincerest condolences and best wishes to all the Youngs.  Annie's and my thoughts are with you all.