TCI in Polk City

[linkshero]

I thought I had heard the rich fella who owns Talons of Tuscany (??) is going in on the deal somehow.

Can't remember where I heard that at. But if it's true, that's a pretty good underwriter.

Denny is not associated with it in any way, nor is anyone in his family! I belong to another club in the area and can tell you they have already started selling memberships, and many people have already taken advantage of it.

I live closer to BW than my club, but will not change. It is never a great idea to belong to a private club that is not member owned. Also, the math on the numbers they are throwing out doesn't work. Meaning 1 or 2 years in and the price will be going up, or there will be 'assesments' for the members.

There is also a rumor that they will still have outings on Monday and Tuesday, something I have never heard of before for a private club. The cart fees, even if you own your own, are extremely high. The clubhouse will need to be rebuilt or remolded, and they have to build a pool.

I stopped playing BW three years ago because they cut their greens budget in half three years in a row. The course was not only in bad shape, but Saturday rounds took anywhere from 5-6.5 hours. People don't like to lose ProV1's in the rough just off the fairway! You can't play there during the week due to outings.

[DaddyMac]

Denny is not associated with it in any way, nor is anyone in his family! I belong to another club in the area and can tell you they have already started selling memberships, and many people have already taken advantage of it.

Yeah - I just talked to my boss who I thought I heard that from.

Apparently it wasn't Briarwood, but Denny's involvement has more to do with some stuff regarding Otter Creek moving, the DOT and the rest stop out on I-35 in Ankeny.

My bad.

[linkshero]

Yeah - I just talked to my boss who I thought I heard that from.

Apparently it wasn't Briarwood, but Denny's involvement has more to do with some stuff regarding Otter Creek moving, the DOT and the rest stop out on I-35 in Ankeny.

My bad.

No worries....and he is correct.

They are putting in an on/off ramp on 35 right there. Since the Talons entrance, and 10th (now 19th or betting hole) sits where the southeast ramp (for southbound entrance, or southbound exit) would need to go, he helped OC secure more land to the north so the ramp could be arranged where the old OC #16, and #17 were. He (or his interest) owned some land north of old OC, and helped secure more so they could redo the course the right way!

I have not really heard about the DOT progress, but that is what I was told awhile ago. I have been following the progress of new OC, but not really the DOT stuff.

BTW, DA is a great success story, and a very approachable guy.

[DaddyMac]

No worries....and he is correct.

They are putting in an on/off ramp on 35 right there. Since the Talons entrance, and 10th (now 19th or betting hole) sits where the southeast ramp (for southbound entrance, or southbound exit) would need to go, he helped OC secure more land to the north so the ramp could be arranged where the old OC #16, and #17 were. He (or his interest) owned some land north of old OC, and helped secure more so they could redo the course the right way!

I have not really heard about the DOT progress, but that is what I was told awhile ago. I have been following the progress of new OC, but not really the DOT stuff.

BTW, DA is a great success story, and a very approachable guy.

Is DA a Cyclone supporter? Or just kind of an all around supportive guy like Dick Jacobsen?

He hosted the Gridiron Club at Talons last month, I'm pretty certain of that.

And they're putting an on/off ramp where the existing rest stop is? That makes the whole thing make more sense.

[djkent01]

Denny is not associated with it in any way, nor is anyone in his family! I belong to another club in the area and can tell you they have already started selling memberships, and many people have already taken advantage of it.

I live closer to BW than my club, but will not change. It is never a great idea to belong to a private club that is not member owned. Also, the math on the numbers they are throwing out doesn't work. Meaning 1 or 2 years in and the price will be going up, or there will be 'assesments' for the members.

There is also a rumor that they will still have outings on Monday and Tuesday, something I have never heard of before for a private club. The cart fees, even if you own your own, are extremely high. The clubhouse will need to be rebuilt or remolded, and they have to build a pool.

I stopped playing BW three years ago because they cut their greens budget in half three years in a row. The course was not only in bad shape, but Saturday rounds took anywhere from 5-6.5 hours. People don't like to lose ProV1's in the rough just off the fairway! You can't play there during the week due to outings.

I can tell you from personal experience that having major golf outings on "off-member" days is almost essential to a private club surviving - unless the dues and member usage is outrageous. Also, not being member owned is not such a bad thing. Glen Oaks used to be (maybe still is) and Indian Wells in California is owned by Club Corp of America. They bring in talent, systems, processes, tournaments, etc - other things to reduce costs and generate income for the club (and themselves). They create reciprocal arrangments with other clubs - nationally and locally - which are a very nice benefit to the members.

I've been out of that business for a long time now, but I honestly can't understand how a private club that relies exclusively on revenues from the members can make it anymore. That is a tough business.

Plus, when it's member owned, the fights related to the board and who the GM is become incredibly political. It's a mess.