Tee Times Not the Problem

At what point does Northwest Arkansas have a surplus of golf courses?

In the last dozen years, the two-county area (Washington and Benton) has gone from having one course per 20,000 residents to the possibility of having one per 10,000 people by the end of 2002. There are 23 existing courses, with as many as six more in the development or planning stage.

Rick Collins is one of the financial backers in the soon-to-open Big Sugar Golf Club in Pea Ridge. He believes the time couldn’t be better for his course, which will open in mid-December, although its grand opening won’t be until Memorial Day.

“There are so many vendors moving in to be near Wal-Mart, and their No. 1 question is, ‘What kind of golf course do you have?’ ” Collins said. “Usually, it’s, ‘What kind of school system do you have?’ “

Big Sugar has already pre-sold memberships to individuals with ties to Wal-Mart from as far away as Oregon and Michigan.

Opinions vary on whether the area has reached a golf glut, but there is little debate that public courses face the biggest challenge to succeed.

“For the life of me, why someone would want to build another golf course in this area is beyond me,” said Bill Agler, head golf professional at the public Stonebridge Meadows Golf Club in Fayetteville. “Why in the world would they want to get into it?”

Agler has seen both sides of the spectrum during his more than two decades running courses in the area. He was a longtime pro at Fayetteville’s private Paradise Valley Athletic Club. There, monthly membership dues kept the courses in the financial fairway throughout the slow winter months. But at Stonebridge and other public courses, it can be rough at times relying on green and cart fees to keep the courses afloat. Only six of the existing 23 courses in the area are public.

Last winter’s ice storm was particularly damaging to area courses, which spent several thousands of dollars in re-sodding fairways and greens during the spring.

Nevertheless, course development has only increased.

Sweet Designs

The private Big Sugar is only one of several upscale developments planned for the near future in Northwest Arkansas.

Tyson Foods President, CEO and Chairman John Tyson has a private championship course planned for his land in Johnson. Tyson has hired Landmark National Corp. of Marlboro, Md., to design his course. Landmark has designed such reputable courses as PGA West, LaQuinta, Carmel Valley, Palm Beach Polo and Kiawah Island, which hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup.

Former Sears, Roebuck & Co. executive Charles Reaves has equally big plans for his private Shadow Valley Golf Course in Rogers.

It’s uncertain for now what membership fees will be at the courses Tyson and Reaves are planning, but membership at Northwest Arkansas’ signature course, Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, requires a $35,000 joining fee. Pinnacle has seen multiple financial problems since opening in 1990, and it is reportedly up for sale again. This time, Superior Automotive owner David Slone is interested in purchasing the club. Red Hudson, J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. and Scores Inc. own 20 percent each in the club.

Fayetteville real estate giant Jim Lindsey has preliminary plans for a private course in Goshen — The Club on the River. But that project is contingent on a minimum of 100 lots being pre-sold. As of Nov. 15, only 20 had been sold.

Neal Stafford, the assistant golf pro at Springdale Country Club, said there were already too many courses in the area before the latest plans. But he joked that the planned Lindsey course at the former Circle H Farms can save on fertilizer bills.

“A lot of cattle have been growing on that land for a long time, so they won’t have any trouble growing grass,” Stafford said.

There are also preliminary plans by Charlton Construction to build a private course in Bentonville. Meanwhile, Cooper Communities has put a possible ninth course in Bella Vista on the back burner.

Private is Popular in NWA

“What [Northwest Arkansas] is experiencing is kind of reflective of the industry,” said Judy Thompson, spokeswoman for the National Golf Foundation in Jupiter, Fla.

“In the 1990s there were about 4,000 courses built in the United States … about 400 each year. In 2000, there were 524 that opened. There are probably still some areas underserved in golf. There must be a demand for more holes to play [in Northwest Arkansas].”

The Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area ranked a strong 66th nationally in number of total golf holes per capita (see chart) and an even more impressive No. 8 in number of private holes per capita. However, the area ranked 201 for public holes per capita out of 317 metropolitan areas surveyed in the United States by NGF. That figure is about average for other areas in the region. Little Rock was ranked 218 in public holes per capita but a strong 27th in private holes. Tulsa also ranked low (211) in public holes per capita.

Even Lyndy Lindsey, golf course supervisor for Lindsey Construction Co., believes that if the area is not at its course capacity, it’s within a sand wedge of being there.

“We’re probably getting pretty close to saturating the area,” Lindsey said. “I think we’re close to having too many courses. Much more than what’s being talked about right now wouldn’t be good.”

The majority of Lindsey’s links make their money from the apartment complexes that sandwich the courses. Paradise Valley Athletic Club in Fayetteville is an exception, but a full membership of 500 keeps the bills paid at the private PVAC.

“Golf courses themselves don’t make much money at all,” Lindsey said. “The Lindsey Co. always tries to squeeze their expenses. We try to get as much of a membership base as possible to make projects work.”

Ironically, the slow months for golfers are the revenue-making months for the private courses.

“In wintertime, we can make more money than in the summer because expenses are so low, and the revenue is still high,” Lindsey said. “The wintertime helps carry a course through the summer months when some really struggle. Most people think it’s the other way around.”

In fact, it is the other way around for public courses, and it’s a “Catch 22” for local golfers. Competition among public courses could help lower green fees and allow others to enjoy the game. However, competition also could make the well run dry for some public courses.

“I personally don’t know how we can support many more holes of golf,” said Steve Arnold, head golf pro at Fayetteville Country Club. “Look at the rounds of golf being played at each facility. There’s just not a lot being played right now. What Northwest Arkansas needs more than anything else right now is a middle-scale daily fee course. I sure can’t see Northwest Arkansas supporting five or six more facilities going in.”

Travis Creed, chief operating officer for the Arkansas State Golf Association in Little Rock, said Northwest Arkansas’ golf needs are not comparable to other areas of the state.

“My personal thought is that you live in a very wealthy area in comparison to the rest of the state,” Creed said. “It is a high-dollar area, and it sounds to me like most of what’s going in is going to be pretty high-ticket golf courses. If there is a place in Arkansas where that many new courses brought on line at the same time can survive, certainly Northwest Arkansas would be that place. Whether or not they have oversubscribed, we’ll have to watch and wait.”

Public Problems

Stonebridge Meadows opened in 1997 when Fayetteville had just Razorback Park Golf Course as an 18-hole public layout.

But in 2000, the Golf Club at Valley View opened in nearby Farmington, and for some, there suddenly seemed to be too many facilities.

“When Valley View opened it hurt us,” admitted Agler. “But, by the same token, we hurt Valley View. When we were kind of on our own down here, we were gonna hit our [rounds] projections.”

The premium real estate lining golf courses can make or break a development. If all goes well for Lindsey’s Goshen project, there will eventually be 473 lots for sale.

Tyson said 275 to 400 homes and condominiums will be on his 400-acre tract. And Reaves’ 514-acre tract will have between 1,700 and 2,000 living units starting at about $175,000 but averaging closer to $250,000. He even has a future plan to make Shadow Valley 36 holes with up to 4,000 living units. The neighborhood alone is expected to cost about $250 million.

“I think they’re pushing it now,” said Dave Taylor, owner of Razorback Park Golf Course. “I think the courses going in are too high. It’s costing too much to build the courses, and the fees are going to be too high.”

Agler agreed.

“It’s a tough market to get into,” Agler said. “It’s not like shoppers that go to Dillard’s and buy a skirt and then to Penney’s to buy a top. You’re not going to go play 18 holes here and somewhere else later in the day.

“Somebody’s gonna bite the bullet. The good thing for us is that the new courses are north of here.”

Fayetteville businessman Gregg Ogden spent several years in the golf business from Dallas to Atlanta before returning to be president of Athletic World Advertising.

“Golf courses are like restaurants,” Ogden said. “You’ve got high end, you’ve got fast food and you’ve got middle of the road. You need something that will appeal to all groups.”

Choose a Sport

For some, bagging an eight-point buck is better than draining an eight-foot birdie putt.

“When it gets past Labor Day, golf in Arkansas cuts back,” Creed said. “People trade in golf clubs for shotguns. Golf is still a seasonal thing for a lot of people. [Arkansas football] Coach [Houston] Nutt has figured that out. It’s even hard for the Razorbacks to one-up deer hunters.”

Creed was referring to Arkansas drawing about 50,000 fans at 72,000-seat Reynolds Razorback Stadium for its homecoming game Nov. 10 against Central Florida. A trip to the deer woods was apparently more enticing for many sportsmen.