ALL-ACCESS PASS
American Golf bails on Colorado course, members owed thousands
By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer
LITTLETON, Colo. (Jan. 6, 2003) -- Craig Horner is an orthodontist who just took up golf a couple of years ago. He was looking for a place to break into the game and refine his skills when he happened upon Deer Creek Golf Club, a semiprivate, Scott Miller - designed course near Denver.
Chris Markley is retired, has been playing golf for quite some time and plans on playing the rest of his life. Deer Creek was the perfect set up for Markley. He was intrigued by the management company's nationwide reciprocity plan and its legacy benefit for children of members.
Now, instead of ringing in the new year with a round of golf at their home course, both men are searching for a new place to play. More importantly, Horner, Markley and the other members of Deer Creek are looking for answers. The club closed Dec. 16, 2002 when the American Golf Corporation - the company hired to operate the course - literally walked out the pro shop door.
According to a letter from American Golf's Executive Vice President Keith Brown, Deer Creek owner Stacey Hart was not able to provide a consistent source of water during a drought last summer and American Golf was not able to sufficiently irrigate the course. American Golf had a clause in its lease with Hart stating that it could back out of the deal if Hart did not ensure an adequate water supply.
Horner,
Markley and the other Deer Creek members are now caught in the
middle of this debacle and are out between $8,000 and $10,000
a piece in initiation fees that American Golf has no plans on
returning. American Golf' s reasoning is as sound as an O.J. Simpson
alibi. Says Brown in the aforementioned letter:
"Some of you have asked whether American Golf plans to make an immediate refund of the initial fee you paid for your memberships. The answer is 'no,' because that is not what the membership agreements provide. In fact, we are puzzled by the suggestion that such a refund would be appropriate."
Not as puzzled as the members. American Golf promised each and every one of them that they'd get their money back in 30 years and Brown says the company will honor its word. Anyone who is at all familiar with American Golf knows they have as good a chance of being around in 30 years as Pepsi One, recent Goldman Sachs takeover not withstanding.
|
Hart plans to reopen the course in March, and he even asked American Golf to return the members' initiation fees (which it again refused to do). There's a chance the members of Deer Creek can just pick up where they left off and that Hart won't make another initiation assessment come March.
Whatever happens, Markley and Horner say that their entire perception of joining a golf club has been turned upside down.
"They took the money and ran," says Markley. "You only hear about this kind of thing happening, you don't think it can actually happen. I don't believe a word they tell me anymore and I don't think anyone should. I will get to play the course again, but they took away the reciprocal benefit of their other courses and the legacy benefit for my son in Dallas."
Not surprisingly, the rocky departure of American Golf is more of a good riddance. According to both men, the Santa Monica, Calif., based company nearly turned the course into a goat ranch shortly after assuming operations by pumping dozens of corporate outings through its fairways and greens.
"We couldn't even get a tee time that summer at a course that we just joined," says Horner. "And once we did the course was beaten up. It is a great layout, so it's too bad. And a lot of the guys who worked here were good guys."
And
it gets better (or worse if there's an American Golf executive
gulping frozen drinks on some beach with your initiation fee).
According to Horner, American Golf then proceeded to fleece the
existing members by hitting them up for an additional fee to take
the course private.
"If I wanted to join a private course, I would have joined a private course," says Horner.
So there you have it: American Golf is the reason that 100 Colorado golfers now have a bad taste in their mouths about joining any golf club, semi-private or private, and it is the reason why all golfers should be wary when signing on the dotted line at any course with an owner/operator agreement.
Sure, there's probably enough blame to go around. Some for Hart for not having a better irrigation plan and for hiring American Golf in the first place. And even some for the members for not doing more research into American Golf's shaky track record.
American Golf has made some concessions for Hart and the members. It ran the golf course for six months while Hart prepared himself to take over operations. It refunded the members the assessment for attempting to go private, and it has offered them a transfer program in which they can apply the initiation fee paid from Deer Creek to another American Golf operated private facility.
What, no takers?
