Cliffs Sold; Husband-Wife Duo Vows To Finish The Non-Tiger Woods Course

David Dykes introduces us to Steve and Penny Carlile of Marshall, Texas, proud new owners of The Cliffs, who plan to move forward with a Gary Player-designed course. Thanks to reader Scott for this.

Methinks the wife helped with the decision everyone wants to know about: whether Tiger's "under construction" design will be started finished.

However, the new owners — Steve and Penny Carlile of the Carlile Group in Marshall, Texas — said the fate of a Tiger Woods-designed course east of Asheville remains uncertain. Its future will be evaluated after an in-depth study to determine the best approach, Steve Carlile said.

The Carliles and Timothy P. Cherry, The Cliffs chief financial officer, told GreenvilleOnline.com this morning they anticipate filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy action for The Cliffs Club & Hospitality Group Inc., a wholly owned Cliffs’ subsidiary, known as ClubCo, that owns the golf courses and related amenities.

Coachella: "Today nearly one out of every four homes listed for sale is on a golf course."

Probably a coincidence as the rebooted Bob Hope becomes the Humana Challenge, but USA Today's Mike Perrault and Keith Matheny focus on the Coachella Valley in writing that the "unbreakable linkage between golf and real estate" has been broken.

In the nine cities of the Coachella Valley, including Palm Springs, where multiple presidents, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra swung the clubs and lived in golf-centric resorts, today nearly one out of every four homes listed for sale is on a golf course.

"We're entering a new normal," said Pete Halter, chairman of The Halter Companies, an Atlanta firm that advises developers. "We can't think this will be over soon. Things have changed for good."

Among the forces reshaping the relationship between golf and real estate:

•Fewer people play golf, and Baby Boomers don't have the time, money or interest in the game their parents did. The number of golfers in the U.S. has fallen by 13% in the past five years, according to National Golf Foundation statistics. The number of golf rounds played nationwide last year through November was down 3.5% from the previous year, according to the foundation.

Something to note for clubs looking to adjust to the times...

Resort communities are already beginning to offer fewer golf courses, and high-priced courses designed by top golfers or famous architects will become rarer, Goodkin said. Allowing non-residents onto club courses and letting them pay by the round will become more prevalent as a way to control costs within golf communities, he said.

"There will be a lot more focus on soft amenities — education, fitness and health programs — not just playing golf four or five times per week," he said. "Things where there isn't a lot of physical equipment, land and high maintenance associated with it."

The Belfry For Sale...Donald Are You Paying Attention?

Thanks to reader Chris for this unbylined golf365.com story revealing that former Ryder Cup host The Belfry can be had at a bargain rate even after a recent renovation of the resort hotel. The three golf courses remain forgettable except for the wild and weird short par-4 10th. The rest is screaming out to be fixed by the only man buying golf courses at the moment, Donald Trump.

There has been widespread speculation surrounding the future of the highly-rated golf estate with its 324-bedroomed hotel and upstanding conference facilities, its three courses, the Brabazon, the PGA National and the Derby, since its once-powerful owners led by Irish-based businessman Sean Quinn Junior, hit a financial crisis.

This just six years after purchasing it for £186million.

The talk is that a figure of some £60million is being asked for by the current owners of the 550-acre Warwickshire venue via their commercial property agent Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels which has been appointed to market the resort at Sutton Coldfield.