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A key word in today’s golf course design and renovation is “flexibility.’’ That is, the ability to create a layout that’s challenging and fun for players of all skill levels without losing design integrity. With that in mind, Eagle Creek Golf Club on May 17 will introduce the “Wee 18’’ layout as part of its 20th anniversary celebration.

The celebration will also include new 20th-year anniversary branding, a logo, and limited, never-seen-before commemorative merchandise. In addition, guests will get a sneak peek of the facility’s future clubhouse renovations and proposed Golf Academy expansion.

The centerpiece of the celebration, however, will be the Wee 18, which features an additional set of tees that plays 2,024 yards.

“The tees on the Wee 18 have been strategically placed to make it easier for players to reach the greens,’’ explained Eagle Creek Owner and Operator Kenny Nairn. “This layout is not just for kids and juniors; it’s designed to be a fun and engaging experience for all players. We envision using it for a variety of events and could even use the front nine as a putting course, showcasing its versatility and appeal to all golf enthusiasts.”

The term “Wee” fits in well with Eagle Creek, a golf community created by The Emerson Group, a leading U.K.-based real estate developer.

“Wee is a generic Scottish term for small,” says Nairn, a native Scotsman who is considered one of the golf industry’s elite instructors. “So, it’s a small golf course but something for all ages and abilities to enjoy. It’s designed for fun and something golfers and families can play in less than a couple hours.”

The only water hazard that comes into play on the Wee 18 is the approach shot to the course’s signature finishing hole, where Eagle Creek’s vintage New England manor-style clubhouse overlooks the peninsula No. 18 green.

“The third shot – over water -is about 94 yards,’’ Nairn said. “It will be a good playoff hole for scrambles. We used it as a playoff hole for an amateur event in 2023.  From the clubhouse balcony, it’s a fun hole for people to watch because it’s a natural amphitheater.’’

Designed by renowned architect Ron Garl and well-known British architect Howard Swann,  Eagle Creek features a distinctive “links-style’’ fair.  For example, when the course debuted, it included British-influenced revetted bunkers, rectangular tees, and compact greens. Sixty of these bunkers and dramatic bulkheads are still scattered throughout the course, reminiscent of those found in the classic courses found in Scotland and England.

One of the Orlando area’s top public courses, Eagle Creek (7,198 yards) has a unique collection of par-5s, making it the only par-73 course in Florida. Eagle Creek has hosted such prestigious events as the Annika Invitational and the University of Central Florida’s NCAA Division I tournament, the UCF Challenge.

Written by: STEVE PIKE Golf One Media

Orlando, Fla. (May 10, 2024) – On the eve of its 20^th anniversary, the golf course experience at Eagle Creek is about to get a ‘wee’ bit better. Wee bit as in the brand new Wee 18 golf layout scheduled to debut May 17at the upscale residential golf course community.

A select group of Eagle Creek residents, guests, golf patrons, and vendors/media will have a sneak peak of Central Florida’s newest golf course experience as part of the facility’s invite-only 20^th anniversary grand-reopening event later this month.

To mark the golf club’s special 20^th anniversary milestone, Eagle Creek has several exciting developments to celebrate on May 17th, including the club’s new 20^th-year anniversary branding, logo and limited never-seen-before commemorative merchandise. Other festivities planned for the event: news about the facility’s future clubhouse renovations and proposed Golf Academy expansion, and last, but not least, enjoy Eagle Creek’s newest Wee 18 layout.

Indeed, long a top golf destination of choice for both locals and travelers visiting the City Beautiful, Eagle Creek has always delivered the ultimate golf experience for all levels of golfers. But now, longtime owner/operator Kenny Nairn of Central Florida Golf (CFL Golf) is excited to unveil Florida’s newest 18-hole alternative short course experience.

Designed with a focus on “having fun,” Eagle Creek’s new Wee Tees will fittingly play to 2,024 yards to honor the 20^th anniversary year of the golf community created by leading U.K.-based real estate developer, The Emerson Group. And Nairn notes the new course is not just for kids.

“Wee is a generic Scottish term for small,” says Nairn, a native Scotsman who is considered one of the golf industry’s elite instructors. “So, it’s a small golf course but something for all ages and abilities to enjoy. It’s designed for fun, and something golfers and families can play in a less than a couple hours.” This new layout will even have its own logo and new merchandise as well. Last of all is a planned The Wee Open Tournament later this year, Nairn said.

According to Eagle Creek, all Wee Tees were strategically located in corridors and ways that give Wee 18 golfers the “easiest line into the green.” And the only water hazard that comes into play on the Wee 18 is the approach shot to the highly acclaimed course’s signature finishing hole, where Eagle Creek’s vintage New England manor-style clubhouse overlooks the picturesque peninsula No. 18 green.

Based on current trends in the golf business, the Wee 18 is bound to be a popular new destination for Eagle Creek guests/members, giving the public facility yet another distinctive golf course component. Indeed, when Eagle Creek opened 20 years ago, the property featured a distinctive European flair after being co-designed by well-known British course architect Howard Swann and acclaimed Central Florida-based architect Ron Garl.

For instance, when the course debuted, golfers were treated to British-influenced revetted bunkers, rectangular tees and compact greens. Sixty of these bunkers and dramatic bulkheads are still scattered throughout the course, reminiscent of those found in the classic courses found in Scotland and England.

 Another trademark of the world-class 7,198-yard facility is the unique collection of par-5s, making Eagle Creek the only par-73 course in Florida. Length notwithstanding, Eagle Creek’s six sets of tees, as well as the newest Wee Tees, truly caters to all levels of golfers from beginners to the world’s best, including elite women amateur golfers that annually play in the prestigious Annika Invitational and University of Central Florida’s NCAA Division I tournament, the UCF Challenge.

Conveniently located 15 minutes from Orlando International Airport, Eagle Creek Golf Club’s European-style ambiance and hospitality is also found at the club’s remarkable two-story clubhouse. Among the clubhouse highlights are a fully stocked pro shop, locker rooms and showers for men and women, and the aptly named Belfry Restaurant – a 120-seat venue with private wedding and banquet space available.

“From the very beginning, the golf course and the clubhouse were second to none,” Nairn says. “But like everything, you’ve got to keep improving what you’re doing. And you’ve got to have the vision to be able to do that, in order to stay at the top of your game and business.

“That’s our team’s whole mantra, always striving to do things different and better for our customers.  That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing with our exciting 20^th anniversary celebration next month and Eagle Creek’s newest course, the Wee 18.”

To inquire or learn more about Eagle Creek’s 20^th-anniversary May 17th festivities, please email Head of Marketing Lauren Rykwalder at marketing@cflgolf.com or call 352-801-3683.

For additional information about Eagle Creek, visit www.cflgolf.com and contact info@eaglecreekorlando.com. Or please connect with us on our following platforms:

 https://www.eaglecreekorlando.com/; https://www.facebook.com/EagleCreekGC; https://www.instagram.com/eaglecreekgolfcluborlando/; https://www.youtube.com/@EagleCreekGolfOrlando

Orlando, Fla. (April 26, 2024) – Two decades after opening in what was then mostly rural east Orlando, Eagle Creek Golf Club and the surrounding Lake Nona area look a lot different these days.

To help celebrate 20 years of world-class growth, the 18-hole championship course is excited to unveil a soon-to-be released new-look logo and line of merchandise. The course’s new branding will be introduced May 17th at an invitee-only 20th anniversary event for invited guests and golf patrons, residents, vendors and media.

Eagle Creek’s official new logo and 20th-year anniversary branding is part of the facility’s strategic “Vision 24” marketing campaign that longtime course owner/operator Kenny Nairn launched last January with feedback from his entire Central Florida Golf (CFL) organization.

As for the exciting new Eagle Creek branding, the club’s logo itself was more than a year in the making. According to Nairn, the logo’s design process was a collaborative effort, including input from employees, guests and others associated with the highly acclaimed public layout.

The esteemed Savannah College of Art and Design even contributed to the new logo that will be displayed on Eagle Creek merchandise and available for sale starting May 18. Among the new lines of merchandise, the pro shop staff is eager to showcase some “never-seen-before” brands as well as limited EDITION 20th-anniversary commemorative items.

Once Eagle Creek’s new logo and branding is unveiled at the May 17th invite-only event, the special 20th-year anniversary items will only be sold for the remainder of the year. Nairn, and the rest of his golf course team, can’t wait to start sharing and wearing the course’s future dynamic-looking new logo.

“Our new logo is off-the-charts good and I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who helped design this for Eagle Creek,” adds Nairn, who is considered one of the game’s elite golf instructors.

The new-look logo/Eagle Creek branding is just one way the club is celebrating its 20th year anniversary at next month’s special event. Indeed, the purpose of Eagle Creek’s special daylong May 17th event is two-fold: celebrate Eagle Creek’s previous two decades of success and share some exciting news about other future changes planned for this top-ranked high-end daily-fee course.

For instance, besides unveiling of Eagle Creek’s new branding and identity, the special May 17th event will also cover Eagle Creek’s clubhouse renovations and proposed Golf Academy expansion, and last, but not least, offer attendees a sneak preview of the property’s newest golf layout.

Long a top golf destination of choice for both locals and travelers visiting the City Beautiful, Eagle Creek has consistently delivered the ultimate golf experience for all levels of golfers. But now, Eagle Creek is excited to start offering a new 18-hole short course experience with more details to come.

The entire team at Eagle Creek can’t wait to start showing off the course’s exciting new look and officially kick off the 20th year celebration with next month’s invite-only event.

To inquire or learn more about next month’s festivities, please email Head of Marketing Lauren Rykwalder at marketing@cflgolf.com or call 352-801-3683.

For additional information about Eagle Creek, visit www.cflgolf.com and contact info@eaglecreekorlando.com. Or please connect with us on our following platforms:
https://www.eaglecreekorlando.com/; https://www.facebook.com/EagleCreekGC; Eagle Creek Golf Club Orlando – YouTube

Orlando, Fla. (April 18, 2024) – When Eagle Creek Golf Club opened 20 years ago in east Orlando, the surrounding area was mostly rural and there were just a handful of homes along the tenth hole of the residential golf course development. Today, the championship course is in the heart of one of America’s fastest-growing master-planned communities, Lake Nona, and Eagle Creek will be fully sold out by the end of 2024.

To mark the golf club’s official 20^th anniversary milestone, the course is hosting an invitee-only event on May 17^th for invited guests, golf patrons, residents, vendors and media.

The purpose of the special event is two-fold: celebrate Eagle Creek’s previous two decades of success and share some exciting news about the future growth of this critically acclaimed high-end public course.

Among the festivities on May 17^th will be the official unveiling of Eagle Creek’s new branding and identity, news about the facility’s clubhouse renovations and proposed Golf Academy expansion, and last, but not least, enjoy Eagle Creek’s newest layout.

A long time top golf destination of choice for both locals and travelers visiting the City Beautiful, Eagle Creek has always delivered the ultimate golf experience for all levels of golfers. But now, longtime owner/operator Kenny Nairn of Central Florida Golf (CFL Golf) is excited to unveil Florida’s newest 18-hole short course experience at next month’s 20^th anniversary event.

The new golf-friendly set of tees is for all levels of golfer seeking an alternative layout with special attention to having fun. It fittingly plays to 2,024 yards to honor the 20^th anniversary year of the golf community created by leading UK-based real estate developer, The Emerson Group.

Therein lies the distinct European flair of Eagle Creek, which was co-designed by well-known British course architect Howard Swan and acclaimed Central Florida-based architect Ron Garl. For instance, when the course opened 20 years ago, golfers were treated to British-influenced revetted bunkers, rectangular tees and compact greens. Sixty of these bunkers and dramatic bulkheads are still scattered throughout the course, reminiscent of those found in the classic courses found in Scotland and England.

 Another trademark of the world-class 7,198-yard facility is the unique collection of five par-5s, making Eagle Creek the only par-73 course in Florida. Length notwithstanding, Eagle Creek’s five sets of tees caters to all levels of golfers from beginners to the world’s best, including elite women amateur golfers that annually play in the prestigious Annika Invitational and University of Central Florida’s NCAA Division I tournament, the UCF Challenge.

Conveniently located 15 minutes from Orlando International Airport, Eagle Creek Golf Club’s European-style ambiance and hospitality is also found at the club’s remarkable 14,000-square-foot two-story designed in a vintage New England-manor style. Among the clubhouse highlights are a fully stocked pro shop, locker rooms and showers for men and women, and the aptly named Belfry Restaurant – a 120-seat venue with private wedding and banquet space available.

“From the very beginning, the golf course and the clubhouse were second to none,” says Nairn, who is considered one of the game’s elite golf instructors. “But like everything, you’ve got to keep improving what you’re doing. And you’ve got to have the vision to be able to do that, in order to stay at the top of your game and business.

“That’s our team’s whole mantra, always striving to do things different and better for our customers.  That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing with our exciting 20^th anniversary celebration next month.”

To inquire or learn more about next month’s festivities, please email Head of Marketing Lauren Rykwalder at marketing@cflgolf.com or call 352-801-3683.

For additional information about Eagle Creek, visit www.cflgolf.com and contact info@eaglecreekorlando.com. Or please connect with us on our following platforms:

 https://www.eaglecreekorlando.com/; https://www.facebook.com/EagleCreekGC; https://www.instagram.com/eaglecreekgolfcluborlando/; https://www.youtube.com/@EagleCreekGolfOrlando

May 2019

Still plenty of green to be found

Despite industry assumptions, investors are buying golf real estate

By Scott Kauffman

In the last decade, more than 1,200 U.S. golf facilities closed, according to the National Golf Foundation, and the total number of U.S. golfers dropped to 23.8 million from a high of 32.9 million in 2003. Yet, in spite of this NGF data and the notso-favorable mainstream media coverage that continues to perceive golf business as a non-growth industry, investors still see “green” in the underlying real estate asset class as an operating course.

At least that’s the attitude of numerous leading real estate brokers specializing in course marketing from coast-to-coast and a number of fairly new course buyers.

To be sure, closed courses acquired for residential and commercial redevelopment have been – and will always remain – prime targets for real estate investors, builders and developers. But there’s a wave of new first-time buyers who keenly see opportunity or “green” when it comes to maintaining 9 or 18 holes of fairways, manicured greens and reimagined clubhouses for the modern-day club member/consumer attracted to these green-space settings. And many of these new investors are far from golf business rookies, whether it’s former Yamaha national sales manager Brooks West, PGA, in Nashville; noted Scottish PGA Professional Kenny Nairn in Orlando, longtime American Golf executive Ken Hultz or career PGA Professional Rich Smith, to name a foursome of fairly new owners.

Indeed, while 1,200 courses might have closed their doors in the last decade, what’s missing in that statistical backdrop is the fact there is arguably an equal number of individuals seeking contrarian strategies and actually buying courses and keeping them open.

Consider that Marcus & Millichap broker Steve Ekovich’s Tampa-based Leisure Investment Properties Group secured more than 150 buyers during that same timeframe, and Jon Knudson of Scottsdale-based brokerage Insight Land & Investments counts more than 40 course transactions in the last 10 years.

Meanwhile, Adel, Georgia-based broker Hilda Allen closed on more than 40 course sales in the last five years alone (1,000-plus since 1991), and CBRE managing director Jeff Woolson of Carlsbad, California, whose Golf & Resort Properties is the leading leisure real estate brokerage firm in America with more than $1.1 billion in sales volume since 1991, is averaging 10-15 course sales per year since 2009. And this is just a sampling of the real estate professionals in course brokerage.

Industry brokers and owners acknowledge supply and demand in the golf asset class hasn’t fully recovered from the financial crisis 10 years ago, and there certainly are not as many large-scale institutional private equity-type buyers chasing investment yield in the golf space. Lack of Wall Street capital notwithstanding, golf business and its typical 100-plus acres of real property continues to attract a steady flow of interested shoppers and buyers.

“I’m not convinced that it’s harder to find golf course buyers,” says Golf Property Analysts President Larry Hirsh, one of the country’s leading golf course appraisers/brokers, principally focused in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast markets. “If the opportunity meets their investment criteria, they’ll pursue it. Of course, there are still – believe it or not – some hobbyist buyers who simply like golf and have money. … There are, in my experience, plenty of suitors for cash-flowing properties or those that have opportunity to cash flow.”

Therein explains the ongoing rush by course suitors, especially savvy golfexperienced professionals, to jump in the business. Simply put, many of these first-time buyers see opportunity to grow. Especially when the course or club is in the right place, at the right time – and equally as important, at the right price or valuation.

That was certainly the case of West, who closed last Dec. 31 on the former Crossing Golf Course (renamed Franklin Bridge Golf Club) in booming, affluent Williamson County outside Nashville with the help of a Small Business Administration loan and a few local investor partners. As West put it, he’s either a revolutionary or just not so smart, he said with a confident smile of someone with 20-plus years in the business.

If anything, West, a graduate of Mississippi State University’s PGA Golf Management program with impressive private club pedigree and strong sales experience for Ahead and Yamaha, is part of an exclusive course ownership club. According to Smith, former CEO/executive director of the PGA of America’s North Florida Section and new owner of Charlotte Harbor National Golf Club at Bobcat Trail and Golf Links of Charlotte Harbor in Port Charlotte, Florida, there’s probably 120 fellow PGA Professionals who own courses – out of some 29,000 members overall.

“Twelve years ago there was way more interest in golf than there is today and there were a lot more larger companies (acquiring courses),” Ekovich points out. “What’s really different is there’s a lot more first-time buyers in the market and buyers new to golf because the affordability index for golf courses has totally changed. The model’s changed.

 “Before, an average course that was $4 million was out of most people’ s range. Now, that course, let’s call it a pre-2006 property, is worth $1.9 or $2 million. As a result, it opens up a lot more people. We’ve seen two different classes of buyers that have really come to the forefront in the last year or two. First is the golf course person with experience but working at other firms – someone seeing opportunities at courses being mismanaged by people who bought them and didn’t know what they were doing, or they were in bad locations.”

The other first-time buyer increasingly kicking golf car tires these days, says Ekovich, is the “golf-passioned buyer” who believes golf’s traditional ways of doing business no longer works and they can create more “ebitda” or net income/value by adopting a more service-oriented, hospitality approach to golf. That can be everything from creating more “restaurant-type touch and feels throughout the club,” Ekovich adds, or adopting things like “internet marketing using the hotel model for tee times.”

Fueling this confluence of first-time buyer activity is the fact more courses are falling into that “affordable” $2 million range, meaning the ability to raise capital from “family and friends” or SBA financing, for example, is more realistic. Of all the different commercial real estate asset classes, Woolson says golf and second-home developments are the only ones that haven’t “fully recovered” in the recent real estate cycle or economic expansion.

“Golf is slightly ahead of second-home real estate,” Woolson notes, “But these are the two lagging asset classes for two different reasons. Secondhome real estate hasn’t recovered because there’s a lot of people who don’t want to own second homes. There’s a lot of people, the Gen Xers and Millennials that are saying, ‘We don’t know if we want to own a home in the mountains like our parents did.’ “Golf, I still think, is a viable asset class. It provides great cash flow. And we’ve had this in our proposals a lot. We call it the tale of two cities. Some golf courses are worth a lot; some golf courses are worth nothing. And there’s hardly anything in the middle. Golf course investments, and I don’t mean playable wise, I mean investment wise. … There’s either really good investments or there’s just really bad investments. Really bad ones are not trading and they’re not doing well.”

That’s not the case at Gettysvue Polo, Golf & Country Club, situated high atop a matured affluent Knoxville, Tennessee, community that looks out over sweeping views of the Smoky Mountains. Featuring a strong membership base and great pool, tennis, fitness and clubhouse amenities, the private facility “always had my eye,” says Hultz. And Hultz knows this property well because his company, American Golf, oversaw the club prior to his scheduled closing April 9.

“Like anything, you identify areas of opportunity whenever you acquire a club or asset, and from our perspective, Gettysvue had continued to be enhanced by American Golf in every level,” says Hultz, who was buying the club with three other career golf operations professionals. “There’s a better member experience, improved facilities. … And I think myself and the friends/partners that are part of this, we all identified there’s still those additional opportunities to drive membership and the member experience.

“From our vantage point, which all of the partners feel and truly believe. If you take care of the members, the P&L (profit and loss) will take care of itself.” Nairn, managing partner of Orlando-based CFL Golf, has been taking care of golf operations business since 2008, when he joined Celebration Golf Management after his organization acquired Celebration Golf Club near Walt Disney World. Ten years later, after his previous group dissolved, Nairn became the owner of three other successful Orlando-area properties: Eagle Creek Golf Club, an upscale daily course in one of the country’s top-selling master-planned communities (Lake Nona); RedTail Golf Club, a semi-private facility in Sorrento at the doorstep of a soon-to-be-completed beltway that will encircle Orlando; and 36-hole King’s Ridge Golf Club situated in an active age-restricted community.

Nairn’s partner in the new company is Larry Snyder, a third-generation certified course superintendent. In many respects, Nairn’s adjustment in becoming a course owner has been matter-of-fact. “It’s like everything,” Nairn notes. “You make a decision with all of the due diligence in advance.”

Without providing specific figures, privately held CFL Golf is successful to say the least as it enters its fourth season.

“If you can pay your debt, then you’re obviously doing something right,” says Nairn, a native of St Andrews, Scotland. “And if you can pay your debt, you’re usually putting some capital back into the property and so forth. So, your other hat is obviously real estate. You got to buy it right. And obviously – location, location, location. I think we’ve been successful in those things.”

Regarding future golf property investments, Nairn, 48, says he’s not actively looking. And with his daughter beginning her last year of university, meaning “she’ll soon be off my payroll,” the Scotsman really doesn’t know what the future holds for his course portfolio and beloved game he represents so well as a member of the PGA of Great Britain & Ireland and European Golf Teachers Federation.

“From an investment perspective I can easily say I don’t know the out or the end result,” Nairn says. “I would not say we’re successful or not successful. Our doors are open; our courses are in great condition; we’ve got fantastic employees. Let’s put it that way.

“Golf is a very difficult business to be in, but I would say every business is difficult because you got to try and get your experiences correct. You got to try and get your marketing down. I’m coming up on over 20 years in Orlando and every year I still think about marketing. OK, what did I try last year? What was my success; what were my failures? It’s working but it’s just bloody hard work.”

For a growing number of first-time course owners with golf backgrounds like Nairn, it’s bloody hard work they wouldn’t trade for anything else right now.

https://www.eaglecreekorlando.com/blog-may-2019/