Mike Keiser, the Chicago businessman who transformed Bandon, Ore., into a premier golf destination, is planning to build Sand Valley, a multi-course resort on sand dunes in Rome, Wis. Keiser has signed an agreement to purchase 2.4 square miles of land with a closing date of December 17, at which point he is expected to name the architect for the first course.
Mike Keiser, a Chicago businessman who turned the tiny coastal town of Bandon, Ore., into one of the world’s premier golf destinations, is planning to build a similar multi-course resort on sand dunes that formed the bottom of a prehistoric lake just south of Rome, Wis., the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
The project, named Sand Valley, could include up to four courses and lodging spread over 1,500 acres of remote sand barren. If successful, Sand Valley would join the Kohler Co. golf properties near Sheboygan and Erin Hills near Hartford to make Wisconsin a top destination for traveling golfers, the Journal Sentinel reported.
“It would make Wisconsin the best summertime place for golf in the world,” Keiser said.
Keiser, who made his fortune in greeting cards, has signed an agreement to purchase about 2.4 square miles of land from Plum Creek Timber Co. The closing is set for December 17, at which time Keiser is expected to name the architect for the first course, the Journal Sentinel reported.
If all goes according to plan, construction would begin in 2014 and the first course would open in late 2016 or early 2017. The Oliphant Companies, a Madison-based golf construction and management firm, will build the courses, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Sand Valley would create hundreds of jobs. The unemployment rate in Wisconsin Rapids (pop. 18,367) is about 8%, according to Mayor Zach Vruwink, and the region is still struggling in the wake of the 2008 closing of the Port Edwards paper mill, the Journal Sentinel reported.
“There is no question this would be a significant positive contributor to the local economy and to the state,” Vruwink said. “Personally, I’m in favor of it. Absolutely.”
For months, golf bloggers and course architect buffs have been buzzing about Keiser’s interest in the site and what it could mean, the Journal Sentinel reported.
The minimalist Bandon courses are unencumbered by real-estate development and reminiscent of the ancient seaside links in the British Isles. Keiser also is involved in acclaimed multi-course developments in central Florida, Nova Scotia and Tasmania, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Sand is considered the ideal substructure for golf courses because it drains well and many strains of grass thrive in it. At Sand Valley, the sand is 100 feet deep, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Keiser plans to harvest tens of thousands of red pine trees on the site, expose the sand and native ground cover and integrate it into the golf course designs, the Journal Sentinel reported.
“What this wants to be is a dunes system,” said Craig Haltom, Vice President of The Oliphant Companies. “We’re going to restore it to sand barren. Globally, that’s a rare ecosystem.”
Keiser is considering three architects for the first course: Tom Doak, David McLay Kidd and the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, all of whom designed minimalist, links-type courses at Bandon Dunes. Routing would start in May, rough grading would begin in the summer and the course would be completed in 2015, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Green fees would be $125 to $150. Keiser is undecided about whether it will be a walking-only course or whether motorized carts will be allowed. That decision will determine the type of turfgrass used. The success of the first course, which will include a modest clubhouse and cost between $5 million and $6.5 million to build, will determine whether more courses follow, the Journal Sentinel reported.
“We won’t find out until the golfers come or do not come and then return or do not return,” Keiser said.
The site is big enough to accommodate seven 18-hole courses, Haltom said, though a more realistic number would be three or four, the Journal Sentinel reported.
At Bandon Dunes, Keiser’s first course generated $4 million in annual revenue. When he added a second course and lodging, revenue tripled to $12 million, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Nearly 100 investors have paid $50,000 each to be founding members of Sand Valley. Few have seen the site, other than in photos in the prospectus and a computer-generated video that imagines what the courses would look like, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Vruwink has not heard of any local opposition to Sand Valley, the Journal Sentinel reported.
“No, not publicly. Not anything directed to me,” the mayor said. “Again, if the numbers pan out, that really could be a significant employer, no question. And there would be entrepreneurial opportunities for other businesses, restaurants and hotels.”
Darryl Sorbo, the head golf professional at Lake Arrowhead, a 36-hole public facility that is adjacent to the Sand Valley site, said he had no problem with a huge golf complex going up one mile down the road, the Journal Sentinel reported.
“We think it’s going to be great for the area,” he said. “It will be a great asset. I’ve got to believe it will help us all.”
Sand Valley likely would bring more business to the area’s existing courses, Sorbo said: Lake Arrowhead, Northern Bay in Arkdale, private Bull’s Eye Country Club in Wisconsin Rapids, and SentryWorld in Stevens Point, which is undergoing a top-to-bottom renovation and is scheduled to re-open in late 2014.
“We’re embracing it,” Sorbo said. “We’ll get people who have never come to this part of the country. (Keiser) has the Midas touch. Obviously, he knows how to market his courses.”
Environmental groups should be pleased that the Sand Valley site will be returned to its natural state, Keiser said. There are no wetlands on the property, and it has never been farmed, the Journal Sentinel reported.
“The DNR visited and said this will be the biggest restoration of a sand barren ever tried,” Keiser said. “Picture 1,500 acres of sand with some scrub oak and jack pine. You’ll see a lot of sand with natural ground cover. It’s important that it look the way it should, which means removing all vestiges of the red pine and restoring the sand barren.
“That will make conservationists happy, and it will make golfers happy.”
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