The public golf course in Bullhead City, Ariz., will celebrate its “re-arrival” on October 10, reintroducing itself to the community. The new ownership group has revitalized the golf course, updated the air-conditioning and plumbing in the clubhouse, added new golf carts, and rebranded the restaurant.
Chris and Rene Ashmore first set eyes on Laughlin Ranch Golf Club in Bullhead City, Ariz., on April 16, and they became part of the new ownership group of the golf course, clubhouse, restaurant and spa a little more than two months later, the Bullhead City-based Mohave Daily News reported.
“We all came to see if this was worth our time and energy,” said General Manager Rene Ashmore.
Laughlin Ranch Golf Club, a public golf course with many other amenities, will celebrate its “re-arrival” in Bullhead City with an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. on October 10, the Daily News reported.
“Tuesday is just about letting people know that we’re here,” Rene Ashmore said. “It’s to introduce ourselves to the community. We’re here, we’re open. We definitely see ourselves as part of the Bullhead-Laughlin community.”
The group that visited Bulhead City in April was the Ashmores, Art and Dorothy Mariner, Greg and Kristi Mariner and Steve and Shelly Mariner. The Mariner family has a construction firm and other business ventures in North Dakota and are partners in the Laughlin Ranch Golf Club venture. The Ashmores and Rene’s son, Corey Palmer, Director of Food and Beverage, moved to the Tri-state to pursue what they considered a golden opportunity, the Daily News reported.
From that early April visit, “it was kind of a sprint,” said Chris Ashmore, the vice president of golf operations. “We closed in 45 days.”
“I’ve been in and around the golf business since I was 5 years old,” Chris said. But in Minnesota, the season is relatively short. “We’ve been looking for a project for about five years,” he said, noting that he checked out a property in California that “just wasn’t a good fit.”
Laughlin Ranch, however, was. For a number of reasons, the Ashmores said. “It’s spectacular,” Chris Ashmore said. “The vision that (developer David Lords) had was incredible.”
Lords developed the master-planned community in 2002, selling housing tracts centered around the golf course. The housing bust and economic downturn in 2007 short-circuited that plan and in 2008 the property was taken over by trustees. In 2012, IMH Financial Corporation of Phoenix took over ownership of the finished lots, golf course and clubhouse, the Daily News reported.
“Problem was,” Lords said, “this was a place where there was a certain level of expectations that people were accustomed to.”
And under bank ownership, those expectations weren’t met. In 2015, Lords was able to reacquire the real estate surrounding the course but IMH retained the golf course and clubhouse, until the Ashmore-Mariner group visited, the Daily News reported.
“We divided and conquered to do an inventory,” Chris Ashmore said. “I was literally on the ground in the maintenance shed looking for serial numbers (on golf carts and other equipment). We had a list of things to do, and one by one we did them.”
That list included work both in the clubhouse and facilities as well as on the 18-hole golf course, the Daily News reported.
“My rule is, if it’s on a golf course, it has to be green,” Chris Ashmore said, noting that getting water onto the course hadn’t been a priority under bank management.
“It’s been quite an undertaking to undo the neglect,” Rene Ashmore said.
The to-do list included work on the air-conditioning system in the clubhouse, plumbing repairs and new or revamped equipment in the restaurant and spa. New golf carts were also a must. And the restaurant was rebranded from The Grill to SLATE, the Daily News reported.
“We did a full refresh of the restaurant and rebrand of that,” Rene Ashmore said. Part of that rebrand is a new menu.
The Ashmores said they see their property as a destination, not just for residents of the Laughlin Ranch community but for the community at large. “Our overall objective is to provide an experience for our guests,” she said. “We’re about creating experiences.”
“It’s a lifestyle club, not a golf club,” Chris Ashmore said.
After a few months of hard work, Rene Ashmore said “we think we’re show-ready. We think we have a little bit of a hidden jewel in this community. There are a lot of people out there who aren’t aware of what’s up here.”
The secret is getting out, though. The facility already has been the site of several weddings, business meetings and other special events. The reviews have been encouraging. “We see great growth potential here,” Rene Ashmore said.
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