The property with a 27-hole golf course designed originally by Robert Muir Graves is being listed for $3.5 million. A $2 million course renovation project is nearly complete, and the sellers hope the buyers will retain the course as an asset to the community.
The Port Ludlow (Wash.) Golf Club has officially been put up for sale, with a price tag of $3.5 million, the PT Leader of Port Townsend, Wash., reported.
Randy Verrue, managing member of Port Ludlow Associates (PLA), explained to the PT Leader that his group made the decision to sell the 27-hole golf course at the time it purchased the property in 2001.
“Our strategy has always been to fix up the assets and sell them as pieces rather than as a whole,” Verrue said. “The golf course has been on and off the market on an informal basis for many years. This is the first time we have listed it with a broker and are serious about selling it.”
Diana Smeland, President of PLA, said the progress toward selling the golf course took another step two years ago, when the group began working to bring the golf course back to its earlier condition, starting with the hiring of its original builder, Dick Schmidt, the PT Leader reported.
“Dick worked with the original architect, Robert Muir Graves,” Smeland said. “Dick has a wealth of knowledge on the workings of the course.”
When the Port Ludlow Golf Club opened in 1975, the PT Leader reported, Graves had already created more than 75 courses nationwide, and Schmidt’s father, Louis Graves, had built courses that included the Sahalee Country Club golf course in Sammamish, Wash.
Smeland recalled that by the time Port Ludlow GC celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2015, it had become clear that the course was in need of restoration, as the irrigation system was no longer properly functioning, contours were lost in the greens and fairways, and the course was fading away, the PT Leader reported.
At that time, Shelly Washburn had just come on board as Port Ludlow’s General Manager, and she worked with PLA to put together a two-year business plan to restore the course to its original condition.
Schmidt was retained as the Course Superintendent, and after he put together a team to maintain the course, he was promoted to Director of Golf in 2017, the PT Leader reported.
“The course has improved dramatically in drainage and turf conditions,” Smeland said. “We have other areas that we’re still working on, like cart paths and bunkers, and the general maintenance, including sprinklers and drainage, is continuous.”
Verrue estimated that, once completed, these renovations would cost approximately $2 million, the PT Leader reported.
According to Smeland, in 2017, PLA decided it may be time to see if there was an opportunity for a potential buyer, and listed the golf course for $3.5 million with Michael Armanious, a Certified Commercial Investment Member.
“There’s no buyer yet and no interested parties that have moved beyond inquiry,” Smeland said. “As we expected, selling a major commercial asset is a longer process.”
When asked if the golf course would remain a golf course, Smeland said, “Our intent is that the golf course remains as such. We feel it is a valuable asset to the community and hope that the next owner feels the same way.”
At the same time, when asked if the new owners would maintain the golf course, Smeland declined to speak for them, and did not feel comfortable predicting what differences a Port Ludlow resident who currently uses the golf course might notice, the PT Leader reported.
“I can tell you that I have worked with this property for 28-plus years, and it’s often hard to know when the transition of ownership changes,” Smeland said. “We’re continuing to work the land the same as before. So when a sale occurs, we would hope that it would be a seamless transition, not only for our employees, but also for our members.”
“While we cannot guarantee that the new buyer will always keep the golf course, it is our intent to sell the golf course facilities to someone that has golf as a business and sees the value of golf,” Verrue added. “I am not very good at speculating what might happen 30 or 35 years in the future.”
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.