(Photo by Julia Masters/New Bern Sun Journal)
Potential buyers from both in and out of state have already taken serious looks at the 44-year-old property in New Bern, N.C. since it went on the market in September, according to its listing agent. The club filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2020 and its 18-hole golf course is seen as in need of improvement, but club sales have “skyrocketed,” as they have now come to be viewed as a “pandemic-proof investment,” said Brett Miller of Miller Management Associates. The Pines Golf Club, a comparable property in Elizabeth City, N.C., recently sold for $1.2 million.
River Bend Country Club in New Bern, N.C. went on the market for $1.3 million in September, the New Bern Sun Journal reported, but it is still open for business.
The listing includes the 18-hole golf course, clubhouse and pro shop, bar-and-grill, restaurant, tennis courts and swimming pool, the Sun Journal reported.
“The golf course has a convenient location to hundreds of homes around it and easy access for tourists from the historical city of New Bern,” Brett Miller, owner of Miller Management Associates Inc., told the Sun Journal.
“It is a very ‘player-friendly’ course, which allows golfers to have fun and also allows many rounds to be played from a business-revenue standpoint,” Miller added.
Though it has only been on the market for two weeks, Miller said River Bend has generated substantial interest, from both in and out of state, the Sun Journal reported.
The golf course was designed by Gene Hamm and built in 1977, and then purchased and taken over by new owners Jim Hoffman and Frank Fragale in 1999, the Sun Journal reported. Under their management, the entire property saw over $1.6 million in repairs.
Larry Goodwin then became owner in 2017, but the club filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March of 2020, the Sun Journal reported.
Bankruptcy is not uncommon in the world of golf course ownership, as financing is the biggest obstacle, Miller said.
“Most courses are purchased with private equity, not bank loans,” he said.
“Some courses are making a profit when purchased, and then others become profitable when their facilities are updated and they have proper management.”
Miller’s company, who has operated Miller Management out of Fletcher, N.C. since 1996, has already sold eight courses with two pending this year, including The Pines in Elizabeth City, N.C., the Sun Journalreported.
The Pines Golf Club sold for $1.2 million and, like River Bend’s property includes an 18-hole course, clubhouse, events center, pool, pro-shop and dining, the Sun Journal reported.
That represented a turnaround from the trend that New Bern saw first-hand in 2016, the Sun Journal noted, when the Carolina Pines Golf & Country Club closed in 2016 due to lack of golfers and disinterest in club membership. The 109-acre property was valued at $1.67 million when it was closed.
The average days on the market for a course used to be six months to two years, Miller told the Sun Journal, but now it is less than 90 days to one year.
The dynamics of the golf course business model are changing with the times, he added. Now more diverse activities are being offered at successful courses, other than just golf.
“Golf facilities are now being known as multi-recreational facilities,” he said.
Having events that the “whole family” can enjoy like fitness classes, disc golf, live music and festivals help modern courses thrive, he added, and he sees that potential in River Bend CC.
“We have seen many courses with the same model and in similar-sized regions be the focal point of the community and prosper,” he said.
“Golf course sales, much like residential and other commercial properties, have skyrocketed in the last year,” he added. “People see golf facilities as a ‘pandemic proof’ investment—they did not have to close down. Over 57 million more rounds of golf were played in America last year over 2019, and current trends show 2021 as a record year as well.”
Recent reviews of the River Bend golf course on golfpass.com, however, have rated its conditions to be unfavorable, citing the greens as their main complaint, the Sun Journal reported.
“It used to be a fun course with good greens. Now it is a rough course with awful greens,” read one review from May 15.
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