Would you buy your home today?

My last blog entry was not meant to discredit the BOD of the Association or any individuals of the BOD.  I don’t know if any of them interpreted it that way but I do know at least one resident did.  Most of my comments are not only meant for the current board members but to all past members as well.  What I meant by my comment of them dropping the ball, was they have made not made a very significant effort to figure out a way to help support the club.  The attitude is mostly let’s govern to the point of making and trying to enforce rules but not provide any financial support.  The BOD has made requests of the club that may seem to some to have been totally ignored.  There are two sides to every story and if you are faced with choosing because of financial difficulties between picking up a dead limb or mow the greens, you would probably choose mow the greens because that is what your customers expect.  Many of you know Walter, and you know that he is not a person that likes conflict.  If something needs changing and he has the power and resources to do it he will.  He did not ignore request and there are many residents that will attest to that.  I have never blamed the BOD for the failure of the club.  I have stated that things may be a lot different if the club had ever had the support of the community and that that support will have to start with the BOD.  Maybe I am really way off base but I think that one of the missing links that has been a large factor in the failure of all owners and managers past and present is the community’s support.  Many residents will be against any form of support, they will say that they didn’t buy their home because of the golf course and don’t plan to ever support it.  Well I really would like to know how many of them would purchase that same home today.

My focus now is getting the community involved so that any potential buyers can be assured that they would have the support of this community.  Something no previous owners or managers have had.  I want to recognize and thank again, residents that were members and that did support the club in some manner.   I have been in and around the golf business long enough to know that not unlike all businesses there are fixed costs that need to be met whether there is any daily business or not.  For example Real Estate taxes don’t care if it’s raining and no one can play golf, they continue to accrue whether the club can be open or not.  Insurance is another example.  Key employee salaries another.  Cart and equipment leases are not based on number of rounds played.   In order to meet these fixed costs, a club has to have a member base that can support it.  That base doesn’t have to come only from the community.  In the past the majority of the members were not residents of Turkey Creek.  There is study after study available on the internet of industry standards and what percentage of a club’s members must come from within the community of a club if that club is located within a community.