For all you golf warriors, this is a must read. Thank you Andy Medici Boston Business Journal for a great article. Country clubs and golf courses are at a pivot point, and Blake Walker is banking that subscription models are the future of the industry. The veteran hospitality executive and CEO of the privately held Arcis Golf is bucking the idea that country clubs and daily-fee golf courses are inherently different. That’s why he formed Arcis in 2014. Over the past decade, the company — with the backing of Fortress Investment Group and Atairos — purchased nearly 70 clubs and has grown to about 6,000 employees. The company now holds a roughly equal mix of daily-fee courses and private country clubs that includes several high-profile courses, including Champions Retreat Golf Club near Augusta, Georgia, a 27-hole private course designed by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. But it also includes public courses that many golfers frequent, including Angel Park Golf Club in Las Vegas and Arrowhead Golf Club in Littleton, Colorado. Traditionally, the two concepts haven’t mixed, but Walker is betting on a future in which people can move from one to the other as their lives change — and enjoy broader access than just their own local club or course. “My belief at Arcis’ inception (was) that there are far more commonalities than differences between daily-fee courses and private courses,” Walker said. His goal is to create an ecosystem that includes everything from entry-level to upscale clubs in every major metro in the U.S. The company has acquired and invested $100 million in dense pockets of courses around major metros. In 2021, he told the Dallas Business Journal, his plans to double the company over the next five years, through acquisitions and organic growth Walker's company is seeking to disrupt traditional models at an inflection point for golf courses and country clubs alike. Many golf courses have seen a surge of business since the pandemic, while a variety of factors have led several country clubs to close their doors and contributed to rising dues at others. #realestate #golfcourse #buyers #countryclubs
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