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Fallbrook-Area Golf Club Faces Possible Foreclosure
April 18, 2009FALLBROOK, Calif. -- Many million-dollar investors are taking a huge hit during this recession, as the newest golf course in Fallbrook is going into foreclosure.
Depending on the day, there are empty parking lots at golf courses across the county. The current state of the economy has many people -- including golfers -- strapped for cash.
Some have called it the best kept secret in San Diego, but The Golf Club of California's financial problems are certainly no secret.
"There was a significant amount of accounts payable that were past due," said Parker Mahnke, a member of the golf club.
He said he has seen the rise and fall of the Fallbrook course.
Under previous management, it closed last year.
Now, the course is facing foreclosure.
"It finally got to the point where the department of power said, 'We are going to shut off electricity,'" said Mahnke.
The whole golf industry is suffering, experts said.
Recently, Callaway Golf in Carlsbad cut more than 150 people from its workforce.
LMT Management's Tom Williams manages several golf courses, and he estimated a 25-percent drop in revenues across the board.
"We have seen some of the properties that maybe had struggled going in closed," said Williams.
According to the National Golf Foundation, the number of new golf courses expected to open in the U.S. is the smallest in 20 years.
In the 1990s, about 2,500 new courses were added to the 13,000 existing courses, according to the foundation.
Now, that trend is reversing, and 100 courses are expected to close this year.
"Operators have to be creative considering what the financial situation of their customer base is," said Williams.
To top it off, many courses will most likely get hit with mandatory water cutbacks, experts said.
It costs $300,000 to irrigate The Golf Club of California.
For now, members of the club are trying to get this course up and running.
There is an expectation that players and flagsticks will be back on the greens.
The foreclosure process could take up to several months, but members tell us there are already interested buyers.
If all goes well, the course plans to reopen by May 1 under new ownership.
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