Sale of Canadian golf courses to land development continues to trend

TSN.ca
May 5, 2017
By Bob Weeks

Canada is losing another golf facility in a continuing correction of property values. The Country Club, formerly known as the Board of Trade Golf Club, in Woodbridge, Ont., has been sold to a group led by the RGF Real Estate Fund LP, which will develop a portion of the 45-hole facility into homes.

According to documents, about 95 of the 290 acres is on property that can be developed. The remaining area sits in flood plain and will remain as green space. With housing prices at an all-time high, even building on just a third of the entire parcel of land makes economic sense.

And it’s not a total loss for the golf community. While the plans are still in their infancy, John D’Angelo, president of RGF, said it’s quite possible that 18 of the 45 holes at the facility could remain in some form.

“Right now it’s a private club and I think what you’ll see is a golf course and lots of green space to walk your dog and a community,” he said, adding that with all the necessary approvals, it will likely be five to seven years before the first shovel hits the ground.

The Country Club’s two 18-hole courses, the East and the West (there is also a shorter nine-hole course), were designed by Howard Watson and opened in 1965. The layouts have played host to the Carling World Open, a major international tournament, as well as the du Maurier Classic, an LPGA major.

Owned by the Toronto Board of Trade, the operation was contracted out to Clublink in 2005.

The Country Club joins a list of courses that includes high-profile York Downs, Copper Creek and Glen Abbey, that are in various stages of being turned into homes.

The demand for housing in a rapidly growing Greater Toronto Area has made golf courses attractive to developers looking for land. Although golf is still the most-played sport in Canada, its growth has slowed and a market that was overbuilt in the late 1990s is feeling the pinch. That reality has made courses more valuable as a place for homes than one for birdies and bogeys.

But it’s not necessarily a bad thing, explained course architect Ian Andrew.

“We went a long time without a thinning of the herd,” he stated. “And I think any correction is healthy.”

D’Angelo, who is a golfer and a member at The National Golf Club in Woodbridge, Ont., agreed saying that in the long run golf in the area will be better off.

“I think golf was simply overbuilt and there are a lot of courses,” he stated. “At the end of the day, it will end up being great for the golf operator and there will be stronger clubs.”

Andrew discounted any meaningful drop in the number of players as the reason for the sell-off of courses. The game may not be growing at the rapid pace it did 15 years ago, but it’s still healthy.

Numbers from Golf Canada back that up with the latest research showing 5.7 million Canadian golfers. There are 2,346 golf facilities in the country with 822 of those in Ontario.

While there have been course closures in all parts of the country over the past few years, there have also been stories of successful new facilities such as the two courses in Inverness, N.S., Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs. As well, several projects that faced financial problems have been resurrected and are now on solid ground. Those include courses in B.C. like Bear Mountain in Victoria, The Rise in Vernon, and Tobiano in Kamloops.

Still, back in Toronto, a number of established courses have, at the very least, looked at the possibility of selling. Andrew said he has clients that are investigating the sell-off of parcels of unused land on their property.

“The price of an acre of land makes it worthwhile,” he stated.

Added D’Angelo: “There can be a big payday in selling.”