Many of the questions residents of the Country Club ask are about the golf course. That is no surprise since it is what drew many of those residents here in the first place.
Before I get into too much detail about turnover of the golf course, which will be covered on a separate post, I feel compelled to address two ridiculous questions I have received when I broached the subject about residents taking control of the golf course.
One is, “What do we know about running a golf course”? Fighting my urge to be sarcastic, I simply state the obvious that we would hire a golf course management company, just as other golf course communities do.
The second question most often voiced is, “How do we know the golf course is making money?” Say what you will about those who run GreenPointe, but one thing you cannot say is they are stupid.
First, does anybody truly believe that GreenPointe did not do its due diligence and investigate the profitability of the golf course before it purchased the River Hall assets? There is absolutely no way GreenPointe would have purchased River Hall if the golf course was not profitable.
Second, does anybody think GreenPointe would not have turned the golf course over to the residents if it began to lose money? That’s one of those “DUH” questions. GreenPointe would have turned it over “faster than a New York minute”. I presume that’s very fast but, since I have never been to New York, I don’t know why a New York minute would be faster than an Alva minute.
Now that those two questions are out of the way, let me address another topic that comes up often, the third 9 holes. Article VII, paragraph 1(f) of the Declaration states that the HOA will maintain “a minimum of eighteen (18) holes of golf when 800 homes have been constructed within the Project, and a minimum of twenty-seven (27) holes when 1,300 homes have been constructed within the Project.”
That section clearly states that the HOA will “maintain”, not build. Left unstated is who would “build” the additional 9 holes, the developer? Before reading further, ask yourself this question, “Do you like apples?”
Actually, the developer never agreed to build the other 9 holes. As a matter of fact, our contract to purchase the lot we built our house on provides the following: “The number of Golf Course holes may, but shall not be required to, be increased based on the number of homes constructed in the Bundled Golf Community”. Now, how do you like “them” apples?
That aside, rumor has it that some of the land that was to be set aside for the additional 9 holes will now be used to build additional homes in the expanded Hampton Lakes section of River Hall. That rumor continues with speculation that GreenPointe does not plan on any more than 900 homes in the Country Club. Therefore, the “promise” of an additional 9 holes is drying up faster than a wet driveway after a brief rain shower in Florida’s 95-degree summer heat.
Why is the preceding rumor and speculation? Because GreenPointe hasn’t provided specific details about what it is planning for the Country Club.
In the next post, I will provide specifics about the turnover of the golf course.