Brick Landing- A very nice story

According to the Sun News of today, The Links at Brick Landing, a golf course that was saved by its residents and members, has reopened after those collective owners made further investments in the property for renovations.

The course in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., had been closed since May 19 for work that included the sprigging of more than 80%of the putting surfaces. It reopened to the public last week after initially opening for a few days to members.

“We’ve been going slow and steady, if you will, to put on our best face when we reopen,” said Brick Landing volunteer marketing coordinator Kevin Finnerty, who is a member and one of 56 investors. “We had a good product when we had to shut down on May 19 and we want to bring golfers back to a better product.”

Two of the course’s greens were fully sprigged and another 12 were partially sprigged with Sunday ultradwarf Bermudagrass. Four greens didn’t need to be replanted.

Last week’s reopening is the second in nine months. Former owner Larry Doyle, who purchased Brick Landing in 2011, had been attempting to sell it before he closed it on Jan. 1, 2020 to avoid losing money on its operation in the winter.

A group of stockholders organized under Community Partners Golf LLC purchased the closed course late last year and temporarily reopened in November, knowing more renovations were needed after having agronomists look at the condition of the grasses.

The greens were overseeded with poa trivialis for the winter so the extent of the work required on them wasn’t discovered until the poa died off and warm-weather Bermuda reemerged late in the spring.

“We knew when we bought it that we were going to have to do that,” said Gene Bonstein, a board member and the club’s treasurer. “The greens basically went to pot after the course closed the first of last year.”

Improvements over the past couple of months were also made to cart paths, bunkers, tees, fairways and drainage. Shrubs and bushes were trimmed and a number of trees were removed around greens to help the putting surfaces maintain health.

“It’s amazing how together the members are, how excited they are, and just how understanding they are,” said Brick Landing head pro Trey Maughan, who was hired from Kansas City, Missouri, about a year ago. “No one wanted to play this golf course more than the members, but at the same time, nobody was willing to wait longer than the members. If I told them we had to close for another month, they would be so disappointed but completely understand and be willing to wait.”

Each Brick Landing stockholder paid $5,000 per share. Some have multiple shares, and each of the six members of the board of directors owns at least six shares.

The majority of the investors are residents around the course but some are from outside the community, and most have become members. The club has more than 150 members and is accepting more without a residence stipulation.

“It’s a great effort, and there are people who invested who don’t even play golf,” Bonstein said. “They are interested in the value of their homes, so there was a lot of interest in keeping this thing going. We have an interest in the success of the golf course other than making money. It’s not that we don’t want to make money, but we’ve got some other advantages to having this golf course open.”

Bonstein said Community Partners Golf is the 10th owner of the course, a scenic 6,600-yard Mike Brazeal design along the Intracoastal Waterway that opened in 1987.

“We’re tired of having outsiders run the place and not having a say,” Bonstein said.

The restaurant in the grand 11,000-square-foot clubhouse, Seabreeze Bar & Restaurant at Brick Landing, is being operated by the owners of the Purple Onion in Shallotte, N.C., and has been open throughout the recent golf course closure.

The course’s future is bright based on its owners and their stake in the course’s success from multiple perspectives. Residents and members often pitch in to help with cleanup and other maintenance issues at the course.

“A member with skin in the game is usually a good member,” Maughan said. (Sun News, August 12th)