Ashlar/ Stonecutters Ridge Swap Deal

[Hooker]

Thats the one scott.
But our hole numbering is different.
We built two new par 3's out there, the 3rd and 5th on the master plan...this new par 4 is the 4th.
You walk thru the back of the downhill par 3, behind the pond to some new tees stuck in the corner. The hole was grassed last week and looks great.

Should be good as it will break up the three par 3's [ 3rd, 4th, 5th] they have at present.

They had a go at building that new 4th using the existing green a few years ago but they had a problem with the greenies or something.

[TS]

Those Ashlar members would be getting a good deal - they sold the land based on each block getting a membership to the GC without having to pay the $30k joining fee.

Plus - the clubhouse & all other facilities (swimming pools, tennis courts, gym, creche) will be to Medallist standards.

Hopefully - whatever factors that have caused Ashlar to be in such bad shape won't be brought to Stonecutters Ridge. Let's hope it's not bad mgmt ...

May be that is one way to get a cheap membership to Stonecutters Ridge.

[Grunt]

May be that is one way to get a cheap membership to Stonecutters Ridge.

Great minds think alike TS

[WeekendHacker]

Those Ashlar members would be getting a good deal - they sold the land based on each block getting a membership to the GC without having to pay the $30k joining fee.

Plus - the clubhouse & all other facilities (swimming pools, tennis courts, gym, creche) will be to Medallist standards.

Hopefully - whatever factors that have caused Ashlar to be in such bad shape won't be brought to Stonecutters Ridge. Let's hope it's not bad mgmt ...

I for one hope it goes through the member vote. Picking up all of these facilities without the need to pay the joining fee will be a very big bonus.

Don't think it is bad management from the present administration I think its too many decsions from the heart and not enough from the head from previos board members and management staff. I hope that the current team can really do good things here.

[Scottt]

excuse my ignorance, but where the **** is stonecutters ridge?

[goughy]

Isn't it near moe's tavern, in an abandoned pancake palace or something?

[amanda]

Scottt - it's the new Greg Norman course being built in north-western Sydney.

I for one hope it goes through the member vote. Picking up all of these facilities without the need to pay the joining fee will be a very big bonus.

Don't think it is bad management from the present administration I think its too many decsions from the heart and not enough from the head from previos board members and management staff. I hope that the current team can really do good things here.

WH - do you know if Ashlar mgmt & Board would go over to Stonecutters as well?

[Scottt]

the one at Pitt Town?

[Grunt]

the one at Pitt Town?

Not that far out Scottt, near Schofields

[Scottt]

Not that far out Scottt, near Schofields

ah, of course. I recall that one. It was announced just before I left the area.

[WeekendHacker]

Scottt - it's the new Greg Norman course being built in north-western Sydney.


WH - do you know if Ashlar mgmt & Board would go over to Stonecutters as well?

Yes they will be. Apparently Urban Pacific Limited and Medallist Developments do not want to manage the course and its facilities and in choosing to do a swap with Ashlar they will also pick up the management of a current golf course in the same local area. Talk is also on the cards for taking the Ashlar name there as well.

[Grunt]

Yes they will be. Apparently Urban Pacific Limited and Medallist Developments do not want to manage the course and its facilities and in choosing to do a swap with Ashlar they will also pick up the management of a current golf course in the same local area. Talk is also on the cards for taking the Ashlar name there as well.

Do you know the other course?

[WeekendHacker]

Do you know the other course?

Other course?

[Grunt]

Yes they will be. Apparently Urban Pacific Limited and Medallist Developments do not want to manage the course and its facilities and in choosing to do a swap with Ashlar they will also pick up the management of a current golf course in the same local area. Talk is also on the cards for taking the Ashlar name there as well.

This one.

[WeekendHacker]

This one.

There is no other course.

I meant here that by UPL and Medallist doing a swap for the land Ashlar is on with the new Stonecutters Ridge course and facilities, they also get the management of Ashlar to run the new course.

[Grunt]

oh ok, I thought it meant there was another course that Medallist had taken over and were passing on to Ashlar as part of the deal.

[Scottt]

http://www.blacktownadvocate.com.au/...2139_news.html

The local paper has a few details this week.

[amanda]

Thanks Scottt!

[Grunt]

The comments from the GM seem way different from the impression he gave when he was talking to the members I played with last week. He said that they were surveying the course and working out how many house etc. they could put on the site. There are areas of Ashlar that cant be built on, eg.floodplain, that he said they were going to have to take into account. He seemed very much like it was way more advanced than what the article said.

[WeekendHacker]

I think this is the issue that us members have at the moment. This is way more advanced that we are being led to believe and it does not help that we all know this but the board are not sharing exactly where it is up to.

[Grunt]

Got to think that the members of Ashlar will be the winners out of it all, if it gets through. The GM basically said if it did not the club would fail.
A member told me that the deal has the membership fees fixed for a set period for current members but would be different for new members, that creates a problem in itself. To top it off you will have the landowners that thought they were getting an exclusive club. Could create some tension indeed.

[amanda]

I think this is the issue that us members have at the moment. This is way more advanced that we are being led to believe and it does not help that we all know this but the board are not sharing exactly where it is up to.

We went through a similar process at New Brighton when they were thinking of selling some of the holes (1, 18, 9) to Mirvac for redevelopment. Mirvac came in and surveyed the place & determined lot placement as part of their due diligence to see if it was worthwhile. That plan didn't go ahead as the money offered wasn't enough (from memory) and a lack of information meant that most members were very sceptical about what the board was telling us.

WH - is the club financially viable at the moment?

A member told me that the deal has the membership fees fixed for a set period for current members but would be different for new members, that creates a problem in itself. To top it off you will have the landowners that thought they were getting an exclusive club. Could create some tension indeed.

I'd say tension would be an understatement At current Ashlar rates, we should get 27 yr exepmtion on fees

The most likely outcome I see is that once the fixed membership fee period expires and then fees suddenly jump to the public price (I would expect somewhere around the $2000 level) - you'll see a whole lot of members exiting the club for places like Dunheved which are more reasonably priced.

This also depends on how many residents buy a membership to the cluhouse facilities (pool, tennis courts, gym) - if not many take it up - fees will go up even further.

[TS]

Amanda. The fee would more likely be around $3K, that is what Macquarie Link & Twin Creek are charging.

[amanda]

Geez - lucky Brad's still on the waiting list at NSWGC

[WeekendHacker]

WH - is the club financially viable at the moment?

The club lost some 80 - 100 members last year. This meant a hit in funds of between $80,000 - $100,000 straight away from membership fees alone. Add to that the $100.00 per head bar tab and what these members may spend in the club and pro shop and you start to see a substantial loss in income. The club is viable at present but if it cannot boost membership in the next 12 months it may be a different story. They are currently offering 18 months for the price of 12 to get new members in but I don't think it is having too much of an impact.