Stonebridge vs Equinele

[tclost]

I hear ya but maybe they shouldnt of had plans to build a 7 million dollar clubhouse if they can't afford it, they put 250 people through that course a day and the last 7 rounds i have played there were 5 hour rounds. Not good when it it takes me 2 mins to get to the parking lot.

[golfisforfun]

Ok, but you are bringing up totally different issues... Pace of play is a separate issue, and not one I have come across there, but I only played there 10 times last year.

In terms of the cost of the clubhouse, I think it is very likely that expectations were that they could afford the clubhouse based on $70 greens fees but reality quickly set in over the first few years and now their prices have dropped significantly. The offer all sorts of discounts and I am sure they are not bringing in anywhere near the expected revenue.

I apprectaite the fact that if they can't afford it, then they don't build it, because we don't need another course close to bankruptcy, just because they wanted a fancy clubhouse.

Again, I feel bad for you that you bought there expecting a fancy clubhouse, but things change, costs go up, revenues drop, decisions have to be made...

[tclost]

and on the other side of the coin there are allot of people that would love to sit down and shoot the breeze after a round of golf. I am like you. I like to pay, shoot my round and get home. I have 2 young kids so i can't sit in the clubhouse all day.

[golfisforfun]

And there is no way they average 250 golfers a day there... That would mean complete foursomes going through every 10 minutes from 7am to 4pm... And I don't know any course that has that luxury...

[tclost]

The last 5 rounds thats what they said they were putting through, i dont think there doing that everyday. But they are busy
when its nice out and you can never get a tee time on short notice for more than 1 player unless you walk on as a solo

[big mac]

WOW---that's a switch---but in all honesty what course really needs a 7 million dollar clubhouse ??? I rarely go into a clubhouse anywhere except to get my green fee. Yes it's nice to sit on the patio and have a cold one but how many cold ones will you have today with the drinking and driving situation. The comment about spending the money on course conditions vs clubhouse sure makes a lot of sense. In all honesty I wonder how much ANY clubhouse actually make from golfers-----most golfers I know go to play the game---not everyone is well heeled to enjoy a private club and in todays economy looking at what actually makes money is going to be the rule.

[golfisforfun]

And if they are already busy without a clubhouse, does building one mean they will become any busier? Does the increase in business cover a $7M expense? Not for a LONG, LONG time...

I am pretty sure they will continue to be busy if they keep the fees at a good rate and they maintain the course conditions.

With friends in the restaurant business, I can say that building a $7M restaurant would take a long time to start seeing profits, and a clubhouse doesn't bring in nearly the same traffic and $$$ that a restaurant would.

So from a business perspective, does a $7M clubhouse make any sense?

[tclost]

Yeah they should of thought about that hard before demanding 10k from the homeowners and plus a golf course and a clubhouse go together. if thats the case why doesnt every golf course just have a portable.

[spackler]

They need a clubhouse if they want to get into the wedding/c0rp0rate event game, which is pretty lucrative. It's not just about having a beer after your round.

[tclost]

Christmas parties and all that other stuff, yeah its pretty disappointing.

[BogeyGolf]

Give eQuinelle 5 more years and it will look like Stonebridge in terms of the course being swallowed up by houses, you can slowly start to see it happening now....on the front 9........

[tclost]

I agree Bogey - There is a hole on the back nine that has a house in a weird location to the hole. Looks pretty easy to put a golf ball through a window if you miss a shot.

[John]

Gotta love our first world problems.

[BogeyGolf]

Massive problems...LOL.... I am not a fan of houses on courses.... I think on the Tee Box on hole no.5, they have houses all down the left hand side, these have bullseye written all over them.....not from me of course...I always stripe it down the middle...LOL

[tclost]

Yeah sorry it is number 5....not sure why i though it was the back 9......anyways I wouldnt be surprised if clubhouse not standing in 2015.
They are trying to put some mandatory thing on new houses built that you have to pay the 10k for all the stuff they are adding to the community. Same as if someone purchases an existing home..its so stupid...they dropped a letter on my door one night saying there
was a big meeting at the Kemptville arena to discuss and they wanted to charge homeowners a $5 cover charge to get into the meeting..pretty pathetic if you ask me when you spend 500k on a house

[golfisforfun]

Spackler, the wedding or cor-por-ate game is not as lucrative as you might think... And let's try to figure out how many years it would take them to get the $7M back...

$7M is way too much to spend on a clubhouse in the outskirts of Kemptville... when you don't seem to have the money in the first place.

[spackler]

Spackler, the wedding or cor-por-ate game is not as lucrative as you might think... And let's try to figure out how many years it would take them to get the $7M back...

$7M is way too much to spend on a clubhouse in the outskirts of Kemptville... when you don't seem to have the money in the first place.

It's plenty lucrative. Whether it's worth the $7M cost is another story, but I was pointing out that clubhouses are built for more than just golfers.

[jeffc]

Spackler, the wedding or cor-por-ate game is not as lucrative as you might think... And let's try to figure out how many years it would take them to get the $7M back...

$7M is way too much to spend on a clubhouse in the outskirts of Kemptville... when you don't seem to have the money in the first place.

Let's let equinelle worry about the financing and cost of their clubhouse. Does it really matter to the average golfer what they spend and their business plan surrounding it?

[jeffc]

not sure when you are playing but I play either early in the AM on weekdays, afternoons around 3 or weekends early and I have never played more than 4.5 hours. Usually its 4 and occasionally, it is 3-3.5.

[tclost]

ok well i play twilight at 3:30pm running to the 18th tee playing with 3 groups of 4 all hiting our ball in the dark

[bobblehead]

A marshall told me that Equinelle is hosting a CPGA(or some professional) event in a couple of years and a requirement is to have a clubhouse. Sounds like this won't happen now...

[tclost]

Nope it wont happen....the plan was to pour the foundation in Oct once golf season was over and work over the winter and stop once golf season starts in 2014 and be done for 2015 but they havent done anything. They have moved the portable and thats it

[Kosmo]

Hi just to clarify a few things regarding the eQuinelle Club House and Resident's Club. The meeting held at the Municipal centre was to discuss the Resident's Club and the additional fees that EQ and Regional were adding or demanding from homeowners. A volunteer committee was set up to negotiate with EQ and Regional. And because at that time there was no communication between homeowners and EQ and Regional, the volunteer committee asked for $3.00 to help with the cost of renting the centre. From the general meeting the volunteer committee set up a meeting with EQ and Regional. The results from that meeting clarified a number of things, but still did not sit well homeowners. That being said, EQ and Regional required 150 to 170 homeowners to commit to the Resident Club for them to build the Golf Course Clubhouse and Resident Club. At this point, 140 homeowners have committed. The plan in the Fall of 2013, EQ and Regional needed about 6 months to get approval on the plans from the Municipality and issue the permits to build. The goal last fall was to put the shovel in the ground spring 2014 and open the clubhouse April 2015. The general impression we are getting, as homeowners, they will start to build this spring.

[big mac]

That seems to clarify things a little. Although I will never be an EQ resident I will still frequent the golf course. That being said it looks like there are three issues here a) a golf club house b) a rec center and c) a facility to cater for weddings etc. In my mind I think it will be hard to link all three together and everyone be happy. I can certainly see a rec center for the residents (and they pay for it along with the developer) but as many golfers have said they don't necessarily need a big fancy clubhouse to have a beer or a sandwich. I just hope this does not raise green fees for golfers only. It will be interesting to watch.

This same issue has come up with several courses within residential communities and it ends up with everything suffering.

Sometimes too many promises are made and folks get carried away with the grandiose scheme.

Sure hope a solution can be found.

[johnnymac]

we all flocked to Eagle Creek back in the day with a portable....It's all about the track. Much prefer Equinelle over Stonebridge...easy walk & carry

[hx101]

Not to mention the missing driving range at Stonebridge... Replaced with shi### homes.......

[GoingLow]

The front nine at EQ is awesome.....the back nine ........not so much.

[hx101]

Does anyone know if there is land left in Stonebridge for a smaller driving range? The 2 cages are a joke and the 19th tee is a cow pasture. I am hoping they sell Stonebridge so someone other than Monarch can make some better decisions. I am also noticing subtle changes to the course such as the cheap sand in the bunkers (it use to be the nice white sand).........

[jeffc]

Does anyone know if there is land left in Stonebridge for a smaller driving range? The 2 cages are a joke and the 19th tee is a cow pasture. I am hoping they sell Stonebridge so someone other than Monarch can make some better decisions. I am also noticing subtle changes to the course such as the cheap sand in the bunkers (it use to be the nice white sand).........

not sure where they would put the range that would be anywhere close to the clubhouse or first tee. SB was in fantastic shape all last year as far as I was concerned.

[John]

I'm with you Jeff, it was superb last season.