UPDATED: The bankrupt Mystic Golf Club has received an offer [photopress:Mystic18_1.jpg,full,alignright]from GolfNorth as part of the receivership process, according to rumblings that emerged yesterday. A deal will still have to be approved by the courts and creditors, which will come at the end of the month. Though receiver Sean Casey didn’t return my calls yesterday, he did indicate a deal was in place in an email earlier this week.
According to insiders, there were five to six offers for the club, and numerous golf industry types tramped around the property in the past few months to determine whether to make an offer. ClubLink was among those that investigated the property.
“Anybody who was anyone came to see it,” said one G4G spy.
One person in the know said the offer was expected to be between $6-million and $10-million, which would make it the GolfNorth property with the highest green fee. Last year GolfNorth, which is partially owned by BlackBerry billionaire Jim Balsillie, took Paris Grand out of receivership.
The move by GolfNorth to acquire Mystic is a bit perplexing, considering the company had previously only owned lower-end properties, and whose top green fee is $57. It is hard to imagine GolfNorth running Mystic for a green fee of $60, especially if the organization has to build a clubhouse and hook the property up to electric power.
“I thought I understood their business model — but I don’t anymore,” said the insider.
The Mystic saga is a long and sordid tale. You can read about it here. The club is now open, operating under the receiver with a $80 green fee, including cart. Don McFaul, one of the co-founders of the project who has been trying to whip the course into shape, said vast improvements in conditioning have been made, though it will still take a month for the 12th and 17th fairways to reach the level he expects.
A bestselling author and award-winning columnist, Robert Thompson has been writing about business and sports, and particularly golf, for almost two decades. His reporting and commentary on golf has appeared in 
RT….any idea if Clublink put in a bid? Heron Point and Mystic would make for a nice twin offering for the members and to attract Hamilton/Brantford/Cambridge prospective members.
Anyone?
How many people are there in Hamilton/Brantford/Cambridge who are able and willing to pay for a high end private course? Heron Point costs $45k. There are also very good traditional private clubs at Hamilton G&CC and Brantford. I doubt that there are another 300 or so people in that area willing to pay $40k or so that it would cost.
One would assume that Golf North would change their membership pricing immediately if they do indeed acquire Mystic. Unlimited play now runs $2150…..that would be quite a deal for Mystic and reciprocal play at all other GN properties.
Wayne…45K is the list price to get into Heron Point.
Nobody pays list, trust me.