Most golf communities that had the bad luck to open for business just before the housing market collapsed are working hard to find ever-creative ways to market themselves -– perhaps too hard.  Some are making extravagant claims about their amenities in order to distinguish themselves from other developments making equally extravagant claims. That sounds, as Yogi Berra might say, like deja vu all over again.

        Carolina Colours, a 2,000 acre community in New Bern, NC, has decided to employ a more straightforward, deceptively simple approach to its marketing and pricing.

        “Everyone is scared [about their financial situations],” says the much traveled and experienced Carolina Colours Developer Ken Kirkman about today’s customers.  “Two or three years ago, our customers were looking for $400,000 homes.  Now they want them in the $300s.”

        Kirkman and Carolina Colours seem happy to oblige, although sharp pricing has resulted in a few accommodations, such as pushing back the schedule to finish the community’s pool, fitness center and tennis complex.  The much anticipated 18-hole golf course was also delayed but is set to open for members at the end of this month, and for the public a month later.  Some potential Carolina Colours prospects have been conditioned by the way many communities were built pre-housing crash -– amenities first, then sell the properties -- and a few have cut and run.  But most potential buyers, Kirkman says, appreciate the principle of fiscal responsibility, especially in these post-crash days.

        “All we can do is tell the truth about where we are and what our plans are,” he says.  “Our community is a long way toward being finished,” he says, adding that, “the golf course is virtually done.”

For those who consider choosing a set of tees that push their driving distances to the limit, Carolina Colours will offer plenty of cautionary notes.

        I can attest to that based on a recent cart ride around the golf course and community with Kirkman.  In early June, the golf course seemed to be approaching completion, with only some minor landscaping and turf growth remaining.  Barring any unforeseen weather event, the course should open on schedule in two weeks, and the members who get to play it first should be impressed.  The layout by former Society of American Architects President Bill Love will appeal across a wide range of playing styles.

        “It will be a good course for retirees,” says Kirkman, which is usually code word for a fun but not overly challenging layout.  In this case, though, the six tee boxes that stretch from 5,800 to 7,000 yards will give players of all abilities the opportunity to ratchet up the challenge quotient if

        I snuck a pre-opening peak at the scorecard and two things stood out about the yardages from the middle "green" tees at 6,437 yards.  One par 3 hole, the 6th, measures a robust 211 yards, while the par 4 10th hole weighs in at a tempting 301 yards.  The longest par 5 from those tees is 550 yards and the shortest just under 500.

        The semi-private Carolina Colours Golf Club is offering for sale 400 golf club memberships (100 in the fold already) for a modest $10,000 equity payment each ($2,000 discount for property owners), 75% of which will be refundable upon resignation.  Dues are a bargain at just $120 monthly for a single and $160 for full family, but those looking for the full traditional country

        Carolina Colours features a mix of town homes, condos and single-family homes in a variety of configurations and sizes on lots that range from “patio” size (less than ¼ acre) to full-acre lots.  The sweet spot is between ¼ and ½ acre, with prices starting in the $60s and topping out in the high $100s.  A 2,700 square foot, 4 BR, 3 ½ BA home, for example, with a view of the 7^th fairway is priced under $390,000, one of the more expensive homes in the community.  The low to mid $300s seems to be the norm, but some patio-style homes are lower yet.

        According to Kirkman, Carolina Colours has found a comfortable niche in the market between lower priced communities, like the nearby Taberna, and more expensive competitors like St. James Plantation,

        Kirkman’s own professional experience is unique among his golf community developer peers, and especially relevant to his efforts at Carolina Colours.  He has witnessed up close the entire arc of golf community development, from the euphoria of the 1980s and ‘90s to the crash of the mid-2000s, plus every market hiccup in between.  As a real estate attorney working in behalf of Weyerhauser Corp., the giant paper company that once was a major residential community developer, Kirkman learned the practical -– and financial -- realities of building communities from the ground up.  Weyerhauser had initially planned to develop Carolina Colours itself before it decided to stick closer to its true knitting (forestry and wood-related products).   Kirkman was also commissioned to help turn around the sales and marketing efforts for the real estate offices at the golf communities of Landfall in Wilmington, NC, and Bald Head Island. (He still retains overall responsibility for The Landfall real estate office.)

        Kirkman’s analysis of the current market for planned communities has informed his market positioning of Carolina Colours, especially in the wake of the housing morass.

        “You have some ‘dead’ communities that got caught up in the euphoria of the market,” he says.  “They did not know who their customers were.”

        “Then you had communities like Brunswick Forest (Leland, NC, near Wilmington) that had their amenities in place and were located in a desirable area.  Wilmington is a great draw for them [Brunswick Forest].” [Click here for my review of the new Cape Fear National Golf Club at Brunswick Forest.]

        New Bern is something of a mini-version of Wilmington -– not as large and, some might say, not as sophisticated, but with plenty of retail services, a good medical center, and a convenient, if small, airport (Delta and USAir service).  And the two rivers that converge in the city, the Neuse and Trent, give it a maritime feel unlike most other near-coast communities.  Like many of his peer developers, Kirkman is certainly willing to talk the talk about his community, but he also can walk the talk.

        “I’m very much personally invested in this community,” he says of Carolina Colours, “because I live here too.”

If you are interested in learning more about Carolina Colours and would like an introduction to Ken Kirkman, who is a hands-on developer who enjoys talking with anyone about his community, please contact me.

In June, the Carolina Colours golf course seemed ready except for the lack of fairway grasses which, in the Carolina summer heat, should not take long to grow.

        Another Thornblade Club member has notched a PGA Tour victory.  Although it does not rise to the level of Thornblader Lucas Glover's U.S. Open triumph in 2009, fellow pro and club member Matt Bettencourt notched his first PGA tour victory at the Reno-Lake Tahoe Open on Sunday using a borrowed caddie and outstanding putting and bunker play to survive a bogey-bogey finish and win by one over journeyman Bob Heintz.  On the bag this weekend for Bettencourt, who lives in the community adjacent to Greer, SC's Thornblade Club, an early Tom Fazio design, was Rocco Mediate's caddy.  Mediate did color commentary at the Open Championship at St. Andrews, where Louis Oosthuizen came out of nowhere to make his own mark.

        The July issue of GolfBusiness magazine includes a map of the U.S. that compares the number of golf rounds played, state-by-state, thru April this year and April last year.  The data suggests what we already know, that like politics, the state of the economy is very much local.

        Through April, golf courses in half the states increased rounds and half decreased.  The strangest comparison was in North Dakota, where rounds played for the first four months this year were up by 334% over the same period last year.  Of course, in a thinly populated state like North Dakota, a few abnormally warm days in April could account for the dramatic increase.  Of greater significance is that most of the states with increases are in the northern half of the nation and not known generally as magnets for travel golf or golf communities.

        Southeastern, golf-rich states run the gamut from mild decreases in rounds played to disappointing numbers.  North Carolina rounds are down just 3.6% year-to-year, Virginia 7.6% and South Carolina 8.6%.  Alabama and Georgia suffered through an especially tough first one-third of the year, down 13.6% and 14.3% respectively.

        The good news is in the comparison of the month of April last year and this past April, when temperatures tend to make play possible in most parts of the nation.  East of the Rocky Mountains, every state except for Florida shows an increase in play year to year.  Rounds in Florida decreased by 2.9%.  Nationwide, rounds increased in April by an aggregate of just over 10%.

        It will take more than four months for a clear demonstration that golfers are coming out of their few years of hibernation.  But April increases of 20.3% in Virginia, double-digit improvements in Georgia and Tennessee, and modest improvements in the Carolinas imply that things could be moving in the right direction.

       GolfBusiness archives older issues at http://www.golfbusiness.com.  The full July issue should be available online in a month or two.

The few newly opened golf courses, like Cape Fear National in Leland, NC, are hoping the trend of increased rounds in April continues.

        The web site at the once highly regarded Payson, Arizona community called The Rim Club welcomes visitors with an eerie sign of the times:  “There are no homes available at this time.  Check back often or visit our Information Center for details on our current offerings.”  Only one home site is listed for sale, at $149,900 for an acre-plus.  And the owner will pay the initiation fee for the golf club.

        That initiation fee is not worth what it was just 15 months ago when developer and club owner Crescent Resources sold memberships for $150,000.  Now, in the wake of Crescent’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy from which it emerged one month ago, and the takeover of the club by its members, the new initiation fee is just $10,000.  That is largely because the club is now open to the public.

        There is no questioning the quality of The Rim golf course, about 75 miles north of Scotsdale.  Golfweek magazine has consistently rated the Weiskopf/Morrish layout the best residential golf course in the southwest region since it opened in 2003.  Other ratings put the golf course in the top 60 of all courses nationwide.  Reports are that it is both challenging and beautiful, with significant elevation changes, dramatic rock outcroppings and killer views of the surrounding mountains.

        With dozens of properties in 10 southeastern and southwestern states, it may be many more months before Crescent sorts out a clear direction for itself.  Until then, the bad news at The Rim Club is good news for those who have been lusting to play it; now’s their chance, at summer green fees from $99 to $120 at peak times.