SUN NEWS — Longs, SC ---- China residents Chun
Lan Li and Shi Lin Zou planned to buy a retirement home near New York
City to be near their son and daughter, who have been living and working
in the city. But after the married couple traveled to the Grand
Strand while on vacation for the Chinese New Year in February, the plan
changed. They came across Black Bear Golf Club, and the search for
a home became a new search for a home in the vicinity of the golf
course they now own. They closed last week on the $1.5 million
purchase of the 25-year-old, 6,787-yard Tom Jackson design that sits on
186 acres off S.C. 9, becoming the third Chinese person or couple to buy
a Strand course in the past year. “We looked at it and fell in
love with it,” said Li through interpreter
for the new owners. “It’s more beautiful than New York and the people
here are more friendly.” Li and Zou said they will keep the course
in operation and currently have no plans to build housing or commercial
developments on the property. They plan to maintain dual residences on
the Strand and in the China city of Nanjing. The restaurateurs
have sold the bulk of their restaurants but still have a minor stake in
some. They plan to make improvements to Black Bear beginning, naturally,
with the kitchen and menu, and will assess other needs. They also
expressed a desire to be good neighbors and assist the community through
Black Bear when possible. Their son, Kang Zou, 34, is a product
designer who has been living in New York on a green card but plans to
also move to the Strand and do some importing and exporting while
gradually learning the golf business. No one in the family plays golf, but they all plan to learn now that they are course owners.
As
much as anything related to golf, they appreciated the beauty of golf
course property, especially since their home city is fairly close to
Shanghai and is beset with smog and pollution. “We love the trees
and vegetation and surroundings; the blue sky and sunshine; the clear
water,” Li said. “It’s hard to see that in China.” China residents now own five Strand courses at three facilities, with more purchases likely. Shengwen
Lan of Dalian, China, who became familiar with the Strand after playing
in the Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship last August,
purchased Crown Park Golf Club in February for $1.5 million plus the
assumption of equipment leases that made it about a $2 million
transaction. A Chinese businessman known as Mr. Pan – he prefers
to be identified without a first name according to Sea Trail Golf Resort
assistant general manager Dana Connelly – was behind the $8.5 million
purchase at a Chapter 11 bankruptcy auction last June of Sea Trail, a
2,000-acre community that includes three golf courses in Sunset Beach,
N.C. All of the Chinese owners have expressed an interest to keep their golf courses in operation. “In China, more and more rich people are looking for more luxurious products like golf courses,” Kang Zou said. Zheng
alone has multiple Chinese investors looking to purchase land on the
Strand, including any golf courses that are listed for sale. “In China,
golf courses are way more expensive,” Zheng said. “Only the richest can
possibly afford a golf course. People like them, small business owners,
can’t even entertain the thought. Here they can make it happen.” Li and Zou said they will try to attract more Chinese visitors for golf, tourism and possible investments.
They
purchased Black Bear from GGG of Myrtle Beach, which owns the Classic
Golf Group management company and includes principal owners Robbie Byers
and Ed Jerdon, as well as stakeholder Roland Thomas. Byers had been the
developer and owner of Crown Park before selling that course in
February. The new owners have not retained the management of
Classic Golf Group, though the entire staffs of Black Bear head pro
Patrick Wilkinson, superintendent Jim Brown and food and beverage
manager Patricia Estep have been retained and will operate the club
independently. “I’m excited to have them here with us,” Wilkinson
said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what they want to do with the golf
course. They’re going to make some improvements and have the capital to
do it.” The sale drops the number of courses GGG still owns and
operates through Classic Golf Group to three: Burning Ridge Golf Club,
Indian Wells Golf Club and Founders Club at Pawleys Island. “We
want to stay in the golf business,” Classic Golf Group general manager
Rick Taylor said. “We’re not concerned. We feel we have three really
good ones left. The opportunity came to sell it and we just decided to
sell it.” GGG owned and operated six courses in the mid-2000s. It
previously sold what is now the Hackler Course at Coastal Carolina and
what had been the Burning Ridge West Course. It rebuilt Sea Gull Golf
Club into the Founders Club for a 2008 opening.
