Golf Week's Ultimate Guide

’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO GOLF COURSE LIVING AND GREAT ESCAPES The Madison Club La Quinta, California BY Martin KaufMann GW: What is your assessment of the state of the luxury real ichael Meldman likes to say, “I don’t amenity-rich properties revolve around the golf estate market? want to hear about the labor pains, just courses, typically designed by Meldman’s go-to MM: It depends what type of Mshow me the baby.” That line – architect, Tom Fazio. While the courses are highly luxury. Our projects are actually borrowed by Al Pacino for his turn in “Ocean’s regarded, they’re perhaps best known for their selling well right now. We’re Thirteen,” in which Meldman had a bit part – elaborate “comfort stations,” where guests will happy. The highest-end projects gives some sense of the hard-charging style that find everything from soft-serve ice cream sundaes we have – the Kukios (in Hawaii), has made Discovery Land Co., the real estate (Meldman’s favorite) to freshly grilled shrimp the El Dorado, the Baker’s Bays development firm that Meldman founded, a tacos at El Dorado in Los Cabos, Mexico, to even (in the Bahamas), the Madisons leader in luxury golf communities. more elaborate fare. (in La Quinta, Calif.) and the Those communities include Mountaintop in Meldman, 52, talked with Golfweek about his Yellowstones (in Montana), which Cashiers, N.C., and Gozzer Ranch in Arrowpoint, company’s expansion plans, his improving golf are probably the highest price Idaho, home to top-five layouts on the Golfweek’s game and his disdain for wearing suits and going points – are actually selling at Best Residential Courses list. Discovery Land’s to meetings. pretty good velocities. At Cabo, prices are actually going up. In other places, prices are more Developing elastic. story El Dorado Golf & Beach Club Los Cabos, Mexico Cover The Madison Club GW: What percentage of residents live in multiple La Quinta, California Discovery Land communities? MM: It’s probably 20 to 25 percent. When you have 5,000, 6,000 members, that’s a considerable amount. But the nice luxury Page two about that is when you have nice Hole #18 at Baker’s Bay geographic locations – when people live in the winters in La El Dorado Golf & Beach Club Discovery Land CEO Michael Meldman Quinta or Scottsdale and they want to summer in Montana or Idaho – we have a lot of complementary Page four – each photo labeled discusses selling luxury golf real estate in a lagging economy seasons as well. Yellowstone Club GW: Tom Fazio said one of Hole #18 at Baker’s Bay the things he loves about Abaco, Bahamas working for you is that you let him pick the land for the golf course, then leave him alone. What’s your philosophy on that? MM: My philosophy is, you hire the best, then you let them do their jobs. I’m not going to micromanage him or tell him how to design the golf course when he knows a lot more about it than I do. Now, the one thing I do have to control him on is he’ll design the golf course on property we don’t own. He just says, “Buy more property.” And it’s El Dorado Golf & Beach Club not that easy. GW: On a personal note, GW: Anything imminent? showed up in shorts, sandals you’ve been playing MM: We’re under MOUs and unshaven. Tom said he more golf recently and (memorandum of understanding) had to take you to Brooks participating in more in three or four different places. Brothers to buy you a suit. member-guest events. Are That’s the beginning of the Are you always that casual? you enjoying the game? process. I don’t know how long MM: I showed up and my shtick MM: So much more. When I that process takes. didn’t work very well in the started in this business, I didn’t South. But it grew on everyone golf at all. That’s why a lot of our GW: You mentioned the and Mountaintop became a places are a lot more casual and casual nature that you huge success. I actually know there’s a lot more fun aspects cultivate at your clubs. Tom how to dress and act, but people introduced to the golf experience Fazio recalled a preview sometimes are scared that I don’t. than just golf, like our comfort for Mountaintop years ago But Tom did have to save me stations and our casualness on in Atlanta at which you there. the golf course. I don’t make you wear a golf shirt because when we started, I couldn’t get my kids to wear golf shirts. They just wore GW: Do you have a favorite project? Chairman/CEO of Discovery Land T-shirts, so I decided, why fight MM: It’s like, who’s your favorite kid? I always say Kukio is Company Michael Meldman and his it? The good news is I’ve been the best development anyone will ever see because of where sons Will and Hunter. 1 working the past 2 ⁄2 years with it’s located and the amount of money that was invested and GW: Are you a believer in Hank Haney. He’s actually gotten the membership that was created. So I always say Kukio is corporate culture, and if so, me to the point where I can play the mother ship. Baker’s Bay can be that because the physical what is the culture you’ve golf and enjoy the game, which environment might be the best I’ve ever seen. If we were to cultivated at Discovery makes my job a lot more fun. say, ‘God, can you create the perfect property for us?’ it would Land? be Baker’s Bay. It’s half an island with seven miles of white MM: I’m a big believer in it. Our GW: How did the concept for sand beach and beautiful tropical waters. The environment culture has been casual elegance the comfort stations evolve? is so important because you can’t buy it. It has to be created with family fun. The big amenity MM: It started at Estancia, which naturally. So that could end up being the best, and El Dorado obviously is golf. But then you was my first project. I’d go out is by far the most fun. And from a pure golf experience, it’s factor in all of the other amenities there with my kids, and they hard to beat Madison. Then for skiing, there’s Yellowstone that go with the area. Gozzer were very young at the time, so Club, which is an impressive, impressive place. Ranch, for example, sits on a they weren’t really golfing. So I lake, so we have wakeboarding put coolers on every tee box. I instructors and fly-fishing had water and Cokes and candy instructors and a lot of boating bars. It kept my kids on the golf and whitewater rafting and other course with me. Even though activities that are indigenous they weren’t golfing, they were to the area. So if you’re in the just sprinting down the golf hole mountains, the idea is not only to get to the next candy bar. It for you and your family to have started with that, and it evolved a great golf experience, but into what we have now, which is also have the great mountain basically full bars and restaurants. experience. A lot of the places bring back candies and root-beer floats that The whole idea behind this is you had as a kid. So it makes you like the old country club, where feel like golfing at one of our the grandfather, father and places is a rare treat and brings grandkids were all there. Since back great memories. these (properties) are new, it’s hard to create that generational GW: Are you looking for feel. So what we did was create more domestic projects, a generational membership. So or are you focused on if I’m the member, my kids are developing what you have members and my parents are in place? members. That way, if you have MM: We’re looking at domestic this big investment in your house, stuff. If you find something, it’s a everyone gets to enjoy it and good time to buy. But we’re also become part of the culture. I looking in Asia and the Middle tell people when they’re buying, East and South America. they’re rewarding themselves for hard work and success, but most GW: Are you looking at importantly, they’re investing in China? their family. That’s been the main MM: Yeah, we’re looking at Kuki‘o Golf Club focus of our culture. China fairly heavily. Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Posted with permission from the March 2, 2012 issue of Golfweek ® Copyright 2012, Turnstile Publishing. All rights reserved. For more information on the use of this content, contact Wright’s Media at 877-652-5295. 86950 Yellowstone Club Big Sky, Montana COLORS: PANTONE 7505 AND PANTONE 697 For information on any of these Discovery properties please contact Discovery Land Company at 866.937.8756..

Load more