TheEnforcer
03-23-2006, 10:45 PM
http://www.madison.com/tct/business/stories/index.php?ntid=77392
On par with best in golf: Northern Bay Resort replicates top holes
By Jeff Richgels
If you're a golfer watching with envy this weekend as Tiger Woods and company play the famed 17th hole at TPC at Sawgrass, rejoice.
Starting next month, you will have to drive only about 90 minutes north of Madison to play a replica of that famous par 3 with its island green, which is widely considered the most terrifying hole in golf.
And you'll also be able to take a shot at replicas of several other famed holes, including Augusta National's 13th and 16th, Bay Hill's 18th and Firestone Country Club's 16th.
The venue is Northern Bay Golf Resort and Marina on Castle Rock Lake in Arkdale. The 18-hole course, which includes nine replicas of famous holes from PGA Tour courses and nine regular holes, opens to the public for the first time on April 15, weather permitting.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Area golfers can experience the agony of the famed 17th hole at the TPC at Sawgrass without going to Florida. The island green hole is one of nine replicas of famous holes at the Northern Bay Golf Resort, which opens next month in Arkdale.
The course, which is the first of its kind in Wisconsin and one of only about 15 nationally, has received numerous write-ups in regional and national golf publications. It was open part of last year to Northern Bay home and condo owners and renters.
"One thing we don't have yet is the flowers from Augusta," said Bill Ranguette of Waunakee, one of six partners in Northern Bay. "But everything else is extremely close: traps, the plane of fairways and greens, tee boxes, traps, rivers, creeks, greens."
The $150 million development also includes homes, condominiums, a marina, tennis courts, volleyball courts, a swimming pool complex and it plans to start construction soon on a lakeside condo hotel with an indoor waterpark, meeting facility, restaurant and spa. The clubhouse, which is scheduled to be finished next month, overlooks the replicas of Sawgrass 17 (No. 10 for the course) and Bay Hill 18 (No. 18 for the course).
Construction on the 320-acre development started in May 2003. Madison-based Planning Design Build Inc. is the architect and general contractor.
Northern Bay ultimately will employ about 350 and add about $3.5 million in property tax revenues to the $13 million Adams County collects annually.
Ranguette said the replica holes have given a huge boost to the project.
"As soon as we announced (there would be replica holes) there was a large increase in our condo and home lot sales," he said. "It's been a tremendous boost."
All 47 home lots have been sold and the 312 condos are more than 70 percent sold, Ranguette said. Condos on the golf course and lagoon range from $330,000 for 1,679 square feet to $619,900 for 2,532 square feet.
The idea of developing a championship course on Castle Rock Lake - Wisconsin's fourth largest lake - and a condominium resort came from the six partners: Ranguette, Paul Gilbertson and David Kennedy of The GilRan Group, and Mootz brothers Frank, Nick and Matt, who own and operate Wisconsin Golf LLC, a golf course design and building company with courses in Florida and Wisconsin in its portfolio.
The public will pay $85 for 18 holes with cart Monday through Thursday, $95 Friday through Sunday. There also will be packages for those staying at the property, with tee times available a year in advance for overnight guests.
Many of the condo owners have agreements with Northern Bay to rent their condos when they are not using them. The revenue from such deals is shared by Northern Bay and the condo owners. Condo amenities include whirlpool tubs and multi-head showers.
The idea to use replica holes came from one of the Mootz brothers, and was enthusiastically embraced by the other partners, Ranguette said.
"I thought it would just be wonderful to market something like this that's so unique and so different," Ranguette said.
Northern Bay hooked up with Tour 18, a Texas-based company that specializes in replicas. One of its efforts in Texas is Augusta Springs, which is an 18-hole replica of Augusta National.
"They walked our site and flew (over) our site and gave us choices of different holes in the areas we wanted them, and then we picked," Ranguette said.
Ranguette estimated that doing replica holes added about 20 percent to construction time and 30 to 50 percent to the cost.
The project did run into one snag: A trademark lawsuit by Pebble Beach and later joined by Pinehurst. The suit, which came as a surprise to Northern Bay, was filed late last summer after the course received some publicity.
"As soon as we were served (with the suit) we immediately pulled all of our marketing," he said, including changing the name of one condo unit from Pebble Beach to The Landing.
Pebble Beach did offer to allow Northern Bay to pay to use its name, but the offer didn't include a time frame so Northern Bay declined, Ranguette said.
Eventually, the case was settled amicably with Northern Bay agreeing not to use the Pebble Beach or Pinehurst names, Ranguette said, adding that none of the other courses whose holes were replicated have protested.
What had been Pebble Beach's first hole and Pinehurst No. 2's third hole now carry no special designation, so the course officially has just seven replica holes and 11 regular holes. However, course owners can build holes however they want so the holes were not changed physically. That means astute golfers will realize there are nine replica holes.
As part of its greens fees Northern Bay will film all golfers playing the replica of Sawgrass No. 17. Each player then gets a DVD of their experience playing the hole.
The course features a variety of tees, enabling regular golfers to enjoy the holes without facing the extreme challenge faced by pros. For example, the replica of Sawgrass No. 17 can be played as short as 81 yards.
"You have the feel but not necessarily the same level of challenge," Ranguette said.
On par with best in golf: Northern Bay Resort replicates top holes
By Jeff Richgels
If you're a golfer watching with envy this weekend as Tiger Woods and company play the famed 17th hole at TPC at Sawgrass, rejoice.
Starting next month, you will have to drive only about 90 minutes north of Madison to play a replica of that famous par 3 with its island green, which is widely considered the most terrifying hole in golf.
And you'll also be able to take a shot at replicas of several other famed holes, including Augusta National's 13th and 16th, Bay Hill's 18th and Firestone Country Club's 16th.
The venue is Northern Bay Golf Resort and Marina on Castle Rock Lake in Arkdale. The 18-hole course, which includes nine replicas of famous holes from PGA Tour courses and nine regular holes, opens to the public for the first time on April 15, weather permitting.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Area golfers can experience the agony of the famed 17th hole at the TPC at Sawgrass without going to Florida. The island green hole is one of nine replicas of famous holes at the Northern Bay Golf Resort, which opens next month in Arkdale.
The course, which is the first of its kind in Wisconsin and one of only about 15 nationally, has received numerous write-ups in regional and national golf publications. It was open part of last year to Northern Bay home and condo owners and renters.
"One thing we don't have yet is the flowers from Augusta," said Bill Ranguette of Waunakee, one of six partners in Northern Bay. "But everything else is extremely close: traps, the plane of fairways and greens, tee boxes, traps, rivers, creeks, greens."
The $150 million development also includes homes, condominiums, a marina, tennis courts, volleyball courts, a swimming pool complex and it plans to start construction soon on a lakeside condo hotel with an indoor waterpark, meeting facility, restaurant and spa. The clubhouse, which is scheduled to be finished next month, overlooks the replicas of Sawgrass 17 (No. 10 for the course) and Bay Hill 18 (No. 18 for the course).
Construction on the 320-acre development started in May 2003. Madison-based Planning Design Build Inc. is the architect and general contractor.
Northern Bay ultimately will employ about 350 and add about $3.5 million in property tax revenues to the $13 million Adams County collects annually.
Ranguette said the replica holes have given a huge boost to the project.
"As soon as we announced (there would be replica holes) there was a large increase in our condo and home lot sales," he said. "It's been a tremendous boost."
All 47 home lots have been sold and the 312 condos are more than 70 percent sold, Ranguette said. Condos on the golf course and lagoon range from $330,000 for 1,679 square feet to $619,900 for 2,532 square feet.
The idea of developing a championship course on Castle Rock Lake - Wisconsin's fourth largest lake - and a condominium resort came from the six partners: Ranguette, Paul Gilbertson and David Kennedy of The GilRan Group, and Mootz brothers Frank, Nick and Matt, who own and operate Wisconsin Golf LLC, a golf course design and building company with courses in Florida and Wisconsin in its portfolio.
The public will pay $85 for 18 holes with cart Monday through Thursday, $95 Friday through Sunday. There also will be packages for those staying at the property, with tee times available a year in advance for overnight guests.
Many of the condo owners have agreements with Northern Bay to rent their condos when they are not using them. The revenue from such deals is shared by Northern Bay and the condo owners. Condo amenities include whirlpool tubs and multi-head showers.
The idea to use replica holes came from one of the Mootz brothers, and was enthusiastically embraced by the other partners, Ranguette said.
"I thought it would just be wonderful to market something like this that's so unique and so different," Ranguette said.
Northern Bay hooked up with Tour 18, a Texas-based company that specializes in replicas. One of its efforts in Texas is Augusta Springs, which is an 18-hole replica of Augusta National.
"They walked our site and flew (over) our site and gave us choices of different holes in the areas we wanted them, and then we picked," Ranguette said.
Ranguette estimated that doing replica holes added about 20 percent to construction time and 30 to 50 percent to the cost.
The project did run into one snag: A trademark lawsuit by Pebble Beach and later joined by Pinehurst. The suit, which came as a surprise to Northern Bay, was filed late last summer after the course received some publicity.
"As soon as we were served (with the suit) we immediately pulled all of our marketing," he said, including changing the name of one condo unit from Pebble Beach to The Landing.
Pebble Beach did offer to allow Northern Bay to pay to use its name, but the offer didn't include a time frame so Northern Bay declined, Ranguette said.
Eventually, the case was settled amicably with Northern Bay agreeing not to use the Pebble Beach or Pinehurst names, Ranguette said, adding that none of the other courses whose holes were replicated have protested.
What had been Pebble Beach's first hole and Pinehurst No. 2's third hole now carry no special designation, so the course officially has just seven replica holes and 11 regular holes. However, course owners can build holes however they want so the holes were not changed physically. That means astute golfers will realize there are nine replica holes.
As part of its greens fees Northern Bay will film all golfers playing the replica of Sawgrass No. 17. Each player then gets a DVD of their experience playing the hole.
The course features a variety of tees, enabling regular golfers to enjoy the holes without facing the extreme challenge faced by pros. For example, the replica of Sawgrass No. 17 can be played as short as 81 yards.
"You have the feel but not necessarily the same level of challenge," Ranguette said.