Tradition Golf Management of Eagle is negotiating to operate Summerwind golf course, part of a golf/housing project in Caldwell that also has hit a snag because of the housing slump.
Tradition is the company formed by pro Jerry Breaux and superintendent Clint Travis to lease and operate BanBury Golf Club in Eagle.
All 18 holes at Summerwind have been built and nine have grass, Breaux said. The course could be open by spring 2009.
The course was designed by John Steidel, whose credits include Wildhorse near Pendleton, Ore., and Apple Tree in Yakima, Wash.
Summerwind is located at Ustick and Van Slyke roads in Caldwell.
Chadd Cripe
Greg and Jeanette Bullock say the bankruptcy filing last week by their dream business - Hunter's Point Golf and Country Club - is more detour than roadblock.
The Bullocks have reached an agreement to bring on Nevada-based Synergy Golf Course Management as a partner and, pending court approval, expect to open to members on a limited basis this summer and to the public next spring.
Hunter's Point, which was designed by renowned architect Gene Bates, should immediately become one of the state's top courses.
"The reality of it is we're going to get there," Greg Bullock said. "It's just the road has changed direction, but you're still going to get to the end. You keep your eye on that and everything is going to be fine."
Added Jeanette Bullock: "This is not a white-flag situation."
The Bullocks have been trying to bring a golf course development to Nampa for nearly a decade. Their first project was rejected by the Canyon County Commission. This one, however, seemed like a gem - until the housing slump dried up the cash flow that was paying for construction of the course.
Hunter's Point has sold 160 lots so far. The development calls for 613 units - a combination of single-family homes, patio homes, condos and townhomes.
The Bullocks filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on the golf course last week. They plan to file separately for their entity that owns the surrounding housing development.
The golf club has sold all 50 of its charter memberships and the Bullocks hope for more sales when they make more memberships available, probably next spring.
"We've been real pleased with the response to the golf course," Greg said. "There's a lot of people who want to be a part of Hunter's Point."
There is no doubting the quality of the course, which was projected to open this month. That opening was delayed by the poor weather this spring, which left the last six holes seeded too rough for regular play.
The Bullocks' plan is to open the course to members and their guests on an every-other-weekend basis this summer and have the grand opening in spring 2009. Hunter's Point will be semi-private with public access until the membership base is established.
The course, a par-71 measuring 7,047 yards, looks finished. You can see much of it from the surrounding roads, including Middleton and Greenhurst.
The abundant bent grass - on the tees, fairways and greens instead of just the greens - six ponds and 111 bunkers provide a spectacular sight. Tall fescue grasses will be added in the waste areas between holes.
"I was completely blown away," said Idaho Golf Association executive director Jim Durkin, who toured the course this spring and still plans to hold the 2009 IGA Men's Amateur at Hunter's Point. " The course is fair, but if you mess up you're going to get punished."
Ray Shervik, a charter member who lives in the Hunter's Point community and has built houses there, has played the course once and walked it several times. He calls it "phenomenal."
"Looking out there every day, it's pretty tough not to get out there and whack it around," Shervik said.
Greg Bullock and Shervik say there's little doubt the golf course will open because it has been completed. If the financial problems had hit during construction, the course might have been scrapped.
"There's so much in the golf course, whatever happens the golf course is going to be there," Shervik said. "We'd sure like to see Greg be able to hang on to a portion of that. It's kind of been his dream all along. We're just trying to support him in any way we can."
The Bullocks say they are committed to paying off every debt and providing the members with the family-friendly club they first touted. Synergy, which lists its headquarters as Sparks, Nev., owns three courses in California and Nevada.
Its motto: "Providing creative solutions to difficult situations."
"They have the same value system, the same moral system," Greg said. "It's a real comfortable partnership."
