[Proposal #21] US Course Vote: South East or Mid West?

Proposal Name: US Golf Course Feedback

Authors: Bez, cbruce, Cooper, Jim

Author’s Note: These courses have been purposefully anonymized at the sellers’ request. At such time in the process that we are able to name the courses in members-only channels or privately, we will! In the meantime, please do not attempt to uncover the names or share guesses about the potential course identities privately or publicly, as it may hinder the course purchase process and upset the seller(s).

TL;DR: As we’ve continued searching for a US course, we are having advanced conversations with two different US sites that we believe line up well with the course attribute preferences of the community. The setups for each transaction are quite different, so we wanted to share as much as we can regarding them with members to get your feedback and determine how excited members are about each opportunity.

This is PART THREE of a THREE PART VOTE. To gather more information about the community’s relative preferences, please vote between the two as if you were forced to only choose one.

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SE Course

TL;DR: A solid (but not near top 100 level) course in the SE US that we can improve with investment, and is playable immediately. Very easily accessible for eastern US, and location gives a good combination of longer playing season while being able to maintain quality turf (eg, bent grass greens). We would take over the lease and control all operations, but be required to have some publicly available tee times (semi private).

Location: City in the Southeastern United States, close to an airport with direct flights from most US hubs and many east coast / southeast cities

High-level Description: Immediately playable course that is over 7,000 yards from the tips with solid bones and quality greens (bent grass) with room for improvement (e.g. remove a number of trees, alter a couple quirky / “tricked up” holes, re-do bunkers). Existing clubhouse with bar and restaurant, pro shop, locker room and dining rooms all in good condition. The course is public today, with $45-60 greens fees, and is profitable.

Transaction Setup: In this transaction, LinksDAO would become the long-term lease holder (think 50+ years), so while we wouldn’t own the asset for the purposes of reselling the property, we would effectively be the owners and would control all aspects of the operation of the course. And if we wanted to transfer the lease to someone else, we would most likely get compensated in some material way for it. We have the opportunity to take over the lease and the course operation with minimal cash outlay which would allow us to focus investments on future improvements. We would also be getting a significant investment from the current lease holder for clubhouse improvements.

Membership Policy: A condition of the lease is that some tee times at the course must be publicly accessible. Links would make the course effectively semi-private, giving our members advance booking periods and preferred tee times, and hosting members-only events (a la Spey Bay).

Membership Fees: This structure is still to be finalized, but annual dues will likely be somewhere in the $500-1,000 range with some form of initiation.

Other perks / benefits: A couple private / semi-private courses nearby that we could get members on through a potential reciprocity agreement. Lots of lodging options with potential for on-site lodging that would be built by the existing leaseholder who would continue to lease the adjacent land. Tons of great additional F&B / Entertainment / Tourist Attractions nearby.

Attribute summary (our high level assessment, ordered according to rank in our most recent course attribute vote) is an attached image

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MW Course

TL;DR: A Midwest course designed by a top level Golden Age architect, that will be renovated with the intention of being a top 100 level course and a potential Tour site, though it would close for renovation and not reopen until (est) 2026. We would co-own the course with the current owner, who would help fund the investment to get to that quality level. It would be a fully private course, and a number of celebrities and athletes have expressed interest in being a member. Of course, in a new development there are risks, and there is no guarantee of a top 100 rating, Tour event or celebrity members.

Location: City in the Midwestern United States, close to an international airport with direct flights from all major US hubs and many other US cities.

High-level Description: Designed by a Golden Age architect, it has been run as a public course and under-invested in. The course is being purchased by a new owner who has plans to fully renovate the course and clubhouse and relaunch it as a private club, with an anticipated timeline of being completed in 2026 - and we have the opportunity to join forces as a co-owner. The ambitions of the current owner are to make it a Top 100-level site and potential Tour stop.

Transaction Setup: Links would be a co-owner of the course along with the current owner. Links would have the exclusive on offering national memberships to this club to our NFT holders, and NFT holders would also have the ability to join locally. While we wouldn’t be the sole owners, we would likely make up the majority of the membership and would have a corresponding say in steering the club and making sure that it is a good fit for our membership. We have already had some of these discussions with the owner, and after these initial conversations, feel like there’s alignment. For example, we have spoken to him about having all of his local members hold our NFT as a requirement for membership, which he was interested in. Additionally, while he was already in touch with a couple of architects to work on the renovation, we offered to introduce him to others and he was amenable to that. We have since reached out to two architects to see if they are interested and both are, with subsequent introductions completed.

Membership Policy: The course will likely be fully private. It may look like Tree Farm or Old Barnwell in the sense that it is private but there are select opportunities for the public to get on.

Membership Fees: We are still working through the final structure here, as well, but cost to join would likely be in the $5,000-6,000 range with ongoing annual dues in the $1000-2,000 range.

Other perks / benefits: There will likely be a number of celebrity and athlete members joining this club who are affiliated with / from the area.

Attribute summary (our high level assessment, ordered according to rank in our most recent course attribute vote) is an attached image.

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Proposal Details: Please note that a vote for either course does not guarantee an eventual transaction taking place. Once we get to the final stages with either one and once we have permission to share more details on each course, including the names, we will have another vote to move forward with an offer / agreement just as we did with Spey Bay. This proposal is to confirm that the membership is interested in, and that the team should continue to pursue, each opportunity.

Effort: Medium

Voting:

VOTE 3: HEAD2HEAD - Links Members will be asked to choose preference between "SE Course" and "MW Course"

“SE Course”: I would prefer the Team pursue course option “SE Course” OVER course option “MW Course.”

“MW Course”: I would prefer the team pursue course option “MW Course” OVER course option “SE Course.”

“Neither”: I don’t think the team should continue pursuing either option.

“Abstain”: Not in favor of either, but recording this vote counts toward reaching Quorum.