[Proposal #24]: LinksDAO US Course - Hillcrest Country Club

Authors: cbruce, Bez, Jim, Cooper, mrsenorhill, mdudas

TL;DR: LinksDAO has the opportunity to become an owner of Hillcrest Country Club, a historic Donald Ross course in Kansas City, MO. Among the hundreds of courses we have evaluated, we believe the course represents the best opportunity to acquire an extremely high quality golf course with top 100 potential, in line with the community’s desires and expectations.

Summary: After voting on two course options in Proposals 19, 20 and 21 and continuing to negotiate the terms of a deal with each course (plus evaluating additional course options), we have now agreed upon terms with the owners of the Midwest course, Hillcrest Country Club in Kansas City, MO. If we vote Yes, we will move forward with the deal.

Hillcrest was designed by legendary Golden Age architect Donald Ross (Pinehurst No. 2, Seminole, East Lake) and opened in 1916. After designing Hillcrest, Ross was quoted as saying “Kansas City will have the world’s finest golf course”, and over the years it played host to numerous premier events such as the PGA Tour’s KC Open and the Western Am. As many courses have - it changed hands a number of times and suffered from underinvestment over the decades. It was recently acquired by Robb Heineman, a prominent Kansas City businessman, developer, private equity exec, and co-owner and former CEO of the MLS franchise Sporting KC. We have the opportunity to partner with Heineman, becoming a co-owner of Hillcrest and the exclusive source of national memberships for the course.

The course is currently closed and undergoing a $30M full renovation of both course and clubhouse - to reopen as a fully private club in spring 2026. As can be seen by the level of investment, the intent is to create a very high quality golf and hospitality experience, with the ambition of being a club that garners national recognition and ultimately a top 100 ranking. The local founding membership of the club already includes NFL and MLB stars, an NCAA legend, and other celebrities and prominent business people, so it will be a notable membership to be a part of. Additionally, the course is 15 minutes from downtown KC and 35 minutes from KC’s international airport (MCI) with direct flights to most major US cities and a ~3 hour flight from both coasts, so it is very accessible for our membership that is spread across the country, and the world.

LinksDAO members can see more details about the course, it’s history, the clubhouse, the renovation plan and more here

Transaction Details: The deal that we have the opportunity to move forward with would make LinksDAO a co-owner of Hillcrest. We would be a minority owner, but would have 1a seat on the 3-person Board and would likely make up a majority of the members of the course, so we would have significant say in the operations and direction of the course. The deal would also establish LinksDAO as the exclusive source of national and international memberships at Hillcrest - so outside of the local membership, being a LinksDAO member would be the only way to join the course.

LinksDAO members would have the ability to join as national, full or founding members. Options would range from entry level tiers with limits on rounds, to full unlimited memberships, to founding memberships which would entail an investment in the course that includes multiple years of dues, preferred returns and other benefits. We would also have dedicated dates to host Links events for our members.

This is a course that is undergoing a significant renovation with an extremely high quality bar, and therefore the membership fees will not be trivial, but the anticipated entry level fees will be a fraction of a typical initiation fee at a course of this caliber. You will be hard pressed to find a top 100 level course you could join for the fees that LinksDAO will have access to as part of this deal.

View Proposed Membership Tiers & Information here, in the LinksDAO Members-Only Clubhouse. These details are not public, so please keep discussion internal to #members-chat in discord!

Additional details:

• Each membership tier will have additional benefits such as guest privileges, access to member events and member logo merch, special preopen events, additional KC sporting events, lockers, preview play and more - exact details of which are still TBD.
• National Members will have no restrictions on days or times of play.
• LinksDAO members living locally will have options available to them other than full local membership
• Memberships will have upfront fees and annual dues, but dues would not commence until the course opens
• New Hillcrest members are responsible for an initiation fee and a development contribution. Spey Bay Diamond and Platinum Inaugural Members will have the standard initiation fee waived as a benefit of their Inaugural Memberships.

Funding: The deal would be done with existing company funds and would not negatively affect ongoing LinksDAO operations. Part of what we bring to the deal is our brand, community, and connections throughout the industry, which helps us achieve attractive deal terms.

Rationale: There are a number of reasons that we believe Hillcrest is an exciting opportunity to establish our US home and a singular opportunity to acquire a top tier US course for our membership.

First and foremost, it has the potential to be an incredibly high quality golf course, with things like a top 100 ranking and international recognition within reach (though never guaranteed). The genesis of the entire project was around acquiring a top 100 course in America, and the community has consistently and strongly voiced its opinion that course quality is the most important attribute in a potential course. After the hundreds of courses we have evaluated, this is without a doubt our best opportunity to get the highest quality course and in the fastest timeframe. It has a unique combination of historical significance, golf architecture “pedigree”, made-for-golf land, and established plan for revitalization that are incredibly hard to find and set Hillcrest up to be a world class course.

Additionally, Hillcrest aligns well with other preferences that have been voiced by the community. The second most important attribute on our 2022 and 2023 course attribute votes was proximity to a major airport and Hillcrest is 30 minutes from an international airport with direct flights to most major US cities and about equivalent flight time to both coasts (and our most populous Links member cities in NYC and SF/LA). The combination of high quality, proximity to airport and feasible price (typically at odds with airport/city proximity) is very tough to find, but Hillcrest hits all three. It also scores very well on other attributes near the top of the community list such as uniqueness, great clubhouse, top notch practice facility and proximity to other golf options. We also anticipate that there will be cabins developed on-site and we will have preferred pricing at KC hotels. And in proposals 20 and 21, which detailed Hillcrest and the deal in anonymized form, it was a resounding “Yes” to move forward and the clear preference when compared head to head with the SE course.

Hillcrest also has elements that set it apart from other course options we have evaluated. Not only will it be a great course and incredible clubhouse, it will bring the opportunity to join a club with pro athletes, celebs and prominent businesspeople as your fellow members. And it will allow us to be a part of the journey of the rebirth of an incredible Golden Age course from the ground floor.

The attributes where Hillcrest does not score as well would be year-round play (#3 in the 2023 course attribute vote) and “ready to play soon” (#10) which, in addition to being lower ranked attributes compared to where Hillcrest shines, are also part of the reason that it will be such a high quality course. The deal with Hillcrest will also establish us as a co-owner, not the sole owner of the course. While this clearly leads to less control over all aspects of the course, it also means that we share the significant financial burden that is required to create and maintain a top 100 level course in the US and to do so on such a quick timeline. This, paired with the positive reception to the outline of the Hillcrest setup in proposal 20 leads us to believe that it is in line with the community’s desires.

Lastly, we believe moving forward with Hillcrest will set Links up for future success in multiple other dimensions. The ownership of (another) highly regarded course will lend further credibility to the brand and will only enhance our future partnership and course acquisition efforts. Membership at such a highly regarded course will help LinksDAO members get greater access to top tier courses across the country. And partnering with Robb Heineman and the rest of the ownership will also open up other potential course developments for LinksDAO in the future, and help establish other beneficial relationships.

Major Milestones: 1-4 weeks post-vote (if Yes): membership sales open Summer 2025: Expected major event in KC, including course tour Spring 2026: Grand opening

Voting: For: Yes, I support LinksDAO moving forward with the deal to become co-owner of Hillcrest Country Club as our first US course. Against: No, I do not support LinksDAO moving forward with the deal to become co-owner of Hillcrest Country Club as our first US course Abstain: Neither for nor against, but participating. Recording this vote counts toward reaching Quorum.

What Happens After the Vote: If Yes, we will execute the deal and become co-owners of Hillcrest Country Club, with membership enrollment soon to follow. If No, we will not proceed with the deal and continue evaluating other course options.