King’s Deer is Back in Business

The course reopened under Almond Golf LLC in May

Jon Rizzi | Colorado AvidGolfer

What happens when the golf course in the community in which you just purchased a home shuts down unexpectedly? If you’re Doug Almond, you buy it—or first lease it from the bank that is foreclosing on it in September.

So goes the story at King’s Deer Golf Club in Monument. Almond, an executive who relocated last year to the King’s Deer community, barely got to enjoy the 6,711-yard gem before Nebraska-based Exchange Bank foreclosed on the owners and shut down the course in February. Two months of anxious homeowners association meetings later, Almond stepped up. He and his father, Larry, a North Carolina realestate developer who owns several golf courses, formed Almond Golf LLC, leased the 15-year-old 193.7-acre golf course from a court-appointed receiver and spent more than $100,000 to ready King’s Deer for its reopening May 10.

Back in business with a new bar and restaurant area—and without having to operate under a crippling debt burden—King’s Deer has new energy. And once the foreclosure process is completed, Almond plans to purchase the course for less than $1 million. “Our long-term goal is to be the premier public golf course in our state,” Almond said in a statement sent to the King’s Deer Homeowners Association. “As a fellow homeowner, I know that having a premier course in our neighborhood will add value to our properties and create positive experiences in our daily lives.”

“The community obviously wants the course here, and Doug is committed to making this a five-star facility,” General Manager Jeff Kelly told the Colorado Springs Gazette. “Nobody wants an empty field in their backyard when they’ve bought golf course property.”

kingsdeergolfclub.com; 719-559-4500

RELATED LINKS

Colorado Golf Course Foreclosures (Winter 2014)

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Approves Ravenna Reorganization

Valley Country Club Changes Course

Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.com.