Black Tuesday is how members of Palmira Golf & Country Club (PGCC) refer to Tuesday, September 30, 2008, the day The Ronto Group (developer of PGCC) closed the doors of the club permanently due to financial conditions.

One year later, in a jovial manner with laughs, smiles and speeches, the members relived the day including crime scene tape stretched across the front doors. This is a bad situation turned good. A few months previous to Black Tuesday I sold a property in PGCC. I relayed the event to the seasonal resident and said not to worry, in time it will be fine. I just knew it would. In this case the members in this premium Bonita Springs community stepped up and purchased the club with 27 holes of golf and now have 320+ members which is nearly the peak membership of the past. The end result is much lower initiation fees and dues and PGCC is now one of the places to be in the area.

PGCC is not alone. Similar situations have taken their toll in other area golf courses. In the end, I believe that these too will be worked out. In as much as the housing market is in its early stages of recovery, it will drive the rejuvenation of golf clubs in these communities.

What could this mean to a home buyer? Good deals, of course. Just like a financially distressed property brings a lower price compared to market value, a distressed golf community can bring down prices or slow down sales leading to better deals.

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