Yahoo Finance Atwater’s Rancho Del Rey Golf Club sold to local buyers. What should golfers expect?
Local investor and developer Daniel Moradzadeh says one of the general rules of real estate is to find the best possible neighborhood and the worst possible home.
Moradzadeh is applying that same philosophy with with the purchase of the Rancho Del Rey Golf Club in Atwater, which is the only public golf course in Merced County.
Moradzadeh, director of the Merced-based Shemoil’s Investment Development, teamed up with Ron Ewing, a former professional golfer from Merced, to buy the Rancho Del Rey Golf Club on June 26 for $1.1 million from the Headliner Development Company.
The golf course
The course, built in 1963, was designed by Bob E. Baldock.
The 118-acre property, which is located at 5250 West Green Sands Road, includes an 18-hole, 6,703-yard golf course, a putting green, chipping area, driving range, restaurant and bar.
However, in recent years the course has been struggling to attract golfers because of poor playing conditions due to general neglect of the property.
“(Rancho Del Rey) had lost probably 25 to 30% of the revenues over the last three years, and it was going down at a pretty significant rate because of the state of the golf course,” said Ewing, who was the last golf pro at Merced Hills Golf Club before it closed due to the construction of UC Merced.
“The golf course was dry because it was not taken care of, the bar was never open so you couldn’t get a drink, there were no range, or the range was closed,” Ewing added. “There were a lot of people driving from Turlock, passing Merced to drive to Chowchilla (Pheasant Run Golf Club) because our conditions were poor.”
Improvements on the way
Moradzadeh says the immediate goal to approve the property and improve the playing experience for golfers at Rancho Del Rey.
According to Ewing, the club was down to 20 golf carts, meaning many golfers were forced to walk the course. They’ve already added 26 carts and ordered another fleet of carts which will bring 50 more in September.
The new owners have also spent $100,000 to fix pumps to improve the irrigation system.
“I like what I’ve seen so far,” said Atwater resident David Murray. “This place is greener than what it’s been in the past couple months. I think it’s turning around.”
Murray spent Monday afternoon playing a round at Rancho Del Rey with his son Thomas and Murray’s friend Jeff Runyon and Runyon’s son Reid.
Both Murray and Runyon had heard there was talk of the golf course possibly closing in recent years.
“We want our kids to be able to play out here,” Runyon said. “We did growing up and we want our kids to be able to too. It’s here in Atwater, it’s close and you don’t have to drive to Chowchilla. It’s right around the corner.”
In the next few weeks they plan to attack the overgrown weeds.
“We’re going to get it so that it’s just the Bermuda (grass) so that can flourish,” Ewing said. “Then by next spring, I’m hoping that pretty much all the turf and everything to the eye is very appealing.”
The plan if for the restaurant and bar to be open regular hours and eventually make improvements to the club house, driving range, cart paths, the parking lot, lighting, gating and the course itself by removing tree stumps and planting new trees.
“It’s always been our philosophy that if you get into something, you better build it to where you’re willing to take it yourself,” Moradzadeh said. “If you don’t want to stay there, if you don’t want to live there, then why are you? If it doesn’t meet your standards, why would you think it’s going to meet somebody else’s? And that’s kind of the thinking I have with the golf course.”
Employee outlook
Moradzadeh says all 22 employees will be retained.
“Everyone is being retained until we can kind of work through the system, complete all our accounting and get a good idea of who’s doing what and what needs to be done,” Moradzadeh said.
Moradzadeh hopes to create some packages to pair with the new Hilton Garden Inn, which his company is building in Merced and set to open in 2025. He plans to have a shuttle driving golfers to and from the hotel.
Moradzadeh and Ewing also want to team up with the Northern California Golf Association’s Youth on Course program that will allow young golfers to play at a discounted rate.
Rancho Del Rey Golf Club will also continue to be the home course for Atwater, Buhach Colony and Livingston high schools’ boys and girls golf teams.
“I think the course can be viable to where it’s a long term asset, for not only the owners, but to the community itself,” Moradzadeh said. “I mean, nobody wants to get in a car and drive 40 to 50 minutes to go play golf. It’s a nice place to have events...It was just an underutilized asset that had tremendous amount of potential.”
