SEQUOIA/CANONGATE GOLF LLC SIGNS CONTRACT
TO PURCHASE THE WOODLANDS’ PUBLIC GOLF COURSES
AND THE WOODLANDS COUNTRY CLUB

Sequoia/Canongate Golf LLC, owner of 18 private golf clubs and a leader in the Atlanta, GA golf market, has signed a contract to purchase The Woodlands’ two public golf courses – The Oaks and Panther Trail – along with The Woodlands Country Club, from The Woodlands Development Company (TWDC), according to Bill Langley CCM, managing director of The Clubs of The Woodlands.
           
Both parties are now engaged in due diligence, and the closing of the sale will most likely happen in 60 days, Langley said. The sale package includes the 18-hole East Course, Clubhouse and maintenance facilities; the Golf Hall of Fame Building; The Oaks and Panther Trail golf courses, along with the golf pro shop, locker rooms, and Spartilo restaurant; the existing tennis facilities at The Woodlands Country Club, including the Pro Shop and indoor courts; the 27-hole Palmer Course, Palmer Clubhouse, and maintenance facilities; and the 18-hole Player Course, clubhouse and maintenance facilities.

“Since The Woodlands Country Club was separated from The Woodlands Resort several years ago, TWDC has invested more than $10 million in capital to provide the members with an outstanding array of facilities and amenities,” Langley said. “We can proudly say that all of our Club facilities as well as the golf courses have never been in better shape than they are today.
           
“TWDC’s core business has always been residential and commercial development. Our long-standing strategy is to develop assets and market them to specialists in certain fields who can apply their expertise and focus to provide a consistently high level of quality,” he said. “Sequoia/Canongate is managed by Joe Guerra, a principal partner who has owned and operated private clubs of equal stature to The Woodlands for more than two decades. Many of his team members have extensive expertise in managing golf and country clubs. We believe that Sequoia/Canongate will bring The Woodlands Country Club to a higher level of membership satisfaction because they are experts in the field. Operating private clubs is all they do.”
           
Sequoia/Canongate has quickly become a private golf leader in the Atlanta market. The Company purchased seven clubs in that market four years ago and have since grown to 18 clubs. Their stated intention is to use The Woodlands and all of its golf courses as their flagship operation as they expand their golf portfolio in the Houston market.  Benefits they offer their members include reciprocal play rights on all courses the Company owns or manages, as well as several flexible membership options.
           
“Sequoia/Canongate can also offer employees of The Woodlands Country Club greater opportunities for advancement as they expand in the area,” Langley said. “TWDC does not plan to build any additional golf courses in The Woodlands, and employees of The Woodlands Country Club and public courses were virtually locked in to their current positions.”
           
No immediate change in fee structure is planned, according to Langley, and the way golf is played should be virtually seamless to Country Club members.
           
For more information about Sequoia/Canongate Golf LLC, log on to www.canongategolf.com.
           
The Woodlands is a 28,000-acre master-planned community located 27 miles north of downtown Houston.  It is a project of The Woodlands Development Company, a limited partnership of Morgan Stanley and General Growth Properties, Inc.