Dalton Ranch Golf Club north of Durango is exploring a purchase offer from Irwin Golf Management Group of Denver.
Club President Frank Sinton notified members by email Wednesday that the club had received a “bona fide offer for the purchase of Dalton Ranch Golf Club facilities” from Irwin Golf Management.
Club rules give Dalton Ranch’s members an opportunity to match the offer. They have 30 days to match the offer, and another 30 days to secure financing and close on the purchase.
Sinton and Irwin Golf Management did not return messages seeking comment Thursday.
Dalton Ranch, 589 County Road 252, has a semiprivate 18-hole golf course, a restaurant and residential homes. It’s a popular resort area for second homeowners and part-time residents.
The course was built in 1991 by Finger Dye Spann Inc. of Katy, Texas, part of a wave of developments in that era that paired resort real estate and golf.
Irwin Golf Management was founded by professional golfer Hale Irwin, a three-time U.S. Open champion who continues to compete on the senior tour, known as the Champions Tour. In 2012, Irwin Golf Management took over Terradyne Country Club in Andover, Kan.
Dalton Ranch, about nine miles north of downtown Durango in the Animas Valley, is semiprivate, but allows public play. Green fees range from $65 in the spring to $105 in the summer, including a golf cart.
Memberships cost an initiation fee of $5,000, plus monthly dues of $270 for a couple or family and $170 for an individual. Dalton also offers a less expensive “clubhouse” membership.
Dalton Ranch is one of four golf courses in La Plata County. Hillcrest Golf Club is the county’s only public, 18-hole course. The Glacier Club, 18 miles north of Durango, is a private course with 27 holes. Hunter’s Run near Ignacio is a public, nine-hole course.
Colorado golf facilities have had a tough year, according to data from PGA PerformanceTrak.
Colorado’s year-to-date gross golf fee revenue was down 11.9 percent through October, a result of a 10.2 percent decrease in rounds played.
County records show six foreclosure filings among Dalton Ranch homes in 2012 but only one in 2013. The most recent filing was withdrawn.
cslothower@durangoherald.com
