{"id":669,"date":"2011-03-17T22:02:20","date_gmt":"2011-03-18T03:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/golfcoursebusiness.com\/?p=669"},"modified":"2011-03-17T22:02:20","modified_gmt":"2011-03-18T03:02:20","slug":"black-diamond-ranch-sold-to-escalante","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/real-estate\/669\/black-diamond-ranch-sold-to-escalante","title":{"rendered":"Black Diamond Ranch Sold to Escalante"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Black Diamond Ranch 15th hole<\/p><\/div>\n

Lecanto, Fla. – Escalante Golf \u2013 owner and operator of luxury golf properties \u2013 has acquired the stock and assets of Black Diamond Properties, Inc. \u00a0Black Diamond Properties operates Black Diamond Ranch \u00a0and last year began the search for a new investor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Black Diamond Ranch was the vision of Stan Olsen, who founded the Citrus County-based golf club community in 1987. Olsen embarked on creating one of the premier golf pantheons of the world, hiring Tom Fazio to pull off one of the greatest golf design feats in history \u2013 forging the Quarry Course through the steep cliffs and lakes of two retired limestone quarries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The course has been recognized by Golf Digest<\/em> as one of \u201cAmerica\u2019s 100 Greatest Golf Courses\u201d for 20 consecutive years. Following Mr. Olsen\u2019s decision in 2010 to retire, he sought new investors who would share his vision for the community and had the capacity to implement a successful long-term strategy for Black Diamond Ranch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am excited that we were able to find Escalante Golf, who has a great appreciation for what makes Black Diamond Ranch unique, and the energy and vitality to bring it to the next level,\u201d says Olsen. \u201cIt was of utmost importance to me and my family that Black Diamond Ranch continues to flourish in the spirit in which it was founded.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will operate Black Diamond Ranch with a deep understanding of its history and principles to ensure that current and future members enjoy elite service, pristine course conditions and strong esprit de corps<\/em>,\u201d says David McDonald, President of Escalante Golf.\u00a0 \u201cThis is an incredibly special club and we intend to introduce new programs that will enhance the condition of the entire community. Most of all, our goal is to enhance the quality of life for members and residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Featuring holes Nos. 13 through 17, which famed golf writer Dan Jenkins called \u201cthe five best consecutive holes in the world,\u201d the Quarry Course was a game-changer roughly 25 years ago and remains one of Fazio\u2019s seminal works.<\/p>\n

The acquisition of Black Diamond Ranch strengthens Escalante\u2019s portfolio, which has grown from four properties to 11 the past three years. The company currently has some of the most prestigious clubs in their respected markets including Country Club of the North in Beavercreek, Ohio; The Raven at Three Peaks in Silverthorne, Colorado; and The Crosby National in Rancho Santa Fe, California.<\/p>\n

Dennis Reed of the Plasencia Group, Inc. represented the Olsen family and Steve Ekovich, Director of the National Golf & Resort Group of Marcus and Millichap, represented Escalante Golf, Inc.<\/p>\n

Featuring three Tom Fazio-designed courses \u2013 The Quarry, The Ranch and The Highlands \u2013 Black Diamond Ranch has established itself as Florida\u2019s No. 1 residential golf community since 1987. \u00a0The Quarry Course, set amongst limestone cliffs, live oak trees, dogwoods, myrtles and magnolias, has ranked one of \u201cAmerica\u2019s 100 Greatest Courses\u201d for 20 consecutive years by Golf Digest <\/em>and among the \u201cTop 100 Courses in the U.S.\u201d by GOLF Magazine<\/em>. \u00a0Black Diamond Ranch has earned a place on Links Magazine\u2019s<\/em> list of \u201cAmerica\u2019s 100 Premier Properties,\u201d <\/em>and is perennially \u201cTop 10\u201d on Golfweek<\/em>\u2019s \u201cBest U.S. Residential Golf Courses\u201d list.<\/p>\n

Completed in 1997, the Ranch Course was carefully crafted to gently blend into its natural surroundings. Reminiscent of Pine Valley, the Ranch Course sports rolling fairways and dramatic elevation changes of over 100 feet. With stunning hilltop views of up to 25 miles, the nine-hole Highlands Course (also completed in 1997),\u00a0is a magnificent mix of lush, rippling fairways, stands of oak and pine, pristine water features and mesmerizing natural beauty.<\/p>\n

Established in 1991, Escalante Golf is a boutique owner and operator of luxury golf properties nationwide, including California, Colorado, Florida, Ohio and Indiana.\u00a0Operating partners David McDonald, Elcio Silva, Robert Silva and David Matheson direct the Escalante team with offices in Fort Worth, Texas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lecanto, Fla. – Escalante Golf \u2013 owner and operator of luxury golf properties \u2013 has acquired the stock and assets… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[225,217,8,170,215],"tags":[6040,6041,6042,6043,6044,6045,43,6046,82,6037,6038,6039],"class_list":["post-669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resort-communities","category-publicdaily-fee","category-real-estate","category-luxury-living","category-private-clubs","tag-the-raven-at-three-peaks","tag-the-crosby-national","tag-tarpon-cove-yacht-and-racquet-club","tag-spanish-wells-country-club","tag-kings-gate-golf","tag-waterlefe-golf-club","tag-tom-fazio","tag-golf-course-sales","tag-golf-digest","tag-black-diamond-ranch","tag-escalante-golf","tag-club-of-the-north"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2011\/03\/black-diamond-15-closeup-sunrise.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":671,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669\/revisions\/671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}