The three-course Pinewild Country Club of Pinehurst was sold for about $20 million in early November.
This story was first reported by Golf Inc. magazine.
The buyer, AEP Pinewild Holding LLC, is a partnership run by Rowland Bates, who is also CEO of New Seabury Homes. Bates, a longtime industry player, ran Southworth Development from 2009 to 2019 and Willowbend Development from 1996 to 2006, during which time he oversaw the development of Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey.
He spoke at the Golf Inc. Summit when he was president of Golf Reality Advisors from 1992 to 1998. The property was purchased from Pinewild Project Limited Partnership (PPLP).
Pinewild Country Club is in a 2,040-acre gated community one mile from the village of Pinehurst, North Carolina. The club includes three courses: the Gene Hamm-designed Magnolia Course, the Gary Player-designed Holly Course; and the Azalea, a nine-hole par-3 course. They are served by a 12,800-square-foot clubhouse.
Leisure Investment Properties Group (LIPG) led the sale, with Senior Managing Director Chris Karamitsos serving as the lead adviser.
The sale included an estimated 500 acres of land for residential development, according to a news release from LIPG.
The Pilot, a newspaper in Moore County, North Carolina, reported that it received a copy of a letter written to Pinewild members by Koichi Sato, president of PPLP, saying the new owner has agreed to “honor all existing memberships.”
The club was under contract in 2022 with a listing price of $22 million. At that time, The Pilot reported that the club employed about 60 people and generated $4.84 million in sales in 2021.
The Pilot also reported that last October the Village Council approved a fifth phase of expansion within Pinewild which would add 78 single-family lots.