Black Diamond Ranch, the Citrus County, Fla., private club whose Quarry Course is one of the most famous designs in Tom Fazio's portfolio, is for sale. The Tampa Tribune has the story here.
The move is apparently inspired by the retirement plans of Black Diamond's 81-year-old developer and owner, Stan Olsen, and not the sluggish economy. According to the report, Olsen wants to sell the entire facility, which includes two 18-hole courses and one nine-hole course (all designed by Fazio), a 28,000-square-foot clubhouse and 550 acres of undeveloped land.
The Tribune story says the real estate firm retained to broker the sale, Plasencia Group, Inc., has not set an asking price.
The Quarry Course, which opened in 1987, has been a mainstay on the Golf Digest list of "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses" for more than two decades (it currently ranks 89th). It features a three-hole stretch that plays along the edge of, into and then out of an abandoned rock quarry.
-- G.R.
