The Wild and Wacky Woodland Park Links Adventure
Rick Langenberg
The news that the city of Woodland Park could become the new owner and operator of the Shining Mountain Golf course adds just another chapter to a saga not lacking in suspense, surprise and dramatic color.
The history of Shining Mountain, and its earlier days as Fujiki Golf and even McAfee Wonder Land has probably taken more twists and turns than any local recreation development. Rumor has it that the spirits from the old cemetery on the second hole were awakened, and played a role in the bizarre happenings at this grand site.
Here are a few highlights of Woodland Park links adventure that could probably be turned into a reality TV show. In fact, if anything, Shining Mountain should be awarded a special trophy for bizarre endurance.
*The dream of a golf course in Woodland Park started to take on a growing semblance of reality in the late 1980s, as an actual site was selected and area realtors threw out a variety of ideas, marketed the concept well, and plans were approved for a clubhouse.
*John McAfee, the computer and anti-virus wonder man, actually owned the bulk of the property where the current 18-hole course is now located. McAfee actually orchestrated the preliminary dirt work on the front nine of the course, and put several family members in charge of the operation. Bad move, as this became the first of many blunders at this development. A bizarre outdoor pig roast and barbecue was held to celebrate the preliminary work on the course in the early 1990s. People actually played on the raw dirt with old clubs. Yes, yours truly even participated in the dirt derby that actually was featured at a few holes which were quite similar to what is in place now. The Dirt Derby turned into a links version of the Beverly Hillbillies gone wild.
*McAfee, who never played golf, became alarmed at the expenses and was less than impressed with his family’s work as golf course developers. He promptly pulled the plug on the development and course work.
*Woodland Park City Manager Don Howell, though, saw a golden opportunity and tried to entice McAfee into donating the property, as part of a bid to establish a municipal golf course. In some ways, parts of the plans were similar to what was recently crafted by the city council.
*McAfee, however, opted to sell the property outright and was approached by Japanese investors, with the main key player involving Hideaki Fujiki, who ran a lucrative wedding and travel business in Japan. “Mr. Fujiki” as he was commonly called in Woodland Park, wanted to use the property as a prime area to entertain guests in the United States and host elaborate weddings, a big business in Japan around this time. The Japanese investors purchased the property and hired top golf course experts and consultants, who did a number of area courses. The course development progressed well, and the course was open for play on a limited basis at the end of 1994, as the Woodland Park Fujiki Golf and Country Club. Residents could not believe what had transpired at this property.
Fujiki, who was known for his lavish parties, held a number of high-dollar celebrations at the Antlers Hotel, involving hordes of Japanese journalists and photographers. No present was given that didn’t exceed $500.
*The course took off and the development was well-received by locals. In fact, the development did well, gaining a reputation too as one of the best eateries in the area. The course was known for it buffet dinners.
*Mr. Fujiki then invited key leaders in Woodland Park to an all-expense-paid trip to Japan, including a number of members of the city council. This generated much scrutiny, but it was promoted as a fact-finding excursion.
*The timing of the trip, though, couldn’t have been worse, and exposed what some referred to as the “good old boy” cozy relationship between city hall and the golf course operators. The Fujiki group had actually given the city the title to the course as collateral for infrastructure work it needed to complete. The end result of this action, with no fiscal oversight: no property taxes were paid on the development by the Japanese group for several years. This sparked much outrage locally, and Al Jordan, the county assessor at the time, said no way. Action was taken to force the Fujiki group to pay their back property taxes, which were quite high. The county commissioners sided with the assessor in a close vote, as one of the board members was part of the group that partook in the infamous trip to Japan.
*The downward plunge of the Japanese economy then really hit the Fujiki group hard in the late 1990s. They tried to sell the course and property, but were hampered by a series of lawsuits.
*Finally, a group from Denver, headed by John Golden and partners Rick and Erren O’Leary, bought the course and its assets in 2000. Major improvements were made to the clubhouse bar area. But this group experienced considerable financial woes from the outset and just incurred too much debt. Following a barrage of rumors, the course, in a mid-morning raid in August 2005, was seized by the Colorado Department of Revenue, for failure to pay back taxes. Signs were posted all over the course, flags were yanked on all the holes and golfers were thrown off the property. This became the talk of the town for weeks. The Matrix Bank of Denver, the primary holder of a $2.2 million lien on the property, came to the rescue and bailed the development out of trouble. Unfortunately, the bank decided not to maintain the property as an active golf course. It agreed to maintain the property, but not as an operational golf course. This served as a huge blow to the community, who feared the town would lose this asset altogether. Around this time, the golf course recession hit, with many courses across the country getting shut down. Would the Woodland Park course join the hefty list of links failures?
*No, fret not, this tale had a happy ending. The course was purchased at a very low price by a group headed by Greg Brown and other California investors.
But like many operators, they have struggled with the operational costs, and the owners in recent years resisted pleas to bring back a restaurant to the site and pump money into the development. And like McAfee, Brown never held a golf club in his life. This ownership group, however, footed the bill earlier for bringing an events center to the property.
*The city of Woodland Park earlier this month announced plans to buy the property, with terms that in some ways, followed the alignment of the Howell/McAfee deal. This followed negotiations that had occurred for more than a year. The next few weeks should determine whether the $3.2 million deal will get finalized and clear any lurking hazards.
*The course, through its development, has experienced some rough times, but still ranks as an amazing survivor in the rough golf development battle field. In the Pikes Peak area alone, the region has lost several high caliber public courses, such as Gleneagle and Springs Ranch, and several hundred across the country. SM has received favorable notice in such prestigious publications as Golf Digest. Golf Hell Boy John Daly and his crazy group even entertained the idea of holding a one-day function there.
For more Shining Mountain drama, stay tuned.
