The recent sale of 10 Seattle-area golf courses to a Chinese investment firm might reflect more positively on the vigor of that country's leisure travel market than it does a beleaguered U.S. golf economy.
According to a news release by HNA Holdings, the company has agreed to buy 10 courses at eight locations in metro Seattle from OKI Golf for $137.5 million, citing "the continuing growth in the number and spending of high-net-worth outbound tourists from the (People's Republic of China)."HNA also hinted that it might be looking to expand its U.S. portfolio beyond Seattle, which HNA Holdings executive director Xu Haohao called "a natural gateway into the American golf course market."
The sale includes two courses at The Golf Club at Newcastle, two at the Golf Club at Hawks Prairie in Lacey, Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, The Golf Club at Redmond Ridge, Trophy Lake Golf and Casting in Port Orchard, Harbour Pointe Golf Club in Mukilteo, The Plateau Club in Sammamish and Indian Summer Golf and Country Club in Olympia.
Washington National (shown at top) is the home course to the University of Washington men's and women's golf teams.
Based in Bellevue, Washington, Oki Golf will continue to operate all 10 courses through a lease deal that pays HNA $7.1 million annually. Oki Golf was started in 1994 by former Microsoft executive Scott Oki who is credited with building the software giant's international division. The company at one time owned 11 golf courses, but now only manages the 10 properties for HNA.
HNA Holdings, which owns at least one golf course in China, is a division of HNA Group, the parent company of China's Hainan Airlines. HNA Group, a Forbes Global 500 firm, also recently bought the Carlson-Rezidor hotel group that includes familiar brands like Country Inn & Suites and Radisson.
Chinese tourism is booming, and the United States is a prime benefactor. Nearly 2 million tourists from China visited the U.S. last year, and that number is expected to exceed 3 million by 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The U.S. golf economy, which has struggled for a decade, needs any help it can get. Since 2006, there has been a net loss of more than 900 golf courses in the United States, a number that is expected to increase over the next several years, according to the National Golf Foundation.