Phoenix-Area Golf Courses Sell to The Walden Group

An East Coast real estate investment group scored a hole-in-one, buying three golf courses in the Phoenix area.

New Jersey-based The Walden Group acquired Dove Valley Ranch Golf Club in Cave Creek, Power Ranch Golf Club in Gilbert and Longbow Golf Club in Mesa for a total of $57 million, the Phoenix Business Journal reported, citing Vizzda data and Maricopa County records. Gilbert, Arizona-based Thompson Golf Group was the seller.

The three 18-hole properties span more than 500 acres across metro Phoenix. Longbow Golf Club, a roughly 160-acre course near Higley and McDowell Roads in Mesa, fetched the highest price at $23.5 million. The 181-acre Power Ranch Golf Club traded for $17.1 million, while the 165-acre Dove Valley Ranch Golf Club sold for $16.4 million. The acquisition was backed in part by a $45 million loan from Davidson Kempner.

The deal marks Walden Group’s latest expansion in Arizona and adds to its portfolio of more than two dozen golf properties nationwide. Beyond golf, the firm also invests in multifamily assets.

Thompson Golf, which had owned the three courses for years, signed a multiyear agreement to continue operating them, and leadership teams are expected to remain in place. Walden founder Steven Schorr told the Business Journal the arrangement allows Thompson to focus on its core management business while monetizing the value it created through improvements to the properties.

Arizona’s golf courses have been commanding growing investor appetite in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Colorado-based Mountain Capital Partners announced plans to acquire a three-course portfolio comprising Tubac Golf Resort & Spa in Tubac, Sedona Golf Resort in Sedona and Rancho Mañana Golf Club in Cave Creek.

The transaction marks the latest Arizona investment for The Walden Group. The firm owns more than 20 golf properties across the country, including several in Florida it acquired last year. In Arizona, other golf courses under its ownership include Canoa Ranch Golf Club and Torres Blancas Golf Club in Green Valley and Quarry Pines Golf Club in Tucson.

— Chris Malone Méndez