One Southern California Course Closes, One Opens (Again)

Montesoro Golf & Social Club, once known as Rams Hill, has reopened after the beloved-by-all-who-played-it eastern San Diego County course closed due to water issues. Taking its placed on the inactive list is Malibu Golf Club, sitting on old Bob Hope-owned-acreage between the Pacific Ocean and Thousand Oaks, California.

Tod Leonard with the good news on the old Rams Hill (thanks reader Scott), bought for just $842,000 by investor and golf fan Bill Berkley, and resurrected for $10 million after the prior owners allowed the course to go to seed and sold off the irrigation heads.

Why would Berkley invest in such a troubled property?

“It’s just a very, very special place,” Berkley said. “If you play golf here, especially at dusk, and you look up at the shadows on the mountains, it’s such a beautiful backdrop.

“When I leave San Diego, I want to get out of the city and put that in my rear view mirror. Borrego gives you that. It’s those things, combined with a fabulous golf course that I think is one of the best in San Diego County.”

Samantha Masunaga of the LA Times reports on the closing of Malibu Golf Club, an 18-hole public course that has gone through various iterations, owners and visions for the future. The current ownership group filed for bankruptcy after severely over...something.

In its filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the central district of California, Malibu Associates said it had about $76 million in assets and about $47 million in liabilities. The club, which the company acquired in 2006, was valued at $75.9 million, according to the filing.