Will Tiger’s Name Still Drive Sales at Cliffs at High Carolina?
Tiger’s first U.S. golf course design and anticipated presence in the mountain golfing community certainly added value and brought buyers.
Palm Coast, FL – December 9, 2009 – Jim Anthony’s Cliffs Communities in the Carolinas are among the country’s most successful real estate developments. Cliffs Communities successfully marketed luxury living, enhanced by natural beauty, golf courses, fitness centers, spa services, and the concept of "wellness," Anthony’s decision to engage Tiger Woods to design his first U.S. golf course at the new Cliffs at High Carolina project seemed to be a coup at the time.
Tiger Woods would also build a home at High Carolina and help promote the development. In a recent promotional video Woods makes mention of his new family man status.
“With a wife and two kids, your perspective in life changes,” Woods says. “I want to have my kids experience something like this. I want to be able to bring them up here and feel safe, feel secure — enjoy running the trails and being a part of nature like this. Because your priorities start changing and evolving once you have a family and I want to come up here as often as I possibly can.”
Woods goes on to say that “one of the things that has drawn me to this is the fact that I can bring my family here. We’ll be here a lot.”
This image combined with Tiger’s golfing wonder status resonated well with Cliffs’ target market. Not well enough to qualify the opening day sales event as a success though. It turns out the 2008 sales launch (reportedly attended by 1,000 prospective buyers) was timed to coincide with the Great Recession. Reportedly, the Tiger cache resulted in lot prices ranging from $500 thousand to $3 million but has registered only 29 sales.
Both the real estate business and the golf industry are at low ebb. For months, industry insiders have speculated about the Cliffs’ lofty plans for High Carolina. Woods received a flat fee to design and promote the course, due even if the real estate surrounding the course does not sell. Condé Nast’s Paul Sullivan said, "The setup is remarkably risky for investors."
It’s unlikely that Tiger will be bringing his family (as presently constituted) to High Carolinas as he indicated in the video. It’s also unlikely that High Carolinas residents will be able to hobnob often in the clubhouse with Tiger. Anthony took a big risk bundling High Cliffs with Tiger. At the peak of his reputation, Tiger might have been able to keep Anthony’s vision alive in spite of the real estate market woes. Whatever the odds, they are now less favorable.
Cliffs Communities issued the following statement:
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Woods’ family as they deal with this personal and private family matter. Our relationship with Tiger Woods and our commitment to The Cliffs at High Carolina remains unchanged”.
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ginn/woods
same old . same old bull . look at bella collina .n ot one celebrity came to stasy .its down the pan .millions spent by us idiots listining to lies and fraudsters . tiger no different to ginn
Cliffs still Cliffs with or without Tiger
The attraction to The Cliffs Communities is not Tiger Woods, Gary Player, or any other golf course designer. It’s the beauty of the scenery and the land, the location, the weather, the amenities, the value, and more than anything, THE PEOPLE. Many of The Cliffs’ Residents have achieved far greater feats in life than Tiger Woods, and it’s these people that attract new property owners into the communities. Tiger Woods or not, the success of The Cliffs Communities is a book that’s titled and bound. The PEOPLE can take it from here.
3 iron opened up Triger’s long game
Jasper Parnevik introduced Tiger to his wife, and said she should have used more than a 3 iron on him. We all get one Mulligan, but he’s had many, by the sound of those woman speeking up.
The Cliffs Communities and Tiger Woods
Certainly, Tiger’s cache has brought global notoriety to the Cliffs at High Carolina. One must keep in mind that it was Jim Anthony, not Tiger that assembled one of the most spectacular parcels of land in Western North Carolina. If you visit High Carolina, you are in awe of the views and golf course location. If Tiger’s name is now tarnished, it will not affect the value of the land and the propose community offering. The Cliffs remains a preeminate destination for anyone that wants to own a residence in the Carolinas and enjoy mountain living at its best.
Tiger Bomb
I would guess that each and every propert owner has taken at a $100,000. hiy based on Tigers "Dirty Dozen". Who wants to have him for a neighbor, certainly not me.
RE: Roseann
You must be kidding your post. There is plenty of the most beaultiful land you have ever seen in North Carolina. If you are basing value purely on the beautiful land then there is no reason that the old Laurelmor wasn’t selling like hot cakes. With all of it’s past mangement problems and issues with the developer, that property is spectacular. I would hate to be one of the "lucky" 29 who bought in there…..
Tiger
I don’t think you can put Tiger Woods in the same Bracket as Bobby Ginn. No-one is blaming Nick Faldo for Bella Collina or Watson for the Conservatory. The only similarity between the two,(Cliffs and Ginn Communities is the Marketing team of Jim Matoska, John Pinter, Wilson Greene and Craig Wheeler. Then throw in Sean Barrett and Barry McDermott and then you have a problem. Read the Ginn Class action lawsuit, these names are either in it or will be added soon.
Trouble in Tiger Town
The Mountain Xpress, the alternative weekly newspaper in Asheville, looked at this very subject in last week’s cover story. Here’s the link:
https://www.mountainx.com/news/2009/121609tiger_by_the_tail
Best,
Jason
missing the point
Most of these comments ignore the saddest aspect of this affair. The Cliffs states, "Our relationship with Tiger Woods… remains unchanged”. Really!? Are you freakin’ kidding me?!How can that company be so morally bankrupt, that it does not even feel a cumpulsion to simply say he no longer represents the values common to our ownership, and we do not want such a person speaking (lying about his family priorites) for us any longer? It wouldn’t even be a "risk" to take such a stand, it would actually be consistant with the current winds of revulsion for Tiger. I wouldn’t buy from such a company. Especially since I know that, as an earlier post metioned, some of the executives came from the boiler room operation that was The Ginn company a few years ago. I had far too much first hand experience with that.
What a pitifull shame that corporations (especial in real estate) so frequenlty reveal only oportunism and greed in everything they do, without reservation.
Cliffs and Tiger
One of Tigers advisors and partners is Joe Lewis of Tavistock.Don’t be surprised to see Joe pick up The Cliffs project Tiger is designing.He has the bucks to make it work.
Cliffs and Tiger
One of Tigers advisors and partners is Joe Lewis of Tavistock.Don’t be surprised to see Joe pick up The Cliffs project Tiger is designing.He has the bucks to make it work.
Who’s worse for the Cliffs – Tiger or Jeff Davis?
Has Jim Anthony lost his mind??? First he goes and hires the Matoska, Greene Clan… Fires them… And hires Jeff Davis. Heck, Jeff taught those other clowns everything they know. Jeff is a FLOP. Desperation causes people to do the stupidest things. I predict the Cliffs are now hanging by a thread and doomed for failure.
Reply to Roseann
ALL golf based residential communities face challenges caused by factors unrelated to Jim Anthony or Tiger Woods. It is just bad timing for this project. Luxury property sales are very soft. The decline in discretionary spending and changing demographics are having a negative impact on golf revenue.
It is a beautiful piece of property, but without the Tiger cache, the lots could not be marketed at such lofty prices. If this were not so, why did Jim spend so much for Tiger’s association?
Reply to Roseann
ALL golf based residential communities face challenges caused by factors unrelated to Jim Anthony or Tiger Woods. It is just bad timing for this project. Luxury property sales are very soft. The decline in discretionary spending and changing demographics are having a negative impact on golf revenue.
It is a beautiful piece of property, but without the Tiger cache, the lots could not be marketed at such lofty prices. If this were not so, why did Jim spend so much for Tiger’s association?