Monroe golf facility’s board searching for new partner

1/8/2014
BY CHIP TOWNS
BLADE BUSINESS EDITOR
The Monroe Golf and Country Club is for sale. Need to add info from the story to make two lines, two columns wide.
The Monroe Golf and Country Club is for sale. Need to add info from the story to make two lines, two columns wide.

MONROE — The Monroe Golf & Country Club is for sale.

The course is being marketed by Florida-based National Golf & Resort Properties Group, a division of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services.

“Monroe’s board of directors is searching for a partner or partner firm willing to join forces with current club members to assist the club navigate an ever-changing golf landscape,” Terence Vanek, an agent for the marketing company, said in a news release.

“Our board implemented an exhaustive investigation into the number of possible directions in order to find the best solution for the future security of our membership,” club president John Skibski said. “Our stockholder members strongly support the decision to bring in a partner or partner firm, affording Monroe the ability to obtain a new beginning, while maintaining strong traditions.”

The club, at 611 Cole Rd., is more than 90 years old. It has an 18-hole golf course with a practice range and practice putting green, an outdoor swimming pool, and a two-story clubhouse that includes dining facilities.

Private clubs have suffered in the last decade because of the economy and lifestyle changes.

More than 40 percent of country clubs have lost significant numbers of members, according to a National Golf Foundation report released in 2011.

Among the reasons cited are demands on people’s personal time and a decline in the number of corporate memberships.

Some courses have reduced initiation fees and dues or opened their facilities to nonmembers.