BREAKING NEWS:

Links Group Saga Comes to an End

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

• Editorial: Links Group Gets Green Light to Expand
• Readers Respond to Links Group Editorial
• Links Group Receives an Extension (posted Nov. 27, 2001)
• North Strand Courses Sever Ties with Links Group (Dec. 5)

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (Dec. 19, 2001) – The Links Group, after falling into Chapter 11 bankruptcy and breaching its lease agreements with the Meadowlands and Farmstead golf courses last month, officially announced Tuesday that it is out of business.

The Grand Strand’s largest golf course management firm failed to produce the minimum $1.8 million required by the Federal Court by noon on Tuesday to implement its reorganization plan.

Ken Folkes, the company’s founder and president, will now file for Chapter 7 and will attempt to pay off his creditors by liquidating assets. Course owners took over the operations of their respective courses starting Monday, and the ten Myrtle Beach area facilities that the Links Group managed have indicated they will retain Links Group employees for now.

• Discuss this at GolfBoards.com • More Myrtle Beach Features

The Links Group owes the IRS $700,000, Bank of America $2.4 million, Myrtle Beach area course owners $1 million, and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday $100,000. The local course owners and Golf Holiday are what the banks classify as “unsecured” creditors, and will in all likelihood never be paid what they are owed. The IRS and B of A are secured creditors, and the former will be the first to collect from Folkes.

Folkes continually cited paying too much for his initial leases and escalating lease prices as the reasons for the company’s failure. After emerging from Chapter 11 in August, Folkes attempted a partnership with MemberTee Management that would have provided the necessary funding to implement the reorganization plan laid out in the court papers.

MemberTee, nor primary share holder ClubLink of Canada could produce the minimum $1.8 million payment needed to move forward. The following is a break down of what will happen now at Myrtle Beach courses that were operated by the Links Group:

Indigo Creek will be managed by TSC Golf Inc. Former PGA of America president Gary Schaal is a part-owner of both the course and management company.

Island Green, which joined The Links Group in 1995, will be managed by Jack Wright, who represents the course's Pennsylvania-based ownership group.

Colonial Charters is owned by National Golf Properties of California, and Folkes, a former member of the PGA Tour, said he’d remain in the golf business and work with both Cypress Bay and International Club of Myrtle Beach.

W.J. McLamb, owner of Farmstead and Meadowlands, recently signed a management contract with Burroughs and Chapin.

Shane Sharp is a Contributing Writer with TravelGolf.com. Contact him at sharp@travelgolf.com.