Hale Irwin Celebrates Opening of Lodestone Golf Club

Posted by Scott Kauffman 06/24/10 2:20 PM EST
Real Estate Channel

(MCHENRY, MD) -- An area of Western Maryland known as the "Lake Tahoe of the Atlantic" recently celebrated the opening of a new 18-hole private golf course called Lodestone Golf Club.

The 18-hole facility, which opened June 5, is a Hale Irwin Signature design in collaboration with golf architect Todd Schoeder. The golf course sits in the sits in the mountainous region above Deep Creek Lake and the well known Wisp Resort.

The par-72 Lodestone plays 7,507 yards from the 'Irwin Tees' and features bentgrass greens, tees and fairways. Lodestone Golf Club is a truly natural mountain golf course highlighted by bold, tree-lined fairways, eye-catching bunker complexes and dramatic rock outcroppings. Native fescue grasses frame many of the course's scenic holes enhancing its natural feel. Not only does Lodestone have the highest elevation of any course in Maryland at 2,973 feet above sea level, but this premier club boasts several eye-opening elevation changes and sweeping views of the mountainous region that sits above Deep Creek Lake.

"We knew that Lodestone was going to be a challenge to present nature without over powering the golf (and vice versa)," said three-time U.S. Open Champion Hale Irwin. "We really worked extremely hard to uncover and highlight the many attributes that the site was blessed with in the first hand...to bring out the land, bring out the natural topography, highlight the dramatic views. I feel we accomplished that quite nicely and that both Lodestone members and guests will find the course exciting, fun filled and memorable. They will definitely have bragging rights

Read the rest here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350 Deep Creek Lake Info, Business Directories, Classified Ads, Events & more! Advertise on http://www.deepcreekalive.com/!

Sustainability standard

Features - Q&A

The Lodestone Golf Course project turned a scar in the landscape into a standard for new course development in Maryland. Its designers discuss the project with GCI.
Chris Wilczynski | February 10, 2012 |

The word “sustainability” gets used frequently in our new “green” world.

Given that there has only been a handful of new golf courses built within the U.S. during the last few years, it has been challenging to find much to talk about in this sector of our industry.

I recently learned about the Lodestone Golf Course facility in McHenry, Md., that fits sustainability to a perfect “T.” Prior to Lodestone’s 2010 opening, the property had been completely cleared by timber-harvesting operations. What was left was a site that was void of any significant vegetation, had damaged and poorly functioning wetlands and streams and an overall fractured environmental ecosystem.

More here.

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

877-563-5350 - toll free

Karen Myers offers Wisp Resort & Lodestone Update @ Railey Realty

Karen Myers was one of our guests at this week's Railey Realty sales meeting. I worked with Karen when I first got into the real estate business in 2000. She is a WEALTH of information and one of the most creative entrepreneurs that I have met. In case you did not know, she is one of the owners of Wisp Ski & Golf Resort, Mountaineer Log & Siding, and is a partner in DC Development, which is developing Marsh Mountain & the Lodestone Golf Course.

She shared a multitude of information with us, and here are some bullet points:

• Wisp Ski Resort was profitable in July & August of 2009 - it's very difficult for a ski season to remain profitable in the summer months. She also mentioned that Wisp is the 6th largest employer in all of Garrett County, with approx. 125 full time employees. During the winter months, that number swells to a staggering 750 employees!
• The Lakeside Club is operational on Deep Creek Drive. 'Re-callable' memberships are available for $37,500. This basically gets you a 'country club style' setting on the lake, offering lake access, kids play area, showers & mens/womens locker rooms, swimming, dining & drinks.
• The Lodestone golf course will be opening in June. All 18 holes will be playable. Hale Irwin will be here July 10, 2010, for a sort of grand opening. The course is intended to be private, but they are offering 'trial use' memberships starting at $2,000 for the season. (Check with them for specific rates/packages). She also mentioned that the large amount of snow that we got this year helped the golf course grass to grow in much better than they expected.
• Customers interested in real estate at Wisp Resort, or vacation rental guests are permitted to play the course for $125, and Wisp Golf Club members are offered a chance to play M-Th for $100.
• Plans still exist for a 'Mountain Top Village' surrounding the ASCI whitewater course on top of Marsh Mountain. The plan is to have commercial shops and more dining options for vacationers, locals and skiers.
• She also mentioned an exciting new addition to the Wisp Outdoor Center, but swore me to secrecy - stay tuned, it sounds exciting!
  

Some interesting trivia that she shared with us: DC Development has developed a total of 540 lots since 1994. Exactly 1/3 of those are built on. Imagine the total tax base that number has added to the county coffers?

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Lodestone Golf Club - Trial Use Privilege 2010

I was asked to pass this along re: the Lodestone Golf Course & the trial use benefit package. The plan is to keep it private long term, so this is a great way for the public to play it now. Check it out!

http://www.ilovedeepcreek.com/blog/images/uploads/lodestone-trial-membership.pdf


If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350 Deep Creek Lake Info, Business Directories, Classified Ads, Events & more! Advertise on http://www.deepcreekalive.com/!

Lodestone Golf Club celebrates grand opening

By JEFF MAURER
jeffm@dailyamerican.com

Monday, August 30, 2010 12:07 AM EDT

McHENRY, Md. — The new Lodestone Golf Club just celebrated its grand opening in June, and has since been living up to its lofty billing.

For those not yet familiar with the course, Lodestone is located on a huge mountain ridge above Deep Creek Lake and the well-known Wisp Resort. The stunning Hale Irwin-design is ranked No. 3 on the latest list of “Best Courses You Can Play” in Maryland by Golf Magazine.

The challenging par-72 layout sits at 2,973 feet, the highest elevation in the state, and features bent grass greens, tees and fairways. The course is truly a natural mountain golf experience that is highlighted by tree-lined fairways, numerous bunkers and dramatic rock outcroppings.

The $17 million project took three years of permitting and three years of difficult construction because of underlying rock formations that required extensive blasting.

For more information, call (301) 387-4653 or visit http://www.lodestonegolf.com/

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Flying over Deep Creek Lake

A good friend and client of mine, Rick, offered to take me up in his Cirrus sr20 yesterday at the Garrett County Airport (by the way, the renovations are GREAT). Rick has a vacation rental property (Cloud 10) here at the lake that he flies up to check on & make repairs. (Shameless plug: the house is awesome: indoor pool, views of the lake & ski slopes, full arcade, more).

We spent the morning looking at other homes for sale - he insists that the market conditions are ripe for some unbelievable deals (I agree) and plans on investing in several more rental properties in the coming years.

We took off from the airport around 12:45 or so and spent a half hour cruising the skies. His plane is impressive, it even has a parachute! As you can tell from some of the photos, I got to see the Lodestone golf course from the air (looks great), the Adventure Sports Center (ASCI) & the Wisp golf course (I had two of my good buddies playing at the time - didn't see them, though). It's really neat how it all pieces together. Another thing that was unique is seeing just how high these hills are - there is a considerable drop off in elevation when flying over Marsh Mountain and then seeing how far the lake is below. It gave me a better feel of the terrain, as well as the 'hidden' things you don't see from land. A few examples of this: a large, cleared out spot near Lodestone golf course, perhaps the cleared out spot for the future clubhouse or where they keep their sand, etc; a large pond/lake near Mosser Rd with some sort of rock wall in the middle of it (had NEVER seen that before); and lots of carved out spots in dense woods & forests for farms & crops. It's a great perspective of the terrain we are all familiar with.

Of course, I was able to get a good view of the windmills as we flew overhead. I'm starting to get used to seeing them on the horizon now, but it was interesting to see just how high they were in the sky when flying beside them. The southern part of the lake is pretty flat, save for these few ridges and a towering 'hill' at Thousand Acres. I remember seeing the golf course there, as well, but due to the flight path, I couldn't get a clear shot of it. I'm sure Bill Franklin has a photo or two...

Overall, it was a spectacular opportunity to see Deep Creek Lake from a bird's point of view. I'm sure someone offers flights over the county, I'll check into it and report back. Also, go up and check out the 'new' airport - it can accommodate private jets, which is really neat, and makes our area that much more accessible. It's also nice to see federal tax dollars at work in Garrett County. Thanks again to Rick for the flight! Check out his vacation house - Cloud 10.

Here are some photos and a link to the full gallery on Facebook.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!

Ski and golf resorts honored

S.R. Sandy Black

2:16 p.m. EDT, May 23, 2011
The National Ski Area Association gave out awards at its May convention and Sugarbush Resort was among the winners....

...Wisp Resort in the greater Deep Creek, Md., area, was awarded the Affinity Award in 2009 via the Golf Course Industry Builders Excellence Awards for enhancing the overall golf experience.

The resort is home to the Wisp Resort Golf Course and the Lodestone Golf Club, which boasts a stunning Hale Irwin Signature Design Course.

The Lodestone Golf Club is located on an expansive mountain ridge above Deep Creek Lake and is one of the most popular mid-Atlantic courses to play.

Read full article here.

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!

Visit the 'I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group' on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

How Golf Communities Came to the “Fore”

Lodestone Golf Course at Wisp Resort - Deep Creek Lake

Second homes: Live along some famed fairways
Updated 5/14/2010 10:59 AM
By Larry Olmsted Special for USA TODAY

When W.G. Tarrant purchased nearly 1,000 acres outside London in 1911, he changed real estate history. His invention? What claims to be the first golf community, St. George's Hill, with a course by designer Harry Colt. It was immediately successful — and still is, with houses running about $5 million. By using golf to sell residences, Tarrant let a genie out of the bottle.
A century later, there are thousands of residential courses. In China, they can't be built fast enough. Mission Hills near Hong Kong has 12 courses and thousands of members. Second-home golf communities are around the globe, but the majority of North American buyers looking beyond the Caribbean and Mexico choose Western Europe.

The biggest appeal is high-quality golf.

"For decades, the U.S. residential golf market has followed a model of name-brand designers commanding higher prices, and now that model is being marketed abroad," says Michael Patrick Shiels, author of Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects.

Read the rest here.

____________________
Some of Deep Creek Lake's Golf Course Communities & Nearby Courses:

Waterfront Greens

The Greens at Wisp

Greenbrier at Lodestone
Sandy Shores Estates

Sandy Shores Heights
Thousand Acres
Country Club Acres

Fantasy Valley

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Lake Info, Business Directories, Calssified Ads, Events & more! Advertise on http://www.deepcreekalive.com/!

Wisp Ski Operation Intact, Despite Filing Against Development Group

'Like' on Facebook!

Support the Republican Newspaper! It's only $9.95/year for the online edition!

Aug. 25, 2011

If Mother Nature cooperates, snowmaking at the Wisp Resort in McHenry will commence in less than 90 days, and skiers and snowboarders will be back on the slopes beginning the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 25.

That is according to Karen Myers, president of Recreational Industries Inc., who met with reporters this week after it was learned that Branch Banking & Trust (BB&T) Corporation has entered judgments against the Wisp's land development company, called Wisp Resort Development Inc., and various loan guarantors because of lagging payments on loans of over $28 million to fund the new Lodestone Golf Course and home sites atop Marsh Mountain.

The guarantors of the loan, all of which are named in the judgment, are Recreational Industries Inc., DC Development Inc., and Clubs at Wisp Corporation, as well as Myers, Gary Daum, and Steven Richards, owners.

Since the filing in Garrett County Circuit Court last month, rumors have abounded that the Wisp Resort either has been or will be sold because of the current financial situation.

"This is probably the same story that is being told by a lot of other developers around the country," Myers said, noting the continuing lag in the housing market, adding, "The 'illness' [in our operation] is just related to the land development segment of the business."

Meanwhile, Myers described the Wisp Resort as "a vibrant and profitable business" that will begin its 56th season of skiing this fall.

It was in February 2007 that BB&T provided a loan of $23.5 million as a revolving line of credit to fund the construction of the golf course and the Lodestone home sites. Because this type of loan is predicated on sales of home sites to pay down the loan balance and because the lot sales were sluggish, as construction on the golf course neared its end in 2008, an additional $5 million was borrowed "because we believed it was better to have a finished golf course than a partially finished golf course," Myers explained.

More here.

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

877-563-5350 - toll free

Maryland's first private residence club set for July launch

The Ridge Run at Wisp, which is described as Maryland's first private residence club, is gearing up for its launch in July.

It is situated on Wisp Resort, by Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland, a popular four-season family vacation destination for DC and Pittsburgh residents, and will feature four-bedroom ski-in/ski-out townhomes located between two ski runs.

The fractional ownership mountain homes have large living areas, gourmet kitchens, fireplaces, state of the art electronics and furnished outdoor living spaces with great views. Owners at Ridge Run will have access to a new Hale Irwin Signature golf course, and the nearby private Lodestone Golf Club has been voted Golfweek's number two course in Maryland.

Owners all get membership of Wisp Resort's private Lakeside Club at Deep Creek Lake with private docks and boat club.

www.RidgeRunWisp.com

More here.

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!

Visit the 'I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group' on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

Breakfast with Hale Irwin at Wisp Resort

My thanks go out to Karen Myers, Gary Daum, Steve Richards and the rest of the team collaborating on the new Lodestone Golf course at Wisp Resort. I was lucky enough to be a guest this morning at a breakfast where none other than Hale Irwin, 3 time US Open Champion was the guest of honor. Hale is in town to check in on the progress of his signature course at Deep Creek Lake. He spoke openly and answered questions about the project, as well as entertaining guests with some of his stories about working in the area. I got a chance to chat with him personally, and he currently resides in Arizona. Naturally, that lead me to ask about my favorite basketball team, the Phoenix Suns. He is a fan, by the way. Hale also confirmed to me that he meant what he said about Deep Creek Lake and our resort area in general - "There is truly no better place to have a home, or a 2nd home than here". Based on Hale's accomplished resume and his travels, that really registered with this Garrett County native as quite a compliment!
An interesting tidbit from reading up on Hale: He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992, and ranked in 2000 as the 19th greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine!

Best buy at Wisp Resort: 375 Sandy Shores - $475,000- GA7344944

375 SANDY SHORES RD
MC HENRY, MD 21541

MOUNTAINEER LOG CHALET ON 2.78 ACRES WITH VIEWS OF DEEP CREEK LAKE, THE 219 BRIDGE AND THE SURROUNDING MOUNTAINS. LARGE, OPEN KITCHEN/LIVING/DINING AREA WITH CATHEDRAL CEILINGS AND ACCESS TO SPACIOUS SOUTH-FACING DECK. EXTRA LARGE RECREATION ROOM, HALF BATH AND TANDEM GARAGE ON LOWER LEVEL. MAIN LEVEL BEDROOM. SPACIOUS LOFT W/ MASTER BDR, BATH AND SITTING AREA. PRIVACY PLUS VIEWS! RECENTLY REMODELED KITCHEN & BATHROOMS - UPGRADED VANITIES, GRANITE COUNTER TOPS & CABINETS. PUBLIC SEWER NEARBY FOR EXPANSION, IF DESIRED. WALK TO LODESTONE GOLF COURSE ACROSS THE STREET! ASCI WHITEWATER RAFTING & WISP SKI RESORT ~1 MILE AWAY. SIMILAR LOTS PRICE IN THE $300K RANGE!

Contact Jay Ferguson @ 301-501-0420 or DeepCreekLaker@Gmail.com for more information or to setup a private showing for this property.

Listing # GA7344944 - $475,000


Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

877-563-5350 - toll free

Snow Will Blow

Snow will blow once again this winter at the Wisp Ski Resort, a guarantee expressed this week by Karen Myers, a co-owner of the resort and president of Recreational Industries Inc. She made that promise in spite of the fact that the land development corporation that is responsible for the Lodestone Golf Course and home sites atop Marsh Mountain has been slapped with a judgment from BB&T, the provider of the loan for the project. Myers and the other owners are working with attorneys and consultants to persuade the financial institution to agree to a loan restructuring, but in the meantime she says that it will be business as usual at the Wisp this winter. "We plan to be making snow in less than 90 days," Myers said, "and hope to open the day after Thanksgiving (Nov. 25)." She added that the resort has already sold a record number of season passes for the 2011-12 season and is "enjoying its best summer ever." See story for details. Photo by John McEwen.


Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

877-563-5350 - toll free

Lodestone Golf Course Wisp Resort - Deer teeing off

I doubt these guys had memberships, but they were on the course anyway today. Soon, the Hale Irwin designed private golf course will be playable, but these deer were checking out the tee box on #8 when I drove by today:






If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350