It didn’t take the new owners of Kiawah Partners long to flip their resort property in the Caribbean, and it appears likely that Doonbeg Golf Club in Ireland will soon have new owners as well. South Street Partners has sold Christophe Harbour, which occupies 2,500 acres on St. Kitts, to a partnership led by Charles “Buddy” Darby, who just happens to be one of the principals of Kiawah Partners. Clearly, it was a marriage of convenience. The forthcoming resort will feature Park Hyatt hotel (it’s currently under construction) and, eventually, a Tom Fazio-designed golf course.
South Street may need to work a little harder to sell Doonbeg, which hasn’t turned an annual profit even once since it opened in 2002, according to the Irish Examiner. Red ink aside, however, Doonbeg has a nice location on the southwestern coast of County Clare, a well-appointed lodge and a Greg Norman-designed links that’s received many favorable notices.
Even Darius Oliver, a tough critic, has conceded that “there have been few more impressive virgin courses built in this region during the last half century.”