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Article
Courtesy of The St. Petersburg Times By Derek
J. LaRiviere
Published
November 29, 2010
BROOKSVILLE — The course at Hernando Oaks Golf
Club is brilliant. But for the past seven years, it's been a struggle to get
other facilities off the ground.
After taking over management this month,
Legendary Marketing of Lecanto hopes to begin changing that, despite a down
economy and a depressed real estate market.
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reins from Hampton Golf in Jacksonville when Hernando Oaks
owners Charles Liberis and David Brannen chose to go in a
different direction with the course.
Legendary CEO Andrew Wood visited
the grounds, liked what he saw and explained what his company
could offer.
"(We chose them) primarily
because of their marketing expertise," Liberis said.
"They're putting together a new marketing program for
us."
Located off U.S. 41 just south of
Brooksville, Hernando Oaks was designed by Scott Pate, the
brother of 1976 U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate. It opened in
2003.
The
beautiful landscape drew in homeowners to build around the
property. With the course as a |
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Sherry
Nevens tees off at the Hernando Oaks Golf Club in Brooksville on Friday.
Legendary Marketing has developed a new marketing campaign in hopes of
reviving the community.
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centerpiece,
the gated community has sold 313 houses. It was this kind of potential that
excited the Legendary staff about being a part of the venture.
"The real estate doesn't intrude onto the
course like so many others you see in Florida," said Bob Devitz, the head
of golf management for Legendary. "The setbacks on the front nine are huge,
and the development on the back nine really hasn't begun. We're really excited
because it's a pleasure to play."
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While
the housing market was still strong and memberships were up,
construction began on a new clubhouse that would be two stories
tall and 35,000 square feet. Plans called for it to house an
upstairs dining room with an attached outside veranda, a large
banquet facility, a downstairs grill room, a golf pro shop,
men's and ladies' locker rooms, and a large fitness and aerobics
area, according the Hernando Oaks website.
It
was supposed to have been completed in 2007, the website said.
Today,
it sits incomplete, surrounded by fencing, with no immediate
plans to finish the facility. If construction were to resume, it
could be finished in six to 12 months, but the owners |
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The
new 35,000-square-foot clubhouse at Hernando Oaks Golf Club was set to be
finished in 2007. Construction was put on hold after the economy began to
decline and the housing market stalled.
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said
they need more assurances that the course and surrounding community will survive
before giving the go-ahead.
"At the present time, we have suspended
construction until lot sales within the property pick back up," Liberis
said. "I don't think anyone in their wildest imagination thought the market
would have deteriorated as long and as far down as it has."
In the meantime, Devitz said Legendary will move
forward with a new marketing plan for the Hernando Oaks course.
"We have a new website ready to go, pending
approval of the owners," he said. "We're ready to pull the
trigger."
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