Arizona Golf Vacations

Quintero Golf Club Available to Public

By • Dec 21st, 2011

Last month on November 14, 2011, a luxury golf facility, Quintero Golf and Country Club, was bought out by a local Scottsdale ownership, Infinity Capital Golf Resources, primarily known as Infinity. Former course owner, Gary McClung recently had to default on his loan, which enabled Infinity to buy the land for a fraction of the $54 million value. In efforts to save the property, Infinity has changed the course name to Quintero Golf Club and is now promoting public play.

Quintero Golf Club, located five miles west of Lake Pleasant, was once recognized as one of the top 100 private golf clubs in the country by Travel & Leisure and Golfweek magazines, and also had multiple approvals by PGA Professionals: Sergio Garcia, Greg Norman and Vijay Singh.

The Rees Jones design; 828-acre community, is a perfectly executed course nestled in the serene foothills of Peoria, Arizona. The course is known for its elevation changes as it navigates between desert terrain and the Hieroglyphic Mountains. The course spans to nearly 7,300 yards from the championship tees, and is lined with strategically placed bunkers, making it a challenge for any player.

When Quintero first opened in 2000, it was very exclusive and only those invited were allowed to join. Gary McClung, a former Ford Truck president in Kansas City, Missouri, along with his wife, wanted to build Quintero to celebrate their financial success, as well as promote their love for the game. High membership initiation rates ranging between $100,000-150,000 plus a monthly $550 fee were required to become a member in order to cover the expensive estate cost.

When the course first opened in 2000 it was headed in a good direction. By 2002 McClung began working with Greg Norman to create a second course as well as sell property lots. This again was an immediate success where 200 club memberships were sold and a few dozen lots retailed for $2 million.

Money seemed to be flowing in steadily, and McClung having worthy prior connections, was able to work out loans with Hillcrest Bank. Hillcrest Bank was able to support Quintero for eight years, until 2008 when the global banking crisis hit shutting down majority of US credit lines. Past court documents show that Hillcrest Bank loaned  $31.1 million through 2005. Problems began three short years later when the Quintero Golf and Country Club entities could not refinance the original construction loan.

On top of that, McClung was falling deeper into financial debt, as he owed over $1.1 million to Compass Bank for the construction cost of luxury condominiums, as well as $774,244 to the city of Peoria for past-due water services.

The loss of the course is obviously a devastating occurrence for McClung, and as much as he wanted to keep hold of the course, he was not financially capable of doing so according to an interview conducted with Phoenix Business Journal.
Despite all of the changes, Quintero Golf Club remains open, and is now a semi-private course. Infinity has lowered Quintero’s initial membership fee to $500 and the monthly fee to $350. However, a representative from Infinity stated that the company will stop accepting new applications after December 31, 2011, and is only allowing a total of 125 members.

Sites like www.PhoenixScottsdaleGolf.com have opened tee times to the public, weekend rates starting at $125.