Grass Clippings Rolling Hills

Night Golf Course Redevelopment

Programmatic Real Estate Partnership

 

Tempe, Arizona

WestHawk Capital led the $15 million private equity capital raise for the transformation of the Rolling Hills executive golf course into the first lighted 18-hole golf course in Arizona.

Glass Clippings, a Phoenix-based golf tournament and lifestyle brand company, prompted and won a public process to execute a long-term lease to transform and modernize an executive golf course in Papago Park, the main city park for Phoenix and Tempe. Grass Clippings also negotiated the right to add lights to the course, making Rolling Hills the first 18-hole night golf course in Arizona. At night the course is a par three course and during the day there are 7 par-four holes in addition to 11 par threes.

Phase 1 of the redevelopment, which included the night lights, par 3 tee boxes, and a redesigned signature 9th hole, was completed in December 2023. The remaining phases, delivering throughout 2024, include an upgraded pro shop, a driving range that includes TopTracer ball-tracking hitting bays, an outdoor “beach” bar, and a new Sonoran-style restaurant.

Grass Clippings had the vision, creativity, and passion to create a first-of-its-kind golf and entertainment venue. What they needed was a partner in the process who could raise the necessary capital to make the dream a reality and to collaborate, long-term, to manage the investment side of the business. WestHawk was invited to become this long-term partner. The combined team’s hope and expectation is that Grass Clippings Rolling Hills is the first of several golf and entertainment venues the group creates in select golf markets across the country.

Grass Clippings Rolling Hills Development Team

We started our company, Grass Clippings, in 2018, with the vision of creating a brand that pays homage to the greenskeepers of golf. Golf’s audience in the past had been narrow and stuffy, but that has been changing, as it is becoming more inclusive by introducing new ways to share this amazingly fun and social game. Furthermore, have you ever done anything on a field of grass that wasn’t super fun? Greenskeepers are the humble, hardworking people who make it possible.

We were fortunate, after a three-year process, to win the opportunity to take control of Rolling Hills Golf Course in Tempe, Arizona to re-imagine it into something completely new to the golf experience, centered on creating the first night golf course in Arizona. We needed a partner to help put the complex transaction of fusing night golf with a food and beverage experience and an event venue together – by helping raise the capital, manage the investors, and collaborate in the execution of making our vision become a reality.

Our venture capitalist introduced us to WestHawk, and immediately Gary and his partners understood our vision and helped us craft our story to investors and prioritize the phasing of the project. We are laser focused on making Grass Clippings at Rolling Hills a success, and we have a great partner in WestHawk for future golf course transformations.

Jake Hoselton, CEO, and Jimmy Hoselton, Chief of Brand

On behalf of the Grass Clippings team