Hernando Hills Country Club votes on buyer [The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.]

Sept. 12--The membership of Hernando Hills Country Club -- a private course that was facing foreclosure this summer -- will vote Sept. 20 on an offer that would keep the facility in the swing, Bill Brown, attorney for the club, said Friday.

"The board of directors voted to recommend the offer" from Pat Burrall, said Brown. He said it was his understanding that Burrall's son Ted, who with wife Ragan, resides on Fairway Drive adjacent to the country club, would operate the facility in northeast Hernando.

The member-owned club at 1000 Bradley, west of McIngvale Road, was slated for sale at auction on June 23 at the DeSoto County Courthouse. A Notice of Substitute Trustee's Sale listed the original loan on the 133-acre course at $1.8 million. An earlier attempt to restructure the debt through First Tennessee Bank didn't pan out, and the bank began foreclosure proceedings.

The club and bank reached an agreement shortly before the sale date to continue talks.

"Right now, some negotiations are still going on, and it's not a done deal," said Ted Burrall. But, hopeful for a positive vote on Sept. 20, he said "a closing date would be fairly imminent after that date." He declined to release further details.

Contacted Friday, Scott Smith, president of the country club, referred all questions to Brown, an attorney with the Hernando firm of Walker, Brown & Brown.

"What the offer will do is pay an amount that First Tennessee will accept to cancel the debt," said Brown; he and Ted Burrall declined to disclose the dollar figure. "In return the buyers will receive all the assets of the club and they will continue to operate the facilities, the swimming pool, golf course and such, as was done before.

"They also have committed to leave the fees as they are for a year," Brown said.

The master plan for the property calls for a golf course and country club, and the prospective buyers are aware it cannot be redeveloped as something else, Brown said.

Designed by Bill May, the 18-hole course opened in 1989, but memberships have plunged in recent years.

-- Henry Bailey: (901) 333-2012

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