LinksDAO wins bid to buy its first golf course, says CEO

The decentralized autonomous organization (DAO)-operated golf startup, LinksDAO is primed to become the new owner of the Spey Bay Golf Club in Scotland after successfully winning a bid to buy the course initially listed for just over $900,000.

After winning the bid, the DAO has entered into an exclusivity agreement with the vendor and will look to formally close the deal in early April.

We won the bid.

WE’RE BUYING A GOLF COURSE!!!

— Links (@LinksDAO) March 16, 2023

In the meantime, it is undergoing its “due diligence” phase before it officially puts pen to paper, according to CEO Jim Daily in a Twitter Spaces held on March 16.

While the initial listing was a tick over $900,000, a report from Golf Digest suggested the final sale price is expected to be higher. Links CEO Daily said that they’re not planning on revealing the purchase price until the contract is signed.

LinksDAO put in the highest offer over “several other potential buyers,” the report added.

LinksDAO — self-described as a “global group of golf enthusiasts” that is on a mission to build the “world’s greatest golf community” — put in the bid following a community vote which saw 88.6% of 4,300 LinksDAO members vote in favor of putting in an offer.

If the deal closes, it will be the DAO’s first golf course purchase.

We’ve entered into an exclusivity agreement to purchase Spey Bay Golf Course on the Moray coast of northern Scotland! Thank you to @GolfDigest for covering the purchase. Read more https://t.co/rAcfrvJsIe

— Links (@LinksDAO) March 16, 2023

The DAO is still “working through the details” of the course membership structure and hasn’t confirmed what benefits will be provided to LinksDAO token holders who wish to access the golf course.

As for the state of the golf course right now, Besvinick described it as “playable.”

“It’s good, it’s going to be getting a lot better soon and we think it’s going to be great by this time or Spring time next year.”

If the deal is closed, Besvinick said that they’ll keep the course open until they start renovations.

Links is seeking advice from several architects to remodel the golf course, because it has “suffered from weather and erosion issues over recent decades,” head of strategy Adam Besvinick explained in the Twitter Spaces.

“Improved maintenance will elevate this site significantly,” he added.

Daily and Besvinick explained in its community proposal to purchase the course that the high ceiling to low price ratio of the Scottish course made it “too special to ignore.”