National Golf Properties Plans to Buy More Courses

National Golf Properties Inc. of Santa Monica plans to spend about $70 million to $80 million to buy golf course properties this year, said President Richard Price.

If the company makes good on this plan, the amount would exceed analysts’ estimates of about $55 million in acquisitions.

“We’re well on our way to meeting our target,” Price said Wednesday at the National Assn. of Real Estate Investment Trusts’ investor conference in New York.

So far this year, National Golf has spent $26 million to buy four courses and has another two properties under contract to buy for a total of about $10 million. The company expects to reach an agreement soon to purchase another two properties for $10 million, he said.

“We target areas with a minimum of 250,000 people in a 15-mile radius,” said Price, explaining the company’s acquisition criteria.

The company owns 117 golf courses in 27 states, making it the largest owner of such properties.

National Golf typically buys the courses and leases them to a separate company, most often owned by National Golf’s senior managers, which runs the day-to-day operations.