Here are the announcements I received, if anyone is interested enough to read it all...
A Message from Dave & Candy Hickerson at Selah Ranch:
Dear Friends and Community of Selah Ranch Disc Golf,
This is a letter of both announcement and deep appreciation. As you are aware, we all go through various seasons in life. It's almost impossible to imagine that 11 years have passed since Selah Ranch opened Lakeside and Creekside Disc Golf Courses. But, when we begin to think of all the guests, all the relationships, the joy, the anticipation, emotions spill out in ways that are unimaginable and unforgettable. We want to begin by expressing our sincere gratitude for each of you who have visited this beautiful property, which we have had the blessing to steward for over 30 years. Each of you have had a meaningful part in creating this truly magnificent space we have been able to share with literally thousands of guests, campers, and disc golf enthusiasts from all around the globe. Selah Ranch has become an icon in the disc golfing world over the last two decades, under the meticulous creation of world-renowned course architect, John Houck. We are honored that our two premier courses, Lakeside and Creekside, have been among those consistently recognized as some of the world's top-rated courses throughout the years. Both have been frequented by world champions and novice golfers alike. For the impact you have had on us and for the encounters and relationships we have had with each of you, we are eternally grateful.
We have now passed along Selah Inn and much of the surrounding acreage to a ministry that is very dear to our hearts, called "Pure Hope Foundation." In May of 2020, Pure Hope Foundation acquired a portion of the "Selah" property that included the Creekside course. Since that date, PHF has been running the disc golf operations with excellence. In December of 2020, their organization acquired "Selah Inn", the Cottages, Corral House, and the surrounding property to the North & West. Soon after this, we started building our new home on the East side of the lake, between #10 tee boxes. We kept the land surrounding our new home and most of the land that "Lakeside" is on for our family. Other individuals purchased land that include holes 5, 6, & 8. There is already a new home built close to #5 basket.
Over the past several months, we have had discussions with Houck Design about how to rearrange the Lakeside Course to account for all the new property lines, buildings, and any other possible obstacles planned in the future. We would like to thank John & Dee for all the time they invested in this attempt to save the course. They have been very supportive throughout this process. Due to the logistics with the new boundary lines, structures, fences, and livestock on our retained portion of the property, operation of the Lakeside Course will not be possible to continue. This has been an extremely difficult decision to make. We now find ourselves in a time of transition where we are ready to step back from disc golf and focus on our family and other endeavors. Our emotions are all over the place, but we believe fully that the timing is right. We will be closing the Lakeside Course on September 6, 2022.
What was "Selah Ranch" has now converted to "Pure Hope Ranch." Their team is continuing to serve the community and beyond by hosting world-class retreats at The Inn, while providing job training, life skills and a nest egg for young women in crisis who help serve at the ranch alongside the Pure Hope Foundation team. It is our great hope that you will continue to find opportunities to engage with this ministry and utilize this amazing property under their careful stewardship. We are proud to call them friends and have experienced first-hand the excellence in which they serve.
In closing, we would like to take a few more minutes to remember together some of the highlights of our experience with each of you throughout the years of Selah Ranch Disc Golf. The beginning was such a privilege as we experienced an imaginative spark of creating such great courses with the best course designer, John Houck. Talk about creativity! "John, not sure we can put a golf hole in the lake." "John, you can take this clean slate of ranch land and create whatever you envision for a disc golf course." We'll try to build it and maintain it to the best of our abilities. "Use whatever is here to make it the best!" We had no idea the courses would be rated #1 and #2 in the world when they were rated by Disc Golf Review in 2012. While John Houck designed and helped build the courses, it was also you, the players and guests that made Lakeside and Creekside the best courses in the world. Great sport, great players who came from all 50 states, all provinces of Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, England, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Lichtenstein, then Asia, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, islands in the Pacific – from cold places to hot places. You came from every compass direction and corner including each Continent. You came with your young kids, youth, middle agers, and those a bit older, filling out every bracket on the player card. You came just to have fun, to compete in small groups or in larger team tournaments. We are thankful for each one of you who came. You added challenge and friendship and transparency to our lives. We thank you for honoring the land, by taking care of the courses when you played and for honoring us by your sincere kindness and manners. We pray blessings over each of you, and so appreciate what you have meant to our family throughout the years.
Our Warmest Regards,
Dave and Candy Hickerson
A Message from Michael Lee at Pure Hope Ranch:
Dear Disc Golf Friends,
I have thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with all of you over the past seven plus years that we have been involved in what has now become Pure Hope Ranch (Formerly "Selah Ranch"). Some of you will remember when my family and I were living in our coach parked behind the pro shop. We were just starting Pure Hope Foundation and figuring out our next steps to get settled and help the young women surviving the atrocity of sex trafficking. After meeting Dave & Candy, we knew Selah Ranch was the place our ministry would take root and grow. We were enjoying our new friendship, while helping as much as possible around the property and learning all we could about the operations of the ranch. I had never been around disc golf but was soon engaged with all of you gathered for the World Amateur Doubles Tournament. This was the biggest event of the year around here, and we were right in the middle of it. It was a pleasure to serve you.
As PHF continued to grow and help more survivors, we were able to purchase the Northern part of the ranch that included the Creekside course. At this time, we took over the operations of the pro shop and reservations of disc golf. Dave & Candy still own and maintain the Lakeside course, but we began interacting with all of you when making reservations and playing both courses. I was consistently out on Creekside trimming limbs, mowing, and digging ditches on a regular basis. It has been great getting to know the disc golf family. It really is like a family, how you all look out for one another and show so much respect for the grounds on which you play.
At the end of 2020, we acquired more of the ranch property which included: The Inn, Cottages, and Corral House. With PHF now handling the disc golf reservations, retreats and other events at the ranch, Dave & Candy had time to focus on the construction of their new home. They were still on property and continued to help us during this time of transition, while we were putting together our team to handle the new responsibilities. Thank you all for your patience during this learning curve.
After a few months, we had a great team assembled and started hosting retreats at the Inn while welcoming visitors to the ranch from all over the world. Construction of Dave & Candy's new home was well under way, and it was becoming more and more apparent that changes to the Lakeside course were needed. Many of you have played during this time, and we appreciate your understanding and flexibility while we continued to have conversations about possible solutions to all the new property lines and structures on the course. Again, thank you for your patience.
With the information above coming from Dave & Candy regarding the closing of the Lakeside course, it is with a sad heart that I must announce the closing of the Creekside course as well. We have a Board of Directors that we get to work with and are accountable to, and the financial forecast does not support keeping Creekside open without Lakeside. The cost of maintaining the course has also increased like everything else this year. After gathering much feedback, the majority have agreed that you all wouldn't make the trip out here for only 18 holes. I believe this to be the reality because I have had conversations with many of you about what the attraction was to the ranch that made it worth the many miles you had to endure to get here. The most common answer, especially from all of you spending the weekend at the Corral House, was 72 holes of disc golf on a beautiful property in the country, because many of you would play from the front tees one day and the back tees the next.
I will miss all the competitive bantering as well as the supportive compliments that took place around the pro shop; and let's not forget the incredible stories being told at night around a good campfire. While I may not miss the often-stranded golf carts and the occasional unruly guest, the vast majority of you will leave a profound void on this amazing property and in our hearts. I wish you all well and continued success in whatever He has in store for you.
With much appreciation and gratitude,
Michael Lee
