Dalton Ranch Golf Club has been sold to an investment company based in Montrose, beginning a new era for the resort north of Durango.
The sale closed Feb. 28 for $3.4 million, according to a warranty deed from the La Plata County Clerk & Recorder’s Office.
Dalton Ranch, 9 miles north of Durango in the Animas Valley, is an 18-hole golf course and resort housing development.
“We saw that there was a strong membership base. They had great facilities and we thought we could build on that,” said Ty Jennings, managing member for the buyer, Cimarron Golf Partners LLC.
Cimarron was created in January and registered to a Montrose address, according to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.
Steve Irwin, son of pro golfer Hale Irwin. is part of the group, but the entity was created separately from Irwin Golf Management, Jennings said.
In December, Dalton Ranch President Frank Sinton notified members of a “bona fide offer” from Irwin Golf Management Group of Arvada.
Jennings said Cimarron wants to build on what Sinton created.
“Our plans are to build on the foundation Frank Sinton has built over the last 20, 23 years,” Jennings said Thursday.
“Frank did a great job establishing a golf course and a community that is respected around the state, and our job is to build off the foundation that he set for us.”
Dalton Ranch has about 400 full-facility members, Jennings said.
Sinton did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Dalton Ranch, 589 County Road 252, has a semiprivate golf course, a restaurant and residential homes. The course was built in 1991 by Finger Dye Spann Inc. of Katy, Texas, part of a wave of developments in that era that paired resort real estate and golf.
Cimarron has no plans to change Dalton’s semiprivate status, which allows members of the public to golf there, Jennings said.
The golf course has not yet opened for the season.
“If the weather cooperates, we intend to open in late March,” Jennings said.
The restaurant is open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday.
Cimarron has brought in a new general manager at Dalton, Brandon England.
Jennings said he was not ready to discuss plans for Dalton’s facilities.
“We’re developing plans for the future,” he said.
cslothower@durangoherald.com
