Canyon West Golf Club, Mickle’s Valley View Ranch in Weatherford, Texas, to Sell in September Auction

WEATHERFORD, TX–(Marketwire – Aug 9, 2012) – Canyon West Golf Club and Mickle’s Valley View Ranch will sell at auction Thursday, Sept. 27, as the owners sell the facilities and land associated with both businesses. McLemore Auction Company, of Nashville, Tenn., will manage the sale in partnership with Schrader Real Estate & Auction Company, of Columbia City, Ind.

The two properties, which are adjacent, total approximately 506 acres and will sell in 28 tracts. All will sell at absolute auction, with no minimum bid or reserve. The golf course will sell as a single tract, with the rest of the land divided into 27 tracts.

“Nobody knows what the future will hold for the golf club or the ranch,” said Wes Mickle, who built the course in the 1990s along with son Stan after the two made a decision to phase out active ranch operations and focus on their lifelong love of golf. 

“Breeding fine horses had been a longtime passion I shared with my wife, and when she died in 1994, it simply lost its appeal for me,” said Mickle, who had moved the family to Weatherford in 1974 after building the successful ranching operation in Arizona.

“We just fell in love with Weatherford and moved all our horses here. In the years that followed, we bred more than 10,000 cutting horses and racehorses, including many great champions. The owners of some of the finest horses in the world trusted our breeding and training programs,” said Mickle.

“Even though the ranch hasn’t operated as an entity since 1997, the facilities are still excellent, and it could easily resume full operations,” said Mickle. The ranch includes two “mare motels,” one of which is a 40,320-square-foot covered facility.

In 1995, the Mickles — both successful tournament golfers — turned their attention to the work of creating Canyon West Golf Club, which opened in 1997.

“We felt it was important to keep the golf course intact, even though the buyer could certainly elect to close it and do something else with the land. I think it’s still a good business as a golf course, so we want to give it every chance to move forward under the new ownership,” said Mickle.

The ranch will sell in tracts in order to allow the largest possible number of bidders to participate, according to Will McLemore, president of McLemore Auction.

“Out of the total of 505 acres, 309 acres are part of the ranch, which has excellent stables, paddocks and other equine facilities,” said McLemore. “Most other tracts are beautiful rolling pastures and scenic land. There are six tracts fronting on I-20, for example, that I expect will be of interest to some who are interested in commercial development along the highway,” said McLemore.

Individuals interested in additional information about the auction may call McLemore at 615-517-7675, or visit mclemoreauction.com.

McLemore Auction Company, based in Nashville, conducts auctions of land and personal property. Schrader Real Estate & Auction Company, based in Columbia City, Ind., is one of the nation’s leading real estate auctioneers.