Discovery Land Company has developed close to a dozen golf communities, six of them with courses designed by Tom Fazio. The seventh is expected to open sometime this summer, at the 585-acre Baker’s Bay Golf & Ocean Club in the Bahamas.
The gated, guarded, automobile-free community is located along Great Guana Cay, part of the Abaco Islands, and it’ll eventually have 248 estate houses, 100 single-family houses, a marina with slips for more than 150 mega-yachts, 22 boathouse villas, and a private beach club with 30 cottages. (If you’re wondering, Fazio’s 7,327-yard track is almost completely surrounded by houses.)
Fazio’s previous work with Scottsdale, Arizona-based Discovery Land includes Iron Horse Golf Club in Whitefish, Montana; Gozzer Ranch Golf & Lake Club in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; and Madison Club in La Quinta, California.
Discovery Land says it closed on nearly $43 million worth of property at Baker’s Bay last year, but caveat emptor: The hurricane season in the Bahamas lasts from June through November.
BakersBayClub.com, DiscoveryLandCo.com
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
grenada Will the Government Pony Up?
It appears that the government of Grenada is willing to jump-start the floundering Four Seasons resort project south of St. Georges.
Earlier this year, the government said that it would consider making a $100 million loan at a discounted rate -– a 25-year term at 2.5 percent interest, with no interest for the first five years -– to the project’s developers if they can’t rustle up the money on their own.
The question now is whether Cinnamon 88, the British entity that’s been trying to develop the 400-acre Mount Hartman Estate property for years, will bite on the offer.
Cinnamon 88, which is led by Robin Paterson and Mike Pemberton, wants to build the biggest Four Seasons resort in the world, including a 124-room hotel, 100 waterfront and golf course villas, 55 houses on nearby Hog Island, a spa, a tennis center, and an 18-hole golf course designed by Mackenzie & Ebert, Ltd., a firm based in Northgate, England.
“Ideally, we would like to see that project get off the ground as early as 2010,” Grenada's finance minister told BBC Worldwide Monitoring in March.
Cinnamon88.com
Earlier this year, the government said that it would consider making a $100 million loan at a discounted rate -– a 25-year term at 2.5 percent interest, with no interest for the first five years -– to the project’s developers if they can’t rustle up the money on their own.
The question now is whether Cinnamon 88, the British entity that’s been trying to develop the 400-acre Mount Hartman Estate property for years, will bite on the offer.
Cinnamon 88, which is led by Robin Paterson and Mike Pemberton, wants to build the biggest Four Seasons resort in the world, including a 124-room hotel, 100 waterfront and golf course villas, 55 houses on nearby Hog Island, a spa, a tennis center, and an 18-hole golf course designed by Mackenzie & Ebert, Ltd., a firm based in Northgate, England.
“Ideally, we would like to see that project get off the ground as early as 2010,” Grenada's finance minister told BBC Worldwide Monitoring in March.
Cinnamon88.com
Sunday, June 20, 2010
morocco The Crown Prince Takes a Shine to the Golden Bear
Earlier this year, Jack Nicklaus discussed a very productive recent trip he'd made to Morocco, which he visited as a guest of the Royal family.
While there, the North Palm Beach, Florida-based designer secured three projects from the nation’s Crown Prince, Moulay Rachid, a passionate golfer who, Nicklaus said, “asked me to re-do his course where they have their championship.”
That would be the Red course at Royal Dar es Salam Golf Club in Rabat, the site of the annual Morocco Golf Open. The 7,400-yard track is part of a 45-hole complex that was designed by Robert Trent Jones and opened in 1971.
Nicklaus also closed on a pair of new commissions. One will be built on coastal property, presumably in or near Rabat. The site was chosen, Nicklaus said, because Rachid “knows that I would like to have a seaside golf course.”
Nicklaus discussed these projects at a press conference before the Masters. He didn’t address the third project, but it could take shape at Royal Dar es Salam, which is located on a 1,000-acre inland parcel just minutes from downtown Rabat.
“That’s a pretty nice trip,” Nicklaus concluded.
Who could disagree?
While there, the North Palm Beach, Florida-based designer secured three projects from the nation’s Crown Prince, Moulay Rachid, a passionate golfer who, Nicklaus said, “asked me to re-do his course where they have their championship.”
That would be the Red course at Royal Dar es Salam Golf Club in Rabat, the site of the annual Morocco Golf Open. The 7,400-yard track is part of a 45-hole complex that was designed by Robert Trent Jones and opened in 1971.
Nicklaus also closed on a pair of new commissions. One will be built on coastal property, presumably in or near Rabat. The site was chosen, Nicklaus said, because Rachid “knows that I would like to have a seaside golf course.”
Nicklaus discussed these projects at a press conference before the Masters. He didn’t address the third project, but it could take shape at Royal Dar es Salam, which is located on a 1,000-acre inland parcel just minutes from downtown Rabat.
“That’s a pretty nice trip,” Nicklaus concluded.
Who could disagree?
Thursday, June 17, 2010
british virgin islands Wanted: Golf Course
If you've got an itch to build the first golf course in British Virgin Islands, your first call should be to Kederick Pickering.
Pickering, one of the territory's elected officials, recently beseeched his colleagues to support the construction of a golf course and a high-end hotel, as part of a broad-based effort to attract wealthy vacationers.
“People don’t go on holidays just to lie on the beach and read a book,” said Pickering, who evidently never met my wife and daughter. “If you are going to be in the high-end tourism, you have to provide the quality of entertainment people need.”
Obviously, those needs extend to golf. The way Pickering sees it, BVI is already losing golfers to islands like St. Thomas, St. Croix, and Puerto Rico, and he worries that Cuba -- “Things are changing in Cuba,” he warned -- will soon start to siphon off even more of them.
“We can talk to thy kingdom come, but we need a golf course,” argued Pickering, in comments reported at BVInews.com. “We have to come to a common understanding, or we are going to lose the people we are trying to attract.”
One other thing BVI needs, according to Pickering: a marina capable of hosting mega-yachts.
Pickering, one of the territory's elected officials, recently beseeched his colleagues to support the construction of a golf course and a high-end hotel, as part of a broad-based effort to attract wealthy vacationers.
“People don’t go on holidays just to lie on the beach and read a book,” said Pickering, who evidently never met my wife and daughter. “If you are going to be in the high-end tourism, you have to provide the quality of entertainment people need.”
Obviously, those needs extend to golf. The way Pickering sees it, BVI is already losing golfers to islands like St. Thomas, St. Croix, and Puerto Rico, and he worries that Cuba -- “Things are changing in Cuba,” he warned -- will soon start to siphon off even more of them.
“We can talk to thy kingdom come, but we need a golf course,” argued Pickering, in comments reported at BVInews.com. “We have to come to a common understanding, or we are going to lose the people we are trying to attract.”
One other thing BVI needs, according to Pickering: a marina capable of hosting mega-yachts.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
cambodia The Royal Treatment
How many of you have dreamed of stumbling upon a secret island paradise and transforming it into a posh resort that attracts vacationers from all over the world?
These days, Neak Oknha Kith Meng is living the dream.
Meng is the chairman of Royal Group, which has secured a 99-year lease from the Cambodian government to develop a virtually untouched place called Koh Rong Island. The sparsely populated, 19,000-acre island –- only 1,382 people live there, most of them fishermen who are barely scraping by –- lies about 30 minutes by boat from Sihanoukville, Cambodia’s largest coastal city. Koh Rong is unspoiled and full of possibilities, with pristine beaches and verdant rain forests, and the nation’s tourism officials believe it can become the centerpiece of a destination they’ll market as “the Asian Riviera” or “the Indochina Riviera,” whichever sounds better in a TV commercial.
“This is a place that people haven’t discovered yet,” Meng told Bloomberg in 2008.
They will. Royal Group recently unveiled a master plan for what it’s described as “Asia’s first environmentally planned island.” The company figures to develop about 12,250 acres of Koh Rong with thousands of villas, dozens of hotels, a casino, a hospital, a beach club, restaurants and night clubs, two or three golf courses, and an international airport.
Only one problem: Koh Rong lacks the essential services we all take for granted. Before it can become “the Asian Riviera,” it needs roads, electric power, drinking water, phone lines, sewage systems, even a port where ferries can dock.
To develop all the infrastructure, Meng needs to raise $150 million, maybe $200 million, and he’s enlisted CB Richard Ellis to help him do it.
Of course, Royal Group is good for at least some of the money. Meng’s company, one of Cambodia’s biggest conglomerates, owns a bank, an insurance company, an advertising agency, a hotel, a night club, and the nation’s top-rated television station. It sells cell phone and internet service, distributes Samsung and Siemens electronics, and operates a bunch of Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants.
It also has a partner in the golf business.
Royal Group is developing Koh Rong with Millennium Group, a Hong Kong-based firm led by Martin Kaye, who just happens to be a former director of CB Richard Ellis. One of Millennium’s subsidiaries is developing the Dai Beach Eco-Tourism Resort on Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island. Dai Beach will have a 36-hole golf complex.
RoyalGroup.com.kh, MillenniumGroup.net
These days, Neak Oknha Kith Meng is living the dream.
Meng is the chairman of Royal Group, which has secured a 99-year lease from the Cambodian government to develop a virtually untouched place called Koh Rong Island. The sparsely populated, 19,000-acre island –- only 1,382 people live there, most of them fishermen who are barely scraping by –- lies about 30 minutes by boat from Sihanoukville, Cambodia’s largest coastal city. Koh Rong is unspoiled and full of possibilities, with pristine beaches and verdant rain forests, and the nation’s tourism officials believe it can become the centerpiece of a destination they’ll market as “the Asian Riviera” or “the Indochina Riviera,” whichever sounds better in a TV commercial.
“This is a place that people haven’t discovered yet,” Meng told Bloomberg in 2008.
They will. Royal Group recently unveiled a master plan for what it’s described as “Asia’s first environmentally planned island.” The company figures to develop about 12,250 acres of Koh Rong with thousands of villas, dozens of hotels, a casino, a hospital, a beach club, restaurants and night clubs, two or three golf courses, and an international airport.
Only one problem: Koh Rong lacks the essential services we all take for granted. Before it can become “the Asian Riviera,” it needs roads, electric power, drinking water, phone lines, sewage systems, even a port where ferries can dock.
To develop all the infrastructure, Meng needs to raise $150 million, maybe $200 million, and he’s enlisted CB Richard Ellis to help him do it.
Of course, Royal Group is good for at least some of the money. Meng’s company, one of Cambodia’s biggest conglomerates, owns a bank, an insurance company, an advertising agency, a hotel, a night club, and the nation’s top-rated television station. It sells cell phone and internet service, distributes Samsung and Siemens electronics, and operates a bunch of Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants.
It also has a partner in the golf business.
Royal Group is developing Koh Rong with Millennium Group, a Hong Kong-based firm led by Martin Kaye, who just happens to be a former director of CB Richard Ellis. One of Millennium’s subsidiaries is developing the Dai Beach Eco-Tourism Resort on Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island. Dai Beach will have a 36-hole golf complex.
RoyalGroup.com.kh, MillenniumGroup.net
Monday, June 14, 2010
portugal A Walk in the Parc
A mere six years after he hit what he hopes is the mother lode, Roger Rulewich has at last begun to shape his first golf course in Portugal.
It’s been a long wait. In 2004, Rulewich was hired to provide preliminary designs for four 18-hole golf courses at Parc Alqueva, a 6,200-acre resort community in Evora, a small town that’s about 100 miles east of Lisbon. It’s the kind of commission that architects fantasize about, and Rulewich expected to break ground on the community’s first course in 2006, the second in 2008. But the Bernardston, Massachusetts-based architect had to bide his time until last year, when construction on the community’s first course finally began.
The delay was caused by environmental concerns. Evora is located in the Alentejo region of Portugal, the nation’s hottest and driest region, a place that’s long been plagued by unrelenting droughts. To provide a dependable water supply (as well as hydroelectric power) for the region’s farms, the Portuguese government built the largest reservoir in Western Europe, the 155-square-mile Alqueva Reservoir. It was flooded to capacity just about the time Rulewich won the design job.
The reservoir has an added benefit: it’s expected to become the main attraction of a golf destination. Nearly a dozen resorts and communities featuring golf courses have been proposed in the vicinity of the reservoir, although only a handful are likely to be built.
Parc Alqueva, the biggest of the proposed projects, is the first out of the gate. At build-out, it’ll have scads of villas, townhouses, and apartments, seven hotels, at least three village centers, a marina, a spa, an amphitheater, meeting space, an equestrian center, and other attractions.
The community is being developed by Sociedade Alentejana de Investimentos e Participacoes, an entity created by Jose Roquette, a local winemaker. Roquette owns the Herdade do Esporao winery, which produces mid-priced wines that are sold all over Europe.
SAIP has subdivided the Parc Alqueva property into three estates -– Roncao del Rei, Areias, and Postoro -– all of which will get golf courses.
SAIP describes Roncao, which spreads over 1,850 acres, as Parc Alqueva’s community of “culture and sophistication.” It’s currently taking shape with a marina, a hotel, and Roncao del Rei Golf Course, which is expected to open in 2012.
The second course (as well as a future course) will be part of the 2,145-acre Areias community, which is to offer a “bucolic experience.” SAIP expects to break ground on it in 2011 or 2012.
The third course will be part of Postoro, a 1,200-acre community for “active living.”
Rulewich has done routings for all four courses but hasn’t officially been hired to design any beyond the Roncao track. It’s possible that SAIP will put a “signature” design on some of the future courses.
Nonetheless, late last year Jose Roquette told reporters that the Roncao course “will be indisputably one of the best in Portugal and probably one of the best in Europe.”
It’s been a long wait. In 2004, Rulewich was hired to provide preliminary designs for four 18-hole golf courses at Parc Alqueva, a 6,200-acre resort community in Evora, a small town that’s about 100 miles east of Lisbon. It’s the kind of commission that architects fantasize about, and Rulewich expected to break ground on the community’s first course in 2006, the second in 2008. But the Bernardston, Massachusetts-based architect had to bide his time until last year, when construction on the community’s first course finally began.
The delay was caused by environmental concerns. Evora is located in the Alentejo region of Portugal, the nation’s hottest and driest region, a place that’s long been plagued by unrelenting droughts. To provide a dependable water supply (as well as hydroelectric power) for the region’s farms, the Portuguese government built the largest reservoir in Western Europe, the 155-square-mile Alqueva Reservoir. It was flooded to capacity just about the time Rulewich won the design job.
The reservoir has an added benefit: it’s expected to become the main attraction of a golf destination. Nearly a dozen resorts and communities featuring golf courses have been proposed in the vicinity of the reservoir, although only a handful are likely to be built.
Parc Alqueva, the biggest of the proposed projects, is the first out of the gate. At build-out, it’ll have scads of villas, townhouses, and apartments, seven hotels, at least three village centers, a marina, a spa, an amphitheater, meeting space, an equestrian center, and other attractions.
The community is being developed by Sociedade Alentejana de Investimentos e Participacoes, an entity created by Jose Roquette, a local winemaker. Roquette owns the Herdade do Esporao winery, which produces mid-priced wines that are sold all over Europe.
SAIP has subdivided the Parc Alqueva property into three estates -– Roncao del Rei, Areias, and Postoro -– all of which will get golf courses.
SAIP describes Roncao, which spreads over 1,850 acres, as Parc Alqueva’s community of “culture and sophistication.” It’s currently taking shape with a marina, a hotel, and Roncao del Rei Golf Course, which is expected to open in 2012.
The second course (as well as a future course) will be part of the 2,145-acre Areias community, which is to offer a “bucolic experience.” SAIP expects to break ground on it in 2011 or 2012.
The third course will be part of Postoro, a 1,200-acre community for “active living.”
Rulewich has done routings for all four courses but hasn’t officially been hired to design any beyond the Roncao track. It’s possible that SAIP will put a “signature” design on some of the future courses.
Nonetheless, late last year Jose Roquette told reporters that the Roncao course “will be indisputably one of the best in Portugal and probably one of the best in Europe.”
Friday, June 11, 2010
talking points Greg Norman: Shorter, Cheaper, and More Sustainable
A week or so ago, during a visit to Australia, Greg Norman sounded off on a few topics that are obviously causing him some distress -- in particular, the viability of contemporary golf course design.
His comments were reported by Steve Waddingham and published by several news organizations, including the Sunday Mail and the Sunday Telegraph.
For starters, Norman has finally figured out that the sort of courses he's made his reputation designing -- those long, expensive "championship" tracks that you'll find at the world's most elite clubs -- serve little or no purpose in the grand scheme of things.
He admitted that a tournament-quality course he designed in Texas -- I think he's referring to the new TPC San Antonio -- checked in at a whopping 7,522 yards, a length that caused him to do a double-take. His conclusion:
The reality is that, even on the Tour, only 20 or 30 guys can hit the ball over 300 [yards], so essentially we are designing courses to be played by 20 guys on four days of the year. For the average player, it becomes a long, slow slog. It's ludicrous.
Of course, it's obvious that Norman continues to design such courses. But at least he understands that they're no fun to play.
What's more, it appears that Norman has come around to thinking that golf needs to enter a "dead ball era" if it expects to maintain the integrity of its most revered classic courses. He says:
Keep the technology for the average golfer, because he doesn't have the skills to overpower a course, but take it away from the professionals.
Finally, Norman suggests that it may be time to reconsider golf's fundamental principle, the 18-hole paradigm, in order to keep greens fees affordable. He noted that he has "a development in Tijuana, in Mexico" with a 12-hole course that's been "a great success." (I can't find a reference to the course on Norman's website.)
His conclusion:
Obviously, it would not be for tournaments, but with courses costing more to build, land costing more and more to buy, and people having less and less time, it could work. You could play a round in two and a half hours and it would cost less, because courses would be cheaper to develop and to maintain.
His comments were reported by Steve Waddingham and published by several news organizations, including the Sunday Mail and the Sunday Telegraph.
For starters, Norman has finally figured out that the sort of courses he's made his reputation designing -- those long, expensive "championship" tracks that you'll find at the world's most elite clubs -- serve little or no purpose in the grand scheme of things.
He admitted that a tournament-quality course he designed in Texas -- I think he's referring to the new TPC San Antonio -- checked in at a whopping 7,522 yards, a length that caused him to do a double-take. His conclusion:
The reality is that, even on the Tour, only 20 or 30 guys can hit the ball over 300 [yards], so essentially we are designing courses to be played by 20 guys on four days of the year. For the average player, it becomes a long, slow slog. It's ludicrous.
Of course, it's obvious that Norman continues to design such courses. But at least he understands that they're no fun to play.
What's more, it appears that Norman has come around to thinking that golf needs to enter a "dead ball era" if it expects to maintain the integrity of its most revered classic courses. He says:
Keep the technology for the average golfer, because he doesn't have the skills to overpower a course, but take it away from the professionals.
Finally, Norman suggests that it may be time to reconsider golf's fundamental principle, the 18-hole paradigm, in order to keep greens fees affordable. He noted that he has "a development in Tijuana, in Mexico" with a 12-hole course that's been "a great success." (I can't find a reference to the course on Norman's website.)
His conclusion:
Obviously, it would not be for tournaments, but with courses costing more to build, land costing more and more to buy, and people having less and less time, it could work. You could play a round in two and a half hours and it would cost less, because courses would be cheaper to develop and to maintain.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
worth reading The Greening of Sagebrush
Is brown the new green, or is green still the new green?
That's the question Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun raises in an article about Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club, a new course in British Columbia designed by Dick Zokol, Armen Suny, and Rod Whitman. The course, which was named 2009's best new Canadian course by Golf Digest, has been praised, Ziemer says, for its "sensible maintenance practices" and its "firm and fast course conditioning philosophy."
According to Ziemer, Sagebrush uses fewer fertilizers and pesticides than its competitors, and far less water, too. As a result, it spends about 75 percent less on maintenance costs.
And it's green, not brown.
"What we are doing is radical," Zokol says. "There has been criticism. People are afraid of what we are doing. It threatens their philosophy, it challenges them."
The bottom line: The designers believe that the maintenance practices being employed at Sagebrush "could help save courses that have been ravaged by an industry-wide recession."
Here's Zokol again: "This industry is in significant danger, and everyone knows it. There are golf clubs going broke daily in North America. And part of the problem is the obesity of the game.... There is this over-indulgence that is commonplace, and it's run amok."
Here's a link to the story, called "Firmer, Faster, Cheaper."
That's the question Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun raises in an article about Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club, a new course in British Columbia designed by Dick Zokol, Armen Suny, and Rod Whitman. The course, which was named 2009's best new Canadian course by Golf Digest, has been praised, Ziemer says, for its "sensible maintenance practices" and its "firm and fast course conditioning philosophy."
According to Ziemer, Sagebrush uses fewer fertilizers and pesticides than its competitors, and far less water, too. As a result, it spends about 75 percent less on maintenance costs.
And it's green, not brown.
"What we are doing is radical," Zokol says. "There has been criticism. People are afraid of what we are doing. It threatens their philosophy, it challenges them."
The bottom line: The designers believe that the maintenance practices being employed at Sagebrush "could help save courses that have been ravaged by an industry-wide recession."
Here's Zokol again: "This industry is in significant danger, and everyone knows it. There are golf clubs going broke daily in North America. And part of the problem is the obesity of the game.... There is this over-indulgence that is commonplace, and it's run amok."
Here's a link to the story, called "Firmer, Faster, Cheaper."
Sunday, June 6, 2010
china Where's the Money?
With so many U.S. designers working in China these days, I have to ask: Are they getting paid?
Art Schaupeter, an architect based in St. Louis, Missouri, is currently working on two projects in the People’s Republic, and he says that he’s “working for a fraction of his usual fee” in the hope that he’ll be rewarded with bigger commissions in the future.
Schaupeter’s projects are in Shanghai and on Hainan Island, and they’re both being built by Meinong Golf Construction, a Shanghai-based company. The course in Shanghai, a stand-alone track called Jia Ding New City Golf Course, is taking shape on what Schaupeter calls “a dead flat site” that’s just three feet above sea level. He expects to make 10 site visits before it opens, most likely in 2011.
Schaupeter, who apprenticed with Keith Foster, designs playable, enjoyable, financially viable golf courses. He's responsible for a handful of layouts in the United States, including Highland Meadows Golf Course in Windsor, Colorado and the Buckhorn in Comfort, Texas.
He says that the contracts from Meinong fell into his lap unexpectedly -– “They wanted an American architect,” he says -– and that they have a certain hurry-up-and-wait quality to them.
“It happened extremely fast,” Schaupeter recalls. “I went there in June [2009] and did some preliminary work, then I just sat around for months. Then they called back in November and told me I had to finish in six weeks.”
Naturally, Meinong had good reasons for shorting Schaupeter, namely that the projects’ developers set their budgets without knowing the true price of design work. Grudgingly, he agreed to work at 80 percent of his usual fee.
But if the projects are truly loss leaders, Schaupeter’s strategy may be working. He reports that he’s already talked with two other prospective clients. And yes, he expects them to drive hard bargains.
“They know the U.S. market is slow, so they expect to get good pricing,” he says. “You have to be prepared to negotiate. It’s part of their culture.”
Art Schaupeter, an architect based in St. Louis, Missouri, is currently working on two projects in the People’s Republic, and he says that he’s “working for a fraction of his usual fee” in the hope that he’ll be rewarded with bigger commissions in the future.
Schaupeter’s projects are in Shanghai and on Hainan Island, and they’re both being built by Meinong Golf Construction, a Shanghai-based company. The course in Shanghai, a stand-alone track called Jia Ding New City Golf Course, is taking shape on what Schaupeter calls “a dead flat site” that’s just three feet above sea level. He expects to make 10 site visits before it opens, most likely in 2011.
Schaupeter, who apprenticed with Keith Foster, designs playable, enjoyable, financially viable golf courses. He's responsible for a handful of layouts in the United States, including Highland Meadows Golf Course in Windsor, Colorado and the Buckhorn in Comfort, Texas.
He says that the contracts from Meinong fell into his lap unexpectedly -– “They wanted an American architect,” he says -– and that they have a certain hurry-up-and-wait quality to them.
“It happened extremely fast,” Schaupeter recalls. “I went there in June [2009] and did some preliminary work, then I just sat around for months. Then they called back in November and told me I had to finish in six weeks.”
Naturally, Meinong had good reasons for shorting Schaupeter, namely that the projects’ developers set their budgets without knowing the true price of design work. Grudgingly, he agreed to work at 80 percent of his usual fee.
But if the projects are truly loss leaders, Schaupeter’s strategy may be working. He reports that he’s already talked with two other prospective clients. And yes, he expects them to drive hard bargains.
“They know the U.S. market is slow, so they expect to get good pricing,” he says. “You have to be prepared to negotiate. It’s part of their culture.”
Friday, June 4, 2010
Advertisements for Ourselves
The June issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report hit cyberspace today, and it features news about golf projects in more than a dozen nations.
For starters, the World Edition profiles four projects in development-happy India, including new courses by Gary Player and Nicklaus Design, as well as other planned courses in Canada, Italy, Argentina, Ghana, and the Philippines, not to mention the upcoming third course at Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania, Australia.
We also report on the unexpected revival of Greg Norman's delayed golf course in Abu Dhabi and the possible revival of a Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course in St. Andrews, Scotland. There's also news about Montenegro's golf development plans, a renovation of a Martin Hawtree-designed golf course in England, and the work that Mike Weir and Ian Andrew have lined up for 2010.
Finally, the World Edition also covers the openings of the first 18 at Castelfalfi Golf & Country Club in Montaione, Italy and the first three 18s at the Mission Hills golf resort on Hainan Island in China, plus the reopening of the Classic course at Laguna National Golf & Country Club in Singapore.
If you like to take at look at June's World Edition, send us an e-mail at WorldEdition@aol.com.
For starters, the World Edition profiles four projects in development-happy India, including new courses by Gary Player and Nicklaus Design, as well as other planned courses in Canada, Italy, Argentina, Ghana, and the Philippines, not to mention the upcoming third course at Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania, Australia.
We also report on the unexpected revival of Greg Norman's delayed golf course in Abu Dhabi and the possible revival of a Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course in St. Andrews, Scotland. There's also news about Montenegro's golf development plans, a renovation of a Martin Hawtree-designed golf course in England, and the work that Mike Weir and Ian Andrew have lined up for 2010.
Finally, the World Edition also covers the openings of the first 18 at Castelfalfi Golf & Country Club in Montaione, Italy and the first three 18s at the Mission Hills golf resort on Hainan Island in China, plus the reopening of the Classic course at Laguna National Golf & Country Club in Singapore.
If you like to take at look at June's World Edition, send us an e-mail at WorldEdition@aol.com.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
india Nicklaus Design Does the Nath
Maybe you heard that Nicklaus Design recently found a "design representative" in India.
The company's new rep is Shivas Nath, who runs a company called Evolution Golf. The press release announcing the appointment says that Evolution manages a chain of golf stores and operates some golf courses and driving ranges -- no specifics are provided -- and it describes Nath as "a former player turned golf entrepreneur." In the same release, Paul Stringer, the executive vice president of Nicklaus Design, calls Nath "an experienced and forward-thinking person."
When it comes to doing business in India, the Nicklaus empire sure can use some forward thinking. Jack Nicklaus has designed just one of India's roughly 250 golf courses, an 18-hole "signature" track at Classic Golf Resort in New Delhi, and it opened way back in 1998. Since then, the world's most famous golf designer hasn't landed any other "signature" commissions, despite the fact that India has opened something like 80 new courses over the past five years.
Nicklaus Design, which produces the firm's more "affordable" courses, hasn't completed even one course in India, although it currently has one under construction, Kalhar Blues & Greens in Ahmedabad, and another in the works in Ludhiana. Both contracts were inked without Nath's assistance.
This curious lack of work in India isn't unique to Nicklaus. In fact, none of the golf industry's "celebrity" designers has a significant presence in the planet's seventh-largest nation. Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer, and Robert Trent Jones, Jr. have each designed just one course there. Tom Fazio, Nick Faldo, and Rees Jones haven't designed any.
Instead, the work has gone to lesser-known, less expensive designers such as K. D. Bagga, Peter Thomson, Phil Ryan, Peter Harradine, Martin Hawtree, and Graham Cooke.
What gives? Why isn't India fertile territory for the better-known architectural brands? Why, considering that golf has been played in India since the 1820s, have Indian developers not built a parade of high-profile tracks, the way developers have done in most other nations where golf is well established?
Here's an explanation, courtesy of David Hemstock, a British architect who designed Aamby Valley Golf Club in Mumbai, which the Indian PGA named as the nation's best course in 2004.
India is, thankfully, taking a pragmatic approach. That's why the big names struggle there. Only in India can a chap like me get the opportunity.
Here's another explanation, this one from Ron Garl, a designer based in Lakeland, Florida.
People are looking for golf courses that are enjoyable, memorable, and challenging -- not 7,500-yard, very difficult, and expensive 'signature' designs. Golf is doing well in foreign countries because players come to the game for the camaraderie with their friends, enjoyment, and love of the game -- the same reasons most of us in America started playing golf. India is no exception to this rule.
There are other possible explanations, of course. Maybe the celebrity designers haven't struck gold simply because golf is a "mature" business in India, and developers don't need stars to sell the game.
But I'm still not satisfied. There's something about golf in India that's different from golf elsewhere, and I've got a feeling that Nath's ability to sell Nicklaus courses will tell us what it is.
The company's new rep is Shivas Nath, who runs a company called Evolution Golf. The press release announcing the appointment says that Evolution manages a chain of golf stores and operates some golf courses and driving ranges -- no specifics are provided -- and it describes Nath as "a former player turned golf entrepreneur." In the same release, Paul Stringer, the executive vice president of Nicklaus Design, calls Nath "an experienced and forward-thinking person."
When it comes to doing business in India, the Nicklaus empire sure can use some forward thinking. Jack Nicklaus has designed just one of India's roughly 250 golf courses, an 18-hole "signature" track at Classic Golf Resort in New Delhi, and it opened way back in 1998. Since then, the world's most famous golf designer hasn't landed any other "signature" commissions, despite the fact that India has opened something like 80 new courses over the past five years.
Nicklaus Design, which produces the firm's more "affordable" courses, hasn't completed even one course in India, although it currently has one under construction, Kalhar Blues & Greens in Ahmedabad, and another in the works in Ludhiana. Both contracts were inked without Nath's assistance.
This curious lack of work in India isn't unique to Nicklaus. In fact, none of the golf industry's "celebrity" designers has a significant presence in the planet's seventh-largest nation. Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer, and Robert Trent Jones, Jr. have each designed just one course there. Tom Fazio, Nick Faldo, and Rees Jones haven't designed any.
Instead, the work has gone to lesser-known, less expensive designers such as K. D. Bagga, Peter Thomson, Phil Ryan, Peter Harradine, Martin Hawtree, and Graham Cooke.
What gives? Why isn't India fertile territory for the better-known architectural brands? Why, considering that golf has been played in India since the 1820s, have Indian developers not built a parade of high-profile tracks, the way developers have done in most other nations where golf is well established?
Here's an explanation, courtesy of David Hemstock, a British architect who designed Aamby Valley Golf Club in Mumbai, which the Indian PGA named as the nation's best course in 2004.
India is, thankfully, taking a pragmatic approach. That's why the big names struggle there. Only in India can a chap like me get the opportunity.
Here's another explanation, this one from Ron Garl, a designer based in Lakeland, Florida.
People are looking for golf courses that are enjoyable, memorable, and challenging -- not 7,500-yard, very difficult, and expensive 'signature' designs. Golf is doing well in foreign countries because players come to the game for the camaraderie with their friends, enjoyment, and love of the game -- the same reasons most of us in America started playing golf. India is no exception to this rule.
There are other possible explanations, of course. Maybe the celebrity designers haven't struck gold simply because golf is a "mature" business in India, and developers don't need stars to sell the game.
But I'm still not satisfied. There's something about golf in India that's different from golf elsewhere, and I've got a feeling that Nath's ability to sell Nicklaus courses will tell us what it is.
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