The Week That Was: July 11, 2010

japan Sayonara, Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs Group has lost control of Nanso Country Club in suburban Tokyo, Japan. The club, which features a 36-hole golf complex, is now being managed by a court-appointed lawyer.

Goldman Sachs, which purchased Nanso in late 2006, had placed the property under bankruptcy protection in January 2010. Three months later, it proposed a "revitalization plan" that called for the club to repay its debts using money it would borrow from Goldman Sachs. The plan didn't sit well with the club's 2,600 members, who voted against it and took the issue to court.

“The members didn’t want Goldman Sachs to integrate Nanso Country into its network, making it just another club in its franchise,” said a lawyer representing the club's members. “They are seeking to rehabilitate their golf club by themselves.”

around the world Ball Bearings

A group of golf course architects has written an "open letter" complaining about modern golf balls, saying that "the excessive length the golf ball now travels directly challenges the future development and sustainability of golf."

In particular, the designers contend, today's juiced balls have "created major issues for golf in relation to the environment, safety, and cost" and have had "significant adverse affects as regards golf’s architectural and cultural heritage."

The architects include David McLay Kidd, a Scottish designer who now operates out of an office in Bend, Oregon, as well as Peter Nordwall, the president of the Federation of Scandinavian Golf Course Architects; Graham Papworth, the president of the Society of Australian Golf Course Architects; and Donald Steel, the past president of British Association of Golf Course Architects.

"As the next wave of golf course construction will be in the developing and highly populated world," the letter says, "excessive golf ball distance is a barrier to actual and responsible golf course development."

australia How Good Is Lost Farm?

Will the second golf course at Barnbougle Dunes be better than the Tom Doak/Mike Clayton-designed first course, which is generally acknowledged to be the top public track in Australia?

We won't know until later this year, when the resort's Lost Farm course opens, but Bill Coore is certainly doing his best to lower expectations.

“People are always asking if the Lost Farm will be better than Barnbougle Dunes, but there is no way it could be,” says Coore, who's co-designed the new course with long-time partner Ben Crenshaw. “What it will be is different. We have aimed to build a golf course that complements the first course.”

Until Lost Farm opens, the only thing we know for sure is that it's taken shape on a dramatic site along the coastal dunes of northeastern Tasmania, with some holes playing along the coast and others taking golfers inland.

“I think it’s quite a good mix, and it certainly won’t be boring,” says Richard Sattler, the complex's owner.

virginia Kingsmill Has a New Owner

Xanterra Parks & Resorts, a Colorado-based company that operates tourist facilities at Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, and other national parks, has purchased Kingsmill Resort & Spa in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The resort features a 422-room hotel, a spa, a marina, six restaurants, and three 18-hole golf courses. (Designers: Pete Dye, Arnold Palmer, and Curtis Strange with Tom Clark.)

"Kingsmill is one of the country's premier resorts, and we are very excited to acquire such a high-caliber resort that complements our existing portfolio of properties and is consistent with the expansion of our company," said Xanterra's president, Andrew Todd.

The seller is an affiliate of the Busch brewing company. The transaction is expected to close next month.