The Week That Was: September 13, 2010

scotland Loch Lomond, Out of the Bog

The rumored buyers from the Middle East never put any real money on the table and the hotel operators from DeVere couldn't close a $55 million deal, so it appears that Sean Connery, Prince Andrew, and the other members of Loch Lomond are going to buy their club themselves.

The sale of the tony club in suburban Glasgow, developed by Scottsdale, Arizona-based Lyle Anderson and lost to foreclosure, is expected to close within a month. The Sunday Herald reports that each of the club's 850 members -- a group that's said to include Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, and former auto racer Jackie Stewart -- will contribute something to the purchase, with a few members expected to kick in more than $300,000.

The club is the home of the Scottish Open. Its golf course, co-designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and opened in 1993, has long ranked among the world's best. Ernie Els has called it "probably the best course in Europe," and Tom Lehman once said, "It's more fun to play than Augusta, and I rank it up there behind Pebble Beach in terms of beauty."

It's said that Weiskopf nearly died while building the course. According to the story, he was walking through an area near holes #13 and #14 when he began to sink into a bog. He clung to the limb of a nearby tree for several hours before he was rescued.

The club is said to have members from 30 countries. Its initiation fee is reported to be about $86,000.

france Can Lightning Strike Twice?

Robert Von Hagge has returned to the scene of his greatest triumph, to design a second golf course.

Von Hagge's first course at Les Bordes Golf Club is generally regarded as the best course in France, and last year Golf World named it the top course in all of Europe. The 7,062-yard track is extremely tough, even on touring pros. It's hard to believe, but numerous reports say the course record (held by Jean Van de Velde) is a one under par 71.

Von Hagge promises that the new course at Les Bordes will be more forgiving. He expects to break ground on it next year, with an opening scheduled for 2013.

Tony Jimenez, the chairman of the group that owns Les Bordes, said in a press release, "I am confident the new course at Les Bordes will be also recognized as one of the great courses of the world."

canada A Piece of the Rocks Is Approved

It’s taken several years, but Frank Racioppo is getting closer to winning approval to transform a mined-out quarry into southern Ontario’s next golf resort.

Niagara-on-the-Lake's planning advisory committee has approved an amendment that will allow the community at Queenston Quarry to move forward. If the town's council adopts the committee's recommendation, the amendment will go to higher authorities for final approval.

The 248-acre quarry is along the QEW, just a short drive from the U.S. border. Since 2007, Racioppo has been trying to convert it into a resort community featuring townhouses and condos, an inn, a spa, a winery, an equestrian center, and an 18-hole, 7,200-yard golf course designed by Boris Danoff.

Danoff, a partner in the Queenston Quarry project, has designed at least five golf courses in Ontario, including Royal Ontario Golf Club in Milton and Royal Niagara Golf Club in Niagara Falls. He and Racioppo co-developed Thundering Waters Golf Club in Niagara Falls, which bears the “signature” of John Daly.

mexico Grupo Mall Booted from Campeche Playa

Don't look for the Jack Nicklaus “signature” golf course at Campeche Playa Golf, Marina & Spa Resort to be built anytime soon.

A big Mexican construction company, Empresas ICA, has assumed control of the struggling resort community on the western coast of the Yucatan peninsula. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Empresas ICA took the action in response to “continual failures” -- presumably continual financial failures -- on the part of the community's Spanish developer, an affiliate of Grupo Mall.

Campeche Playa is supposed to be “the first ecological golf course in Latin America.” In addition to the golf course, the 761-acre spread in Champoton has been master-planned to include 3,045 housing units, a 246-room Westin hotel, a boutique hotel, a town center, a marina with berths for 150 boats, a yacht club, an underwater archaeology museum, a medical center, and a heliport.

The golf course was supposed to have opened in 2008.

The Journal says that Empresas ICA aims to complete the first phase of the community “as soon as possible.”

florida Greg Norman, Bargain Hunter

You think you've got money troubles? Greg Norman has started warehouse clubbing.

According to a "spywitness" for the Palm Beach Post, the Shark was spotted in a check-out line at a Costco near his home on Jupiter Island, Florida. "He had a T-shirt on that had that shark logo," the source said, "but no one talked to him."

Norman, as most everyone knows, is a winemaker, so it's worth noting that among the items in his cart were six bottles of Far Niente chardonnay, from Napa Valley, California. A strong endorsement, no?