Now that Yuri Luzhkov has been booted out as Moscow's mayor, what's the future of golf development in Russia's most important city?
In 2006, as part of an economic-development strategy, Luzhkov said he wanted to open 10 regulation-length golf courses in and around Moscow by 2011. It was a dream that never came true, as the mayor's construction plans were undermined by a combination of economic hard times and developer malaise. These days metropolitan Moscow has just four 18-hole courses, and, as best I can determine, only one or maybe two others are expected to come out of the ground anytime soon.
Sad to say, but it may be a while before golf gets back on track in Moscow. Several weeks ago, Luzhkov was dismissed as the city's mayor, mostly because he was a pain in the neck to the national government, and his successor has already canceled the golf-construction plan.
The Moscow Times says that the cancellation of Luzhkov's plan “is unlikely to significantly affect the future development of golf in Moscow,” but a local real estate agent interviewed by the paper suggests otherwise. The agent, Natalya Kats of Usadba, believes that developers who've committed to building golf courses will happily switch to more lucrative ventures.
“Golf courses are not in high demand in a country where it rains or snows for nine months of the year,” Kats told the paper.
She added: “If an investor has an alternative, it would be more profitable to build a multi-functional complex, a mall, or homes on the plot.”
The Times also speculates that the demise of Luzhkov's construction proposal “may affect plans” to build a high-profile golf course in Moscow's western suburbs. The to-be-named course, announced just last month, is being developed by Luzhkov's wife, Yelena Baturina, who's said to be Russia's richest woman. It's been widely reported that Baturina wants Jack Nicklaus to build a “world-class” layout on her property, but Nicklaus hasn't as yet commented on the reports.
The Times also reports that a municipally financed, nine-hole course has opened in city's Kurkino district. Think of it as Luzhkov's farewell gift to Moscow.
scotland Herb Kohler's Royal Flush
During this summer's British Open, I'm guessing that millions of TV-watching golf fans longed to own the hotel that overlooks the famous road hole on St. Andrews' Old Course. Well, for the right price, it may just be available.
The hotel is owned by Herb Kohler, the Wisconsin-based plumbing titan, and he's losing money on it. In fact, Kohler is losing money on all of his golf-related assets in Scotland, according to financial statements reviewed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Of course, Kohler can afford to lose a little money here and there. Forbes says he's worth $2 billion and ranks him #316 on its list of the world's billionaires.
Kohler's ventures in Scotland may yet turn to gold, but not anytime soon. In the six years since he began buying companies in the birthplace of golf, the records show, he's had just one profitable year. His total losses in the years from 2005 through 2009 amount to roughly $13 million.
Besides the 144-room Old Course Hotel Golf Resort & Spa, Kohler's most notable Scottish holding is Duke's Golf Course. He also owns two buildings that he plans to restore and refurbish. One of them is described by the Journal Sentinel as a "rundown mansion," and the other is "a dilapidated former hotel" along the Old Course's 18th hole.
In the United States, Kohler's holdings begin with Kohler Company, the bathroom-fixtures colossus. He also owns a hotel and a pair of 36-hole, Pete Dye-designed golf complexes in the Sheboygan area, the best-known of them being Whistling Straits, the site of this year's PGA Championship.
wales Celtic Manor: Mission Hills West?
In the wake of this year's Ryder Cup matches, rumors again began to swirl about a possible sale of Celtic Manor Resort. And this time the rumors have focused on a likely buyer.
He is David Chu, the fellow who touched off China's golf boom. Chu owns the Mission Hills golf resort in Shenzhen, the world's largest golf club, as well as Mission Hills Haikou, the fast-growing golf resort on Hainan Island.
Chu is already connected to Celtic Manor, according to the Western Mail. The paper says that Chu's company "signed a reciprocal agreement with the Celtic Manor in 2005 to enhance trade and tourism between the U.K. and China."
I have no idea what that means.
I do know that all the talk about the sale would end if Celtic Manor's owner, Sir Terry Matthews, simply squelched the rumors. Instead, Matthews has cheerfully kept them alive by saying things like, “I don’t have anything, or very few things, that are not for sale.”
Based on Matthews' statements, it appears that no sale is imminent -- not with Chu or with any of those other oft-discussed buyers, be they Russian oligarchs or Middle Eastern oilmen. Still, Matthews continues to fan flames.
“It depends on the price,” he told the Mail. “Everything I do would be for the right deal. I don’t treat many things as my baby that you can’t have. I just don’t.
“But I know the owners of Mission Hills extremely well, and you would think if they have interest it would be reasonable that they call me.
“They have my phone number, I have their phone number.”
croatia Running Up That Hill
Ground hasn't yet been broken on Greg Norman's golf course in Dubrovnik, and its developers have placed the blame on “the very complicated bureaucratic processes for permit procedures in the Republic of Croatia.”
The course is to be the centerpiece of Golf Park Dubrovnik, which has been called Croatia's biggest current development venture. Golf Park Dubrovnik will take shape on Srd Hill, which towers more than 1,300 feet above the city, and include houses, a hotel or two, a spa, meeting space, and other attractions, including an 18-hole private course, a practice center, and a beginner-friendly six- to nine-hole course that will be open to the public.
Ivan Kusalic of Rasvoj-Golf tells the Croatian Times that he and his partners (a group that includes Norman) are committed to the project and hope to complete the entitlement process sometime next summer.
If Golf Park Dubrovnik is built, it would be Croatia’s fourth golf property.
united states An Example for the Rest of Us
Since he took office in early 2009, President Barack Obama has reportedly played 52 rounds of golf. If that sounds like a lot, you should know that the National Golf Foundation says that someone who plays 26 rounds of golf a year just barely qualifies as an "avid" golfer.
Not surprisingly, the president has mostly played at secure military tracks in the Washington area. His favorite courses are, apparently, at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, where he's played 18 times, and at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where he's played 17 times.
As has been widely reported, Obama also likes to squeeze in some golf when he's on vacation. On Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, he's played five times at Vineyard Golf Club, twice at Farm Neck Golf Club, and twice at Mink Meadows Golf Club. He's also played twice at Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, and he's played four rounds on three courses in Hawaii.
The president's critics say his golf outings are evidence that he isn't not working hard enough. I say I wish the golf business had 10 million more players just like him.
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