When Donald Trump secured permission to build his seaside resort community at the Menie Estate, he predicted that it would spark the construction of other golf courses in Aberdeenshire. It appears that he was right on the mark.
The Aberdeen Evening Express reports that J. W. Muir Group's golf project at Blair's College, which has been treading development water for two years, is moving ahead. While the community's Paul Lawrie "signature" golf course won't capture nearly as much media attention as Trump's Martin Hawtree-designed layout, it'll certainly help to draw golfers to northeastern Scotland.
Muir plans to build up to 220 single-family houses and 60 “affordable” houses on its property, which is just outside Aberdeen. The company will also refurbish the decaying but historic college, a former Catholic seminary, as a luxury hotel with meeting space.
Lawrie, a former winner of the British Open, was born in Aberdeen and now lives just minutes from the college. He'll receive design assistance from Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design.
The course could open in 2013.
maldives Managing the Float
It appears that the Maldives is really trying to make good on its plan to build a "floating" resort outside Male, its capital and largest city.
Just weeks ago, when I blogged about the Maldives' mind-bending development experiment, I didn't actually believe it was likely to get past the idea stage. But now comes word, from the Hindustan Times, that the government of the Netherlands has come aboard to help the planet's lowest nation build a hotel, some houses, and an 18-hole golf course atop the Indian Ocean.
“Both the governments have agreed,” said the creative director of Dutch Docklands, the company that's been hired to design the resort. “A formal announcement is expected next week.”
Construction of the hotel is scheduled to begin next year, and the whole she-bang, golf course and all, are supposed to open by 2017.
And here's another surprise: the Netherlands also plans to help establish some floating agricultural fields in the Maldives.
scotland Living Well Is the Best Revenge
Loch Lomond Golf Club, the preferred private retreat of Scotland's rich and famous, lost more than $72 million in 2008 and is carrying more than $200 million worth of debt.
Talk about living beyond your means. Now you know why Loch Lomond is such a darned nice club.
The Herald has reviewed a financial report recently filed by the club and provided all the gory details. The numbers suggest that Loch Lomond's members, who recently agreed to assume ownership of the club, won't have an easy time digging themselves out of the hole they're in.
But you don't have to take my word for it. Here's what the club's auditors have to say on the subject: “These conditions . . . indicate the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
To generate income, the Herald says, Loch Lomond is likely “to go on a membership drive” and -- horrors! -- “operate more efficiently.”
vietnam The Countdown Continues
The seasons are changing, so it must be time for yet another crackdown on golf development in Vietnam.
As you probably know, several years ago Vietnam's fearless leaders discovered that provincial officials had approved something on the order of 200 new golf courses -- way more than the nation could hope to accommodate, at least in the near term. So the government whittled the 200 down to a more sensible but still extremely high number, 89, and vowed to build the tracks only on property that's unsuitable for agriculture.
Unfortunately, Vietnam is fundamentally suspicious about golf, and over the past two years it's embarked on more reviews and investigations than you can shake a hickory stick at. The government's latest move, says VietNamNet Bridge, is to establish a task force that will "inspect the implementation of golf course planning in provinces and cities nationwide."
Vietnam currently has about 20 golf courses, maybe as many as 24. To open 89 by 2020, the stated goal, developers need to open roughly six courses a year over the next decade -- a difficult feat even when economies are humming along nicely and one that I suspect won't be achieved.
south korea The Layover & the Hangover
Greg Norman has put his name on wine, kobe beef, and turf, and now he's put it on a limited-edition version of Johnnie Walker Blue Label scotch.
Diageo Global Travel hopes to sell 20,000 bottles of the scotch, exclusively for customers of Korean Air. The bottles have their own serial numbers, sort of like Warhol lithographs or mug shots, to make them more valuable.
I presume you've heard of a message in a bottle. Well, Norman's liquor has a message on the bottle. Hand-written, according to a press release.
The decanter also has a message: In life, your success and performance is driven from within. Keep Walking.
I'll drink to that.
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