The Week That Was: September 27, 2010

spain Greg Norman: The Reign in Spain

Greg Norman, the globe-trotting golf superstar, has agreed to buy one of the world's most glamorous golf properties.

I'm talking about Club de Golf Valderrama in Sotogrande, in southern Spain. The club features what is arguably the Old World’s finest golf course, a Robert Trent Jones-designed track that made an indelible impression on the world of golf in 1997, when it hosted the first Ryder Cup matches played in continental Europe. The club will host the Andalucía Masters later this month.

Norman and David Spencer, the CEO of Stripe Group, will buy Valderrama from Soto Properties, a firm controlled by Jaime Ortiz-Patino. Cadiz News reports that the transaction is expected to close "in the coming weeks" and guesses that the price will be in the neighborhood of $48 million.

Typically Spanish chimes in a delectable nugget -- "a new project for the development of Valderrama will be presented shortly" -- but doesn't elaborate.

If Spencer’s name rings a bell, it’s probably because he’s a former CEO of Leisurecorp, the Middle Eastern company that created the world’s richest golf tournament, the Dubai World Championship, and developed the Norman-designed course that hosts it, at Jumeirah Golf Estates. Jumeirah fell on hard times when the world’s economy collapsed, and Leisurecorp’s parent company, Nakheel, booted Spencer from his job. But it appears that he’s landed on his feet.

canada At Tsawwassen, It's Locke & Load

The long-awaited redevelopment of Tsawwassen Golf & Country Club has begun.

Ron Toigo, the majority partner of Shato Holdings, bought Tsawwassen three years ago, with an eye toward making it the centerpiece of a community called Tsawwassen Springs. It took him a while, but he's persuaded the town of Delta, a close-in southeastern suburb of Vancouver, to let him build several hundred townhouses and other housing units adjacent to the layout.

As part of the plan, Delta-based Ted Locke will give Tsawwassen’s executive-length golf course a thorough makeover, most noticeably in its length. The 4,276-yard track, which opened in 1966, will be stretched to roughly 6,000 yards.

The Delta Optimist reports that nine new holes are under construction and will be ready for play late next summer. In 2012, the new nine and nine renovated holes from the existing layout will debut as the community's 18-hole golf course.

Toigo is a celebrity in Vancouver, and not just because he owns a chain of donut shops. Toigo owns the Vancouver Giants, the city’s most prominent junior hockey team, in partnership with hockey legend Gordie Howe, long-time NHL coach Pat Quinn, and crooner Michael Buble, who was born in British Columbia. Buble and Quinn are also minority partners in the Tsawwassen Springs venture, along with Ross Clouston, the president of Talisman Homes.

Would it surprise you to learn that Tsawwassen Springs will include an outdoor ice-skating rink?

china Sand-bagging for the Dunes

Tom Weiskopf's 36-hole golf complex on Hainan Island is scheduled to open by the end of the year, according to Breaking Travel News.

The complex, called Dunes at Shenzhou Peninsula, will be the centerpiece of a 4,500-acre resort community that includes houses, a couple of big hotels, a marina, several beach clubs, and other attractions. The community is being developed by CITIC Pacific.

The website calls Shenzhou Peninsula “a comprehensive paradise resort with unique and beautiful natural scenic spots” featuring hotels that “will guarantee visitors a perfect vacation experience.” Weiskopf's course, which will be accompanied by “a stunning clubhouse,” will offer “breathtaking views of the South China Sea.”

Weiskopf was somewhat less effusive. “The natural scenery found at Shenzhou Peninsula is ideal for the best golf course imaginable,” he said. “I am confident that the Dunes will be very well received by the golfing public and am confident it will receive many accolades in the years to come.”

the world Eyes on the Prize

Can playing golf help a young exec climb the corporate ladder?

For people who live in China and India, the answer is most definitely yes. According to an online survey of business sentiment in 24 countries, nearly half of the respondents in China (47 percent) and India (46 percent) consider golf to be a means of getting ahead.

China and India have the top spots in the survey. The global average is 22 percent.

“Golf is an elite sport in India, and people want to be seen with a club in a golf course with some famous personality or a corporate honcho,” a former official of the Indian Golf Union told the Financial Express. “It’s just about constructing an image and a perception of oneself in front of others.”

The response in nations where golf is well-established was somewhat cooler than average. In the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, only 20 percent believe golf is an effective networking tool.