An unnamed Chinese development group has opened a trio of 18-hole golf courses in the magical Stone Forest of southwestern China.
The golf courses have been designed by Brian Curley of Scottsdale, Arizona-based Schmidt Curley Golf Design and are the featured attractions of the appropriately named Stoneforest International Country Club.
“This is one of the most unique sites ever made available for golf,” Curley said in a press release.
That's an understatement.
Stone Forest's breathtaking, haunting terrain spreads over a 135-square-mile area about 60 miles from Kunming, in Yunnan
Province, and has long been a favorite destination for people who love rocks. Curley describes the craggy landscape “otherworldly,” and it truly is hard to believe. The rocks appear to have grown out of the ground like trees, creating the illusion of a forest made of, well, stone. Some people consider the place to be one of the true wonders of the world.
Curley says his golf courses “promise to soon be regarded among the world's best,” but they'll never match the drama of their setting. For the record, the Leaders Peak track is the longest (7,565 yards), the Yufeng Ridge track has the best views, and the Masters, the club's tournament track, is the toughest.
Curley says the site is “so astonishing that we did not want to distract from the surroundings with bunkering or any other architectural elements that said look at me. We kept all three courses very natural to fit the site. There are subtle differences in each, but nothing that jumps out. We wanted the stone to be the show.”
canada Another Course for ClubLink
ClubLink's shopping spree continues.
The King City, Ontario-based company, the largest owner/operator of golf properties in Canada, has agreed to acquire Glendale Golf & Country Club in Hamilton. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the month, according to the Hamilton Spectator.
Glendale, which features an 18-hole golf course and six sheets of curling ice, opened in 1919. Score Golf says the course “will calm the nerves and quiet the passions of the most casual of golfers” but will also “challenge the most avid golfer.”
Be still, my fluttering heart!
Already this year, ClubLink has purchased seven golf courses in Florida: six at the Sun City Center retirement community in suburban Tampa and Heron Bay Golf Club in Coral Springs.
The company's portfolio also includes roughly 30 golf properties in Canada, most of them in metropolitan Toronto.
england Cornwall Course Has New Owner
A Canadian-born entrepreneur has purchased Roserrow Golf & Country Club for an undisclosed amount.
Randy Sohnchen, the purchaser, told BBC News that the sale “will secure current employment in the area and provide additional jobs in the future.”
The 18-hole, 6,507-yard golf course is part of a 405-acre resort community in Wadebridge, North Cornwall. The course, which opened in 1997, must be fairly nondescript, because I can't find any reviews of it anywhere. A golf directory boldly reports that it's “been designed to appeal to golfers of all abilities.”
The community is located about a mile from Polzeath Beach. It has a variety of housing types, a spa, an airstrip, and other attractions. Some sources say that the golf club also has a nine-hole practice course.
oregon Golf Is Worth Billions
The golf business was worth $2.5 billion to the state of Oregon in 2008.
That's the conclusion of an economic-impact study funded by the Golf Alliance of Oregon, a group of the state's major trade and consumer golf associations. The study says that golf generated direct revenues of $1.2 billion and supported more than 27,000 jobs.
“The sheer size of the game of golf makes it a major industry in its own right and a significant contributor to Oregon's economy,” said Peter Ryan, who conducted the study.
Sales of golf equipment and supplies, led by Beaverton-based Nike Golf, amounted to roughly $465 million. Golf courses and other golf facilities generated about $362 million, while golf-related hospitality and tourism companies generated $222 million.
“In order to get the attention of decision-makers, it is important that we be able to quantify the contributions of our industry to those that may be affected,” said Barb Trammell, the CEO of the Oregon Golf Association, in a press release reprinted by Club & Resort Business. “The continued health and growth of the golf industry has a direct bearing on future jobs, commerce, economic development, and tax revenues for a large number of Oregon's communities and industries.”
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