The Week That Was: March 6, 2011

brazil Jones, Jr. Gets on the Road To Rio

It takes two to tango, and it may also take two to design the golf course that hosts the Olympic games in 2016.

I'm sure you've heard that Jack Nicklaus and Annika Sorenstam have formed a partnership to win the coveted commission. Late last year, they were jointed by another high-profile, opposite-sex team: Greg Norman and Lorena Ochoa.

Now meet the latest dynamic duo to throw their proverbial hats into the ring: Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and -- drum roll, please -- Mario Gonzalez.

Who?

No, I never heard of him, either. The Associated Press simply describes Gonzalez as a “retired Brazilian golf great.” I've learned that he won the Brazilian Open eight times and played in the Masters three times. His main claim to fame: He won the Argentine Open as an amateur in 1940, when he was 17 years old.

That's right, Gonzalez was born in 1923. He's 88.

So much for golf evolving into a younger, hipper sport.

The AP reports that Jones, who's 71, was in Brazil last week, checking out potential sites -- the leading candidate is said to be in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro -- and buttering up potential decision-makers. A designer will likely be selected later this year.

“I've been a long-time Olympic activist, and obviously was very happy golf rejoined the games,” Jones said during his visit. “We want to be part of it. It would be a wonderful thing.”

Jones and Gonzalez are competing against a parade of celebrity architects, including Nick Faldo, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Seve Ballesteros.

“We have dozens of designers interested in this course,” an official from the Brazilian Golf Federation told the AP. “I think it's even possible that one of these designers will offer their work free of charge just because of the importance of having their name associated with this historic tournament.”

I wouldn't bet on it. These days, the Olympics is all about getting paid.

spain New Course in Andalusia

A Spanish development group aims to build a 36-hole golf complex in Andalusia.

The complex will be the centerpiece of Los Velez Golf Club, a resort community in the village of Vélez-Rubio. As best I can determine, the 346-acre community will include more than 1,000 villas and apartments, a 180-room hotel, a spa, a wellness center, a shopping area, and a couple of schools.

Los Velez is being developed by Valle de Mahimón Urbanizadora SL Valley. The information I've found on the project is sketchy, but I believe the developers plan to build one 18 for local golfers, the other 18 for professional events. They hope to attract 500 members to their club.

Velez-Rubio is roughly 15 miles west of Lorca, in Almería Province.

qatar Follow the Bouncing Ball

Over the next year, a government-controlled development group in Qatar plans to begin awarding $3 billion worth of contracts for the construction of the Lusail mega-city.

Qatar needs to build Lusail in time for soccer's World Cup in 2022. The championship game will be played in a to-be-built stadium just north of the city.

Lusail is supposed to be complete in 2019. It's been planned to include thousands of houses -- enough to accommodate a population of 200,000 -- hotels, office space, an entertainment district, retail and commercial areas, five sports stadiums, and an 18-hole golf course.

The initial contracts will be issued for various infrastructure projects, notably a highway that will run along Lusail's western border. About three-quarters of the city's land has reportedly been sold to private developers. They are obligated to complete their projects within four years of the date when they take possession of the property.

Lusail's developer, Lusail Real Estate Development Company, is an affiliate of Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company. Qatari Diar is the development arm of the Qatar Investment Authority, which is led by the emirate's prime minister. He reports to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifah al-Thani, Qatar's emir.

All in all, Qatar expects to spend about $65 billion to dress itself up for the World Cup. Among other things, the emirate needs to double its hotel capacity, build nine new soccer stadiums, and refurbish three existing soccer stadiums.

cyprus A Pair of Kings

It appears that the Jack Nicklaus- and Gary Player-designed golf courses at Limni Golf Resort could open sometime next year.

According to a poorly prepared and horribly translated press release, “one of the finest golf course developments in the world today is officially underway in Polis, Cyprus.” The release never names the resort, but Limni is the only golf development in the world that anchored by Nicklaus- and Player-designed courses.

The resort is taking shape on 690 acres in Polis, a small town on the northwestern coast of Cyprus. Player's course is taking shape on a former copper quarry in the hills overlooking the Nicklaus course, part of which buts up to the beach.

“Having seen the intimate details of the courses and the site itself,” says the press release, “there is no doubt as a golf lover that this is the best site in the whole of Europe, bar none.”

It's prudent to assume that the resort's press agents may be exaggerating.

Besides the “signature” golf courses, Limni will have high-end villas, townhouses, and apartments, a village center, a boutique hotel, a spa, a beach club, entertainment venues, and hiking trails.

It’ll also have a desalination plant to convert sea water to fresh water, a vital process in a place as dry as Cyprus.

Limni is being developed by Shacolas Group, a firm based in Nicosia, Cyprus. The press release says that “the master project is due for completion in mid to late 2012.”