Short Notice, july 13, 2012

Buried in a recent news story from Myrtle Beach were these factoids about golf in China: The nation has 370,000 “core” golfers (compared to 14.8 million in the United States), and its 543 golf courses (other sources say the number is closer to 600) attracted 9 million rounds last year. These estimates come from a company called Forward Management Group, which portrays itself as an expert in many aspects of Chinese golf. But the part of the story that caught my attention came when Forward Management’s U.S. rep said that in China, “Everywhere you go, they are building golf courses.” Could this really be true? I thought there was a moratorium on golf construction in the People’s Republic. Is it being ignored, like the last moratorium was?

Paul Lawrie has found a new home for his grow-the-game foundation. The group will relocate to the Aspire Golf Centre in Aberdeen, which Lawrie, the Scottish golf pro, bought last month. Aspire, which is now being called the Paul Lawrie Golf Center, features a nine-hole course, a short-game practice area, and a covered range. Since Lawrie aspires to become a golf architect, could a redesign be in the works?

Speaking of efforts to grow the game, the government of Scotland is on a mission to introduce golf to every nine-year-old in the nation by 2014. “If we want to give Scotland the best chance of being the future of golf,” the nation’s first minister recently said, “we need to drive participation in the sport among our young people.” I heartily endorse this program and wish the U.S. golf industry had similar ambitions. But when did Scotland decide to become “the future of golf”?

India’s oldest golf club is banking on a pair of real estate ventures to fund forthcoming course renovations. Royal Calcutta Golf Club, established in Kolkata in 1829 -- it’s one of the oldest clubs outside the British Isles -- has decided to turn over five acres of its property to a residential developer and another acre to an hotelier. With the money, the club plans to make unspecified improvements to its course and clubhouse.

Shades of Hitchcock: This summer, golfers at a club in southern Sweden have been fighting off attacks by gangs of marauding crows. “They’re taking people’s lunch, but it doesn’t stop at that,” warned an employee at Rya Golf Club in Rydebäck. “Some people have lost their keys, glasses, even their telephones.” To thwart the assaults, the employee said, the club may ask its members to wear hats “with big eyes on them to frighten off the crows.” The next step: professional hunters.