Short Notice, august 10, 2012

Residents of Surrey, England who’ve been fighting the construction of a David McLay Kidd-designed golf course have been dealt a setback, as national officials have declined to reverse the approvals made at the local level. A local newspaper, the Leatherhead Advertiser, reports that the project is “all but certain to go ahead” as a result, and Joel Cadbury, one of the developers, has promised that he and his partners “will now move forward with our plans.” Kidd’s course and its accompanying hotel and spa will take shape on Cherkley Court, a 370-acre estate once owned by Max Aitken, a Fleet Street press baron. Late last year, Kidd told me that Cadbury’s group could break ground on the course this fall.

Some information in the preceding post originally appeared in the June 2011 and December 2011 issues of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.

China’s tourism business, like the nation’s overall economy, is on the wane. The Xinhua news service reports that tourism “slowed down growth in the first half of 2012,” that the nation’s hotel industry “saw a big slump” in the second quarter of this year, and that “the inbound tourist market might not do as well as predicted.” It’s important to note that the numbers for both inbound and outbound traffic remain in positive territory, but it seems that the owners and operators of tourist-related activities -- golf courses among them -- have clearly entered an age of diminishing expectations.

A Chinese-led investment group has agreed to buy the only Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed golf course in New Zealand. The course, which has hosted two of the nation’s Open championships and the 1998 World Cup of Golf, is the featured attraction at Gulf Harbour, a financially troubled resort community on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, roughly an hour’s drive north of Auckland. Gulf Harbour’s new owners are led by Jiang Zhaobai, who made his money (Forbes says he’s worth $800 million) in mining, agriculture, and real estate. The transaction will close when the sale is approved by the government agency that oversees foreign investment.

The only Jack Nicklaus “signature” golf course in Maryland has new owners. The 7,002-yard track, a financial disappointment throughout its 14-year history, is the featured attraction of Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort near Cumberland, in the less-populated western part of the state. An affiliate of Lakes Entertainment, Inc., a Minnesota-based casino operator, reportedly paid $6.8 million for the resort’s hotel, meeting space, and spa, and it’ll soon begin to convert the meeting space into a gaming center that will include 500 video lottery terminals, a bar, and eateries. Clearly, the state has concluded that a gambling center is exactly what the accompanying state park was lacking.