The Week That Was, august 26, 2012

croatia How Much Is Enough?

Croatia’s consul general is trying to peddle the idea that his nation aims to build, in the words of the Palm Springs Desert Sun, “as many as 50 golf courses” in “the coming years.”

This is a patently ridiculous proposition, especially when one considers that Croatia is currently getting by with just four golf courses, has no significant indigenous demand for golf, and doesn’t generate enough tourist traffic to justify building even 10 more courses. Heck, less than two years ago, when Croatian officials first promoted their country’s golf-development potential in Southern California, their target number was a more reasonable but still ambitious 16 new courses.

The really distressing part is that over the past three years the World Edition of the Golf Course Report has profiled at least four golf projects in Croatia, and not one of them has yet come out of the ground.

Here’s my advice to Croatia’s golf promoters: Open one course before you start talking about 50. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Some information in the preceding post originally appeared in the November 2010 and June 2012 issues of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report. Sorry, but the Desert Sun’s story is no longer available online.

south korea Too Much, Too Soon

South Korea’s golf business continues to deteriorate.

“The nation’s golf courses are suffering massive drops in revenue and membership amid the sluggish economy,” the Korea Times reports. “An increasing number of courses have also failed to repay bank loans and some of them owe far more than the value of the property.”

As in the United States, the culprit in South Korea is overbuilding. According to the Times, the nation currently has 426 golf courses, up from 339 in 2009 and 250 in 2006. Assuming that the courses under construction are completed, the number will soon cross 500.

Some market observers worry that South Korea will suffer a wave of golf course closings, as Japan did in the early 1990s. Whether that happens or not, it’s clear that development prospects in South Korea sure aren’t what they used to be.

worth reading Rods & Clubs

Just a day after reading a promotion piece about a combination golf and fly-fishing event at Casper Country Club in Wyoming, I stumbled across a New York Times story about the connection between the sports.

“The two sports share more than their ancestry,” writes Chris Santella. “Both tend to appeal to those with contemplative, even analytic, temperaments. Both can arouse a powerful, even obsessive, fascination among the faithful, as well as a never-ending accumulation of gear.”

Here’s a little more from Santella’s article:

The connection between golf and fly-fishing first struck me 10 years ago, when a fishing guide recounted a day when he had taken Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara out on the Deschutes River in Oregon to cast flies for steelhead. 

As my friend recalled this special day on the river, I noted that many golfers I know fly-fish, and vice versa. Perhaps it’s the outdoor setting, pitting man against an indifferent if not inimical nature, be it in the form of finicky trout or gaping bunkers. Perhaps it’s the similarity of the motions of swinging and casting -- the fact that the ball or fly goes farther when you move smoothly.

“There’s never a locker room on tour that doesn’t have a fly rod in there,” said Davis Love III, a 20-time winner on the PGA Tour and the captain of the American Ryder Cup team. “Some of the guys will bring rods around with them on their practice rounds to make a few casts.” . . . 

Nick Price, winner of 18 tour events, including three majors, said one appeal of fly-fishing for golfers was the way the fields of play changed and demanded different techniques. 

“Each golf course has its own kind of beauty, though a parkland layout is quite different from a links course,” he said. “Likewise, a steelhead river in British Columbia is quite different than a chalk stream in England, though both have appeals. And both require different approaches to find success.” . . . 

Ben Crane, a four-time winner on the tour, described fly-fishing as a “mental vacation” from the grind of the golf tour. . . . 

[Crane says] “In golf, saving one stroke a day can be huge; the difference between 72 and 71 can be $5 million. Likewise, in fly-fishing, little details can mean catching more fish. Out on the course, golfers tend to go all-in. The best fly-fishers also go all-in.”

wild card click In keeping with one of this week’s topics, I’ve gone Phishin’.