A major golf destination is emerging on the northern coast of Ireland, in County Donegal. It’s being created by Frank Casey, the owner of Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort, who this week purchased his defunct next-door neighbor, St. Patrick’s Golf Links. The acquisition adds 36 holes to Casey’s 45-hole complex at Rosapenna and creates what’s said to be “the largest links golf destination in Europe after St. Andrews.” For now, at least, Casey’s primary attractions are the ancient and modern layouts at Rosapenna -- the former designed by Old Tom Morris, the latter by Pat Ruddy -- but the courses at St. Patrick’s are believed to have great potential as well. (Some years ago, an official with Nicklaus Design described the St. Patrick’s property as “what Ireland golf is supposed to be” and “an incredible site.”) The courses at St. Patrick’s have been closed for years, but Casey plans to reopen them -- or at least one of them -- next year.
A Canadian group has acquired a troubled golf property in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Halifax, Nova Scotia-based Geosam Capital, Ltd. reportedly paid $5.5 million for Venetian Bay Golf Club, which features a four-year-old, Lloyd Clifton-designed golf course, plus some developable residential and commercial sites. Geosam says that Venetian Bay is “not a profitable golf club at this time,” but it’s hoping that Kitson & Partners, the club’s new manager, can turn it into one.
Deacon’s Lodge Golf Course in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota is about to get new owners. Sienna Corporation has agreed to sell the 13-year-old, Arnold Palmer-designed layout to Whitebirch, Inc., the owner of the nearby Breezy Point Resort. Whitebirch owns and operates a pair of 18-hole layouts at Breezy Point, and it has another 18-hole course at Forest Hills Golf & RV Resort in Detroit Lakes.
Calderwood Valley Golf Course in New South Wales, Australia has new owners whose identities haven't been revealed. The 18-hole course, in metropolitan Sydney, was built by the late Noel Smithers in 1995 and “has always been a profitable business,” according to Smithers’ widow, Alison. The new owners are said to be a group of Australian and Chinese investors who don’t plan to make fundamental changes to the Ken Mackay-designed course. “The whole goal,” the broker who facilitated the sale explained, is “to keep running it as it is, because they feel it’s a successful model.”
The owners of the Seagate Hotel & Spa in Delray Beach, Florida have purchased Hamlet Country Club and given it a new name: Seagate Country Club. The club features a Joe Lee-designed golf course -- a press release calls it “one of the best championship golf courses in Palm Beach County” -- and once upon a time its members rubbed shoulders with Jack Nicklaus, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, and Beth Daniels. That was long ago, of course. Today the club’s mission is to provide “the ultimate vacation experience that our guests are looking for,” an ambition that leaves me longing for the good old days.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
worth reading In Florida, an Old Idea Revived
Since the onset of the Great Recession, the smart money has been saying that golf has lost its appeal among retirees. But it doesn’t appear that one of our nation’s biggest home builders has been listening.
Taylor Woodrow has decided to build an 18-hole golf course at a seniors-only community within Lakewood Ranch in Bradenton, Florida. The track, to be designed by Chris Wilczynski, will anchor a 400-acre, 800-house community that’s been tailored to the people Del Webb identified as “active adults.”
A decade ago, Taylor Woodrow’s announcement would hardly have qualified as news. Today, however, it’s an act of faith that’s worthy of notice.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune has put Taylor Woodrow’s plans in context. Here’s some of what the newspaper had to say:
At a time when golf is waning in popularity and retiring baby boomers appear poised to take up other sports, builder Taylor Morrison plans to bet millions of dollars that a new golf course will draw home buyers to Manatee County.
The builder’s plans for an 18-hole, championship golf course at its Esplanade community in Lakewood Ranch come as several Southwest Florida courses -- especially newer links with expensive clubhouses and other amenities -- have struggled amid the prolonged economic downturn.
“For a long time now, builders have been hesitant about starting new projects, and with good reason -- there was too much unsold inventory,” said John Brady, founder and editor of TopRetirements.com, a website that ranks retirement communities.
“The bloom has been off the rose for golf courses as well -- too many of them exist, and there’s declining interest in the game,” Brady said. “Many courses have closed or gone public, and while builders like Pulte and Del Webb have been building new communities with extensive amenities, they usually have not been with golf.” . . .
For its part, the home builder maintains that the Great Recession has created a void that the Esplanade Golf & Country Club at Lakewood Ranch will fill.
“There are fewer golf courses to play. We see that as an opportunity to meet a niche that there will be demand for,” said Cammie Longenecker, a Taylor Morrison vice president of sales and marketing.
Active boomers -- part of the cohort of 78 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 -- will be the target market.
“We do see a large percentage of our buyers will be near retirement age or will be retiring soon,” Longenecker said. . . .
From a development perspective, a prominent Taylor Morrison competitor in Southwest Florida agrees that golf courses are once again in vogue.
“Golf is back, especially in a bundled format,” said Pat Neal, a Lakewood Ranch-based developer, referring to buyers’ desire for communities that offer a variety of activities.
Neal said that six courses closed in the Sarasota-Manatee region during the recession, which has created an opportunity for builders.
“There are still 78 million boomers who stopped purchasing during this housing crisis for six or seven years, and their biological clocks are ticking,” Neal said. “So we are full of customers.” . . .
The Esplanade course will be the region’s first since Royal Lakes opened in Lakewood Ranch in early 2008, following a trio of courses -- at the Founders Club, the Concession, and a course for Ritz-Carlton Sarasota members and guests. Those three debuted during the real estate boom of the mid 2000s. . . .
“No one has built a golf course that I know of in the past few years,” said Keith Pope, chief executive of Pope Golf of Sarasota, which will manage the new Taylor Morrison course. “It is all tied to home sales, and we are seeing an uptick in the housing market, so it makes sense.” . . .
Taylor Woodrow has decided to build an 18-hole golf course at a seniors-only community within Lakewood Ranch in Bradenton, Florida. The track, to be designed by Chris Wilczynski, will anchor a 400-acre, 800-house community that’s been tailored to the people Del Webb identified as “active adults.”
A decade ago, Taylor Woodrow’s announcement would hardly have qualified as news. Today, however, it’s an act of faith that’s worthy of notice.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune has put Taylor Woodrow’s plans in context. Here’s some of what the newspaper had to say:
At a time when golf is waning in popularity and retiring baby boomers appear poised to take up other sports, builder Taylor Morrison plans to bet millions of dollars that a new golf course will draw home buyers to Manatee County.
The builder’s plans for an 18-hole, championship golf course at its Esplanade community in Lakewood Ranch come as several Southwest Florida courses -- especially newer links with expensive clubhouses and other amenities -- have struggled amid the prolonged economic downturn.
“For a long time now, builders have been hesitant about starting new projects, and with good reason -- there was too much unsold inventory,” said John Brady, founder and editor of TopRetirements.com, a website that ranks retirement communities.
“The bloom has been off the rose for golf courses as well -- too many of them exist, and there’s declining interest in the game,” Brady said. “Many courses have closed or gone public, and while builders like Pulte and Del Webb have been building new communities with extensive amenities, they usually have not been with golf.” . . .
For its part, the home builder maintains that the Great Recession has created a void that the Esplanade Golf & Country Club at Lakewood Ranch will fill.
“There are fewer golf courses to play. We see that as an opportunity to meet a niche that there will be demand for,” said Cammie Longenecker, a Taylor Morrison vice president of sales and marketing.
Active boomers -- part of the cohort of 78 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 -- will be the target market.
“We do see a large percentage of our buyers will be near retirement age or will be retiring soon,” Longenecker said. . . .
From a development perspective, a prominent Taylor Morrison competitor in Southwest Florida agrees that golf courses are once again in vogue.
“Golf is back, especially in a bundled format,” said Pat Neal, a Lakewood Ranch-based developer, referring to buyers’ desire for communities that offer a variety of activities.
Neal said that six courses closed in the Sarasota-Manatee region during the recession, which has created an opportunity for builders.
“There are still 78 million boomers who stopped purchasing during this housing crisis for six or seven years, and their biological clocks are ticking,” Neal said. “So we are full of customers.” . . .
The Esplanade course will be the region’s first since Royal Lakes opened in Lakewood Ranch in early 2008, following a trio of courses -- at the Founders Club, the Concession, and a course for Ritz-Carlton Sarasota members and guests. Those three debuted during the real estate boom of the mid 2000s. . . .
“No one has built a golf course that I know of in the past few years,” said Keith Pope, chief executive of Pope Golf of Sarasota, which will manage the new Taylor Morrison course. “It is all tied to home sales, and we are seeing an uptick in the housing market, so it makes sense.” . . .
Sunday, November 25, 2012
The Week That Was, november 25, 2012
You can add Bill Clinton’s name to the list of VIPs itching to play Donald Trump’s golf course in Scotland. The Scotsman reports that the former Democratic president and the Republican presidential
pretender have “forged an unlikely friendship in recent years” and that a tee time in Aberdeenshire has been penciled in for next summer. “I love playing golf with him,” Clinton told CNN earlier this year.
Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority is investigating one of the nation’s premier golf properties for the unlawful use of banned herbicides and pesticides. The EPA has targeted suburban Sydney’s Lakes Golf Club, the home of next month’s Australian Open, for actions it took two years ago to prevent nematodes from destroying its turf. The club is said to be cooperating with the inquiry.
What’s the significance of a Chinese teenager getting an invite to play in the Masters? “It’s the latest example of what might happen should China embrace golf other than superficially,” argues John Strege of Golf Digest. There’s a little too much conditional word usage in that statement for my tastes, but Strege helpfully notes that Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old in question, trains in Florida.
The members of Butler National Golf Club in suburban Chicago, Illinois have overwhelmingly voted down a motion that would have allowed women to become members. The vote was less a blow to the female gender than it is to the members’ immediate financial interest, for it will surely lead to resignations and dues increases to offset the resulting loss in revenue. As far as the club’s future is concerned, a member has concluded that“we’re in a death spiral.”
While women can’t get in the door at Butler National, the members of Redlands Country Club have elected a woman as their president. “This is a terrific honor,” said Carole Beswick, who becomes the first-ever female president of the Redlands, California-based club.
In an effort to preserve its open space and a consistent water supply, the town of Belleair, Florida has agreed to buy Belleview Biltmore Golf Club. The price: $3.5 million. As a bonus, the town gets an 18-hole, Donald Ross-designed golf course that dates from 1925.
A renovation by Ron Forse has helped to put Rolling Green Golf Club back into the limelight. The club, in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been selected to host the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in 2016. Forse restored the club’s course, co-designed by William S. Flynn and Howard Toomey, in a multiyear project during the mid to late 2000s.
Bandon Dunes’ 13-hole Preserve course has given Scott Michaux an idea for what the city of Augusta, Georgia can do to generate more play at its municipal golf course. His modest proposal: The city’s 18-hole track should shrink to fit the times. “Even without the panoramic views of the Pacific,” writes Michaux, a writer for the Augusta Chronicle, “a fun and challenging collection of par-3 holes would be inviting to newcomers to the game and give people a recreational option that doesn’t eat up four to five hours of the day.”
Bowing to the wishes of their customers, the three municipal golf courses in Vancouver, British Columbia may soon begin to sell beer on their fairways. “Those three golf courses are already seeing people consume alcohol illegally,” notes a councilmember. “If you’ve ever golfed there, you’ll see that people sneak their beer on anyways.”
Palms Mawson Lakes Golf Course, a nine-hole track in suburban Adelaide, South Australia, is about to get a makeover. The reconstruction, which has been in the works for three years, begins in February 2013.
If you’re willing to take vacation advice from Forbes, the magazine has five wintertime golf destinations for you to consider. Tops on the list: the Kapalua resort on Maui, because the editors are “bewitched by the Bay course.” Then come the soon-to-open Streamsong resort in Florida (the Tom Doak- and Coore & Crenshaw-designed tracks will provide “a golfing experience unlike anything in Florida”), the Villingili resort in the Maldives (its nine-hole course offers “sweeping views of the ocean that just can’t be matched elsewhere”), and the Apes Hill resort on Barbados (“a walk along the fairways is almost surreal”). Last but certainly not least is Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania, where the Doak- and Coore & Crenshaw-designed tracks are “part nod to Mother Nature and part challenge to the mind and body.”
pretender have “forged an unlikely friendship in recent years” and that a tee time in Aberdeenshire has been penciled in for next summer. “I love playing golf with him,” Clinton told CNN earlier this year.
Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority is investigating one of the nation’s premier golf properties for the unlawful use of banned herbicides and pesticides. The EPA has targeted suburban Sydney’s Lakes Golf Club, the home of next month’s Australian Open, for actions it took two years ago to prevent nematodes from destroying its turf. The club is said to be cooperating with the inquiry.
What’s the significance of a Chinese teenager getting an invite to play in the Masters? “It’s the latest example of what might happen should China embrace golf other than superficially,” argues John Strege of Golf Digest. There’s a little too much conditional word usage in that statement for my tastes, but Strege helpfully notes that Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old in question, trains in Florida.
The members of Butler National Golf Club in suburban Chicago, Illinois have overwhelmingly voted down a motion that would have allowed women to become members. The vote was less a blow to the female gender than it is to the members’ immediate financial interest, for it will surely lead to resignations and dues increases to offset the resulting loss in revenue. As far as the club’s future is concerned, a member has concluded that“we’re in a death spiral.”
While women can’t get in the door at Butler National, the members of Redlands Country Club have elected a woman as their president. “This is a terrific honor,” said Carole Beswick, who becomes the first-ever female president of the Redlands, California-based club.
In an effort to preserve its open space and a consistent water supply, the town of Belleair, Florida has agreed to buy Belleview Biltmore Golf Club. The price: $3.5 million. As a bonus, the town gets an 18-hole, Donald Ross-designed golf course that dates from 1925.
A renovation by Ron Forse has helped to put Rolling Green Golf Club back into the limelight. The club, in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been selected to host the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in 2016. Forse restored the club’s course, co-designed by William S. Flynn and Howard Toomey, in a multiyear project during the mid to late 2000s.
Bandon Dunes’ 13-hole Preserve course has given Scott Michaux an idea for what the city of Augusta, Georgia can do to generate more play at its municipal golf course. His modest proposal: The city’s 18-hole track should shrink to fit the times. “Even without the panoramic views of the Pacific,” writes Michaux, a writer for the Augusta Chronicle, “a fun and challenging collection of par-3 holes would be inviting to newcomers to the game and give people a recreational option that doesn’t eat up four to five hours of the day.”
Bowing to the wishes of their customers, the three municipal golf courses in Vancouver, British Columbia may soon begin to sell beer on their fairways. “Those three golf courses are already seeing people consume alcohol illegally,” notes a councilmember. “If you’ve ever golfed there, you’ll see that people sneak their beer on anyways.”
Palms Mawson Lakes Golf Course, a nine-hole track in suburban Adelaide, South Australia, is about to get a makeover. The reconstruction, which has been in the works for three years, begins in February 2013.
If you’re willing to take vacation advice from Forbes, the magazine has five wintertime golf destinations for you to consider. Tops on the list: the Kapalua resort on Maui, because the editors are “bewitched by the Bay course.” Then come the soon-to-open Streamsong resort in Florida (the Tom Doak- and Coore & Crenshaw-designed tracks will provide “a golfing experience unlike anything in Florida”), the Villingili resort in the Maldives (its nine-hole course offers “sweeping views of the ocean that just can’t be matched elsewhere”), and the Apes Hill resort on Barbados (“a walk along the fairways is almost surreal”). Last but certainly not least is Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania, where the Doak- and Coore & Crenshaw-designed tracks are “part nod to Mother Nature and part challenge to the mind and body.”
Friday, November 23, 2012
The Pipeline, november 23, 2012
australia Greg Ramsay, the busiest developer in Tasmania, appears to be using a committee of architects to design his 18-hole course on the South Arm peninsula. The group consists of Neil Crafter and Paul Mogford, an Adelaide-based team; Line Mortensen of North Berwick, Scotland; and Mike Nuzzo of Houston, Texas. None of these architects have large bodies of work, but they share with Ramsay a commitment to “classic” design and sustainable construction. Crafter and Mogford have produced courses in Australia, Malaysia, and China and are working with Ramsay on a nine-hole addition for Bicheno Golf Club, on Tasmania’s eastern coast. Mortensen, one of the few women in the design business, is probably best known for two courses in Denmark. Nuzzo has designed just one course, a personal venue for a wealthy Texan, but Adam Lawrence of Golf Course Architecture has called it “probably the best first course by a modern architect that I have seen.” Ramsay hasn’t yet secured approvals for Arm End Golf Course, but he hopes to break ground on it by the end of next year.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the October 2012 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
scotland Martin Hawtree is about to further polish his reputation as one of the world’s foremost linksmen. Just a week after it was disclosed that he would design the second course at Trump International Golf Links Scotland, the British architect has been tapped to make what’s been described as “alterations” to the revered Old Course at St. Andrews. The intent, according to Peter Dawson of the Royal & Ancient, is “to stiffen [the course’s] defenses in some places to ensure it remains as challenging as ever to the professionals.” The work will be completed before the summer of 2015, when the course hosts the Open Championship for the 29th time.
canada Cabot Links, the acclaimed new beachfront course in Inverness, Nova Scotia, will soon get what may be an even better partner. Work on the forthcoming Cabot Cliffs track, to be co-designed by the superstar duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, will begin this spring. The course will take shape on inland property a little more than a mile from the resort’s original layout, a site described by co-developer Ben Cowan-Dewar as “spectacular and really, truly a beautiful spot.” The course could have its soft opening in the fall of 2014.
canada A forest fire in September forced 1,500 people in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley to evacuate their houses, but it won’t delay the planned summer 2013 opening of Greg Norman’s golf course in Peachland. Norman is remaking a 32-year-old, Alfred Tate-designed course that’s been closed since 2006, when a fire destroyed its clubhouse. The new track, which is expected to stretch to about 7,200 yards, will be the centerpiece of a community that will eventually feature 2,300 houses. “Our vision,” the course’s general manager told the Edmonton Journal, “is to build a sustainable resort of great golf and great homes.”
Some information in the preceding post originally appeared in the September 2009 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
china Moratorium? What moratorium? While in Asia to play in the Singapore Open, Phil Mickelson told reporters that the courses to which he’s affixed his “signature” -- one in Kunming, the other in Singapore -- are expected to open within the next 12 months. Mickelson made a vague reference to “some hold-ups from the government” regarding the track in Kunming, but it’s become abundantly clear that Chinese authorities have only been able to slow golf construction, not stop it. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
china More from the land of phony moratoriums: Shanxi Yiliang Longxi Sports & Culture Company has hired IMG, the Cleveland, Ohio-based sports colossus, to manage the development of Luxuriance International Golf Club in Shanxi Province, China. The club’s 27-hole golf complex is expected to open sometime next year. As best I can determine, the complex has been designed by Yu Gang of Beijing-based New Nature Golf. Yu is said to be the first Chinese architect to produce a golf course in China: Hot Spring Golf Course outside Conghua City, in Guangdong Province.
portugal David McLay Kidd’s oceanfront golf course in Portugal has been under construction since February and will likely open in 2014. The 18-hole, 7,600-yard track will be course number one for Herdade da Comporta, a giant-size resort community taking shape near the village of Comporta, about an hour’s drive south of Lisbon. “It’s a fantastic site for golf,” reports the Bend, Oregon-based designer. Espirito Santo Group, a conglomerate that controls Portugal’s second-largest bank, has commissioned Tom Fazio to design course number two, but a groundbreaking hasn’t yet been set.
Some information in the preceding post originally appeared in the November 2010 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the October 2012 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
scotland Martin Hawtree is about to further polish his reputation as one of the world’s foremost linksmen. Just a week after it was disclosed that he would design the second course at Trump International Golf Links Scotland, the British architect has been tapped to make what’s been described as “alterations” to the revered Old Course at St. Andrews. The intent, according to Peter Dawson of the Royal & Ancient, is “to stiffen [the course’s] defenses in some places to ensure it remains as challenging as ever to the professionals.” The work will be completed before the summer of 2015, when the course hosts the Open Championship for the 29th time.
canada Cabot Links, the acclaimed new beachfront course in Inverness, Nova Scotia, will soon get what may be an even better partner. Work on the forthcoming Cabot Cliffs track, to be co-designed by the superstar duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, will begin this spring. The course will take shape on inland property a little more than a mile from the resort’s original layout, a site described by co-developer Ben Cowan-Dewar as “spectacular and really, truly a beautiful spot.” The course could have its soft opening in the fall of 2014.
canada A forest fire in September forced 1,500 people in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley to evacuate their houses, but it won’t delay the planned summer 2013 opening of Greg Norman’s golf course in Peachland. Norman is remaking a 32-year-old, Alfred Tate-designed course that’s been closed since 2006, when a fire destroyed its clubhouse. The new track, which is expected to stretch to about 7,200 yards, will be the centerpiece of a community that will eventually feature 2,300 houses. “Our vision,” the course’s general manager told the Edmonton Journal, “is to build a sustainable resort of great golf and great homes.”
Some information in the preceding post originally appeared in the September 2009 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
china Moratorium? What moratorium? While in Asia to play in the Singapore Open, Phil Mickelson told reporters that the courses to which he’s affixed his “signature” -- one in Kunming, the other in Singapore -- are expected to open within the next 12 months. Mickelson made a vague reference to “some hold-ups from the government” regarding the track in Kunming, but it’s become abundantly clear that Chinese authorities have only been able to slow golf construction, not stop it. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
china More from the land of phony moratoriums: Shanxi Yiliang Longxi Sports & Culture Company has hired IMG, the Cleveland, Ohio-based sports colossus, to manage the development of Luxuriance International Golf Club in Shanxi Province, China. The club’s 27-hole golf complex is expected to open sometime next year. As best I can determine, the complex has been designed by Yu Gang of Beijing-based New Nature Golf. Yu is said to be the first Chinese architect to produce a golf course in China: Hot Spring Golf Course outside Conghua City, in Guangdong Province.
portugal David McLay Kidd’s oceanfront golf course in Portugal has been under construction since February and will likely open in 2014. The 18-hole, 7,600-yard track will be course number one for Herdade da Comporta, a giant-size resort community taking shape near the village of Comporta, about an hour’s drive south of Lisbon. “It’s a fantastic site for golf,” reports the Bend, Oregon-based designer. Espirito Santo Group, a conglomerate that controls Portugal’s second-largest bank, has commissioned Tom Fazio to design course number two, but a groundbreaking hasn’t yet been set.
Some information in the preceding post originally appeared in the November 2010 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
The Week That Was, november 18, 2012
It turns out that Donald Trump was just making empty threats when he vowed to stop development at Trump International Golf Links Scotland if the nation followed through on its plan to build an off-shore wind farm. The Sunday Express reports that the Birther in Chief, citing “phenomenal demand,” intends to move forward with the resort’s second course. Like course number one, the new track will be designed by Martin Hawtree. “He is the only man for the job,” Trump told the newspaper.
This week Trump also made news on this side of the Atlantic. He agreed to buy the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club & Spa in Jupiter, Florida, a 215-acre property that features a Jack Nicklaus “signature” golf course. “Great land, great location, great future!” Trump typed in a tweet. So far this year, Trump has opened a course in Scotland, closed on acquisitions in Charlotte and Miami, and agreed to operate New York City’s forthcoming Nicklaus-designed course in the Bronx. What will he do for an encore?
Clive Palmer, one of Australia’s richest people (Forbes says he’s worth $795 million), has purchased Sea Temple Golf & Country Club in Port Douglas, Queensland. The price: $7.23 million. The property’s centerpiece is an 18-hole, links-style course that was designed by Peter Thomson’s firm. Through one of his corporations, Palmer owns three other Australian golf properties, including the Palmer Coolum Resort on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
South Korean investors are backing out of agreements to build golf courses in Vietnam. Do they know something other foreign investors don’t?
The Jack Nicklaus-designed layout at Summit Rock Golf Club in the Texas Hill Country has officially opened. The property’s website notes that the 7,258-yard layout is “the only Jack Nicklaus signature golf course to open in the U.S. this year.” Steve Habel, a reviewer, thinks that “any golf course built in America these days is a triumph.”
The development group in control of the Bear Mountain resort community on Vancouver Island plans to shave nine holes from its 36-hole, Nicklaus Design golf complex. The facility is said to be operating at less than 50 percent of capacity. “Bear Mountain is a microcosm of what is going on throughout the entire golf industry -- too much supply for too little demand,” said an executive from Troon Golf, which is helping to plan the community’s less ambitious future.
Bill Esping’s EFO Financial Group has acquired Brightwater Club, a tony but financially troubled resort community outside Vail, Colorado. The centerpiece of the 963-acre property is an 18-hole, 8,005-yard golf course -- the fifth-longest course in the United States -- that was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. In April 2011, Brightwater’s parent company defaulted on $100 million worth of loans. At the time, the Wall Street Journal reported that Jones was owed $81,000.
What hath Augusta National wrought? Colin Moynihan, the outgoing chairman of the British Olympic Association, is pressuring the Royal & Ancient Golf Club in St. Andrews to admit female members. “Let’s get real and let’s get on with the job of providing equality of opportunity across sports,” he counseled during a radio interview. In August, a former prime minister made essentially the same pitch. How long until some of Great Britain’s other single-sex clubs -- among them Muirfield, Troon, and Royal St. George’s -- begin to feel the heat?
Nashville, Tennessee’s Belle Meade Country Club has reportedly admitted its first resident African-American member.
Golfers who score a hole-in-one on the 11th at Tierra Rejada Golf Club in Moorpark, California will take home a memento: an “award of excellence” from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. The award includes a facsimile of a plaque bearing words once spoken by the former president: “Our most glorious achievements are just ahead.” Perhaps more importantly, Tierra Rejada’s customers will receive a discounted admission to the Ronald Reagan Library & Museum, which is right next door to the golf course. And vice versa.
On November 15, Larry Packard celebrated a true milestone: his 100th birthday. Earlier this year, when asked how he planned to honor the occasion, he replied: “Have a bourbon.” Several news outlets have published sketchy, unsatisfying retrospectives of Packard’s architectural career, but the Innisbrook resort has posted a video of the party.
I can’t tell you how President Obama celebrated on re-election night, but I know where he was on the following Saturday morning.
This week Trump also made news on this side of the Atlantic. He agreed to buy the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club & Spa in Jupiter, Florida, a 215-acre property that features a Jack Nicklaus “signature” golf course. “Great land, great location, great future!” Trump typed in a tweet. So far this year, Trump has opened a course in Scotland, closed on acquisitions in Charlotte and Miami, and agreed to operate New York City’s forthcoming Nicklaus-designed course in the Bronx. What will he do for an encore?
Clive Palmer, one of Australia’s richest people (Forbes says he’s worth $795 million), has purchased Sea Temple Golf & Country Club in Port Douglas, Queensland. The price: $7.23 million. The property’s centerpiece is an 18-hole, links-style course that was designed by Peter Thomson’s firm. Through one of his corporations, Palmer owns three other Australian golf properties, including the Palmer Coolum Resort on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
South Korean investors are backing out of agreements to build golf courses in Vietnam. Do they know something other foreign investors don’t?
The Jack Nicklaus-designed layout at Summit Rock Golf Club in the Texas Hill Country has officially opened. The property’s website notes that the 7,258-yard layout is “the only Jack Nicklaus signature golf course to open in the U.S. this year.” Steve Habel, a reviewer, thinks that “any golf course built in America these days is a triumph.”
The development group in control of the Bear Mountain resort community on Vancouver Island plans to shave nine holes from its 36-hole, Nicklaus Design golf complex. The facility is said to be operating at less than 50 percent of capacity. “Bear Mountain is a microcosm of what is going on throughout the entire golf industry -- too much supply for too little demand,” said an executive from Troon Golf, which is helping to plan the community’s less ambitious future.
Bill Esping’s EFO Financial Group has acquired Brightwater Club, a tony but financially troubled resort community outside Vail, Colorado. The centerpiece of the 963-acre property is an 18-hole, 8,005-yard golf course -- the fifth-longest course in the United States -- that was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. In April 2011, Brightwater’s parent company defaulted on $100 million worth of loans. At the time, the Wall Street Journal reported that Jones was owed $81,000.
What hath Augusta National wrought? Colin Moynihan, the outgoing chairman of the British Olympic Association, is pressuring the Royal & Ancient Golf Club in St. Andrews to admit female members. “Let’s get real and let’s get on with the job of providing equality of opportunity across sports,” he counseled during a radio interview. In August, a former prime minister made essentially the same pitch. How long until some of Great Britain’s other single-sex clubs -- among them Muirfield, Troon, and Royal St. George’s -- begin to feel the heat?
Nashville, Tennessee’s Belle Meade Country Club has reportedly admitted its first resident African-American member.
Golfers who score a hole-in-one on the 11th at Tierra Rejada Golf Club in Moorpark, California will take home a memento: an “award of excellence” from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. The award includes a facsimile of a plaque bearing words once spoken by the former president: “Our most glorious achievements are just ahead.” Perhaps more importantly, Tierra Rejada’s customers will receive a discounted admission to the Ronald Reagan Library & Museum, which is right next door to the golf course. And vice versa.
On November 15, Larry Packard celebrated a true milestone: his 100th birthday. Earlier this year, when asked how he planned to honor the occasion, he replied: “Have a bourbon.” Several news outlets have published sketchy, unsatisfying retrospectives of Packard’s architectural career, but the Innisbrook resort has posted a video of the party.
I can’t tell you how President Obama celebrated on re-election night, but I know where he was on the following Saturday morning.
Friday, November 16, 2012
kenya For a Few Dollars More
Once upon a time, when a buoyant economy inflated our housing market, home buyers in the United States beat a path to gated golf communities. Wherever they were built, from sea to shining sea, these communities symbolized the promise of America. They seemed worth the journey.
Today, home buyers in Kenya are following in our footsteps. Kenya is emerging as a nation of high achievers, with young, upwardly executives who wish to live like their counterparts in the United States, Europe, and Asia: behind security gates, with a view of a fairway. They want their own version of the good life, a symbol of their own dreams so happily realized. And I’m sure it won’t surprise you to hear that the nation’s residential developers are bending over backwards to accommodate them.
A dozen or more golf communities are taking shape in Kenya today. By all accounts, the houses in them are selling like hotcakes. Unfortunately, the home buyers have this in common with the residents of U.S. golf communities: Only a precious few of them -- an estimated 15 to 20 percent -- actually play golf.
This doesn’t bode well for the future of Kenya’s golf business. Sooner or later, Kenya’s golf developers are going to learn the difference between building golf courses and building a sustainable golf industry.
Until then, we can only marvel at what’s happening in a land so far away. One of Kenya’s news agencies recently took a close look at the growth of the nation’s golf communities. Here’s a little of what it had to say:
As I walk towards the gate, a structure resembling a watch tower and painted in green looms large. I’m approaching Thika Greens, a golf estate, one of close to a dozen to come up in Kenya in the last three years.
“A plot will cost you anything between [$52,600] and [$210,000],” Peter Muriuki, surveyor at the project, tells me.
“The closer you are to the golf course,” Peter continues, his finger skimming over what looks like blue foil to point at a house no larger than the tip of his index, “the higher the price.” . . .
“Eighty percent of people buying the plots don’t play golf and say they wouldn’t make a purchase with the same amenities but without a golf course,” Lee Karuri tells me. . . .
Karuri is the developer of Longonot Gate and chairman of Home Afrika, a real estate company that is the majority share holder of Migaa, another golf estate located in Kiambu. “The reason we’re having golf -- and not only in Longonot Gate but in most of the projects that are coming up in Kenya -- is because of a change in lifestyle.”
“Kenyan lifestyles are changing,” [says] Stephen Wamae Mureithi, the project manager of Buffalo Hills Leisure & Golf Village in Thika. “Majority of young executives are earning good money, and they would also like to live well. In the past, the game of golf was the reserve of the rich, but now you find even in golf clubs we’ve got a lot of young executives.
“Those people who have actually bought from Buffalo Hills, their age ranges between 25 and 42. We still have people above 50 who have bought, but that number is quite small.”
The numbers, the developers tell me, show the popularity of the golf estate concept.
“We’ve already sold 20 percent of the units in a span of three months. I know people who’ve been selling for three years, and they’ve done only 15 percent. I’m actually pleading with people to buy soon, because very soon the prices will go up due to demand,” Wamae says of Buffalo Hills Leisure & Golf Village. . . .
Location and prestige, those involved in the golf estates seem to agree, drive the popularity of golf estates.
“When somebody tells you he’s selling you a house where there’s a golf estate, a clubhouse, maybe there’s a retirement village -- the concept which is Migaa -- you feel like you really have to buy it. It belongs to people of that class, of golf,” Pius Mochere, a mortgage advisor with Kenya Commercial Bank, says. . . .
Sentiments Karuri shares: “A lot of families who are keen to live in golf estates do not necessarily play golf, but they consider it a prestigious sport. They believe that it brings along family prestige. It enhances your social status. So what happens is that only about 15 to 20 percent of those people who are buying in golf estates actually play golf.” . . .
Even with the cost implications taken into account, Wamae is of the opinion the only way for golf estates to go is up.
“A majority of Kenyans within the last five years have moved to a very high-end bracket in terms of their salaries and remuneration. As a result, the market is actually demand driven. And it is likely to exist for some time.”
Today, home buyers in Kenya are following in our footsteps. Kenya is emerging as a nation of high achievers, with young, upwardly executives who wish to live like their counterparts in the United States, Europe, and Asia: behind security gates, with a view of a fairway. They want their own version of the good life, a symbol of their own dreams so happily realized. And I’m sure it won’t surprise you to hear that the nation’s residential developers are bending over backwards to accommodate them.
A dozen or more golf communities are taking shape in Kenya today. By all accounts, the houses in them are selling like hotcakes. Unfortunately, the home buyers have this in common with the residents of U.S. golf communities: Only a precious few of them -- an estimated 15 to 20 percent -- actually play golf.
This doesn’t bode well for the future of Kenya’s golf business. Sooner or later, Kenya’s golf developers are going to learn the difference between building golf courses and building a sustainable golf industry.
Until then, we can only marvel at what’s happening in a land so far away. One of Kenya’s news agencies recently took a close look at the growth of the nation’s golf communities. Here’s a little of what it had to say:
As I walk towards the gate, a structure resembling a watch tower and painted in green looms large. I’m approaching Thika Greens, a golf estate, one of close to a dozen to come up in Kenya in the last three years.
“A plot will cost you anything between [$52,600] and [$210,000],” Peter Muriuki, surveyor at the project, tells me.
“The closer you are to the golf course,” Peter continues, his finger skimming over what looks like blue foil to point at a house no larger than the tip of his index, “the higher the price.” . . .
“Eighty percent of people buying the plots don’t play golf and say they wouldn’t make a purchase with the same amenities but without a golf course,” Lee Karuri tells me. . . .
Karuri is the developer of Longonot Gate and chairman of Home Afrika, a real estate company that is the majority share holder of Migaa, another golf estate located in Kiambu. “The reason we’re having golf -- and not only in Longonot Gate but in most of the projects that are coming up in Kenya -- is because of a change in lifestyle.”
“Kenyan lifestyles are changing,” [says] Stephen Wamae Mureithi, the project manager of Buffalo Hills Leisure & Golf Village in Thika. “Majority of young executives are earning good money, and they would also like to live well. In the past, the game of golf was the reserve of the rich, but now you find even in golf clubs we’ve got a lot of young executives.
“Those people who have actually bought from Buffalo Hills, their age ranges between 25 and 42. We still have people above 50 who have bought, but that number is quite small.”
The numbers, the developers tell me, show the popularity of the golf estate concept.
“We’ve already sold 20 percent of the units in a span of three months. I know people who’ve been selling for three years, and they’ve done only 15 percent. I’m actually pleading with people to buy soon, because very soon the prices will go up due to demand,” Wamae says of Buffalo Hills Leisure & Golf Village. . . .
Location and prestige, those involved in the golf estates seem to agree, drive the popularity of golf estates.
“When somebody tells you he’s selling you a house where there’s a golf estate, a clubhouse, maybe there’s a retirement village -- the concept which is Migaa -- you feel like you really have to buy it. It belongs to people of that class, of golf,” Pius Mochere, a mortgage advisor with Kenya Commercial Bank, says. . . .
Sentiments Karuri shares: “A lot of families who are keen to live in golf estates do not necessarily play golf, but they consider it a prestigious sport. They believe that it brings along family prestige. It enhances your social status. So what happens is that only about 15 to 20 percent of those people who are buying in golf estates actually play golf.” . . .
Even with the cost implications taken into account, Wamae is of the opinion the only way for golf estates to go is up.
“A majority of Kenyans within the last five years have moved to a very high-end bracket in terms of their salaries and remuneration. As a result, the market is actually demand driven. And it is likely to exist for some time.”
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
india Player Gets Commission Number Two
It didn’t take long for Gary Player’s design firm to turn its first Indian commission into a second.
While construction continues at DLF Golf & Country Club in suburban New Delhi, Player’s design crew has begun to draw plans for an eco-friendly nine-hole course in suburban Ahmedabad, one of India’s fastest-growing cities. The Player Design track -- this designation means it won’t carry Gary Player’s “signature” -- will serve as a drawing card for Glade One, a community that will consist of 350 villas, a boutique hotel, and a spa.
Glade One is the first golf development venture for bSafal, an Ahmedabad-based company that’s also known as Safal Constructions Pvt. Ltd. bSafal, which is led by Rajesh and Rupesh Brahmbhatt (they’re brothers), says that its mission is “to establish a new standard of resort living in India.”
bSafal expects to break ground on the golf course in the spring of next year.
Scott Farrell, the president of Player’s Travelers Rest, South Carolina-based design firm, tells me that the layout will take shape on “a pretty flat site” and “will require creativity.” The track will almost certainly include multiple tees (and possibly multiple greens) for a varied 18-hole experience.
Naturally, Farrell would have preferred to produce an 18-hole course, but bSafal didn’t have enough property.
“Getting land in India is a big obstacle to growth,” he explains. “That’s why you see so many nine-hole courses and golf academies being developed.”
Jeff Lawrence, Player’s senior designer, is overseeing the design process for the course at Glade One and the construction of the nine-hole course at DLF. When the construction at the latter is completed, probably sometime next year, the firm will redesign DLF’s existing course to create a “signature” layout.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the September 2012 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
While construction continues at DLF Golf & Country Club in suburban New Delhi, Player’s design crew has begun to draw plans for an eco-friendly nine-hole course in suburban Ahmedabad, one of India’s fastest-growing cities. The Player Design track -- this designation means it won’t carry Gary Player’s “signature” -- will serve as a drawing card for Glade One, a community that will consist of 350 villas, a boutique hotel, and a spa.
Glade One is the first golf development venture for bSafal, an Ahmedabad-based company that’s also known as Safal Constructions Pvt. Ltd. bSafal, which is led by Rajesh and Rupesh Brahmbhatt (they’re brothers), says that its mission is “to establish a new standard of resort living in India.”
bSafal expects to break ground on the golf course in the spring of next year.
Scott Farrell, the president of Player’s Travelers Rest, South Carolina-based design firm, tells me that the layout will take shape on “a pretty flat site” and “will require creativity.” The track will almost certainly include multiple tees (and possibly multiple greens) for a varied 18-hole experience.
Naturally, Farrell would have preferred to produce an 18-hole course, but bSafal didn’t have enough property.
“Getting land in India is a big obstacle to growth,” he explains. “That’s why you see so many nine-hole courses and golf academies being developed.”
Jeff Lawrence, Player’s senior designer, is overseeing the design process for the course at Glade One and the construction of the nine-hole course at DLF. When the construction at the latter is completed, probably sometime next year, the firm will redesign DLF’s existing course to create a “signature” layout.
The original version of the preceding post first appeared in the September 2012 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
The Week That Was, november 11, 2012
Debt-riddled Caesars Entertainment Corporation plans to sell its golf course on the Cotai strip in Macau. The company bought the course, originally known as Orient Golf Club, in 2007, with the intent of building a casino on it. Unfortunately, the company couldn’t secure a gaming license from Chinese authorities. “With limited prospects of gaining a casino license, it doesn’t make sense for them to hang on to that land,” a gaming analyst told the Macau Daily Times.
Chronic unemployment and an unremittingly rotten economy have taken a toll on Spain’s professional golf tour, which has lost virtually all of its highest-profile events, including the Andalucia Masters and the World Match Play Championship. “We are going through a big crisis in this country, and we have to work very hard in order to keep the game going,” the head of Spain’s golf federation told Reuters. “It’s going to be difficult to recover this situation in the future.”
Worrisome levels of arsenic have been found at the Links at Boynton Beach in Florida. An official with the state’s department of environmental protection declined to speculate about how the cancer-causing agent found its way into the course’s ground water, but a news report notes that “landscapers and golf courses often apply pesticides laced with arsenic to the grass.” The course, which is owned by Palm Beach County, has been operated by the city of Boynton Beach since 1984.
Golf courses in metropolitan San Diego, California are boosting their food-and-beverage income by selling premium beer from small-batch providers. “The golf business is changing,” explained an official from one of the area’s courses. “You have to look at it from a different perspective. We’re looking at golfers 25 to 40 years of age with disposable cash. Memberships don’t cut it any longer.”
For the time being, at least, the city of Lakeland, Tennessee has tabled its plan to buy Stonebridge Golf Club. Textron Financial, the course’s owner, has offered to sell the property for $1.525 million, provided that the city agrees to the deal by November 30. City officials didn’t react well to the pressure.
The village of Gurnee, in Illinois, has found a new operator for Bittersweet Golf Course. GolfVisions Management has secured a five-year contract that will bring it $33,000 annually in years one and two and $36,000 annually in the remaining years.
Don’t get overly excited about the fact that Green Mountain National Golf Course, in Killington, Vermont, made a profit this year. The town’s auditor doesn’t believe the track will ever repay its debt. “Municipalities should not be in the business of running golf courses,” he contends.
The Lester George-designed course at Ballyhack Golf Club is most certainly no goat track, but it’s got goats. Four of them, to be exact. And by next spring, the Scottish-inspired layout in Roanoke, Virginia will have 20 more.
Government officials on Canada’s Prince Edward Island are getting closer to ridding themselves of their golf headaches. Four companies have expressed an interest in buying or leasing the province’s quartet of golf courses, which reportedly lose $1 million a year.
What’s notable about the Nicklaus and Palmer courses at PGA West? They’re said to be among the 10 easiest courses on the PGA Tour.
Next year, golfers who live in River Vale, New Jersey will continue to enjoy discounted rates at the township’s golf course. “I’m not sure raising the rate is going to translate into more revenue,” the township’s mayor argued at last week’s council meeting. “I have some concerns that we will price our residents out of playing here.” The township’s business administrator believes that residents currently play for what amounts to a 50 percent discount.
No such luck for golfers in Needles, California. Next year, the price of an annual pass at the city’s River’s Edge Golf Course will increase by $50, to $850.
Golfers in suburban Asheville, North Carolina are complaining about the condition of Black Mountain Golf Course. The course’s operator, Billy Casper Golf, begs to differ.
Mitt Romney may have lost the election, but he overwhelmingly won the votes of white men. Does that make him, unofficially at least, the president of the golf business?
Chronic unemployment and an unremittingly rotten economy have taken a toll on Spain’s professional golf tour, which has lost virtually all of its highest-profile events, including the Andalucia Masters and the World Match Play Championship. “We are going through a big crisis in this country, and we have to work very hard in order to keep the game going,” the head of Spain’s golf federation told Reuters. “It’s going to be difficult to recover this situation in the future.”
Worrisome levels of arsenic have been found at the Links at Boynton Beach in Florida. An official with the state’s department of environmental protection declined to speculate about how the cancer-causing agent found its way into the course’s ground water, but a news report notes that “landscapers and golf courses often apply pesticides laced with arsenic to the grass.” The course, which is owned by Palm Beach County, has been operated by the city of Boynton Beach since 1984.
Golf courses in metropolitan San Diego, California are boosting their food-and-beverage income by selling premium beer from small-batch providers. “The golf business is changing,” explained an official from one of the area’s courses. “You have to look at it from a different perspective. We’re looking at golfers 25 to 40 years of age with disposable cash. Memberships don’t cut it any longer.”
For the time being, at least, the city of Lakeland, Tennessee has tabled its plan to buy Stonebridge Golf Club. Textron Financial, the course’s owner, has offered to sell the property for $1.525 million, provided that the city agrees to the deal by November 30. City officials didn’t react well to the pressure.
The village of Gurnee, in Illinois, has found a new operator for Bittersweet Golf Course. GolfVisions Management has secured a five-year contract that will bring it $33,000 annually in years one and two and $36,000 annually in the remaining years.
Don’t get overly excited about the fact that Green Mountain National Golf Course, in Killington, Vermont, made a profit this year. The town’s auditor doesn’t believe the track will ever repay its debt. “Municipalities should not be in the business of running golf courses,” he contends.
The Lester George-designed course at Ballyhack Golf Club is most certainly no goat track, but it’s got goats. Four of them, to be exact. And by next spring, the Scottish-inspired layout in Roanoke, Virginia will have 20 more.
Government officials on Canada’s Prince Edward Island are getting closer to ridding themselves of their golf headaches. Four companies have expressed an interest in buying or leasing the province’s quartet of golf courses, which reportedly lose $1 million a year.
What’s notable about the Nicklaus and Palmer courses at PGA West? They’re said to be among the 10 easiest courses on the PGA Tour.
Next year, golfers who live in River Vale, New Jersey will continue to enjoy discounted rates at the township’s golf course. “I’m not sure raising the rate is going to translate into more revenue,” the township’s mayor argued at last week’s council meeting. “I have some concerns that we will price our residents out of playing here.” The township’s business administrator believes that residents currently play for what amounts to a 50 percent discount.
No such luck for golfers in Needles, California. Next year, the price of an annual pass at the city’s River’s Edge Golf Course will increase by $50, to $850.
Golfers in suburban Asheville, North Carolina are complaining about the condition of Black Mountain Golf Course. The course’s operator, Billy Casper Golf, begs to differ.
Mitt Romney may have lost the election, but he overwhelmingly won the votes of white men. Does that make him, unofficially at least, the president of the golf business?
Friday, November 9, 2012
Memento Mori, november 2012
pennsylvania A family owned, nine-hole course in Ebensburg closed in late October. Don and Charlotte Wolf built Appledale Golf Course on an apple orchard in the mid 1960s, reportedly to guarantee that their physically handicapped son, Lane, would have a job after he was graduated from college. Lane worked at the course until he died in 2005. Don Wolf died in 2010, and his wife died in 2011. The Wolfs’ daughters will continue to operate a banquet center on the property. “We try not to feel bad,” one of them told the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat. “It served the purpose our parents intended.”
california The lone golf course in western Fresno County closed last month, after 46 years of operation. The Fresno Bee describes Javier’s Fresno West Golf Course as being “practically in the middle of nowhere,” although “nowhere” has an address in the town of Kerman. The location wasn’t good for business, as the newspaper reports that “ducks paddling around the water hazard frequently outnumbered golfers.” The 18-hole course, which drew its customers from the area’s farm towns, is now reportedly owned by a farmer.
tennessee Last summer, Dickson Country Club brought in a professional manager to avert what the Tennessean calls “financial disaster.” In July, the manager said, “We feel certain we'll get everything going in the right direction very soon.” The club, which opened in 1927, shut its doors in late October.
north carolina Sandy Creek Golf Club in Stanley closed on October 1. The club, which was founded (as Ferguson Farms Golf Club) in 1992, had been operated by a local bank since 2008. “In this economy, golf is a luxury,” the club’s general manager told the Asheboro Courier-Tribune. “Randolph Bank did everything they could to keep us going.” The bank continues to search for a buyer.
indiana There will be a bittersweet New Year’s Eve party at Jasper Country Club, which will close on December 31. The club, which was incorporated in 1904, has a nine-hole golf course that opened in the early to mid 1930s. The club’s members have been offered incentives to join Sultan’s Run Golf Club, which features an 18-hole, Tim Liddy-designed course that dates from the 1990s.
indiana The 45-year-old Yule Golf Course in Alexandria has been sold at auction, reportedly for just under $1 million. The new owner, a farmer, is expected to plant crops on the 18-hole layout. “Alexandria just can’t support a golf course,” the son of the course’s former owner told the Anderson Herald Bulletin. The track wraps around a small community, and a resident said he expects his home’s value to “drop quite a bit.” The town’s mayor called the course’s closing “a huge loss,” adding, “I feel so bad for the people who live around there and the businesses who’re down there.”
california The lone golf course in western Fresno County closed last month, after 46 years of operation. The Fresno Bee describes Javier’s Fresno West Golf Course as being “practically in the middle of nowhere,” although “nowhere” has an address in the town of Kerman. The location wasn’t good for business, as the newspaper reports that “ducks paddling around the water hazard frequently outnumbered golfers.” The 18-hole course, which drew its customers from the area’s farm towns, is now reportedly owned by a farmer.
tennessee Last summer, Dickson Country Club brought in a professional manager to avert what the Tennessean calls “financial disaster.” In July, the manager said, “We feel certain we'll get everything going in the right direction very soon.” The club, which opened in 1927, shut its doors in late October.
north carolina Sandy Creek Golf Club in Stanley closed on October 1. The club, which was founded (as Ferguson Farms Golf Club) in 1992, had been operated by a local bank since 2008. “In this economy, golf is a luxury,” the club’s general manager told the Asheboro Courier-Tribune. “Randolph Bank did everything they could to keep us going.” The bank continues to search for a buyer.
indiana There will be a bittersweet New Year’s Eve party at Jasper Country Club, which will close on December 31. The club, which was incorporated in 1904, has a nine-hole golf course that opened in the early to mid 1930s. The club’s members have been offered incentives to join Sultan’s Run Golf Club, which features an 18-hole, Tim Liddy-designed course that dates from the 1990s.
indiana The 45-year-old Yule Golf Course in Alexandria has been sold at auction, reportedly for just under $1 million. The new owner, a farmer, is expected to plant crops on the 18-hole layout. “Alexandria just can’t support a golf course,” the son of the course’s former owner told the Anderson Herald Bulletin. The track wraps around a small community, and a resident said he expects his home’s value to “drop quite a bit.” The town’s mayor called the course’s closing “a huge loss,” adding, “I feel so bad for the people who live around there and the businesses who’re down there.”
Sunday, November 4, 2012
The Week That Was, november 4, 2012
scotland The Angus, No Longer Out to Pasture
At long last, work on the Angus resort community and its Darren Clarke “signature” golf course is scheduled to begin next spring.
MAP Property & Leisure Development Group has assumed control of the Angus, which will also feature a five-star, 187-room hotel, villas in a gated community, 10 lodges for travelers, meeting space, a spa, restaurants, and other attractions.
The Angus will take shape on farmland outside the village of Broughton Ferry, just east of Dundee. The site is less than 10 miles southwest of Carnoustie and less than 20 miles north of St. Andrews, and MAP believes its Wyndham-branded hotel and Clarke’s golf course are ideally positioned to capitalize on the tourist traffic that the world-renowned courses in those towns generate.
“When you first glimpse the landscape where the Angus will take shape,” Clarke has said, “you can’t help but feel you’re somewhere Mother Nature intended for golf.”
The Angus property is adjacent to Forbes of Kingennie Country Resort, a low-key vacation getaway. Forbes of Kingennie is owned by Mike Forbes, a former farmer and fly-fishing champion who put the Angus in motion more than three years ago. Forbes has leukemia, and the Dundee Courier has reported that he views his illness as “a message that he had to hand over the reins of the project.”
Forbes assembled the team that will design the Angus’ 6,937-yard golf course, which can be stretched to 7,500 yards for competition play. The track has been co-designed by Graeme Webster of Niblick Golf Design, who operates out of an office in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Webster also designed the nine-hole track at Kingennie.
MAP hopes to open the course in late 2014 or early 2015.
Some information in this post originally appeared in the April 2009 and August 2012 issues of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
brazil Dazed & Confused
The land dispute that’s threatening the construction of the golf course for the 2016 Olympics has taken another distressing turn.
As most everyone knows, ground was supposed to have been broken on the Gil Hanse-designed course last month. Construction hasn’t begun, however, because a company called Elmway Participacoes has laid claim to the land and taken its case to court. A story by the Associated Press yet again says that the courts “could take months or years” to decide whether the property belongs to Elmway Participacoes or to Pasquale Mauro, the fellow who’s signed the contracts with the Olympic organizers.
So here’s what happened last week: Elmway Participacoes put the kibosh on the golf course. The company said that if the courts rule in its favor, it’ll build houses instead of the long-planned golf course. Its lawyer said that Elmway Participacoes “does not want to talk about building the golf course anymore.”
I don’t think this is anything more than a negotiating ploy. But what if it isn’t? What if Elmway Participacoes isn’t bluffing?
In that case, it would be imperative that the courts rule in Mauro’s favor. Whenever they feel like getting around to it, of course.
It’s important to note that the Olympic organizers have contracts that appear to be valid and that they are presumably free to begin construction at any time. But it’s hard to imagine them getting started before they have all their ducks in a row. We’re already in a delay. How long will it last?
As I’ve said before, this dispute causes my head to spin every time I think about it. This is no way to build an important golf course, and it reflects badly on our business.
talking points Another Idea for Growing the Game
A couple of weeks ago I had one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-that moments, courtesy of a post I read at Armen Suny’s blog.
Suny, as I’m sure most of you already know, is the co-designer (with Rod Whitman and Richard Zokol) of the acclaimed minimalist golf course at Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club in Quilchena, British Columbia. In 2009, Golf Digest named it Canada’s best new golf course. (The track has never made any money, but don’t hold that against it.) Suny is also a long-time golf course superintendent, but what I like about him is that he has the courage to call himself an “anarchist.”
As it turns out, Suny is also worried about golf’s future and has been thinking of ways to promote the game among young people. Here’s one of his ideas, one that I believe has real possibilities:
Let’s face it, kids just aren’t that interested in playing golf, and it appears as if we will lose an entire generation of golfers.
Most kids, in all probability, think that golf is a game for old men. We, as an industry, need to find ways to make golf appealing to kids. Golf organizations have been spending tens of millions of dollars a year trying to attract kids to golf but have failed. The economy and rehashing the same old ideas for growing the game of golf do not bode well for our sport. We need to find new and innovative ways to make kids want to know more about or even, dare I say, play golf. . . .
Let me propose a new idea -- product placement, or embedded marketing -- to promote golf. It has worked for everything from soft drinks to automobiles and more. It can and will work for golf.
Pay the networks, studios, executive producers, or whomever to place golf and golf characters into their youth-oriented sitcoms and movies. Expose tens of millions of children to golf through television shows and movies that they are already watching. This way we won’t need to change kids’ behavior to expose them to golf; they’ll get our message in their own family rooms. And then, of course, since we would be buying this product placement, we would dictate that the golf character be one of the more popular, hip, cool, dope characters on the show.
If we can create mainstream youth culture characters that are golfers, kids will begin to think of golf as part of the norm for their peer group.
There are undoubtedly many ways to attract young people to the game of golf. As an industry, we need to constantly reevaluate and better our efforts. If we don’t start thinking about growing the game of golf in new, youth-oriented ways, it won’t grow and it will truly become a game for old men.
wild card click I sit and watch, as tears go by.
At long last, work on the Angus resort community and its Darren Clarke “signature” golf course is scheduled to begin next spring.
MAP Property & Leisure Development Group has assumed control of the Angus, which will also feature a five-star, 187-room hotel, villas in a gated community, 10 lodges for travelers, meeting space, a spa, restaurants, and other attractions.
The Angus will take shape on farmland outside the village of Broughton Ferry, just east of Dundee. The site is less than 10 miles southwest of Carnoustie and less than 20 miles north of St. Andrews, and MAP believes its Wyndham-branded hotel and Clarke’s golf course are ideally positioned to capitalize on the tourist traffic that the world-renowned courses in those towns generate.
“When you first glimpse the landscape where the Angus will take shape,” Clarke has said, “you can’t help but feel you’re somewhere Mother Nature intended for golf.”
The Angus property is adjacent to Forbes of Kingennie Country Resort, a low-key vacation getaway. Forbes of Kingennie is owned by Mike Forbes, a former farmer and fly-fishing champion who put the Angus in motion more than three years ago. Forbes has leukemia, and the Dundee Courier has reported that he views his illness as “a message that he had to hand over the reins of the project.”
Forbes assembled the team that will design the Angus’ 6,937-yard golf course, which can be stretched to 7,500 yards for competition play. The track has been co-designed by Graeme Webster of Niblick Golf Design, who operates out of an office in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Webster also designed the nine-hole track at Kingennie.
MAP hopes to open the course in late 2014 or early 2015.
Some information in this post originally appeared in the April 2009 and August 2012 issues of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
brazil Dazed & Confused
The land dispute that’s threatening the construction of the golf course for the 2016 Olympics has taken another distressing turn.
As most everyone knows, ground was supposed to have been broken on the Gil Hanse-designed course last month. Construction hasn’t begun, however, because a company called Elmway Participacoes has laid claim to the land and taken its case to court. A story by the Associated Press yet again says that the courts “could take months or years” to decide whether the property belongs to Elmway Participacoes or to Pasquale Mauro, the fellow who’s signed the contracts with the Olympic organizers.
So here’s what happened last week: Elmway Participacoes put the kibosh on the golf course. The company said that if the courts rule in its favor, it’ll build houses instead of the long-planned golf course. Its lawyer said that Elmway Participacoes “does not want to talk about building the golf course anymore.”
I don’t think this is anything more than a negotiating ploy. But what if it isn’t? What if Elmway Participacoes isn’t bluffing?
In that case, it would be imperative that the courts rule in Mauro’s favor. Whenever they feel like getting around to it, of course.
It’s important to note that the Olympic organizers have contracts that appear to be valid and that they are presumably free to begin construction at any time. But it’s hard to imagine them getting started before they have all their ducks in a row. We’re already in a delay. How long will it last?
As I’ve said before, this dispute causes my head to spin every time I think about it. This is no way to build an important golf course, and it reflects badly on our business.
talking points Another Idea for Growing the Game
A couple of weeks ago I had one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-that moments, courtesy of a post I read at Armen Suny’s blog.
Suny, as I’m sure most of you already know, is the co-designer (with Rod Whitman and Richard Zokol) of the acclaimed minimalist golf course at Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club in Quilchena, British Columbia. In 2009, Golf Digest named it Canada’s best new golf course. (The track has never made any money, but don’t hold that against it.) Suny is also a long-time golf course superintendent, but what I like about him is that he has the courage to call himself an “anarchist.”
As it turns out, Suny is also worried about golf’s future and has been thinking of ways to promote the game among young people. Here’s one of his ideas, one that I believe has real possibilities:
Let’s face it, kids just aren’t that interested in playing golf, and it appears as if we will lose an entire generation of golfers.
Most kids, in all probability, think that golf is a game for old men. We, as an industry, need to find ways to make golf appealing to kids. Golf organizations have been spending tens of millions of dollars a year trying to attract kids to golf but have failed. The economy and rehashing the same old ideas for growing the game of golf do not bode well for our sport. We need to find new and innovative ways to make kids want to know more about or even, dare I say, play golf. . . .
Let me propose a new idea -- product placement, or embedded marketing -- to promote golf. It has worked for everything from soft drinks to automobiles and more. It can and will work for golf.
Pay the networks, studios, executive producers, or whomever to place golf and golf characters into their youth-oriented sitcoms and movies. Expose tens of millions of children to golf through television shows and movies that they are already watching. This way we won’t need to change kids’ behavior to expose them to golf; they’ll get our message in their own family rooms. And then, of course, since we would be buying this product placement, we would dictate that the golf character be one of the more popular, hip, cool, dope characters on the show.
If we can create mainstream youth culture characters that are golfers, kids will begin to think of golf as part of the norm for their peer group.
There are undoubtedly many ways to attract young people to the game of golf. As an industry, we need to constantly reevaluate and better our efforts. If we don’t start thinking about growing the game of golf in new, youth-oriented ways, it won’t grow and it will truly become a game for old men.
wild card click I sit and watch, as tears go by.
Friday, November 2, 2012
The Cold, Hard Facts november 2, 2012
Roughly 56 million Americans played golf on a video game in 2011. According to the National Golf Foundation, this is more than double the number of people who play actual golf. (That would be 25.7 million people.) By the NGF’s calculation, the vast majority of the video gamers -- 46 million people -- don’t currently play golf, although some 22 percent of them -- 10 million people -- are either “very” or “somewhat” interested in giving the real thing a try. Who are the golf gamers? The NGF says that 51 percent of them are under 30 and 44 percent of them are female. The group’s conclusion: “Golf gaming represents a promising gateway to growing participation among younger and female Americans.”
Citing figures provided by the European Golf Association, the Norwich Evening News reports that membership rolls across England fell to 761,335 this year, down from 872,665 in 2007. This is a decline of 111,330, or 12 percent. Despite the decline, the number of golfers in England has actually grown slightly in recent years. A report from Sports Marketing Surveys, Inc. says that the number of adults (defined as people 15 and older) who played at least one round of golf has increased from 3.89 million in 2007 to 3.94 million in 2011. “Golf clubs generally are facing a tough environment, with member numbers decreasing as individuals experience increased pressure on their income and more calls on their time,” said the general manager of an English club. “There is also an increasing trend among some clubs to offer cheap deals for greens fees, tempting many occasional golfers to give up membership altogether.”
It’s going to cost more to play golf in Brandon, South Dakota next year, as the city will increase rates at its municipal course by 5 percent. The new rates will boost the price of an adult’s season pass to $727.80. This is the second consecutive year that the city has raised rates. In 2012, they went up by 15 percent.
Miss Indonesia carded scores of 79, 76, and 81 at this year’s Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open. Ines Putri, a 23-year-old from Bali, admitted to being a little rusty due to commitments stemming from her success on the beauty-pageant circuit. “I haven't played much golf in five months, so I am happy with my score,” she told reporters after her first round. Putri finished 31 shots behind the tournament’s winner, Kongkrapan Patcharachuta.
Citing figures provided by the European Golf Association, the Norwich Evening News reports that membership rolls across England fell to 761,335 this year, down from 872,665 in 2007. This is a decline of 111,330, or 12 percent. Despite the decline, the number of golfers in England has actually grown slightly in recent years. A report from Sports Marketing Surveys, Inc. says that the number of adults (defined as people 15 and older) who played at least one round of golf has increased from 3.89 million in 2007 to 3.94 million in 2011. “Golf clubs generally are facing a tough environment, with member numbers decreasing as individuals experience increased pressure on their income and more calls on their time,” said the general manager of an English club. “There is also an increasing trend among some clubs to offer cheap deals for greens fees, tempting many occasional golfers to give up membership altogether.”
It’s going to cost more to play golf in Brandon, South Dakota next year, as the city will increase rates at its municipal course by 5 percent. The new rates will boost the price of an adult’s season pass to $727.80. This is the second consecutive year that the city has raised rates. In 2012, they went up by 15 percent.
Miss Indonesia carded scores of 79, 76, and 81 at this year’s Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open. Ines Putri, a 23-year-old from Bali, admitted to being a little rusty due to commitments stemming from her success on the beauty-pageant circuit. “I haven't played much golf in five months, so I am happy with my score,” she told reporters after her first round. Putri finished 31 shots behind the tournament’s winner, Kongkrapan Patcharachuta.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
montenegro Gary Player Could Be #1
An affiliate of Orascom Development Holding has taken the lead in the race to build Montenegro’s first golf course.
The golf course, a Gary Player “signature” design, will be the centerpiece of Luštica Bay, a 1,400-acre resort community in Tivat, along the nation’s rocky, dramatic Adriatic coast. Orascom will undertake the project via Podgorica-based Luštica Development AD, a joint venture with the property’s owner, the government of Montenegro.
Orascom, a Swiss firm that’s developed some of the world’s premier resorts, has described Luštica Bay as “a magical place to live life as it should be.” At build-out, the magic will include not just Player’s championship-quality golf course but 750 villas, 1,600 condos, several hotels (2,200 total rooms), three shopping areas, a marina, schools, a spa, a medical center, and other attractions.
Luštica Development will reportedly break ground on this massive undertaking in late 2012 or early 2013. If previously announced schedules are still viable, the first phase of construction will include a hotel, a marina, and the golf course.
Orascom is controlled by Samih Sawiris, an Egyptian developer who ranks among the world’s 400 richest people. He made his multibillion-dollar fortune running the resort division of Orascom Group, a conglomerate founded by his father, Onsi Sawiris. Under Samih Sawiris’ direction, Orascom built two extremely popular resorts in Egypt, the famed El Gouna resort on the Red Sea coast, and Taba Heights, which is along the Gulf of Aqaba on the Sinai Peninsula.
These days it’s building a Kurt Rossknecht-designed course in Andermatt, Switzerland, and it’s planning to build resort communities with golf courses in Oman (Jebel Sifah and Salalah Beach) and Morocco (Chbika), along with a second course at El Gouna.
Orascom won the right to build Luštica Bay in 2008 and has presumably been waiting for market conditions to improve before making a final commitment.
Player has described the property he’s been given as “absolutely stunning,” and a press release from his Travelers Rest, South Carolina-based design firm says that each of the layout’s holes will offer views of Boka Bay or the Adriatic Sea.
A couple of years ago, a developer who’s walked the site told me that “it doesn’t have an ounce of dirt on it.” If that’s true, Player will need to truck in a substantial amount of fill.
The original version of this post first appeared in the August 2012 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
The golf course, a Gary Player “signature” design, will be the centerpiece of Luštica Bay, a 1,400-acre resort community in Tivat, along the nation’s rocky, dramatic Adriatic coast. Orascom will undertake the project via Podgorica-based Luštica Development AD, a joint venture with the property’s owner, the government of Montenegro.
Orascom, a Swiss firm that’s developed some of the world’s premier resorts, has described Luštica Bay as “a magical place to live life as it should be.” At build-out, the magic will include not just Player’s championship-quality golf course but 750 villas, 1,600 condos, several hotels (2,200 total rooms), three shopping areas, a marina, schools, a spa, a medical center, and other attractions.
Luštica Development will reportedly break ground on this massive undertaking in late 2012 or early 2013. If previously announced schedules are still viable, the first phase of construction will include a hotel, a marina, and the golf course.
Orascom is controlled by Samih Sawiris, an Egyptian developer who ranks among the world’s 400 richest people. He made his multibillion-dollar fortune running the resort division of Orascom Group, a conglomerate founded by his father, Onsi Sawiris. Under Samih Sawiris’ direction, Orascom built two extremely popular resorts in Egypt, the famed El Gouna resort on the Red Sea coast, and Taba Heights, which is along the Gulf of Aqaba on the Sinai Peninsula.
These days it’s building a Kurt Rossknecht-designed course in Andermatt, Switzerland, and it’s planning to build resort communities with golf courses in Oman (Jebel Sifah and Salalah Beach) and Morocco (Chbika), along with a second course at El Gouna.
Orascom won the right to build Luštica Bay in 2008 and has presumably been waiting for market conditions to improve before making a final commitment.
Player has described the property he’s been given as “absolutely stunning,” and a press release from his Travelers Rest, South Carolina-based design firm says that each of the layout’s holes will offer views of Boka Bay or the Adriatic Sea.
A couple of years ago, a developer who’s walked the site told me that “it doesn’t have an ounce of dirt on it.” If that’s true, Player will need to truck in a substantial amount of fill.
The original version of this post first appeared in the August 2012 issue of the World Edition of the Golf Course Report.
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